Happy Easter!!!
Quotes of the month
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that He is risen from the dead; and behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him: lo, I have told you.
Matthew 28:5 - 7
Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1 Peter 2:24
God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, “I love you.”
Billy Graham
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Jesus’ death and resurrection once and for all should give us hope that we can never be forsaken, forgotten, or overlooked by God.
Michael Card, The Sacred Sorrow
The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s kingdom. It is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.
N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
No one can remain neutral regarding Jesus’ resurrection. The claim is too staggering, the event too earthshaking, the implications too significant, and the matter too serious. We must either receive it or reject it as truth for us. To remain indifferent or undecided is to reject it.
Mark Driscoll
The tomb of Christ is famous for what it does not contain.
Sam Morris
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:3
Yeshua equals Salvation
The name Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua, which means salvation.
The Scriptures say there is only one name that can shine light in the darkness, bring hope to the hopeless, and heal the brokenhearted. This name is our salvation, our Jesus, our Yeshua.
The word resurrection is used 42 times in 40 different verses of the New Testament (KJV), and comes from the Greek word anastasis.
Jesus proclaiming Himself as the Messiah comes up in Luke 4:18 – 19, which is what is found 800 years earlier in Isaiah 61:1 -2, with the exception that the Luke verses do not contain the last line in the Isaiah verses which refers to the Lord’s vengeance.
Luke 4:18 – 19: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Isaiah 61:1 – 2: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath appointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn.
Jesus’ Words
Have you ever just wanted to zero in on Jesus’ words in the Bible, perhaps when you don’t feel like reading an entire chapter? Well, apparently someone else also had that same thought. In 2008 Steven K. Scott completed a multi-year effort to organize the 1900 statements of Jesus Christ found in the New Testament into 225 topics. Whether you seek wisdom on prayer, forgiveness, eternity, anger management, temptation, relationships, grace, or knowing God, this book provides access to Jesus’ teaching on those topics. It was first published in September 2010, entitled “The Greatest Words Ever Spoken.” I use this reference repeatedly when praying, meditating on God’s words, or even when preparing these newsletters. It is an excellent, heartfelt read.
Saved by Sacrifice
by Alistair Begg
The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plagues will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:13
What happens in Communion? Why do Christians eat the bread and drink from the cup?
As we seek to answer these questions, not many of us think to look back to Moses. If we stand too close to his story, all we’ll have is a truncated view of the bulrushes, burning bush, and plagues. But if we step far enough back, we will see and be able to share the glory of God’s big picture.
To set in motion the exodus of His people Israel, God passing through the land in judgment, sent the last of ten plagues on Egypt, and every firstborn Egyptian was killed. The Israelite firstborns also would have died, for they were not innocent of sin, and sin leads to death (Romans 6:23). But God provided a way of escape for them through the Passover. When the Lord saw the blood of a sacrificed lamb on a doorframe, painted up using a hyssop plant (Exodus 12:22), He passed over that household.
In the Old Testament, this passing over was the great act of God’s salvation. In and through it, God taught His people a vital principle: God saves by substitution.
All those years and all those feasts underline the significance of the moment when, as John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). Here was someone who was God’s provision to save His people from sin and set His people free, just like the Passover lamb.
Israel’s exodus is a foreshadowing of mankind’s great exodus: when men or women, deserving God’s judgment, trust in the blood that was shed on their behalf on the cross, they find freedom from sin. Every shackle is broken, just as the Israelites’ chains were shed when they were set free from slavery.
Next time you are thinking about Communion, consider the story of Moses, the burning bush, and the plagues. Then connect the dots and remember that the reason we take Communion is because Jesus is our sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God. He is your substitute. You have no judgment to fear, for it lies behind you, paid and dealt with at the cross. You are on the way to the promised land.
When you look at the Cross, you see the heart of Jesus
As a Reminder…
If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the Father.
Jesus speaking to His disciples
in the Gospel of Thomas,
Nag Hammadi Scriptures
God doesn't require us to succeed, He only requires that you try.
Mother Teresa
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