“That you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Eph. 1:18-21)

We have the good news

Yesterday, in the USA, was April Fool's Day, a time when people often play harmless jokes. However, there's a more serious kind of foolishness worth considering. In yesterday’s writing, I discussed a man whom God called a fool for selfishly planning his future, unaware of his impending death. Another example of this is the rich man from Luke 16:19–31, who also lived selfishly and suffered torment in hell, forever filled with regrets and with no hope of relief. The good news is that we don't have to meet the same fate. Jesus Christ offers us redemption, as demonstrated in the Easter celebration just past. Jesus explains this to Martha in the following passage.

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26 NIV)

Therefore

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9)

“And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.” (Luke 12:18) 

Jesus told the story of a rich man who had obtained much wealth. But, instead of using it to help others, or to serve God, he had selfish plans!

“And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ (Luke 12:19)

It’s foolish to be selfish! 

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (Luke 13:20) 

In other words,

You never know how long you will live in this world. And once you die, what you attained will no longer be yours to do anything with; it will be out of your control and wasted.

Therefore

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:3-4 ESV)

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:18-21)

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (1 Cor. 15:17)

Because He arose, we are no longer in our sins!

Today, Easter Sunday, we have a lot to celebrate! Jesus did it for us! Not only did He lay down His life and shed His precious blood to pay for our sins, He also clinched it by rising from the dead!

Therefore

 Now we have forgiveness for our sins, we have new life while here, and we have new life with Him in heaven, forever!

“who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,” (Rom. 1:4)

“…from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5)

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” (1 John 5:11)

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” (1 Peter 3:18 ESV)

The righteous for the unrighteous

What Christ did for us on the cross is referred to by many as “the great exchange,” because He exchanged His righteousness for our unrighteousness.

Therefore

“But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence” (Col. 1:22)

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

Good Friday is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday and is the day Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross.

Jesus bore our sins, shame, and burden on the cross

We can celebrate on Good Friday because Christ's death was a sacrifice so that we could receive the gift of eternal life.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5)

The results changed the course of humanity

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Rom. 5:6-10)

Therefore

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isa. 61:10 ESV)

“Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” (Phil. 4:6)

The above passage is a command filled with great hope and promise. And if you examine each part of it, you can see that it’s a great passage to meditate on. One way to do this is to define each word and then read all the definitions one after the other. So, let’s do that below.

The primary words in the above verse defined

“Be ANXIOUS (Uneasy and apprehensive about an uncertain event or matter; worried.) 

…about NOTHING (No thing; not anything.)

…But in EVERYTHING (All things or all of a group of things.)

…by PRAYER: (A spiritual communication between man and God.)

…and SUPPLICATION: (A humble petition; an earnest request; an entreaty.)

…with THANKSGIVING: (The act of giving thanks or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.)

…LET: (To give permission or opportunity to; allow.)

…YOUR: (Belonging to you.)

…REQUESTS: (The act of asking for somethng.)

…be KNOWN: (Proved or generally recognized.)

…unto GOD”: (The perfect, omnipotent, omniscient creator, originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship.)

Therefore

The very next verse following the one at the top of the page gives you the promise that will happen when you obey that command: 

“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:7 NKJV)

Amen to that!

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12 NIV)

The people problem

Someone said the world would be perfect if it weren’t for people being there. You can say the same thing about your government, your city, your church, your neighborhood, and even closer to home, your marriage—about that, someone said, “I thought I was perfect until I got married, then my mate set me straight.”

It’s true for all of us! 

The Bible says every person is born with a sinful nature and is imperfect (Eccles. 7:20; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:23). Therefore, all of us suffer from being self-centered and impossible to please one hundred percent of the time (Prov. 14:12). If you have been born again and have new life in Jesus, you will still remain imperfect this side of heaven (Phil. 1:6). Therefore, since we’re all basically self-centered and imperfect by nature, there will continue to be misunderstandings and conflicts between human beings. But there’s another problem we must deal with! 

There’s something else going on, too!

Not only do we need to deal with sinful people, but we also have evil spiritual forces to contend with! The passage at the top of the page explains that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood (people), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” So, when you’re struggling with others in some way, understand that you are actually dealing with two things: sinful human nature and the evil, invisible spiritual forces fighting against you behind the scenes. But don’t despair; having this knowledge of what’s going on will give you the upper hand and help you find a path to victory.

Here’s what to do

Pray with the understanding that the battle is spiritual and must have a spiritual answer.

“Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, and above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:19-17 MEV)

“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15)

Don’t you hate it when you need something urgently and you call the number of the company that has it, but instead of getting someone on the line, you have to work your way through a frustrating answering system, selecting one number for this and another number for that, but you end up getting shuffled into someone’s inbox and hearing a recorded message, “We’re busy right now; leave your number and we’ll get back to you.”

God is never too busy to help you!

The promise passage at the top of the page says that God will come to your aid when you call on Him. This is a very good deal for us, and a wonderful promise. God will help you when you need him. Why? He loves you, and it brings him glory.

Therefore

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16 ESV)

  “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7 ESV)

How to pray and receive

·      Pray according to His will: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

·      Pray in faith: “He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’” (Luke 17:6)

·      Pray in His name: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13)

·      Believe that you have received it: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

Therefore

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful .in it with thanksgiving.” (Col. 4:2)