Hebrews1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

When we see Jesus, we see God. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. Therefore, if we want to know God: his nature, his characteristics, we must know Jesus. The Bible says, God is a spirit; therefore, how can we know him or understand his greatness. How can we finite humans comprehend his eternal existence or the universe He has made? At our best, we can understand that which has been made, but knowing God supersedes our knowledge, our awareness. The Bible says we can understand God by looking at Jesus. We can understand his nature by knowing Jesus' nature. Jesus is the only door to knowing God and to eternal salvation. He was with God in the beginning. He, as God, has the power to create. He alone can make all things new. Jesus said that we must be "born again" to have eternal life. But to be born again, we must have the Creator involved. We must have Jesus involved: Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. We cannot equivocate about Jesus, for only through him comes new life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Whosoever puts his faith totally in Jesus Christ and his work will be a new, born-again creature. Jesus the Creator will make it so, for He creates.

If we try to find eternal life in any other way, we will be rejected because without Jesus' creative powers, we will still be in our sinful souls when we meet God. Without the power of the resurrected Christ, we will present to him the old sinful creature, not a born-again creation. The old man is condemned by the law, for the law reveals any variance to righteousness. The Bible says, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Like a mirror, the law has highlighted sin in us, and consequently, sin must be dealt with if we are going to enter into the eternal presence of God. Consequently, our hope of eternal life, our hope of being with God rests IN JESUS CHRIST, THE CREATOR AND SAVIOR OF ALL. Jesus alone paid the price for developing new creatures: born-again children of God. He paid the price for our sins and delivered us from sin and death to eternal life through his resurrection. We died with him, and now we live with him as adopted children of God.

Life comes only through him: In him was life, and that life was the light of men. I like to view the light of men as the breath of men or the essence of men. Christ brought light, an awareness of life, for every person. As you read this breakfast, you have an awareness of life, strength in your body, cognitive abilities, and knowledge of a past and a future. Within you, you have a flicker of God's light. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, with this light you can change and create things. As you walk in the light of Christ, you have the ability, as God does, to bring into being things that were not. All men have been given this light. But sin came into the world because of Adam's sin. People can create both good and evil, for they have the knowledge of good and evil. God's perfect light to do good was corrupted by sin in mankind. Rather than bringing life, we brought death. As a result, Cain slew his brother Abel. Death permeated the world because people chose evil rather than good. But Jesus, the exact representation of God, came to restore his eternal light to a sick and dying world. All who believe in him, who place their complete trust in him, will have this light that can never be contaminated by sin. We who are alive IN CHRIST possess this light, a greater light than any light man has EVER EXPERIENCED. This light, the Holy Spirit, will abide in us and guide us into all truth. Rejoice, my friend, for Christ has come to give you life. Follow his Spirit today and know that life within you. Recognize Jesus every minute of the day as your Lord and Savior, and He will sustain you by his powerful word.

Luke 24:49-53

Luke 24:49-53 "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Acts 1:1-5 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.”

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

As we come to the end of Luke, we see Jesus promise his followers that He would send the Holy Spirit and power. The completion of this promise connected the Jesus of Earth to the Lord of heaven. Before the fulfillment of this promise, his followers knew Jesus had returned to heaven, but they lacked understanding of what would happen next. Would they know when the Holy Spirit would come upon them? Would they become an integral part of God's plan for the future? In the upper room some probably wondered what they were doing; perhaps the ascension ended everything. But God completely defeated any negativism on the Day of PENTECOST: Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. This supernatural event, the coming of the Holy Spirit, was a bigger miracle than Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, for God brought life to all believers. He brought power to them as He clothed his "newborn" children with his presence. He would never leave them again in Jerusalem without his presence; the Spirit would be with his children forever. Truly, the new church was clothed with power from on high and is clothed with this same power today. God's children walk this Earth clothed with his divine power and godly authority.

