KNOWN 13 - Learner Guide - Fall 2011 (September)
To give life
1
to the world.
In the process of mummification, there were actually 70 steps carried out over 70 days including: ▷R emoval of brain through the nostrils ▷R emoval of the intestines through an incision in the side ▷ S terilization of the body and the intestines ▷P acking the limbs with clay or sand ▷P acking the body with linen (soaked in resin), myrrh and cinnamon ▷ T reating the body with ointments ▷W rapping the body with a fine linen gauze over 1000 square yards long ▷ The internal organs were mummified and put in alabaster jars
©ISTOCKPHOTO
Why did Jesus come into the world?
Preparing for the Afterlife
©PICTURED ESK
THE QUESTION
Bread Bites ▷ Bread is the one food eaten by people of
every race, culture, and religion. ▷ Each American consumes, on average, 53 pounds of bread per year. ▷ One bushel of wheat will produce 73 one-pound loaves of bread. ▷ Americans eat 45 billion sandwiches every year; the all-time favorite sandwich is ham. ▷ Peanut butter was first paired with jelly in a sandwich in the 1920s. ▷ An average student will consume approximately 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduation from high school.
“I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins. He’s the reason that I’m here.” Justin Bieber ©GETTYIMAGES
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:32-33
©ISTOCKPH OTO
©ISTOCKPHOTO
I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details. Albert Einstein 0 0 8 KNOWN 13
To do God’s will.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:34-38
Buddhism
Heart & Soul
What is necessary to stay alive?
FOOD YOU CAN GO WITHOUT:
H2O FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS;
PE RS TOC K
EGYPTIAN PHAROAHS went to great lengths to prepare for eternity (not just to be stuck in a museum). Many factors came into play for an individual who hoped to obtain eternal life—one of which was the heart, a very important physical part of a pharaoh’s body. According to the Egyptians, the heart is where the soul, spirit, personality and essence of a person resided. If a pharaoh wished to be granted eternal life, he must first have his heart weighed on a scale against the feather of Maat. If the scales balanced then he had led a good life; if his heart was heavier then the feather, the pharaoh had forfeited his afterlife.
2
U ©S
mortal 1) liable or
subject to death; 2) of or relating to humankind; 3) of, relating to, or accompanying death; 4) causing death; fatal
immortal
1) not subject to death or decay; 2) having everlasting fame; 3) everlasting; perpetual; constant; 4) of or relating to immortal beings or concepts
FOR UP TO TEN DAYS; THOUGH AFTER THREE DAYS THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS HEALTH ISSUES
For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step. Thomas A Kempis
Buddhism teaches that there is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth according to the qualities of a person’s actions. Physical immortality is neither a path to enlightenment nor an attainable goal: even the gods eventually die. After biological death an arhat, or buddha, enters into parinirvana, an everlasting state of transcendental happiness.
The study of God’s Word, for the purpose of discovering God’s will, is the secret discipline which has formed the greatest characters. James Waddel Alexander
I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans. George MacDonald
The Bible on God’s Will
▷ Lead others to Christ (Matthew 18:11-14) ▷ Believe in God (John 6:40) ▷ Give generously (2 Corinthians 8:1-7) ▷ Be obedient to God (Ephesians 6:5-8) ▷ Bear fruit (Colossians 1:9-12) ▷ Abstain from immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) ▷ Pray at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) ▷ Do the right things (1 Peter 2:15)
3 To provide
“For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:39-40
eternal
life.
Islam
Muslims believe that the present life is a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. One’s eternal destination depends on balance of good to bad deeds in life. They are either granted admission to Paradise, where they will enjoy spiritual and physical pleasures forever, or condemned to Hell to suffer spiritual and physical torment for eternity.
Hindus believe in an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death. People repeat a process of life, death, and rebirth in a cycle called samsara. If they live their life well, their karma improves and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower if they live their life poorly.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s witnesses believe the word soul (nephesh or psykhe) as used in the Bible is a person, an animal, or the life a person or animal enjoys. The soul is not part of man, but is the whole man. When a person or animal dies, the soul dies, and death is a state of non-existence. After the final judgment, it is expected that the righteous will receive eternal life and live forever in an earthly paradise.
