What Does Easter Mean?

Hebrews 7:25

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

I John 2:1

 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

I Timothy 2:5

 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

We are now entering into what the church calls "Holy Week" and I just wanted to share a few thoughts about the significance and meaning of Easter. As I have already pointed out in my posts on this blog I believe in the physical, literal and visible resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe the Biblical accounts of hundreds of eye witnesses that saw him after his resurrection from the dead. I believe that the resurrection is the lynch pin of most other important doctrines concerning soterology and Christology. I would like to expound a little on the most important "results" of the resurrection which ultimately lead to answering the question "what does Easter mean?".

First of all, because of the truth of Easter morning we have a Savior who "ever liveth" to make intercession for believers. This is the very foundation of the great Scriptural truth that once a man, woman, boy or girl places their faith in Christ as Savior they are eternally kept safe and secure because of Christ's intercession. This intercession has been on-going for all believers since the day that Jesus walked out of that tomb. Every time that old accuser, Satan, runs to tattle on us the Lord Jesus Christ steps before the throne of the Father and intercedes on our behalf. He points out that He died on the cross and shed His blood to purchase our pardon and the matter is settled immediately. Because He ever lives and ever intercedes I am eternally secure! Those fools who deny the physical resurrection of Jesus by necessity and logic deny the intercession of Jesus and therefore are in great peril and real danger of missing heaven! Regardless of what some hyper-calvinist or wishy washy arminian tries to tell you, believers still sin. The good news is that when we sin we have an intercessor, the Righteous One, who comes to our defense. This is not a license to sin but it is a reason to rejoice. There are so many self righteous religous folks in this world that think they don't need further assistance once they have believed. They are deluded in their thinking. Jeremiah said the heart is desperately wicked and we need a Savior who can keep us "saved". Praise His name!

The second great truth about Easter is that it means that we are not only the object of His intercession but He is uniquely qualified to be our defender because He is our "advocate" according to I John 2:1. The word "advocate" means "one who pleads another's cause before a judge". The word is found only once in the entire Bible and it is a legal term. I think the best way to describe an advocate is by calling him our defense attorney. Jesus is the greatest defense attorney who ever lived and because He "ever lives" He will continue to defend us for all eternity! I might add this thought, He has never lost a case!

Finally, Easter means that we have a "mediator". The word "mediator" refers to one who intervenes on our behalf to restore peace. The Apostle Paul says there is only one mediator in all the world who can restore peace between God the Father and sinful human beings and that is Jesus Christ. 

Easter means that because Jesus lives He keeps us saved and forgiven by his intercession, advocacy and mediation. As this Easter Sunday approaches I plan to do a lot of thanksgiving for all that Christ has done for me. The good news is that He can do the same for you. Watch the little 3 minute video in the sidebar and trust Christ as Savior today and you'll discover what all the Easter excitement is about!

In Christ, Everyday Is Forgiveness Day!

The Russian Orthodox Church observed a tradition on February 26th called "Forgiveness Sunday". On this special day the church members ask forgiveness of all their family and friends and let go of any grudges that they may be harboring toward others. This tradition originated in the first century church and is a way for the Orthodox believers to prepare themselves for the season of Lent.
I'm not really too knowledgeable about the Orthodox church but anytime forgiveness is taking place it's probably a good thing. I also reflected a bit on the whole notion of a day of forgiveness. It sounds a bit lacking doesn't it? Just a "day" of forgiveness, that's kind of how man goes about eternally important issues isn't it? I'm sure they have good intentions but somehow it just seems anemic. It made me think about God the Father's method of securing our forgiveness. He sent His only Son to die on the cross in our stead, in our place. He laid on Christ the iniquity (sin) of us all. Jesus carried the sins of the whole world, He bled, He died and He physically rose from the dead so that you and I could be justified, forgiven and pardoned. When Jesus died on that cross over 2000 years ago it wasn't just a day of forgiveness it was the portal to total and continuous forgiveness. The Bible tells us clearly that He forgave all our sins and He forgives all our sins all the time. Now that is important because even though we become Christians when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we still possess a heart that is, as Jeremiah described it, desperately wicked. Now Christ took all that into consideration when He died for us and He provides for us a "sea of forgiveness", we are swimming in a sea of forgiveness! I love what the writer of Hebrews said about Jesus saving and forgiving power...

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

He saves and forgives us to the "uttermost". The word means completely, perfectly and utterly. He forgives completely and He ever lives to make intercession for us! It's not just a day of forgiveness it is a state of forgiveness. This forgiveness is received by simply resting and relying in the work of Christ on the cross! Watch the little 3 minute video in the sidebar, come to Christ right now, be forgiven!

 

Derek Fisher, Meghan McCain and Ashley Judd - Are You Kidding Me?

Today I checked out a site called Hot Trends. It's a Google site that shows real time results for the most searched keywords on Google. Today the most searched items were...
1.  Derek Fisher, a player for the Los Angeles Lakers, is going to be traded.
2.  Meghan McCain, daughter of John McCain, recently posed for photos in Playboy magazine.
3.  Ashley Judd, Hollywood movie star, whose face is puffier than usual do to a recent series of steroids for a sinus infection.
Are you serious? This is what is on the minds of people in these epic times we are living! This is the "parade and peanuts" mentality that prevails while never before events are unfolding all around us. The global economy is teetering on the edge of the abyss, Biblical signs of the end times are everywhere, natural disasters are destroying property and people worldwide and Ashley Judd's face is the paramount thought in your mind? It's unbelievable and if you go to Google's Hot Trends you will find this insanity to be in vogue everday.
There was one item though that caught my attention. Dick Gallagher, famous comedian, had a severe heart attack and is in an induced coma at this very moment. It was Gallagher's second heart attack in the last two years. Now this story is worth searching for because Gallagher is on the edge of eternity. I don't know the spiritual condition of Mr. Gallagher but I do know that at the moment of death we enter into eternal life "somewhere". My Bible tells me that the only possibilities for this "somewhere" are Heaven and Hell. The Bible tells us that after death comes the judgement and then eternal existence of either bliss or torment.

Hebrews 9:27

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁷And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

I hope that Mr. Gallagher recovers, the doctors are optimistic, and I hope that he has trusted Jesus as his Saviour or will soon do so. I also hope that you have trusted in the work of Jesus on the cross as payment for your sin. I hope that if you were to enter eternity today that Heaven would be your destination. You can remove all doubt today, trust in Jesus. Watch the little three minute video in the right sidebar. Focus your attention on the important matters of our time...your soul.