An idol is anything that you love more than God. An idol is anything you serve more than God. An idol is anything you fear more than God. An idol is anything you trust more than God.

So today we need to ask ourselves:

• Is there anything I love more than God?
• Is there anything I fear more than God?
• Is there anything I trust more than God?
• Is there anything I serve more than God?

If you answered yes to any of these questions above, the Bible says that you are an idolater.

Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).   He was very specific.  He tells us in this verse to not seek God second or third - we are to seek Him first!

So how does idol worship even come about?
The short answer...it’s in our DNA!   Did you know that we are created to worship?  It is instinctive in Man to worship. We are made in the image of God, designed to worship our Maker. In every man’s heart there is a God-shaped vacuum. That’s the reason you’re going to find people worshiping no matter where you go on the face of the Earth. If a person does not worship the true God, he or she will worship a false god, but that person will worship. Worship is a part of who you are and what you are made to do.

The question we need to ask ourselves is what or who do you worship?
In reality, idols made by men, are literally impotent blocks of stone or wood, and their power exists only in the minds of the worshipers. The idol of the god Dagon was twice knocked to the floor by God to show the Philistines just who was God and who wasn’t (1 Samuel 5:1-5).
 
The “contest” between God and His prophet Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel is a dramatic example of the power of the true God and the impotence of false gods (1 Kings 18:19-40).
 
The testimony of Scripture is that God alone is worthy of worship. Idol worship robs God of the glory that is rightfully His, and that is something He will not tolerate (Isaiah 42:8).
 
Even today there are religions that bow before statues and icons, a practice forbidden by God’s Word. The significance God places upon it is reflected in the fact that the first of the Ten Commandments refers to idolatry.  In the first of the Ten Commandments, we are told:
 
 “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (Exodus 20:3-5).
 
Idolatry extends beyond the worship of idols and images and false gods. Our modern idols are many and varied. Even for those who do not bow physically before a statue, idolatry is a matter of the heart—pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possessions and ultimately rebellion against God.
 
Now can you understand why God hates it?   Examine your life today and allow GOD to reveal any idols that you have been worshipping in your life.   Once HE shows you, take the time to repent and turn back to GOD and worship HIM with all of your heart!

In the King James Version of the bible in Proverbs 3:5-6 we read:

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God’s plan for your life is not a road map; it is a relationship.  It should truly be an intimate relationship.   I’m glad God doesn’t just write out a plan, seal it, hand it to us, and say, “This is what you’re going to do the next fifty or so years.” How boring and frightening, that would be!

Every time you come into a new situation, it is an opportunity for us to acknowledge God in that situation. We can say, “Lord, what do You want me to do here?”

There is a wonderful preacher who was extremely gifted in engineering, so he decided, “I am going to be an engineer, make money, and give it to missions.”  Now that would have been fine if that’s what God had called him to do. But God had not called him to do that, and in his heart, he knew he was running from God. He got deathly ill, and his father wrote to him, “Tis but one life, will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”

God used that phrase to pierce his heart and led him to pray, “Anywhere, anytime, any cost.”

Are you willing to say that today?   You may be afraid that if you close your eyes and open your mouth, He’ll put something in there you don’t want. If that’s the case, maybe it's because you are not trusting HIM the way that you should.    We have to remember that HE is a loving FATHER who always wants what is best for us!  As we trust Him, we can be sure that HE will guide us for good!

As human beings our problem has always been that we want to do what we want to do and that goes for Christians as well as non-Christians.  Here in these verses we are reminded that we do not have the self-sufficiency to run this race alone.   This is called a walk of faith, because we need to run this race by trusting in GOD!

So today, don’t try going it alone!  Trust in the Lord and He will direct your paths!   HE will take you on an adventure that you will not regret!

In Act 4:18, we read:

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus
But Peter  and John answered and  said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto  God, judge ye.
 
To put this portion of scripture into context, several of the disciples were put into prison and told that they were not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore.  Well as you know they said we are going to do what God wants and not what man wants.  The people that put them into prison were religious leaders and the disciples were basically saying that they were not of God, that they are not doing the work of God and consequently they do not have the mind of God.
 
Now that I just said a verse that says preach in the name of Jesus.  Now I guess most of you reading that title think that I am going to tell you how to preach.  Most people believe that the only way to preach is what most Pastors do on Saturday or Sunday.  They stand in  front of a group of people and give a message using the verses in the Bible.  Let me tell you a true story that might give you a different perspective on preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
One day  St. Francis of Assisi invited a young monk to go with him to a nearby village to preach.  The young monk quickly agreed because he would grab any opportunity to hear his teacher speak.  When they arrived in the village, St. Francis began to visit with the people.
 
