He Is Risen!

Luke 24:1-7 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.  2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.  3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.  4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?  6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

After Jesus died on the cross, paying the price for our sins, He rose again on the third day, just as He said He would.  Hallelujah!  He conquered death, hell, and the grave!  He did what we couldn’t do for ourselves.  He paid the price for our salvation and made a way for us to spend eternity with Him.  All we need is to accept His gift of salvation (John 1:12; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9, 13).

This Is My Blood

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matt 26:27-28)

And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.  (Mark 14:24)

Countless animals were killed in Jewish history to provide the blood required for the proscribed sacrifices.  This is because blood is required to remit sin (Heb. 9:22).  However, none of those sacrifices provided the actual blood that was required.  Those sacrifices were only symbolic of the ultimate sacrifice provided by Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:4, 10-14). Continue reading

Your Spiritual Condition Is More Important Than Your Physical Condition

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?  He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?  And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.  And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.  (John 9:35-38)

In John 9, Jesus heals a man who had been blind from birth (John 9:1).  He fixes his physical condition of blindness and that was a definite reason for rejoicing!  However, that wasn’t the man’s biggest problem.  Continue reading

Our Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus Christ is the High Priest of every believer.  He left His throne in Heaven to come to this Earth to pay the price for our sin.  He is the One Who entered into the Holy of Holies with His own blood to propitiate the wrath of God.

Like the high priests of ancient Israel, Jesus Christ was among mankind when He ministered.  He felt pain, hunger, thirst.  He knew temptation, even by Satan himself!  Yet, He lived a perfect life without sin.  That is what made Him the perfect, spotless Lamb of God, Who could take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

How God Sometimes Speaks

Eli was a priest who had been entrusted with the raising of young Samuel.  The Bible provides some interesting insight into how God sometimes communicates with individuals through Samuel and Eli’s experiences.  First, sometimes God speaks at an unexpected time.

And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; (1 Samuel 3:1-3) Continue reading