He is Risen!!

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words. 

"When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened."
Luke 24: 1-12

Praise God that Jesus did not stay dead!! He conquered sin and death so that we could find freedom in Him. Thank Him for His power and love this morning.

Happy Easter!!

Now What??

We don't think very much about the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Its just Saturday.

It's when we do our Easter egg hunts and get all our food ready for the next day.

We remember Christ's sacrifice on Friday and celebrate His resurrection on Sunday, but we don't think much on Saturday. I know I don't.

Because we know.

We know that Jesus didn't stay dead. The story wasn't over.

He came alive again!

I've been thinking today what this day must have been like to the disciples 2000 years ago.

What were they thinking, sitting in Jerusalem, having just buried the man that they believed to be God?

He was supposed to be a conquerer and their savior, so how could he have died?

I wonder what they were thinking.

Did they remember all the things that Jesus had said, how he must die, but that he would be raised again?

Did they trust that Jesus was truly God and had the power to do anything?

Did they understand that Jesus had to pay the price for their/our sin? Did they understand that he was their perfect sacrifice?

Or were they afraid?

Did they worry that they were next?

Was Peter still weeping over reject for betraying Jesus in his time of need?

Did he wonder if he would ever be able to beg Jesus for forgiveness for his weakness?

I don't know what they were thinking, but I praise God that I don't have to worry. As hard and sad as it is to remember Jesus' death on Friday, I don't have to be scared and sad today. Because I know.

I know what's coming tomorrow.

I know that the grave did not stay sealed, that Jesus did not stay dead.

And I can sit here anticipating tomorrow morning, the day that we will all say, "Christ is risen, He is risen indeed."

It Is Finished

"And when the sixth hour had come there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi lema savachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah." And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
Matthew 15:35-39

Thank you, Jesus for the sacrifice that you gave on the cross so that I could have new life in you. Thank you for taking my rejection and my punishment so that I would never have to take it myself.


Today, remember Jesus' sacrifice for you.

This is a song by one of the worship leaders at Summit that I absolutely love and its a perfect reminder for today.