He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. (Matt 28:6)

The Easter message is “Christ Is Risen!” Jesus is alive and invites all to “Come.” The message of Easter is that Jesus is risen, alive, and invites us to come and meet with Him. On Easter Sunday many people will fill places of worship around the world, but who will make time to be alone with Jesus? After Jesus was risen from the tomb, He could have met His disciples at the temple, or on the crowded streets of Jerusalem, but He desired to be alone with His dearest friends. He sent a special message to them that they should meet Him in Galilee, the place where their faith began. This is the same message that Jesus had given the disciples during the Last Supper, saying, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee” (Mt 26:32). On that first Easter, Jesus desired to be with His friends, to encourage them, to strengthen, and remind them of the faith that they had entrusted in Him. The women who visited the tomb on that Resurrection morning were disappointed that they did not find Jesus where they expected, but first heard the message that exceeded expectations unimaginable “He is not here, He is risen.” Hearing the message “He is risen,” they ran with “fear and great joy…to bring His disciples word” (Mt 28:8). Their hearts rejoiced that Jesus was alive, but fear also came upon them for what they may face when they would see Him because they had forsaken, fled, and hid themselves. Peter had gone so far as to deny Him after boasting that he would never leave the Lord even if the others did so (Mt 26:35). He was calling them back to the place where He first met them and called them. He would renew their faith and restore fellowship with them. My friend, Jesus is calling His children back to that simpler time when we first came to know Him, when we were in awe of Him, when spending time with Him was our greatest desire. Though our devotion to the Lord has waned and faltered, and though we may have grieved the Holy Spirit our words or our actions, and our hearts feel a million miles away from God, Jesus says unto us “Come.” Come aside with Him and be restored with greater faith, greater joy, greater hope, and renewed in fellowship Him. Dear friend, let us join together on Easter Sunday and joyfully cry out, “Jesus is risen!” Yet let us also hear Him say “Come unto Me” (Mt 11:28) that we may go to Him and meet with Him in our private place, spend time with Him, worship Him, and follow Him. Father thank You for Your love and the invitation to be with You. I rejoice in the Resurrected Christ, and the fellowship of His salvation. “He is risen!” In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.

Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise. Luke 23:43

One of the most impactful ways we can see and share God’s heart is through compassion. Those who show compassion step outside of themselves to help others in their time of weakness. Compassion is light in darkness, hope for helplessness, and strength for the weak and weary. In the scripture passage we can see the light of God’s love shining through to the weak and weary, and helpless at the darkest moment in their life. Jesus reached out to the guilty thief and gave him the strength out of His own dying body and promised hope in his darkest hour. The words of Jesus would not deliver the thief from the fate of his death on the cross, but the thief’s mustard seed of faith in Jesus (Mt 17:20) would deliver him from the eternal torment and damnation that he so deserved. Beaten and bruised, breathing His last breaths, Jesus breathed life and hope into the dying thief with His words, “To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” Though the heavens became darken, and God’s wrath was being poured out on the Lamb of God, the love and compassion of our heavenly Father to save sinners never ceased. God’s love never fails (1 Cor 13:8). The heart of God is compassionate for sinner and to save them from sin to eternal life. Jesus was faithful to every ounce of strength and life that the Father gave Him to do the Father’s will. His compassion never fails. “He is able to save to the uttermost those that come to God through Him, for He ever lives to make intercession for us” (Heb 7:25). My friend, if He had time on Golgotha to consider the thief in His dying moments on the Cross, how much more will He think of you, and is He concerned for you, and is ready to receive you to Himself and change you forever? Salvation is of grace and not of work (Eph 2:8-9). The thief was never baptized, he never took the bread and drank the cup, and yet his heart called out to Jesus and the Savior heard him and saved him. Dear friend, thankfully the way of salvation never changes. He who had compassion to save the dying thief, continues to “seek and save that which was lost” (Lk 19:10). His love and compassion never fail (1 Cor 13:8). Do you know His love, and have you received His compassion? Father thank You for Your love and Your unfailing compassion. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34

Forgiveness sounds like a marvelous idea until you have to do it. How can you forgive someone who has broken a promise? How can you forgive someone who you do not trust? Forgiveness is more than something we do, but it demonstrates our heart. The scripture passage demonstrates to us the heart of Jesus. He had a heart of forgiveness and of compassion for forgiveness. After a long night of being arrested, abandoned by His closest friends, falsely accused, unjustly beaten, and condemned to death, Jesus was publicly humiliated and displayed for all to see. Yet, His first cry from the cross was “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” At no point did His love fail but “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even death of the cross” (Phil 2:8). Though Christ was innocent, He prayed asking the Father to forgive those who were responsible for His death. He asked for God’s mercy not to judge them, but that they might be given opportunity for salvation. Christ taught forgiveness to His disciples when He said, “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Lk 6:27-28). Though He was displayed for public shame and crucified unto death, He demonstrated His heart and the heart of God, true forgiveness. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He came to bring forgiveness, even forgiveness those who crucified Him, if they only would believe. My friend, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). He died for the sin of the world. Though only a few were present at the Cross, it was all our sins that nailed Jesus to the Cross. He gave His life for all, that all might be forgiven and saved from the penalty of sin, which is death. Dear friend, Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, and He can forgive you as well. Do you believe Him and accept His forgiveness for your sin? Father thank You for Your love and the forgiveness of sin. Help me to forgive others as You have forgiven me. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.