Author: Brian Burdett

“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” – Luke 20:37-38

The question isn’t whether you will rise from death. Every person has an eternal soul and Jesus makes clear the dead are raised. The real question is, what happens when you rise and face the judgement of God in His perfect holiness? Will you be welcomed into God’s presence forever (Heaven) or will you be separated from Him forever and experience the consequences of that (Hell)?

The answer isn’t based on whether you’ve done more good things than bad. God doesn’t judge on a curve! God is perfect, heaven is perfect, and admission to a place of perfection and the presence of perfection requires perfection. The answer to the question is determined by whether you’re perfect or not. Have you only done good and never done evil? Have you always thought, said, and done the right thing? Have you never failed to say or do the right thing? Has there never been a moment of selfishness, cruelty, or injustice toward others in your life? Has there never been a moment of rebellion against God’s will and plan for your life?

Of course not! You aren’t perfect. Nobody walking the earth is perfect. Judged on your own merits, you face the eternal separation from God’s holiness, light, and love that your sin deserves. But you don’t need to despair! Jesus the Son of God WAS perfect and He died on a cross to pay for your sins and rose from the dead to lead you into God’s presence. If you trust in Him as Lord, then His perfection will be credited to you.

God IS the God of the living and He doesn’t want to cast anyone out of His presence. He made you to be in relationship with Him, but that relationship is only possible if you have embraced Jesus and been declared perfect as a gift of grace made possible by His perfect life and sacrificial death. When you rise from death, how will God judge you? Are you perfect because you have a perfect Savior? #FollowJesus

“And said to him, ‘Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.’” – Luke 20:2

Many people questioned the authority of Jesus 2000 years ago. Many still do today. Back then, they asked who was Jesus to offend the status quo, criticize the religious leaders, and call people to a higher holiness of heart and mind? Who was He to gather followers and require them to obey Him? Today, people question who is Jesus to command how we live our life, express our sexual desires, or approach God?

The authority of Jesus has been questioned for two thousand years and that will continue until the glorious day when He returns. Nonetheless, let’s be clear…. For everyone who is sincerely asking that question, Jesus repeatedly demonstrated His absolute authority as the eternal Son of God. How? By:

• His perfect, sinless life that could not be criticized or condemned for indulging any sin of the flesh
• His unparalleled, world-changing teaching that was perfectly consistent with everything the Old Testament taught yet was also profoundly fresh and heart-penetrating
• His increasingly unprecedented miracles that demonstrated and communicated that He possessed the power of God over sickness, disability, blindness, deafness, death, the elements of nature, weather, and supernatural forces
• His perfect sacrifice on the cross to atone for our sins and His physical resurrection from the dead that was witnessed by hundreds
• His visible ascension into heaven and ongoing rule and reign over the universe
• Jesus has ALL authority in heaven and on earth. One day, every knee will bow and recognize this whether they like it or not. Before that day, each person who hears the Gospel has the opportunity to voluntarily make that choice and be saved from their sins. Have you embraced the authority of Jesus as your Lord? If not, what holds you back? #FollowJesus

“Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.” – Ecclesiastes 3:13

It’s easy to be unsatisfied all the time. Many of us have a natural bent toward unhappiness with the present. We find fault with today and imagine a better tomorrow. Advertising and social media radically increase this natural dissatisfaction because they’re designed to make us always want more, new, and different. They promise that we’ll be happier, more popular, and better looking if we just keep striving, pursuing, buying, and trying more and different things. That isn’t the road to satisfaction! Generally speaking, that’s the road to greater dissatisfaction.

The writer of Ecclesiastes tried all sorts of things. He realized there’s no lasting satisfaction in material possessions, fleshly passions, or monuments to his own glory. With the benefit of hindsight, he urges us to just keep life simple. Find vocational work, Kingdom work, and hobbies you enjoy. Then do them. Enjoy the simple pleasures of meals with people you care about. Rest in the knowledge of God and His presence with you. Be intentional about focusing on the present and enjoy the moments God blesses you with every day. Recognize that what you have now and the ability to enjoy that is a gift from God.

That isn’t to say you shouldn’t dream about the future or work to improve yourself. That’s good and also a blessing from God. But not when your mind is so completely focused on the imagined joy of the next job, next degree, next vacation, next house, next car, or next phase of your life that you miss the everyday blessings before you. So look around at your life. What should you be thankful for today? What should you enjoy more about what you already have? How can you be more mindful about the moments you’re passing through now? Celebrate God’s blessings in this moment.

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:” – Luke 18:9

Jesus has very low regard for people who think highly of themselves! He tells the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector to contrast two people whom His culture put at opposite ends of the spectrum of holiness. Pharisees were widely viewed as the best, most religious, and most genuinely holy people of the day. It was assumed that if anyone could be righteous, they were. Tax collectors, on the other hand, were viewed as thieves, swindlers, and collaborators with Israel’s enemies.

Jesus turns these stereotypes on their head to make a powerful point about how we view ourselves. Because the tax collector knew he was a sinner in desperate need of God’s forgiveness, Jesus commends Him as truly forgiven by God. On the other hand, because the Pharisee could only tell God how good he already was, there was nothing God could do to help him spiritually.

As followers of Jesus, our faith always begins with the humble recognition that we can’t save ourselves but need a Savior. We happily embrace the truth that we aren’t saved by our good works but by God’s grace alone. However, it’s very easy, as we mature in our faith and the sins of our past start to fade in our memory, to become like the Pharisee. It’s easy to become proud of the time we spend each day in prayer and Bible study and our faithfulness in attending church. We easily become too pleased with our contributions of time and treasure to God’s Kingdom. Gradually, we can begin to forget our desperate need for a Savior because we think we’ve got it all figured out.

Regularly do a heart check to make sure your heart remains tender and humble, like the tax collector’s. Don’t let contempt work its way into your heart. Make sure you aren’t treating “sinners” with disdain or loathing merely because you’ve been saved by Jesus. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re a better sort of person than anyone else. Don’t forget that it’s only by God’s grace and power that the spiritual growth and transformation you’ve been blessed by has taken place. Don’t let self-righteousness replace the blood-bought righteousness that’s truly yours in Jesus Christ. #FollowJesus

“For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” – Luke 17:24

Jesus is going to come back one day. This is a VERY good thing…for everyone who has submitted their lives to Him as Lord. It will be a terrible day for those who haven’t! If Christ is your Lord, this day isn’t to be feared but to be eagerly anticipated. When He comes, it will be instantaneous and unmistakable, just like a bolt of lighting that flashes from one side of the sky to the other. There will be no questions or doubts about what’s going on when that day comes, so if a day comes that raises questions and doubts, it isn’t the Day of the Lord!

With His return will come the resurrection of the dead, judgment of all mankind (sinners and saints), and the renewal of creation. We will dwell in His presence forever and all the evils and agonies of this fallen world will be swept away. It’s a beautiful thing to contemplate and it will be even better than we can possibly imagine! In the meantime, as His followers we must live in a way that’s faithful to everything He’s commanded. Everything! We must live holy lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. We must use the days of our lives well to spread good news and make disciples. All of us! We must worship, pray, grow, change, reveal Christ by the way we live, share Christ with our words, and serve God diligently.

The Day of the Lord will come suddenly and without detailed advance warning. We already have all the warning we need in the Bible! When Jesus returns, it will be too late for those who haven’t yet heard or trusted in Him. So, live with urgency and intentionality about sharing Him from your neighborhood to the end of the earth. Pray for those in your sphere of influence who need to know Jesus and then love them enough to tell them about the Son of God Who died for them. Live well. Always be prepared for the return of Jesus. #FollowJesus