Do You Believe This?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (NKJV)

When I think about Easter, I always think about the gift of my family getting together and enjoying a nice meal in the afternoon. I think about the gift of the look upon my grandchildren’s faces, as they look frantically in our back yard for hidden eggs, filled with candy. But all of this happens after we return from church, and from celebrating the greatest gift of all—the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Q: So why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ so important to us as Christian men and women?

A: Because it validates Jesus Christ as God, and it is absolutely paramount to our entire Christian faith.

The Apostle Paul spoke this very truth to the church of Corinth, saying, “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Cor. 15:12-19).

So if Jesus didn’t resurrect from the dead, then the whole Christian faith would be a cruel hoax, and all of the Apostles would be liars. Those who have died believing in Jesus would have no hope, and there would be no forgiveness for anyone’s sins. Thank our Heavenly Father that this is not the case though. Jesus came to this earth to die for our sins, and to make a way for us to be reconciled unto God—He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

And so we can share this great news about Jesus Christ this Easter Sunday, and continue sharing it for the rest of our lives. And as we do, we, like Jesus, can ask those who hear the gospel message, “Do you believe this?”

I want to encourage you to meditate upon these things today.

STUDY QUESTION: According to Jesus’ words, as recorded in John 11:25-26, what did Jesus promise those who believed that He was the resurrection and the life?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life?

APPLICATION: Let’s share this great gift with others so they may know Jesus intimately and eternally.

LET’S PRAY: Father, thank You for allowing Your Son Jesus to die upon the cross for us. Thank You for giving us a way to be reconciled unto You. Help us to share this great message with others. In Jesus’ precious name, amen…

I Feel Insecure ... So?

"A new command I [Jesus] give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" - (John 13:34, NIV). 




Do you ever walk into a room full of strangers and feel insecure—and think you are the only one that feels that way? Wrong. Many of the people in that room probably feel the same way, especially if they are also strangers to the group. Feelings of insecurity are part of the human condition because we are all wounded in some way to some degree.


We visited a new church not so long ago. Nobody bothered to talk to or welcome us, so I started to talk to others and welcome them. "It's good to have you here at church today," I said and asked, "Are you a member?"


So, when in a group of strangers, go talk to a person who may be standing alone and ask him/her all about him/herself. This will get you out of yourself and soon you will feel much more okay. I'm not suggesting that we become phony but sometimes we just need to screw up our courage and "fake it till we make it."


If we keep on reaching out to others with a sincere motive and do the loving thing, in time this will help us to become what we consistently do and become more secure. Not easy, I know, but it is what Christ commanded us to do. That is, to love one another.


Prayer: "Our God Almighty, in my insecurities help me to learn to love and accept myself as you love and accept me, not in any way to boost my own ego, but so I can become a freer channel through whom your love can flow to others. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, In Jesus loving Name I Pray, Amen."

Gentle Strength

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 (NIV). 


"In her memoirs, an anonymous woman writes of her experiences as a field nurse in the Civil War. She worked for the Confederate forces, patching up dozens of wounded, sick soldiers every day. One day at the war's end, news came that President Lincoln would be visiting this Confederate field hospital. Many of the rebel soldiers were terrified of meeting him. Surely Lincoln was a monster, and he would treat the Confederate soldiers cruelly! But when Lincoln entered the hospital tent, he began to cry. He bent over the injured soldiers' cots and spoke softly to them. He patted their hands and stroked their hair, just as a father might do. And when he left, the men couldn't stop talking about what a good man he was. They had expected a tyrant, and found instead a kind and gentle and forgiving leader."


In childhood days I used to believe that God was out to get me for any wrongs I might do. And, if I committed big or bad enough sins, he might even kill me. Unfortunately, that came from how I felt about someone who had a profound impact on my early life. Unfortunately, I had mistakenly projected my feelings towards him onto God, the Heavenly Father.


How glad I am to learn how wrong I was. It is true that God is against all sin and wrongdoing, not because he's out to zap us, but because he is truly a loving Father who wants to protect us from hurting ourselves and others—and to save us from the ultimate consequences of sin which is eternal death, which, in turn, is eternal separation from God, the author of all love and life.


The fact is that no matter what you and I have ever done or have failed to do, God loves us with an everlasting, unconditional love. But he does want us to come to him for forgiveness and to help us live wholesome, meaningful, and loving lives.


Prayer: "Our Loving Heavenly Father, thank you that you love and accept me as I am, and that you also love me too much to leave me as I am. Please help me to know that I know that my sins are forgiven and that I have accepted your gift of eternal life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, In Jesus Loving Name I Pray, Amen."

The Power of Love

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 (NIV). 


"Years ago, R. G. Lee told a powerful story about a mountain school that had a hard time keeping a teacher. It seems there was a group of big, rough boys who took pride in running the teacher off. The biggest and roughest of them all was named Tom.


"A new young teacher won over the boys, however, by letting them write the rules for the school—which were very strictly enforced with a rod. For example, cheating would be punished with five strokes of the rod, and stealing with ten strokes, both to be given with the offender's coat off.


"Everything went well until one day Tom's lunch was stolen. A frail little boy in hand-me-down clothes that were too big for him admitted his guilt. The school rules demanded that he be whipped. When the teacher called the little fellow up front, he came whimpering and begging to leave his coat on. The pupils insisted he obey the rules and take off his coat. When he did, a deathly silence settled over the room, for he had no shirt on and his emaciated body looked like skin stretched over bones. The teacher gasped and dropped the rod. He knew he could never whip that little boy.


"Suddenly, big Tom strode up and stood between the two. 'I'll take it for him, Teacher, for after all it was my lunch he stole.' He shrugged out of his coat.


"At the third blow the switch broke, and the teacher threw it in the corner and said, 'That's all, school dismissed.'


"The frail little boy laid his hand on big Tom's arm and through his tears said, 'Thank you, Tom, it would have killed me.'"


And that's exactly what Jesus did for you and me when he died on the cross some 2000 years ago—he took your and my punishment for all our sins so we could be freely forgiven and given God's gift of eternal life.


"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and, if so, have you accepted God's full and free pardon? You can do that right now by praying the following Prayer:


"Almighty and Loving Father God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be, and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, In Jesus Loving Name I Pray, Amen."

God So Loved

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." - John 3:16 (NASB).




In a tribe of Indians, or so the story goes, someone was stealing chickens. The Chief declared that, if caught, the offender would receive 10 lashes.


When the stealing continued, he raised it to 20 lashes. Still the chickens methodically disappeared. In anger the Chief raised the sentence to 100 lashes.


The thief was finally caught, but the Chief faced a terrible dilemma. The thief was his mother! When the day of penalty came, the whole tribe gathered. Would the Chief's love override his justice? The crowd gasped when he ordered his mother to be tied to the whipping post.


The Chief removed his shirt, revealing his powerful stature, and took the whip in hand. But instead of raising it to strike the first blow, he handed it to a strong, young brave standing at his side. Slowly the Chief walked over to his mother and wrapped his massive arms around her in an engulfing embrace. Then he ordered the brave to give him the 100 lashes.


That's what JESUS did for you and me when he came to earth clothed in an external garment of human flesh some 2000 years ago, which is commemorated as "Christmas." In love he became our substitute and died in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins. He overcame our inability to save ourselves by paying the price for our sins. His death bridged the gulf between God and man and made it possible for us to be reconciled to God and to be restored to fellowship with him through faith in Christ and in his atoning death for us.