Resurrection's Promise: Pastor Bob Burridge

Pastor Bob Burridge has a new post up about the significance of the Resurrection.
Here's the intro:

There are good reasons to celebrate at this time of the year. Easter is a day we all enjoy, but it isn’t a holiday set up in the Bible. It’s a blending of the resurrection of Jesus with holidays and traditions from different cultures, cults, and religions in various times and places.

Even the ancient pagan religions saw the beauty of Spring, and set a time to celebrate it. It’s a sad fact though that those still tragically lost in spiritual blindness miss appreciating God’s glory in it all. They see the amazing way things seem to come back to life after a long winter, but they miss what it’s telling us about the one who made it all and keeps it all working. So the ancients made up god’s and spirit beings they honored at that time of year. As the message of Christianity spread into the different parts of the world the Spring holidays were adjusted and brought together on what we call Easter.

In the time of Moses, the Passover feast was established around this time of the year on their calendar. It celebrated how God delivered Israel from hopeless captivity in Egypt.

God planned that feast to teach about the Savior who would come to die in their place. Just as a lamb died in place of the first born sons back in Egypt, Jesus, the Lamb of God, came to die in place of his people on the cross at Calvary. Then he rose again from the dead to prove that he accomplished what he came to do.

All the beauties of spring and the wonders of the promises of God come together this time of year. We love to hunt for baskets of candy, get together for a good dinner, come to worship, and most usually get a day off from school or work. However, Easter is more than a time for budding trees, warming temperatures, and new spring outfits.

Those who don’t have hope in Christ are left with just the celebration of Spring. There’s a lot to celebrate when we think of the resurrection of our Savior. The date doesn’t fit well into our calendar because it’s based on the date of Passover. The day after Jesus and his followers celebrated that biblical feast, our Savior was crucified. On the third day after that, on Sunday, the first day of the week on the Roman calendar, Jesus rose from the dead.

Please read the rest at the link above.

The Resurrection of the Body: Visits to Candyland

Here is an interesting subject posted by Kelly at Visits to Candyland blog.

A Thought on Purgatory

Just a thought that occurred to me about the doctrine of purgatory.
Scripture teaches that at the end of this age Christ will return to gather His flock for the marriage supper of the Lamb. If most of the flock must still be purified by purgatory for ages, that's going to delay things quite a bit. I believe the Lord has arranged things better than that. He purifies us by His blood if we believe in Him by grace through faith.
Is not His blood our cleansing and His resurrection our hope? He also tries and perfects our faith by trials here on earth.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

2 Corinthians 5
1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.


Revelation 19
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.