Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Philippians 3:9-11 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Numerous modern critics of the Bible say the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) is simply a myth based on pagan stories of “resurrected gods” from around the world, and that the authors of the New Testament borrowed from these myths and incorporated them into the Bible. But the similarity of two stories proves nothing about their origin or truth content. The Jews of Yeshua’s time were steeped in Old Testament monotheism which had a well developed tradition of resurrection believed and taught by the Pharisees. Polytheistic pagan ideas would have been abhorrent to men who understood and practiced the Judaism of the apostles and New Testament writers.
But the strongest evidence for the historical truth of Yeshua’s bodily resurrection comes from the testimony and lives of its eyewitnesses. Eleven of the twelve apostles suffered violent deaths for simply refusing to renounce their conviction and stop preaching the message that Yeshua was alive, that he was the Son of God and savior of the world. People don’t generally give their lives for something which they know to be untrue. But they had seen him, and touched him, and eaten with him after his crucifixion; and they were filled with wonder. And because the apostles lived in the power of the resurrection their message went out to the whole world, not as a pagan myth, but as a deep revelation of life-changing truth and hope, for which they were willing to suffer and even give their lives.
King Solomon wrote: “He (God) has placed eternity in the hearts of men…”; [Ecclesiastes 3:11] The resurrection stories of ancient pagan civilizations point to this deep desire in the hearts of men…to be resurrected and to live forever. Is it such a strange thing to hope that there is a life after death?
We know that the resurrection of Yeshua is true because it has been revealed to us by God Himself, and because of what it has accomplished in our own lives. Our faith is a conviction centered in this one, historical fact, and evidenced by the undeniable effect it has upon us. Resurrection of the dead is not a myth or a fable; and resurrection power from God’s Holy Spirit is the very source of our new life. Live in the real power of the resurrection. It will transform everything you are and everything you do…especially knowing that you too, will soon obtain the resurrection from the dead, a glorified body just like the Lord’s!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]There are times in our lives that we are going through a spiritual valley and we want to get victory — we want to have answers — we want God’s power to flow through us again.
This evening will begin the Biblical feast of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, which literally means Day of Coverings, can be a day of deep reflection on what the Lord has done for us. As Yeshua (Jesus) died on the cross 2000 years ago, the Gospel describes how the veil in the Temple was torn in two. This profound spiritual event reveals that the Lord gave all whose sins are covered by His blood access to the Holy of Holies, as He had become our High Priest in addition to being, Himself, the perfect sacrifice for sin.
As we celebrated Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) and are in the midst of “Yamin Noraim” or the days of awe, the days between the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur, it is the season of repentance.
This is the season that the shofar (rams horn) is blown to heed the call of warning to repent from our sins and be clean. The shofar’s unique sounding blast is a wake-up call to all who will hear.
As we find ourselves in the midst of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe), our hearts are centered this week on repentance as we prepare for Yom Kippur, which is approaching this Friday. In this spirit, I want to share something I discovered while studying the Jewish roots of many of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) parables. I came across an insightful teaching from a Jewish Rabbi, which I believe holds a valuable lesson for us today.
After our very small wedding in Jerusalem, my wife and I planned to have the big ceremony she’d always dreamed of, in Havre De Grace, Maryland. Rivka had it planned it to the tee. It was an outdoor wedding next to the longest standing lighthouse on the east coast. We were going to wow our guests with an entrance by way of sailboat. Ten dancers with candles in glasses were to proceed my beautiful bride as I awaited her under our hand-crafted chuppa, lit by the sunset on the bay.
Between Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur are ten days. These days are known as “Yamim Noraim”, “the Days of Awe” — or also translated, the “Awesome days”. In Judaism it has been long believed that these days seal your fate for the upcoming year — and also allude to your final destiny, concerning whether your name continues to be written in the Book of Life.
One of the major themes of Rosh Hashana is called Akedat Yitzchak, which means the Binding of Isaac. According to Jewish tradition, God told Abraham that the ram’s horn – otherwise known as a shofar – should be blown on Rosh Hashana to remind people of the sacrifice that God provided Himself when Abraham was about to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah.