"... He is risen, as He said." (Matt. 28:6 NKJV)

Happy Easter!

This is the day we celebrate the wonderful fact that Jesus rose from the dead, just exactly as He said He would do! And, that changed everything for believers who have put their faith in Him. The sin debt has now been paid in full, and people can now become transformed by His Spirit by receiving Him as their personal Savior! (John 1:12). And, we now serve a savior who is very much alive and who is very much active in our lives today!

I think it was said very well in the lyrics of the old hymn "He lives (I Serve a Risen Savior)" that was composed in 1933 by Alfred Henry Ackley(1887-1960). Read his well written words and apply them freshly today in your life!

He lives!

"I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.

Refrain:
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And tho' my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading thro' all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

Refrain"

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)

 Once was enough!

Notice that this promise says that Christ suffered "once for sins". Two thousand years ago He completely took care of sin once and for all with one great act of pesonal sacrifice! He went to the cross and shed His blood. He will never need to do it again because once was enough to do what was needed! This is known as the "great exchange!" Christ suffered for sins, but not for His own sins (He was completely righteous!). But He suffered for our sins (we were completely unrighteous!) in order to bring us to God!

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23  ESV)

How wonderful to know that God loves us and we have a fresh beginning every single day! His mercies toward us NEVER comes to an end!

That's because God IS love and it is impossible for Him to behave differently than what He is!

The Bible, in 1 Cor. 13:4-8,  gives the Biblical definition of love. Read it with the knowledge that God's love toward you is exactly this way:

 What love is

"Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, it does not behave dishonorably, it is not selfish, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs, it does not rejoice at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." (1 Cor. 13:4-8 LEB)

Because God is love, you can read this passage again and everywhere it says "love" or "It",  you can replace with the word "God".

The steadfast love of God towards you never ceases! He is faithful! And that is a promise!

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ." (2 Cor. 1:20 NIV)

Most Christians, sadly to say, don't experience the kind of blessed life that God has provided for them in the Word of God because of, well, just plain ignorance of what God has provided for them! 

Dried cheese and crackers! 

They are like the guy who, many years ago, booked passage on an ocean liner to cross the Atlantic. He bought the ticket for passage but didn't have enough money to buy food on the ship. So he took along a trunk full of dried cheese and crackers. Every day while all the other passengers ate sumptuous wonderful meals in the magnificent dining room, he stayed in his room and ate his dried cheese and crackers. It was agonizing for him to smell the wonderful food coming from the ship's galley each day and to constantly hear the joyful laughter and happy conversations coming from the dining room of the other passengers eating roasts, hams, delicious cakes, pies and wonderful drinks, while at the same time he only ate the awful dried cheese and crackers! It was only on the last day of the long trip that he discovered that the price of the meals was actually included in the price of his ticket! He could have enjoyed all those wonderful meals and drinks if he had only known what was already paid for and available to him during that long, long trip across the Atlantic. Just like him, many Christians miss out on what they have in God's promises which have already been totally paid for by Jesus! ("All God's promises are yes, by Jesus", 2 Cor. 1:20). They don't read the Bible and are, therefore, unaware of the many thousands of promises God has provided for them in order to have a joyful, victorious, successful, and health-filled life on planet earth. Therefore, the "communication of theirfaith" never happens for them and is not "effectual" for them!

The apostle Paul said it this way

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you." (Ephesians 1:18 NIV)

I refuse to walk in ignorance! Once I discover a promise in God's Word, I immediately "acknowledge" it as being for me. I thank God for giving it to me. I then speak it out loud and/or write it down. I receive it by faith and begin believing it and acting on it by faith. l mix my faith with God's promise which makes it come alive and active for me! It then becomes "effectual" which makes me by its very definition, successful, productive, constructive, worthwhile, helpful, beneficial and useful. I love it! What a life to be had and enjoyed by any who do this!

"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Heb. 13:5 KJV)

My early years were spent living with my stepfather and brother in Northern California. My brother David and I were pretty much used to the "bachelor life" and we could pretty much do whatever we wanted to do, because Daddy was very relaxed about rules.

Then, in the summer of 1960, at about age 13, I went to live with my mother and her new husband, in Rabbit Creek, Alaska.

They were not rich and lived in a log cabin along Rabbit Creek, where they got their water to drink and to bathe with.

There was no hot water, no indoor plumbing, and no bathroom! We had to use an outhouse that was up a long path behind the cabin. 

It was severe culture shock for me and I did not react well to it! In fact, I had, what you might describe as, "an attitude."

That fall I started school. I didn't like the long walks in the dark both ways to and from the school bus. I hated the 30-miles each way bus trips to and from school.

It was a long, cold, hard winter, and I complained a lot!

On the last day of school I was excited that the long walks and commutes were finally over! The school bus dropped me off as usual and I headed home to the cabin.

Then I saw the note on the cabin door. It read! "Dear son, we have left for California . . ."

I couldn't believe it!

They had left me! How could they have done that! I felt abandoned, rejected, and afraid!

What happened next, I will save for later.

In life we may sometimes suffer rejection in one way or another from people. But, the Bible has a huge promise from God that we can stand on with complete assurance.  "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

I feel greatly assured and comforted by this wonderful promise! And, so should you!

