God wants all believers to know His will in their daily lives. Pray especially for young people who are seeking God's plan for their lives. May they be "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). As they seek to serve the Lord in different vocations, pray that they will "put on the whole armor of God" and that they "may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). |
The resurrection of Jesus is the most dynamic fact of history. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! This remarkable truth rests on two things. One is the appearances of the risen Christ to His disciples and the conversations with Peter, Mary and others. These cannot be explained away as the product of wishful thinking.
The other fact is the immediate change that happened in the life and spirit of these disciples. The resurrection of Christ had rekindled their hope, as they looked into the future. Personal fellowship with the risen Lord made all the difference in the world then, even as it does today. The reality of His resurrected power in transformed lives becomes infallible proof of His being alive and continuing the very purpose for which He came into the world.
The enemies of Christ both believed and testified to His resurrection. Even the Roman soldiers reported His body gone. They believed that He had risen. The conduct of the Scribes and Pharisees clearly indicates that in their own hearts and minds they feared that Christ would rise again. They sought to overthrow the true statement of their own guards with falsehood.
The friends of Jesus bore witness to His resurrection. All this happened more than 2,000 years ago. Today, each of us must so live for God that others might see the resurrected life of Christ in us and require no further proof that He lives!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
Alex Leonovich
Herald 1989 (condensed)