Jesus Sustains Our Life

Even in the best of circumstances, life is a fleeting and fragile commodity.

“What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

When our bodies are strong and health is abundant, it can be easy to forget that we were made from dust:

“The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

But dust we are, and our bodies crumble the very moment God’s breath leaves us.

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!”

Again, God says to all of us who imagine that life is long and death is far away:

“Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.”

But there is profound hope contained in this blessed promise:

“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

This refers to Christ, the very Word of God. He alone is the One who sustains our lives, who keeps our hearts pumping and our life-blood flowing through us. He is more essential to our continued existence than air:

“In him we live and move and have our being.”

And while this is true of all creatures, those of us who have believed in Him have a different kind of life coursing through our veins:

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Thank you, Jesus, for sustaining my life and the lives of those I hold dear. Teach us to let go of our earthly desires, that we may be filled with Your Spirit and live forever!

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”

Jesus Is The Firstborn From The Dead

Easter Day! Today we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, the crown of all our joys and the bedrock on which our faith rests. As it is written,

“He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”

This phrase, “firstborn from the dead,” does not mean that Jesus’ resurrection chronologically preceded all others; indeed, many preludes to the ultimate Resurrection have been recorded in Scripture for our benefit. Elisha breathed life into the body of a young child, and he awoke and was restored to his mother. Ezekiel prophesied to a valley strewn with dry bones, and at God’s command they were clothed with flesh and stood on their feet, a mighty army ready to do His bidding. Jesus Himself raised Lazarus from his tomb of decay and Jairus’ daughter from her deathbed, both by the irresistible power of His divine call.

However, Jesus’ resurrection is preeminent because it surpasses these shadow-examples in every way. Jesus was the first to rise in eternal victory over death:

“We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again;  death no longer has dominion over him.”

All other resurrections were accomplished by the command of another, but Jesus brought Himself back to life by the word of His own unstoppable authority:

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

“No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”

And most glorious of all, His resurrection is the wellspring of eternal life for all those who are in Christ:

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Those of us who will be raised up at the last day and transformed into His likeness will do so because we are participants in His death and resurrection:

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

Thank you, Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world, that You alone give life to the dead and call into existence the things that do not exist!

“It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”