Who has Risen?

It's early, the sun is rising, it's a new day and you are thanking Jesus for God's amazing love.

 
Matthew chapter 28 verses 5-7.

Then the angel spoke to the women, "Do not be frightened! he said, "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified, but He is not here! For He has come back to life again, just as He said He would. Come in and see where His body was lying....And now, go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and that He is going to Galilee to meet them there."  

In John chapter 3 a Jewish religious leader came for an interview with Jesus after dark one night. "Sir," he said, "We all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miracles are proof enough of this." Jesus replied, "With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless you are born again, you can never get into the Kingdom of God." 

"Born again!" exclaimed Nicodemus. "What do You mean? How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" Jesus replied, "What I am telling you so earnestly is this: Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Man can only reproduce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven; so do not be surprised at My statement that you must be born again! Just as you can hear the wind but cannot tell where it comes from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit. We do not know on whom He will next bestow this life from heaven." 

   That is why it is a miracle when it happens to you. You never saw it coming and you never would have been able to predict what was going to happen, but it did and it has left you amazed, in awe and filled with thanksgiving, a never ending gratitude that someone would give you such a gift. 

   Broken, fed-up, tired and worn out, you have come to the point of wondering is this all there is to the life you are living. Very soon it will be over and what has it all been about? You have loved, you have had children and family, yet everyday comes and goes by, getting all that much closer to an ending. Is there a joy you are missing out on? 

   In my case I was alone, living in a fog. I had tried having people in my life but was always being disappointed by their selfishness and greed. It was only after another difficult season in my life that I thought of talking with God. He heard my prayers and through Him I walked out of the fog and into His light. That was 24 years ago and I have never missed a day of joy. I am so thankful and filled with love for people and life. 

   This same joy and love is available to everyone. But not everyone wants to hear about it. It has to be something they are ready for and willing to do on their own. It is a personal relationship between God and His child. It's knowing Jesus as your Savior and the Holy Spirit who fills you with God's love. 

   Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19-24 say, "Now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies where God is, because of the blood of Jesus. This is the fresh, new, life-giving way which Christ has opened for us by tearing the curtain---His human body---to let us into the holy presence of God. And since this High Priest of ours rules over God's household, let us go right in, to God Himself, with true hearts fully trusting Him to receive us, because we have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and because our bodies have been washed with pure water. Now we can look forward to the salvation God promised us. There is no longer any room for doubt, and we can tell others that salvation is ours, for there is no question that He will do what He says."  

   At first your joy is overflowing, you are exploding with excitement and filled with the feeling of love and life. You want to tell everyone, but you quickly find out that not everyone has had their eye's and hearts opened to receive the Good News of Christ. You have been risen from your old ways into this new life. You so want everyone to know that it is available to them also, but by being patient, by being humble, and by reflecting God's love, they may become curious of your happiness, opening the door for you to talk about God and Jesus.

   Just as Jesus suffered at the hands of those who did not see what He knew. You also have to suffer and do as He did. Get along, reflect His love for God and when the opportunity arises and someone questions your love and joy, be ready to talk to them in an understanding manner that quietly lets them know what Jesus did and that God has a plan for them. 

   1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15 says, "Quietly trust yourself to Christ your Lord and if anybody asks why you believe as you do, be ready to tell him, and do it in a gentle and respectful way."

1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 11 and 12 say, "This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and doing your own work, just as we told you before. As a result, people who are not Christians will trust and respect you, and you will not need to depend on others for enough money to pay your bills."

   It is life as usual except you have now asked God to come into your life. Jesus has done His work in you and you have become filled with the Holy Spirit. All around you are others who believe as you do and others who have not seen as you have. The world has not changed but you have and it is in your joy that your change is seen. 

   Who has risen? Jesus has and He has brought you with Him. You are the light of the world and you get to stand out as His child, loving the world as He intended it to be loved. You get to praise God for the life you are now living and that you will be with Him forever. 

   Thank You Father for Jesus. Our Savior from the world as we knew it, into life with You. 😊   

1 Peter chapter 3 verse 21 and 22.

In baptism we show that we have been saved from death and doom by the resurrection of Christ; not because our bodies are washed clean by the water, but because in being baptized we are turning to God and asking Him to cleanse our hearts from sin. And now Christ is in heaven, sitting in the place of honor next to God the Father, with all the angels and powers of heaven bowing before Him and obeying Him." 

1 John chapter 4 verses 12 and 13.

For though we have never yet seen God, when we love each other God lives in us and His love within us grows ever stronger. And He has put His own Holy Spirit into our hearts as a proof to us that we are living with Him and He is with us. 

Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4-7.

But God is so rich in mercy; He loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, He gave us back our lives again when He raised Christ up from the dead---only by His undeserved favor have we ever been saved---and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with Him in the heavenly realms---all because of what Christ Jesus did. And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich His kindness is, as shown in all He has done for us through Jesus Christ.

John chapter 11 verses 25 and 26.

Jesus told her, "I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in Me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in Me and shall never perish. Do you believe this?"

John chapter 3 verse 16 and 17.

For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  

Philippians chapter 3 verses 13 and 14.

I am still not all I should be but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us.

Colossians chapter 1 verses 4-6.

For we have heard how much you trust the Lord, and how much you love His people. And you are looking forward to the joys of heaven, and have been ever since the Gospel first was preached to you. The same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world and changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard it and understood about God's great kindness to sinners.