“…No Longer a Slave…”

Over the last couple months my husband and I have been listening to Bethel’s new album We will not be shaken. It seemed like that was all we listened to for a few weeks. One of my favorite songs from that album is No Longer Slaves by Jonathan Helser and Brian Johnson. It is sung as a raw declaration of truth and freedom by Helser who has this sort of raspy lumberjack voice. Ah such a good song. Here are some of the lyrics.  

You unravel me, with a melody

You surround me with a song

Of deliverance, from my enemies 

Till all my fears are gone 

Chorus:

I’m no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God 

    I love this song because of the truth in it. It speaks of a God who is gentle and sings over us, but strong enough to save us from our enemies. He has released us from our bondage as slaves and made us children in his family. 

    My heart and mind need to be constantly reminded of this truth. Our God is not weak, small or timid. He is completely gentle but completely strong. I am no longer a slave. I am a child in God’s family. This should make all the difference. I don’t need to “submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). I don’t need to be governed by fear. 

    I don’t know how many of you can relate with having a fear that is often misplaced, but I will be the first one to admit it. I waste too much time running through worst case scenarios in my head in an effort to “be prepared,” afraid of what might happen if I’m not. I can get caught up living life reacting to what my fears are and making faulty conclusions because of them. For example: My train of thought can sometimes go, ‘I can’t forget a single thing in the baby’s diaper bag because if I do then our outing/ day will be ruined because we will not have what we need to enjoy it.’ I am afraid of having my plans changed in that moment and so I make every effort not to be caught unprepared. Uhhhh…extreme much? I doubt the day would be ruined. This is a silly example but just imagine if that happens on a bigger scale. Who is God and where is he in those instances?

    The enemy seems to be good at blowing things out of proportion in order to get us side tracked. If he can get us to fear insignificant things, then those become big in our minds view, God becomes small, and we end up walking through life as though slaves even though we are already free. So how do I actively fight for truth and combat fear? 

    Often what I need to remember in fearful situations is who God is and who I am. As I journal and read these days, it has helped me to meditate on certain passages that say just that. I write the truth about God on one side and then what that means for me on the other. For example, Isaiah 42:13- “The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies” (NIV). The truth that I write on the other side would be that He is a mighty warrior and he is capable of defeating my enemies; so I am safe. God becomes big again and my fear is in its place. 

    When fear says jump, I don’t have to say how high because the TRUTH is that my God is bigger. My God is in control. My God is ferocious and fights with a vengeance against my enemies. In his presence fear must run. AND this great God is my father. I am his and apart of his family. I AM NO LONGER A SLAVE. It is for freedom that Christ has set me free (Gal. 5:1).

Sophia Howard

Are Your Twenties Difficult?

I want to point you today to an insightful blog Paul Maxwell contributed to the desiringgod.org blog recently. His blog looks at some realities that can characterize the "twenties" of our life as a "dark" period or a season full of opportunities. Maxwell also reflects on what God has to offer to you during this season of life. Not just practically speaking, but how He offers Himself to you to fill your life with meaning and hope and fulfill His purposes through you. To read the blog click here.

May God bless you in your "twenties",

Diego Cuartas

NEW THINGS

Driving down Brewster today, I was enchanted by all the trees coming into flower. And I marveled again at how beautiful our world is, and how wonderful that God gave us eyes able to see the glorious colors He used in His creation.  What fun it must have been for Him, deciding which bird needed a spot of red here, or some feathers of white there!  But because most trees were today mostly still bare it was also easy to see where some limbs had been removed to make way for telephone lines and power lines. Those poor trees looked unnatural, crippled  while they were still bare and visible.  After all, there had been nothing wrong with those limbs; they were just in the way of something new and good and important, so the tree had to give them up.

Often it’s the same way with folks. Like the way a new mom gives up many hours of freedom in order to care for her baby, whom she adores, and a wise student spends time studying  when he’d much rather be doing something else, because he wants to get good grades. We all have to make choices every day. Choosing between good and not so good can be pretty  easy. But sometimes  it’s hard when we need to choose between what we have always seen as good, and another different good thing.

I’ve found that in my spiritual life, which hopefully is always growing, I’ve often had to give up something and take on something new, usually painfully.

One new thing that we are now being asked to do is to take on our share of five thousand gospel conversations, and for me, that whole idea is hard! See, the thing is that my main motivational spiritual gift, the way I approach almost anything, is really directed toward people who are already believers.  My gift is Exhortation, so I am an encourager, if necessary a corrector, which has little or nothing to do with evangelizing! So I am now supposed to seek out and witness to strangers? Humph.

