He is risen.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.”

Jesus told us in John 14:19, “Because I live, you will live also.”

He is risen indeed.

As the hymn says, “Oh what sweet joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives.”

Dear Lord, Your sacrifice was the price for our sin, and your resurrection is our victory over death. Oh what joy this brings!. Amen.

It is difficult for us to truly understand how Jesus’ disciples must have felt after his crucifixion. I am sure it was the epitome of despair. They had put their confidence in what they thought he was telling them, that he was the Messiah, but they did not understand what it would take for the Messiah to fulfill his role.

Their feeling is described in Luke when Jesus appeared to two men, though they didn’t know it was Him, the story known as “The Road to Emmaus.” In Luke 24:18-21, “Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel.”

But we know the rest of the story, and their hope was not misplaced.

Dear Lord, What joy it brings to know that there is no need to despair about ourselves on earth, or our future in heaven, because you are the hope of the world. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Matthew 27:54 writes about the crucifixion of Jesus, “The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

I imagine even though it was a gruesome task, the Roman Soldiers crucified many people. The verse specifies that it was a Roman officer, rather than just an ordinary soldier that made the comment. As an officer he would have been more senior and had more experience. Crucifying someone would have been a routine event for him.

But this event was much different, so much so, that the Bible history makes a point of recording the officer’s words, “This man truly was the Son of God.”

Dear Lord, we will never know what it was like to be there that day Jesus Christ was crucified, but through faith, we are saved by the result. For this we thank and praise you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do you ever notice how some things are simple on the surface, but when you learn more about them, you find they are much more complex and sophisticated then they first appear. For example, we know we need to eat a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, protein, starch, fats… but why? If you learn more about nutrition you find out that our bodies break the foods down into different components and chemicals. Even deeper some of these chemicals and components are used to provide fuel, dissolve other nutrients, or support other functions in our bodies. So the simple concept of eat well and be healthy really is a very sophisticated science that we are still discovering.

In ways, Christianity is the same. On the surface, and most important, is our acceptance of God’s salvation by believing Jesus Christ saved us. However, the more we study and meditate (actively think about) the words in the Bible and what God is doing, we realize the complexity of it all. Why did Jesus Christ have to be sacrificed? Why do some people accept and others don’t? How does the Holy Spirit come into our hearts? What is a soul? What is our Spirit? The more we learn, the more we realize there is to learn.

In Mark 4:11 when his disciples asked what the parable of the sower and the seed meant, Jesus said, “You are permitted to know some truths about the Kingdom of God that are hidden to those outside the Kingdom.” and in verse 13, “But if you can’t understand this simple illustration, what will you do about all the others I am going to tell?”

Jesus will provide us the wisdom we need to understand, if we take the first step. In verse 24 Jesus tells his disciples and us, “And be sure to put into practice what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand what I tell you.”

Dear Lord, strengthen our faith and help us come to a deeper understanding of your word and your plans. Inspire us to use this understanding to do your will with our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I write this daily post as somewhat of an instruction for Christians, including myself, on how to live and think about living our lives on earth, but I think it is important to take a moment and remember the sequence that God has established for us.

First we are saved, not by doing the right things and living the right lives. Jesus says in John 3:17,18, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him.”

The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to believe. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.”

Then, because we believe, we live the Christian life God desires. John writes in 1 John 2:3, “and we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.”

Finally, as active Christians we share our faith with others so they might receive the Holy Spirit and believe. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations,”

Dear Lord, help us keep this order in mind. It starts with your love for us that saves us, and follows with our love for you that leads us to live the life you want us to. In Jesus’ name. Amen.