However, some of us live our lives as if the Spirit has not come. Filling our personal temples with self instead of the Holy Spirit, our fleshly spirits demand center stage most of the time. Pushing God's sensitive Holy Spirit to the background of our lives, we do our own things without asking his guidance. Rather than yield our words or temperaments to God's control, we blunder through our days as a bull in a china shop. Such willfulness leads to pain and destruction, hurting ourselves and others. In this fleshly state, we lack the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, for we are out of sync with the Holy Spirit. Daily, we need to unstop our ears to hear the Spirit's voice. As we ask the Holy Spirit to direct our lives, our prayer life should be first and foremost. If we open our ears and hearts to God each day, our innermost beings will reflect God to the world, and the fruit of Spirit will rule our thoughts and actions. However, if we ignore the miracle of Pentecost, we will live and act in the flesh, without direct communication with the Lord through the Spirit. Jesus said, wait in Jerusalem until you are filled with the Holy Spirit. He knew people needed power to be victorious. His words alone would not sustain their lives in God. They needed the presence of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit came from on HIGH, connecting man with God. If our lives are full of all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16), we will be no different from the world.

Many of us need to go to Jerusalem, to find an upper room. In God's presence, we should also pray in the Spirit as Paul encouraged the Ephesians: pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. As we pray with all kinds of prayers in a language we understand and with a language we do not know, we will find power and victory over sin; we will love our brothers and sisters more than ourselves. Some of you pray in tongues. Paul said, I pray in tongues more than you all. Therefore, pray in tongues, believing by faith that God is using your tongue; if not, pray in words you understand, meditate in the Spirit, BUT MOST OF ALL, PRAY. Praying and listening facilitate hearing God's voice. The Spirit will speak to you in his still small voice if you willingly come to him. My Christian friend, food and drink and the ways of this life will not sustain you: you are sustained by every word that comes from the Spirit of God. He keeps our lives viable and powerful. No other life will ever satisfy a Christian; we must be full of the Spirit, hidden with Christ in God.

I will be taking a week off to seek the Holy Spirit's guidance on what to study next. Use this time for your own study of the Word and for prayer.

Luke 24:44-48

Luke 24:44-48 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

Revelation 3:15-18 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

What will be preached? Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name. We hear a lot about forgiveness and the grace of God. I think all of us are eager to hear about God's mercy and pardon from sin, but sometimes we are not too fond of repentance. Repentance means we tell God we are wrong in the way we are living. Repentance means we need to correct our course. Repentance means that we know we are not like God and our lives are lined up on the wrong vector, one that will leads straight to Hell. Repentance means we need God and his direction in our lives. Repentance literally means turning around and heading a new direction. If we do not repent, we are merely accepting God and his mercy without admitting our attitudes and lives must be altered. Without repentance, the prostitute will continue selling her body; the liar will continue to tell untruths, and the gossip will keep on spreading rumors. Whatever our fleshly weaknesses, without true heartfelt sorrow and turning toward God, they will not simply go away because we call ourselves Christians.

The "good news" remains the same: Christ came to save sinners; therefore, repent of your sins and accept God's grace. Until we repent, we cannot take the subsequent step of accepting God's saving grace. We cannot hopscotch over repentance to salvation and right standing with God. The beginning of knowledge is the fear of God. The beginning of knowing how to live for God is to understand our need of him. If your life is pretty much as you want it to be, and you think your sins and self-centeredness are acceptable to God, you probably will not see the need for the mercy and grace of God. Without true commitment, God is superfluous to your existence, not really needed. But if you realize your life as you have constructed it is not pleasing to the Lord, you will desire and seek change from the bottom of your heart through faith in Christ and his sacrifice at the cross. You will want God to transform you from the inside out. Of course, that is the work of the cross: that is what God does when we truly repent and completely commit to him.

God does not welcome half-hearted of lukewarm children. We cannot dabble in believing. We cannot live our own lives as we desire and add God in one corner of our basket, expecting him to fit into our plans and our wishes. He wants us to live HIS LIFE, not ours, to take up the cross and to follow him. The Bible says, if we are lukewarm and without fire for God, He will spew us out of his mouth. Salvation comes to those who yield totally to God. You cannot stand half in and half out of the cleansing waters of salvation: you must choose complete immersion in his name, adoption into his family. Those who are IN CHRIST are new creations, not longer in love with this world. Christ said, No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. (Matthew 6:24)