Preconceived ideas are the very hardest branches to lop off!

So, I wrote my story. We all know our stories, although the idea of finding people and chaining them to a chair and making them listen is somehow beyond my comprehension! But guess what! It’s not that way at all! Let me tell you about a great point Art Baruffi made at a meeting this week. It is this:  that we always have to find a point of connection. Here’s how.

People are usually willing to talk about themselves, and we need to be really good listeners.  Make yourself a list of negative things, hard things, that have happened in your life, and listen for them in what he/she is telling you. When you sense a possible connection, ask questions, be interested, and if it clicks you can then work in how God helped you, and whatever part of your story that fits.  

It can be uncomfortable to try new things. But this is an important one, and it will become more natural every time you do it. And knowing that you are spreading the knowledge of our God and Savior is a wonderful, powerful thing. We can ALL do it, even an unwilling , annoyed eighty-four-year-old woman like me! 

When that tree with chopped-off limbs becomes full of leaves, it will be beautiful again, and ably fulfilling its purpose … to fill our air with new clean oxygen and to provide shade and a home for others of God’s creatures, while also doing the new thing, providing a safe pathway for important utilities.  When we learn and practice the art of connecting with others, telling them what God has done for us and can do for them, we too will be more perfectly filling our role in the Kingdom of God, doing our one small, essential part in bringing others to Christ.

Norma Stockton

“Making God Known – Acts 17:16-34”

(By Thor Knutstad)

I love Acts chapter 17.  This chapter is another detailed account by Luke of one of Paul’s many missionary journeys.  The New Testament church at that time was continuing to explode upon the scene of the known world throughout Asia and and in Europe.  Chapter 17 in Acts, specifically Acts 17:24-28, is a full presentation of God and the Gospel of Christ.  This unique passage of Scripture is filled with God’s heart toward His people (toward all peoples whether Jews or Gentiles) – and His purpose to make Himself known.

While walking through Athens in Greece, Paul sees many idols and altars and inscriptions to false gods.  The Greeks had created false centers of worship.  These gods to them were “unknown” and “not reachable.”  Upon seeing an altar labeled “to an unknown god,” Paul proclaims the God who is knowable, and who demands to be known.  Can you just imagine Paul seeing that “unknown god” altar?  I imagine him thinking and praying, “Okay Lord, here’s that opportunity that I have been waiting for!  Let us preach!”  Then while they disputed Paul’s treatise of the Gospel, he then uses their false logic against them for the sake of truth.  You see, the Greeks, in their logical and quite philosophical worship of logic had probably thought, “Well, if the other gods aren’t really gods then an altar to an unknown god will suffice.”  I wonder if this was more about their seeing those false gods as not reachable or more about their fear of not wanting to get it wrong.  It’s probably both.  But it is still an absurd claim – no matter how logical they claimed to be.

Yet the apostle Paul proclaims the true God who can be known.  In Paul’s dispute of their idols and altars of worship, he makes note of some key points in Acts 17:24-28 (to read the whole account I suggest that you review all of Acts 17:16-34 for the complete context).  Paul’s statement includes the following important points:

1. He calls them religious and appeals to them on the basis of what they believe and in what he has seen.  His term religious may actually be taken as sarcasm to mean that they were “superstitious” as a sort of jab or seriously.  Biblically, it is hard to tell, but it is an interesting comment.  Being called religious isn’t always a good thing.
2. God is a personal Creator and gives life to every created thing on earth and is the creator of every nation and every person.
3. God determines the times, seasons, and exact places where men and women should live. I love this!  Paul is attributing God as being Sovereign and in control and decisive in the existence of everything – including TIME! Wow!
4. God is near and close to man and wants man’s “reach” for Him.
5. God is unlike idols and altars of gold, silver, and stone; He is not a manmade image.
6. God commands repentance to ALL men.
7. God will judge everyone in the future.
8. God gives us the Savior, Christ Jesus, who is resurrected proof as Messiah (by the way, the Greeks believed in an immortal soul but not a resurrected body).  This would seem completely foreign and absurd to their logical beliefs.

