January 18th 2015
To Live, You Must Die Twice!
Luke 17:17-19 (NIV)
Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no-one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
In the selected verses, Jesus has just cured ten men of leprosy, and only one of the ten comes back to thank Jesus for performing this miracle. Certainly, you would have come back and said, “Thank You!” to Jesus! Notice what Jesus says to this man who came back. "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Doesn’t it make you wonder, if the other nine were actually cured of their leprosy? Did it return, since their faith was too weak for them to come back and thank Jesus?
Your faith is the only thing that can save you too! You MUST believe that Jesus died for your sins, and thus, you will be saved through grace. There is no other way by which you can be saved from the eternal fires of hell! Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) Are you one of the possibly billions who have been saved by the blood shed by Jesus for you? Do you back to Him daily through prayer, and just say, Thank You!
A lady recently told me she was never afraid to be out in this world, because she knew Jesus would protect her. While I believe Jesus could protect her, or He could protect every one of His children—the fact is He does not always protect all of His followers. If He did there would never have been any martyrs. The fact is every follower of Jesus will die! Some of us will be tortured, some of us will be murdered, some of us will die of some disease, and the rest of us will die when it is our time to die.
By now, if you are still reading this you may be wondering—okay what is the point this commentary is trying to make? Jesus had just told Peter about how he would die. Then Jesus told Peter that if He chose to, He could keep John alive until He returns, if He decided to do so, and it should not be a concern to Peter. When Peter saw him (John), he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." (John 21:21-22) Jesus is telling Peter, and us, to not be concerned about how other followers may die, as it has no real effect on our lives. We are expected to follow Jesus in all circumstances.
Every member of mankind has a created part of them that is immortal. One of the main functions of this worldly life is pointed toward living in a way that will result in our immortal soul being lead up that narrow path, which leads to forever living with God! Please understand that leaving this lifetime via the narrow path is NOT a curse, but instead it is a blessing for the soul that is departing, and actually is the end of the curse we inherited! Remember, your death ends this curse for you, which your human nature started!
Adam saw to it—you will not survive this lifetime. Adam became a sinner and dragged us all into a sinful lifestyle. Adam started the curse by breaking the one command God had given him. When God came to walk with Adam in the Garden of Eden, Adam hid because he no longer felt safe being in the presence of God! How about you, are you just waiting to be with God? Have you ever broken one of God’s commands? Of course, all of us have, because we were born with a sinful nature. That is why we MUST have a Savior, who intercedes for us, when we go to meet with God, when we die!
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms (Mansions KJV); if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1-6) What a promise Jesus gave His disciples (us), not only is He preparing a place for us, but He said, “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2) You are a child of God, because of what Jesus did for you, and thus, “we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Although you are a sinner because of the curse, you can feel confident about your immortal future. Read what John wrote, In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. (1 John 4:17) Are you working on becoming more Christ-like every day? You should be, because it sounds as though it is possible to attain.
Here Job’s youngest friend, named Elihu, speaks to Job about wisdom, and where it comes from. I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’ But it is the Spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. (Job 32:7-8) If you are seeking wisdom from other members of the human race, whether they are younger or older than you, then you need to consider looking inwardly instead! Does the Holy Spirit indwell you? If you are truly a follower of Jesus, then He does. Mankind possesses knowledge but true wisdom really only comes from above, when you become a conduit for the Holy Spirit!
To live, you must die twice! The first death is to die with Christ, and then, to be raised with Him! Then you must die to this life, because of the curse. Then the rest of eternity you will live with God your Father! Now that is an offer you cannot refuse! And it makes me wonder why anyone would refuse such an offer?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Luke 17:17-19 (NIV)
Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no-one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
In the selected verses, Jesus has just cured ten men of leprosy, and only one of the ten comes back to thank Jesus for performing this miracle. Certainly, you would have come back and said, “Thank You!” to Jesus! Notice what Jesus says to this man who came back. "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Doesn’t it make you wonder, if the other nine were actually cured of their leprosy? Did it return, since their faith was too weak for them to come back and thank Jesus?
Your faith is the only thing that can save you too! You MUST believe that Jesus died for your sins, and thus, you will be saved through grace. There is no other way by which you can be saved from the eternal fires of hell! Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) Are you one of the possibly billions who have been saved by the blood shed by Jesus for you? Do you back to Him daily through prayer, and just say, Thank You!
A lady recently told me she was never afraid to be out in this world, because she knew Jesus would protect her. While I believe Jesus could protect her, or He could protect every one of His children—the fact is He does not always protect all of His followers. If He did there would never have been any martyrs. The fact is every follower of Jesus will die! Some of us will be tortured, some of us will be murdered, some of us will die of some disease, and the rest of us will die when it is our time to die.
By now, if you are still reading this you may be wondering—okay what is the point this commentary is trying to make? Jesus had just told Peter about how he would die. Then Jesus told Peter that if He chose to, He could keep John alive until He returns, if He decided to do so, and it should not be a concern to Peter. When Peter saw him (John), he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." (John 21:21-22) Jesus is telling Peter, and us, to not be concerned about how other followers may die, as it has no real effect on our lives. We are expected to follow Jesus in all circumstances.
Every member of mankind has a created part of them that is immortal. One of the main functions of this worldly life is pointed toward living in a way that will result in our immortal soul being lead up that narrow path, which leads to forever living with God! Please understand that leaving this lifetime via the narrow path is NOT a curse, but instead it is a blessing for the soul that is departing, and actually is the end of the curse we inherited! Remember, your death ends this curse for you, which your human nature started!
Adam saw to it—you will not survive this lifetime. Adam became a sinner and dragged us all into a sinful lifestyle. Adam started the curse by breaking the one command God had given him. When God came to walk with Adam in the Garden of Eden, Adam hid because he no longer felt safe being in the presence of God! How about you, are you just waiting to be with God? Have you ever broken one of God’s commands? Of course, all of us have, because we were born with a sinful nature. That is why we MUST have a Savior, who intercedes for us, when we go to meet with God, when we die!
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms (Mansions KJV); if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1-6) What a promise Jesus gave His disciples (us), not only is He preparing a place for us, but He said, “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2) You are a child of God, because of what Jesus did for you, and thus, “we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Although you are a sinner because of the curse, you can feel confident about your immortal future. Read what John wrote, In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. (1 John 4:17) Are you working on becoming more Christ-like every day? You should be, because it sounds as though it is possible to attain.
Here Job’s youngest friend, named Elihu, speaks to Job about wisdom, and where it comes from. I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’ But it is the Spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. (Job 32:7-8) If you are seeking wisdom from other members of the human race, whether they are younger or older than you, then you need to consider looking inwardly instead! Does the Holy Spirit indwell you? If you are truly a follower of Jesus, then He does. Mankind possesses knowledge but true wisdom really only comes from above, when you become a conduit for the Holy Spirit!
To live, you must die twice! The first death is to die with Christ, and then, to be raised with Him! Then you must die to this life, because of the curse. Then the rest of eternity you will live with God your Father! Now that is an offer you cannot refuse! And it makes me wonder why anyone would refuse such an offer?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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