Resurrection and the Life

This weekend we celebrate the most important holiday in history of Christiandom. Easter. Or as some prefer to call it, Resurrection Sunday. This is the day we recognize that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, rose from the borrowed tomb, conquering death, thwarting Satan's plan, and ushering in a New Covenant and way to come to God. 

Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." Even more directly, He said in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life: He that belieth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (KJV) This statement was at the same time a prophecy to his rising from the dead and a claim to be the means or the way of salvation. 

First, let's look at Jesus' words as prophecy. In the beginning, approximately 6000 years ago, according to to most Christians, Genesis records the story of Adam and Eve falling into sin. The serpent or Satan, deceived the couple into disobeying God's command. We read these prophetic words in Genesis 3:15, "he (the woman's offspring) will crush your head (Satan), and you will strike his heel." Christian scholars interpret the woman's offspring to be Jesus. The "heel strike" is commorated on Good Friday as Satan attemps to crucify and eradicate Jesus once and for all. The "head crushing" is celebrated Easter Sunday as we witness "death could not hold Him" (Acts 2:24) and he rises from the grave victoriously over sin and death. 

Several other Biblical passages point prophetically to Jesus' resurrection. David writes in Psalm 16:10, "because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay." Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 both predict in detail this historic event. Even Jesus himself spoke specifically about his death and resurrection when He said, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." 

Second, let's look at Jesus' claim to be "the life." Jesus is quoted as saying again and again in the Gospels that belief in Him is necessity to have eternal life. Belief in his claims to deity, kingship, and Messiahship. After His resurrection, we read in the books of Acts that the Apostles taught not only believing in Jesus, but also repentance of sins and baptism by immersion for forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Peter proclaims on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:38, "Repent and be baptized every one of you for the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit." Our baptism is now vitally significant in that we become one with Jesus through a symbolic death and resurrection akin to His own. Romans 6:4 summarizes it like this, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life," 

Easter Sunday represents Jesus' victory of death, sin, and Satan. None of these have any power over Him any longer. This victory is won once and for all time! That is reason to celebrate! If you have made Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of your life, your future is certain and secure. If you haven't, why wait?  Maybe your own decision about Jesus will happen this week?!

From Ink to iPhone: How Bible Study Evolved from Margins to Screens

Growing up, I remember my Youth Minister encouraging me to take notes on the sermon when I went to church. I would take my NIV Bible on Sunday mornings and underline significant passages in it and jot down points on my notepad with a pen. It was quite a paradigm shift to write in my Bible, but I was assured it was okay. 

Fast forward a few decades, and today I use a Bible app on my Apple iPhone X (Bible app is my favorite). I can underline or highlight verses in a variety of colors. I can share verses on social media like Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. I can make a Bible image using the verse. I can even compare the version I'm using with a dozen others with the touch of my finger! 

I can take notes in that same application. Or I can use the Events and pull up my home church's sermon notes. At the end of the service, I can save my notes, print them, or share them with others. My, how technology has changed how we read the Bible!

It's an amazing technological world we live in today. I don't know that the older way of doing things was any better or worse than the way we do things today. They are just different. Maybe more efficient, some would say. Each method came with its own pros and cons. 

However you access your Bible today, just remember, what is most important is that you read it. It is not simply words on paper or a screen, but it is actually "alive and active." Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." 

Also, the Words of Jesus, and we find them written in the Bible, are eternal. They are everlasting. Forever true. Jesus says in Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." We can trust our future to the Word of God. It is solid, firm, and unchanging. 

AI and the Christian Walk

AI surges into modern life

Artificial Intelligence or AI, as it has become better known, has quietly and quickly permeated our daily lives. You find AI embedded into your daily habits, everywhere you turn. It's in our phones. It's in our cars. It's across our homes. 

ChatGPT launched AI to the masses in November 2022. Since then a myriad of companies have embraced the technology with their own AI entries. Microsoft has Co-Pilot. Facebook has Meta AI. Google has Gemini. It goes on and on. It is quickly becoming omnipresent. Most software applications have incorporated AI in one way or another. Canva and Photoshop use AI to assist users in creating and editing graphics. 

Ironically, AI is still in its infancy and is being developed with each iteration becoming smarter than the former. Each new version is called a "model." And newer models are being made all the time. 

Image created by AI (of course)

Should Christians use AI?

Some Christians have shunned the use of AI due to ignorance or suspicions of nefarious usages. It is true that AI can be used for both good and bad, but it is similar to any new technology in that it depends on whose "hands" it is in. 

The Bible says in Titus 1:15, "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure..." So AI is like money, or a hammer, or a cell phone. Those items can be used for good, pure purposes or they could be used in greedy, dangerous, deceptive ways. It all depends on the handler. 