If you have read the entire passage, then you know that these philosophers disputed with Paul in the early part of the passage and called him a “babbler.”  They accused him of advocating false gods because he was preaching the Good News of Jesus and the resurrection (of Christ and eventually of all men).  They accused him of bringing in some strange new teaching (history records that they thought that they were the custodians of bringing “new enlightenment” and “new truth teachings” to the people).  No wonder they took offense to his Gospel message!  They actually sneered at him and only a few actually became followers of Christ.  This is sad but true.  Even Gospel fluency, loving others well, and living on mission to your neighbors, friends, and community gets rejected because of the message.  Their hearts didn’t receive these great truths.  What a shame!  What fools!  What sadness!  Even when the message is relevant, practical, pure, and true, many will reject and scoff and slander and not receive.  

Yet like Paul, we look for opportunities and well-timed, apt, and fitting replies to others as we live on mission daily in our lives.  Paul’s replies to their disputes of his message are the Gospel.  May our own lives and message be the same – relevant, practical, pure, fitting, well-timed, and full of Truth in Christ as we walk and live unashamed of our risen Savior and blessed resurrected redeemer – King Jesus!  Praise Him. 

Copyright, 2015.  All Rights Reserved.  Thor Knutstad

If Only

“All I need” – a song written by Sara Groves describes (in a fun way) how we are never quite satisfied with what we have. 

It starts off with:

“All I need is my love for you and a seat for two” 

and by the end of the song:

“All I need is a sectional and a satellite tv
And dark-wood cabinets that were custom built for me
And a painting by that guy that paints with his feet...

That's all I need
For now”

That is me. I am an “if only” girl to the bone. My whole life, every joy, every sorrow, every change was accompanied by my “if-only.” God has been teaching me so much of the freedom He has for me if I can break free from this thought process. If-only He did it sooner. (Just kidding) 

When I was single I remember thinking life would be just perfect if only I got married. I met a super fantastic guy and we married. Life was not perfect. I know what was missing – children! If only I had children, life would be just perfect. So, I had 2 amazing, wonderful daughters. Life was still not perfect. A change of scenery is what I need. That’s it. If only we move closer to our family and our church, life will be just perfect. We moved. That wasn’t it either.

Now, those are big things, but I do this with everyday little things all the time. If only I can watch some TV, take a nap, have a clean house (without actually having to do the work myself), buy something new, have a pretty garden, get a special dessert, get my nails done……then, and only then, will I be happy. 

I was always searching for the next thing to make me feel good. I would cry out to God “What is wrong with me? I believe in you. I love you. Why am I never satisfied?” The cool thing about God is that if you really want to know the answer, He will show you. For many years God has been gently and slowly changing my heart. He has made it clear to me that I do not trust him for my happiness. I trust me for my happiness. As you can probably tell, that is not going so well. This line from a recent sermon is a truth that God has been revealing to me for a long time. 

“God is good so I don’t have to look elsewhere for fulfillment.” 

Getting married and having a family were not bad things to desire and I believe with all my heart that God has blessed me with those gifts. My problem was that I was looking to my family to fulfill the desires that only my Savior could do. I was relying on my husband to make me feel complete. But he couldn’t. Why? Because he is not supposed to. I needed to learn and really understand who I was in God’s eyes. I began to search for how God viewed me. What I learned was I am exactly who I was designed to be – a princess of King Jesus. Set apart. Adopted. Loved. Valued.  I began to look to Jesus to help me with my heart issues like being content where I am and feeling loved and valued. 

I have come a long way and I still have a long way to go. I know I will never have it all together until that day I meet Jesus face to face. But I am learning that it is ok and I am in process. My life on earth will never be, and is not meant to be, perfect. 

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Dara Born

How The Gospel Sets Us Free

(By Diego Cuartas)

In order for the Gospel to set us free we need to work it deeply into our being, by the grace of God, so that it really changes who we are, what we treasure, what we fear and what we live for. Greg Hill, Pastor at Living Faith Alliance Church, preached a message on April 12, 2015, that brought together the 4Gs of God--which are central to what the Gospel in Christ offers to anyone irregardless of who they are. You can access the message online by clicking here. During Greg's message you will also hear a real-life story of how someone who had experienced abuse in her life came to realize the goodness of God. I am posting here a couple of resources, developed by Greg, that may help you internalize these concepts and do some gospel reflection in your own life. I found them to be very helpful in fleshing out and applying the timeless truths that God is great, good, glorious and gracious. I hope that between the audio message and these tools you can allow the gospel truths of God to gain deeper roots in your life, and in your day!

