Because He Lives!

By Lisa Jarvis

Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed! It may seem a little sad this Easter since we can’t go to church and worship together, we can’t go to our family gathering, or have a big Easter egg hunt. It may seem sad, but if you think about it, it just might be a good thing. Let’s face it. We can all get caught up in our traditions about Easter. They may have become routine. Perhaps we spend a lot of time thinking about what we will wear on Easter morning to church, or what we will be cooking and taking to Grandma’s house. However, this year is different. This year we are given an opportunity to just focus on why we celebrate Easter in the first place. It is because He lives! Let’s take a quick look at how the fact that He lives, affects us today.

On the first Easter, there was no big church service. There was no egg hunt. No. There was an empty tomb! Jesus was alive! This was no regular graveside service! This was excitement, wonder and awe! Jesus who was crucified three days earlier, wasn’t there! An amazing power, God’s incredible, miraculous power had brought Jesus back to life! As believers, we can get so caught up in the routine, that we can forget what amazing power this is! When we put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that same power comes and lives within us! We have the power of God in us! Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose”! Did you get that? We have the power of God working in us as Christians, to accomplish the things He wants us to do! We have access to God’s wisdom as well! James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you”.

This is great news! We should not feel defeated, unworthy, or downcast! When we put our trust in the Lord Jesus, we became a new creation! Old things are have become new! Does this mean we don’t’ have struggles or temptations? Absolutely not! We still have our old nature trying to win out, but we have the power of God in us to overcome! Let us follow in the footsteps of Christ as he took on our sin and became the ultimate sacrifice for that sin. He denied himself and was completely obedient to the Father. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. How can take up our cross? How can we deny ourselves? We deny ourselves by not feeding our own selfish interests, and trust God. On a daily basis, saying yes to God and no to our own way. It means obeying his Word. Like a child trusts his parent, he must trust and obey God, for He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our needs before we do. But He doesn’t leave us alone! We have His power living in us! That is something to celebrate! This Easter, thank God for that power and for what that means in your life. He came to give us life, not just an ordinary life, but life to the full! Yes, He is risen! He is risen indeed!