Easter is a poignant time to remember the huge, unfolding saga of the battle between heaven and hell. In the Garden of Gethsemane, prior to His death, Jesus had to come to terms with His humanity. He sweated drops of blood in agony of the knowledge of what was about to befall Him, His crucifixion. These were monumental moments for Jesus as He agonised with the struggle to do His Father’s will. He begged His Father that, if it were possible, could He come through another way? In finality, He fully surrendered with the words to His Father, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done“.
On the day of Jesus’crucifixion, the hopes of His disciples were shattered. They were in turmoil seeing their Lord die in full disgrace, openly derided and debased by the very people He came to save. He, the sinless One, was preferred over for a robber, Barabbas, a man of sin and disgrace……..and so they crucified the Lord of Glory.
His dejected disciples thought it was the end, but it was truly the beginning! Jesus stormed the gates of Hell as the righteous One and, in complete victory, came out the other side. The devil was defeated and put in his place, under Jesus’ feet, once and for all!
Hebrews 10:9-10 “Then said He, Lo, I come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, that He may establish the second. By His will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all”.
Hallelujah! The Life now offered to us is one to be lived on resurrection ground!…….bought and paid in full by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. What a sacrifice! What a Saviour, Redeemer and Friend! Jesus made it possible for us to live our lives above human limitation. In union with Jesus, our risen Lord, we can rise above our human limitation because of Christ in us. Life’s circumstances and relationships “press us out of measure” of ourselves, but into Christ’s abundance, the unlimited One. This is our birthright.
Life on resurrection ground changes everything. We have an open heaven through Jesus’ sacrifice. He invites us to live beyond our human limitations now, in Him. His resources are unlimited. If I am in Christ, I am complete. Colossians 2: 9-10 declares of Jesus “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”.
Resurrection ground offers me a life in divine purpose. A life no longer to be lived for my glory and selfish whims, but for the Lord. Jesus was completely dependent on His Father’s resources, to do His Father’s will. It is the same for us. When we live by our 5 senses, we are carnal and make wrong choices or statements. God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide and direct our every thought, choice and action. He trains us and we learn as we become obedient to His voice and convictions. The more we obey, the clearer His voice becomes. God desires that we prove Him in everything, that He may become everything to us.
Can we sing in truth the little song:
“He is my everything, He is my all. He is my everything, both great and small. He makes my life complete, makes everything new.
He is my everything, now how about you?”
God wants to be wanted! He desires to be included in our everything…….just as Jesus demonstrated. He consulted His Father in everything. He only ever did the things His Father wanted Him to do…..and only ever spoke the words His Father gave Him! None of His words fell to the ground. Our idle words come from a heart that is out of order! Are my actions just good ideas, or are they birthed in God?
The Holy Spirit leads me forward in God. However, there are times when His conviction has to take me back to something, where I am stagnating, before I can go on. Here, in loving kindness, He presents the error I made which caused my stagnation. When I embrace my fault and repent, I find again the joy of my salvation and forgiveness. Jesus lifts me back to resurrection ground where restored fellowship with Him is sweet.
Prayer: Let everything I do become the thing that pleases You…..then I will be a son/daughter indeed……in deed!
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