First, he stopped in on the butcher.  Next there was a visit to the shoemaker.  Then, a short walk to the home of a woman who had recently buried her husband. After a while there was a stop to chat with the town teacher.  This pattern continued throughout the entire morning.
 
After some time St. Francis told the young monk it is now time to return to the abbey.  The student was perplexed and did not understand.  He turned to St. Francis and said: ”But didn’t we come to preach and yet we have NOT preached one sermon."
 
Haven’t we? Questioned St. Francis.  He turned to the young monk  and said: "People have watched us.  They have listened to us. They have responded to us. Every word we have spoken.  Every deed we have done has been a sermon.  We have preached all morning."
 
Christianity is not one action on Monday or to  worship in church on Saturday or Sunday.  It is not works that saves the Christian but it is works that marks the Christian.  St. Francis is known for saying:  “Preach without ceasing and if you must, use words.”
 
I read a story of a young man who enlisted into the Armed Forces and was subsequently sent to his unit.  The first night in the barracks with about 15 other young men, his bunkmates passed their time playing cards and gambling.  Before he retired, he fell on his knees and prayed, and then the others began to curse and jeer at him and throw their boots at him. This went on for several nights.
 
Finally, the young man went to the chaplain and told him what had taken place and he asked for some advice from the chaplain.  Well, said the chaplain, you are not at home now, and the other men have just as much  right in the barracks as you have.  It makes them mad to hear you pray, and the Lord will hear you just as well if you say your prayers in bed and don’t provoke them.
 
For weeks after, the chaplain did not see the young man again, but one day he met him and asked him, ”By the way , did you take my advice?”  I did the young man said, for two or three nights.
 
How did it work out the chaplain asked?
 
Well the young man said “I felt like a whipped dog, but on the third night I got out of bed, knelt down and prayed.”

"Really?" asked the chaplain, "how did that work out?"

The young soldier answered: "We have a prayer meeting there now every night, and three have been converted, and we are praying for the rest.”

We need to take responsibility for our actions and live our faith out loud!
 
Michael 6:8 says:
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
 
God’s true requirement is not empty rituals, or for empty words to be spoken but for people to act justly, meaning to be fair and righteous: love mercy, showing compassion to others; and to walk humbly with your God, depending on Him and living with humility rather than pride. 

This verse provides a straightforward guide for living a life that is pleasing to God, emphasizing an active faith lived out in actions and relationships.  

Will you live out your faith today?  You never know whose life you will positively impact for eternity!

Before you answer the question in the title, you should read these verses in Colossians 1:16-17:

16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:  17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

This passage concerns the creation of the universe.  It deals with such questions as:

• What is the true origin of the universe?
  
• How did the world come into existence? 
  
• What is the purpose or end of all things or of creation? 
  
• What holds  things together?
  
• What is behind the laws of nature such as gravity? 

This is Quite an encompassing group of thoughts all from just two verses!

Based on my studies, there are basically three views of creation:

• First, there is the secularist or human view:  That means that this world just happened by chance. No force or power created the world.  No power tends behind the world.  There was nothing, and then by some means and in some way some gas or some element of some sort just appeared out of nothing, out of nowhere.
  
• Secondly, there is the view that some "god" did create the world, but he is far off and removed from the world
  
• Third is the true Christian view, the truth that God Himself, the Sovereign Master of the universe, created the world with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  The word that is used for God in Genesis is plural- so that tells me that it is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all working together.  As Christians, our desire should be to live through Jesus.

Scientists today still don't know how the atom holds itself together. According to what we understand from the science of physics, the basic structure of an atom should cause it to repel or explode. The most basic element in the universe cannot be explained (science attempts to explain this by referring to it as "cosmic glue"). But there is a simple answer: Jesus holds the whole universe together, a fact which is confirmed in the verse we started with.   Look again at Colossians 1:17 which says, ". . . in Him all things hold together."

Today we are reminded that GOD created everything and even thousands of years later, we literally  exist through Him.  HE is not only our Creator, but also our Sustainer. HE is the God of the universe, living in us today.   What a privilege to be a Christian in the Church Age!

I once heard a minister tell an audience, “The Old Testament isn’t relevant to our times, so there is no need to study it anymore.”

How wrong that minister was! 

One reason I love reading the Old Testament is because of the analogy examples between the New Testament.  For instance, in the Old Testament, Israel is a type of church, and Egypt represents the world. Israel’s journey through the wilderness represents our spiritual work as Christians. Also, the tree that healed the waters at Marah is a type of the cross of Christ, and the rock that produced water in the desert is a type of our Savior. 

Scripture makes clear that all of Israel’s physical battles, mirrors many of the spiritual battles we face today: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11, NKJV). 

Did you know that even the tabernacle and its furniture are examples of heavenly things: “Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For he said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain’” (Hebrews 8:5).

Whenever I don’t understand a truth in the New Testament, I turn to the Old Testament to find it illustrated in some way.  For example, I know how to bring down spiritual walls the devil may have built up in my life as I turn to Joshua’s story, in the Old Testament, to see how the walls of Jericho were brought down. Israel’s physical battle with those walls provides me with a picture and a pattern to help me understand how to bring down walls in my life that keep me from attaining fullness in Christ. 

The Old Testament examples are meant to keep us from falling into unbelief, as Israel did. The author of Hebrews writes, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). In other words, study the Old Testament and learn from Israel’s example. Do not make the same mistakes they did.

Clearly the OLD TESTAMENT is still relevant today!  Read the full Bible (both the Old and New Testament), you may be surprised at how much you learn!

Why do people not want to hear about Jesus?  People stumble because they are not willing to turn the investigation onto their own hearts and secret lives. You see they have all the same faults of those men whom they criticize but none of their virtues.  Many heroes of the Old Testament  were great leaders, trained in the school of sufferings and disappointments.  They, especially the prophets, were hated and no one wanted to listen to them.  Yes, even the prophets had to read the condition and understand that God delights in mercy rather than condemnation.  And moreover, God is merciful by nature,  whereas man becomes merciful by sorrow and suffering which softens the pride that is in man’s heart.
Most people in general, are more accepting of a religion dealing with externals; but it is another proposition for them to turn on the lights on their inner life, to search the motives of their actions which on the exterior seem the most sacred.  This is the reason that most of the prophets were martyred.  And this was the ultimate cause that sent Jesus to the Cross.

We read in the scriptures that God loves us and wants to restore us.  We learn this by observation of things we are taught:

• God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus to rebuild and restore us.  To save us all from condemnation. 
• Jesus is the Restorer when everyone and everything has failed to help
• There is only ONE Redeemer and HIS NAME IS JESUS.  Note that the word redeemer is also translated Savior.  He came to earth to die for our sin and to redeem, to save us from hell.

 
In the histories of some saints, we read that they came almost to the verge of despair, because they imagined that the Lord had abandoned them or that they had committed the sin unto death.  But then the realization comes that our Lord is there for us all the time.  As long as you have breath I want you to know:

• You are not too dirty for God to cleanse you
• You are not too broken for God to fix you
• You are not too far gone for God to reach you
• You are not too guilty for God to forgive you
• You are not too worthless for God to love you

Humble yourselves before the King of Kings and accept Him as your Lord and Savior today!

Over the years I have heard Christians say the Bible is too much I can’t understand it all.  You are not going to learn it all in one sitting.  This is not a novel that you read from chapter one to the end and you have the story.  There are important passages and the Bible confirms the Bible through Scriptures.  You are to read it over and over again and then the Holy Spirit will reveal to you what you need to know and understand.
 
Perhaps in your daily reading you might like to tackle Isaiah 40 all the way to Isaiah 48:22.  You might say that is quite a bit of reading but sometimes it is good to read things in a group so you get what the Lord is trying to tell you. 
 
Isaiah’s prophecies and messages shift many years into the future.When we come to Isaiah 40,  I want to remind you that prophecies are not to frighten you but to get you prepared for what lies ahead so that you could be prepared.  You must understand that Isaiah is speaking to a people who have gone through difficult times- Israel.  They were a rebellious people  and they went through captivities by the Babylonians.  They suffered the horrors of defeat and slavery.  Most of them had been deported or exiled.   Many of them lost everything: their homes, property, wealth, communities, cities, nations, worship centers, and their beloved temple in Jerusalem. Many of them were hit with piercing grief, because  many of their husbands  and sons would be slaughtered by invading armies.
 
But in the middle of all this hardship and sorrow, the Lord gives Israel a wonderful promise.  The day was coming when they would be comforted and set free from their captivity and from their sin and death.  God had made a promise to His people and He would keep His promises
 
A key message for believers today is that God has the future all pre-programmed. He knows the exact moment Christ will return. The final tribulation, the judgment, and the battle of Armageddon are all on His calendar.

The God who controls all of heaven and earth said: “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales…. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless” (Isaiah 40:15, 17, NKJV).

God wants us to keep working until the return of Christ. That simply means that we are to work as though the end will never come and live as though it were coming tomorrow.

God is still keeping count of the hairs on our heads. He is still counting the sparrows that fall, still hearing petitions before they are asked, and still answering before being called. He is still giving abundantly more than we can ask or think (See Matthew 6:25-34). So why be afraid?

Prepared Christians, wake up! Everything is under control, and God is at work. He is saving, healing, baptizing, and getting his house in order. To fear is to blaspheme. We are commanded to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to begin to sing and rejoice as we see the final hour approaching. Someone may ask, “How can I rejoice when I see this old sin-cursed world falling apart?”

My answer is the Bible’s answer. “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22-23).

A woman in labor may scream because of pain, yet in her heart she rejoices because of the new birth taking place. The kingdom of God is coming. The kingdom of Satan is falling. So the Christian can say with confidence, “God has everything under control!

Do you believe it? I do.  

You may ask, why do you believe it?  Because the peace of God gives believers perfect assurance that if we commit to Christ, our [past sins and failures have been taken care of by Christ and His death on the Cross.  We also have the blessed assurance that our present situation is being looked after by God Himself.  And that our future will be taken care of by the presence and guidance of the Lord.  For the believer he or she knows that  he has eternal life, never again to be alienated or separated from the Lord.  We believers know that our salvation is due to the redemption found in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

The Bible says that scoffers will appear in the last days, mocking the message that Jesus Christ is going to return to set up a new kingdom.  Mockers are saying, “Where is Jesus? I don’t see any evidence that He is coming. Everything continues as it has from the beginning!”
 
If you were to try to convince these scoffers that Jesus is coming to purge the earth with fire and set up a kingdom of eternal righteousness, they would call you insane. Many ridicule the very idea of a second coming of Christ. Without batting an eye, though, these same mockers turn around and claim that a “new world order” is coming.  In my opinion that is counterfeiting the things that God has said would happen.
 
Such scoffers have bought into a lie that comes from the pits of hell. Satan always manufactures a counterfeit just before the real thing comes. He knows King Jesus is about to return and that His new world is at the door. The devil wants to keep his own children deceived by promoting a fantasy world and every false hope.- that they call Utopia>. Now Satan  has concocted a new, demonic doctrine of a coming new age to keep people from accepting the reality of the coming Christ.
 
The new age counterfeit in my time has been the so-called “Age of Aquarius.” The eleventh constellation has to move into its final position in the sky, and it will supposedly bring a “new world order.”
 
Secularists say this new world order is just about to dawn. They predict a catastrophic calamity will occur, and a new world order will arise out of the chaos, ushering in a society of love, understanding, and world peace. All diseases will be cured. Wars will cease. Poverty will be no more. The only Christ that will exist will be a Christ-consciousness, a worldwide mindset of brotherhood. Self-love will be king, and pleasure will be the focus of all.
 
I have bad news for all such new age scoffers. I am sorry, but you have been hoodwinked by the devil. Oh, there is a new world coming, all right. Every kingdom of this world will soon become our Lord’s, and all his enemies will become his footstool. Christ is coming back to establish his holy kingdom, and scoffers will not have any part in it.
 
Why is God going to create a new heaven and a new earth? No matter what people may think and say about this issue, Hod declares  as simply and clearly as human language can can describe: He is going to make a new heavens and a new earth.  So that the world will be perfect and nothing but righteousness will exist.  God has ordained a perfect world, a world in which only righteous people will live.  God wants a world where there will be no more sin and evil, no more accidents, disease, suffering, murder, drunkenness, drugs, adultery, sexual perversion, war or death.  God wants a people who know only the fulness of love, joy, and peace.  God wants a people who worship and serve Him forever and ever. 

​I can’t wait for that day...how about you?
 
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
​

Take a moment today to ready 2 Peter 3:1-18. 

Peter wrote his first letter to console his readers; but his second letter (2 Peter) was meant to warn his readers - the Christians.    In his first letter Peter was trying to encourage Christians who were suffering terrible persecution from without.  But in his second letter, he is warning Christians of the danger within the Church.  Peter’s message about the end of the present world and the beginning of the new earth is meant to stir up a hope in us and keep us from being anchored to this world.  I know we all like to relax but Peter is saying we Christians are to do right under all circumstances without no hesitation.  That means that a Christian is never off duty
 
This is the truth that is meant to stir up our minds. When we get to 2 Peter 3:11 wea re told: "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,”  Peter is telling us the Jesus Christ is coming to earth again.  There are some things that believers must do and not give up and they are of critical importance."
 
We must continue to live holy and godly lives.  We believers must look for and speed up the day of God.  Believers must look for the new heaven and new earth.  And believers must come to the realization that all that we hold as precious and important; all that we labor a lifetime to keep and enjoy I s going to dissolve in a sudden burning
 
Try to imagine this:   All Wall Street firms, corporate offices, banks, computer headquarters - gone. The United Nations and even the "Board of Peace" will vanish.  State and federal capitol buildings will burn to oblivion.  Fort Knox and all its gold will disappear.  There will not be any more manufacturing plants, skyscrapers, bridges, tunnels, airplanes, or trains.  There will not even be any ashes left.  God’s Word clearly says that all these things will  be burned up or dissolved.
 
The Greek word for dissolved means to loosen, to break up and melt down.  In other words, God is going to break up the party.  He will pry people loose from everything they lust after and then melt it all in intense heat. 

Many Christians get too comfortable in this world and end up turning away from the Lord.  Prosperity, acceptance, or recognition captures their hearts and minds
 
I want to share with you a truth that will help you rejoice even if the secular workplace never fully accepts you.  If you are devoted to Jesus, it does not matter where you work -a bank, in a school, cleaning the streets, wherever-you work you will experience some rejection, condescension or misunderstanding.  You may receive little or no credit for what you do.  You may be persecuted, ridiculed, talked about behind your back.  You must realize that you will never be “one of the guys” or “one of the gals”.  So you never feel comfortable or truly secure.  Why is this so?  The LORD allows it so you will not become hooked on this world.    This will make it easier to let go of the things of this world and focus on our eternal home in glory.
 
As Peter ends his letter, I would also like to end this blog today:
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
 

​Ever since Genesis 3, when sin entered into this world though the disobedience of Adam and Eve.  death also entered the world.   Death was part of the judgment God said would happen and the death of the body would be the consequence of that sin. 

Now we all say: but death did not happen right away.  Even in Genesis 3, it was hundreds of years before Adam and Eve died, but it does come to all-for we are all terminal!  We will all die one day.  I can’t tell you how many funerals I have attended and as a Pastor how many funerals I officiated at-all ages and all various peoples. Those words: “We commit this body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust: in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ". The phrase is part of a traditional burial service, reflecting the belief that the body will return to the earth while also expressing hope for an afterlife and resurrection. It originates from Biblical passages like Genesis 3:19  and Ecclesiastes 3:2.
 
If you have ever traveled to any country or cities or states you will see  graves all over. And a reminder to you the bottom of the ocean is paved with dead men’s bones also.   Everyone who has ever been born during the last 6.000 years, has been dying one way or another.
 
There is a song that we sing in church and it is entitled: Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down.    You may think that may be poor grammar but it is great theology!   Its a wonderful divine truth and a soon coming reality. If Jesus Christ rose again from the dead we can be confident that we will also rise from the grave!  Jesus rose again from the dead that is the assurance that every believer is going to have a resurrection just as we are told in  1 Corinthians 15:12-34.
 
He is saying to us that the two go together: the resurrection of Jesus and our resurrection. The foundation of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus. The cornerstone of what we believe as children of God is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 
Now this is a subject that is very important and it is of vital interest to every one of us. All of us know we’re going to have to die unless Jesus Christ comes again, so it becomes extremely important whether or not the resurrection is true.  What you believe about the resurrection has PERSONAL IMPLICATIONS.
 
That belief that one day we will be resurrected and have a new glorified body that’s what gives believers hope.  That is what keeps you going in the heartaches and when the tears go coursing down your cheeks as you face the loss of your loved ones. It is the truth that one of these days we’re going to see them again. But more importantly we will see JESUS.

