Resurrection: April 2, 2010

APRIL 2. TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY APRIL 2, 2010.

RESURRECTION

DEFINITION:

The rising of Christ from the dead.

SCRIPTURE:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

These verses we have written above were words given by Jesus to Martha when Jesus went to Bethany four days after Lazarus died. He asked her if she believed and Martha responded saying that she did believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.

This is Resurrection weekend around the world. Today is what we call GOOD FRIDAY. Today we remember the death of Christ because it was on that Friday over 2000 years ago that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He died for you and for us. He died so that we did not have to pay the penalty for our sins because we are all born as sinners and if we are to have eternal life in heaven with God we have to pay the penalty for the sins we have committed.

BUT --- the good news for all of us is that on GOOD FRIDAY, Jesus did die on that cruel cross to pay the penalty for all of our sins. All we have to do is repent of our sins, ask God for forgiveness, and then accept Jesus as our Savior and live for Him. We will then spend an eternity with Him in heaven.

In three days after His death on the cross we read of the Resurrection of Jesus. This resurrection of our Lord is what makes Christianity different from ALL other religions. The bodies of all the other religious leaders down through the centuries remain in their tombs. Jesus left an empty tomb. Jesus did what he said He would. On Easter Sunday He did rise from that grave and then about 40 days later, after He appeared to enough people to confirm His resurrection, He went back to Heaven and today is preparing a place for us to spend eternity with Him.

THAT IS THE EASTER STORY as it relates to us as believers. Easter is not Easter bonnets, Easter bunnies, Easter eggs or Easter parades. Easter is the joyous celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, our Savior and the reason for our blessed hope to spend an eternity with God.

If for some reason you do not believe that there was a resurrection then you are saying Jesus is a liar and a hoax. If you believe that Jesus did not rise from the dead then you are believing He has no power over death and thus no power to pay the penalty for your sins, which is death. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15: 14 that if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is useless and your faith is also useless. In verse 17 Paul goes on to say that if Christ is not risen that your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Those who are still in their sins cannot avoid God’s judgment. We are asked in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great a salvation?”

We urge you to make this Easter weekend the greatest weekend of your life if you have not accepted the risen Jesus as your Savior --- then do it now. If you have then make this weekend the most joyous celebration time that you have ever experienced knowing that because of the resurrection of Jesus you will spend an eternity with Him in heaven.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:1.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

PRAYER:

Make this weekend very special for me and my family. May our priorities be right, making the meaning of this Easter weekend real in our lives. We worship You and rejoice in what You have done for us. We thank You and praise You that You are the resurrected Savior, the giver of our great salvation.