May God bless you,

We Need to Start Coming to Church On Time

We have all been there. It's Sunday morning, and despite the sound of your alarm reminding you it's time to start the day, you absentmindedly hit snooze and roll back over, wishing for just a few more precious moments of warmth and sleep before venturing out into the world. Your mind floods with a list of all the things you have to do today, including family responsibilities, shopping trips, sports games on television, and chores that need tending to. But first up on that list is getting yourself (and the kids, if you have them) up, dressed and out the door for church. And this is almost always easier said than done.

Sundays can often feel like a time warp for me. They have the peculiar quality of feeling both incredibly long and incredibly short at the same time. It's easy for me to get lost in this, and more often than not I'm dragging my feet longer than I should. I know what time the services start, but hey, it's the weekend, right? And it's not like I'm missing anything other than a few songs I've heard a hundred times before. I don't think these thoughts consciously, but I'm pretty sure they exist somewhere in the back of my mind as I stand in front of my closet, trying to figure out which pair of pants I'm going to wear.

At this point, I want to speak directly to you, Living Faith. I do this not to pick on us or to ignore anyone else who might be reading this, but I have observed a pattern within our body that I worry is indicative of a larger issue. And since it's my turn to blog this week, I want to come right out and say it:

We've got to start making it a priority to be at church on time.

As one of our worship leaders, I have the privilege of "setting the table," so to speak, for our Sunday services. I'm one of the first people in the building Sunday morning and one of the last to leave. I'm there to prepare technical things, make sure the microphones work, make sure the team knows what's expected of them as we run through the set lists. But one of the chief burdens I carry on the Sundays I lead is the burden of leading us into God's presence. Part of what I do is lead us in the songs we sing, but we don't sing songs for the sake of singing. We sing to remind ourselves of what's true. When we sing hymns both ancient and modern, when we recite creeds together, when we lift our voices in prayer and adulation to God, we are including ourselves in a family of faith that goes back centuries. It may seem like "song time" when everyone comes through the main doors, but I promise you it is anything but. We are fighters on a battlefield, shouting back the advances of our enemy with the truth that our God has already won, that Jesus has overcome death and we do not need to be afraid. Those moments of worship shape the very foundation of our lives. Yet we continue to view the beginning of the service as optional, reducing it to "song time" and nothing more. 

It's time we took a stand to change that.

If we believe what we profess to believe, we ought to be half an hour early to worship times, not half an hour late. We ought to be preparing our hearts to meet with our King in earnest, eager to catch every word He would graciously give us. We ought to be encouraging our friends and family to join us in prioritizing being on time for the same reasons. No wonder we so often wait to hear from God and walk away dissatisfied; we have given Him as much priority in our day as we have the laundry waiting in the washing machine. We basically tell Him, "I'll get to it when I get to it."

We are all guilty of this, and let me be the first to raise my hand. I am probably even more at fault than you here, and I'm the one writing. I pray we can receive this as an encouragement, a call to action in something that seems insignificant on the surface but really reveals the values of our hearts. Let's be on time this week, not so we can check another box of our list, but so we can encounter God. He's worth being on time for.

Dominick Baruffi

A Short Story Women Need to Hear: Joanna Gaines

Watch this inspiring story about faith, family and responding to a call God made on her life. It shows how important it is to live by the counsel of God’s voice more than our own.

Honoring the Past while Moving Forward

I had no idea what Lent was until I was a teenager.  Even then, I knew it as a strange Catholic tradition that involved eating fish instead of "meat".  I only learned any of this because I worked at McDonalds, and the Filet-O-Fish was a big seller this time of year.  I grew up in a Protestant Christian home, church, and school, and Lent was never spoken of, much less practiced.

I have since learned that many mainline Protestant denominations have always practiced Lent, and that it has historically been evangelicals and fundamentalists that have not participated.  This exclusion has started to change, and I think it highlights a general shift in the church that is worth exploring.

For my circle of influence, Lent, along with many other traditional religious practices, fell cleanly into the category of “vain traditions,” which St. Peter… I mean Peter… warned us about (1 Peter 1:18-19).  We purged ourselves of traditional hymns, started calling “sundayschool” by other clever names, and replaced communion wine with grape juice.  In essence, we replaced the old traditions with new traditions.  But what do we do when these new traditions begin to feel stale, or even “vain”?  

The mindset that tradition is a hindrance to authenticity can be a hindrance to authenticity itself, yet that mindset is still firmly entrenched in the modern church.  If my efforts and practices revolve around not being traditional, then I am missing out on some fantastic traditions.  Indeed, many of these practices became traditions because they led to a deeper, more authentic faith for generations past.  And that is worth honoring.  There is value in honoring the past.  

