Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Reflections

Jesus was right all along. That's what Easter means. He is who he said he was. He did what he set out to do. And God vindicated him in the end by raising him from the dead. What does this mean?
  • All of your sins are forgiven. All the garbage in your life is cleaned up. You are declared innocent in Christ.
  • Jesus is King. He has defeated our worst enemies--evil, sin, and death--by rising from the grave. He is the most powerful force in Creation, the true King over all.
  • You have real hope beyond the grave. The hope of the Christian is that, one day, we will also rise from the dead and enjoy real, embodied fellowship with Jesus.
  • Death has lost its sting. Death lost. Jesus conquered it. It holds no power over us anymore, and we need not fear it. Yes, it will come to each of us, but it no longer has the final word.
  • The One who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you and with us. The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, and now the Holy Spirit lives in you by faith in Jesus Christ. You have resurrection power within you.
I'm sure this list could go on and on with more good news. Rejoice! Jesus Christ is the first of us to be raised from the dead, and he will never die again. He is praying for you right now, sitting at the right hand of the Father. So rejoice and be glad, for the King Over All is your risen Lord and Friend.

He is risen!

1 comment:

5 VOICES said...

Hi Andy, I thought that one way to get to know you better is to connect with your blog
It strikes me that your 5th bullet point re/ the presence of the resurrected Lord within us is the center of the matter. I certainly don't want to diminish the core truth of the resurrection but if folks don't know how to live out of that reality, just believing that the resurrection occurred is not that helpful
If it really did occur then that changes everything both on a cosmic and personal level. The pastoral challenge is to help folks believe and genuinely access the power that He died to pass onto us
I have begun to include the Holts in my prayers and I'll also keep up on the Blog
Blessings to you and Breena and your brood
Ned