Salvation comes with seeking God and complete repentance, a turning to the new life, a rejection of the old life. Salvation does not come to the double-minded man; according to scripture, he is unstable and will not inherit eternal life. Salvation comes from wholehearted commitment: to those who rise in the morning with songs of hope on their lips and who retire at night lifting the same praises to God. The Bible clearly indicates no other life is acceptable to God; no other way leads to peace on Earth and life in heaven. The gospel is repentance and forgiveness of sins. When we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are "born again" as God's new creation, living in his love under his mantle of protection. This is THE WAY of new life, eternal life with God our Father. Any other way to God is fraudulent, leading to death. We are IN CHRIST because we rejected our own way of living and accepted HIS WAY OF TRUTH.

Luke 24:36-43

Luke 24:36-43 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

Jesus expected a lot from his followers. Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? His disciples could have retorted, Well, Jesus, this resurrection thing is rather hard for us to process. Yes, we knew Lazarus was raised from the dead, but he died peacefully as a whole man. You, on the other hand, were horribly beaten and then cruelly crucified, even your side was pierced by a sword. We can't fathom how any flesh and bones man could have endured such an ordeal and now be walking around. How can such a thing be possible? Even when Jesus showed them his hands and feet, which had been pierced, they still could not imagine such an event as his resurrection, but they did have a feeling of joy and amazement. But resurrection, how could the impossible be happening in front of them?

Jesus probably anticipated their response, for He had walked in their shoes as a human. Because He had been totally flesh, He understood the difficulty of believing in the divine, the heavenly. Jesus understood the flesh, yet He wanted his disciples to understand a new world had come to them, a miraculous plan from God. His resurrection heralded in a new order that led to eternal life. God established a new kingdom in the hearts of men: his kingdom of light. Even today people sometimes have a difficult time perceiving the kingdom of God. They appreciate the man Jesus who walked this earth, but they are unsure of the resurrected Lord, giver of life, Redeemer, and King. The man Jesus required less from them than the resurrected Jesus. The former asked people for a better, more loving life; the latter asks for a transformed life, a "newborn" life, committed to God. The former seemed earthly oriented; the latter is heavenly oriented. We who are IN CHRIST are new creatures, bound for a new city. This world is not our home; heaven is. As Christians we are changed and we try to do good deeds here on Earth, but making this world better is not our main concern. Our goal is to love God with all our hearts, minds, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. As children of a heavenly kingdom, we abide here for a while, but heaven is home.

As children of the Most High, we are not blind to human events. Recently, in the Seattle area, a good Christian family experienced a violent home invasion where a beloved husband and father, James Sanders, was horribly murdered. We wonder why this good man was not protected by God. Why was his life not spared? Well, this world is not our home. We are of another kingdom. Bad things do happen to good people. In the midst of all this sorrow, we hear his wife say she is praying for the salvation of their attackers, her husband's killer. Jesus understood the world of sin. Knowing he would face betrayal and death, the Bible says, After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. Jesus avoided Judea because he was in danger, but He went willingly to the cross. Bad things happen to good people in Judea, and we are all in Judea. The disciples remained in Judea; all but one died a martyr's death.

Although bad things do happen to Christians, God protects his own. Even under awful circumstances, God cares for his children, but we are still in Judea, the poison patch of sin and tragic human events. We don't live very long before we realize Christians die of cancer, accidents, even torture. We all pray that bad things do not happen to us, but when they do, what do we believe then? We must trust in God, believe in the resurrection regardless of circumstances. Yes, we sometimes lack understanding, like the disciples in the above verses. But faced with disaster, we chose to believe we were called by God to be separate from the world. He knows each of us by name. When it is our time to depart, He will say, Come my child, come James Sanders, come to my abode; I will give you rest in your heavenly home. From the foundation of the Earth, God chose us to be with him. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Praise God forevermore!

