Sun, Mar 28th - 10:42PM
Easter Seals The Believer’s Hope
Visitors to the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter Sunday were met with surprise along with the message long awaited by generations of faithful followers of God. They brought spices with which to anoint the body of their beloved Jesus. As they approached the tomb, they questioned how the stone guarding its entrance would be removed.
But when they got to the place where Jesus had been entombed, they discovered that the stone had been rolled to the side and the entrance was opened. There was also an angel in the garden with the message of hope which remains alive today. The message of hope was simple and straightforward. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again”.(Lk 24:5-7).
With that fulfilled promise, Jesus sealed God’s plan for the salvation of mankind. That’s when John 3:16 came alive. There Jesus had said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. Someone wrote in response to one of my articles, that " Religion is sort of like a lift in your shoes. If it makes you feel better, fine. Just don't ask me to wear your shoes ". God hasn’t forced Himself upon anyone. Choice is written throughout this verse. No one has to get a true spiritual lift, but the opportunity for eternal life with Him is open for all who comes to Him by faith.
Easter is a tremendous spiritual motivation for the Christian community. We gather in churches, on main streets, in outdoor arenas, on pond banks, in open fields, and in other settings for the purpose of celebrating this miraculous event. The resurrection finalizes all the work of redemption which God the Father set in motion.
The spelling of the word “Easter” tells its own story. The first “E” represents eternity. The Christ of the empty tomb is the “Word became flesh” of John 1:14. And according to verse 1, “the Word was God”. So, Easter is about eternity past entering time for a few years. It is about the eternal God stepping out of infinity to enrobe Himself for a season in the form of mortal man. It is when Heaven touches earth in a very unique way.
The “A” reminds us about the assurance which Easter gives to the individual who receives the Son of God into the heart by faith. The world can’t grasp this thought because it isn’t logically possible. And they refuse the love of God which promises a new life with a new heartbeat through faith, knowing there is assurance in what the Bible teaches.
The “S” in Easter can refer to the salvation which comes through the Jesus Christ of the cross. Salvation means there is preservation from harm for an individual. In the Christian faith, the word is descriptive of the deliverance from sin and all its consequences. It means the believer won’t go to Hell after death. It means believers have a home in Heaven after death.
The letter “T” reminds the Christian how their relationship with God began. The word is “trust”. It is a reference to one’s faith which is firm because the Bible is a reliable source, having seen its past promises fulfilled. Upon the basis of the present fulfillment of the past promises, trusting God for the future is easy.
The next letter is “E”. This second “e” reminds Christians that they will spend eternity with the God Who is eternal. That eternal life is assured because of the One Who came to earth from eternity past and paid the supreme sacrifice for the souls of lost humanity.
Then finally, the letter “R” sums up the whole story of the season. “He is not here, but is risen”. The resurrection is a human impossibility, yet Jesus got up out of the grave and was seen by upwards to 500 people at one time.
Thus, Easter is about eternity, assurance, salvation, trust, eternal life, and the resurrection. But it is all for naught unless the individual person accepts Him into the heart by faith.
Comment (0)
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Sun, Mar 28th - 10:41PM
Easter Seals The Believer’s Hope
Visitors to the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter Sunday were met with surprise along with the message long awaited by generations of faithful followers of God. They brought spices with which to anoint the body of their beloved Jesus. As they approached the tomb, they questioned how the stone guarding its entrance would be removed.
But when they got to the place where Jesus had been entombed, they discovered that the stone had been rolled to the side and the entrance was opened. There was also an angel in the garden with the message of hope which remains alive today. The message of hope was simple and straightforward. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again”.(Lk 24:5-7).
With that fulfilled promise, Jesus sealed God’s plan for the salvation of mankind. That’s when John 3:16 came alive. There Jesus had said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. Someone wrote in response to one of my articles, that " Religion is sort of like a lift in your shoes. If it makes you feel better, fine. Just don't ask me to wear your shoes ". God hasn’t forced Himself upon anyone. Choice is written throughout this verse. No one has to get a true spiritual lift, but the opportunity for eternal life with Him is open for all who comes to Him by faith.
Easter is a tremendous spiritual motivation for the Christian community. We gather in churches, on main streets, in outdoor arenas, on pond banks, in open fields, and in other settings for the purpose of celebrating this miraculous event. The resurrection finalizes all the work of redemption which God the Father set in motion.
The spelling of the word “Easter” tells its own story. The first “E” represents eternity. The Christ of the empty tomb is the “Word became flesh” of John 1:14. And according to verse 1, “the Word was God”. So, Easter is about eternity past entering time for a few years. It is about the eternal God stepping out of infinity to enrobe Himself for a season in the form of mortal man. It is when Heaven touches earth in a very unique way.
