A Special Day, A Special Gift Just for Us!

Remember the Sabbath day.

Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Six days BELONG to us.
One day ESPECIALLY BELONGS to us.

Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath

Do you see? Do you comprehend?

The Sabbath was MADE for US.

The Sabbath was a GIFT to us. A GIFT, MADE for us.

Without the Sabbath every day would be the same.

How do you think we came about a Week and a Weekend?

'The present-day concept of the weekend first arose from the Dies Solis (Day of the Sun) decreed by Constantine and from Biblical Sabbath.'-- Pasted from

Sunday- Day of the Sun.
Saturday- Biblical Sabbath.

Pagan.
Biblical.

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Day of the Sun (Sunday) -

'Constantine decreed (March 7, 321) dies Solis—day of the sun, "Sunday"—as the Roman day of rest [CJ3.12.2]:
        On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.[33]
       
Constantine's triumphal arch was carefully positioned to align with the colossal statue of Sol by the Colosseum, so that Sol formed the dominant backdrop when seen from the direction of the main approach towards the arch.[34]'

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Sabbath-

'The Biblical Sabbath is a weekly day of rest or time of worship. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Though many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia, most originate in the same textual tradition.

Sabbath is first mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative, where the seventh day is set aside as a day of rest and made holy by God. Observation and remembrance of Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the original Jewish, the Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant traditions, the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions). Most people who observe Biblical Sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a "perpetual covenant [for] the people of Israel" and proselytes (Exodus 31:13-17, Exodus 23:12, Deuteronomy 5:13-14), a sign in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed Creation in six days (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11).'

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These two days of worship came from two sources-  Man and God.

Who do you worship? Man or God?

Contrary to the belief of most of Christianity, the BIBLE does NOT authorize a change of the Sabbath day. Jesus did NOT authorize a change of the Sabbath, He KEPT the Sabbath- even in the GRAVE.

God ceased from all HIS work on the seventh day.  Have you ever ask yourself why?

Did God need to rest? Had He worn Himself out? Is that even possible? No, no, and no.

God included the REST day along with the WORK days as an EXAMPLE TO US, as a GIFT TO US.

Told to REMEMBER that day He set aside so long ago, the people of God were given GUIDELINES to follow so they'd be able to understand what the day really meant. 

Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Following these guidelines would mean we recognize the GIFT day from GOD. The DAY GOD RESTED! GOD RESTED! The  blessing of that REST is something we tend to overlook.  GOD RESTED! I know I keep saying that, but the importance of it is astounding.

Let's say hypothetically that a revered leader, a wonderfully kind, fair, loving man worked alongside the people who followed him day in and day out. This man never missed a day and expected his followers to live after his example.  Day after day they all worked together in harmony, no ire, no bickering, no upset, no overtiring, just pleasant days of working.   Then one day the leader decided to rest and not work and he told his followers that they too were to rest on that day WITH HIM. Of course there was no objection, why would there be? The followers were only too happy to obey and spend a day of rest with their leader and it became a day they looked forward to because on that day of rest they had a more intimate encounter with their leader without any work activities to interfere. 

What a nice situation to imagine, right?

God created man and He created Him in His image- man would work even as God worked.

Gen 2:15  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 

Man was to dress and keep the garden- work.

Man wasn't made to be idle, to seek selfish flesh pleasure. There was JOY, true, selfless joy in that GARDEN, in LIFE, in LIVING.

Work for the most part has come to mean doing some menial task over and over and getting paid for it, whether it's enjoyable or not. 

The Israelis weren't doing that at all when they were being led out of Egypt to the promised land. There was no monetary system set up. Yet God set up a covenant with them and gave Him His MORAL LAWS. In those MORAL LAWS was the reminder of CREATION! A reminder of God's WORK and REST. 

God, even before man sinned, wanted mankind to follow His example of work and rest. And that didn't mean taking a day off work to go selfishly indulge yourself! The REST God took was TIME HE took to SPEND WITH MAN!  The TIME the CREATOR of ALL, the GREAT I AM, the EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING, took to BOND with MANKIND, to allow HIMSELF and man to ENJOY BEING WITH EACH OTHER without any distractions. 

