~ Pastor Julia's Message ~
(Excerpted from The Evangelion April 2010)
A Blessed and Joyous Easter to you all! In just a few more days, we
will be greeting one another with the ancient church's greeting, "HE IS RISEN!
HE IS RISEN, INDEED!" Spring is finally arriving (and none too soon!),
reminding us once again that new life can break forth out of what may look - and
even feel - like death. The cold and snow of winter, the bare
branches of trees, the gray cold of February may all lead us to think that life
is "on hold" and nothing is happening. But in reality, the Almighty god, the
CREATOR of life, the One who designed you is at work through it all!!
Good Friday is a tough time. Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest followers
into the hands of people who did not understand or believe his true identity.
He was unjustly accused and sentenced to death, severely beaten and scourged
with whips that had shards of bone and metal in them such that his flesh was
torn with each lash. He was nailed to a cross, where he took upon himself
the punishment for our sin, even though he had committed no sin of his own.
He knew the emptiness of feeling forsaken by God, the heartache of being
betrayed by his friends and the anguish of being targeted by a powerful
government over which he had no control. He suffered and died on a cross,
a death generally believed to be the most tortuous, prolonged and humiliating
way to be executed. The Son of God submitted himself to all of this
because he knew that this was God's plan for bringing us back into relationship
with him. The blood of Jesus, the PERFECT sacrifice, shed for you for the
forgiveness of sins and...it was the only way. The body of Christ, broken
in order that you might be healed...it was the only way.
Holy Saturday seemed a silent, somber time. Jesus had been crucified, his
body removed from the cross and placed in a borrowed tomb. End of story,
right? But scripture tells us that Jesus was once again busy in a 'behind
the scenes' sort of way! On Saturday, Satan believed that he had won the
victory, that he had succeeded in defeating the Son of God, that death had won.
But Jesus had only just begun. He set the prisoners of hell free, broke
the chains of death and declared that the enemy did NOT have the final say in
the matter!
By sunrise on that first Easter, the REAL work of Easter had been FINISHED and
Jesus Christ came out of that tomb once and for all! God was not about to
let the enemy of our souls win out! There is NO power - on heaven or on
earth or under the earth! - that could squelch the Son of God! Death of NOT the
end of the story! Sin is NOT the jail-keeper of our souls! We who know
Jesus as our Savior, who have invited him to dwell in us as Lord of our lives,
we are not subject to those strongholds because JESUS WON THE BATTLE FOR US!
Victory is OURS because victory was HIS, and through HIM, we can claim it!
I pray that this Easter season brings to your heart a "new lease on LIFE" -
whether it is a first-time discovery or the re-discovered truth that because HE
lives, YOU can live also! Because of HIS victory that first Easter
weekend, YOU no longer have to live powerless or fearful in the face of sin,
fear or even death.
Every major leader of every world religion was born, and every one of them
died...but OURS DIDN'T STAY DEAD! When the early Christians would greet
one another, they would say with joy and passion, "HE IS RISEN!" and the hearer
would respond, "HE IS RISEN, INDEED!" GREAT NEWS - both then and NOW!
"And because He lives, I can face tomorrow,. Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future, life is worth living - just because HE
LIVES!"
Happy Easter!
In Christ,
Pastor Julia
P.S. If you are reading this before or during Holy Week, be sure to stop by the
church sometime to visit our Interactive Stations of the Cross! You will be
blessed!
