Accountability is a word we hear all the time. We especially hear it in politics when someone is accusing someone else of not doing what they are supposed to do. But what does it really mean? What does it mean to be accountable? Being accountable is very simply taking responsibility for your own actions. I would venture to say that the first "person" that you are accountable to is...yourself. We are all accountable to God, but we are also accountable to ourselves and we must hold ourselves accountable at all times.
Why do I say this? There is a problem in our society with pride and self-righteousness. We are always looking for someone to put down in order that we might be raised up. We look for flaws in others and for specks in their eyes of others so that we are not so cognizant of our own logs. We have all of the answers for everyone else's problems and yet our own lives are in total disarray. It's funny that Steve Harvey is enriching himself by giving advice that he obviously doesn't follow. Dr. Phil has a solution for every family...except for his own. Jesus gave us the solution to the problem of hypocritical judgment and self righteousness. Thus, Matthew 7:1-5 says:
"“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?5“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Here is what I mean by holding yourself accountable. Jesus here is preaching/teaching against HYPOCRITICAL judgment. In other words, don't be guilty of the same infraction that you are calling someone else out on! Nor should you ignore your own flaws in light of calling someone else out for their flaws. Self inspection before inspecting others is of the utmost importance in the Christian walk. I cannot judge myself relative to anyone else because NO ONE else is going to meet God for me but me. I cannot look at the faults of others without first of all understanding my own imperfection. ALL of us are messed up before God and therefore are not worthy to hypocritically judge one another. Therefore, as Paul says in Galatians 6:3, we are deceiving ourselves if we can look at someone else and see their flaws and use that to boost our own self esteem and think that we are "something".
I say all of this because in a relationship with another person, two broken vessels come together and become one. Whether the cracks match up is a different thing but the point is that we are all broken. We are broken by sin and we are irreparably broken outside of a true relationship with Jesus. The relationship with this other person can be the place for healing or further destruction depending on the honesty of the people involved. IF the people involved are transparent and admit their flaws, the relationship can/will survive. IF the people involved refuse to admit their flaws, there will be constant conflict as one will ALWAYS feel a sense of superiority over the other. How do we get to the point of transparency with each other? First and foremost, we must get to the point of transparency with God! The bible says in Hebrews 4:12 that the word of God is living, active, sharper than any two edged sword, has the ability to divide even the closest knit muscles, and is a judge of the heart's intentions. That's what the word does. Then in verse 13 it says plainly- "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." The Word of God is what exposes us (ALL) and reminds us of our condition, reminds us of our need for a savior but it also has the power to heal and renew and transform! If all things are open and laid bare to the one that we must give account to, why do we spend so much time holding every one else accountable except for ourselves? We have to get be exposed by God so that we can have a proper perspective of the world and have the ability to deal with others in love, unity and harmony. Knowledge puffs up but love edifies.
Take some time and conduct a self assessment. Get in the mirror and see if there is anything that you would change. If there is nothing, then you are probably not being honest with yourself. Be honest and transparent and if you don't feel comfortable being honest, ask God to show you- He has no problem at all being honest with us. You have to be willing to take the blame when you are wrong, humble yourself when you are right, apologize when you have wronged someone and forgive when you have been wronged. It is all a part of becoming more like Christ and less like ourselves. It is all a part of holding ourselves accountable.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Hypocrisy of a Supposedly "REAL" ministry
G. Craige Lewis talks very tough when it comes to ministry. He's quick to point out when a "gospel" artist is singing with "sinners" that are R&B artists. He also bashes Mary Mary whenever he gets the chance. His job is "exposing" those who he deems to be un-christian or "worldly". I will admit that he puts a great deal of research into his "The Truth Behind Hip-Hop" pieces and they are quite informative but what I cannot understand is the website being so hypercritical of many gospel artists. They have critiqued mime ministries, they are all over Kirk Franklin (who I also admit tries too hard to assimilate worldly philosophies into his ministry), they bagged on T.D. Jakes for a picture that he took with Puff Daddy, for crying out loud! The bottom line is this, if you are ever seen associating with anyone they deem to be demonic, unchristian, fake or whatever, they are calling you out for it. According to Mr. Lewis, he's excommunicated from "inner circle" pop-Christianity because of his no-nonsense attitude concerning what he deems as "sin". Truthfully, only a Pharisee would consider himself above sin or associating with sinners (see Luke 18). I agree that there are some activities that would hamper the Christian's walk if they were immersed in them. I totally agree that light cannot mix with darkness. But what I do not agree with is hypocrisy.
This is why I chose to write this article. In my estimation, and based on biblical precedence, only a Pharisee would lambaste someone for a photo but commit a worse act and not accept being reproved for it. It is this Pharisaical attitude that makes EX ministries so hypocritical. One of the contributors to their site is none other than Frederick K. Price Jr., son of the infamous "Apostle" Frederick K. Price Sr. Their ministry is so warped and so anti-biblical that I wonder why people still attend Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, CA. Price has taught heretical doctrine from the outset of his ministry being a protege and contemporary of the likes of Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and a mentor to the likes of Creflo Dollar, Michael Freeman, Wiley Jackson and other notorious, scripture twisting Word of Faith preachers. Price's views on the deity of Christ are that Jesus was not God, but simply a weak man. Don't get me started on the money preaching, either! Here is a quote from one of his parishioners from an L.A. Times article in which Price filed suit against 20/20 for an expose' done on "prosperity" ministries.
"After listening to Price's sermon -- which began, "Why do so many Christians fail to enjoy the abundant life?" -- parishioner Mary Grimes said that Price deserved to live well. (emphasis added)
"In the regular world, if he was a CEO, he'd get a penthouse and airplanes," she said. "I give abundantly because I WANT HIM TO BE PAMPERED" (emphasis added).
Well now I get it. Church is a business and should be run like a business and therefore Price is the CEO and should be pampered like a CEO, you know, like Ken Lay from Enron. Jesus was never "pampered". The apostles ALL lost their lives for the gospel and Price deserves to be pampered? I rest my case.
Price teaches that Jesus had to suffer in hell to fulfill God's requirement for atonement (Price's aberrant teachings) when, in actuality, Christ's work was finished at Calvary (John 19:30). Price Sr. also teaches that Jesus committed suicide and did not make the ultimate sacrifice (Price teaches Jesus crucifixion = suicide). When I watched this video, I immediately knew the scripture that he was referencing- Jesus was quoting a prophecy from Zechariah 13:7 which speaks of an "I" but the "I" in the prophecy is the Father, not the Son. Price could have really preached the gospel right there because the scripture shows the love of the Father that he would give up his own son for my sins and your sins. He's the apostle, but he chose to twist the scripture to suit some sick fantasy and to paint Jesus as a weakling.
Unless there is something amiss, I am certain that Price's son is cut from the same cloth as the self-made apostle, senior is cut from (for a good laugh, please see Price Sr.'s video "The Making of an Apostle" and watch foolish preachers humiliate themselves in this debacle of a ceremony-(Trojan Horse). If he wasn't, the ministry would not have been turned over to him. I know, someone is thinking, the sins of the father are not imputed to the son (Ezekiel 18:20) but I highly doubt that the "Godfather of Faith" would turn his word of faith empire over to someone that would come in and begin REAL preaching and preaching the TRUE gospel. If Jr. has been educated, it has been under the tutelage of Sr. therefore, it is pretty safe to assume that Jr. has learned all of Sr.'s poor doctrine and lack of understanding of scripture. So to see the son of a scripture twister and heretic on a website of those that supposedly "keeps it real" and are striving for "true holiness", it seemed sort of odd to me. Why would such a "real" ministry associate with false prophets?
If singing with R& B singers is so sinful, isn't twisting the Word of God equally or even more sinful? Jesus said in Revelation that we are not to add to or take away from His Word. If associating with the likes of Puff Daddy is sinful, isn't associating with false prophets equally sinful? Jesus said to the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:20) that the ones that associated with Jezebel (false prophetess) and assimilated her works would also reap her punishment! I watched Price Jr.'s exposition of a lady GaGa video on their site and after I finished, I was thinking, "how did he become a contributor to their site, isn't he from a ministry that teaches false doctrine on the regular?" When I posted a comment to their site, I simply said that they were being hypocritical and if they were going to lambaste Jakes and the others, and Price Sr. preaches the same Christless gospel as Jakes, where is the logic in associating with one false prophet over another? I guess exposing the hypocrisy of using Price's son as a contributor to the website in light of the false teaching of his father, who I see absolutely NOTHING on their site that repudiates him, ruffled some feathers. So, when I went back to check on my comment to see if I had gotten a reply, IT WAS NOT THERE. They totally deleted my comment! I was in awe and thought immediately that these guys are a bunch of hypocrites. They are heavy on judgment of what folks wear, what they are listening to etc. but they accept false doctrine...that left me shaking my head.
One thing about Jesus is that he never accepted a false prophet. 2 Peter chapters 1 and 2 speaks of the punishment reserved for false prophets. Jesus takes His Word very seriously because people's lives are at stake when the gospel is twisted or not preached at all. That being said, I won't listen to Mr. Lewis in the future because if you dish out judgment as he does, you very well better be able to take it as well. Jesus also understood that it was the sick that need a doctor and he never shied away from contact with those that were stuck in sin. He gave everyone the opportunity to repent. Is there too much fence-straddling in gospel music? Absolutely! However, when we judge or make a judgment on anything, we need to make sure that the log is not in our own eye so that we can see clearly to remove the log from our brother/sister's eye. I am praying for Mr. Lewis and his ministry that they would see their hypocrisy and move from a false gospel towards the true, biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is why I chose to write this article. In my estimation, and based on biblical precedence, only a Pharisee would lambaste someone for a photo but commit a worse act and not accept being reproved for it. It is this Pharisaical attitude that makes EX ministries so hypocritical. One of the contributors to their site is none other than Frederick K. Price Jr., son of the infamous "Apostle" Frederick K. Price Sr. Their ministry is so warped and so anti-biblical that I wonder why people still attend Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, CA. Price has taught heretical doctrine from the outset of his ministry being a protege and contemporary of the likes of Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and a mentor to the likes of Creflo Dollar, Michael Freeman, Wiley Jackson and other notorious, scripture twisting Word of Faith preachers. Price's views on the deity of Christ are that Jesus was not God, but simply a weak man. Don't get me started on the money preaching, either! Here is a quote from one of his parishioners from an L.A. Times article in which Price filed suit against 20/20 for an expose' done on "prosperity" ministries.
"After listening to Price's sermon -- which began, "Why do so many Christians fail to enjoy the abundant life?" -- parishioner Mary Grimes said that Price deserved to live well. (emphasis added)
"In the regular world, if he was a CEO, he'd get a penthouse and airplanes," she said. "I give abundantly because I WANT HIM TO BE PAMPERED" (emphasis added).
Well now I get it. Church is a business and should be run like a business and therefore Price is the CEO and should be pampered like a CEO, you know, like Ken Lay from Enron. Jesus was never "pampered". The apostles ALL lost their lives for the gospel and Price deserves to be pampered? I rest my case.
Price teaches that Jesus had to suffer in hell to fulfill God's requirement for atonement (Price's aberrant teachings) when, in actuality, Christ's work was finished at Calvary (John 19:30). Price Sr. also teaches that Jesus committed suicide and did not make the ultimate sacrifice (Price teaches Jesus crucifixion = suicide). When I watched this video, I immediately knew the scripture that he was referencing- Jesus was quoting a prophecy from Zechariah 13:7 which speaks of an "I" but the "I" in the prophecy is the Father, not the Son. Price could have really preached the gospel right there because the scripture shows the love of the Father that he would give up his own son for my sins and your sins. He's the apostle, but he chose to twist the scripture to suit some sick fantasy and to paint Jesus as a weakling.
Unless there is something amiss, I am certain that Price's son is cut from the same cloth as the self-made apostle, senior is cut from (for a good laugh, please see Price Sr.'s video "The Making of an Apostle" and watch foolish preachers humiliate themselves in this debacle of a ceremony-(Trojan Horse). If he wasn't, the ministry would not have been turned over to him. I know, someone is thinking, the sins of the father are not imputed to the son (Ezekiel 18:20) but I highly doubt that the "Godfather of Faith" would turn his word of faith empire over to someone that would come in and begin REAL preaching and preaching the TRUE gospel. If Jr. has been educated, it has been under the tutelage of Sr. therefore, it is pretty safe to assume that Jr. has learned all of Sr.'s poor doctrine and lack of understanding of scripture. So to see the son of a scripture twister and heretic on a website of those that supposedly "keeps it real" and are striving for "true holiness", it seemed sort of odd to me. Why would such a "real" ministry associate with false prophets?
If singing with R& B singers is so sinful, isn't twisting the Word of God equally or even more sinful? Jesus said in Revelation that we are not to add to or take away from His Word. If associating with the likes of Puff Daddy is sinful, isn't associating with false prophets equally sinful? Jesus said to the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:20) that the ones that associated with Jezebel (false prophetess) and assimilated her works would also reap her punishment! I watched Price Jr.'s exposition of a lady GaGa video on their site and after I finished, I was thinking, "how did he become a contributor to their site, isn't he from a ministry that teaches false doctrine on the regular?" When I posted a comment to their site, I simply said that they were being hypocritical and if they were going to lambaste Jakes and the others, and Price Sr. preaches the same Christless gospel as Jakes, where is the logic in associating with one false prophet over another? I guess exposing the hypocrisy of using Price's son as a contributor to the website in light of the false teaching of his father, who I see absolutely NOTHING on their site that repudiates him, ruffled some feathers. So, when I went back to check on my comment to see if I had gotten a reply, IT WAS NOT THERE. They totally deleted my comment! I was in awe and thought immediately that these guys are a bunch of hypocrites. They are heavy on judgment of what folks wear, what they are listening to etc. but they accept false doctrine...that left me shaking my head.
One thing about Jesus is that he never accepted a false prophet. 2 Peter chapters 1 and 2 speaks of the punishment reserved for false prophets. Jesus takes His Word very seriously because people's lives are at stake when the gospel is twisted or not preached at all. That being said, I won't listen to Mr. Lewis in the future because if you dish out judgment as he does, you very well better be able to take it as well. Jesus also understood that it was the sick that need a doctor and he never shied away from contact with those that were stuck in sin. He gave everyone the opportunity to repent. Is there too much fence-straddling in gospel music? Absolutely! However, when we judge or make a judgment on anything, we need to make sure that the log is not in our own eye so that we can see clearly to remove the log from our brother/sister's eye. I am praying for Mr. Lewis and his ministry that they would see their hypocrisy and move from a false gospel towards the true, biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Brutality of Life, the Evil of Sin and the Victory of Christ
LIFE IS BRUTAL! Look around you and you will see what I mean. People die everyday. Inflation is driving up the cost of everything. Gas is at record prices. Sickness and disease are rampant. There is a certain brutality to life that makes us all feel like quitting sometimes. Many do, and take their own lives as a consequence of the despair that they feel. I have never understood why a person would committ suicide, but it happens everyday. Have you been keeping track of the news? Every time I see George Zimmerman's face and realize that he is still a free man, I get angry all over again. But in the world that we live in, sometimes the "bad" get the rewards and the "good" get stepped on.
Have you ever wondered why that is? Have you ever wondered why the bible says that it rains on the "just and the unjust"? Why is it that nothing seems in order? There is a reason for it, and it is very simple if you are ok with simple answers. The reason that the world is topsy turvy is because of sin. Sin, originated with Satan. When he rebelled against God because of his pride, his primary mission became to get as many as possible to rebel against God as well. In a sense, sin is a rebellion against the perfection that God created. Sin is evil. If we define evil as the absence of good, and God is good and the source of all goodness and there is NO sin in God, then sin, because it is apart from God, is evil. Sin is the reason that things are out of order. It has ruined the perfection that God initially intended and has thrown the balance of the natural world off. Look around you and tell me that the world is not out of order. I saw an advertisement for a divorce ring the other day! It was a heart, broken in two with diamonds coming down the split...who does that? Who celebrates divorce? A fallen world does. Lust dominates over love. Every commercial has some scantily clad woman trying to sell me a fantasy and a product at the same time. Unnatural affections are now becoming the norm because if you're against that kind of thing, you are being intolerant. Has this not been the decade of homosexual decadence? Now, people march for "gay" rights as if being "gay" is something that anyone has a "right" to do! Sure, it is your own life but that does not make it acceptable in the sight of God. Evil trumps good. Insider trading makes people at the top rich and the people at the bottom and in the middle suffer for it- and what do they say? "You all are envious of us because we're rich". In reality the "rich" whose bank accounts boast of large sums of cash, they are the most bankrupt of all because many of them love money more than they love God and will do anything to acquire more. Bad things happen to good people and seemingly good things happen to bad people. We often wonder why this is so. Why did so-and-so develop cancer when there are scores of others that deserve cancer. Why did Mrs. So-and-So get all of her retirement stolen by a greedy investor, and why is the investor not in prison for doing it? This reminds me of the parable of Lazarus the beggar who, when he died went to be in Abraham's bosom while the rich man that scorned him during life went to Hades and was told, "you had your good things while you were living..." Evil people live for today with no thought for tomorrow and therefore their pleasure is in earthly, worldly things. Those that are believers in Christ and that have trusted Him with their lives have to understand that the "good" for us may not always come to us on this side of eternity.
Sin is evil and sin's consequence is death. Death seems to have the upper hand these days. 1 Cor 15:56 says the sting of death is sin. Death would not exist if it were not for sin. Death's sting is in sin's venom. Death's power rests in this: If sin kills anyone (Romans 6:23) apart from Christ, they are eternally doomed! We were all pricked by the stinger of sin (Psalm 51:5) and had it's venom coursing through our veins, until Calvary! Calvary is the only solution, the only way to remove sins venom from our bloodstream and replace it with the life-giving blood of Christ.
Jesus tells the believer on many occasions that life will not be a cake-walk. In John 16:33 he says quite matter-of-factly, "in this world you will have tribulation...but be of good courage..." How can Jesus tell me to be of good courage living in a brutal world marred by the effects of sin? How can I be of good courage living in a world that is overwhelmingly evil? Maybe I should finish this passage to answer that question. "for I have overcome the world". Jesus says here that he has deprived the world of its power...and this is prior to the cross. How can that be? Well, the cross of Calvary was Christ's atoning sacrifice for sin. His blood is necessary for the remission of sin and for the Father's forgiveness of man. His blood is necessary to make any sinful man that trusts Jesus with his life and surrenders to Him, righteous in the sight of God. Sin was taken care of at Calvary, but the overcoming power of Jesus existed just as He did, from eternity. Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world, before time began and therefore the verb overcome in John 16:33 (Gk νενίκηκα) has even more significance. It is written in the perfect tense (completed action whose consequences continue) and therefore we can say that not only did Jesus overcome the world from eternity, His overcoming still continues! Now for the believer, since Christ overcame the world and He abides in us as we abide in Him, we can make the statement with confidence that the One that is within me is greater than the one that is within the world!
Calvary took the sting out of death because at Calvary, death was put on notice that its days were numbered. Calvary also gave the one that would believe and trust Jesus with their life, the ability to escape the power of sin and the penalty of sin, which is death. On the third day after Christ's death at Calvary, that notice was comlpeted and the victory over death was won. Christ's resurrection tells us that death could not hold Him and because we are in Him it cannot hold us (see Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 15). We are no longer slaves to the uncertainty of what happens after death (Hebrews 2:14) but we are now overcomers through the One that overcame! Yes, life is brutal and sin is evil but through Jesus Christ, I no longer reside in the realm of sin and this life is merely a transition for the life to come. The one that endures until death will receive the crown of life. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ for giving all believers this victory. Reflect on this as you ponder what the resurrection really means. The Resurrection is the central tenet of Christianity and without it, everything else is in vain. I thank God that Jesus did not stay dead but was obedient to the command that he received from the Father to get up (John 10:18). Thank you Jesus for victory over sin and death, thank you for OVERCOMING!
Have you ever wondered why that is? Have you ever wondered why the bible says that it rains on the "just and the unjust"? Why is it that nothing seems in order? There is a reason for it, and it is very simple if you are ok with simple answers. The reason that the world is topsy turvy is because of sin. Sin, originated with Satan. When he rebelled against God because of his pride, his primary mission became to get as many as possible to rebel against God as well. In a sense, sin is a rebellion against the perfection that God created. Sin is evil. If we define evil as the absence of good, and God is good and the source of all goodness and there is NO sin in God, then sin, because it is apart from God, is evil. Sin is the reason that things are out of order. It has ruined the perfection that God initially intended and has thrown the balance of the natural world off. Look around you and tell me that the world is not out of order. I saw an advertisement for a divorce ring the other day! It was a heart, broken in two with diamonds coming down the split...who does that? Who celebrates divorce? A fallen world does. Lust dominates over love. Every commercial has some scantily clad woman trying to sell me a fantasy and a product at the same time. Unnatural affections are now becoming the norm because if you're against that kind of thing, you are being intolerant. Has this not been the decade of homosexual decadence? Now, people march for "gay" rights as if being "gay" is something that anyone has a "right" to do! Sure, it is your own life but that does not make it acceptable in the sight of God. Evil trumps good. Insider trading makes people at the top rich and the people at the bottom and in the middle suffer for it- and what do they say? "You all are envious of us because we're rich". In reality the "rich" whose bank accounts boast of large sums of cash, they are the most bankrupt of all because many of them love money more than they love God and will do anything to acquire more. Bad things happen to good people and seemingly good things happen to bad people. We often wonder why this is so. Why did so-and-so develop cancer when there are scores of others that deserve cancer. Why did Mrs. So-and-So get all of her retirement stolen by a greedy investor, and why is the investor not in prison for doing it? This reminds me of the parable of Lazarus the beggar who, when he died went to be in Abraham's bosom while the rich man that scorned him during life went to Hades and was told, "you had your good things while you were living..." Evil people live for today with no thought for tomorrow and therefore their pleasure is in earthly, worldly things. Those that are believers in Christ and that have trusted Him with their lives have to understand that the "good" for us may not always come to us on this side of eternity.
Sin is evil and sin's consequence is death. Death seems to have the upper hand these days. 1 Cor 15:56 says the sting of death is sin. Death would not exist if it were not for sin. Death's sting is in sin's venom. Death's power rests in this: If sin kills anyone (Romans 6:23) apart from Christ, they are eternally doomed! We were all pricked by the stinger of sin (Psalm 51:5) and had it's venom coursing through our veins, until Calvary! Calvary is the only solution, the only way to remove sins venom from our bloodstream and replace it with the life-giving blood of Christ.
Jesus tells the believer on many occasions that life will not be a cake-walk. In John 16:33 he says quite matter-of-factly, "in this world you will have tribulation...but be of good courage..." How can Jesus tell me to be of good courage living in a brutal world marred by the effects of sin? How can I be of good courage living in a world that is overwhelmingly evil? Maybe I should finish this passage to answer that question. "for I have overcome the world". Jesus says here that he has deprived the world of its power...and this is prior to the cross. How can that be? Well, the cross of Calvary was Christ's atoning sacrifice for sin. His blood is necessary for the remission of sin and for the Father's forgiveness of man. His blood is necessary to make any sinful man that trusts Jesus with his life and surrenders to Him, righteous in the sight of God. Sin was taken care of at Calvary, but the overcoming power of Jesus existed just as He did, from eternity. Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world, before time began and therefore the verb overcome in John 16:33 (Gk νενίκηκα) has even more significance. It is written in the perfect tense (completed action whose consequences continue) and therefore we can say that not only did Jesus overcome the world from eternity, His overcoming still continues! Now for the believer, since Christ overcame the world and He abides in us as we abide in Him, we can make the statement with confidence that the One that is within me is greater than the one that is within the world!
Calvary took the sting out of death because at Calvary, death was put on notice that its days were numbered. Calvary also gave the one that would believe and trust Jesus with their life, the ability to escape the power of sin and the penalty of sin, which is death. On the third day after Christ's death at Calvary, that notice was comlpeted and the victory over death was won. Christ's resurrection tells us that death could not hold Him and because we are in Him it cannot hold us (see Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 15). We are no longer slaves to the uncertainty of what happens after death (Hebrews 2:14) but we are now overcomers through the One that overcame! Yes, life is brutal and sin is evil but through Jesus Christ, I no longer reside in the realm of sin and this life is merely a transition for the life to come. The one that endures until death will receive the crown of life. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ for giving all believers this victory. Reflect on this as you ponder what the resurrection really means. The Resurrection is the central tenet of Christianity and without it, everything else is in vain. I thank God that Jesus did not stay dead but was obedient to the command that he received from the Father to get up (John 10:18). Thank you Jesus for victory over sin and death, thank you for OVERCOMING!
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