Today’s passage - Matthew 28 & Mark 16: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028;%20Mark%2016&version=NIV
Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”
Matthew 28:6 is a message of hope for a future. Jesus has done just what He said He would do. He has risen from the dead. When the women met Jesus later that day, they understood that message of hope and they fell to their knees in worship. I encourage you to take time to do the same. He is risen indeed!
I’ve selected an excerpt from the daily devotionals of Stephen Trammel, Executive Pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church for today’s post.
Are you looking for Jesus? He has risen! Death has been conquered. Sin has been atoned for. Forgiveness has been made available. Reconciliation has been established. Satan has been defeated. Hell has been invaded. Heaven has been decorated: gates of pearl, streets of transparent gold, river of the water of life, the tree of life, light from the Glory of God, light from the Lamb of God, no more night, no longer any curse, absence of tears, absence of mourning, absence of crying, absence of pain, and the presence of jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, carnilian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst.
In a world saturated with the confetti of bad news, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have the privilege of operating on the basis of the good news of the resurrection. Jesus has risen! He is alive! The tomb is empty!
Our message to the world is a message of hope. Our message to the world is a message filled with resurrection power and a demonstration of God’s unconditional love. Just as we have experienced the reality of the resurrected Christ, we can share that wonderful news with a world living in darkness and doubt.
For the believer, everyday is Easter. We operate our lives in light of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The grave couldn’t hold Him and death couldn’t defeat Him. Jesus conquered sin, the grave, and death. Jesus brought forth life eternal to those who believe in Him.
Are you living in light of the resurrection? Is your life a perpetual demonstration of resurrection power? Share the good news of the resurrection. Live each moment in the resurrection power God provides. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you. You cannot live the Christian life in your own power. Righteous living requires resurrection power.
Matthew 28:18 shows us the declaration of the Father to give unto His Son all things. Then the Son tells His followers to go forth into all the world. What you have to love is we are not going alone. Jesus says, “Lo, I am with you always even to the ends of the earth”
ReplyDeleteJesus is God come in the flesh. As flesh, our Lord could only be in one place at one time. Jesus knew He was going back to the Father and immediately the Spirit would come back to dwell in His believers. Jesus is God in the Flesh, the Spirit is God come in the Spirit. This opens a whole new dimension to the work of God as evidenced by Mark 16:9-20. Jesus in the flesh could only be in one place but now Jesus in the Spirit and indwelling in His believers, who will be scattered over the whole earth, meant a whole new dimension of God’s working is getting ready to happen. The good news is we can participate with Him in the work of the Lord. It is up to us.