April 1, 2018
Happy Easter!
Easter is a celebration of new life:
Once upon a time a man was charged with many crimes. It appeared he’d lived a lifetime of crime. The incriminating evidence was there. Even the accused knew the judge would convict him – he was guilty. He’d tried to do good things, really, but always ended up doing things he was quite ashamed of. Cumulatively, his charges totaled the death penalty in his land. It was no surprise, after about 10 seconds of thought, the judge’s result was guilty as charged; death.
Just as the bailiff started to move him away, another man entered the courtroom. He said, “your honor, I choose to take this man’s place.”
The accused stood there, protesting. The new entrant had never done anything wrong – ever. The entrant was perfect while the accused knew he was guilty and deserved his sentence.
But no one was listening to the accused.
The bailiff released the accused and bound the newcomer instead.
The newcomer died in the accused’s place.
What if you were the accused and someone did that for you?
Jesus has.
All of us have sinned (yes, even a “little white lie” is a sin) so we are all guilty. In the final judgment, if you aren’t perfect, your sentence is death (eternal separation from God). When Jesus chose to give his life for yours, He covered your sins with his blood so now there are no charges against you. Now you can face the eternal judge with confidence. You will not have to fear death. You see, Jesus also broke the power of death when He rose from the grave.
All of this (and much more deep stuff, it’s really cool to learn about!) happened when Jesus was crucified, died, and rose! What we now call the “first Easter” – though some people call Easter “Resurrection Day,” I like to think of it as “Redemption Day.” (Because Jesus redeemed us from death before he even knew us, isn’t that cool!) All we have to do is trust Him and believe. Wow! Isn’t that easy?
If you ask, you’ll hear a soft voice saying “come to me.” Listen. That’s Jesus. He loves you. He wants to have a relationship with you.
Start your celebration of new life with a new life!
Thanks for reading!
Type at you next time…
~Nancy Tart