Friday, April 22, 2011

Celebrating Our Risen Lord!


“I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!” (Revelation 1:18)

       Whenever the Easter holiday draws near, I often reflect on this passage of scripture more than any other that speaks of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross and His miraculous resurrection. Certainly there are other wonderful, riveting passages such as in the gospels that chronicle his death, burial, and resurrection, and in the Old Testament prophecies.
       These poignant words of Christ in Revelation 1:18, however, give me special comfort, because He emphatically declares that He is the Living One. He is alive today and forevermore through His spirit living inside of me, in other believers, and in the world at large. He is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, and He is coming back a second time to take all who know and love him to the promised heavenly home.
       Because of Jesus’ shed blood and death on the cross, my sins are forgiven. And because He rose from the dead, I have everlasting life. I love the fact He is alive, working in my life, working in the lives of other believers, and working powerfully in the world.
       After a busy week, with much on my mind, I pray that I will be able to focus on my Lord and Savior, on what He’s done for me, on how much He loves me, and on the promises I have in Him because He is alive. Amen!

Prayer: Lord, may I set aside all of my worries to focus only on you, to focus on the blood you shed for the forgiveness of my sins, to focus on your sacrificial death, and your resurrection that ensures my life eternal. In Your Name I pray, amen.

** This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays here. 

11 comments:

  1. What He did was the ultimate sacrifice....thanks Judy for the reminder. Wishing you and your family a very happy Easter

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  2. Thank you for sharing that scripture! I hope your Easter is a blessed one.

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  3. Loved this, Judy. I really liked how you shared Scripture from Revelation - that was a wonderful surprise! Yes, among all the titles of our Lord that we use at Easter - He truly is the Living One! AMEN!

    Wishing you a wonder-full Easter - and GOD BLESS!

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  4. Very well said, Judy. I say Amen to this post.
    Have a wonderful blessed Easter.
    Charlotte

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  5. Praise the Lord, Amen! I love this post today,thank-you.
    God Bless and Happy Easter,
    Ginger

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  6. Hi Judy, our Lord is truly amazing. The celebration of Resurrection Sunday is one of my favorite times of the year because it is commemorative celebration of the ultimate sacrifice all for the sake of love.

    I love the concept of your blog. Thanks for stopping by my blog

    www.soulfulsandstone.com

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  7. Hi Judith -

    A hearty Amen to this - thank you for this rich tribute to our Lord and Savior, JESUS Christ.

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  8. Hi Judy,

    I wanted to respond to the comment about the Muslim visitor on my blog this morning. As far as being forthcoming when sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ goes, I would totally agree with you. However, I was not sharing the gospel with this woman, no more than I was challlenging her Islamic beliefs.

    My point of emphasis is that as a human, none of us can claim authorative knowledge of God. What made me leave my comment was that I viewed a video clip on that site which mocked Christianity. Personally, this is not the first time I have heard someone mock Christian faith; I know that no matter what cynical mocking someone says regarding God that it is nothing more that vain speculation.

    I also know that God cannot be simply defined by mere human words. If a Jew refers to God as Jehavah, and a Muslim calls Him Allah, what is a word description compared to the God who made both Jew and Muslim? If God be God, He must exceed any word I use to describe Him. In Athens, Paul came across an inscription honoring the unknown God. Paul pointed out that the God who made the world and everything in it could not be housed in temples made by human hands.

    My real point here Judy is that if a person is genuinely seeking God, be that person, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, atheist, Calvinist, Baptist, or non-denominational Christian, God will reveal truth to that person. It is up to that person how they handle God's truth. The question we all must answer when God reveals The Truth to us is: Do you continue along the path you've walked, or do you follow the revelation of God?

    The scriptures give numerous examples of individuals who were genuinely seeking the revelation of God's truth, in every instance, God revealed truth to the person. Peter and Cornelius, Phillip and the Ethiopian are but two expamples.

    If someone asks me about Christ, I will be more than happy to share what God has revealed to me about salvation. Beyond that, I have no interest in debating religious beliefs or philosophies. I don't believe God is limited by what I do or don't do; God is sovereign.

    If that person were truly seeking God, would they have simply left a link to a Muslim blog?

    Blessings and peace.

    MTJ

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  9. Judy, your prayer at the end was most precious. You have been a God-send to me and to Everyday Christian Blogs too! :-)

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  10. Judy,
    I just got home from our Tuesday night girls Bible study and found your encouraging comment on my blog. Thank you!
    Tonight we listened to Billy Graham's daughter. Your blog reminded me of her passionate talk tonight.
    Blessings! Esther

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