Easter 2017

The church was packed full of people today.

Everyone looked great in their Sunday best.

The lunch was even more than delicious.

It's been a good Easter, 2017 style.

The greatest thrill of it all, however, is simply this:  Jesus is alive and well!!

Paul wrote these words in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4  --  'For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:  that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."  In these two verses, we see Paul reminding the people of Corinth about his main message:  Jesus died and rose again.  On Friday, Jesus was dead.  On Saturday, He still was dead.  But on Sunday, He was alive and well again. 

Death could not contain Him.  The grave could not restrain Him.  God's power enabled God's Son to live again, forevermore.

What does all this mean? 

It means, God can handle anything.  There's nothing to difficult for Him.  Not even death!  If God has the power to bring His Son back from the dead, then He surely has the power to deal with any of our problems.  After all, God is still the same.  Just as powerful today as He was back then.  So whatever you're going through, whether it's physical, emotional, mental, financial, professional, relational, or spiritual, He's strong enough to handle it if you'll let Him.  Easter certainly does remind us of God's awe-inspiring omnipotence. 

It also means that Jesus is worthy of worship.  In Matthew 28:9, two women encountered the newly resurrected Jesus.  When they saw Him, "they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him."  Maybe they spoke words of praise.  Or possibly they sang some too.  It could have been a little bit of both.  Whatever it was, they got on their knees and worshipped their living Lord.  And why shouldn't they?  After all, He did conquer the grave.  That's a mighty big deal.  And it further proves that God's Son, Jesus, is more than deserving of praise and adoration.

Of course it means other things too.  But today I'm just kind of focused on these two.  That's more than enough for me at the moment. 

As I sit here on this cleaned off table, where people were eating and laughing an hour ago, I realized how blessed I am.  Not only because I have a family and a church.  Yeah, those are HUGE gifts from above.  But the best blessing of all is simply this:  Jesus lives.  Because He lives, I know God can handle anything.  And because He lives, you and I can worship Him.  And yes, as the old hymn reminds us, because He lives, we really can face tomorrow.