25 Resurrection Scriptures to Celebrate: He Has Risen, He IS Risen!

The very purpose of this Easter weekend reminds us, no matter what we face today, what we’ve been through, or what uncertainties tomorrow may hold, Christ is risen and is our Hope. He conquered death, He makes all things new.

He has risen!

He has risen indeed!

He breathes new life, so that we can live…free.

You can try to bury Power, but it won’t stay there. You can try to bury Truth, but it is not dead. You can try to bury Love, but it cannot be contained.

God’s not dead. And we’re not alone. Not ever.

He lives!

May we allow that truth to soak in deep as we read these reminders from God’s Word…

25 Resurrection Scriptures to Celebrate: He is Risen!

“As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples…'” Mark 16:5-7

“He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'” Luke 24:6-7

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Matt. 28:6

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” John 11:25

“And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”  1 Cor. 6:14

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:4-5

Continued, here.

In the Name of Jesus

QUESTION: What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?

ANSWER:

Praying in the name of Jesus is not just a magical incantation that is tacked on to the end of prayers. People end their prayers with "in the name of Jesus" without understanding all that it entails. The word "in" is a preposition of position and it carries with it a doctrinal truth that all believers need to know. The book of Ephesians could be called the "position book" and the word "in" brings our position into focus. This doctrinal truth is called our "ascension privilege" and it is our position in Jesus Christ. Therefore, our standing before God rests in Jesus Christ and praying in the name of Jesus is the way our prayers are heard.

In the name of Jesus, is an acknowledgment of the believer's position in Jesus Christ and an understanding that our prayers are heard as we approach the throne of grace. It is in obedience to the command of Jesus, for we cannot pray in our own standing but we pray in His. “God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Praying in Jesus' name means praying according to God’s will, "And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for" (1 John 5:14-15). Praying in Jesus’ name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus.

“You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:13-14).

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony” (John 17:20).

“For ‘Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:13).

“We are writing to the church of God in Corinth, you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere--whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs” (1 Corinthians 1:2).

“And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

“And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17).

“Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14).

“I am writing to you, my dear children, because your sins have been forgiven because of Jesus” (1 John 2:12).

“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Source

What if Jesus never came to Earth?

Do you ever wonder what it would be like if God never chose to be incarnated in the person of Jesus?

What if He came with power and glory and made Himself visible to every human being on the planet?

Would He be more accepted as the Savior of the world? Would each one of us get down on our knees and worship Him? Would our worship be genuine and out of love or out of fear and compulsion?

Many have had similar thoughts and many have wondered why out of all peoples God chose the Jews to be the physical progenitors of His Son and not some other well known race. After all, the Israelites were known as a stubborn or stiff-necked people and not as “cultured” as some of the Gentile nations.

Why would God choose to enter our dimension in a low key, humble fashion? The answer is hidden in the story of man’s creation and the subsequent fall.

When God created us and placed us in the Garden of Eden, He created mankind in His own image and likeness and with a free will. We were the pinnacle of His creation, beings capable of living in a loving relationship with their Creator. Even though we were made a little lower than the angels, we were also made to have a relationship with God and to love and respect Him with no compulsion and out of choice.

Our disobedience and lack of trust in our Creator led to the Fall of Man and our expulsion from the Garden. Also, we lost our immortality and were thrown into a rough environment and had to work in harsh conditions living as enemies and not as friends of God.

Thankfully, God had a plan. As sin entered our plane of existence through the disobedience of Adam, restoration of our broken relationship with our Creator was to be accomplished through a more perfect Adam through a none other than Jesus Christ the Man.

God’s Son became a man and lived among us as one of us.  He felt our pain and our happiness, our fatigue and our energy, our struggles and our victories but with one exception that he did not break any of God’s laws, he remained sinless.

As a result of this, when Jesus voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross, he became the new Adam who would settle the score by satisfying God’s Justice through his death thereby providing the whole Adamic race the opportunity to live life abundantly and eternally.

The wages of sin are death and Jesus as the Perfect and Spotless Lamb of God through His own death restored our broken relationship with God. He paid the price so that we can live again; He became our Lord and Savior.

Therefore, God who created us to be loving beings in a relationship with Him, reached out to us to mend our state of brokenness due to our disobedience and in His Son He became the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb and took away the sins of the world.

God had to make a choice regarding the incarnation of His Son and the Jews were the “lucky ones”. However, Jesus showed us how to live in communication with God through the Holy Spirit and died for humanity as a whole and not for any particular race.

