A few years ago, when I was a teenager, I was walking home with a friend from school and as we approached a junction, we witnessed a car crashing into another. It all happened very quickly and the noise was horrendous. Thankfully there were no fatalities. Both drivers got out of their cars a bit shaken but they looked as if they were not injured (from what we could tell, anyway). There were other students and some adults all standing on the pavement in shock and silence. Someone shouted call the police and ambulance. My friend and I stood there feeling powerless and just taking everything in.

A few minutes passed and a couple of police cars appeared and immediately the cops started telling everyone to move back and some were taking statements. An ambulance finally arrived on the scene and we could see the paramedics talking to the drivers. A policeman stood in front of my friend and me and started asking us questions. Can you tell me what happened? Did you see who was at fault? What happened after the drivers got out of the car? We tried our best to give a faithful account of what we saw. The policeman asked for our address, house telephone number (this was when mobile phones were in their infancy in Brazil) and the name of our parents.

I remember my friend and I feeling as if our legs were turning into jelly as we carried on walking home. We had never experienced that before. We both felt relieved the drivers were, as far as we could tell, not hurt. We felt a bit scared to talk to the policeman but we also felt quite important that we were asked to give an account of what we had seen.

For the people involved in the crash, it was important that the eye witnesses gave an account of what they saw. It would likely be the case that their insurance companies would require the accounts in order to make payments on the claims.

The Bible tells us that many people witnessed Jesus appearances after He was raised from the dead. Those eye witnesses were crucial for the veracity of this incredible claim. Imagine if the women were the only people that saw the risen Jesus on that morning. Do you think people would have believed them? They probably would have accused them of lying or being emotional or even crazy, after all, no one can come back from death.

The resurrection of Jesus is what makes Christianity different from all other religions in the world and it is fundamental to our faith. That is why all 4 Gospels mention the resurrection and the fact that Jesus was seen by people after he had risen (see Mathew 28:5-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24; John 20-21). Paul in his letter to the Corinthians chapter 15 also mentions the eye witnesses. Not one, not two or three but more than 500 people saw the risen Lord. Some of them even shared a meal with him. So it was really Jesus. Not a spirit, not a ghost, not a fabrication of grieving minds. It was Him. (there is a great resource by Rebecca McLaughlin called Jesus through the eyes of witnesses)

This is such an amazing truth for us to hold on to. In 1 Corinthians Paul details what the Gospel, the good news of Jesus is about.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (emphasis mine)

Note that what happened to Jesus was foretold in Scriptures. It was planned. It was not an afterthought or a plan B. It was the plan God designed, even before time began. Jesus was the ultimate rescuer. The perfect sacrifice. The only way back to God. He knew it and willingly accepted the plan in obedience to the Father.

In the same chapter Paul tells us that there were eye witnesses and he was one of them.

⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. I Corinthians 15:5-8

Note that at the time when Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth many of those people that had seen the Lord risen from the dead were still alive. It is as if Paul is saying: “go ask them”. It must have been an incredible experience to speak to someone who had actually seen Jesus, imagine seeing Him alive after all that He had to suffer on the cross in our place!

The resurrection is so important that Paul goes on to say:

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:13-15a (emphasis mine)

What an extraordinary thing to say! If the resurrection didn’t happen, what is the point in God? Does our faith not become useless? Having the account of many witnesses really is important.

If the resurrection is true then our hope is true! Paul did not stop there, he goes on to say:

²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 1 Corinthians 15:20-21 (emphasis mine)

Simply put, that means because Jesus was raised from the dead, those who believe in Him, will also be raised to life eternal with Him (through Him and in Him). What a hope we have in Jesus!

Be encouraged as you share the Gospel with friends and as you come back to it time and time again in your own walk with Jesus. What we believe, was witnessed by many people. It has been recorded for our good. Jesus is the one that saves and He is alive!

God bless.

_{Photo by Courtney Cook on Unsplash}

This evening we sat down to finish watching The Hobbit. My son and I started a few days ago and decided to resume from where we started. Spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen the movie, you might want to skip this paragraph. We started when Bilbo was getting ready to leave the company of Thorin Oakenshield, whilst they were staying in a cave in the mountains. When asked why he was leaving he said “I don’t belong here”. Immediately that caught my attention.

What does belong mean? According to the dictionary it means to have an affinity for a specified place or situation. It means to fit in, be suited to, to have a rightful place, to have a home, to be part of. In the movie, Bilbo didn’t feel he belonged with the Dwarves because he was very different and was used to his home and his comforts. The Dwarves on the other hand had experienced loss and hardship and wars. They had lost their riches and their home. At least they had the comfort of one another and the same customs. In the Unexpected Journey Bilbo was the only Hobbit.

As Christians we do not belong here in this world. We are citizens of heaven. We have been bought with a great price. We are not supposed to fit in with this world. With the culture around us. We were once enemies of God. Ephesians chapter 2 reminds us that we were foreigners, strangers and separated from Christ. We were brought near by His blood.

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ”. Ephesians 2:11-13

We now belong. We are now citizens and belong to His household. We have a home.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone”. Ephesians 2:19-20

Interestingly, it is harder than it seems to live every day as people who don’t belong here. We are bombarded from all sides to conform and we are constantly trying to fit in. No one likes to stand out. A Christian woman who lives to please God and keeps her eyes focused on things from above (Colossians 3:1-3) stands out from the crowd. The way she talks, what she wears, how she relates to her family and her friends, what she thinks, what she pursues is different because her main goal is to bring glory to God.

In Romans 12:1-2 we read:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”. (emphasis mine)

We mustn’t try to fit in with this world or conform to it. We are told we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We must be reminded that our home is in Heaven. We do that by constantly coming back to God’s word and learning from it. It contains everything we need to live here in a way that pleases our God (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

As I write this post I feel peace in my heart because I know that my Saviour has bought me and has promised that He is preparing a home for me where He is. I know that one day I will be home. At the same time, I tremble because I know it is hard. I know tomorrow I will meet people that are on a different journey and the pressures of the world will be screaming loudly and the enemy will continue to prowl and accuse. He will throw all the distractions and will make me feel awkward, as if I am being watched all the time. As if to say why do you want to be alone? Different than anybody else? Swimming against the tide. It is so hard. Turn around.

So let’s take courage. We belong to God’s family. We are not alone. We are secure in Christ and we have brothers and sisters everywhere walking in the same direction. Standing out like a sore thumb in this world. Be encouraged by Jesus’ own words:

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:18-19 (emphasis mine)

and take heart when you think you can’t do it anymore. Jesus prayed for each one of us that we would be protected whilst in this world living for Him.

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.  I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (emphasis mine)

Happy standing out!

God bless.

_{Photo by Juliana Kozoski on Unsplash}