Power & Promise
The past seven weeks, we have followed Jesus to death and back again….and now we hold our hope and cling to the light of Easter. I can’t wait for Sunday, where eyes and hearts shift from normal activities and we remember. We remember “the blood that deals with what we have done, and the cross that deals with what we are.” (Watchman Nee) I can’t wait for Sunday, when I will look loved ones in the eyes and proclaim, “He is Risen!” and they will joyfully respond, “He is Risen Indeed!”
We chase the light of Easter and behold the Cross of our Savior. It’s a Holy Week and we remember.
What does the cross mean to you?
There is no single correct answer- only answers of the heart and of the soul. The cross bridges the chasm between heaven and earth and kills the hostility between God and man…..and it releases immense power and promise.
“Without a question, the greatest miracle God can perform for any of us is our salvation. When God extends salvation to a person, he cancels the curse of sin, reverses the effects of death, frees a captive from Satan, releases the power of His Spirit within him, and secures the person forever in His heavenly kingdom. The act of salvation requires more power and more sacrifice than anything else you can ask God to do. Why? Because it required the death of his Son. God parted the Red Sea, sent multiple plagues on the Egyptians, opened blind eyes, cast out demons, and even raised the dead, all without having to kill his own Son. But when it comes to the liberation of our souls- our eternal freedom, the death and resurrection of Jesus was required. When we pray to a holy God and ask for salvation, we are asking Him to reverse the natural course of the law of sin and death. We’re asking God to forfeit justice and to grant mercy instead. We’re asking God to do something far beyond what any human can do, something far greater than any miracle in the Bible. And God’s answer every single time is always YES.” Will Davis Jr.
He moves in our lives with power and promise.
Jesus died and promised to be with us always, to the very end of the time. (Matthew 28:20). And, He seals this promise with power when He fills us with His Spirit. This Spirit, is the same force that raised Christ from the dead, and this Spirit regenerates and redeems the decaying areas of our lives.
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans 8:11 NLT
Is there a situation in your life where you need to remember that Jesus is with you?
He waits for us to despair of human strength and then intervenes with heavenly help.
Are there places in your heart that feel like they’ve a long time dead?
O God, turn your Spirit loose there, and move us with it……
When I think of all of this, I get down on my knees and ask Him to strengthen us by His Spirit. I pray that Christ will make His home in our heart as we trust in Him. That our roots will grow down deep into God’s love and keep us strong. And that we would have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is for us.
God can do far more than we can ever imagine, and He does it, not by a hard and swift hand, but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently working within us. (Ephesians 3:14-19)
Spirit move and make us new.