HE IS ALIVE, HE HAS RISEN, HE IS ALIVE

Matthew 28:6 [Full Chapter]
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

There were just 3 days that separated the worse day from the happiest day.  Good Friday was a day when Jesus was hung from the cross until the Roman guards punctured his vital organs which caused him to bleed out.  There were many eyewitnesses to this horrific event. These same witnesses watch as Jesus was dragged through the streets while being spat at and hit with stones and other epithets. The woman cried while some men ran away hoping to distance themselves from this scene while trying to forget all of the miracles they had seen this Jesus do before their eyes.

"Why God? are you just sitting by as this man we thought was our deliverer and messiah die?"

Many people in this crowd were now filled with trauma as they watched Jesus die.  Those moments watching Jesus giving the sermon on the mount, or watching him turn water into wine seen so distant now.  

There were a few who waited to watch the now limp body of their savior being lifted down from that splintered cross before even they went home.

THEN 3 DAYS LATER.

Mary went to the burial site of Jesus, saw that the stone had been rolled away. Jesus spoke to Mary just like nothing happened to him. Mary told some of his disciples that he was alive and some of them ran ahead and found the empty tomb just as Mary said.

There was an absolute joy when Jesus spoke to people on the road, and again joy when he walked through a wall into a room filled with his believers.

JESUS IS ALIVE! HE HAS RISEN!

No longer are we to live in darkness performing rituals hoping that our penance would please God.
No longer must we be distant from God because the moment Jesus was resurrected was the moment that our debt had been paid! 

He is now standing at the door of your heart knocking in hopes you will let him in. A door that promises eternal life.

BECAUSE HE IS ALIVE!

Won't you mark the occasion of his resurrection by inviting Jesus into your life with promises of a better tomorrow while knowing when you take your final breath that you will go to heaven where loved ones you missed are there?

JESUS IS ALIVE!

The holiday season is a especially difficult time for those who experienced the loss of a child of any age.

For many of us who experienced the loss of a child the holidays can be a troubling time.  Our minds go back to the day when our child was alive doing Easter traditions such as the Easter egg hunt, dressing up for Church, or going out to buffet brunch while grandparents, aunts, and uncles dote on them. When a loss occurs they no longer have any new memories of their child like those whose children are still living. When the holidays arrive many are hit with emotional triggers wishing their own child was still with them. Life is lonely and the home will seem eerily silent as surviving children learn how to do life without their sibling. Life for them will seem unfair as they rewind the tapes wondering if they had done something different might their child still be alive.

The greatest gift you can give to a family mourning a loss is the gift of memories. Dig into the inner vault of your mind those memories of a special time you had with their deceased child.  Families cherished those memories more than you might know.

In many ways, God's precious word was written by many who were divinely inspired by God to preserve the message of God's love for them.  God wanted you to know that He loved you so much that He sacrifice his son, Jesus Christ, on the cross so that you may experience everlasting forgiveness and eternal life.  Through the death and resurrection of His son, he taught you that we are to grieve with hope with the full assurance that you will see your loved ones again.

Jesus isn't in the grave where he cannot help us. Jesus has risen!

You were fearfully and wonderfully made for a purpose

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Shortly after graduating from college I made a commitment to a 2-year discipleship group called Navigators 2:7 where I had a chance to be encouraged in my faith as I memorized scripture and held myself accountable to 6 other men and to God. One session we studied the topic of spiritual gifts.


Everyone completed a spiritual gifts inventory- out of all the guys in the group I was the only one who's gift was the gift of mercy. Others had more prestigious gifts like administration. When I shared my gift of mercy I could feel the patronizing comments from the others as though some felt sorry I had this gift.


I remember having a conversation with a work colleague and graduate school friend when I said to him that I wished I didn't wear my emotions on my sleeves. His words of encouragement were, "you were given those gifts for a reason and never wish you were anything different." That was life changing for me and made me realize that just as the verse from Psalms says, " I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;"


As I engage people in conversation I'm struck by so many who wished they were not made the way God made them. They look in the mirror and wondered, "Is this the best you can do God?" The reality is that when God made you, he made a unique set of genetic footprints and gave you unique DNA unlike anyone else. Just as there are no two snowflakes the same, there is not another person like you-you are uniquely and wonderfully made!


No matter what pain you have encountered in life, God has a plan for you. No matter what trauma you've experienced in life, God wants to use you to help others just now going through their own trauma.


This Easter season, we celebrate the risen Christ- He is not dead, but very much alive and living in those who invite Christ into their heart. I encourage you to watch the above clip because I believe you will be astonished by the evidence that Jesus Christ exists.


He is alive!