Hello friends, welcome to Embolden. I'm Chris Shatter, an ordinary Christian living with and learning about an extraordinary God. Earlier this year I did a study with my ESG's on Elijah, and as usual God is using all of my life to teach me about standing firm in my faith and stepping forward in trust. And as I prayed to God to reveal my next steps here in my series, I kept hearing the phrase lessons from Kieran.
You see, Elijah had to spend a lot of time alone facing his own trials before he was ready for the big show. In that time, some of which was in an area called Kieran. He had to choose to either trust God's eternal plan for him or not. He had to remove so many well-honed cultural and religious thoughts of, quote, the way things are supposed to be, end quote, and instead see how God works.
And he had to decide to stand out amongst the crowd. And although my Kieran didn't last for as long as Elijah's or even as long as Jesus is in the wilderness, I learned some valuable lessons while commuting with the Holy Spirit. And in these next weeks, I'd like to share some of them with you, to hopefully help us realign our lives to be Christian lives, lived out for all the world to see, for our friends and neighbors and coworkers to be spurred to ask why we seem different. Friends, we can't keep wandering through the wilderness of this earthly world living up to its standards.
It's time to take our hard learned lessons from those seasons and put them to work for the glory of God. Hi friends, today's the last in my series, Lessons from Kieran. I also wanted to know that I'm going to redo a reorganization of the website in Bolden.net, where you can go and find all the various series linked together by sort of general topics. I have the Bible Study book series and then Christian Life series and also all the series that were prayer based.
So please go on and enjoy that and look up some of the different 5, 6, 7, to 10 week studies and keep on top of our work with learning more about God. Today's post comes from 1 Corinthians 15, 12 through 13. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
You know, among your friends and family, there's probably an atheist, a fence center, and a fog dweller. While you might understand the first of these two, let me explain a fog dweller. This is someone who goes about their life not really seeking answers to the big questions, not thinking about creation or death, not pondering if there is a heaven, just getting by day by day. And if you don't have some of each of these in your life, then you might want to take up Jesus' admonition to go and make disciples of all nations, because when you do, your own faith will be tested, honed, and hewed.
Now, each of the letters in the Bible by the disciples gives us examples of believers struggling to define their faith and the true meaning of the gospel. They planted churches all in places that were hostile to the message of Jesus, whether by Jews or pagans. So developing believers that understood and stood firm in their faith was crucial. First Corinthians 1514 goes on, and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.
Ooh, you know, that's a pretty bold statement. And Paul had the experience to back it up. He himself saw the risen Jesus. And while the members of the church and Corinth believed in Jesus' resurrection, they were surrounded by a culture that almost celebrated death.
The Greeks of that time saw the body as a prison and welcomed death to escape from it. They laughed at the idea of resurrection. And friends, there's people around you that believe that same thing today. While sitting bedside of my quickly waning mother-in-law who was on hospice, I had to ask myself, do I really, I mean really believe in not only Jesus' resurrection, but the resurrection of the entire body of the church.
Do I believe that Bev will be resurrected one day? And therefore, I should only mourn this time, quote, in between and find joy in the quote, not yet. A friend of mine shared with me once that her son came to her with horrible news about an acquaintance of his. The newborn baby had unexpectedly died.
Her son, of course, was distraught for his friend. And although the death of any loved one can bring so much pain, the death of a child seems doubly so. My friend contemplated how hard it must be to experience so much pain without a belief in God. And her son and non-believer was apoplectic.
How could God do such a thing? You know, that's the great why. He doesn't believe the promised hope for the future, and therefore doesn't enjoy any of the comfort God can provide. 1 Corinthians 15, 19-20 goes on, if only for this life we have hope in Christ we are of all people most to be pitied.
But Christ indeed has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. You see friends, if I don't believe in the resurrection of the dead, then what's really the point of ever quoting John 3 16? True belief in a resurrection redemption is what brings us true comfort. And at times of great pain, especially death, these are the ultimate opportunities to show the world we lived as saved and redeemed people trusting holy in the stated promises by Jesus.
I realized, well, in my time of kirith, I was a fog dweller when it came to the resurrection. I hadn't thought a lot about it, mostly because I haven't had many people around me pass away. But as God has fed me the solid food of His holy word, I'm coming to understand the whole picture. The beauty of living in the in-between of Jesus has come and is reigning and the not yet of the promised resurrection and the new heaven and a new earth.
And while Elijah, he didn't have the comfort of knowing the risen Christ, he surely contemplated his death during those two years in the ravine. Thank God, we have more than just the Old Testament prophets to the Anon. We have the truth, the proven historical truth of a risen king. I was recently listening to an episode of the White Horse Inn Podcast, which for those of you interested in getting some real solid Christian food, I recommend it.
They've been discussing what the good life means to Christians. They describe us as living in the here and not yet. I love the analogy by one pastor as like the marriage steps. We were one single, and now we are engaged, but not yet married.
We shouldn't act like single people because we have a commitment to Christ. But the marriage isn't yet consummated, and we need to stay in the preparation stage until that date arrives. And so we work with our Holy Spirit wedding planner and inviting friends and family to this holy event. The guestless is expansive, but yes, limited to those willing to come.
We live for arbitrode, his thoughts and ways becoming our ways. And we dream of the day we are sure will arrive. When all those friends are gathered up and Jesus is waiting at the altar for us. As the hours wound down to when I knew my last device to bev were near, I found I could look at her with sadness and with joy.
And knowing that not only was she going to a place far more glorious than here, but that one day we would be reunited at a party for all the ages. A party that is to come. A party that I want you all to be at. So will you RSVP today?
And yes, you can bring a friend or two. Do you truly believe in the resurrection of the dead? Are you living a life preparing for the new Eden? Living a life of a bride and waiting, excitedly planning and preparing and inviting.
And speaking of heaven, I'd like to share with you this beautiful poem my daughter Madison Doolie wrote and spoke at her grandmother's funeral. It's titled, To See What She Sees. To see you face to face shining with glory, to grab your hand and fill it wrapped around mine. Oh Lord my God, to see what she sees.
To be clothed in robes of white, to be completely whole, totally fulfilled, to be without sorrow, want or pain. Oh Lord my God, to see what she sees. To fill roads of gold under my feet and see angels above, to look ahead and see you seated on the throne, pointing at the open seat next to you for me. Oh Lord my God, to see what she sees.
To see the mountaintops glistening with glory, to hear the angels in the saints singing your praise. Oh what a melodious sound it must be. Oh Lord my God, to see what she sees. To see the faces of those who have gone before me, shining with glory.
To see the colors of all their vibrancy, the flowers of all their brilliance. Oh Lord my God, to see what she sees. To see the brokenhearted, the disabled, the outcastic, healed and totally restored. To feel anew again, to dance freely to the songs of heaven, to know the true meaning of paradise.
To look upon life on earth and finally see from masterpiece you are so in. To feel your presence wrapped around me like a tight hug. Oh Lord my God, to see what she sees. To see the river of life flowing from your throne, glowing like a crystal.
To see the tree of life towering over me, boasting its healing fruits. To have no need for the sun or even a lamp, because darkness is no more, there is no night. Oh Lord my God, to see what she sees. To see the mysteries of heaven unfolded before my eyes.
To look down and see cosmos swirling beneath my feet, looking small compared to you. To experience the love of the Father for all that was, it is and is to come. To be without sin. To be exactly who you created me to be.
Oh, to see what she sees. I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Abolden Podcast. Be sure to follow along so you don't miss any episode. And check out my blog at embolden.net.