Ancient Greeks
In ancient Greek religion, the soul was considered to have an eternal existence in Hades, but without the body the soul was considered dead. Although almost everybody had nothing to look forward to but an eternal existence as a disembodied dead soul, a number of men and women were considered to have gained physical immortality and brought to live forever in either Elysium, the Islands of the Blessed, heaven, the ocean, or literally right under the ground.
Hinduism
THE POINT ©ISTOCKPHOTO
Jesus came to give eternal life. 0 0 9
To give life
1
to the world.
In the process of mummification, there were actually 70 steps carried out over 70 days including: ▷R emoval of brain through the nostrils ▷R emoval of the intestines through an incision in the side ▷ S terilization of the body and the intestines ▷P acking the limbs with clay or sand ▷P acking the body with linen (soaked in resin), myrrh and cinnamon ▷ T reating the body with ointments ▷W rapping the body with a fine linen gauze over 1000 square yards long ▷ The internal organs were mummified and put in alabaster jars
©ISTOCKPHOTO
Why did Jesus come into the world?
Preparing for the Afterlife
©PICTURED ESK
THE QUESTION
Bread Bites ▷ Bread is the one food eaten by people of
every race, culture, and religion. ▷ Each American consumes, on average, 53 pounds of bread per year. ▷ One bushel of wheat will produce 73 one-pound loaves of bread. ▷ Americans eat 45 billion sandwiches every year; the all-time favorite sandwich is ham. ▷ Peanut butter was first paired with jelly in a sandwich in the 1920s. ▷ An average student will consume approximately 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduation from high school.
“I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins. He’s the reason that I’m here.” Justin Bieber ©GETTYIMAGES
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:32-33
©ISTOCKPH OTO
©ISTOCKPHOTO
I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details. Albert Einstein 0 0 8 KNOWN 13
To do God’s will.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:34-38
Buddhism
Heart & Soul
What is necessary to stay alive?
FOOD YOU CAN GO WITHOUT:
H2O FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS;
PE RS TOC K
EGYPTIAN PHAROAHS went to great lengths to prepare for eternity (not just to be stuck in a museum). Many factors came into play for an individual who hoped to obtain eternal life—one of which was the heart, a very important physical part of a pharaoh’s body. According to the Egyptians, the heart is where the soul, spirit, personality and essence of a person resided. If a pharaoh wished to be granted eternal life, he must first have his heart weighed on a scale against the feather of Maat. If the scales balanced then he had led a good life; if his heart was heavier then the feather, the pharaoh had forfeited his afterlife.
2
U ©S
mortal 1) liable or
subject to death; 2) of or relating to humankind; 3) of, relating to, or accompanying death; 4) causing death; fatal
immortal
1) not subject to death or decay; 2) having everlasting fame; 3) everlasting; perpetual; constant; 4) of or relating to immortal beings or concepts
FOR UP TO TEN DAYS; THOUGH AFTER THREE DAYS THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS HEALTH ISSUES
For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step. Thomas A Kempis
Buddhism teaches that there is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth according to the qualities of a person’s actions. Physical immortality is neither a path to enlightenment nor an attainable goal: even the gods eventually die. After biological death an arhat, or buddha, enters into parinirvana, an everlasting state of transcendental happiness.
The study of God’s Word, for the purpose of discovering God’s will, is the secret discipline which has formed the greatest characters. James Waddel Alexander
I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans. George MacDonald
The Bible on God’s Will
▷ Lead others to Christ (Matthew 18:11-14) ▷ Believe in God (John 6:40) ▷ Give generously (2 Corinthians 8:1-7) ▷ Be obedient to God (Ephesians 6:5-8) ▷ Bear fruit (Colossians 1:9-12) ▷ Abstain from immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) ▷ Pray at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) ▷ Do the right things (1 Peter 2:15)
3 To provide
“For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:39-40
eternal
life.
Islam
Muslims believe that the present life is a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. One’s eternal destination depends on balance of good to bad deeds in life. They are either granted admission to Paradise, where they will enjoy spiritual and physical pleasures forever, or condemned to Hell to suffer spiritual and physical torment for eternity.
