Resurrection Power
A post on Resurrection power.
( I’m sorry there was a glitch, and the post wasn’t sent to subscribers)
Today is Easter Sunday!
If you spent part of your weekend at church like me, you likely received a message about the good news! The Gospel essentially says that we deserve death because of our sins, BUT GOD made a way for us to have life through the sacrifice of His blameless son Jesus, who died in our place and overcame death by resurrection on the 3rd day. We can obtain what God purposed for our lives, which is to have life and have it more abundantly, because of what Jesus did on the cross by taking the punishment for our sins (John 10:10). My heart can't help but leap with praise even as I write this!
I want to highlight how Jesus' resurrection power is accessible throughout life, not just when we become justified (Romans 5:1). Accepting and believing in Jesus as our Savior means we are no longer dead to sin. That means disappointment, lack of love, brokenness, and despair don't have to rule your life. Cutoff from family members, dead marriages, brokenheartedness from disappointment, the hardness of life— these things do not have power over the name of Jesus Christ.
So, if you have dead things in your life, confess those things to Jesus and die to your pride and entitlement over the pain because God has the power to raise those things from the dead. He has the final say. After all, it is not just a belief in Jesus that saves us but an acceptance that He rose again and overcame death. We need this to be true for us not to be condemned for our sins. We must also believe that God can resurrect the dead things in our lives (1 Corinthians 15:57).
In each of our circumstances, hope and renewal are not dead. Just because something died in your relationship doesn't mean God can't restore it. If there was unfaithfulness of any kind, turn away from it, confess to your spouse and Jesus, and live as God calls you to. Even if God doesn't change the situation as you expected, He changes you. That's still resurrection power in action. The misconception is that sin looks like things we deem morally wrong. Infidelity and betrayal, for example, are not the only types of unfaithfulness. Selfishness, greed, and contempt are sins too. Anything that puts your desires above the things of God is what sin is. Often, people can't point to actions they “do,” but our hearts reflect our sins back to us. This simple truth is why we need the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for our sins to cover us ( Hebrews 9:10) . The good news is that we are redeemable (Ephesians 1:7). God can redeem our relationships through Christ at work in us.
Our Father is not a one-size-fits-all being. I write this not knowing what comes to mind as you read, but He does. We serve a relationship-focused God, so I implore you to contemplate these concepts in your relationship with the Father. It's not my intent to convey that every wrong or hurt in our relationships happens because we did “something wrong.” We have a sinful nature, and the sin problem is systemic (Romans 3: 9-26). To deal with it, we need an infinite God who is more significant than the systemic impact of our sinful nature. I hope you take questions to your Father in Heaven and ask Him where to submit and believe in His resurrection power over the everyday things of your life.
The Good News is not something we receive once when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but something we live out and experience daily. What we celebrate each Easter is truly the best news, and I hope you got to look good while doing it!
Happy Resurrection Day, Y'all!