“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.”  Romans 8:11 HCSB

My dear friend, as we celebrate Easter today, may our souls bask in what Jesus’ resurrection means to us.  Jesus overcame death and hell.  Light broke through the darkness.  Sin’s punishment was completely paid for and Satan was defeated.  Those phrases are so wonderful, but do we really take in the fact that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us?

Death no longer holds us in its grip.  We may walk through its shadow, but shadows have no capacity to cause harm.  In fact, death is now only a vehicle that carries us into the presence of Christ.  We may be living it what seems like very dark circumstances.  Our frail, pain wracked bodies may cry out in pain, but now we have the complete assurance that one day our cry will be answered with a heavenly shout.  Light will burst through the darkness.  Our bodies will be transformed, and we will have new, perfect, bodies not affected by sin, sorrow, or sickness.  We no longer have to be chained by our past failures and mistakes, for Jesus has paid the price for every one of our sins and has thrown them into His Sea of Forgetfulness. 

We now have the power to overcome sin.  Our flesh no longer has dominion because  “He who is in us is greater than He who is in the world,”  The Holy Spirit can reign supreme and we can say no to Satan and His lies.  No mountain is too big for us to climb, no sorrow is too much for us to handle, no temptation is too big for us to say “NO” to, because resurrection power dwells within us.  The Holy Spirit brings light into our darkness, brings hope into our despair, and gives us a reason to face tomorrow with joy. 

May we not live like Jesus is still in the tomb.  May we live with resurrection power, for that power was paid for with a very high price.  Jesus gave His very own life so that we could know what it is like to really live.  He did not go through death so that we would live in sorrow, He overcame death so that we can live with power. 

“Thank you dear Jesus for the hope that Easter brings.  I can now face tomorrow because you live and for that I am forever grateful.”