Resurrection Zoe!
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Easter isn't Easter unless it's Easter to YOU!
So declared a radiopreacher early in Holy Week. At first I said, "YES!"
Then I thought about it a while and said, "Not really...Easter is Easter whether I get it or not!" Now I'm rethinking the statement.
What is Easter anyway? I remember in my confirmation catechism class learning that...
Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox.
That explains when, but WHAT is Easter?
Easter is the day we celebrate when...
Jesus rose from the grave...
conquering sin and death on the Cross on our behalf...
so that we could walk in newness of life.
And that's the point, isn't it? Easter isn't about chocolate bunnies, chicks, coloring and hunting eggs, new clothes, Easter lilies and other spring flowers, and freshness. These are all simply pictures...metaphors, if you will, of the real deal.
And the real deal is ZOE! LIFE! Jesus Himself said,
I came that they may have life[zoe, in Greek] and have it abundantly. John 10:10
How does zoe happen for you and me?
The eternal life of God is imparted as a gift to all who believe in His Son, the God-Man Jesus Christ. He is the One who paid the penalty for our sins, so that...
when Jesus died, my sinful self died with Him; when He was buried, I was buried with Him; when He rose from the dead, I rose with Him...a new creation in Christ.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Col 3:1-4
So Easter is Easter to me because the indwelling, resurrected Christ is my ZOE! Is He yours, dear friend?
Even as believers, though, if we are perfectly honest, we must admit that we don't always live from His indwelling, resurrected LIFE, do we?
Rather we often live as if our abilities and cleverness, our relationships (including our favorite social media), our jobs, our pet activities, and our possessions are the source of LIFE. But of course, when looked at that way, they aren't life at all, but rather false gods and dead works.
So back again to the statement:
Easter isn't Easter unless it's Easter to YOU!
May Easter BE Easter as we refocus on our glorious, Risen Lord who indwells all who believe.
Prayer: May every day be Easter, O Lord, because of Your abundant, indwelling, resurrection ZOE...thank you for the precious gift of Your glorious self. Amen!
KNOWING YOU
All I once held dear Built my life upon all this world reveres And wars to own All I once thought gain I have counted loss Spent and worthless now Compared to this
Chorus: Knowing You, Jesus Knowing You There is no greater thing You're my all You're the best You're my joy, my righteousness And I love You lord
Now my heart's desire Is to know You more To be found in You And known as Yours To possess by faith What I could not earn All-surpassing gift Of righteousness
Oh, to know the power Of your risen life And to know You in Your sufferings To become like You In Your death, my Lord So with You to live and never die
The written lyrics are in English and hmong (a Chinese dialect); the song is sung in English.
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Bible Students:
Meditate on this marvelous passage. Enter in...and give thanks:
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-11