Man and God TIME!

After creating the earth and all therein and taking that day to rest, God would continue to work, He didn't stop working. To think He simply stopped everything and made earth His total focus would be very vain of us, wouldn't? Thinking we were made to be worshipped by God! NEVER! God would continue being God, creating from everlasting to everlasting and yet HE RESTED for US and created a special rest period of time for us based on His creation plan.  

Imagine Adam in the garden tending it and every seventh day God met with Him so they could be together - Creator and Creature.  Just imagine the perfection of it all.

After man sinned He separated Himself from God. He was banished from the Garden, everything changed.  And yet God did NOT give up on mankind. A way had been made for God and Man to be restored to that special communion with each other, a MEDIATOR had been ordained and the salvation plan instantly underway.  God wanted His communion with mankind to be restored, the perfect ideal Creation He designed, He wanted that back.  Man wanted that too.

Remember this:

Gen 4:3  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering

Offerings to the LORD.  They were still acknowledging GOD as their  CREATOR. Just imagine it…

After the fall Adam and Eve were living outside of the garden in a much harsher place but they were still living on the planet God created. They weren't allowed access to the Tree of Life, and that is why they were banished from the lush Garden they'd been tending. They had changed everything by their actions  and their environment was changed, but not so that they were in a totally alien atmosphere. There was still greenery, animals, still the earth the LORD had created.  They could probably see where the garden they'd been banished from was at, surely as they were leaving it they noted the changes from lush to less so.  They weren't flown off the planet, they weren't put to sleep and woken up somewhere else. They knew they'd done wrong and they knew they were being punished, but the knowledge of their previous  life hadn't disappeared, their memories most assuredly were NOT erased!

They KNEW what they'd done! They felt keenly that separation from their CREATOR! Do you HONESTLY think they forgot about the rest they took with their God, their Creator every seventh day? NO! Every seventh day as it came along had to bring with it a renewed sense of that loss and yet they were still giving OFFERINGS to God and HE was STILL communing with them through those OFFERINGS.

The LORD had RESPECT unto Abel and his offering.

This is a form of communing, isn't it?  Abel knew God was pleased, just as Cain knew God was not pleased with his offering.

Gen 4:5  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

And the LORD SPOKE WITH HIM!

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door…

The LORD SAID unto Cain.

The Lord spoke to them! They'd been separated from God and the close communion they had with Him in the garden had ended, but they were still talking with HIM!

Imagine it… come on, try and imagine it.  Every seventh day man rested and God would commune with man in the garden- Creator and Creature. Then the Creature turned on His Creator and the Creator was betrayed. This betrayal could not go unpunished and life became exceedingly harder for mankind, death was even introduced- death in the beloved animals, and a slow decay to death even of the Creatures themselves. Yet, not abandoning the Creatures, the Creator would still commune with them. That communing would begin with the Creature making an offering to the Creator. The Creature sacrificed something which would make the offering a token of their desire to have the breech they'd created repaired. By the Creature giving up a part of their own selfishness in that sacrifice, by the Creature realizing the gravity of the sin they'd committed towards their Creator they were acknowledging their sinfulness and their Creator's sinlessness all through their Creator's love.

The Creatures didn't want the special communing with their Creator to end! They were blessed by His continued desire to have them be HIS beloved Creatures! He allowed them to begin the process of understanding what it would take to ultimately heal the breech between Creator and Creature.  In a lesser form, in example  form they were being taught that a GREATER sacrifice would be required for them to once more become  AT ONE with GOD. They were being taught that they, in and of themselves, were UNABLE to save themselves- an INTERCESSOR, a MEDIATOR was going to be needed. Every single sacrifice offered by them to God recognized this ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. 