Luke 24:25-35

Luke 24:25-35 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

These followers of Jesus confirmed the women's report of what the angels said at the tomb: The Lord has risen. It is of interest that Jesus acted as the host when he broke bread in the household of the two, usually the host offers the bread. This act was probably necessary for them to realize that He was the Christ. When He broke the bread, their eyes were opened. He might have said the words that he said at the Lord's Supper. And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) If so, these two disciples probably had heard these words expressed by the Twelve when they told of the Lord's Supper. For whatever reasons, their eyes were opened when He began to hand out the bread. The scriptures alone did not reveal Jesus to them as they walked with him, for He had reminded them of the prophecies concerning him, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets. The Word alone does not give life; in fact, wrongly used it can bring death. But recognizing Jesus and repeating his words in your heart brings life. These followers were ignorant of Jesus' presence until they recognized him as the bread of life.

When their eyes are opened to him and his holy presence, they see him as Lord, recalling how their hearts did indeed feel his inspiration on the road, but they were slow to recognize the source of the power that stirred them. Often we do not see Jesus as He walks with us, when He moves situations and circumstances to reveal himself and to accomplish his will. We do not thank him for blessings that come to us or events that change for the good, including answers to prayer. Even Christians might say, "I was sure lucky," or "I can't believe how well that turned out." Instead we should remember to thank God for the miracles and to praise him that He is with us and cares for his own. We should receive daily bread from his hands, listening for his words to guide us in good times and in bad. Peter wrote, Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) Likewise, Paul understood that our lives are now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3) because He had learned to abide in Jesus and to hear his voice. As a result we hear Paul giving thanks to God in everything. In praise and recognition of Christ, even in disappoints and hard circumstances, he says, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

God loves to hear our praise. He longs to see us in prayer, Bible study, and meditation, calling upon him for guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is pleased when we see Jesus walking beside us on the road and stop to hear him, ceasing from our frenetic running to and fro. Today as we travel life's super highway with all its distractions and the responsibilities of living, we need to pause and to look up, look up and live, look up and see the hand of God extended to us. As we see and hear him, we will be able to share his love with others and to fulfill his perfect will despite our failings and tendency to stray. As John said, Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:18-20) Today, look to the right and to the left; see Jesus there, see the work of his hands, his footprints in your heart and life. As you yield to him and thank him for his mercy and grace, you will overflow with loving kindness for others. People want answers for their lives. If you practice the presence of Jesus, you can say in faith, "God loves you. I was just talking and walking with him and He told me to tell you this."

Luke 24:13-24

Luke 24:13-24 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

The unbelievable had just happened: a resurrection. How could any two individuals anywhere understand this phenomenon? These two followers of Jesus were clearly disappointed in what had happened in the last few days. Jesus, their miracle-worker, had been put to death. Their hopes of deliverance from the hands of the Romans had been dashed. Just a week earlier they were expecting the redemption of Israel. They had such hope in Jesus just a week ago, greeting him with waving palms as He entered Jerusalem. How their hearts had burst with joy that day: for sure, the miracle-worker would restore abundant life to the Jews by pushing out the Romans. But sadly, these anticipated events did not happen. Instead, Christ died at the hands of their enemies. He was less powerful than his oppressors, a mere mortal, unable to bring deliverance and abundant life to the Israelites.

As these two journeyed that day, they expressed the feelings of a great number of Jesus' followers who were now very much disillusioned and perhaps even a little disappointed in Jesus. Their hopes of deliverance had gone to the grave. On top of their discouragement came the confusing news that Jesus' body had disappeared, a story that seemed like nonsense to them. Yes, the apostles had gone to the tomb and discovered the body was gone, but they did not see any angels there. How could they truly believe such a story from the women who went to the tomb? For these men, anticipated abundant life was gone, but in reality, abundant life was created that day. For all who placed their trust and faith in Jesus Christ would receive the same resurrection life that raised him from the grave. These greatly disappointed followers would soon meet the eternal Jesus, not a deliverer from the hated Romans, but LIFE ITSELF: ETERNAL LIFE. Jesus went to the grave as a sacrifice for the sins of the world; He rose from that grave as THE WAY to eternal life for all who would accept him as Lord. Now, all who are IN HIM by faith possess resurrected life in their souls: they shall never die.