The Christian should not fear AI as some anti-Christ or dangerous technology. But they should instead see AI as yet another tool in the Information Age that can help us become better human beings as we strive to follow Christ. 

What can AI do for a Christ-follower?

Here are some ways to use AI in your Christian life. 

Use this digital chatbot to answer your Bible questions https://digitalbible.ca/ai-chatbot

Use https://colorbliss.com/ to make Biblical Coloring Sheets

Use https://bible.ai/ to study the Bible with AI. 

Use https://chatgpt.com/ to talk with a person from the Bible. Prompt "Speak to me like Moses"

Use Open.Bible Bible Study Generator https://www.openbible.info/labs/ai-bible-study/ to further your Bible knowledge.

A Final Word

It should be stated that while AI is in your hands, it is an amoral tool. However, people are beginning to use AI in order to dupe and deceive others with fake videos, phone calls, and emails. We must be diligent and wise to not be tricked by these technological fakes. 

Use AI to help your Christian walk, to study the Bible, and grow in your faith. At the same time, be aware that AI can impersonate those that we trust and believe in. Using AI may be one of the best ways to differentiate the two. 

Point me to Jesus

Our KCC E-News articles over the years have covered a myriad of topics from Godly worship to Christian living to raising children. But when all is said and done, our goal is to point every reader to Jesus, the son of God. Jesus the Christ. Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, our LORD and Savior. Jesus, the I AM. He is 100% man and 100% God at the same time. The Son of God and the Son of Man. 

Jesus, born of a virgin, trained as a Jewish carpenter, taught as a Rabbi, misunderstood by the religious leaders, sentenced to die, raised from the dead, gone up into heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and ready to return. Jesus, the holy one of God. 

The entire Bible is about Jesus. Jesus is woven all through the book. He can be found from Genesis to Revelation. Here are some examples from just the first 5 books, the Pentateuch:

• Genesis - The seed of the woman
• Exodus - The Passover lamb
• Leviticus - The High Priest
• Numbers - The Cloud and the Fire
• Deuteronomy - A Prophet like Moses

Jesus is typified and present in so many stories in the Bible. Here are just a few to think about:

• Noah's ark - Just as the ark provided the means of rescue for Noah and his family, Jesus is the means of salvation for the believer today. (1 Peter 3:21)
• Joseph is a Christ-figure as he suffers unjustly, yet is raised up to a position of great honor and ultimately saves his own people.  (Genesis 39-46)
• Moses was born in poverty and raised up to deliver his people from slavery. Jesus delivers us from the slavery of sin. 
• Moses strikes the rock and water comes out - Jesus is living water. (John 4:14)
• Manna in the desert - Jesus is the bread of life. (John 6:35)
• The Bronze Serpent - Moses' raises the bronze serpent on a pole so that all who look at it will be saved from snake bites. Jesus would be lifted up so that all who look to him will be saved. (

The book, "Jesus on Every Page" by David Murray is a great read. The Bible is all about Jesus because Jesus is all that matters. Another book to read is "Finding Jesus in the Old Testament" by David Limbaugh. Jesus begins the Bible and Jesus finishes it. He is all through it. These books give you an in-depth study of His omnipresence. 

The song "Give me Jesus" has existed for nearly a century. You can find Fernando Ortega, Vince Gill, and Jeremy Camp versions. They all sing these very simple lyrics:

"In the morning when I rise...when I am alone...when I come to die...

Give me Jesus

Give me Jesus

You can have all this world,

Just give me Jesus (Jesus)"

Jesus is all we need. He is sufficient. He is enough. No matter what life throws our way, if we have Jesus, we have it all. Believe in Him. Trust Him. Confess Him as your Lord. Repent of your sins. Be baptized to wash them away. Live eternally with Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:1-4).

I don't know

I hate not knowing the answer to a question. I don't like having to say, "I don't know." I feel like it's some sort of failure. A blemish in my character. I should know, but I don't. It may also be a prideful thing. The professor, the teacher would know the answer. The student...probably not. 

Sometimes I don't know because I have forgotten. Other times I don't know because I never knew. Regardless of why I have to say "I don't know" I just dislike doing it. It humbles a person when they need to respond, "I don't know." 

Is there any scripture about this topic? God says to Isaiah in chapter 40, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth." Maybe, we don't know. Maybe we haven't heard. But God drops the mic! God is eternal. God is creator! That's all you need to know. 

The worst case in history of not knowing answers has to be given to Job. After Job and his three friends attempted to figure out why Job was suffering, God pummeled him with questions for three straight chapters in the book of Job. Questions including:

• "How did I lay the foundation for the earth?"
• "What is the way to the abode of light?"
• "And where does darkness reside?"
• "When do mountain goats and deer give birth?"
• "Who set wild donkeys free?"

