Sunday, April 4, 2010

"He is Alive and He is in Prison."

Last year on Easter Sunday we were riding home from church and I could hear my 2 year old Jacob saying..."He is Awive (alive)." And Joshua would say..."And He is in prison." I was puzzled for a few moments, but I listened and again and again they continued to complete the others sentences as they celebrated the resurrection of our Savior. After processing what Joshua was saying, I had to ask. "Joshua, why do you keep saying He is in prison." "You know mommy, that's what we say at church... "He is not dead, no He is alive and He is in prison." "Oh no buddy, we are saying..."He is not dead, no He is alive and He is RISEN." "Oh ok, that makes more sense." I tried hard not to laugh, but that was adorable. I was able to explain to Joshua that day that Jesus is RISEN and because of His resurrection we have actually been freed from the chains of sin that held us captive so actually Jesus conquered our personal prison. How amazing!! Because of His death, burial and resurrection our debt has been paid, our chains are gone, the shackles have been taken off so we can dance in the presence of our Savior. How many of us just like Joshua have heard for years the "Easter phrases." He is risen! He is not dead, no He is Alive! Resurrection power! The stone was rolled away! We say all of these true and powerful phrases because that is what you say at Easter, but do we live according to these truths everyday. Think about it for a minute. Our Savior, Jesus was DEAD, he was not breathing, his heart was not beating and God RAISED him from the GRAVE! He was no longer dead, but he was ALIVE. The big, huge, colossal bolder had move, it was rolled away and the tomb could not hold our Jesus. WHY? Because our God possesses resurrection power. The power to breathe LIFE back into his body. Do we live like we believe this? Do we trust Him to work and act in our lives with that same power that raised Jesus from the dead? Have we given him our finances? Have we given Him our marriages, our children, our health, our jobs, our loneliness, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our worries or do we keep them tucked away behind the tomb of our flesh? If we believe God raised Jesus to a new life then we need to claim that resurrection power not just on Easter, but everyday. God is not a god that He should change his mind. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Celebrate the life of our Jesus not just with eggs, peeps, ham and bunnies, but celebrate His resurrection everyday as you walk rejoicing in the fact that we serve a RISEN Savior. The grave could not hold Him and death could not contain Him! He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to thetomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance."

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