Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Dear Heavenly Father,
Hallelujah! He is risen! All glory belongs to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I praise You for loving me and choosing me before the foundation of the world. I praise You for being so merciful to me that You provided a way for me to live forever in Your Son, Jesus. Hallelujah! He is risen indeed!
"It is Finished"
There's nothing we could ever do to earn salvation. It's what Jesus has already done. Jesus defeated death once and for all and paid our debt in full when He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). “Death is swallowed up in victory.”“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50-57). We are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:37).
If our faith stops at the cross and the grave, it misses the blessing of the fullest revealing of our Savior. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, but the entirety of His work in redemption doesn't stop at the cross, for He is risen! He is the Living Christ who intercedes for us in heaven and walks with us here on earth as our Closest Friend and Companion. We serve a living Christ! That's why we never want to have a cross that shows Jesus still hanging on it. No! Get Jesus off that cross! For He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Redemption!
The very crux of Jesus' resurrection is that He gives us a whole new nature in Him. By His mercy and through His death, we are saved from our sins and eternal damnation. By His grace and through His resurrection, we are raised with Him and granted eternal life. We were dead in our trespasses and sins in which we once walked (Ephesians 2:1), but by the riches of God's grace, we are totally forgiven and redeemed through His blood. By grace through faith, we are made alive with Him and are new creations in Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:17). In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:7-10).
In Christ, we have been given the blessings of all blessings - eternal life. Not only that, but Scripture says we are also given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Not only does God bless us by His grace, but He lavishes us with it, giving us all wisdom and insight and making known to us the mystery of His will through His Son, Jesus.
Jesus was the very first to be raised, but He will certainly not be the last! All who repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation will share in the glorious resurrection of life too. knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence (2 Corinthians 4:14). And this is our amazing hope, which is at the very heart of the Christian faith! Jesus swallowed up death once and for all, in three days rose again, and by grace through faith, we are eternally secure in Him! No one can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28). We are the children of the Most-High God who loved us and chose us before the foundation of the world! All who believe in Jesus are headed for eternal glory to live and reign with Him forever!
Faith in Jesus is a Gift
We are saved by grace alone through faith alone, and eternal life is a gift. Salvation in Christ does not come by our own intelligence to choose eternal life, nor by our own personal merit, strength, or sheer willpower. No. We were all born in sin. We were all dead in our trespasses and sins before God intervened in our hearts, opened our blind eyes, and gave us the grace to respond with childlike faith. A blind man can't make himself see. A dead man can't make himself come alive. Only God can give sight to the blind and breathe life into a dead soul. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6). The God who shone the light out of darkness is the same God who has shone the light of the knowledge of Jesus into our hearts. Our repentance and faith in Jesus is a gift. Salvation is a gift.
It just blows me away that I won the "powerball lottery" in Jesus. The lottery of all lotteries is being chosen and loved by God. Nothing can hold a candle to that stunning reality. And there's nothing in me that has earned His love or deserves His love, but it's all a gift by His grace, which He chose to lavish upon me through His Son, Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the Treasure of all treasures. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The risen King lives and reigns forever, and I am blessed in Him beyond measure.
All glory belongs to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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