You see, you and I,  who have believed in the death, resurrection and second coming  of Jesus Christ: and we believe that this life is not the only life there is, that there is another life and a better life out there in the future.  I’ve got good news for you. I’ve got a message to proclaim that takes you beyond the grave : it is the message that because Jesus Christ rose again we are not of all men most to be pitied but we are of all men to be congratulated because we have a hope beyond the grave. So the resurrection, the whole truth of the resurrection has deeply personal implications for all Christians
.
Can you just imagine the terror that will come to this world or to your world individually when God steps down to planet earth and says “Gentlemen and ladies and Boys and Girls, it is closing time”. People don’t want Christ to come and interrupt their plans or their programs. But when that trumpet sounds.  God will constrain ALL to hear and obey.  Every knee will bow to the glory of God.
 
The one hope we have is that our new bodies will be vastly improved.  I want to caution all of you reading this.  This promise is for those who will humble themselves and accept Jesus Christ as God’s only begotten Son.  I’ve got good news for you , I’ve got a message to proclaim that takes you beyond the grave : it is the message that because Jesus Christ rose again we are not of all men most to be pitied but we are of all men to be congratulated because we have a hope beyond the grave. So the resurrection, the whole truth of the resurrection has deeply personal implications.

And if you believe like I believe, you know there ain’t no grave that can hold us!   I mentioned this song that we sing in church so I did some searching its story behind the song.
 
Claude Ely, a songwriter and preacher from Virginia, describes composing the song while sick with tuberculosis in 1934 when he was twelve years old. His family prayed for his health, and in response he spontaneously performed this song.  Credit for the song’s origin, both words and music, is almost always given to an American Pentecostal preacher, Claude Ely, who traveled through the hills of Appalachia as an itinerant evangelist during the late 1940s through the ’60s. He was a charismatic, colorful character with a gold tooth, wearing a white suit and a white cowboy hat, driving with one hand on the steering wheel and one holding a bullhorn, shouting out invitations for people to come to his tent meetings where they would experience “the fire and Holy Ghost.” These were raucous affairs, with plenty of loud music and people lining up for healing. Here’s one description of Ely’s singing: People would show up to revivals because they had heard about this country singer who sang like a black man. Brother Claude Ely would thrash his guitar, shake and gyrate from one part of the stage to the other. Young men would run up to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

One family friend recalled that when the family was gathered to Ely’s bedside, “he said, ‘I’m not going to die.’ And he started singing the song.”

He did indeed get up from that deathbed and lived another 44 years, when he died from a heart attack in the middle of playing the organ for a church service.  “Ain’t No Grave” is rooted in old-time Appalachian gospel music.  Now that is some inspiration!

When we die we will either go with the Lord to resurrection of life OR to hell and eternal damnation. Our sentences once pronounced will be immediately carried out.

Think wisely and soberly while you still have time.  Your eternal life is set upon a single choice you make.  Are you going to humble yourself and choose to serve Jesus Christ and have the hope that this song portrays to us or are you going to continue to doubt and not want to make that choice.  I beg you to make the right choice and choose Jesus because if you do not choose Jesus and you die suddenly you will spend eternity in hell.
 
The song Ain’t No Grave is a celebration of these truths and the power of the perfect love of God to assure and quiet our souls in the midst of a world often marked with doubt and chaos.  As we sing this triumphant anthem together, may we rejoice in the victory we have over the grave and the gift of eternal and abundant life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
 
We know that our sin puts us in the grave, but we know that Jesus walked out of it.  And so, our faith in Him means there's no grave for us and we're grateful.  Here are some of the words of the song.  Note that over the years others have added verses:
 
VERSE: Shame is a prison as cruel as a grave
Shame is a robber and he's come to take my name
Oh, love is my redeemer, lifting me up from the ground
And love is the power when my freedom song is found
 
CHORUS:  There ain't no grave
Gonna hold my body down
There ain't no grave
Gonna hold my body down
When I hear that trumpet sound
I'm gonna rise up outta the ground
There ain't no grave
Gonna hold my body down
 
VERSE: Oh, fear is a liar with a smooth and velvet tongue
Fear is a tyrant, he's always telling me to run
Oh, love is a resurrection and love is a trumpet sound
Love is my weapon, I'm gonna take my giants down
 
VERSE: Oh, there was a battle, a war between death and life
And there on a tree, the lamb of God was crucified
And he went on down to hell, he took back every key
And he rose up as a lion and he set all captives free
 
VERSE: When he heard the trumpet sound
He rose up outta the ground
There ain't no grave
Could hold his body down
There ain't no grave
Could hold his body down
 
Sing that song with the blessed assurance that like Jesus we too can have a resurrection if we put our faith and trust in JESUS THE RISEN LORD!