"For you were bought with a price." (1 Cor.6:20 ESV)

I heard an old story, supposedly true, about a rich young man in a far eastern country who was making arrangements with a young maiden's father to marry her. Marriages in that country were always arranged and based solely upon the prospective groom's ability to pay the required dowry (the price for her). The dowry was usually paid with camels. An average maiden would usually be valued at 1 to 2 camels, an above average one would be 2 to 3 camels, and an exceptional one could be as much as 4 camels, tops! But, a 4 camel maiden would have to be exceptionally beautiful and would have to possess many other valuable skills and attributes, to ever be worth that much.

The young man met with the father and said, "I offer you 9 camels for your daughter!"

9 camels! This amount was unheard of! No one had ever paid more than 4 camels for a bride before! And this man was offering to pay 9 camels for his daughter!

The father immediately accepted the offer and was thrilled to receive such a high dowry amount for his daughter!

He then set out to publicly announce the upcoming marriage along with the amount that was paid. 9 camels!

The story soon spread far and wide.

People asked, "Who is this remarkable woman, who is worth so much? She must be exceptionally beautiful! She must be an extraordinary woman in every possible way, far above any other!"

Everything changed for the bride to be!

The father said, "I must have failed to notice how beautiful, wonderful, and valuable my daughter is. But not any more! From now on, she will be treated as royalty in my home! She will sit at my right hand, the best place at my table! She will be served first. She will be given the best food. She will be clothed in the finest garments. All her needs and wishes will be taken care of by my servants."

Everyone in her village began to treat her differently, too. When she would arrive, people would say, "Here comes the beautiful 9 camel woman!" And they would admire her!

 Instantly she became valuable!

The maiden was the same person as before, yet everything had changed for her! In an instant she became valuable. It was because of the price that was paid for her!

In the same way, you have been bought with a price! (1 Cor. 6:20). And that price is the most valuable payment that has ever been paid! You have been paid for "with the precious blood of Jesus Christ"! (1 Peter 1:19).

Therefore, YOU are valuable because of the price that was paid!

"...Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things..." (Matt. 25:23 KJV)

Want to move ahead to a greater level in your life? Here is the answer, "be good and faithful" with what little you already have!

Think about the logic of this from a parent's standpoint.

If you have a child who does not take care of his room, would you put him in charge of taking care is your whole house? No, you would not!

In the same way, if you are the owner of a large corporation, would you promote someone into a higher position within your company if they were not first good and faithful at the lower position they already possess within your business? No, you would not!

And God is saying exactly the same thing in this promise about the "good and faithful" servant chosen for increase.

Here is how to take advantage of this powerful promise.

Be good and faithful with what you already have in your hands, at home, at work, at school, in your marriage, in your people relationships, (whatever!); and then you will be increased to a higher level in it!

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:7-8 NIV)

Susan and I love to give and have done so from the first day of our marriage. We saw in this promise Biblical principles to help us understand and receive blessings from putting God first in our financial matters.

I'm happy to report that God has always blessed us dramatically according to this promise in His Word!

What this promise says and what it has taught us about giving

•  "God loves a cheerful giver."   We saw early on from this promise that God loves those who give cheerfully, and we wanted to do and be what He clearly said he "loved"!
• "Give what you have decided in your heart to give." We always made sure we gave to things we truly believed in and cared about; something we could support wholeheartedly without reservation. We made sure that what we were giving to was producing good results and good fruit.
• "Not reluctantly."  We fully trusted in the Biblical principle of tithing and understood from God's Word that the first part of our income (10%) belonged to God and not to us. Therefore, we never considered it to be "our money" but always considered it to be "His money". Therefore, as soon as our paycheck arrived, we happily wrote our tithe check first, to put "His money" to work for Him.
• "And God is able to bless you abundantly." And we believed the promise in Malachi 3 that He would bless us for being faithful in this respect. We were convinced that God was able to bless us abundantly, we expected Him to, and He always has! Above and beyond, in fact!
•  "In all things at all times, having all that you need." We believed God would always meet every need (Phil. 4:19), and it has always been so!

• "You will abound in every good work.” We expected God to give us good work to do, to provide employment, and that He would bless us and prosper us in whatever we put our hands to. That, too, has consistently been the case!

According to Malachi 3:10, God says to test Him on this promise: "Test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." 

And we HAVE tested Him by our consistent giving throughout the years, and He has always kept his promise! We are blessed!

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6 NIV)

One of the most famous speeches ever delivered was given by Sir Winston Churchill at a university commencement.

He walked up to the lectern, removed his ever-present cigar from his mouth, and said the following words:

"Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!"

He then, put his cigar back into his mouth, and sat down.

Even though his speech consisted of only three words, "Never give up" repeated three times, it had enormous impact on listeners because it addressed the number one reason for most human failure, they don't continue, they give up, they quit. 

God NEVER gives up on you!

This promise, Phil. 1:6, states that we can be "confident that God will continue to do what He has begun in you until the day of Jesus Christ!

That is a wonderful promise!

Someone said it this way, "Please be patient, God isn't finished with me yet!" And He isn't, He will never give up on you!