Today, if you are thirsty and heavy laden, Jesus is offering His living water so that you may never thirst again and His love and peace which surpass all understanding. Please, make the decision to invite Him into your world as your Lord and Savior and you will not regret it!

John Costouros

Journeying with Jesus

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Even as the nails were being driven into his hands and feet, Jesus was saying these words. With every blow of the hammer pounding into his fists.

Were the Roman soldiers sorry? Did the Pharisees express any remorse? Did they offer an apology?

No.

Yet, Jesus offers forgiveness. Unilateral forgiveness or one-sided forgiveness. He didn’t need them to be sorry or ask for forgiveness. 

He showed us what it means to give up your rights. Even your right for retaliation. 

In doing so, he dies free from resentment. He said the words aloud to show us what it means to release people from a hold of anger and, in turn, release ourselves from the pressure cooker of bitterness.

Bringing It Home

Whom do I need to release in forgiveness just as Christ has forgiven me? Am I willing to let go of my right to retaliation? Am I trusting God to vindicate me and my cause?

Lean In

Father God, I don’t deserve the forgiveness that you offer so freely through your Son. I pray that you will help me give up my right of being right, and my right to retaliation. Help me know that when I release people in forgiveness, I am, in fact, releasing myself to live a fuller, freer life. Amen.

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3 Encouraging Truths to Remember When Life Gets Hard…

Think about the disciples hanging out with Jesus on a boat when a life-threatening storm erupts on the water. They’re unprepared to face it and, panicking, realize they might die. The entire time this is happening, Jesus is sleeping peacefully.

Instead of looking at Jesus’ reaction to their situation, the disciples allowed their situation to dictate their reactions.

After begging Jesus to do something, He calms the storm… But not before asking them, “Why are you afraid?”

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Imitate Jesus

You hear it often: follow Jesus and life will be better.
Is this the real reason of wanting to become like Him? To have a better life?

In order to answer this question satisfactorily, we need to study His life in the Gospels and discover the type of a man He was.

In the Gospels, it is made very clear that Jesus is the Son of God who pre-existed with the Father before the beginning of the world and everything that was created "was for Him and by Him". ( John 1: 1-3)

Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a man with the intention of reconciling man to God thereby restoring the broken relationship between Creator and Creature that was initiated in the Garden of Eden through disobedience and the consequent Fall of Man. ( Colossians 1: 15-20)

Bottom line of His story is that He lowered Himself to become a Man to live a human life like you and I live with the exception that His life was sinless and He gave it up for our salvation and the remission of our sins.

Throughout His short life, Jesus showed us how to live as a man and not as a God. He grew up learning to obey His earthly parents, He laughed and He cried, He showed love and compassion and at times He exhibited anger in the face of evil, He became lonely, hungry and thirsty and tempted like us but with the exception that He did not commit any sin.

And this is what makes His life a great example to follow. It was possible for Him to live without sinning because He stayed in communication with the Father through prayer and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to perform His many miracles of healing,  love and compassion.

It was not God who died on the cross but Jesus the man. The nails were real. The pain from torture, the spilled blood, the agony and feelings of despair when the sins of the world were all falling on Him when God the Father turned His face away from His Son, were all too real.

Yes, Jesus felt the ultimate abandonment when He shouted "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27: 46). But despite this He knew His mission was completed when He cried out , Tetelestai, It is Finished !

Therefore, to follow Jesus means to do the type of things that He did. We need to love one another, show compassion, help the needy, fight for justice and be prepared to die if necessary to protect the weak and downtrodden and do the things that are pleasing to God by staying in constant communication through prayer and delving into His Holy Scriptures for guidance and inspiration.

Is life going to be better because of this? Not necessarily. One thing is certain: It will be right and our actions will be pleasing to our Creator and that is good enough for me. Praise the Lord!

John Costouros,
In His Service

Divine Direction by Craig Groeschel ( YouVersion )

Stop

One of the best decisions you can make when you’re feeling an impulse or facing a high-stakes dilemma is the decision to stop. Take a time-out. Pray for guidance. Sleep on it.  Get some godly wisdom from people you trust and picture the possible outcomes. Then, ask yourself, “Is this something I should stop completely?”

Most of us have good intentions or at least some kind of justification for the things we do. And yet so many of us seem surprised when we find ourselves a long way from the direction we want to go. The big changes in our lives—both negative and positive—rarely happen without a series of decisions piling on top of each other like never-ending dominoes.

Do you see how stopping can be one of the most productive things we do? When you stop to take stock of where you are and where you want to go, then you can decide how to move toward your destination.

