Give Me Revelation

I warned my S.S. class this morning they were going to think I had totally lost my mind. You think you know something, but you maybe don't REALLY know. Agreeing is not necessarily the same thing as knowing. Well, the new-found knowledge that came out of today's S.S. lesson was the equivalent of me saying, "Wow, I just realized Diet Coke is sugar free!" Well, duh!!! I've been drinking Diet Coke forever BECAUSE it is sugar free.

So here goes... If you are a Christian, what do you believe happens when you die? What do you believe happened to Jesus when He died? Most everyone will say we go to heaven. But specifically what happened to Jesus once he died on the cross? His soul separated from His body. What happened three days later? HIS BODY WAS RESURRECTED!!!!

We Christians don't just believe our souls go to heaven. We also believe in BODILY resurrection. I recently participated in a study on the Book of Daniel. I had a very hard time understanding the timeline (not dates, people, just order of events of judgement and who is going where when. I kept reading and reading, but couldn't get things to fall into place.)

Well, the problem was I had not truly realized what I believe. I believe it because the Bible says it. My soul will go to heaven (we'll argue about the exact word for this later), but my physical body will come later...unless of course I live through tribulation.

I cannot tell you how much today's S.S. lesson helped my understanding of scripture. Matthew Chapter 25 and 1 Corinthians are full of info on the resurrection. Jesus saved us in very specific and supernatural ways. Not only are we as Christian immortal, our physical bodies will also be restored to us in an unflawed, perfect, beautiful way. Ya'll, praise God He is so awesome and so amazing, Praise God He goes beyond what we silly humans can only imagine!

Part II: The Bible is for Christians. I know I say this all the time, but that just blew my mind when I realized that fact today. I get really bogged down sometimes when particular verses tell us to do one thing and then seem to say another. Now, I KNOW the Bible DOES NOT contradict itself. So, when I feel this way I start to dig into commentaries and pull out two or three translations (funny story at the end). What I have started to see over and over is that most of the apostle Paul's statements are to Christians about Christians. You know we make the mistake of thinking once someone is saved she becomes sin proof. NOT. We still play tug of war between human and holy every day. Just because we are Christian doesn't mean we act it all the time. Scripture is for our instruction and encouragement. There is a verse that says you can't even understand it until you are saved. So, please, for the love, don't sling verses at the lost. They have no idea what you are saying. However, dig deep into the Word with your Christian brothers and sisters. Revelations is for the saved!

Funny story: this may be one of those moments when I think something is hilarious, and everyone else just thinks I am nuts. Here is a great reason to read the Bible in different translations. Our Daily Bible Walk group is in 1 Kings right now. Well, in 1 Kings 12:10 there is a verse that just cracked me up. I mean you talk about a too much testosterone moment... It is WAY better though in NASB.

"My little finger is thicker than my father's loins."

Well, my goodness. Tell us how you really feel. Those were just plain old fightin words, sister. I have laughed at that all day. Simmer down, Rehoboam.