God continued to meet with His creatures every seventh day! That day had been BLESSED. That day had been SANCTIFIED. That day was HOLY from the moment it was created during Creation Week. It didn't lose the blessing, the sanctification, the holiness when mankind sinned.  The day still existed as assuredly as our seven day week has been perpetually carried on down through all time even when mankind has tried to alter it time and time again. 

Reaffirmed by God through the Moral Law of Ten Commandments- God's people were told that they were to not work but to rest as GOD rested, and in that rest of God and Man, of Creator and Creature they could commune with one another renewing their bond. And the sacrifice WE bring since our Savior came and fulfilled the place as our Ultimate Sacrifice is…

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise

Mar 12:32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
Mar 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Mar 12:34  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Heb 13:16  But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Sacrifices.

All by the GRACE of GOD - more tomorrow!

 In HIS LOVE!

ONLY One Mediator

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN.

So why do we try to put others besides the ONE and ONLY MEDIATOR, between us and God? Seriously, why? Why do we put teachers, preachers, and charismatic others as a go between? We do it and WE cannot deny it!

Why do we pray to any other than GOD? We shouldn't! Jesus didn't teach us to pray to any other, He taught us to pray to OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN!

We is it people have actually chosen to call men FATHER who are NOT their father's but religious teachers, religious guides, NOT anything like our FATHER IN HEAVEN. No MAN is a substitute for OUR FATHER in HEAVEN! No MAN could EVER be a substitute for our FATHER IN HEAVEN. There is NOT a single human being on earth- dead or alive that cab ever take our HEAVENLY FATHER'S place in ANYTHING!

We are to worship NO OTHER!

We have a MEDIATOR between us and God and that is ONLY ONE being the God-Man Christ Jesus,

We cannot put into the place of our ONE MEDIATOR anyone else so STOP TRYING RIGHT NOW! You might think saint so and so will mediate for you, but they won't! Every saint so and so is DEAD and buried, in the ground right now, sleeping the sleep of death. They are NOT in heaven, they are NOT talking to God on your behalf!

I read this earlier today and it only served to remind me of the TRUTH-

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

All die and all shall be made alive.

Every man in his OWN order.

Christ, the firstfruits- FIRST.

AFTERWARD-

They that ARE CHRIST'S at HIS COMING!

You read it, you read the TRUTH! We are MADE ALIVE at CHRIST'S COMING and NOT BEFORE!

So there isn't a single man alive who is in heaven listening to you here on earth and they are most certainly not in their graves listening to you. They are sleeping death's sleep peacefully- all people- good and evil.  Yes, even the evil dead are given the peace of death's sleep.

Strange? NO.

When you fall asleep at night what is the next thing you know? Seriously?

Waking up. You don't know all those hours of sleeping that you are sleeping. You don't know what's going on around you. People have had their entire houses robbed while they've been sleeping. People sneak out of the house while others are sleeping and they are none the wiser. You are put under a medically induced sleep to have yourself operated on- cut opened, and you wake up with the surgery all done. Sleep, an UNCONSCIOUS state.  So if the evil dead are allowed the peaceful sleep of death it's NOT as if they even KNOW what's going on. They are NOT enjoying the peaceful sleep! They know NOTHING.

There is ONLY ONE MEDIATOR between GOD and MAN! CHRIST JESUS is our MEDIATOR and HE alone can SAVE US! NO OTHER!

Please, please stop asking others to intervene for you and ask OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN yourself, all in the name of the LORD, our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!  He taught us to pray and it was to HIS FATHER, no other!


All by the grace and mercy of our one and only mediator, Christ JESUS!

Amen!

One God AND One Mediator

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

One God AND One Mediator BETWEEN God and Men.

God the Father- there is ONLY ONE God the Father. Jesus recognized God the Father-

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Father which is in heaven.
Children of your Father which is in heaven.
Our Father which art in heaven.

Jesus' words.

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

I can say- I and my mother are one and it'd be true if we were one in agreement, right? But saying-  I and my mother are one doesn't make me her or her me.  It is the same with God the Father and God the Son, yet so many people want to make them ONE in a sense other than in agreement as one.

