He is Risen!

For many, Easter is a time for decorated eggs and chocolate bunnies. Religious holidays always abound with mixed messages which mostly eliminate spiritual truth. We should take care not to diminish the message. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this season. Easter is full of dramatic events - betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection. Easter should be a time when the powerful message of the Gospel bursts forth from our lips.

All of the events of Easter are tied to the person of Jesus Christ. What we think of Jesus directly impacts what we think of the season. We must acknowledge that Who Jesus is determines what He can do. The person of Christ is foundational to His work. That’s why Jesus’ question to Peter still cries for personal response today, But who do you say that I am?

Consider the words of Jesus from the Gospel of John. There is no more fitting way to enter this special season than by hearing and responding to the Word of God.

• I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he

shall live forever, John 6:51

• I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall

have the light of life, John 8:12

• for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins, John 8:24

• ...before Abraham was born, I am, John 8:58

• I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,

John 11:25

• I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me,

John 14:6

What Jesus did at Easter could not happen unless He is fully God and fully man. His death on a cross was not a mistake but a choice made by God the Father and God the Son. It was a choice to redeem mankind from sin by transferring our sins to Jesus. He declared from the cross, It is finished! The empty tomb proclaims that His message is true. Payment for sin was accepted by the Father and is available to everyone who places faith in Jesus alone.

For Christians, Easter is a time to celebrate our risen Savior. It is a reminder that our sins are forgiven. If you have not placed your faith in the risen Jesus, call out to Him and He will deliver you. Consider the words of Athanasius (3rd c. A.D), Death is destroyed. The cross has triumphed over it. It no longer has any power but is truly dead...Before the Savior came, death was terrible to the saints. Everyone wept for the dead as though they perished. But now that the Savior has risen, death isn't terrible anymore. For everyone who believes in Christ tramples over death...For they know that when they die they aren't destroyed, but actually begin to live. Through the resurrection they become incorruptible.

There is no sweeter name than Jesus and no more special time than Easter. Consider the dying words of D. L. Moody, Earth recedes; Heaven opens for me...,If this is death, it is sweet.

More studies on the person and work of Jesus may be found at www.crimsonministries.org. He is risen. He is risen indeed!

When Times are Tough . . .

We are facing difficult times that are seemingly unrelenting. A worldwide pandemic is followed by a needless war. Times are tough but the hope of every believer is not based on external events but internal assurances. The apostle Peter was facing tough times but took the time to share hope that is as current as today. Let’s take a few moments to consider

1 Peter 2:9-10, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Peter takes the readers of his epistle to important reasons why Christians can not only survive tough times but thrive. First, we have a special relationship to God. The first part of verse 9 list words that identify why we are special to God. They flow freely like a mountain stream: a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession. Take time to comprehend the role we play in the work of God.

• A chosen race: We have been chosen by God as His people. Roger Raymer, The responsibility once solely trusted to the nation of Israel has now, during this Age of Grace, been given to the church.

• A royal priesthood: We sinners who have been saved by grace are a royal priesthood. Thomas Constable, . . . every individual Christian is a priest before God. We function as priests to the extent that we worship, intercede, and minister.

• A holy nation: We as the body of Christ are a holy nation. Warren Wiersbe, We have been set apart to belong exclusively to God. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), so we obey heaven’s laws and seek to please heaven’s Lord.

• A people for his own possession: We, individually and as the church are God’s possession. Roger Raymer, Christians are a special people because God has preserved them for Himself.

Second, we have a special responsibility. The second part of verse 9 gives reason for our existence in this alien world. Consider the important work God has placed on His children, those who have placed faith in Christ alone.

• That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him: We are to give public praise to who God is and what He has done. Wayne Grudem, To declare God’s excellencies is to speak of all he is and has done.

• Who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: We are to remember and proclaim God’s goodness to us. Peter Davids, . . . the praise is based on what God has done for them.

Despite tough times, Christians can make a difference in this world. God has tasked us with the responsibility to make Himself known to this desperately needy world. We can do it because we have been changed. Consider the amazing statements of verse 10, Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

• Now you are God’s people: We have been made special by God’s grace. Charles Spurgeon, We were not His people; we were sinners of the Gentiles, not the chosen Hebrew race. In times past, we were not worthy to be called a people, but we are now the people of God.

• Now you have received mercy: We have not received what we deserve so we can proclaim undeserved grace to others. Wayne Grudem, All the foregoing privileges are to be traced only to the undeserved favour of God: now you have received mercy.

When times are tough, people need to hear that there is hope. We can make a difference. We are God’s ambassadors to a world whose only hope is Jesus because He alone can take people from despair to hope and from death to life. Let’s commit to sharing whose we are and what has been done for us.

The study of 1 Peter may be found under the Books of the Bible tab. Scot McKnight, In order to appreciate Peter’s perspective on the church of Christ, it is important to grasp what constituted that church: a group of sinful people who had come to Christ for salvation and who were committed to walking in obedience. And that is no different from our churches today.

A Resolution Worth Making and Keeping!

What if I could find one thing to do this year that will transform my life? That’s a tall order since the issue of resolutions surfaces every year on the heels of failed ones. The famous thinker, Anonymous, rightly declared, He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads to. Where do you want to end up at the end of the year? My desire is to be more like Jesus, to know Him better, to love others more, to live what I believe. That is a tall order that can be attained because my resolution is to meditate on the Word of God.

There are only a handful of verses in the Bible that include the word meditate. Two of my favorites are Joshua 1:8, This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success, and Psalm 1:2, but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. A brief reading of these verses reveals several points of meditation: the importance of the Bible, commitment to personal study, obedience to the Bible which is Word of God.

Meditation is personal interaction with the texts of Scripture. It is the practice of focusing one's thoughts on specific spiritual matters. Charles Swindoll notes that meditation is disciplined thought, focused on a single object or Scripture for a period of time. It is more than just reading the words but understanding what they mean with the intent to obey.

Why can it be so life-changing to meditate on the Bible? Consider the following verses. Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 2 Timothy 2:15, Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. It is the active use of the mind to engage God through Scripture. Meditation is discerning what God has to say to us. Charles Spurgeon, To believe a thing is to see the cool crystal water sparkling in the cup. But to meditate on it is to drink of it.

My desire this year is not just to know about God but to know Him. I believe that happens when I meditate on God’s Word. It is taking the study of the Bible and applying it to my life. John Bunyan who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress declared, The end of study is information, and the end of meditation is practice. In 2022, I want more wisdom and personal application instead of endless information filed away. Knowing God is a personal choice. Jesus proclaimed in Revelation 3:20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

How do I meditate? There are several things to do that will turn reading into meditation. Consider the following when you open your Bible,

• Read it as a love letter from God to you.

• Read the Bible as for the first time.

• Read it repeatedly, patiently and expectantly.

• Read it for understanding with the intent to obey.

The Bible is not a book to be mastered but the only Book that can master us. I want a resolution for 2022 that is worth the effort. Knowing my Savior better, serving Him more fully, being more gracious to others, I want that for me and for you. Let’s dig deep into God’s Word and see what He will do in and through us for His glory.

Studies on meditation may be found under the Topical/Seasonal tabs. Consider the thought of George Swinnock (1627-1673), Our design in meditation must be rather to cleanse our hearts, than to clear our heads.