The Resurrection Message

Their dreams had been shattered, lying in odd-shaped pieces all around them. The man they had loved and followed for three years ... the long awaited Messiah, the Son of the Living God ... was dead as were all their built up hopes and dreams. They had watched it all with their very own eyes, otherwise they would never have believed it. Jesus was dead. And their hearts were broken. But then the two women, both named Mary, broke through the fog of their despair with incredible news. "He's alive!" The tomb was empty. Christ had risen from the dead, just as he had promised them He would.

Those of us who are believers can certainly imagine the electrifying excitement the disciples must have felt, because for them (as well as for us), the message of the resurrection is one of hope and encouragement. Everything Jesus had told them was validated by His empty tomb. In Matthew 17:22-23, the Lord Jesus had told His disciples, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." If Jesus could make this impossible claim and then carry it to completion, just as He had said, then surely He was clearly adequate to keep every single promise He had made to them. And one of those promises was that Christ would not condemn the world, but that He would come to save all those who believe in Him and put their faith in His words. (Mark 16:16; John 3:17; Romans 8:1) Jesus bought our salvation through His death on the cross. The empty tomb is our proof that we are eternally secure in what He has done. And we can know the Father accepted His payment on our behalf because of the simple truth that Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of God.

Jesus' death purchased our freedom from sin and has ensured us a place with Him in heaven. He promised, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places... I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) In faith we cling to His promise and await its fulfillment. In faith we live our lives with the sure hope of eternity with the Father. In faith we finish our life here, knowing this life is just the beginning. In faith we glorify the Lord while we wait for everything to be accomplished, just as Jesus said.

So today I live my life in the hope of the resurrection, knowing that I will shed my flesh some day in the future but I will never die. Just as Jesus rose from the grave, I too will conquer death. No, I will be more than a conqueror. (Ro 8:37) I will come out of death with more than I went in with. I went in perishable and will come out imperishable. I can face my day with resolve and confidence that everything is as it should be. I am on the sure and steady path to receive all that Jesus has promised. But I will be patient, glorifying God in my life and allowing Him to live His life through me as I await the hope to which I have been called. Which is "Christ in me, the hope of glory!" (Co 1:27) I can face my struggles with confidence and with courage I can accomplish miracles right here, right now. I willingly surrender my life to His orchestration, knowing that He has everything under control and His will will be accomplished in and through me. I am at His bidding and I relish in His glory. Nothing is too mundane a task for me to accomplish and no task is too big for me to take on. I go through each day in a delightful expectation of being used for His glory, even if it's just the simple and seemingly meaningless chore of making a bed or mopping a floor. Everything I do, I do unto Him. Because of the resurrection I can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my life has meaning and purpose. It matters not if I think the task before me is too trivial or too inconsequential, too lowly or too insignificant. It is the Lord living through me. I am His hands and His feet, His mouth, and His eyes. I see the pain and despair in other people's eyes and long to shower them with Jesus. If they but knew of His love and His promises! I tell the world what I know, one thing at a time, one person at a time and God is glorified. Step by step I'm blessed with the goal of touching the lives of others and Christ is magnified in my efforts. There is no longer room in me for petty hostilities or doubts. I believe the message of the resurrection and through that belief I go forth, totally surrendered to do His will while I'm still here on this earth. Some day I will be with Him and I will see Him just as He is, but until that day arrives I have the responsibility of being solely for His use. I do His bidding and accomplish His objectives. I no longer have control of my own life, I have surrendered that control to Him. I go where He leads. It's not that I live my life and then find the time to do His will. No, I do His will in everything I do. It's an act of submission, a willingness to be used up for His glory. There is so much more to the message of the resurrection than just that I will rise again. Understand what it means in it's entirety and go forth.

Yesterday's blog took hours to publish. It just never showed up at my blogsite. I sat down and wrote a couple short things about the situation and eventually everything posted. They post in the order they are received. That means when I do something like that you have to scroll down to find the day's blog. You have to get past the second or third "update" until you get to the real blog. Just keep that in mind for future reference.

I had a troubling conversation on msn last night and didn't go to sleep until after 2:00 am. Life was never intended to be so problematic for us. It seems like we're just rolling a huge boulder up a hill most of the time. We get exhausted but know we can't let go of the boulder or it will roll right over us on it's way back down the hill. I am trusting that things are not as bad as they seemed last night. I've made it a matter of great prayer. That is the absolute best I can do for the situation. I just pray that everything straightens out and everyone gets a better outlook on things. It's times like this that I am especially glad I don't have a lot of personal possessions. I'm happy at being poor. There's so much less to worry and fret about. The more you have the greater your burden. I kinda like not having to deal with all that. Everything will work itself out and tomorrow will be another day. In the meantime people are in pain.

We got up to 109 again yesterday but for some reason it didn't seem as hot. I mean it was definitely hot enough but it just didn't feel as hot as the day before even though it was the same temp both days. I've got the water wetting the pads in the cooler right now and will be turning it on any minute. It does seem to stay cooler if we start the cooler before the house gets too warm inside. I'm hoping it won't get as hot today. I didn't listen to the news last night to know what it's supposed to be today. Oh well, they're usually wrong anyway. I think I'm ready for summer to be over. I'm looking forward to fall. Isn't it great to have the four seasons? Just as you get tired of one season it will change into another. It takes the tedious boredom out of life by having the same thing all the time. Change is good.

Well, I think this is going to be it for my blog today. I hoped you enjoyed reading my little devotional. I put it first today just to make things different. Usually I do my "diary" type stuff first and then do the devotional. I think I like it this way and I may keep it this way for awhile. I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already. The weeks just seem to whiz by, barely stopping for me to catch my breath. The dust from the bulldozers really settled on my car this week and I'm sure it will enjoy its washing on Saturday. It will certainly look better. I'll run errands tomorrow and I'm hoping it will be cooler. I don't want to get over heated like I did the other day. I was really miserable. Oh, skatemama had her MRI and is just waiting to see what the doctor has to say if you haven't read her blog. She's still having problems but seemed to be a little better yesterday when she posted. I keep her in my prayers and hope you do too. Take care today and stay cool.