April 3, 2023
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I've got to confess; sometimes the Bible actually makes me laugh out loud. I mean, I was reading the Easter Story, and it happened again. They're about to bury Jesus in a borrowed tomb. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, issues this command to his soldiers: "Make it as secure as you know how" (Matthew 27:65).
This has to be - at least in retrospect - maybe the dumbest order in history. "Use a really big rock, guys. Put on a really strong seal, and post some really intimidating guards." Sure, Pilate was probably concerned about, you know, keeping thieves out and that kind of thing. Well, Governor, that's not your problem. Your problem is keeping Jesus in! That's Mission Impossible!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Easter and the Dumbest Order In History."
No man, no plan, no empire can stand in the way of Jesus. The stone? Rolled away. The seal? Easily broken. The soldiers? Here's what the Bible says: "So afraid...that they shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4).
And Jesus? Well, our word for today from the Word of God is Luke 24:5. Here's what it says, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" (Luke 24:5). Our precious granddaughter said it this way as she was waking up, "It's Easter morning. And Jesus is alive again!"
He's not "entombed" in some dusty old history book or in some religious institution or religious observance. No! He's the all-powerful, death-reversing, game-changing Savior who's proven there's nothing He can't beat. Unleashed that Easter morning, Jesus is this very day, healing families that nothing else can heal. He's crushing Satan. He's lifting up the oppressed. He's protecting the vulnerable. He's reshaping nations, steering history. This living Christ is shattering addictions, He's defying disease. He's making sinners like me into living proof that He's alive.
And He's fighting for you if you belong to Him. Maybe you're not sure you do. Well, this living Savior is knocking on the door of your heart this very season. He's seeking to do for you what He has done for millions of people who've let Him in. He walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life. He died on a cross so you could be forgiven of the sin that will forever keep you out of heaven and condemn you to an unthinkable eternity. But he already died that death penalty. He died to pay for it. He's offering - yes, this season - to forgive every sin of your life, because He died for every sin of your life. He's standing ready to unleash that resurrection power on the things you can't fix, and the things you can't change, the things you can't control.
You see, they found out two thousand years ago what we've been finding out ever since that. Nothing... nothing can stop this Jesus. And today He stands at the door of your life. He's ready to come in. He's ready to bring all that love and all that power into your life. If you have never begun a personal relationship with this living Savior named Jesus, couldn't be a better time of year than this to let Him come into the life that He paid for on that cross.
You say, "Ron, how do I do that?" Listen, tell Him, "Jesus I'm yours." And let me invite you to join me at our website. It's ANewStory.com. And let me explain to you there how to be sure you belong to Him. And then for you this will be the Easter like no other.