Some of you may have observed in reading
last month's Pastor's Pondeiings that it ended rather abruptly.. -likesomething was missing. We thought we might try the article again this month.. .only this time add the ending
What a glorious Easter Sunday we just shared together! 638 people coming together with the express
purpose of worshiping the Resurrected Christ... celebrating the empty tomb and all that it means for our lives
and futures. In Word, Scripture and Song we proclaimed the bodily, physical rising from the dead of Jesus!
By now, you are back into the routine of life... schedules, deadlines, bills, problems and responsibilities. We
are definitely down from the mountaintop and the joy and inspiration of Easter is threatening to become a
faded memory in our everyday lives.
Can we hold on to what we experienced that day?
Is it possible to live Easter and the Resurrection Life the other 364 days of the year?
I think of the Apostle Paul's words expressing this very desire in his letter to the church in Philippi:
"I WANT TO KNOW CHRIST AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION..."
Paul wanted to experience that power in his everyday existence. Is it possible?
Do we remember the SIGNIFICANCE of Christ's resurrection for our lives? The significance of His
resurrection applies directly to our day to day living.
Jesus' Resurrection opens the door to Salvation.
Through Jesus' sinless life, sacrificial death on the cross and his bodily resurrection, He has opened
wide the door to a right relationship with God. Salvation is just as real today as it was on Easter
Sunday! His forgiveness, presence and communion are ours this very day.
Jesus' Resurrection opens the door to Abundant Life.
The abundant life is learning to maximize life through our relationship to God. That is made possible
through the indwelling presence of God's Holy Spirit. Jesus said: "I have come that you might
have life and have it abundantly." (John10:10) This is discovering life as it is intended to be
lived, as God designed it to be lived.. -and it is just as available to you today as it was on Easter
Sunday!
Jesus' Resurrection opens the door to Eternity.
The resurrection of Jesus has literally turned death from an Enemy to be feared to a Doorway to
Life... Life eternal in God's presence! That truth is just as real today as it was on Easter Sunday!
Easter's SIGNIFICANCE is for today... and tomorrow. This day, are you embracing the significance of Jesus'
resurrection for your life? Will you embrace it tomorrow? This Resurrection Power is transforming, turning
our world upside-down and inside-out...but turning it everyway in which our lives are truly enriched. Is it
possible? The answer is a resounding "Yes!".
Happy Easter...today and tomorrow!
Pastor Joel