Easter

As the Easter season ends, I think it is important to remember Jesus sacrificed His life to defeat the devil and restore our relationship with God. Jesus' resurrection conquered death and gave us new life! It is my prayer that Christian world wide will live each day in this victory! 

Jesus sacrifice is so overwhelming! Sometimes it is difficult for us to comprehend! 

For those of you who don't understand the full effect of Jesus' death and resurrection, here is a short reflection on the impact of Easter. 

                                                                                                                                                        

The effects of Jesus’ death and resurrection gave us victory over the devil, freed us from sin by giving us new life, and broke the barrier which separated us from God. 

The Bible says that before we knew Christ we were slaves to sin; we were in bondage because of our sin. When Jesus died on the cross, he not only took the punishment for our sin, but he became sin. Hebrews 2:14-15 describes Christ’s death this way: “. . .[Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death - that it, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." Rising from the grave, Jesus declared victory over sin, death, and the devil himself. Because they are defeated, Christians no longer have to live as slaves to sin. Therefore, we have no fear of death. 1 Corinthians 15:54b-55 asked " 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victroy? Where, O death, is your sting?' " Not only did Christ deliver us from the sting of death, but He removed the power of death. According to Colossians 2:15, Christ took away the power of death and triumphed over the devil through the cross. 1 Corinthians 15: 57 says "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Christ's sacrifice brought us victory. Romans 8:27 says we are more than conquerors because of Jesus Christ. We share in Jesus’ victory over the devil through faith in Him.

As said above, Hebrews 2:15 says Jesus died and rose again to free his people from the dominion of sin and death. Colossians 1:13-14 says "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Because we are freed from sin, we can receive forgiveness through Jesus. Christ’s death brings us forgiveness, and His resurrection offers us new life. Ephesians 2:4-5 says "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." When we lived in sin, we were spiritually dead. Through Christ' sacrifice, death was defeatedand we received eternal life by faith. Romans 6:23 explains that the punishment for our sin is death, but "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."In John 10:10, Jesus says He came to give us abundant life.  

Because God is holy, He cannot tolerate sin. When sin entered the world, our relationship with God was broken. We could no longer fellowship with God; sin separated us from God. However, when Jesus died, Matthew 27:51 says that the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Because Jesus became sin for us, God came down to us. Romans 5:10 says two times that we were "reconciled to God" through the death of Jesus. The phrase “reconciled to God” means our relationship with God has been restored. God is a relational and personal God. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, our relationship with God was restored. 

Not only did Jesus defeat the power of death and the devil, He also gave us new life and freedom from sin. Jesus’ sacrifice freed us from bondage to sin and restored our relationship with God. He offers these things by grace to anyone who will receive them in faith.