There is ONE God the Father and ONE Mediator between God and mankind.  Christ Jesus is the man/God  who stands between God the Father and us.

There is a separation, a very REAL separation between God and Jesus and there always has been.  This here…

Zec 6:13  Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

Between them both.

People love to shout about monotheism- ONE God belief, and yet, all Christians believe in God the Father and God the Son, to say otherwise is a lie and NOT the truth! They believe in two Gods and yet they'll deny it over and over just to stand by their belief in monotheism.

More tomorrow   by the grace of God!

All prayers... for all men.

1Ti 2:1  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1Ti 2:2  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.


All supplications...
All prayers...
All intercessions...
All giving of thanks…

…for ALL men.

Kings.
All in authority… PRAY for them.

God would have ALL men to be saved.
God would have ALL men come to the knowledge of the truth.

We are to pray for others that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Isn't this what we are to desire? Seriously.  To lead a QUIET and PEACEABLE life- in all GODLINESS and HONESTY.

Some might abhor the thought of leading a quiet life preferring to lead unpredictable and loud lives. We all know how teenagers are viewed, how young people are looked upon as those who generally have wild oats to sow, a recklessness to get out of their systems.  Yet more and more people want this wildness in their lives, they've become addicted to things that excite the senses. Do they want peace? Often times they make it a habit to create a bit of havoc just to feel that strange excitement they have come to crave- knowingly, unknowingly, peace and quiet is something they have come to shun.

Yet, we need quiet and peace as much as we need godliness and honesty.  The closer we come to God the more peace we feel. The closer we come to God, honesty becomes more of a reality in all parts of our lives.

All supplications...
All prayers...
All intercessions...
All giving of thanks…

…for ALL men.

Kings.
All in authority… PRAY for them.


We  need to pray for ALL men, not be prejudice in our prayers.  We cannot pick and choose who we think we should pray for and who we shouldn't. If GOD would have all SAVED, how can we think differently?

By His grace may we pray as HE would have us pray, may we find HIS peace, HIS quiet, HIS honesty.

Please LORD, be our all in all. IN YOUR LOVE!

War a Good Warfare

1Ti 1:18  This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck

War a good warfare.

Holding faith.
A good conscience.

Remember this--

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

To war a good warfare means being prepared, fully armored, ready for battle.
This SPIRITUAL battle we are all in is REAL.
Shake your head, scoff if you like, but it is real. You can spend your whole life ignorant to the Spiritual war going on, but you live it none the less.
Young children growing up in the middle of warfare do not know what's taking place around them. The blind cannot see what is taking place during a war. The feeble are unable to participate in a war but that doesn't mean they are all excluded. When a city comes under siege do you think those warring stop their battling and make an announcement for all those who are prepared to leave? People are victims in battle all the time, a lot of them never even knowing what the war is all about. People who do not become soldiers and yet they are killed are call casualties, civilian casualties, collateral damage. This Spiritual battle is unique because everyone is a part of it and there will be millions and millions of casualties who actually have chosen to be casualties rather than fight the Spiritual battle.  These are people who have access to the armor they need, in fact they have access to all the implements of warfare they need and yet they choose to simply not fight.

This fight has NO physical casualties, you are NEVER called to kill a single person, not ONE. There can be NO objection to this war on the basis of objecting to taking a life. The Spiritual battle is a battle against the flesh DESIRES, against the wickedness that would have us give in to selfishness at every turn. The Spiritual battle is one you wage against the invisible evil that would have you yield to every temptation presented to you.  It is a REAL evil, a REAL force that encourages us to evil all the time! If only it were fiction, if only it were a fable.

We have to war a good warfare and to do this we must have FAITH, a shield of FAITH that quenches ALL the fiery darts of the wicked. When we give up our faith, when our faith is perverted, when we look to ourselves and not to faith in our Redeemer, we will be lost in this warfare.  You might not feel the spiritual bullet that pierces your heart- taking your spiritual life. You might not even feel the first prick from an evil dart, but that is only because you desire to be blind, deaf, and dumb to the truth, you make the choice willingly to numb your spiritual senses to the reality of the war you are in.

