I'd like to begin with this admission; I am a sinner! That in and of itself is why there is an Easter story. It is a story of passion, of love, of rescue and ultimately eternal salvation. There are some things about the saga that causes me to ponder.
1. The depth to which humanity can fall. Only a few verses into Eden...there is ruin. Only a few chapters into the first family...there is murder. And the list of heinous sins continues even to this day.
2. The price Jesus paid to save us. The God/man, Jesus Christ was treated a horrific, torturous manner. They beat Him, spit on Him, cursed Him, drove thorns into His head, mocked Him, tied Him to a stake and beat Him virtually to death! They laughed at His weakness, gambled for His garments, robbed Him of dignity...but they could not take His life. He lost His life only because He laid it down and gave it as a gift...a substitutionary death for me! My sin and yours is the price of calvary.
3. The hope of the resurrection. Since the power of God raised Jesus from the dead we have reason for our faith. If Christ did not rise again, Paul said "your faith is in vain!" The pain of death in this mortal realm is real...but our grief is not like those who have no hope. Our hope is due to the empty grave in Jerusalem! Jesus is alive and so is our eternal hope of rising to be with Him forever.
Keep the thoughts of Jesus near you this week especially. Blessings to all of you! If you are grateful for the grace of God as I am, express your feelings here on the blog.
Pastor Tim
2 comments:
This goes hand and hand with the awesome message you gave Sunday. It was so amazing to see the response of the Church at the end. Lifting that Cross up and worshiping together is a moment I will never forget... Thank you for letting God lead you Pastor.
Brad
Thanks Brad. I have wished a thousand times someone would have had a camera! Thankfully we have the memory. What an incredible moment I too was blessed to be part of. Let's always exalt the cross.
Tim
Post a Comment