Hallelujah! Jesus Is Alive!
Hallelujah! Jesus Is Alive! We are …. we are sooo very blest. We do not serve a god who is incapable of doing that which he said he’d do. If that were the case, then he’d cease to be God. We serve the GOD of all gods. In fact, we serve the One True and Ever-Living God who willingly laid down His life for (this always blows my mind, sometimes to joyful tears) – for us sinful men and women, so that He can pick it up again, and in so doing, conquered sin, hell, death and the grave once and for all – and all for our sake. He did it all just for you so that you could come and live with Him for all eternity. He did it all just for me so that I could come and live with Him forever.
It’s like being invited to a banquet or a wedding feast, and the person who invites us takes us to get our wedding garments free of charge. Then he takes us to get our footwear and he pays for it. Then he takes us (especially for the ladies now); he takes us to have our hair done; all at his expense. And when it was time to go to the feast, we did not have to drive or find a means of getting there; he provided the means for us to get there. In other words, He has provided all we needed to attend the banquet, and at absolutely no cost to us. We never had to pay for a single thing! This is what GOD has done just for you and just for me through His Son Jesus Christ; and He did it all so that we all could come; come to the Eternal Banquet. He so wants us to be there that He did it all and He gave it all. I do not know of any human being who can ever love me to such an extent.
When we read the Easter story, it calls a few things to mind:
God always brings to completion that which he started. When He created man, it was for the sole purpose of living with Him forever. But mankind messed up that plan. We turned our backs on God and rejected his plan. He remained faithful in spite of our infidelity. He sent one prophet after another to warn us that the way we were going would lead to everlasting ruin. Then finally, finally, He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to be the Ultimate Sacrifice who takes away all our sins. His only Son Jesus Christ became the spotless Lamb of God who died in our place then rose from the dead, clearing a way so that we all can enter into that which we were created for – Eternal Life. You see sisters and brothers, even though we through sin, gave up on God, He never gave up on us. Even now as we celebrate this most wonderful time of Easter in the Catholic Church, God is making a way so that you can be set free from the captivity of sin and death in your life. God has already made a way to liberate you from the shame and captivity of sin. Allow His Holy Spirit to lead you out.
Easter reminds us of new beginnings. Everyone, or rather most of the people back in Jesus’ time thought that His crucifixion was the end of Him. Oh but little did they know that it was just the beginning; the beginning of victory over hell for all of God’s people; the beginning to victory over sin for all of God’s people; the beginning of victory over death – it no longer had the final word; the beginning of victory over the grave that could no longer hold back the people of God. So no matter where you’ve been; no matter how far gone you think you are – maybe you’ve had an abortion; no matter how hopeless your situation may seen, give your life to the Risen Christ Jesus and experience His Resurrection over all your circumstances. St. Paul his letter to the Galatians, chapter 2, verses 19-20 writes, “In fact, through the Law I am dead to the Law so that I can be alive to God. I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. The life that I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Many of us still live in tombs; in some instances, we were placed there by others and in other cases, we built the tombs ourselves, then took up dwelling in them. Some of these tombs include:-
The tomb of un-forgiveness – where others have not forgiven us or where we have not forgiven others
The tomb of anger – where we do not know what joy is and are constantly angry about something. There is a lot of aggression in you and you find it difficult to love and to care. You become like a walking time bomb just waiting to be ticked off and to explode.
The tomb of addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, shopping; where you feel that you cannot do without alcohol, without marijuana, you must have crack and cocaine. You feel that you must look at and be involved in pornography, you are compelled to shop, to gamble, to gossip, or to over eat. The Risen Lord Jesus Christ through the power of His Resurrection can and will give you the power to rise above this addiction. The Word of God in Romans 10:13 tells us, “for all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Call upon the powerful Name of the Risen Jesus Christ from your heart and be set free from this addiction.
The tomb of hopelessness and self pity, where we feel overcome with a sense of there being no hope, or we feel sorry for ourselves. “Why are all these bad things happening to me? Why does everything I touch seem to go wrong? Why does bad luck seem to follow me around? When will this drought end?” Easter is a time of great hope where Jesus through His death and then His resurrection, teaches us to believe no matter how hopeless it may be, to trust even when it may not make sense, to hope even in the midst of darkness. The joy of Easter teaches us that if we feel as if all is Good Friday, then God will take us through it all, through to Easter Sunday – Resurrection Day! So have hope!
Easter is indeed a glorious time in the Catholic Church and we are indeed a blest and privileged people, all Glory, thanks and eternal praise to our GOD. It is indeed a time of great joy and immense hope. May the joy and the hope of Easter flood your heart, your mind and your soul; may the hope and the joy of knowing that Jesus Is Alive over-take all the circumstances of your life.
Hallelujah! Jesus Is Alive!
