The Dishonest Way of Getting Things

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Easy Money

P.T. Barnum, himself a figure noted for pulling the wool over the eyes of his circus audiences, wrote that dishonest money was, in fact, the most challenging way to make money in the world.

What did Barnum mean with this counterintuitive piece of advice? After all, the phrase “easy money” has been ingrained into our culture to imply a source of money that did not go through the usual channels. Many confidence tricksters use the innate trusting nature of human beings to separate their poor marks from their money or property.

Our society is so used to the idea of “easy come, easy go” that the idea of making an honest living has taken on a passe, old-fashioned image as if diligent, hard work was a waste of time.

But Barnum insists that this way is the hardest way to earn money. Why? The answer is surprisingly simple.

Preserving Your Integrity

“If it’s too tough to get money honestly, gain it dishonestly,” Barnum writes.

Integrity is a key component of life that everyone needs to have. It is a quality that speaks volumes about a person’s character and is something that is deeply valued in society. Without integrity, life becomes difficult, and it becomes impossible to build strong and long-lasting relationships with people. Dishonesty is a moral turpitude that disqualifies a person from economic interactions, which makes it all the more important to develop and maintain one’s integrity.

 The Consequences of Lack of Integrity

A person who lacks integrity is not trusted, and it becomes difficult for them to succeed in any financial, emotional, or spiritual relationship. While they may be wealthy, they are socially isolated and unable to form meaningful relationships with people. Their lack of principle limits them from achieving their full potential, and people are less likely to work with or associate with them.

 The Benefits of Integrity

On the other hand, a person with strong character and unquestioned integrity will always be a sought-after partner. They will have their community resources at their disposal, and people will be willing to work with them, knowing they can be trusted. Their integrity creates connectivity and cooperation, which cannot be bought. This makes it essential for every person to develop and maintain their integrity, especially those in leadership positions.

 Future Forward: Prophetic Insights for Tomorrow Leaders

Zoe Ministries presents Future Forward: Prophetic Insights for Tomorrow Leader, an upcoming event that aims to help individuals gain insight and direction into their future. The event will feature prophetic ministers sharing their wisdom and prophetic words, providing attendees with the confidence and assurance they need to move forward in their lives and fulfill their divine purpose. This event is perfect for you if you are looking for guidance and direction.

Register for Future Forward: Prophetic Insights for Tomorrow Leaders

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to gain prophetic insights and guidance for your future. Register for Future Forward: Prophetic Insights for Tomorrow Leader today at www.prophecology.com and take the first step towards a life of purpose and fulfillment. Remember, developing and maintaining your integrity is vital to success in life, and this event will provide you with the direction and inspiration you need to achieve your goals.

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Restoring Integrity

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The Challenge for Church Leadership & Integrity

It is a difficult time for the church, especially for church leaders. The public failure of a church leader can have disastrous effects on the church’s members. Unfortunately, many church leaders have not taken responsibility for restoring their own and the church’s integrity. As a result, members are left to rationalize their leaders’ unethical behavior or abandon their faith altogether.

Restoration Procedures and Lack Thereof

Some denominations have established specific restoration procedures to combat this trend. However, many independent churches lack clear restoration processes to restore a fallen leader that the congregation formerly looked up to and trusted with their spiritual lives. The restoration process can vary depending on the church, with some leaders refusing to apologize and continuing in ministry without any consequences.

The Image of Christ

Leaders who refuse to take responsibility for their actions are detrimental to the image of Jesus Christ’s church, making it seem like certain people are above God’s judgment. Other church leaders may try to protect the fallen leader or leave the church altogether. However, some strive to restore their own integrity, relying on their spiritual skills to rebuild their credibility and respect.

The Apostle Paul’s Warnings

The apostle Paul warned that overseers must be above reproach and that those who sin should be reprimanded openly. However, he also taught that restoration should be conducted in a spirit of gentleness and humility. Anyone overseeing the rehabilitation of a fallen spiritual leader must also be cautious and avoid the temptation to fall themselves.