The “A” reminds us about the assurance which Easter gives to the individual who receives the Son of God into the heart by faith. The world can’t grasp this thought because it isn’t logically possible. And they refuse the love of God which promises a new life with a new heartbeat through faith, knowing there is assurance in what the Bible teaches.
The “S” in Easter can refer to the salvation which comes through the Jesus Christ of the cross. Salvation means there is preservation from harm for an individual. In the Christian faith, the word is descriptive of the deliverance from sin and all its consequences. It means the believer won’t go to Hell after death. It means believers have a home in Heaven after death.
The letter “T” reminds the Christian how their relationship with God began. The word is “trust”. It is a reference to one’s faith which is firm because the Bible is a reliable source, having seen its past promises fulfilled. Upon the basis of the present fulfillment of the past promises, trusting God for the future is easy.
The next letter is “E”. This second “e” reminds Christians that they will spend eternity with the God Who is eternal. That eternal life is assured because of the One Who came to earth from eternity past and paid the supreme sacrifice for the souls of lost humanity.
Then finally, the letter “R” sums up the whole story of the season. “He is not here, but is risen”. The resurrection is a human impossibility, yet Jesus got up out of the grave and was seen by upwards to 500 people at one time.
Thus, Easter is about eternity, assurance, salvation, trust, eternal life, and the resurrection. But it is all for naught unless the individual person accepts Him into the heart by faith.
Comment (0)
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Sun, Mar 21st - 11:05PM
Why Jesus Willingly Allowed His Arrest
Injustice causes people of character to rise up in defense of the abused and ill-treated. Habakkuk spoke of “perverted justice”(1:4) in his day and wondered how long it would prevail. We read of court decisions, based upon the best evidence availed to juries at the time, which caused years of incarceration of individuals whose innocence is later discovered through modern day DNA testing.
Injustice is also evidenced when guilty individuals are set free as a result of back room deals or incompetence by an enforcement officer or as a result from personal contacts with someone in the court system. This kind of injustice also causes people to become angry and discontent.
The treatment of Jesus at the end of His earthly days is sometimes bewildering. We wonder why someone didn’t step forward to help Him as the people in authority abused His freedom. Surely there were people who could have done or said something during those final hours that would have saved His life. And the records show that not everyone was in agreement with the Jewish leaders who concluded He deserved to die.
As we approach Easter 2010, once again we are reminded of the different events which took place in the final week of Jesus’ days upon the earth. And one of those events was the trial of our Lord. As He concluded that agonizing time in the garden of Gethsemane, He is faced with a multitude of men who were led by Judas and sent by the Jewish religious leaders to arrest Him and bring Him before the Jewish court for trial.
The scenes which are played out before our eyes, as we read the gospel’s account of His last hours before the tomb experience, are emotionally charged. Millions of tears have been wept as the Lord’s journey toward the cross is recorded in song, acted out in Passion plays around the world, and are retold in thousands of sermons. People wonder why someone so innocent was treated so cruelly. Did no one care? Was there anyone willing to step forward in His defense?
Well, yes! There was a voice or two which acknowledged that He wasn’t guilty. For one, there is Peter. He seemed every bit an extraverted person. Whenever Jesus presented a question to the disciples, Peter always had his hand up first. Before anyone else could speak, Peter was already giving an answer.
And when the soldiers were ready to arrest Jesus, out came a sword. Peter was ready to defend His Master. Matter-of-fact, he took a swing which missed its target but got an ear. Jesus told him to put away his sword and reaching down, picked up the ear and returned it to its rightful place all healed.
Then later as Jesus stood before governor Pilate, the governor’s wife sent to her husband a note which warned him to have nothing to do with “that just Man”(Mt. 27:19). She had spent a restless night because of an unknown dream she had about Him. She knew He was not guilty as charged.
And there was Pilate himself. With the accusations about Him claiming to be the king of the Jews, the governor surely payed close attention to the man standing before him. After some time of such keen observation, Pilate addressed the chief priests and the crowd with his verdict! “I find no fault in this Man.”
So, why does the story end the way it does? In my heart, there are times when reading about these accounts in Jesus’ life, I want the story to end differently. I look for the fire of God’s wrath to fall from Heaven upon the enemies of my Lord. But, the story must end in the manner as told in the Bible or we would all be hopelessly lost in our sin without any hope for Heaven.
The answer to the “why?” is found in Matthew 26:54 and 56. Both verses reminds us that in order for there to be redemption, there must be the sacrifice of the lamb. And that promise is told to us in the Old Testament scriptures. They must be fulfilled as prophesied. We see it in Genesis when sacrifice was made. We experience the emotion of the cross when Abraham is commanded by God to offer up Isaac on the altar. We can feel the deep hurt in Isaiah 53.
There is no short cut for our Lord in order to provide redemption for sinful mankind. He could have called ten thousand angels and they would have descended upon the soldiers. But Jesus knew He must drink the bitter cup even to the last drop.
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Name: Odus Jackson