This seems to be taking hold in the church.  Lent is a prime example, not just in LFA, but in other evangelical churches.  Some Christians celebrate Hanukkah and Passover, as a way of honoring the past.  We are becoming more progressive by becoming more traditional.  We are moving forward, growing in our faith, by understanding the faith of our fathers, not trying to hide from it.  We are putting aside the "vain tradition" of weeding out tradition.  Peter was not telling the early church that tradition is bad, but that we should not ascribe meaning to meaningless practices, be they hundreds of years old, or from the 80’s, or from last week.

As we enter Holy Week and Easter, keep an eye on the past.  Progress is made when we have the freedom to live authentic lives, honoring the past when it deepens our faith, and letting go of traditions, new or old, when they hinder our growth.  

Jeff Hyson

What the Resurrection of Jesus Does (Part II)

(By Thor Knutstad)

We recently looked at the resurrection of Lazarus in part one.  In the plot of the Gospel story, the Scriptures in John 11 begin to unfold this great conflict between Jesus and the Sanhedrin.  Like the hammer and nails, these leaders become the very tools of our Lord’s death in His suffering and crucifixion.  In today’s blog, it is not my goal to sideswipe the power of Good Friday and King Jesus’ sacrificial death for our sin.  If you want to read more about that, I would suggest that you go to Isaiah 53, the Gospels of Matthew/Mark/Luke/John (latter chapter narratives), Philippians 2:1-11 (which is one of Pastor Nate’s favorite passages where the “Deity-humility” of King Jesus is explained and on which is preached and repeated often at LFA – and I love this because it’s one of my absolute favorites as well); or maybe you can read the various epistles of Paul where the death of Christ and those benefits are explained (the Pauline epistles, especially Romans 1-6, but it is also explicitly mentioned in Hebrews).  Again, it is not my heart to bypass the centrality of Jesus’ death as our substitute for sin.  He gave His life for us.  He died for sin.  He who had no sin became sin for us in our place.  There is no atonement for sin without the shedding of His precious blood.  He is the Lamb slain for the world.  Enough said.  You get the picture.  At least I hope you do.  His death on the cross for sin means everything.  But like my previous article, I want to focus on the resurrection.  His resurrection changes everything.  And I mean it – everything.

The second half of the Gospel of the book of John (chapter 11-end) starts with the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  It was a miracle of Christ’s Power, Deity and glory.  It propelled the Jewish leaders to hate King Jesus all the more.  But it set the table for His own resurrection.  To feel the full power of Good Friday and His sacrifice, I have encouraged you to open your Bible.  Gospel fluency becomes easier when we, like the Bereans in Acts 17, become eager to search the Scriptures to see if what someone says is true.  Right now, I want you to put down your smartphone/laptop/tablet and read the greatest passage on the resurrection of King Jesus:  1 Corinthians chapter 15.  You don’t have to read the whole book of 1 Corinthians (I know that some of you who read this will want to read it all and put that chapter in its proper context – that’s fine.  But this chapter stands alone and can be isolated as a treatise concerning the theology and the doctrine and the first importance of Christ’s resurrection as Gospel central significant).  So please stop and read 1 Corinthians right now two times – Not once, but twice.  If you think this would benefit a friend or your spouse or your children or grandchildren, read this aloud to them sometime between Friday and Sunday this coming Easter weekend.  It is the core of the Gospel and it is why we are all on mission to have Gospel conversations with our neighbors and friends and family and with anyone who would listen.  Yes, I am asking you to read the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 - twice.  This is probably Paul’s greatest summary in all of his New Testament writings concerning the first importance facts of the Gospel.  I love how we celebrate the Birth “Incarnation”, ‘in flesh’) appearing of our LORD Jesus during Christmastime.  There is so much joy in knowing that our God King stepped off of the eternal throne and in humility became human flesh.  But maybe Good Friday and Easter are actually greater than His birth?  Maybe we should see this Gospel of His death and resurrection as the greatest gift ever?  Did you stop and read 1 Corinthians 15 at least two times yet?  You will have to forgive the teacher and pastoral counselor in me.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am not afraid to repeat myself.  I need the gift of repetition in learning.  We all do ☺ - that was two times.  Yes, you got it!

