Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
Dear Lord Jesus,
Hallelujah! He is risen! All glory belongs to You, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).
Peace with God Through Faith in Christ
The very crux of the work of Jesus in His resurrection is that He gives us a whole new humanity; a whole new nature in Christ! We are redeemed! Through His death and resurrection, we are now restored to the original image of God and who we were before the fall. And now, whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). What a gift it is that God loves us that much! There is nothing greater than to be loved by God, for that is the definition of peace; a peace the world does not know. But we as believers know that peace, for we are made right with God through faith in Christ. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1) By grace through faith in Christ alone, we have been given the blessings of all blessings - eternal life! Jesus has triumphantly swallowed up victory, crushed Satan under His feet, and death shall be no more!
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).
Raised with Jesus
Jesus was the very first to be raised, but by no means is He the last! All of us who are found in Christ will share in the glorious resurrection of our bodies too. knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence (2 Corinthians 4:14). And this is our glorious hope, which is at the very heart and soul of the Christian faith. Jesus swallowed up death once and for all, and we are eternally secure in Him! He bore our sins on the cross, took our punishment in full measure as the perfect lamb of God, and in three days He rose again so that by grace through faith we may have everlasting life with our Great God and Savior and all our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are headed for eternal glory in Christ, dear ones. I mean, what could possibly be better than to have peace with God and be loved by Him? Now that's what I call "winning the war." In Jesus, and only in Jesus do we "win the war." It's nothing we could ever do. It's what Christ has already done! And all we have to do is trust Him!
God's Story
This world, this life - this is not our story. It's not about us. We are not the center of the universe. None of us are; not individually or even collectively. It's all about God. This is His story, and by His grace, we are a part of it! What a tremendous privilege that is! In His story, God saves us in Christ and for the sake of Christ - because He loves us, and it's all for His glory. And what a wonderful part of the story that is! In God's story, we are saved from Him, by Him, and for Him! He is the Hero of the story, and God is the central character. It's the glory of God that lies at the center of the universe, not us, and we were all born for the purpose of bringing God glory in everything we do, especially in believing on His Son, Jesus Christ. When we believe in the Truth of Jesus, which is the wisdom of God and the only way to eternal life and we submit to His Lordship, we bring God more glory than anything else! And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Jesus Christ is the Good News
From Genesis to Revelation, it becomes evident that the whole Bible is one big unfolding story of God's love, mercy, and saving grace towards sinners in Christ Jesus. Jesus Himself is the gospel. Jesus Christ is the good news, and the gospel is as free as the air we breathe. Jesus Christ is the best news that mankind will ever hear. The gospel is the greatest thing that will ever pass through anyone's ears. Nothing can top the gospel or even hold a candle to it. That's because Jesus is the way, the Truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him! (John 14:6). Christ is life itself.
Jesus Christ is the Pinnacle of the Bible
In the Old Testament, Jesus is predicted. In the Gospels, He is revealed. In Acts, He is preached. In the Epistles, He is explained, and in Revelation He is expected to return!
Although Jesus is not literally the entire content of the Bible, He is the core, the essence, and center of it all. Everything in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation points to Christ, His Work on the cross, and His resurrection. Jesus Christ is the pinnacle of the Bible and the good news of what God did to save us from our sins, rescue us from eternal torment, redeem us, and grant us the spectacular and undeserved gift of eternal life through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, by grace through faith. In God's story, He saves us from Himself, by Himself, and for Himself. Hallelujah! Jesus Christ is risen, and He is King, and we belong to Him forever and ever! I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:28).
All glory belongs to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Happy Easter everyone!
Love,
Jenna
But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:5-6
"He is not here; he has risen!" Luke 24:6-7
Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:34
And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 1 Corinthians 6:14
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 1 Corinthians 15:21
The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:8-11
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 1:4
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16