Many times we confuse life's journey with eternal life. We confuse our desire for abundant life on earth with ABUNDANT LIFE FOR ETERNITY. Jesus is abundant life; He alone brings life eternal. He alone opens the door for the Holy Spirit to reside in us. Without him we have no lasting hope, even if our temporal life seems successful. We might win the world, live in a castle, enjoy the fame of having our name on everybody's lips; yet, if we do not have Jesus, we do not have ABUNDANT LIFE. Consider the vicissitudes of life, the sorrows of pain and loss, the deaths of the martyrs. Do these equate to abundant life? Yes, a thousand times yes, if we are IN CHRIST AND HE IS IN US. We often hold onto this life with such fervor that real life and real joy elude our grasp. When the two on the road realized Christ had walked along side of them, they became joyful, optimistic. Why? Everything changed because Jesus had been with them. We should be full of joy, for Jesus is with us. In his presence, everything else in existence dims and fades into the background. Will our lives be better? Yes, IN HIM OUR LIVES WILL BE BETTER, now and forever. Does this mean we won't have troubles and sorrows, face death? No, we experience life as it is, but we do not sorrow as those who have no hope; we are not defeated by trials or setbacks; we will not go to the grave as those who are lost and abandoned. Instead, as the Bible says, we are more than conquerors IN CHRIST who loved us, now and forever.

Luke 24:9-12

Luke 24:9-12 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

I love the Bible's description of the empty tomb. We do not see any super spiritual people, people with special insight into what has just happened. We do not hear the disciples say, "Well, of course He isn't there; remember what He said about his resurrection: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40) No, Luke writes that the apostles thought the women spoke nonsense. Peter, future leader of the church, ran to investigate the scene, but even he did not initially comprehend the situation: He went away, wondering to himself what had happened. Without sugarcoating the principals in this scene, the Bible depicts them as ignorant of the spiritual significance of the empty tomb--dismayed and pondering, but not understanding or believing. As finite human beings, they accepted death's finality; therefore, the empty tomb bewildered them, despite three year's of interactions with the miracle-working Jesus. If the Bible were just a script or an attempt to perpetuate a fraudulent religion, I am sure we would read how these pillars of the nascent church quickly and fully understood the significance of the empty tomb. We might read about Peter leaving the scene with proclamations of Christ's resurrection. But Luke admits they did not easily understand that Jesus had arisen. In their human eyes, Jesus was too much of a man, one who ate, drank, slept, and performed normal bodily functions. To them, Jesus was more of a man of the flesh than a Son of God who died for their sins. Soon they would realize the man they knew in the flesh had indeed defeated death; this revelation changed their lives forever.

As finite people, we Christians sometimes live as if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead. Our attachment to this world and awareness of the vicissitudes of life dims the reality of the resurrection. Often we live as unbelievers rather than believers. Except for our most spiritual moments, we talk and act as the world does, worry about life as they do. We spend much of our time and thought life on the temporal, not the eternal. However, if Jesus is truly resurrected, and He is, He has a claim on our everyday lives. The book of Acts reveals the effects of the resurrection on the early believers. Encountering the risen Christ, they counted their lives as nothing compared with spreading this good news. They wanted everyone to know that the Christ, the Son of God, is risen indeed. He was no longer just a good, loving man who performed a few miracles, not merely a spiritual teacher with much wisdom. They knew him as the Son God for He was risen. Their acclamation, faith, and trust in Jesus and his works gave them a new life, filled with the Holy Spirit. They were no longer powerless, for they worshipped God in truth and in faith. Mighty miracles happened in their lives and the lives of those around them, for they knew Jesus had conquered death. They also knew the Holy Spirit resided in them, giving them resurrection power and strength. They were no longer just men and women pondering, wondering, about the resurrection; they became soldiers of the cross, alive in Christ, for He lived in them.

My friend, has the Daystar arisen in your life? Is He real to you, alive in you? I am sure the answer is yes, but we must keep faith burning in our souls as we allow for the reality of his presence and power in our lives. Every day, we should live as if He has risen in victory and authority over sin and death. As we grow in Christ and our attachments to Earth lessen, the things of this world should grow strangely dim. Our focus: be all that we can be for him. Our proclamation to family, friends, and neighbors: He has risen in my life, and He will arise in yours. We must ask ourselves if we have allowed the world to creep in and to dominate our living. Are our Friday and Saturday nights different from the unsaved? Where do we turn in times of trouble? Do we run to Jesus or seek comfort in destructive choices and defeating behaviors? Are we filling the air with songs of praise and living in an attitude of prayer, or are our days focused on ourselves, our needs and problems? With Christ in control of our lives, we can offer others an alternative to their empty lives. In contrast with a dying world, WE ARE ALIVE IN HIM FOR HE HAS RISIN AND LIVES FOREVERMORE. Because He lives, we live also to share his love.

