Easter

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received – that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 TPT

God, we love You, we need You! may Holy Spirit and Your Word keep Easter alive and vibrant in our hearts for day-to-day living. Yes Lord, we honor You, we fall to our knees before You!  Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins, You raised Him from the dead so that all who believe in Him live in the promise of eternal life in heaven. Hallelujah! May that eternal promise ripple with forgiveness, grace and hope into our daily lives, help us live every day for You with joy and confidence as we trust Jesus, the resurrection and the life. Amen.

Christ is risen! We wish you and yours a blessed celebration of Easter. Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and when you believe in Him you have the promise of resurrection and a blessed life in heaven that will never end. That is amazing grace! 

God’s Word tells us that by the stripes of Jesus we are healed. When Jesus died and rose again, He defeated sin, death, and sickness in all its forms for all of eternity. It’s amazing that, through Him, we share in this victory! What gifts - unspeakable gifts - that God has bestowed on us that we can rejoice with those rejoicing and grieve with those grieving. 

Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

So what do we do when our experience doesn’t meet our expectations? We need to seek Holy Spirit’s wisdom - be careful not to limit the incredible depth of what Jesus’ healing and teachings look like.

The apostle Paul teaches God’s word- that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him. That doesn’t mean everything that happens is good - Jesus’ victory over sin and death didn’t eliminate all the trials from our lives on earth. In fact, in John 16:33, Jesus promised that we will experience trouble in this world, and sickness is no doubt a part of the difficulties we face. While God still intervenes many times in miraculous ways, we aren’t necessarily guaranteed complete healing this side of heaven. But we can be certain of the everlasting victory that our salvation guarantees. 

Psalms 103:2-5 NIV Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Christ is risen! Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and when we believe in Him we have the promise of resurrection and a blessed life in heaven that will never end. That is amazing grace! As we wake up on Easter Morning, Resurrection Sunday! Pray, asking God to give you an eternal perspective. We will spend eternity in the presence of God, full of joy and completely free from sickness, sin, death, pain, and anxiety. When we keep the reality of heaven in mind, we are able to pray boldly and walk with confidence through any trial or testing.  Remember that!