rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. [acts 25:19]
Jesus is alive!
take a moment,
pray,
thank the Lord that he gave himself up for you.
thank the Lord that he rose from the dead conquering death and hell for you.
thank the Lord that he is alive – and with you now!
and now thank him for all you are and all you have because he is alive.
see and believe and receive a few of these things today. rejoice. he is alive …
* you are born again! you are filled with a sure hope greater than the darkness of your sin! you have an eternal inheritance that is protected in heaven by God’s power!
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [1 peter 1:3-5]
* your sins are forgiven and you are alive in Christ with God.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. for with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [romans 10:9-10]
* all your shame has been removed by the one who began your faith and will perfect your faith!
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. [hebrews 12:2]
* you are with him – the Holy Spirit dwells in you!
nevertheless, i tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that i go away, for if i do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. but if i go, i will send him to you. [john 16:7]
* you are a citizen of heaven – awaiting a perfect, glorious, eternal body!
but our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. [philippians 3:20-21]
* you are part of the body of Christ, a member of his eternal family!
and he is the head of the body, the church. he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [colossians 1:18]
* your salvation is secure because your Savior lives to intercede on your behalf before the Father!
but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. [hebrews7:24-25]
* you will one day raise from the dead – to eternal life with God!
in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. for as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. [1 cor 15:20-22]
~ john ryan