A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day (September 26, 2017)
Death is swallowed up in victory. “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)
Not too many years ago, the best method of recording sound was on analog tape. While making a copy of an analog recording was possible, each reproduction showed a slight decline in quality. Although the copy was of less quality than the original, the difference was so slight that the average person could not tell the difference. But as copies were made of copies, over time it became very noticeable.
More recently, technology has developed digital recordings. Although an original digital recording doesn’t sound better than an original analog recording, there is one dramatic difference. Every generation of digital reproduction is equal to the original. And regardless of how many copies you make digitally, each one is identical.
Medical science tells us that the cells in our bodies regenerate periodically. They say that with each regeneration, there is a decrease in quality in much the same way the sound quality degenerates when you reproduce an analog tape. This was not God’s plan, however. Man was created to regenerate eternally (digitally) so that in one million years the cells in his body would be as perfect as the day he was created.
On this earth, we might say that man is living in an “analog” body and from the moment of physical birth, it progresses toward physical death. But why is this so? If man was created by God to live forever, why is it that his body only lasts for a few decades on this earth? Well, according to the Bible, it’s the result of a decision that man made. Man decided to separate himself from the Life Force of the universe — God — and when he did, he began to die.
It seems that mankind is destined to live out meager lives, with each day a struggle to survive. Is there any hope for us? The answer is yes! There is a way to stop this death cycle. There is a way that we can live forever. The greatest fear known to man is the fear of death. But there is a way that we can no longer be threatened by death, now or ever.
The Bible says that Jesus came to the earth for the purpose of defeating death and giving eternal life to everyone who would receive it. This eternal life refers to the rebirth of your spirit, the real you deep inside, but it also includes the promise of receiving a new body when this one wears out. When that happens, Paul, the apostle, explains that every Christian will receive a new body that will never decay, it will never age, and it will have super human powers. In fact, we are told that our bodies will be like the body that Jesus had after His resurrection. He traveled dimensionally, walked through walls, and gravity did not affect Him. Although He had a new body, He was still recognized by His friends and enjoyed fellowship with them over a meal.
So how do we move from imminent death to eternal life? How do we live without the fear of death? Actually, the answer is quite simple. The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Every person born into this analog world is moving steadily toward death without hope and without the light of God. But when you make the choice to receive Jesus as your Lord, then immediately you move into the digital world that never decays and is full of love and light. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1
John 2:17)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
