I love Easter. Even more precisely, I love the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible joyfully declares “It is true! The Lord has risen!” (Luke 24:34, NIV,*). And if we believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins and is now risen, a new power is at work in our lives. You see, Jesus will raise us up too. There is no death for those who believe in the Risen Christ. Hallelujah! With the words of Jesus: And this is the…
The emotional Holy Week roller coaster starts with Palm Sunday and its sweet taste of success and popularity as the crowds cheer Jesus on as he entered Jerusalem. It follows with the bitter taste of failure and betrayal as Jesus is crucified on Good Friday. Thankfully, the ride does not end there. We finish the tour with the elated resurrection joy on Sunday. How do you deal with all this? Jesus takes all our false expectations, all our self-righteous thoughts,…
How was your Easter? It probably was less social than usual but blessedly the message of Easter was as – or even more – powerful than ever. Because Jesus has risen, we have hope upon hope. Jesus’ resurrection was not just for some good people or it wasn’t some general sign of goodwill on God’s behalf. No, Jesus died for everyone, especially for hopeless and sinful. And what’s important: Jesus rose on the third day. So you will also rise….
I love spring and the joy of Easter season. I think all Christians do. But how could we bring this joy, this power into our everyday life? So that we could continue to live joyfully and freely as we are meant to do. This is the million dollar question. How can we integrate resurrection into our lives? Even though too many still think so, salvation is not just about getting into heaven. With the words of Randy Clark: “Jesus died…
How was your Easter weekend? Does the resurrection of Jesus have any effect on you today? I hope so. Because it changed everything. The new normal invites us deeper into hope and joy. How do you respond? That is the question, my friend. Day in, day out. Resurrection joy and power are real and at our service as God’s children. Nothing is the same anymore. Does it matter to us that Jesus is alive and well? Do we let God…
I don’t use any Bible reading plans. My plan is simply to read a chapter or two or three both in the Old and New Testaments every day (and, no, I don’t manage to do it every day). Once I’ve read through, I start rereading them again, usually in a different translation. So I was utterly delighted by the divine orchestrating that on Easter Monday I was reading through the last chapters of the letter to the Hebrews. It so beautifully…
Have you heard? Christ is risen! And with that everything has changed. Truly. Resurrection life is not business like usual. Jesus really died on the cross for our sins and he was buried like said but on the third day he was risen. But that’s not all, folks! Jesus was risen but sin stayed in the tomb. Christ conquered all the evil forces. Easter really isn’t “just” about being exited that our friend Jesus lives. God did not “just” rose…
Do you know what is the purpose of Easter? The purpose of the resurrection of Jesus is to set you free. God arranged this for you. Christ died and was resurrected for you. So you could be truly free from your transgressions and live in God’s grace. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will…
Haven’t you heard? Christ is risen! And that changes everything. If Jesus had not risen, we would be still dead in our sin. If Jesus had not risen, we would still be without a chance for reconciliation with God. If Jesus had not risen, we would be without living hope. But because Jesus is risen, we have a living hope. Because Jesus is risen we can be made right with God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus…
I love Easter for so many reasons. My husband and I were engaged on Easter and our first-born son was baptized on Easter. I also love ending the Lenten season and celebrating Life. And who wouldn’t love chocolate eggs? They’re not only delicious but beautifully symbolize the new life we’ve been given. These reasons are all very nice – even blessed – but there are even far better reasons. They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen!…
