Glorious

I imagine that the cool, morning air lightened their grieving hearts. The sun was rising for the third time since their Lord had taken His final breath. But on that day, the Son arose.

Death couldn't keep Him in the tomb. A stone couldn't keep Him locked away. A seal couldn't keep Him under government control. The Son arose.

Do we grasp the effects? He broke the power that sin has on mankind. He defeated death. His feet walked over it and stood on it, as the victor of a war. The Son arose.

By faith in Him, we enter into His resurrection. Sin only suffocates to the point that we allow. He gives us choice. He gives us spiritual weapons to fight the battles for our souls. The Son arose.

He promises life abundant--peace when storms brew, joy springing up from ashes, love beyond human comprehension. In Him we are raised from our slumber. The Son arose.

He desires we live a life of power, a life that affects, a life that experiences His ways. No circumstance can trump Him. No created thing can overpower Him. The Son arose.

Today is Easter and we rejoice. Because He lives, I am made alive.

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Symphony of Love

Offensively gruesome. Overtly radical. A plan that baffles the heart yet empowers the soul. A death that turned the pages of history and set its seal upon time. A freedom that crosses national lines and eradicates social agenda. A love that bled on a Roman cross with rusty nails.

Upon the answer to "why?" hinges the hope of the gospel. Why did Jesus have to die?

Our Creator planned with precision, down to the very hour in all eternity.

The Father instituted the sacrificial system--the shedding of innocent blood for the remission of sins--at the beginning. For hundreds of years His own people performed yearly sacrifices while prophesying of the final Lamb--the One who would bear the weight of all sin for all time.

Jesus is that One.

He was the God-man--ultimate Truth wrapped in fleshly skin. His blood--perfectly pure. His power--restrained for the salvation of many. His heart--beating a symphony of love.

Today is Good Friday and we remember Jesus with arms outstretched upon that tree--for you and for me.

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Knees That Bend

He broke the unleavened bread and poured the crimson wine, knowing the burden quickly approached. It was the Passover meal--a meal of which His disciples had partaken since childhood, now to be transformed beyond their finite comprehension.

In mere hours the love of Jesus would lead Him to a bloody death.

I imagine these moments with were precious.

Though the Father had instituted the meal itself centuries prior as a remembrance of His deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, ultimate deliverance rested on the heals of His Son. He would be named "our Passover" for He announced freedom to every soul who called out, "Lord, forgive and redeem me."

"Freedom?" Freedom. Abundance. Life as designed by our Creator--for His glory and our fulfillment.

Freedom to love.
Freedom to thrive.
Freedom to rejoice...regardless.

After they ate, He girded Himself and dropped His knees to the dusty ground. With the feet of His friends resting one-by-one in the palms of His calloused, carpenter hands, He took the towel and washed their feet--even the feet of His betrayer. Even the feet of His betrayer. Let that sink.

Today is Maundy Thursday. And we remember.

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