JESUS IS ALIVE! Not only that, but Jesus IS resurrection personified:

John 11:25-27--Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world" (NIV).

After saying these words, Jesus went to Lazarus and raised him from the dead!

Those of you who follow this blog are probably aware by now that I like to spread around stories about the dead being raised to life in Jesus' name. As of 2005, there were documented cases in 52 different nations of the dead being raised to life by Christians. In some of these countries, there are hundreds of cases--for instance, Mozambique, Africa, where Rolland and Heidi Baker minister the love of Christ to thousands of children each year. Heidi has been known to hold dead babies and children in her arms, sobbing over them and praying until God gives them back their life.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life! Jesus didn't just die; He rose to life! And that means He is physically seated at the right hand of our Father in Heaven right now! Furthermore, through the Holy Spirit, we have access to that same resurrection power both for ourselves and for others.

Romans 8:11--And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Matthew 10:8--Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

My challenge to you this Easter Sunday is that you would seek the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit on a personal level; and do not be afraid to demonstrate His power and love on a practical level! Jesus is the resurrection and the life; and it's about time people in America and abroad start truly realizing it!

Good Friday

Good Friday. Today we celebrate the most profound turning point in history. The epic story of all creation pivots at this one defining weekend, starting with the crucifixion of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I was actually a little hesitant to write anything today because it almost seems cliche--like it's the good "Christian blogger" thing to do (and if anyone knows me, I'm not one to do things "just because"). Nevertheless, we are celebrating Easter earlier than we ever will again in our lifetime. And as I look out my window, I see that it has started to snow here in Plymouth, Michigan. There's a thin covering on the neighbor's yard, and everything is getting whiter as I write. We're expecting several inches tonight.

From this physical reality, the Lord began to speak to me out of Isaiah 1:18:

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Good Friday is borne out of this theme. The blood of Christ is the truest scarlet there ever was in the eyes of God--so true, in fact, that the redness of our own shame and sin pales to the purest white in comparison. And as we see in the above verse, Jesus didn't wash our sins away without reason--He did it so that we could have a relationship with our Father in heaven! "Come now, let us reason together," He says!

The death of Christ is an invitation to intimacy. With Jesus died everything in us that separates us from God--but only if we have truly given our old lives over to Him.

So today, I want to encourage you not simply to remember the death of our Lord this Good Friday, but to give Him the reward of His suffering. Spend some time with Him. Reason together. Have a conversation. He's dying to talk to you...wait, scratch that...He already died; and now He lives, so start talking.