“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NIV).

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the LORD.  It began with a Resurrection Celebration, the initial worship service of our fledgling church.  The King was exalted, and He Himself proved that He is still in the business of saving – Hallelujah!  Following this memorable gathering, we visited lots and lots of family and feasted on some wonderful cooking.  We returned home exhausted and at the same time exuberant.  The Gospel still is the most remarkable story.  It is a story that must be told, so I will tell it.  If you have not already, at this time you may want to read my previous post, Jesus Died to Liberate Sinners.  And now, the extraordinary conclusion…

After Jesus’ execution, the faith of the disciples was deeply shaken.  While they were weeping and morning, Jesus’ enemies put a seal on the heavy stone and posted a detachment of soldiers to guard the sepulture (burial-place). Then, on the morning of the third day, there was a violent earthquake, an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and the terrifying soldiers became terrified, to the point of fainting with fear. Women went early to the tomb, taking spices to complete the anointing of Jesus’ body.  The great stone was completely removed, leaving the tomb wide open.  The strips of linen that had been wrapped around the corpse lie on the rock slab.  The disciples had gone from fearful to fearless.  They were ridiculed, persecuted and even martyred for their faith as founded on the resurrection.

Do you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead?  The resurrection was validated by many convincing proofs.  He was visible, audible, was able to break bread, eat, and be touched.  You can weigh the evidence, but belief in Jesus’ authority over death requires faith instead of sight and touch.  Have you heard Jesus speak to you personally with His words from the Bible? If you believe, you have a responsibility to share the Good News.  Our LORD never meant for us to keep our convictions concerning Him to ourselves.  We will not only see His glory, but will share in it.

Dear Reader, I hope for you to attain the full height of divine truth: Because of the resurrection, every believer will attain eternal life.  Truly, the resurrected Christ promises victory to believers now and forever!  So peace out, tomb – my God will not abandon me to the grave.  Friend, may you be filled today with a sense of adventure as you face the challenges of this world in light of eternity – in the name of the One who conquered death – Jesus!