Hindus believe in an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death. People repeat a process of life, death, and rebirth in a cycle called samsara. If they live their life well, their karma improves and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower if they live their life poorly.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s witnesses believe the word soul (nephesh or psykhe) as used in the Bible is a person, an animal, or the life a person or animal enjoys. The soul is not part of man, but is the whole man. When a person or animal dies, the soul dies, and death is a state of non-existence. After the final judgment, it is expected that the righteous will receive eternal life and live forever in an earthly paradise.
Ancient Greeks
In ancient Greek religion, the soul was considered to have an eternal existence in Hades, but without the body the soul was considered dead. Although almost everybody had nothing to look forward to but an eternal existence as a disembodied dead soul, a number of men and women were considered to have gained physical immortality and brought to live forever in either Elysium, the Islands of the Blessed, heaven, the ocean, or literally right under the ground.
Hinduism
THE POINT ©ISTOCKPHOTO
Jesus came to give eternal life. 0 0 9
Life Worth Living How did life begin? Seriously, how did it all get started? You hear a lot of things like the Big Bang and evolution. In science, life exists when an organism can grow, reproduce, respond to its environment, and adapt. But is life more than that? What does it mean to really live?
Read John 10:10. What did Jesus say about life…and death?
What parts of your life feel dead?
Does believing in Jesus mean that He will limit the good things you could have in your life?
What are those things you wish you could have? How would they make your life better?
Would things really make your life better? Maybe for a time, but what about for your future? Some people think Jesus is just a killjoy who gives us a whole bunch of rules about what not to do. Jesus is not the one who is coming to steal your fun or destroy your reputation; He provides a life of abundance if only you will let Him. Have you allowed Jesus to give you new life? If you haven’t, now’s your chance. Check out the inside-back cover of this magazine to find out how you can become a Christian. Maybe you are a Christian, but you don’t look alive. What is going on in your life that is keeping you from truly living? Take some time this week to seek the One who wants to give you life in all its abundance.
©VEER
0 1 0 KNOWN 13
My Prayer
Lord, You are the giver of abundant life and I want to be a part of that life.
Dead to Alive Imagine this. There he was in the middle of a desert in a valley filled with bones. The wind was blowing dust everywhere. There was no sign of life and if there was life, it had only existed many, many years ago. It was a graveyard of lives that were dead and gone. Then, with just a word, there was a great noise and rattling as all the bones began to come together. The tendons and the flesh grew back around the bones and skin soon covered the flesh. Finally, a strong wind blew through the carcasses of flesh and bones. They came to life and stood up as a vast army.
Pretty cool, huh? And it is not just some new science-fiction thriller, computer-generated special effect. That’s exactly the vision God gave to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37:1-14.
Read Ezekiel 37:1-14. Who raised these bones back to life?
Do you believe God can do this? Why is it so unbelievable for some?
Jesus came to do in your life what God’s Spirit did in that valley—bring you back to life. Sin doesn’t just make you “not so good,” it makes you completely dead and dry. Only Jesus has the unbelievable power to bring you back together and make you alive. Do you feel spiritually dead and dry? Turn to Jesus because He alone has the power to take your dead, dry spiritual life and make you into a ready soldier for Him.
When has your life seemed like a valley of dry bones?
My Prayer
Jesus, I am tired and weary. I feel spiritually dry and sometimes dead. Revive me again so that I can fight the good fight for You.
©ISTOCKPHOTO
Resurrected 0 1 1
Light in the Darkness When you were younger, were you scared of the dark? Being in the dark can cause feelings of anxiety and fear. And in the darkness, your imagination can create all kinds of ideas that scare you even more. But in an instant, fear can be turned to calm just by turning on a light. Somehow, light makes all the fear go away.
the wall is still right outside your window. Light, however, will make a tremendous difference in the way you view those things. Jesus is light in a dark world.
Is your life dark in some places? Read Ephesians 5:5-14. What does the light do? (v. 13) What is causing your fear and anxiety? Does the light change the circumstances around you?
Light makes things that are not seen to suddenly be seen. It removes the unknown. Light changes our perspective. But light will only change your perspective if you use it. There is still a space under the bed where monsters can hide. There’s still a closet where something can pop out at any minute. The tree outside that once cast the shadow on ©VEER
0 1 2 KNOWN 13
Maybe you need to let the light into those areas where you are most afraid. Take some time today to pray and ask God to light up the dark areas of your life.
