Easter isn't what it used to be. Today, it is mostly about Easter bunnies, colored eggs, candy, and mall sales - if it is acknowledged or celebrated at all. When I was a child, businesses closed down between noon and 3 PM on Good Friday and no business ever opened on Easter Sunday. There was never any school on Good Friday and Easter Monday. I was in England a few years ago over Easter and I can remember thinking that if it wasn't for the hotels advertising Easter Sunday dinner, I would never have known that Easter was approaching.
This Memo is about the good old days, but not those 65 years ago when I was young. The good old days I want to remember are the days 2,000 years ago when Jesus came back to life, after having been dead for three days.
BELIEVING
Easter is still one of the best-attended church days of the year when thousands attend worship services to commemorate Jesus' resurrection. Think of it: All those people come back to commemorate that the Spirit brought a dead man back to life. They actually believe that it happened and bear witness by their presence!
If you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, then you can believe God for anything! If God raises the dead, which He does, then He can cure cancer. He can provide for your business or ministry. He can transform you into the person He intended you to be, that person you want to be. If God can take a dead body and give it life, then nothing is beyond His miracle-working power. What's more, you have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead living in you! It is not a replica of that Spirit, it is not a portion of that Spirit. You have the Spirit that raises the dead living in you. Here is what Paul had to say about the implications of your Spirit-resident:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you (Romans 8:9-11).
THE SPIRIT LIVES IN YOU.
The Spirit lives in you, and He did not run out of power when He brought Jesus back to life! He is not "out there" doing good work with the same power that raises dead people. He is in you. What difference should that make when you pray, work, and serve? It should make a big difference. Is it? Is Easter Power present in your life and purpose work all year long?
If not, then think about Romans 8:9-11 and ask God to show you how you can allow this life-giving Spirit more room in your life in the coming days and weeks. As you're doing that, I hope you found the time to have a blessed Easter.
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