Luke 24:1-8

Luke 24:1-8 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

Matthew 8:21-22 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen is the crux of Christianity. We are no longer bound to sin and death; we are alive evermore in the hands of God. This is our hope in Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) We who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ are alive IN HIM. He bore our sins on the cross, and we IN HIM are resurrected into new life. Our hope, our trust is in his works, not our own. This is the "good news" that believers have spread throughout the world. If we rely on any other way to eternal life with God, we take a false step, accepting an imitation, a distortion of the truth. No one's works, efforts, knowledge, or wisdom will lead him to peace and fellowship with God. Jesus alone paid the price for salvation. We do not pay the price, and no one except Jesus can pay the price for us.

False religions offer gurus who apparently pay a price to get closer to God by living ascetic lives, somewhat like John the Baptist. People think such lifestyles imbue power or insight to lead men to God or maybe nirvana. These so-called holy men claim to be intermediaries between God and man; however, the Bible clearly indicates Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. Paul told the church, For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. (1 Corinthians 3:11-13a) Men can forsake the world or mutilate their bodies to please God, but only The Lamb's sacrifice satisfies God's wrath towards sin. Christ's blood alone covers the multitude of sins carried by all. He alone cleanses us white as snow. When we were without hope, God himself literally paid for our sins. When people lift up a man, calling him holy or good, I know if we followed this person for just a few days, we would quickly see sins of the flesh, those of omission or commission. The Bible says because of sin, all like sheep have gone astray, turning to their own ways. Jesus said, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone." (Luke 18:19) Therefore, it does not matter how good you think you are or how you classify your life in spiritual terms, only God is good: to be good for eternity means you must trust in him.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life IN CHRIST Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) No other man, no other idea, no other religion possesses the gift of eternal life, only Jesus. In Christ, nothing can separate us from the love of God, for the Bible says we are hidden with Christ in God. Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is IN CHRIST Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39) Although once marred with the cancer of self and sin and cast from God's presence, through Jesus' blood, we now enter into God's very presence. We stand boldly in his image before God's throne of grace, "born again" children, purchased by the Lamb of God. Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) We will let the dead bury their own dead, for we are no longer dead but alive. We are heaven bound, new creatures. This world and all it offers will not hold us down. We are alive in Christ, headed home. With the angels, we proclaim, Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! WE ARE RISEN IN HIM, RISEN INDEED.

Luke 23:47-56

Luke 23:47-56 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

The final scene of Jesus' death was an awful one, for even the observers beat their breasts and went away in sorrow knowing an innocent man had been put to death. However, in the midst of that dark day good things, holy things, also happened: A Roman centurion realized Jesus' righteousness: he praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man." Joseph, an upright man, a member of the Sanhedrin, blessed Jesus by taking his body from the cross and placing it in his own tomb. Dedicated women who followed Jesus throughout his ministry were ready to prepare Jesus' body for burial after the Sabbath. All of these people helped fulfill God's plan for that day. All of them witnessed his death, and all of them would realize in three days that Jesus had risen from the grave. Yes, a righteous man did die that day, one who needed a grave, one who needed his body prepared for burial, but God's highest plan for Jesus was not death but life. The centurion, Joseph, and the women were all intricately involved in God's plan of life eternal and victory over the grave.

