God of the Living

I must admit, it has been great to transition from lesson 3 to lesson 4 in The Truth Project. Lesson 3 is a little depressing as we considered man and the evil that is in the world. On the other hand, lesson 4 is so exciting as we consider who God is.

This last Sunday, I mentioned that God is the God of the living and not the dead.

"He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive." (NIV) Luke 20:38

Consider for a moment the significance of this statement. Wherever God rules and reigns, He brings life. This reminds me of a professor at seminary who said about Jesus that "every funeral that Jesus attended He busted up and turned it into a family reunion!" God brings life, even to death.

This is no small thing. Man's enemy is death. It is the one thing that man has no power with which to overcome this issue. Man can never be good enough or penitent enough to overcome death. So God, in His infinite grace and mercy, overcomes death through Jesus dying on the Cross. All that we need to do is to place our faith in Him to have life.

"'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (NIV) 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Even as we see terrible things going on in the world today, we should not be discouraged. God is bigger than any economy, government, or sin in this life. We know that those who call on Jesus as Lord and Savior have eternal life. The only true safety and security that we have is Him.

"The the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord god will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." (NIV) Revelation 22:1-2, 5