Future Forward: Prophetic Insights for Tomorrow Leaders

For church leaders who are struggling with issues of integrity, guidance and insight are crucial. That’s why we’re excited to invite you to “Future Forward: Prophetic Insights for Tomorrow Leaders,” an event featuring prophetic ministers who will share their wisdom and prophetic words to help you align with God’s plan for your life and ministry. Join us at www.prophecology.com to register and gain the direction you need to move forward confidently and purposefully in your ministry.

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Integrity and Integration

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Becoming Complete

Integrity comes from the same root word as integrate, which means “complete.” Hawaii joined the US as the 50th state. Integrity makes a person entire. Integrity means living what they say. Even a church congregation might become morally bankrupt without integrity. In the 1960s, theologians denounced the “Death of God,” a radical movement that held that belief in God is impossible or useless in the secular world.

The Death of God movement, also known as the thanatology, explains secularity and the decline of conventional religion. William Blake, a 19th-century poet, and mystic, saw the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as a kenosis or self-emptying of God, culminating in God’s death. The Protestant theologians’ Death of God movement signified society’s growing dissatisfaction with religion and a move away from conventional values and customs. The 1970s brought the Charismatic movement and fundamentalism to the Christian church, but not before bringing existential anxiety, cynicism, spiritual doubt, and moral rot in American culture.

Some critics attribute the period’s sexual promiscuity, violence, and anti-establishment rhetoric to the Death of God movement. Modern moral relativism makes morality and truth a question of taste. The Death of God movement was paralleled by situation ethics and ethical relativism. Situation ethics, according to Bishop John A. T. Robinson and Professor Joseph Fletcher, holds that no single moral philosophy can address all situations and that each person must decide what is proper.

Situation ethics philosophers and the Death of God movement argue that integrity has withdrawn from the modern world because modern man has been too focused on obsolete mythology and not enough on quickly changing situations. Modern man has no compass or bearings since God is absent. This states that we all follow our birth religion, a cultural dice roll. The godlessness and secularism that followed this movement is understandable. The entire Christian community would need to be restored to its prophetic identity.

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The Discernment of Sin

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Spiritual Discernment

So, how could a leader who has failed morally, ethically, monetarily, or even theologically be restored? Pastor Larry Stockstill suggests a procedure that begins with the spiritual discernment of sin (Gal. 6:1). Prophetic discernment is not the same as sin detection. Some sins, for example, are regarded as lapses or indiscretions rather than deep-seated moral failures. An indiscretion may necessitate discipline, whereas moral loss may be terrible enough to disqualify a leader permanently. To enable spiritual overseers to recognize their sins, the fallen leader must answer the following eight questions:

  1. How deeply ingrained and long-lasting is the sin?
  2. Has the individual taken long-term steps to conceal his sin?
  3. Did the leader publicly deny his transgression, losing all credibility with his followers as the proof became unmistakable? Even in politics and sports, we’ve seen that the worst offense associated with a scandal is a public denial of wrongdoing followed by an embarrassing confession when the evidence becomes too heavy.
  4. Is he cynical about the gravity of his sin, dismissing it as typical or, at worst, marginal behavior?
  5. Is he willing to end every lousy relationship?
  6. Has he justified his sin by blaming others and portraying himself as a victim?
  7. Does he manipulate scripture to justify his behavior or label those who disagree with him as “Pharisaical” or “legalistic”?
  8. Has he shown regret?

A Willingness to Repent

Repentance must entail a commitment to renounce and forsake the sin and a willingness to surrender and submit to the demands of authority, all without changing authorities during the restoration process.

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Identity and the Soul

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The Soul Cannot Die

Thomas Aquinas said that because the soul can’t be destroyed, the parts of a person’s soul after death should be the same as they were before the death. So, the unchangeable soul should be able to keep its identity whether it is with the physical body or temporarily separated while waiting for the last day’s resurrection. Because of this, Aquinas doesn’t see any problem with the idea that people keep their identities after death, even though the soul is no longer with the dead body.

It stays this way until the last day when it meets the resurrected body for the last time. It’s as if the soul has an eternal plan for the resurrected organic body, which will be brought back to life by divine power. This makes it possible for all people to be perfect in the end, or for those who deserve eternal damnation to be destroyed in the end. So, what does this have to do with putting things right and being honest? To answer this question, we must first look at the metaphysical connection between body and soul, between physical existence and spiritual nature. For this, we need to look at the human soul itself.

Physical Existence and Spiritual Substance

The fact that the human soul can’t be destroyed, which is a reflection of God’s divine nature, shows that the divine plan is already written all over the universe. As Genesis 1:26-27 tells us:

Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The Divine Mind

Charles Fillmore wrote in his 1936 book Prosperity, “Divine mind is the one and only reality.” In contrast to the mortal body, the spiritual body lives forever in the heavens and is not made by people. All of creation is made up of a divine, spiritual substance that can never be used up. What we think of as physical matter is only the tip of what God made.

Spirit is not matter. God is not a physical matter but a spiritual substance. Matter has shape, but God, who is the source of all shape, has none. Spiritual substance lies beneath the physical world we see. This substance first takes shape in our minds, and we bring it into our lives by becoming one with it and reconnecting with the limitless source which we all come from.

The spiritual thing we’re talking about is alive, not just a pile of dead food that doesn’t fill you up or a pool of water that doesn’t quench your thirst. The spiritual stuff is bread and water that keep on giving life.

People who eat God’s spiritual food will never feel hungry or thirsty. You cannot win or lose spiritual substance as you can with earthly fortune. It is something that stays the same.

It is an unbreakable rule that is as important to reality as the rules of math. We can’t live without God’s spiritual supply, just like we can’t live without the source of life. As God is everywhere in the universe and life is in every cell of the body, spiritual energy flows freely through people.

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Restoration of Integrity

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Develop your character so that you are a person of integrity.

Peter Cain

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
    but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.

Proverbs 10:9 NRSV

Modern Society and the Loss of Integrity

Many critics have declared a conspicuous and severe loss of integrity in modern society, notably among those in positions of respect and authority and among ordinary members of American culture and life. It is one of the most prominent issues confronting churches today. But what exactly is integrity?

Integrity and Honesty

One of the first attributes we identify with integrity is honesty, an excellent foundation for a life of virtue. After all, a person of integrity cannot be dishonest. But goodness extends beyond plain honesty. Honesty is merely expressing the truth; however, as Professor Stephen L. Carter explains, integrity is having the courage of one’s convictions. Goodness does not suggest a single-minded devotion but rather a completeness in confidence, an assurance that one is conducting their life correctly.

In other words, a person of integrity is someone others can rely on to do the right thing, follow the rules, and maintain their pledges and obligations.

When we, as individual believers, lose our way and end up jeopardizing our prophetic identities, integrity is restoring ourselves to our original, undying nature. It is restoring your prophetic identity by aligning with the portion of you created in God’s image and likeness.

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The Fundamental Basis of the Universe & the Super Mind

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What everything is made up

Only the Divine Mind exists. We can “well up” with power by calmly contemplating this Mind’s ideas. The spiritual body, which lives forever in paradise, would have a base. The visible, material body then conveys the spiritual body to everything we contact. Prophets’ spiritual understanding revealed a new age. New means to access goods and support are emerging now.

We can already see this in the fact that cash is becoming less common and online transactions are becoming more common. People won’t be enslaved to money in the prophets’ foretold economy. We’ll meet our daily requirements in ways that aren’t possible in capitalism. Instead, we will serve one other for the love of it, and prosperity will flow freely to and through us, according to Charles Fillmore. Fillmore adds that those who have tested the “supply and support” that love and zeal will thereafter set in motion are outspoken about how wonderfully they work.

The Supermind

People from all over the world have sometimes shown signs of the dynamic power of the supermind. When this supermind does show up, it is usually tied to mysterious rites or hidden behind religious symbols and priestly power. The “ordinary herd” doesn’t know where these occultists and holy men derive their superpowers because of obscurantism. Good news: this mysterious darkness has been replaced by light. The mind of the viewer can influence even the most basic components of nature, according to physical scientists. This discovery disproves the mechanical atomic hypothesis.

Christian metaphysicians can now think about how the Spirit functions metaphysically thanks to quantum physics. We’ll examine restoration’s relationship to the body and soul’s resurrection in the future post.

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Metaphysical Distinction of the Resurrection

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As preachers of the gospel of Jesus, do not expect worldly honors: these Jesus Christ neither took to himself, nor gave to his disciples.

Adam Clarke

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,

John 11: 25 NRSV

Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection

What does “resurrection” mean? One definition of resurrection is the return of mind and body to their original, unkillable state. It seems easy, but there are essential parts of this definition that we need to figure out first. First, people must realize that God made man in His image and likeness. What does this mean, though? It means that because God is Spirit, we all have something in us that is like Him—something that will never die and is perfect. The prophet of God has to align with this truth to align their way of being with the divine plan for their purpose and nature.

Restoration and Resurrection

The stories about Jesus and Lazarus’s resurrections in the Gospels show that resurrection means bringing a dead body back to life. When we say “life,” we mean that a person goes back to breathing, moving around, eating, etc. But how is a dead body different from a living person? To understand this critical difference, we must first understand what it means to “restore.”

To Restore

Restoration implies that something is whole and finished, which is necessary for something to work or perform well. The essential Christian belief is that when a person dies, their body and soul are split apart. Thomas Aquinas, a Christian theologian and philosopher was interested in the human soul. He agreed with Aristotle’s idea that we all have an unchangeable soul whose natural state is to be united with the physical body. According to Aquinas, the human soul is the body’s “substantial form,” and it doesn’t usually exist apart from the body.

As Aquinas states in his Questiones de Anima:

. . . one must maintain that the soul is an entity, as being able to subsist per se but not as possessing in itself a complete specific nature, but rather as completing human nature insofar as it is the form of its body; and thus at one and the same time it is a form and an entity.

In De Spiritualibus Creatures, Aquinas says again that the soul and the body are inextricably linked:

Now the soul, although it is incorruptible, is nevertheless in no other genus than the body because, since it is a part of a human nature, to be in a genus or in a species or to be a person or hypostasis is not characteristic of the soul, but of the composite [i.e., soul and body]. And hence, also, it cannot be called ‘this something’, if by this phrase is meant an hypostasis or person, or an individual situated in a genus or in a species. But if ‘this something’ means every thing which is able to be self-subsistent, in this sense the soul is ‘this something.’

But he says later that the soul’s ability to understand does not depend on any organ in the body and that the soul’s ability to exist does not stop when the body stops being. This goes back to what we said earlier, that the resurrection involves restoring the part of us made in the image and likeness of our perfect and divine Creator. But he says later that the soul’s ability to understand does not depend on any organ in the body and that the soul’s ability to exist does not stop when the body stops being. This goes back to what we said earlier, that the resurrection involves restoring the part of us made in the image and likeness of our perfect and divine Creator.

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The Practice of Christian Labyrinths 

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“The object of pilgrimage is not rest and recreation – to get away from it all. To set out on a pilgrimage is to throw down a challenge to everyday life.” 

Huston Smith 

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 

Leviticus 19:2 NRSV

Labyrinths

The word “labyrinth” brings up images of a maze. Daedalus, a mythical craftsman, created the Knossos Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete. It wasn’t straightforward. It housed the Minotaur, whom Theseus slew. Daedalus designed the Labyrinth so beautifully that he was unable to escape.

Prayer Labyrinths

Prayer labyrinths are used for both walking and praying. There is no magic. You can walk about and ponder on God without getting lost. Labyrinths feature a single path to the center and back. It has multiple turns but no dead ends, unlike mazes. Labyrinths can be set up inside on a canvas mat or outside on grass, tile, or stone. There are finger and online labyrinths. Labyrinths can be found worldwide and have a long history inside and outside the church. Christian labyrinths spiritually transform people. Worship and thank God as you make your way to the center of a maze, then pray for others as you return. Many Christian denominations support the use of labyrinths in holy rites.

Cultural Influence

The labyrinth existed before Christianity. It is used in many civilizations for a variety of purposes. The Christian church has used it since the fourth century. Thousands of Christians worldwide use it for prayer, meditation, contemplation, worship, celebration, and spiritual growth. In 324 AD, the Algerian Basilica of St. Reparatus had the first Christian labyrinth. In the labyrinth’s heart were the words “Sancta Ecclesia” (Holy Church), reminding Christians of their focus.