In our lives God plans for life not death. We might think our inclinations, words, and actions lack eternal worth, but in God's hands they are worth much. The centurion expressed a few words about Jesus, but through the ages, millions have read those words to the glory of God. Joseph's care for Jesus' body might not seem highly significant, but God needed that stone placed at the mouth of the tomb, so that it could be rolled away as a sign of resurrection life. The women's intentions to prepare the body of Jesus were not fulfilled. However, when they came to perform their ministrations, they were the first to discover the empty tomb, ushering in the kingdom of God. God uses ordinary lives for his purposes. And He will use every part of us if we fully commit ourselves to him. This is one of the wonderful aspects of being a Christians, part of the body of Christ: we know He uses our lives for his glory as we yield to him. We know that even the thoughts we possess can be used for his glory as we meditate and prayer and act upon the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In the morning as I prepare these breakfasts, I sometimes stumble or hesitate in believing God has something to say for the many people who read these devotions. I wonder if I can prepare a meal to help people face a new day in the Lord. As I struggle with the words, ideas, and thoughts I desire to express, I might complain to God about my inability to hear him; then as I pause in my fretting or whining, I hear his words, "I have given you the words to write." Still, I will argue, saying, "No you haven't. I don't know what to say." His answer: "Just write." So in obedience I write, and God gives me food for the day. This is our lives in a nutshell. "Just do it." Don't complain, don't argue, just do it. Some of you have people to email or call, places to go share your faith, and people to visit. God would say to you, "Just do it." Share your gifts, speak praises and compliments, express God's love to the hungry. Jacob wrestled with God, wanting a blessing, a better life. He persevered and God said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:28) Overcomers are blessed, now and for eternity. THOSE THAT DO make it to the end because God is in the life-giving business. Out of Jacob came a great nation. As an obedient overcomer, out of you and your work, God will fulfill his will as He did on that awful day of Golgotha.

Luke 23:44-46

Luke 23:44-46 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Hebrews 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Acts 2:24-28 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

The curtain in the temple that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross ensured that all who place their trust in him may enter into the Holy of Holies. In the Old Testament, before entering the Most Holy Place, the priest had to sacrifice a bull in atonement for his own sin, and then sacrifice a goat for the sins of the Israelites. He sprinkled the blood of these animals on the atonement cover in the Most Holy of Holies. Then he could stand before the Lord with petitions on behalf of himself and the people. The blood of bulls and goats was necessary for him to stand in God's presence. Without the blood covering for his sins, he surely would die. Jesus paid the price for us to enter into God's presence by the shedding of his blood on the cross. His blood was sprinkled before the Father God evermore so we who believe in Jesus' works might stand boldly before God and call the Almighty, Abba Father. Jesus paid the price for our position with the Father as children of the Most High. He tore down the curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, making it possible for sinful man to inter the inner sanctum where God's presence dwells.

Jesus paid the absolute price of our redemption. He gave up his power to raise himself: into your hands I commit my spirit. He placed his spirit, his existence, his position, in God's hands. But in Acts 2 we see that God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death. Jesus understood the love of God; by faith, He knew, you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. God also will not abandon to the grave those who are holy in Christ Jesus, nor will we see decay, for we live IN HIM forevermore. This is our great hope, the hope of ALL WHO PLACE THEIR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. Christ's love at the cross reveals God's love towards us. He will not abandon us because He loves our very essence and paid a tremendous price for our eternal salvation. He loves us not for who we are or for what we have done; He loves us because we are bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. From the beginning, He breathed his life into us, made us a new creation in his image. He loves us JUST BECAUSE WE ARE.

Consequently, God asks us to love our brothers. Who are our brothers? Who do we love and not hate? Who do we forgive, serve, and not kill? When the disciples asked Jesus who they should love as themselves, fulfilling the second great commandment, Jesus responds with the story of the good Samaritan, a person despised by the Jews. He tells how a hated Samaritan loves a Jewish man lying injured on the side of the road. He says to them, love as this good Samaritan loved; otherwise, love your enemies as yourselves. If we do, we love as God loves. He sends the rain on the just and the unjust; He loves both. We do likewise. At the cross, Jesus gave himself not only for the "good," but also for the "bad." Through his sacrifice, He brought all of us into the most holy place, the inner sanctum. This divine love constrains our flesh and motivates our spirits. We no longer look at the speck in our brother's eye; we love him and look to our own faults. Because of God's great love for us, He will not abandon us to the grave, but He will raise us to everlasting life. As we wait for that glorious day, we have confidence that if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) We do not abandon our wives, our children, our neighbors, or our enemies. We love them, THE ESSENCE OF THEM. We love them just because they ARE and because God first loved us.