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Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life



Becky and Rob Granger.

Spring is the time of year when it is common to hear people uttering phrases such as, Out with the old, in with the new.”  Spring cleaning comes to mind, putting things in order and setting the tone for the rest of the year.

How appropriate that Resurrection Sunday, the day Jesus conquered death; having been crucified, buried and raised to life on the third day, is celebrated this time of year – this past Sunday, in fact.  This day marks for each of us, a time of perspective; the opportunity to get things straight in our own lives.

We read the stories in the Bible of Jesus’ habit of walking into the lives of broken people, leaving them whole, with a sense of renewed joy and purpose.  This is the resurrection power of God at work.

Often, we look at the Gospels as a historical record of what Jesus did. Perhaps we would be better served seeing the Gospels as the narrative of what Jesus expected for every believer.  Jesus came to the earth, not to establish a religion, but to establish a relationship with you and me; to make available His resurrection power.

Jesus came to show us how to live and then He died to give us the right to live as He did.  He took our brokenness and gave us His wholeness.  Knowing that His time on earth was drawing to a close and that He would soon return to the Father, He said to His disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7, NKJV).

This is significant because if Jesus remained on the earth, His Spirit remained with Him.  But if He died and returned to the Father, that same Spirit who would resurrect Him would then be given to every believer. This same Spirit who led Jesus from one miracle to another, is now available to us to heal the broken areas of our lives.

John 11 tells the story of the raising of Jesus’ friend Lazarus from the dead.  This wasn’t done merely so it could be said that Lazarus had friends in high places.  It was because Jesus had compassion for His friend and wanted to bring wholeness to his brokenness.

Mark 5 describes what happened when Jesus came upon a demon-possessed man; a man everyone else had rejected.  In the end, Jesus sat down with him, encouraged him and restored him to his family.  Tradition tells us this man later became the pastor of the church at Decapolis.

Luke 6 highlights a man with a withered hand.  Likely, this affected his ability to work and provide for his family.  Jesus restored him.  This was the resurrection power of God at work.

What is the darkness or brokenness in your life today? Have you begun a relationship with Jesus?  He died so you could.  For every challenge, every struggle, every situation you face today, the resurrection power of God is available for you.

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, NKJV).

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Rob Granger is Senior Pastor of Faith Harbor Church, a non-denominational church that meets at 10 a.m. Sundays in the Escondido Columbus Hall, 515 W. Valley Parkway. His wife, Becky, serves as Co-Pastor. Videos of Pastor Rob’s sermons can be seen on YouTube by typing faith harbor church escondido ca in the YouTube search box. Visit fhcescondido.com for information about Faith Harbor Church.

  The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Times-Advocate.

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