My Prayer
Lord, please let the light shine in my life and in what I’m going through.
1
to the world.
In the process of mummification, there were actually 70 steps carried out over 70 days including: ▷R emoval of brain through the nostrils ▷R emoval of the intestines through an incision in the side ▷ S terilization of the body and the intestines ▷P acking the limbs with clay or sand ▷P acking the body with linen (soaked in resin), myrrh and cinnamon ▷ T reating the body with ointments ▷W rapping the body with a fine linen gauze over 1000 square yards long ▷ The internal organs were mummified and put in alabaster jars
©ISTOCKPHOTO
Why did Jesus come into the world?
Preparing for the Afterlife
©PICTURED ESK
THE QUESTION
Bread Bites ▷ Bread is the one food eaten by people of
every race, culture, and religion. ▷ Each American consumes, on average, 53 pounds of bread per year. ▷ One bushel of wheat will produce 73 one-pound loaves of bread. ▷ Americans eat 45 billion sandwiches every year; the all-time favorite sandwich is ham. ▷ Peanut butter was first paired with jelly in a sandwich in the 1920s. ▷ An average student will consume approximately 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduation from high school.
“I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins. He’s the reason that I’m here.” Justin Bieber ©GETTYIMAGES
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:32-33
©ISTOCKPH OTO
©ISTOCKPHOTO
I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details. Albert Einstein 0 0 8 KNOWN 13
To do God’s will.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:34-38
Buddhism
Heart & Soul
What is necessary to stay alive?
FOOD YOU CAN GO WITHOUT:
H2O FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS;
PE RS TOC K
EGYPTIAN PHAROAHS went to great lengths to prepare for eternity (not just to be stuck in a museum). Many factors came into play for an individual who hoped to obtain eternal life—one of which was the heart, a very important physical part of a pharaoh’s body. According to the Egyptians, the heart is where the soul, spirit, personality and essence of a person resided. If a pharaoh wished to be granted eternal life, he must first have his heart weighed on a scale against the feather of Maat. If the scales balanced then he had led a good life; if his heart was heavier then the feather, the pharaoh had forfeited his afterlife.
2
U ©S
mortal 1) liable or
subject to death; 2) of or relating to humankind; 3) of, relating to, or accompanying death; 4) causing death; fatal
immortal
1) not subject to death or decay; 2) having everlasting fame; 3) everlasting; perpetual; constant; 4) of or relating to immortal beings or concepts
FOR UP TO TEN DAYS; THOUGH AFTER THREE DAYS THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS HEALTH ISSUES
For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step. Thomas A Kempis
Buddhism teaches that there is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth according to the qualities of a person’s actions. Physical immortality is neither a path to enlightenment nor an attainable goal: even the gods eventually die. After biological death an arhat, or buddha, enters into parinirvana, an everlasting state of transcendental happiness.
The study of God’s Word, for the purpose of discovering God’s will, is the secret discipline which has formed the greatest characters. James Waddel Alexander
I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans. George MacDonald
The Bible on God’s Will
▷ Lead others to Christ (Matthew 18:11-14) ▷ Believe in God (John 6:40) ▷ Give generously (2 Corinthians 8:1-7) ▷ Be obedient to God (Ephesians 6:5-8) ▷ Bear fruit (Colossians 1:9-12) ▷ Abstain from immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) ▷ Pray at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) ▷ Do the right things (1 Peter 2:15)
3 To provide
“For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:39-40
eternal
life.
Islam
Muslims believe that the present life is a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. One’s eternal destination depends on balance of good to bad deeds in life. They are either granted admission to Paradise, where they will enjoy spiritual and physical pleasures forever, or condemned to Hell to suffer spiritual and physical torment for eternity.
Hindus believe in an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death. People repeat a process of life, death, and rebirth in a cycle called samsara. If they live their life well, their karma improves and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower if they live their life poorly.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s witnesses believe the word soul (nephesh or psykhe) as used in the Bible is a person, an animal, or the life a person or animal enjoys. The soul is not part of man, but is the whole man. When a person or animal dies, the soul dies, and death is a state of non-existence. After the final judgment, it is expected that the righteous will receive eternal life and live forever in an earthly paradise.
Ancient Greeks
In ancient Greek religion, the soul was considered to have an eternal existence in Hades, but without the body the soul was considered dead. Although almost everybody had nothing to look forward to but an eternal existence as a disembodied dead soul, a number of men and women were considered to have gained physical immortality and brought to live forever in either Elysium, the Islands of the Blessed, heaven, the ocean, or literally right under the ground.
Hinduism
THE POINT ©ISTOCKPHOTO
Jesus came to give eternal life. 0 0 9
To give life
1
to the world.
In the process of mummification, there were actually 70 steps carried out over 70 days including: ▷R emoval of brain through the nostrils ▷R emoval of the intestines through an incision in the side ▷ S terilization of the body and the intestines ▷P acking the limbs with clay or sand ▷P acking the body with linen (soaked in resin), myrrh and cinnamon ▷ T reating the body with ointments ▷W rapping the body with a fine linen gauze over 1000 square yards long ▷ The internal organs were mummified and put in alabaster jars
©ISTOCKPHOTO
Why did Jesus come into the world?
Preparing for the Afterlife
©PICTURED ESK
THE QUESTION
Bread Bites ▷ Bread is the one food eaten by people of
every race, culture, and religion. ▷ Each American consumes, on average, 53 pounds of bread per year. ▷ One bushel of wheat will produce 73 one-pound loaves of bread. ▷ Americans eat 45 billion sandwiches every year; the all-time favorite sandwich is ham. ▷ Peanut butter was first paired with jelly in a sandwich in the 1920s. ▷ An average student will consume approximately 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduation from high school.
“I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins. He’s the reason that I’m here.” Justin Bieber ©GETTYIMAGES
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:32-33
©ISTOCKPH OTO
©ISTOCKPHOTO
I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details. Albert Einstein 0 0 8 KNOWN 13
To do God’s will.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:34-38
Buddhism
Heart & Soul
What is necessary to stay alive?
FOOD YOU CAN GO WITHOUT:
H2O FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS;
PE RS TOC K
EGYPTIAN PHAROAHS went to great lengths to prepare for eternity (not just to be stuck in a museum). Many factors came into play for an individual who hoped to obtain eternal life—one of which was the heart, a very important physical part of a pharaoh’s body. According to the Egyptians, the heart is where the soul, spirit, personality and essence of a person resided. If a pharaoh wished to be granted eternal life, he must first have his heart weighed on a scale against the feather of Maat. If the scales balanced then he had led a good life; if his heart was heavier then the feather, the pharaoh had forfeited his afterlife.
2
U ©S
mortal 1) liable or
subject to death; 2) of or relating to humankind; 3) of, relating to, or accompanying death; 4) causing death; fatal
immortal
1) not subject to death or decay; 2) having everlasting fame; 3) everlasting; perpetual; constant; 4) of or relating to immortal beings or concepts
FOR UP TO TEN DAYS; THOUGH AFTER THREE DAYS THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS HEALTH ISSUES
For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step. Thomas A Kempis
Buddhism teaches that there is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth according to the qualities of a person’s actions. Physical immortality is neither a path to enlightenment nor an attainable goal: even the gods eventually die. After biological death an arhat, or buddha, enters into parinirvana, an everlasting state of transcendental happiness.
The study of God’s Word, for the purpose of discovering God’s will, is the secret discipline which has formed the greatest characters. James Waddel Alexander
I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans. George MacDonald
The Bible on God’s Will
▷ Lead others to Christ (Matthew 18:11-14) ▷ Believe in God (John 6:40) ▷ Give generously (2 Corinthians 8:1-7) ▷ Be obedient to God (Ephesians 6:5-8) ▷ Bear fruit (Colossians 1:9-12) ▷ Abstain from immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) ▷ Pray at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) ▷ Do the right things (1 Peter 2:15)
3 To provide
“For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:39-40
eternal
life.
Islam
Muslims believe that the present life is a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. One’s eternal destination depends on balance of good to bad deeds in life. They are either granted admission to Paradise, where they will enjoy spiritual and physical pleasures forever, or condemned to Hell to suffer spiritual and physical torment for eternity.
Hindus believe in an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death. People repeat a process of life, death, and rebirth in a cycle called samsara. If they live their life well, their karma improves and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower if they live their life poorly.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s witnesses believe the word soul (nephesh or psykhe) as used in the Bible is a person, an animal, or the life a person or animal enjoys. The soul is not part of man, but is the whole man. When a person or animal dies, the soul dies, and death is a state of non-existence. After the final judgment, it is expected that the righteous will receive eternal life and live forever in an earthly paradise.
Ancient Greeks
In ancient Greek religion, the soul was considered to have an eternal existence in Hades, but without the body the soul was considered dead. Although almost everybody had nothing to look forward to but an eternal existence as a disembodied dead soul, a number of men and women were considered to have gained physical immortality and brought to live forever in either Elysium, the Islands of the Blessed, heaven, the ocean, or literally right under the ground.
Hinduism
THE POINT ©ISTOCKPHOTO
Jesus came to give eternal life. 0 0 9
Life Worth Living How did life begin? Seriously, how did it all get started? You hear a lot of things like the Big Bang and evolution. In science, life exists when an organism can grow, reproduce, respond to its environment, and adapt. But is life more than that? What does it mean to really live?
Read John 10:10. What did Jesus say about life…and death?
What parts of your life feel dead?
Does believing in Jesus mean that He will limit the good things you could have in your life?
What are those things you wish you could have? How would they make your life better?
Would things really make your life better? Maybe for a time, but what about for your future? Some people think Jesus is just a killjoy who gives us a whole bunch of rules about what not to do. Jesus is not the one who is coming to steal your fun or destroy your reputation; He provides a life of abundance if only you will let Him. Have you allowed Jesus to give you new life? If you haven’t, now’s your chance. Check out the inside-back cover of this magazine to find out how you can become a Christian. Maybe you are a Christian, but you don’t look alive. What is going on in your life that is keeping you from truly living? Take some time this week to seek the One who wants to give you life in all its abundance.
©VEER
0 1 0 KNOWN 13
My Prayer
Lord, You are the giver of abundant life and I want to be a part of that life.
Dead to Alive Imagine this. There he was in the middle of a desert in a valley filled with bones. The wind was blowing dust everywhere. There was no sign of life and if there was life, it had only existed many, many years ago. It was a graveyard of lives that were dead and gone. Then, with just a word, there was a great noise and rattling as all the bones began to come together. The tendons and the flesh grew back around the bones and skin soon covered the flesh. Finally, a strong wind blew through the carcasses of flesh and bones. They came to life and stood up as a vast army.
Pretty cool, huh? And it is not just some new science-fiction thriller, computer-generated special effect. That’s exactly the vision God gave to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37:1-14.
Read Ezekiel 37:1-14. Who raised these bones back to life?
Do you believe God can do this? Why is it so unbelievable for some?
Jesus came to do in your life what God’s Spirit did in that valley—bring you back to life. Sin doesn’t just make you “not so good,” it makes you completely dead and dry. Only Jesus has the unbelievable power to bring you back together and make you alive. Do you feel spiritually dead and dry? Turn to Jesus because He alone has the power to take your dead, dry spiritual life and make you into a ready soldier for Him.
When has your life seemed like a valley of dry bones?
My Prayer
Jesus, I am tired and weary. I feel spiritually dry and sometimes dead. Revive me again so that I can fight the good fight for You.
©ISTOCKPHOTO
Resurrected 0 1 1
Light in the Darkness When you were younger, were you scared of the dark? Being in the dark can cause feelings of anxiety and fear. And in the darkness, your imagination can create all kinds of ideas that scare you even more. But in an instant, fear can be turned to calm just by turning on a light. Somehow, light makes all the fear go away.
the wall is still right outside your window. Light, however, will make a tremendous difference in the way you view those things. Jesus is light in a dark world.
Is your life dark in some places? Read Ephesians 5:5-14. What does the light do? (v. 13) What is causing your fear and anxiety? Does the light change the circumstances around you?
Light makes things that are not seen to suddenly be seen. It removes the unknown. Light changes our perspective. But light will only change your perspective if you use it. There is still a space under the bed where monsters can hide. There’s still a closet where something can pop out at any minute. The tree outside that once cast the shadow on ©VEER
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Maybe you need to let the light into those areas where you are most afraid. Take some time today to pray and ask God to light up the dark areas of your life.
My Prayer
Lord, please let the light shine in my life and in what I’m going through.
