Dear Fellow Children of God,
I have never bought a lottery ticket, and don’t have plans to do so. But, most American probably heard recently about the “Mega Millions Lottery.” Three winning tickets split winnings of $656 million in the recent drawing. So, once a person wins the lottery . . . now what? If you won such a lottery would you retire, or keep working? Would you buy a new home, or invest the money? Would you give to charities or keep the money for yourself? It is one thing for someone to win a lottery. But, what happens after a person wins?
Last week many of you celebrated Jesus’ rising from the dead on Easter morning. The case can be made that one of these winning lottery tickets are nothing compared to what God gives as a gift through Jesus’ Easter Victory to all who believe in Jesus as their Savior. By His suffering and dying and rising Jesus offers forgiveness to all of us for a debt we cannot repay. Everyone of us faces death unless Jesus comes again before we die. But, to all of us who ‘do not get out of this life alive,’ God offers eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus. Even the Mega Millions don’t compare to the gift that God offers us in Jesus. So . . . now that Jesus has risen what do we do?
That is a question which St. Paul address when writing to the Christians in Corinth. All of 1 Corinthians 15 is written about Jesus’ rising from the dead and the implications and results of His resurrection. Paul summarizes the blessings of Easter in 1 Corinthians 15:54 b – 57. “54.. . . ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus resurrection is our victory over death!
Then, God uses Paul to tell the Corinthians, and to tell us, what kind of difference Jesus’ rising makes for our lives as God’s children. “58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Jesus’ rising from the dead doesn’t just mean we will spend eternity in heaven. It means that in this life we can be steadfast and immovable, because “death has been swallowed up in victory.” Jesus’ rising from the dead means that in this life we can give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord because God gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words our life has a firm foundation and the power to live in God’s forgiving love because Jesus rose on Easter.
This is really important, not just because this is the week after Easter, but this is also important because this week our 8th Grade Confirmation Class begins life as people who have stood firm and confessed their faith before others. The students are telling others their answers to, “What now?” They have each written an essay they will share with the congregation this Sunday on the theme, “How I want to live as a Child of God.”
If you were ever professed your faith in Jesus before others you know the struggles to live in this world as God’s child. I ask you to please pray for these young people, and pray for yourself, that the words of 1 Corinthians 15:58 may be true. “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,” Jesus has risen and that makes a difference.
A Child of God, Seeking to LIVE Jesus’ Easter Victory,
Pastor Jonathan
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.
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