The medieval Holy Lands were either dangerous or inaccessible. By walking church labyrinths, many European Christians replicated pilgrimage. With rituals and routines, this became a standard habit.

This change from secular to sacred may have occurred by chance when culture penetrated the church, or it may have been intentional because the church used mythological imagery as an allegory. In any case, medieval labyrinths were Christian in nature. In medieval texts, a priest walked the labyrinth and threw a yellow woolen ball to parishioners dancing and shouting “Praises to the Easter Victim.”

Today, a Christian church might choose to continue this long-standing tradition. Using the labyrinth for prayer, worship, and spiritual growth is a personal choice. On the other hand, Christians who include the maze in their spiritual walk will be in excellent company both historically and today.

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The Deaths of the Apostles 

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Christian tradition has it that all but one of the twelve Apostles held the title after Matthias was killed. John was the only one who lived to old age. Only James, the son of Zebedee’s death, is discussed in the New Testament. Matthew 27:5 says that Judas Iscariot threw the money he got for betraying Jesus down in the Temple and then went and hung himself. Acts 1:18 says that he bought a field, then “when he fell headfirst, he burst open in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out.”

Even though the many stories and legends aren’t always true, it’s safe to say that the apostles spread the message of the risen Christ far and wide. An old account says they threw dice to decide who would go where so everyone could hear about Jesus. They went through a lot for their faith, and most died of violent deaths because of their brave journeys worldwide.

Peter and Paul 

Both were martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. Paul was beheaded. Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he didn’t think he was good enough to die the same way as his Lord. 

Andrew 

            He was said to have gone to the “land of the man-eaters” in the Soviet Union. Christians there claim him as the first to bring the gospel to their land. He also preached in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and in Greece, where he is said to have been crucified. 

Thomas 

            Famously known as “Doubting Thomas,” he was probably most active in the east of Syria. Tradition has him preaching as far east as India, where the ancient Marthoma Christians revere him as their founder. They claim that he died there when pierced through with the spears of four soldiers. 

Philip 

            This apostle possibly had a powerful ministry in Carthage in North Africa and Asia Minor, where he converted the wife of a Roman proconsul. In retaliation, the proconsul had Philip arrested and cruelly put to death. 

Matthew 

            Also known as Levi, the tax collector and writer of a Gospel ministered in Persia and Ethiopia. Some of the oldest reports say he was not martyred, while others say he was stabbed to death in Ethiopia. 

Bartholomew 

            A true pilgrim, this apostle had widespread missionary travels attributed to him by tradition: to India with Thomas, back to Armenia, Ethiopia, and Southern Arabia. There are various accounts of how he met his death as a martyr for the gospel. 

James 

            This James, the son of Alpheus, is one of at least three James referred to in the New Testament. There is some confusion about which is which, but this James is reckoned to have ministered in Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that he was stoned and then clubbed to death. 

Simon the Zealot 

            As the story goes, he ministered in Persia and was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god. 

Matthias 

            He was the apostle chosen to replace Judas. Tradition sends him to Syria with Andrew and to death by burning. 

John 

            John the Evangelist is the only one of the original 12 generally thought to have died a natural death from old age. He was the church leader in the Ephesus area and is said to have taken care of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in his home. During Domitian’s persecution in the middle ’90s, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. He is credited with writing the last New Testament book, Revelation. An early Latin tradition has him escaping unhurt after being cast into boiling oil in Rome. 

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The Pilgrimage of the 12 Apostles 

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 “Life is a long pilgrimage from fear to love.”

Paulo Coelho

Pride goes before destruction,
    and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18 NRSV

Unqualified

The Apostles of Jesus were not the most likely to spread the Christian faith in the first few centuries. Most of them knew more about fishing than turning people into Christians. But 2,000 years later, the effects of what these Apostles did are still felt and bring in new Christians.