What can you stop in order to move you closer to God’s divine direction?

Are you doing anything that’s taking you in a direction you don’t want to go (or that God doesn’t want you to go)? What do you need to stop completely? An addiction to social media, alcohol, porn, approval, or work? An unhealthy relationship? A judgmental attitude? What can you stop in order to move you closer to God’s divine direction? Treat each choice like it’s the next stepping-stone toward your destination.

When a behavior or relationship takes us in a direction we know is moving farther away from the story we want to tell, we need to pause not only to consider the consequences but also to choose to stop traveling in the wrong direction. You’ve probably heard the word “repent.” One of its literal meanings is to turn around. When you repent, you stop heading in one direction and return to God and His path for you.

In this sense, stopping actually means stepping in a new direction. You might need to step toward accountability, forgiveness, the right friends, or a new place to live.

Ask yourself:

1. If I make the choice I’m considering, where could it take me?

2. What can I stop in order to move closer to God’s divine direction?

Atheist Professor’s Near-Death Experience in Hell Left him Changed

By Mark Ellis —

In some near-death experiences, people report they were drawn toward “the light.” But in this horrifying near-death experience for an atheist art professor, he was drawn into the darkness of hell, which dramatically altered the course of his life.

“I was a double atheist,” says Howard Storm, who became a tenured art professor at Northern Kentucky University by age 27.  “I was a know-it-all college professor, and universities are some of the most closed-minded places there are,” he notes.

On the last day of a three-week European art tour he led, his group had returned to their hotel in Paris after a visit to the artist Delacroix’s home and studio. As Howard stood in his room with his wife and another student, suddenly he screamed and dropped to the floor in agony.

“I had a perforation of the small stomach, known as the duodenum,” he recalls. At first, Howard thought he was shot, and he glanced around the room to see if he could spot a smoking gun. As he writhed in pain on the ground, kicking and screaming, his wife called for a doctor.

“They said I needed surgery immediately,” Howard says. “It’s like having a burst appendix. I was told that if they don’t get to it within five hours, you’re probably going to die.”

Howard had the misfortune of a falling ill on a Saturday in a country with socialized medicine, and no doctor could be found. “French doctors do seven surgeries a week, and after they do the seven surgeries, they take the weekend off,” he discovered.

Continued, here.

God Protected Future Pastor from Bullets Fired at Point Blank Range

By Sarah Montez —

Todd White joined the Marines to prove to his stepdad he was a man, but on break after boot camp he partied so much with drugs he forgot to report for duty.

“I went home and I stole a bunch of money in a drug deal, went out West and hid in the Rocky Mountains,” Todd says on a YouTube video. “A little while later I got busted and put in jail, extradited across the United States and put into the military prison.”

Today Todd White is a pastor helping myriads of people tripped up by Satan’s snares. But his past was beset with foundering and failure.

He was born out of a hookup when his father came back “messed up” following service in the Vietnam War. Two other siblings arrived from that union and his parents eventually married. It was perhaps inevitable that what started wrong wouldn’t end well, and his parents divorced when Todd was 11.

He was thrown into the foster care system and raised by Free Masons. Frustrated by the breakup of his family, Todd turned to drugs.

“I was rebellious, angry, bitter, so mad,” he says. “I was fully addicted to anything I could get my hands on. It started with weed and it just escalated more and more.”On a dare from his step dad, he joined the Marines to become a man — and to straighten up his life. Boot camp saw him drop 83 pounds and transform into a lean, mean, fighting machine.

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Why Can't We See God - A Scientific Explanation By Frank Lee

Physicists have discovered the mechanism that prevents us from seeing the Kingdom of God by electromagnetic waves.

When I was a graduate student majoring in physics, I was an atheist. To me, God was a product of ignorance, due to lack of scientific knowledge. If people understood natural laws as well as physicists, they would not believe the existence of God. At that time, I did not know that most great physicists were God's believers, such as Newton, Kepler, Planck, Heisenberg and Einstein.

Ten years after I received a Ph.D in physics, I became a Christian - not because I found any hard scientific evidence about God. Like most believers, I felt that there must be a God who had been guiding me, otherwise some events that had happened to me would not be so coincidental.

The existence of God was so real that I had been wondering: where could God be? why couldn't we see Him? how come modern technology could not detect God? Since I was trained in physics, I believed that all natural phenomena should have a physical explanation. If God really exists, these questions can be answered in terms of physical laws. However, I did not know where or how to find the scientific answer. It might be impossible to know the answer at all.

Continued, here.