Celebrations abound.

We exalt and lift high the sacrifice of our Redeemer.

Often mixed in with it are the traditions of spring, much to the delight of children and adults! Taking pleasure in family, friends, and the life we have been given is a joy, and our God created us to receive, with thanks, all He has given.

But, don’t miss the greater reality!

The King of Kings came in history, in real time. He chose the nails to give us new life!

Don’t miss the whisper that is actually a roar!

The truth remains. The fact is still…

The grave could not hold Him!

The tomb is empty!

He has risen, just as He said! And we delight in that risen Savior!

“It is finished” began in a manger and was complete at Calvary!

Tetelastai! Our debt has been paid!

BUT, though fully complete, it didn’t end there!

Jesus submitted to the Father, endured the scorn and separation as He died on the cross; but, in His power, He burst forth from the tomb!

As the angel of the Lord sat on the rock that had covered the tomb that once held Jesus Christ after the crucifixion, he did so in triumph as a witness and a proclamation to the women who came to the place of burial…and to us today!

Death could not hold the Son of God; He went willingly to the cross to redeem His own, but “it was impossible for Him to be held by it!” (Acts 2:24)

And that same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that raises us to new life in Him when we receive Him as Savior.  He tells us to come as we are, but He doesn’t intend to leave us as we are!  We are forgiven and redeemed for that new life!

New life that does not hold on to the old.

New life that decimates our shame.

New life that is redeemed by the works of our Savior not our own.

New life that is able to see with new eyes and trust even when we can’t.

New life that exalts in His glory and is amazed by His mercy and grace.

And yet…

New life that is wrecked by freedom from our old; so that our desires are increasingly transformed!

New life that humbly allows the Spirit of God to faithfully calm our fears.

New life that humbly lays down our idols and all we cling to for satisfaction, security, self-worth, and identity to find them in the only capable place – the heart of God.

New life to give the forgiveness and grace to others that we have been given in Christ.

New life to love in a way that makes no sense to the world – loving and serving those who may hate us, even harm us. Love that serves yet never compromises the truth of God, even if it rocks self-defined worlds and shatters man-made perceptions of Him.

New life that humbly allows the Spirit of God to break through our hard hearts and convict us of sins we hold too close; that submits to Him and fiercely battles the sins that so easily entangle.

New life that humbly allows the Spirit of God to then empower us to say “no” to that which has long been our “go to” sins, instead saying “yes” to the increasing righteousness of Christ! 

New life that grieves when we fall, but rejoices and rests in His grace! We stand before the Father in Christ’s righteousness from the moment of surrender to Him; but He intends for us to grow, increasingly living our lives in JOYFUL obedience to His Word that is meant for our greatest good and His glory!

New life that seeks to give new life!

Because He has risen just as He said!

And no “power of hell, no scheme of man could ever pluck me from His hand; for I am His and He is mine, this is the power of Christ in me!” *

The earth has quaked, the veil has been torn in two, the stone is rolled away and true freedom comes for those who lay down their lives, accept the free gift of salvation and the lordship of Jesus Christ, and so, live in the power of the resurrection!

And that roar is heard across the ages!

“God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things that we cannot comprehend.” Job 37:5

“The cross is the finished work of Christ, paying the penalty of our sins; the resurrection of Christ is the power and the proof! It’s not the extra point – it is the EXCLAMATION point!”  (Pastor Joseph Wheat)

“…You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-20

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day…he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” (Acts 2:29-32)

* “In Christ Alone” – Keith and Kristine Getty