This morning, whilst delivering my cup of tea, Grumble Stiltskin reminded me that this is a day to be especially thankful & happy. Why? Because it's Easter today. I needed reminding, as both Loud Lungs & the Mischief Maker have terrible D&V (not good when potty training, que multiple gross accidents) & consequently I was awake for over an hour in the middle of the night. Easter sunday, is one of the best days for a Christian, because it's the day when we remember & celebrate Jesus' physical resurrection from the dead, in time & space history, over 2000 years ago. Jesus' resurrection from the dead is a life changing & history changing event for many reasons, but there are two big things I'm remembering this morning.
Firstly, Jesus' resurrection from the dead shows that God's promise of eternal life (for those who trust in Jesus) is REAL. Jesus rose from the dead physically, he was seen & touched by many people, he ate, walked, spoke etc - so when God tells us that there is life beyond death, He means it & He's proved it. Just as He raised Jesus, He's powerful to raise us too. Not in some airy-fairy, clouds, harps & fluff way, but in real life, living, breathing, flesh & bones way.
Secondly, the incredible thing about Jesus' resurrection from the dead shows that he accomplished everything he died for on the cross. Jesus died to bring us forgiveness from God, restore our relationship with God, & give us the hope of eternal life spent with God. How did his death achieve this? The Bible tells us that when Jesus died, though sinless, he took on our sin (our personal rejection/denial/ignoring of God in our hearts, born out in our thoughts, attitudes, behaviour etc) & also took on the consequence & penalty of our sin - death. When Jesus died on the cross, he was punished by God for our sin, in our place, instead of us. He took our sin and bore our punishment. This meant that God was able to forgive us, without overlooking our sin & pretending it didn't matter, as He'd justly poured out His anger & punishment on Jesus, instead of us. And we know that Jesus' death was enough to satisfy God's anger & complete the punishment - because Jesus didn't stay dead! He rose, vindicated & victorious, showing that death has been defeated, there is a way for sin to be paid for whilst enabling us to be forgiven, death doesn't have to be the end! Because of Jesus' death, God's not angry with us anymore - if we trust in Jesus, our penalty has been paid by him, meaning we're forgiven & can know God personally forever, & will be raised physically from the dead to spend forever with Him. WOW!
Remember these verses?
Romans 6v23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Peter 3v18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
Romans 8v1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
Romans 8v11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
2 Corinthians 4v14 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
How should we respond to Jesus, on this wonderful Easter sunday? With great thankfulness, joy & hope - knowing that his resurrection has secured ours. What an incredible hope we have in him. Blind-blowing & life changing. And this should change our lives, & mean that instead of living for ourselves, we live for him - for his honour, fame, pleasure & glory, as it says in
2 Corinthians 5v15: And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Wishing you a truly HAPPY EASTER
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