In the book of Acts, the 12 Apostles were identified as "ordinary, uneducated men." In other words, they didn't know the answer to every question people would ask them. They didn't have all the answers, but as John wrote in 1 John 1:1, "...we have heard...we have seen with our eyes...and our hands have touched...(we) testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life...which has appeared to us." They walked and talked and learned from Jesus Christ. Even then they didn't know all the answers to life. 

Not knowing doesn't make us ignorant, it just makes us human. Only God is all-knowing or omniscient. We may one day know the answers to most if not all questions, but that time won't be in this lifetime. For now, God asks us to trust Him. An element of faith is believing and trusting, knowing that He is smarter, stronger, and wiser than we are. 

Sign Posts Pointing to God

God's creation is fascinating! During our SCUBA VBS, the kids learned about different undersea animals. Did you know that the octopus has a tiny brain at the end of each of its 8 tentacles? That allows each one of its arms to move faster and independently. An octopus also has 3 hearts; 2 pump blood to the gills, and one to the rest of the body. 

It was on the 5th day of creation that God said, "Let the water team with living creatures..." An octopus is just one type of species among 242,000 living in the oceans according to the 2022 census by the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). 

The other day my son was watching a YouTube video about earwigs. These small insects have large pinchers they use to catch their prey. But guess where God chose to place their pinchers? On their tail! They also have complex wings that unfold to 10 times their size and allow them to fly! And despite popular belief, earwigs DO NOT
climb into people's ears while they are sleeping. That's a myth and pure superstition. 

It was on the 6th day of creation that God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals..." 

The uniqueness of the animal kingdom and the creativity of our God is amazing. Some would say these animals evolved slowly over time or morphed from one to another. Those theories just don't hold water. These animals have unique features that allow them to exist, survive, and thrive. Each and every species, genus, and family are different with various traits and bodies. Every one of those points to a creator - a brilliant mind who not only thought up each creature but also how each creature would interact with all other creatures including man. 

So for me, each time I learn about the unique abilities or traits of an animal, I immediately attribute them to a creator, God. They are like sign posts pointing directly to Him and his omnipotence. From the animal kingdom, my mind then goes to mankind, the solar system, and the earth itself. Indeed, the heavens (and all creation) declare the glory of God. 

Seasons of Life

Life seems to ebb and flow like waves on the ocean. Change is a constant in our world. Today you may be young and single living alone and going to school. Tomorrow you are middle-aged, married, and working 40 hours a week. Today you may be standing up at your best friend's wedding. Tomorrow you are mourning with family as you say "Goodbye" to a loved one. 

Life can drag on for years or come at us in a second. The Dire Straits "Walk of Life" is unpredictable yet there is no escaping it. We can look back to the "Summer of '69," but ultimately we must "Turn the Page" and move forward. 

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes:

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens"

Like chapters in a John Grisham book or like quarters in a basketball game, we all live in a particular season of life. One season will meld into another and then another. A time for everything and a season for every activity. Solomon writes about a time to plant, heal, laugh, dance, embrace, and love. He also says there are times to tear down, weep, mourn, give up, tear, and hate. 

It is human nature to think the "grass is greener" on the other side of the fence, but your "grass" will be just as "green" if you just "plant" yourself in it today. The past is gone and will soon be forgotten. Additionally, you can not change the past, so let it rest. Have hope for the future, but don't let your mind linger on it for too long. The future will always be there, but the present is fleeting and seeks our undivided attention now.

Solomon continues:

"He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time."

Whatever season you are in right now, embrace it. Enjoy it. God made it beautiful. The good seasons and the bad ones. Of course, you will immediately say, "How can pain, sickness, or even death be beautiful?" That's a fair question. It comes down to recognizing that seasons are connected. They don't come usually like the slamming of a door, but rather like a sunrise. Slow and steady unfolding before us.

In the movie Shadowlands, a 1993 British biographical drama film about the relationship between academic C. S. Lewis and Jewish American poet Joy Davidman, there is a poignant line that goes something like this: "The pain you feel now is part of the joy then." In other words, the future joy is only as joyous in relation to the depth of the pain felt today. Or think of it this way. Without the rain, there isn't a rainbow. And again, the oyster has to have an irritating grain of sand to create a pearl. The "beautiful" bad times usher in the good times. 

Finally, Solomon says:

"...there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each one of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil-this is the gift of God."

Live today in your season to the fullest. Enjoy it now because it will not last. You will soon be in another season complete with all its joys and pains.  Don't long to return or advance. Make the best of your current season and God will gift you with satisfaction and contentment.