Sharing the Good News With Others

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

April 16, 2017 is Easter Sunday for most of the world. However for Christians, Easter is known as Resurrection Sunday. For, we celebrate the day that Christ was resurrected from the grave conquering eternal death for all those who will believe that He is, indeed, the Son of the Living God. Yes, Christ came to earth to spread the Good News of God’s grace and mercy. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall not die, but have everlasting life.” – (John 3: 16. KJV.).

Easter or Resurrection Sunday is the day that all Christians should, through words, relationships, actions and behaviors, explain to the world that Christ died and arose for them. But, our Christian life should not just be lived out for others to see on only one day a year. Instead, we should live our lives every day in such a way that the world sees that Christians are different in a good, truthful, and loving way. Furthermore, our lifestyle should be such that the people everywhere will want to know about Christ and will then ask us why we believe the way that we do. Then Christians can engage in conversations, in helping others, in showing that we care, and in sharing the Word of God with those who have yet to come to personally know Christ.

Christians need to explain to people everywhere that Resurrection Sunday, or Easter as most of the world knows it, is the day that Christ conquered eternal death and darkness for those who will believe on Christ as the Son of God. But many in the world do not want to recognize Christ as the Son of God. They do not want to live in the light of His Love. That is why Christians must share the Good News with people around us. It is our responsibility to live out Christ’s love every day of our lives and not just on Easter.

Moving from a World Wrapped in Darkness to a World Emblazoned with Light

We were all born into a world that is full of darkness. It is the darkness of sin that surrounds each of us. It is this darkness that Satan wants us to long for and not resist. Sadly, too, it is this darkness that can lead us right into eternal hell, if we do not grab onto and hold on to the light of Christ that God has offered to each of us. 

For years people thought that they were helpless to escape the bondage of their sin. However, God defeated Satan, the master of this darkness and bondage, when He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die and then arise from the grave conquering death for our sins. How did Jesus conquer death and give us the chance to be cleansed of our sins? Well, Jesus, as the Son of God, defeated Satan and eternal death when after taking our sins upon his body upon the cross and dying for our sins, then arose from the grave and its eternal darkness. Indeed, it is only Christ who can bring each of us into a world emblazoned with light and can give us the freedom from eternal death and darkness. For, if we believe on the one and only Son of God, we can be Saved from eternal darkness and never have to fear that eternal death again.

Being born into this world of darkness and sin means that initially each of us is alienated from God. But, God does not want us to be alienated from Him, so in His mercy and grace, God has given each of us a way to spend eternity with Him in a world emblazoned with God’s light, i.e., if we so choose to accept His free gift. For, if we believe that Christ is God incarnate and that He came to earth to reconcile us to Himself through His death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection, we can be saved for all eternity living forever. We will become immortal, because our new relationship with God will have cleansed and restored us through Jesus’ blood on the cross. Christ will cleanse us and make us righteous before God, i.e., if we choose to accept God’s gift of mercy and grace through His Son.

Unfortunately, some people will refuse to believe in Christ as the living Son of God. Certainly, God does not want anyone to be excluded from His eternal world of light and love, but some people will exclude themselves. Why do they refuse to believe and repent of their sins? Well, they may not feel that they are sinners. For the world has told them that they can do pretty much what they want, so nothing is wrong in their eyes. Others refuse to believe in God or His Son, and they look at immortality as a fairy tale. Still others have allowed their hearts to become so hardened to the voice of the Holy Spirit, even to the point of grieving the Holy Spirit, or they have become so extremely stubborn and have refused to believe in what they cannot physically see. In other words, they have succumbed to the lies of the devil and simply refused to see that there is a spiritual world that is really our home. Still others have come to love the darkness of this world; wandering around in spiritual blindness as they trust in their own wisdom rather than the Lord’s. Their refusal to see the light of Christ will keep them from knowing the truth. Someday they will have to pay the price of eternal damnation and darkness for not believing on Christ as their Savior and the light the world.

  Christians, i.e., those that have accepted Christ as their Savior, know that we have been sealed for the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit. We know this because God has given us the Holy Spirit to live within us and to guide and comfort us daily. Moreover, we know that when we die we will leave our physical bodies and exchange them for “… an eternal body made for us by God Himself and not by human hands. (As Christians) We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. God Himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit… That is why we live by believing and not by seeing.”  -- (II Corinthians 5: 1-5, 7. NLT).

This is also why the Apostle Paul tells Christians “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children: and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper for the saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting but rather giving of thanks.

For this you know with a certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”  -- (Ephesians 4: 30-31, 5: 1-5. NASB).

Christians are to be imitators of God. If a person cannot walk in the ways of the Christ and the Heavenly Father, they must question if they are really a child of God. For, God wants His children to be lighthouses to the world shining the light of Christ on the world, i.e. showing others the way to safety and Salvation. Moreover, the Holy Spirit living within us not only assures us of our Salvation, but helps us live in submission to His goodness and guidance. For, the Holy Spirit prompts us to do the right things. If we are obedient to the goodness that He encourages in our hearts, we can live a productive and Christ-like life for the world to see.  

Are You Living in the Light of Christ?

Are you a child of God? Have you given your heart to Christ believing that He is indeed the living Son of God who came to earth to die for the sins of the world? Do you believe that Christ arose from the grave and conquered the darkness and eternal death that we would have had to face if God had not sent Him to take on our sins? I hope that you do believe that God sent His only Son into the world to save you from eternal death. I hope that you will come to know Christ as your personal Savior.

Blessings of the Day:  Day 25
by Stormie Omartian

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also

live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised

from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has

dominion over Him. Romans 6:8-9
 

When Jesus died on the cross, He also rose

from the dead to break the power of death over anyone

who receives His life. Jesus conquered death—whether

at the end of life or in the multiple ways that we face

death daily. In the death of our dreams, finances, health,

or relationships, Jesus can bring His life to resurrect

any dead place in us. Therefore, we don’t have to feel

hopeless.

He also gives everyone who opens up to Him a

quality of life that is meaningful, abundant, and fulfilling.

He transcends our every limitation and boundary and

enables us to do things we never would have been capable

of aside from Him. He is the only one who can give us

life before death as well as life hereafter. Without Him

we die a little every day. With Him as our Savior we

become more and more alive.

May the power of the Cross and Christ’s resurrection change your life today! On this Easter Sunday may you come to know the love that God has for His creation. May you receive Salvation today!

May God Bless You!  And if you are already Saved, may you bless another by sharing the Good News of our Risen Lord!