He's Alive!

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

(1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

Meditation

Because Adam fell into sin, and I am a descendant of Adam, I have the same sin nature, which is a tendency to sin; we all do. I was born with the sin nature, inherited from Adam, but I don’t have to let it control my life forever. I am not blaming Adam for what I do today, any more than I can blame Satan. My sins are all on me, no one else is responsible. Satan may have tricked Adam and Eve, but all he really did was to expose their desire to be like God. In other words, be equal to God. Because of that sin, their punishment was death. That’s the same punishment we will all have to bear without Christ. Not a peaceful rest in the grave, or the blissfulness of heaven, but an eternity of punishment in hell.

I used to try to ignore the possibility of what that punishment might be. I dismissed that inevitable outcome and continued in my sins as if there were no consequences. Deep down though, I knew enough about Jesus to know I needed to be rescued from the life I was leading. It was like I was drowning in my sins. I could occasionally come up for air and have a moment of clarity, knowing I needed Christ, but then I would sink back down into my sins. I thought, if there even was such a place as heaven, I was probably good enough for God to grant me access to paradise. What I didn’t understand was, I had to submit to the one who already rose from the grave, in order to do so myself.

The Father in heaven has given me a pardon from that death sentence if I reach out to Jesus, the one who conquered death. I must repent of my sins. I follow that with confessing Jesus is the Lord of my life, and he was raised from the dead. When I have been cleansed in baptism, I have the blessed assurance of heaven. I do not understand why God would go to such great lengths to save me, but I am eternally grateful he did. If you have yet to give up your sin nature, or you need to re-commit your life to Christ, please join those of us who have that assurance and give yourself to Jesus. How can we be so sure of this hope we have in heaven? How do we know it’s not just some pipe dream? We have that assurance because the grave of Jesus is empty. He is risen, he is risen indeed!

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, your grace means everything to us. We would have no hope if not for your grace. You have lifted us out of the pit of wickedness we were in before we repented and turned to you. Jesus rose from the grave to show us the way. By conquering death, he gives us the assurance of the hope of eternity with you! We are the heirs of a sin nature from the first man, Adam. Because of our predisposition to sin, we are destined for an eternity in hell. Thank you, Father, for providing us a way to be redeemed from eternal punishment. We thank you, Lord, for the new purpose you’ve placed in our hearts. Give us your heart for the lost. We pray for all who have not repented and turned to Jesus. Help us to be aware of the times we can do good deeds for anyone who needs our help. Fill us with your Spirit to be your mouth to speak your words of love to the unlovable. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!