As I ponder what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 15, I find many effects of the resurrection of Christ Jesus.  Some of these are derived logically from Scriptural truths, and others can be directly cited with biblical chapter and verse.  But the facts remain – there are many effects and benefits of the resurrection.  All of eternity hinges on this great and forever resurrection.  In other words, the resurrection of King Jesus the Christ does, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Testifies to the Deity of Christ that Jesus is God; he is a third of the equal and triune God-head.  Period.
2. Testifies to His power over death as the author of life (Creator) and that death has no power over Him. 
3. Guarantees our future resurrection; we will rise.  Death will not hold us and has no hold on us. Forever. Guaranteed.  I love it!
4. Pronounces Jesus as Prince and King at the highest level of worship; He is on the throne.
5. Perpetuates hope over sin and death; this hope is an anchor to soul, firm and secure.
6. Creates a witness for Gospel fluency; it makes Gospel conversations easier (not harder).  Why? What other belief system serves or believes in a risen Savior?  What God has died for and risen for His people?  None.  Period.  All other religions are straw arguments. Period.
7. Heals all grief and sadness from death and unites us to others who have died (and are risen) before us.  This gives us a greater hope as death surrounds us often and puts this temporary life in eternal perspective.
8. Centralizes the most important part of the entire Gospel of Good News – it is of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and the whole chapter).  Paul never says this in all of his other writings.  It serves us well to pay careful attention to the resurrection of King Jesus (see Romans 10 as well).
9. Guarantees that we will be liberated from the bondage of weakness, sickness, sin, decay, and even death.  This gives us freedom to move and live through things that are very difficult – hurt, pain, broken relationships, and suffering that eventually lead us to this greater hope.  The burdens of life are a bit easier to bear.  But they are still hard, for sure!
10. Brings the reality of faith and hope to the crux of loving well.  The resurrection as followed by Jesus’ death shows us how much He loves us as it secures our eternal dwelling with Him and in His presence forever.
11. Puts Jesus in position to intercede on our behalf at the Father’s right hand throne.
12. Fulfills all (and I mean all) Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament Scriptures and the writings of the true prophets who spoke toward a future Savior who would redeem His people (note the phrase “according to the Scriptures” in 1 Cor. 15).
13. Closes the parallel gap between Adam (sin and death) to Christ (righteousness, life and resurrection).
14. Jesus’ new body guarantees our new bodies as believing Christ-followers – new resurrected bodies raised imperishable, raised in glory, raised in power, and raised as a spiritual body that bears His finished likeness.  What a finished work He makes of us!
15. Swallows death up in victory by our warrior Lion of Judah, King Jesus the Christ and Messiah.  You see, my King is a death killer.  He is God the gladiator and the true Braveheart.  He is that lion who charges to the front of the battle to face the enemy Satan without hesitation.  Have you ever noticed how the real drama of this battle and war cannot really fully be captured on the movie big screen?  There’s just too much going on in the unseen world.  Too much is happening. His resurrection ultimately swallows death in victory.  It is the deciding blow to Satan’s kingdom attempt.  And the sword of our King cuts deep into the enemy.  Victory is sealed.  We win the war.  And winning the war will be seen in real life as the consequences of the Gospel unfold.  Judgment is pending and the medals of valor as crowns will be the blessings of the saints.  Does the crown of life await you?
16. Reveals Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life.  He is King over all aspects of life and a “death-destroying God.”  This sin and death conquering King wins because He is life.
17. Causes us to not lose hope in our hearts during tremendous affliction.  The resurrection is a sustaining power to our hearts because though life tries to make us addicted to circumstances, our God calls us to focus on the unseen.  We rise above situations because Jesus did just that – in His death and His life, and in His life resurrected.  
18. Makes His death make sense to us and completes the Gospel by making Jesus supreme and superior and better than all other religious systems, doctrines, teachings, and philosophies of life, etc. (see Hebrews for more on this).
19. Causes our message to others not to be in vain.  Christianity would be pointless without the resurrection.  No resurrection means no Christian faith.  But our message is true!
20. Invites conversation because no one besides Jesus has conquered death in eternal form and eternal fashion.  Death is an unstoppable force as a result of sin and the curse.  But the death of Christ and His resurrection stops the unstoppable force of death and reverses that very curse.  What a gracious, merciful and benevolent God we have!  He so loves us!

Christ’s resurrection rolls away the heavy stone of death and buries death forever.  As we celebrate Easter, pick one of the 20 things listed above that most impacts your heart, and read it before you pray over a weekend celebration meal with your family, friends, and neighbors.  Testify to this Gospel.  Do not be ashamed of this Gospel, dear brothers and dear sisters.  For it is the cornerstone foundation of our very faith.  Resurrected Jesus means resurrected you and much more!  Praise Him, our resurrected King Jesus!