Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: Resurrection

He Lives

Faith, Salvation

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matthew 28:6

Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Easter Sunday is a day that the world can be assured that God keeps His promises.

Because Jesus lived a perfect and holy life on this Earth, His blood that was shed on the cross became the atonement for our sins. Jesus became the spotless lamb that satisfied the wrath of God.

On the third day (Sunday) Jesus defeated death and sin by raising Himself to new life. Only God could do such a magnificent and miraculous work. That is why we worship and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Only Jesus could live and die and live again. All power and majesty are given unto Him!

Because He is risen, we have hope and assurance in salvation. One day we all shall leave this Earth. But glory to God we shall see Jesus face to face.

Heaven awaits us for eternal life in perfect harmony and glory where there is no more sin! No more death! No more tears! No more suffering!

It’s all because of Jesus. It’s all because Jesus lived. It’s all because Jesus died. It’s all because He lives!

Celebrate today with joy because God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Our faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. Paul says, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile (worthless and powerless); you are still in your sins!” (I Corinthians 15:17)

Let your faith in Jesus be the proof that others may see and believe.

Pray

Lord, I praise Your great name. You have opened my eyes to see who You are and I believe in You. Show me Your glory and increase my faith.

Wait On The Lord

Trust

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.”
John 11:5-6

There are times in our life when we don’t understand why things are happening. We pray for God to allow things to go smoothly for us. But what about the times when things don’t go our way?

The words in verse 5 is what we expect to hear. We expect to hear that Jesus loved his close friends. Martha, Mary and Lazarus were very close to Jesus.

Jesus would often go to their house and eat the meals that Martha cooked and Mary would sit at His feet and listen to His stories. Their relationship with Jesus was personal. Jesus enjoyed being with them and they enjoyed being with Him.

What we don’t expect to hear are these words in verse 6. “So when He (Jesus) heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed were He was two more days.” That is not what anyone expects Jesus to do. We expect Him to quickly go to Bethany and heal Lazarus and everyone is happy.

That’s our expectations. We want Jesus to come when we call for Him. We want Jesus to take action when we need Him. For Jesus to delay helping His close friends shows us that He has a bigger plan.

Jesus wanted to do something far beyond what anyone could have imagined. So He allowed Lazarus to into the grave a few days to prove who He was. When Jesus arrived to the place where Lazarus laid, He called out His name and the dead man came alive. The glory of God was shown so that many believed in Him as the Messiah.

We must remember that Jesus doesn’t always do what we expect. Sometimes He wants to do things that are beyond our comprehension. He wants us to know that He is able to do more than what we expect.

The Lord wants to show us that He is able to do things that are indescribable. But we must believe He is able. If He is able to give sight to the blind and life to the dead, He is able to take care of every problem we have.

Wait on the Lord and let Him do what He needs to do in your life. The wait may not be just for you. He may want to use your circumstance to show someone else who He is.

Pray

Lord, I wait for You to give me what I need. I trust in Your provision. Give me wisdom to see how Your working in my life.

It Wouldn’t Have Mattered

Faith

Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.”
Mark 15:31

What comes to mind when you think about the crucifixion of Jesus? If we close our eyes and picture the horrific event we can envision several things. The cross obviously, the three nails driven into His hands and feet, a crown of thorns, and the blood-stained body of Jesus.

These are definitely the gruesome pictures that we have of Christ dying on the cross. But if we notice closely this is not what Mark’s account depicts of the crucifixion.

Mark 15:21-32 doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on the physical description of the crucifixion. Nor does Mark describe the agony that Jesus encountered on the cross.

Instead, Mark depicts the humiliating and emotional abuse that came from the people who watched Jesus suffer and die on the cross. They made fun of Him and joked about Him with words of mockery and insult.

The central idea of the people’s attitude claims that if Jesus was truly the Messiah then He should save Himself and come down off the cross. Even the religious leaders claimed that He saved others so He should be able to save Himself.

So what would Jesus have needed to do to make the unbelievers believe? Would saving Himself and climbing down off the cross be enough for them to believe? Or would an empty tomb be the best evidence?

Even after Jesus arose from the dead the mockers still didn’t believe!

Sometimes we fall into the trap of needing God to do something really amazing for us to know that He is present in our life. Let the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus be enough evidence to show that God loves you unconditionally and wants only the best for you.

Pray

Lord, when I struggle to believe that You are in control, help me to remember the cross. When I start to think You don’t care, let me remember the empty tomb. Help me to know I don’t need anymore proof.