Jesus Lives!

Although we celebrate Easter all over the world, it is important to recognize that God sent His only son to show us how things are and will be to come. Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice to illustrate our natural state, which should lead to remorse and repentance. God wants us to be delivered from our ways by seeing that our nature rejected His son when He lived among us. The human mindset crucified Christ instead of embracing God's teachings, and His death is the ultimate sacrifice for believers. Easter is the celebration for the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our relationship with God begins with Abraham and his family. Abraham was a Hebrew. Sin and consequences for humanity were illustrated from the beginning of time so God chose a relationship with the Hebrews to be a blessing for all humanity. Jews are a group of Hebrews that were scattered far and wide throughout nations with their Law, Prophets and Writings intact. During the period when the synagogue emerged, it became one of the most influential institutions in history. There was no priesthood. Men would assemble, study the scriptures and praise God. This was being done all over the world. The synagogue was also the school where nations were trained in service to God.

It was the Hebrews who organized synagogues and taught the word of God.  Nations came to learn for the first time that there is only one God without any images.  They learned about a God of loving kindness and justice for all people of all classes.  This was God's call to those down and out.  Through the synagogues and written word, god made Jews a blessing to all families on earth, a light to nations.  Through them God established the conditions for the coming of His son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Holy Trinity is the spiritual basis for connecting the dots intellectually. God revealed His power to humanity through our Lord and Savior. After the Resurrection, Jesus left us a Comforter; the Holy Spirit empowered to guide us from the heavenly realm. Our existence is described in the Revelation of God's plan unfolding. We are taught that Jesus is the word made man and the definition of the word is communication with God. Jesus is the man in which those words were given life. It is impossible to have a relationship with God without communication, and Jesus is our facilitator. When we pray to God, we pray in the name of Jesus as our representative.

God has designed a path for believers to develop an ongoing relationship with Him that promises abundant life. We must first brace ourselves to accept the truth about our nature. In short, humanity crucified our Lord. God showed us that human behavior will naturally reject His word and in the end, we actually crucified it in the form of flesh. That act establishes acceptance of the need to reconcile. Our only means of security is placing our trust in matters of the heart.

When God allowed His son to be crucified by the world, Jesus overcame the grave to illustrate His power.

Romans 8

1 Those who belong to Christ Jesus are no longer under God's sentence. 2 I am now controlled by the law of the Holy Spirit. That law gives me life because of what Christ Jesus has done. It has set me free from the law of sin that brings death. 3 The written law was made weak by our sinful nature. But God did what the written law could not do. He made his Son to be like those who have a sinful nature. He sent him to be an offering for sin. In that way, he judged sin in his Son's human body. 4 Now we can do everything the law requires. Our sinful nature no longer controls the way we live. The Holy Spirit now controls the way we live. 5 Don't live under the control of your sinful nature. If you do, you will think about what your sinful nature wants. Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you do, you will think about what the Spirit wants. 6 The way a sinful person thinks leads to death. But the mind controlled by the Spirit brings life and peace. 7 The sinful mind is at war with God. It does not obey God's law. It can't. 8 Those who are controlled by their sinful nature can't please God. 9 But your sinful nature does not control you. The Holy Spirit controls you. The Spirit of God lives in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. 10 Christ lives in you. So your body is dead because of sin. But your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. So the God who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your bodies, which are going to die. He will do this by the power of his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Brothers and sisters, we have a duty. Our duty is not to live under the control of our sinful nature. 13 If you live under the control of your sinful nature, you will die. But by the power of the Holy Spirit you can put to death the sins your body commits. Then you will live. 14 Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 You didn't receive a spirit that makes you a slave to fear once again. Instead you received the Holy Spirit, who makes you God's child. By the Spirit's power we call God "Abba." Abba means Father. 16 The Spirit himself joins with our spirits. Together they give witness that we are God's children. 17 As his children, we will receive all that he has for us. We will share what Christ receives. But we must share in his sufferings if we want to share in his glory.

Romans 5

1 We have been made right with God because of our faith. Now we have peace with him because of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through faith in Jesus we have received God's grace. In that grace we stand. We are full of joy because we expect to share in God's glory. 3 And that's not all. We are full of joy even when we suffer. We know that our suffering gives us the strength to go on. 4 The strength to go on produces character. Character produces hope. 5 And hope will never let us down. God has poured his love into our hearts. He did it through the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us.