Neville Turley

“We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.” Philippians 3:20-21

We are now in Lent, the 40 days preceding Easter. Some Christians fast at this time to commemorate Christ fasting in the wilderness. It is an ideal time for all Christians to ponder about the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and its implications for us.

Simeon’s prophecy that the baby Jesus was chosen by God for the destruction and salvation of many came to fruition on the cross. Those who deny him are doomed. Those who turn to him in genuine repentance are saved.

Our verse for today assures every believer in Christ of their glorious destiny. Through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross he has absolved us from our sin. 

If we die before the Second Coming of the Lord our souls will immediately be in heaven with him. However, when he establishes his kingdom in the new heaven, God will transform the mortal bodies we once had into resurrected bodies free of any weaknesses.

The resurrected Jesus revealed himself to his disciples, to individuals and groups and on one occasion to over 500 people. He performed many miracles and even had a fish braai with his disciples. The Apostle John said that if everything was written down that the resurrected Lord did, he thought the whole world would not be large enough to store the records.

Jesus is our resurrection hope. The same power that raised Jesus will raise us and we will live in the new heaven that our Lord will govern forever.

The love of God never fades nor fails.

Prayer: “May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) Amen