Easter
2 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 8-10.
Three different times I begged God to make me well again. Each time He said, "No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people." Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ power and abilities. Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite happy about "the thorn," and about the insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong---the less I have, the more I depend on Him.
What does Easter mean to you? Is it another long weekend? What is good Friday about? What is all the hype about Easter Sunday?
Wahoo! Finally the first long weekend of the year. It has been so long since Christmas. I know that family day was created to help give people a break, but that does not apply to me, so it is a long haul between Christmas and Easter. The next one will be May 24, and that one is like the kick off to summer fun.
I know that there is chocolate and usually some sort of family get together, with good food. It is a good time but as soon as it arrives it seems like it is over and back to work again. May 24 can't come quick enough. Maybe your family attends a church and you are expected to go. Maybe you have met someone special in your life and they have invited you to church.
You have never put any thought into God or Jesus and you do not want to get sucked into the cult of church people. They are a bunch of hypocrites. You have heard the stories and know the people who have invited you. They're opiniated and judgemental, even in the church, where you are told that they are there, to worship God for His love and blessings upon them.
Maybe you have stepped in the door of the church and it makes you feel uncomfortable, like you don't want to be there. Maybe you are hesitant and guarded against those who greet you, thinking they have other reasons for saying hello to you. You know that the building is supposed to represent a place of worship and teaching, but you go because of those you care about and besides it may create conversation.
Now time passes and your life is not what you expected it to be. You've been burned by relationships, jobs and misguided purchases. You are getting older and you're restless. When Jesus began helping people, healing them and talking to them about God, they loved what He did but they had doubts about the things He spoke about. Some believed He was the Messiah, they loved the hopes and promises, but the bottom line was, it ruffled the collars of the religious leaders and made people question if He could be the Savior, the bible and prophets had spoken about.
Back then the people did not know the whole story, they only believed what they saw. There was this man making some pretty amazing claims, who did some pretty out of this world miracles and then had to suffer horrible beatings and was nailed to a cross, left hanging to die and be ridiculed by the crowds who came to watch. There was sadness for losing such an amazing person, the crowds went home and Jesus was put in a tomb.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul, is talking about resurrection and what some people are saying. Verses 13-20 say; "For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ must still be dead. And if He is still dead, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless; and we apostles are all liars because we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, and of course that is not true if the dead do not come back to life again. If they don't, then Christ is still dead, and you are very foolish to keep on trusting God to save you, and you are still under condemnation for your sins; in that case all Christians who have died are lost! And if being a Christian is of value to us only now in this life, we are the most miserable of creatures. But the fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead, and has become the first of millions who will come back to life again some day."
The story can be read about in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. How after resting on the Sabbath, the women went to the tomb with ointments and found the stone covering the entrance to the tomb rolled back. There was an encounter with Jesus and He wanted to speak with the disciples. It talks about the astonishment, and the joy of seeing Him alive.
Faced with an empty tomb, folded clothes, sightings of Jesus and then His eventual accession into the clouds and the two witness proclaiming His return, the world went about it's daily living. To those who believed in the miracles, who believed in Him being the Son of God and that His leaving was about our salvation through trusting in God, life had been changed.
Instead of just going through a day, now you can go through a day with God knowing that Jesus made it all possible for anyone and everyone to have that choice. Lets end with Revelation chapter 21 starting at verse 3; "I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, "Look, the home of God is now among men, and He will live with them and they will be His people; yes, God Himself will be among them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever." And the one sitting on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new!" And then He said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true; It is finished! I am the A and the Z---the Beginning and the End. I will give to the thirsty the springs of the Water of Life---as a gift!"
Thank You Father for Jesus. Thank You for conquering life with us now. Your blessings overflow!
1 Peter chapter 2 verse 12.
Be careful how you behave among your unsaved neighbors; for then, even if they are suspicious of you and talk against you, they will end up praising God for your good works when Christ returns.
1 Peter verses 15 and 16.
It is God's will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced it's power. You are free from the law, but that does not mean you are free to do wrong. Live as those who are free to do only God's will at all times.
Mark chapter 15 verses 31 and 32.
The chief priests and religious leaders were also standing around joking about Jesus. "He's quite clever at 'saving' others," they said, "but can't save Himself!" " Hey there, Messiah!" they yelled at Him. "You 'King of Israel'! Come on down from the cross and we'll believe you!" And even the two robbers dying with Him, cursed Him.
1 Timothy chapter 1 verses 15-17.
How true it is, and how I long that everyone should know it, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners---and I was the greatest of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as an example to show everyone how patient He is with even the worst of sinners, so that others will realize that they, too, can have everlasting life. Glory and honor to God forever and ever. He is the King of the ages, the unseen one who never dies; He alone is God, and full of wisdom. Amen.
Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 and 2.
Romans chapter 3 verse 23 and 24.
For we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Comments
Post a Comment