The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 5:24-26,
"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself."
I have a problem with the accounts of those who lay claim to a "Near Death Experience" (NDE). The term is a somewhat erroneous moniker as explained by the NDE website (a supporting site championing the phenomenon), https://near-death.com/death/ There it is explained, "The term 'near-death' is a misnomer because the evidence suggests that people actually journey beyond death during near-death experiences." This is my problem with the whole of it. There appears to me a difference between the cessation of all bodily functions and processes followed by resuscitation on the one hand, and being dead for four days with the body rotting and giving off a putrid odor (sorry for the disgusting picture here) and being given life. Maybe someone is claiming to have had an NDE in such a state, but I haven't heard of one.
"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself."
I have a problem with the accounts of those who lay claim to a "Near Death Experience" (NDE). The term is a somewhat erroneous moniker as explained by the NDE website (a supporting site championing the phenomenon), https://near-death.com/death/ There it is explained, "The term 'near-death' is a misnomer because the evidence suggests that people actually journey beyond death during near-death experiences." This is my problem with the whole of it. There appears to me a difference between the cessation of all bodily functions and processes followed by resuscitation on the one hand, and being dead for four days with the body rotting and giving off a putrid odor (sorry for the disgusting picture here) and being given life. Maybe someone is claiming to have had an NDE in such a state, but I haven't heard of one.
The former is a fascinating experience that can lead to great book deals with the interest it generates. The latter is the experience of Lazarus that we read of in John 11. Jesus Christ, in a miracle that proved to be explosive to both those who embraced him and those who opposed him, gave Lazarus something that none of the NDE people have received: life from nothing (nothing but rotting flesh) except what the Lord himself gave him. This was no NDE! (A far death experience?)
We read in Hebrews 9:27 that we are all destined to die but once. In John 5:24-26, Jesus explains that he has within himself the incomprehensible energy of life itself, the life that provides us existence. With that he is able to call those who have been dead for even millenia back to life!
While we can enjoy Frankenstein movies this Halloween, remember it will take more than that lightning bolt to give life to what has long ago become inanimate. Only through the gift Jesus Christ gives when he calls his own will we regain life: eternal life with no need of NDEs, resuscitation, resurrection or whatever!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment