The "Real" Tomb of Jesus Found!

Tweet

Every few years a new archeological dig discovers the tomb of Jesus. I've been asked, "If they discover Jesus' body in a tomb will it destroy Christianity?" Yes. If Christ was not raised from the dead EVERYTHING we believe in faith is false. The Apostle Paul says it best in 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 

...if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is without foundation, and so is your faith. ...For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

That is an extremely strong statement. Recently a newly discovered tomb underneath a condo in Jerusalem was found. They clame it is the tomb of Jesus' family, and it may be. Of course the goal is to find the body of Jesus. Archeologist know a discovery like that would rock the world. iPad 3 news would have nothing on finding Jesus' body.

The mechanical arm that first explored the tomb

The Discovery channel has jumped all over it. They'll be releasing a Discovery special on the "Patio Tomb." In this special they'll tell us if they found the body of Jesus Christ. If they're saving the information for a Discovery Special then my guess is they don't even believe they've found the body of Jesus. That of course that is just my wild conjecture.

A grave inside the family tomb

They won't find Jesus' body because it's not there! Christ was raised from the dead and hundreds were witnesses.

He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He also appeared to me. 1 Corinthians 15:4-8

I urge you to not get too worked up over this because as the popular song by The David Crowder Band says, My God is not dead He's surely alive He's living on the inside roaring like a lion. Beyond the recorded evidence of Christ's resurrection from the dead your life change is evidence that Jesus is alive and ruling.

People have been trying to find Jesus' body for almost 2000 years and they haven't been able to. It's nowhere to be found. So if we believe Christ died for our sins and resurrected from the dead let's starting living life like we have the power of the God of the universe inside of us. I hope our newest study into the memoirs of a wine taster named Nehemiah will help us to act on the amazing power of our God. Get in a Change Your World in 52 Days small group and join us on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings for the 52 Day Momentum Challenge.

Can It Get Any Worse?

Tweet

I don't know about you, but when I see headlines like, "Gas prices' earliest-ever rise above $3.50 a bad sign for motorists" I don't get excited... at all. In fact you may say headlines like those pretty much make me want to quit life. I don't know what quitting would do, because I'd still have to buy gas. Sometimes I wonder can it get any worse? This month it's the rent. Next month it's gas, and who knows what after that.

I can imagine Nehemiah felt that way (And I'm willing to wager much worse). The City of God was rubble. It was the city of Nehemiah's people, Jerusalem. This struck Nehemiah hard. His memoirs tell us,

'The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still rubble; the city gates are still cinders.'
When I (Nehemiah) heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God-of-Heaven. Nehemiah 1:3-4 My parenthetical.

Like you and me, Nehemiah wanted things back to normal. He wanted Jerusalem to be the great kingdom of his ancestors David and Solomon. Nehemiah didn't just sit on his hands and cry. He did something about it.

Nehemiah, a favored cup-bearer, approached his Persian king and asked if he could leave and rebuild Jerusalem. The king gave him permission. With God's strength and wisdom and against all the odds Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem in 52 days. It took a lot of help, work, and leadership, but Nehemiah trusted in God for the recovery of Jerusalem.

Gas prices go up. Pay goes down. Stuff breaks. The housing market flounders. Rent goes up. Blah, blah, blah... If we think voting for the right guy in the election is going to fix everything we're crazy. The people in Washington aren't going to fix this nation. They've tried and failed. It's time we get off our hands, stop whining, and do something ourselves. It's not about wealth, and it's not about gas prices. The recovery isn't a political issue. It's a spiritual one. The recovery is about bringing our nation back to the Godly one it once was. We are the recovery. We must rebuild the walls torn down.

I'm really looking forward to our new series called, "Change Your World in 52 Days." I think it will be mind-blowing and life changing. You can watch the promo below, and I encourage you to read Nehemiah before we start this series next week. It's a great story.