God has saved you, He has pulled you out of the darkness, the tomb is empty, sins are forgiven, life is provided, and glory is coming...these truths are overwhelming to me! Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever mediated on these facts; that only God could provide?
God has saved you! Saved us from what? He has saved us from an eternity in hell. He has saved us from ourselves. He has saved us from death. He has saved us from bondage. Please get that. You must not neglect this truth. You cannot, no matter how hard you try, save yourself. You are a sinner in drastic need of a Savior. You are a sinner, which means it is impossible for you to save yourself. Your deeds, your desires, your wants, and your words alone only further point to you need for a Savior. A Savior that man could not produce. A Savior that man could not fathom. A Savior that only God could send. If that doesn't make you shout than nothing will.
He has pulled you out of the darkness. This statement continues to blow my mind. Darkness is scary. The since of despair and fear associated with darkness is sometimes too much to bear. I think folks sometimes argue that being afraid of the dark is a kid's problem not an adult problem. I tend to disagree. You place me in a dark room and there is a good chance that this adult male becomes a wimply kid real quick. Maybe...you need to embrace this truth in your day to day life. Darkness can only be abolished by light. Your sinful dark life is no different. That only changes when the Light, Jesus, enters in. Please know that this Light is not some environmentally friendly bulb that slowly reaches brightness. No...This Light enters and is so bright that folks are blinded, but not where darkness is all they see, no...Blinded so Light is all they see (Acts 9). When Jesus enters in and pulls you out of the darkness Light is all you see and what a wonderful Light it is.
The tomb is empty! Did you hear me?...THE TOMB IS EMPTY!!!! Stop acting like Jesus is trapped in some tomb. Stop living as if your Savior is dead. He is alive. He conquered death. Have you read Isaiah 25? Verse 8 is glorious, "He will swallow up death forever; and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken." This is what you have with an empty tomb. You have that as Christians...you have that as followers!!
Sins are forgiven. The truths keep coming. Your sins are forgiven. Your chains are gone. Your freedom is real and clear. This is something not offered by man. Can man forgive? Should man forgive? Sure, but that only happens because He first forgave. Do you realize that, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God"(2 Corinthians 5:21)? God did that for you. He forgave you and brought you freedom. So...as you forgive you bask in the truth that your ultimate forgiveness was provided at the cross where Christ was crucified, where the King of Kings took on your sins. What a humbling truth you have in that!
Life is provided. You do realize that you were dead, right? Before Christ entered in and saved you, you were dead. Dead and on a path to destruction. Dead and on a path to self. Dead on a path to hell. This is your reality apart from Christ. However, with Christ we have a reality of life. Step into that truth today. You are alive. Say it with me, "YOU ARE ALIVE!" This life provided isn't about trinkets and things of this earth. This life is about eternity. Have you ever thought about how long that is? I am reminded of the great movie, Sandlot, as the little boy looks into the camera and says, "Forever, Forever, FFFOOORRREEEVVVEEERRR." Multiply that times infinity and you still are short when it comes to eternity. So...God in his grace and mercy provides us with life and life eternally. An eternity of praising our God and basking in his truths!!
Glory is coming. Once again, Jesus is not dead. Scripture tells you that He is going to come again. Revelation 21:4 points this out clearly, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." That verse brings goosebumps every time. No more tears...Glory is coming. No more death...Glory is coming. No more mourning...Glory is coming. No more crying...Glory is coming. No more pain...Glory is coming. "What a day of rejoicing that will be"!! Please embrace this truth. Paul did. Paul told us that in Philippians 1, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." So Paul understood that he had a mission here on earth. He needed to share Christ while he was here. The Gospel needed to be spread. This, however, was not the end for Paul. He did this knowing that glory was coming. He did this knowing that God was working and that a day was coming. That day was the day described in Revelation 21.
Embrace these truths. These truths must shape your life. Have these truths on your mind when you rise up in the morning and when you lie down at night. When you are struggling...embrace these truths. When you are having a "mountain top" experience...embrace these truths. When things are running right along...embrace these truths. Let them overwhelm your everyday. Why? Because He lives!!
