CHRISTIANITY

God Who Raises The Dead

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Christianity is unique in that it’s a miracle religion founded on miracles including the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! The bible tells us  in Acts 4:33 about the first Christians And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.  Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3-4). It’s because of what God did for Jesus after men and demons did their worst to him we can have comfort and hope in our trials and testing because we have on our side the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Christianity is not a dead religion composed of some ideas and theology but a living relationship with a miracle working God who loves to give His trusting children miracles even on a daily basis – miracles of healing, miracles of deliverance, miracles of financial blessings, miracles of divine intervention and so on. God’s word is unchanging:

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,  who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,  you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.  The grass withers,  And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25

Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."  Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,  "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,"  and  A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense."  They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 1 Peter 2:6-8

For His trusting ones Jesus Christ is their Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Redeemer, Rock, Refuge, Strong Tower and everything they need. And as a result they will by no means be put to shame. But for those who are disobedient, He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.  They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. Instead of comfort the rebels find woe and distress for the face of the LORD is against those who do evil. However for the righteous, the eyes of the LORD are on them, and His ears are open to their prayers. God’s word is unchanging:

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.  By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-  then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,  and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. 2 Peter 2:1-11

It’s is a fact that some of the greatest corruption and perversion today is found in the house of God amongst Christians, not pagans. Not only do we have pedophiles who are priests or pastors, but we have rapists and thieves who masquerade as men of God. We find that many Christian evangelists and other ministers did not care for individuals but rather for the building up of their own empire. They are more interested in selling their products to their sheep then ministering to the sheep.  The establishments of such ministers have become corrupt these days because the Babylonian system has pervaded their establishments. They have become money changers who create idol worshipers. The ministry of the Holy Ghost is perfect but the establishments through which they perform their ministries have become corrupt.

Many churches and ministries  have become money making business establishments whose pastors and evangelists use flattering words, and have a cloak of covetousness to seek their own best interest, not the best interest of the sheep. Their desire is to fleece the sheep, not to bless the sheep. They covet offerings from the sheep they are supposed to serve and tend for. Evangelists expect offerings of those people that have been blessed by their ministries. They make elaborate advertisements for their products and spend little time ministering effectively to the sheep. The pastors are mostly concerned about filling their own coffers than those of the sheep.

Many ministers give long sermons to their congregations and lead them in long worship services on Sundays. According to these ministers, ministry means giving messages, conducting worship services, extracting tithes and offerings, and praying for the sick in their churches. They forgot that  ministry means taking care of the sheep, ministering to the poor saints and widows and edifying the faith of the weak sheep during their trials and tribulations.

We have many preachers who are devoid of power preach the gospel in flowery languages and exhibit their oratory but not in the power of God. Oratory takes the place of the power of God. Gospel is preached from the church pulpits as a matter of routine, at times, mostly from texts already prepared.   In the churches of today, the glory of men rules the roost. Men with good family background or rich men are honored when commonplace people are shown the backseats. The churches do not call "poor saints" or evangelists with poor financial background for giving messages but prefer only "renowned" ones.

These days, we find the ministers of God covet "service" from the people whom they are supposed to serve. They boast that they had resigned from their secular jobs to serve God but expect offerings from the people whom they serve. They do not work with their own hands even in their own offices established by them for running their ministries. They want "service" from the staff working in their offices.   Recently,  a T.V. Evangelist USA preached a message of "prosperity" to his sheep.  He quoted Jesus' words in Luke 4:18: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor...".  This preacher replaced the word "gospel" with the word "prosperity" and preached that prosperity should be preached to the poor so that the poor may become rich. And then we have Evangelists who mainly preach on healing and miracles and not on cross-bearing and discipleship. The apostles during the New Testament period preached the gospel to the people with the result that the sick and the demon-possessed were delivered. They did not focus on healing and miracle ministries. But, miracles and signs followed them. They did not follow miracles and signs. God’s word is unchanging:

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.  For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.  But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." 2 Peter 2:20-22