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck
1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Some have put away their FAITH and their GOOD CONSCIENCE, and when we put those away we have no armor, we are unprotected, we are still in the war but we are subjecting ourselves to being overtaken, we are endangering ourselves, our eternal life, our Salvation.

When we read that Hymenaeus and Alexander are delivered to Satan in order to learn not to shun God, it sounds really strange. Read more...

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Delivered to Satan doesn't mean some Satanic cult takes you and tears you apart, it doesn't even mean you are being given to him for destruction of anything but that which would keep you from God.

How often have we suffered because of our OWN backsliding?  How often are we the victims of our own  lack of faith, of our own selfishness? Truly we are giving OURSELVES to Satan ALL the time when we give in to the evil he tempts us with.  If others leave us to our sinning, by NOT condoning it, by NOT keeping us among them, then we are left to Satan, left to our own devices. We are delivered to Satan aren't we? Yet, others will NOT stop praying for us, Christ does NOT stop loving us, there is HOPE for us.  This part-- 'THAT THEY MAY LEARN' means there is HOPE!

When we reveal by our actions that we desire evil over good, then others can't be expected to desire us to be around them, others who are fighting the Spiritual battle. It's hard enough to fight the Spiritual battle, the invisible battle, let alone fight those who are flesh. If we are not in a situation that demands us to be around those who are not fighting the Spiritual war all around us, that's one thing, but to CHOOSE to have people around us that will only be used to weaken our faith is wrong.

We need to PRAY for all! No one is beyond our PRAYERS, not a single person!

By the grace of God may we keep our faith strong, our conscience good all through HIS LOVE!

Please LORD, please keep us fighting the Spiritual battle fully armored by YOU. Help us Lord, Save us!

In YOUR love!

The King Eternal

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

King eternal.
King immortal.
King invisible.
The ONLY wise God.
Honor, glory forever and ever!

Deu 33:27  The eternal God is thy refuge…

Rom 1:20  ... his eternal power …

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God…

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus…

Eternal in existence.
Eternal in results.

When we think of eternal life we think of living forever, yet we don't like to think about  the fact eternal death is not existing forever.

Our King eternal is our King who is the beginning and the end - Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

Psa 90:2  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

He is from everlasting to everlasting.

There was NEVER a time when God was not.

God has always existed, He truly is the great I AM.

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Kind is ETERNAL, IMMORTAL- unable to die! Our Savior became flesh and was subject to death. He was PUT to death and He was truly DEAD. He KNEW nothing in death! He could NOT bring HIMSELF back to life! He was truly, honestly dead and in that death sleep HE KNEW NOTHING! He did NOT become an instant spirit form and slip off to heaven, NO ONE DOES THAT! I do NOT understand why people believe this happens, I just don't. Yes, our minds can do amazing things as we are subjected to near death, but near death is NOT permanent death, it's NOT death's sleep.  Lazarus was in death's sleep when our Savior restored HIM to life. Lazarus did NOT come back telling stories about how he'd seen a white light and walked into it and all his former friends and families that had died before him were there waiting and welcoming.  There were NOT fantastic stories about how wonderful everything in heaven is and don't you think there would have been if people when they die went straight to heaven? Seriously! This is logic. Lazarus was woken up from death's sleep. He was woken from the permanent state of sleep that lasts for all of us until our Savior returns and we wake to life everlasting or death everlasting.  So yes, our Savior was dead, permanently dead without any GUARANTEE He'd rise from the dead. He couldn't raise Himself only GOD the FATHER could raise Him from death's sleep just as He'd raised Lazarus. Only Lazarus was raised to be mortal again, given an extended life, our SAVIOR was given life eternal and transformed (once He ascended to His Father) remember- He didn't want anyone touching Him until He'd ascended. Once He ascended He was given the permanent state of eternal life once more. I say once more because He had eternal life until He chose to give it up in order to become human flesh. 

