Jesus Lives!

Good morning family and friends and God bless you all!  Happy Resurrection Sunday!  I woke up this morning with the old hymn “Because He lives” in my mind.  I began to sing it and hum the tune as I got ready for the day and the Lord filled my heart with hope as I sang.  We have great hope today and every day because Jesus lives!  It is because He defeated death and rose from the dead that we have the greatest hope of all!

“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.  Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

John 19:41-42

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lighting, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him.’  Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  Suddenly Jesus met them.  “Greetings,” he said.  They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.  Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Matthew 28:1-10

If you would like to take a tour of the Garden Tomb and learn more about the location and how it lines up with Scripture perfectly, please see my post from last year titled “Happy Resurrection Sunday!”

If Jesus had not risen from the dead, there would be no hope!  We would still be dead in our sin and there would be no hope of eternal life!  But because Jesus lives, sin, death, and the devil are defeated, and we can stand forgiven and reconciled before God through faith in Jesus!  Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life!

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”

John 11:25-26

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and He is the only Way to Heaven!  He is the only One who ever died for our sins and He is the only One to raise to life and ascend into Heaven by His own Blood!  We have all sinned, we all need a Savior, and only Jesus can save us!

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

“He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Hebrews 9:12

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

Hebrews 9:15

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:22-24

I can testify that Jesus is alive!  Not only have I walked and talked with Him for 23 years, many of you know I also had a miraculous encounter with the Lord in 2012.  I wrote about it in my post, “My Lazarus Moment.”

I suffered anaphylactic shock due to Celiac Disease on 4-28-2012 (20 days after Easter that year) and I stopped breathing that night.  Right before I took my last breath, I cried out, “Help me Jesus!” and then I left my body in the Spirit.  I was in a peaceful place and there was absolutely no pain!  I had gone from excruciating pain to perfect peace in a flash and there was no fear.  I felt like I was floating just above the ground face down positioned like Superman.  Once I realized I was in the Spirit outside my body, I felt Jesus walk over to me from my right.  He did not let me see Him, but He spoke gently to me and said, “It’s okay.”

I can’t even explain how peaceful and beautiful it was to be with the Lord and hear His voice like that!  There was absolutely no pain or fear and I was in perfect peace!  He comforted me and protected me and I was completely safe!  After He spoke to me, I began to turn towards Him and I felt like I was going to see Him, but right then I saw images of my children’s faces off to the upper left.  As I turned to look at my kids, I was immediately caught up in the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit.  It swirled all around me from my feet to my head and as the Spirit put me back in my body, I heard the wind come to a stop and I opened my eyes and I was back in our bedroom full of searing pain.

My wife was kneeling next to me.  She had been praying for me to come back and she heard the loud rushing wind come into our bedroom!  She witnessed my mouth open, the wind went into my mouth, and then she watched me take a huge deep breath and come back to life!  I am alive today because Jesus Christ lives!  He is alive and He has been alive since the day He rose from the dead in that Garden Tomb!

Jesus had great mercy on me that day!  I should not even be here right now, but because of Jesus, I am alive!  It was not my time to go yet!  I suffered anaphylaxis for two more days after that and then it stopped.  I did not receive any professional medical attention and I should have died, but Jesus saved me!

Keep in mind that miracle happened 14 years after the angel encounters in 1998 and 16 years after the Lord had cast out the demon in 1996.  For those of you who are new to my blog, does it make sense now why I preach so hard for the Lord with such passion?!  Jesus is alive and I know that is true 100% without even the slightest measure of doubt!  If you would like to read more about those miraculous encounters, please read my post “Remember that time when…” or read my book “One Man’s Very Strange Supernatural Life.”

Come to Jesus today!  He is risen and He is alive!  Jesus ascended into Heaven 40 days after rising from the dead, He will be coming back someday very soon, and we must be ready for His return!

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.  After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.  On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:1-11

Can you imagine standing there watching Jesus fly through the sky?!  What an incredible sight!  It will be the very same when Jesus returns!  He will come on the clouds with great power and glory and He will be visible worldwide!

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,

and every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him;

and all the peoples of the earth will

mourn because of him.

So shall it be!  Amen.”

Revelation 1:7

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Jesus speaking in Revelation 1:8

“For as lighting that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

Jesus speaking in Matthew 24:27

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

Jesus speaking in Matthew 24:30-31

Amen, come Lord Jesus!  What a glorious day that will be when Jesus returns in power and great glory!  As we wait for our Lord and Savior with joyful expectation, let us always remember the last command He gave us before He ascended into Heaven, and may we always be found obeying Him!

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus is with us even now by the power of the Holy Spirit!  Come to Jesus today, put your faith in Him, and He will save your soul and fill you with the Holy Spirit!  You will be a redeemed and forgiven child of God and you will have eternal life!

“That if you confess with your mouth,  “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:13

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:13-14

Amen!  Always remember how much Jesus loves you!  Have a blessed and joyful Resurrection Sunday!

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living, just because He lives”

-Because He lives, chorus

Grace and peace to you all in the Glorious and Beautiful Name of Jesus!