They were not the kind of people you might have thought Jesus would send on his mission to spread the good news to the whole world. They weren’t unique in any way. The twelve apostles were just regular men who worked. But Jesus made them the backbone of the church and gave them the most fantastic job imaginable: calling the whole world, including the most powerful empire ever, to repent and believe in the risen Christ.

Apostolos

The word “apostle” comes from the Greek word “Apostolos,” which means “one who is sent.” The term is sometimes used for others, especially Paul, who became a Christian a few years after Jesus’ death. Luke 6:13 says that Jesus chose 12 disciples and called them “apostles.” In Mark 6:30, the Twelve are called “apostles” when they return from the mission Jesus gave them to preach and heal. Mark 3, Matthew 10, and Luke 6 all have almost the same list of the Twelve: Peter, James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, or Judas, the son of James, Simon the Canadian, or the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.

A Special Bond

The Twelve had the advantage of always being with their master and receiving unique training and teaching from him. At least once, they were sent out in pairs on a special mission to inform people that the Messianic Kingdom was on its way (Mark 6: compare Matthew 10; Luke 9). The inner circle consisted of Peter, James, and John. They were the only ones permitted to see events such as the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51), the Transfiguration (Mark 9; Matthew 17; Luke 9) and Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 9). (Mark 14:33; Matthew 26:37). According to some experts, the number 12 is a reference to the 12 tribes of Israel, implying that it was given a lot of significance. After Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus and died, a void was left in the group, and Matthias was chosen to replace it immediately away (Acts 1). In Acts, the term “Apostle” usually refers to one of these 12 people.

Why is Paul an Apostle?

Paul called himself an Apostle, claiming that he had seen the Lord and received a direct mission from him. This seems to fit with the requirement in Acts that a newly appointed Apostle should be able to testify as a witness to the Resurrection of the Lord. But some early Christian writers say that some people were called apostles after the period covered by the New Testament.

Apostolic Age refers to early Christianity’s apostles. In the first century AD, the apostles founded churches around the Roman Empire. Middle East, Africa, and India, according to tradition. “Apostle” derives from the Greek word “apóstolos,” which combines the prefix “apó-,” meaning “from,” and the roots “stéll,” meaning “I send,” “I go,” and “messenger, envoy.” It’s stronger than “memore” and more like “delegate.” According to the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Christians used it to translate the Hebrew shellac. “Missionary” comes from missio, the Latin translation of the word’s religious connotation.

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Resurrection and Ascension 

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For most people, the story of their life’s pilgrimage would have ended at their death, but not only did Jesus’ story continue beyond his suffering and death, but by his own life, death, and resurrection, we Christians believe that all of our stories will continue on beyond the physical death into our eternal lives with Christ. 

Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus’ tomb on Sunday morning and is surprised to find it empty. Despite Jesus’ teaching, the disciples had not understood that Jesus would rise again. 

In the Book of Matthew

            In Matthew, there are guards at the tomb. An angel descends from heaven and opens the tomb. The guards faint from fear. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” after they visited the tomb. Jesus then appears to the eleven remaining disciples in Galilee and commissions them to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

In the Book of Mark

            In Mark, Salome and Mary, mother of James are with Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:1).  A young man in a white robe (an angel) in the tomb tells the women that Jesus will meet his disciples in Galilee, as he had told them (referring to Mark 14:28). 

In the Book of Luke

            In Luke, Mary and various other women meet two angels at the tomb, but the eleven disciples did not believe their story (Luke 25:1–12). Jesus appears to two of his followers in Emmaus. He also makes an appearance to Peter. Jesus then appears that same day to his disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 24:13–43). Although he appears and vanishes mysteriously, he also eats and lets them touch him to prove that he is not a spirit. He repeats his command to bring his teaching to all nations (Luke 24:51). 

In the Book of John

            In John, Mary is alone at first, but Peter and the beloved disciple come and see the tomb as well. Jesus then appears to Mary at the tomb. He later appears to the disciples, breathes on them, and gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. In a second visit to disciples, he proves to a doubting disciple (“Doubting Thomas”) that he is flesh and blood. The disciples return to Galilee, where Jesus makes another appearance. He performs a miracle known as the catch of 153 fish at the Sea of Galilee, after which Jesus encourages Peter to serve his followers. 

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