Our King Jesus is ETERNAL, our King Jesus is IMMORTAL, our King Jesus is invisible - He is SPIRIT as God is a SPIRIT, HE is WISE!  He is to be HONORED and given GLORY FOREVER AND EVER! AMEN!

This is our GOD! This is who we have faith in! This is our LORD who has the power to give to US eternal life, we must be IN HIM ALWAYS! He is our SALVATION!

ALL power, all glory, all honor forever to HIM!

PRAISE GOD!
THANK YOU LORD!

FOR YOUR LOVE!

For a pattern to them which should hereafter believe

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

A pattern, an example, something to look at and follow, yes? Paul, the chief of sinners, Paul the murderer of Christ's followers. Is it safe to say do you think that Paul was right there when all the accusations against Jesus, Himself, were taking place? He was high ranking among the Pharisees, right?

Act 23:6  But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

He was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee.

This is what Jesus had to say about the Pharisee.

Luk 18:10  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Pharisee were men who exalted themselves, and unjustified in their prayers. While they prayed thanking God that they weren't like others- they were just as bad in their self-righteousness.

Luk 11:39  And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
Luk 11:40  Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
Luk 11:41  But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.
Luk 11:42  But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Luk 11:43  Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
Luk 11:44  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

Inwardly they were full of ravening and wickedness, they were fools. They tithed all their possessions but passed over judgment and LOVE of God. They loved their self importance, and they were hypocrites for such a departure from the true Love of God.

Jesus had nothing good to say about Pharisees and yet PAUL was a Pharisee and a son of a Pharisee.

Joh 11:46  But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
Joh 11:47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
Joh 11:48  If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
Joh 11:49  And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
Joh 11:50  Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
Joh 11:51  And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
Joh 11:52  And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Joh 11:53  Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

The Pharisee counseled together  to put Jesus to death!

Mat 27:62  Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
Mat 27:63  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
Mat 27:64  Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
Mat 27:65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

They called Jesus a deceiver, they wanted his sepulchre guarded against those that would steal Jesus' body and pretend He'd risen from the dead.

The Pharisee- of whom Paul was one and a zealous one. He was a murderer because he consented unto the death of Stephen, a devout disciple of the Lord.

Act 8:1  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Act 9:10  And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Act 9:12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Act 9:13  Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Act 9:14  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Act 9:19  And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Act 9:20  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Act 9:21  But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
Act 9:22  But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
Act 9:23  And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
Act 9:24  But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Act 9:25  Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.

Act 13:9  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.

Amazing! This persecutor of Christ's followers, this despiser of all things to do with Jesus Christ was FORGIVEN, this CHIEF of sinners was forgiven!  And he is an EXAMPLE to us, a pattern to all of us! We too can be forgiven though we are chief among sinners!

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

We cannot forget this, we can't!

Unfortunately, many will say that sure, if they had the experience Paul had- seeing the vision of Jesus, hearing Him, becoming blind, receiving his sight again, etc, then they too would believe, but we must live by FAITH and trust in the WORD of God given to us through the HOLY SPIRIT. The Word tells us that Paul's life is a pattern for us. We can trust in this pattern and know that our God wants us to repent and be converted, and be baptized unto Him, just as Paul was.

We are a long, long way from the time of the Apostles, yet we miraculously have the Word of God preserved throughout time for us to study, to learn from. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all understanding as we need it and we must belief this, we must have faith in our Savior.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

We can come unto the LORD, He says--

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, was lifted up from the earth and HE draws ALL men unto Him!  Our God, our FATHER in heaven would have all of us believe in His Son who revealed His love in the greatest sacrifice of all- giving His innocent life for our sinfilled ones.

Yes, we can all probably agree we feel as if we are - like Paul - the chief of sinners. If Paul, chief of sinners could be drawn unto Christ, we too can be drawn unto Him. We too can be forgiven much all by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD!