The Cross of Christ: God's Power!

Is anyone confused by the cross? Do we really understand what happened there then? What does it mean now? 

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel . . . not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-19)

Jesus died upon the cross for the salvation of all who would accept it. His perfect blood had to be shed in order for all to have the opportunity to be united with a perfect God. (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+9%3A22&version=NIV) The cross still stands as the power of God to wipe out our sin debt. Christ's resurrection from the dead proves His power over sin and death! 

So while the cross is the sacrifice, the resurrection is our proof! Our high priest was accepted as the perfect sacrifice to the Father for our sin: He lives and so we live as well!

He sacrificed then . . . He rose then . . . so we live because of Him now and for eternity!

Can we "see" the Risen Jesus today?

As we read about Mary Magdalene here in John 20, we see she was the first to check on Jesus' body on SONday morning. However, she found an empty tomb! As you might imagine, she was emotional. However, when she turned and saw a man behind her, she did not recognize the Risen Jesus.

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,but she did not realize that it was Jesus. (John 20:11-14)

So today, we who are disciples of Jesus Christ indeed believe He has risen from the grave and now sits physically next to the Throne of Glory in heaven. Let me ask a few questions though:

If we saw the Risen Jesus today, in our world, would we recognize Him? 

Are we too busy with the day-to-day that we would not see Him? 

Are we looking for someone different?

The Risen Savior is alive and well and active through the Holy Spirit in our world today. As we approach Resurrection Day '23, let's seek Him . . . in our circumstances and in others!