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Because of Easter… I Can Believe the Impossible

Posted On: 10. 04. 13 | 1 Comment

Easter has come and gone, but at Desiring Virtue, we are stopping to contemplate just what we were celebrating in the first place. Today we look at another blessing that is a result of Christ’s death and resurrection: the ability to believe the impossible.

Touched-By-An-Angel-tv-03

Do you remember that old 90′s television show “Touched by an Angel” staring Roma Downey? When I saw that Downey was a part of the History Channel’s The Bible series I was taken back to my childhood days of watching her character (a sort of guardian angel) intervene in the lives of countless needy people.

Each episode would chronicle a man, woman, or family in the middle of a spiritual crisis who needed to know that God was there, that God cared. I fondly remember how each show would end by Downey revealing her “secret” angelic identity while a soft spotlight slowly began to beam down on her auburn head. “I am an angel sent from God,” she would say as she dispensed some much needed encouragement to the mortal she was sent to help.

Of course the theological premise of the show was sketchy (to say the least) and though Christian themes ran through many episodes, the gospel was conveniently left out. The show capitalized on an audience that believed, or at least wanted to believe in a higher power. It catered to the world of God-believers, though not Christ-worshippers.

It would appear from its ratings and nine season run, that the perception of God as someone who would intervene in your life when necessary and who cared about your good was quite popular. There seems to have been a general appreciation for the notion that God loves his creation and wants the best for it.

Fast forward to today. Can you even imagine a show like this being broadcast to the general public? These days, people who firmly believe in God are not just viewed as “needing a crutch” as they used to, but are instead viewed as downright loony. The idea of a God who cares for his creation is a nice thought, but utterly unrealistic. After all, we believe in science and the scientific method not something as infinitely difficult to understand as God. The possibility of a Father God who created men and women in his own image, who is completely good and without evil is… well… impossible.

When I look back to the first Easter Sunday–the day when Jesus rose from the dead–I see the impossible becoming possible.

When Christ rose from the grave, conquering death itself, he proved he was God incarnate (the God who took on human flesh). In one miraculous display of power, he proved that it is not folly to believe in the unseen spiritual realm. Though men killed “the Author of life,” God raised him from the dead. (Acts 3:15) Though it seems ridiculous to our modern ears to believe in an unseen God who loves his creation and desires their good, Jesus’ bodily death and physical resurrection prove that it would indeed be folly not to believe it.

This Jesus who allowed himself to be hung on a cross to satisfy the wrath of God against sin, says that he did so because God “so loved the world.” (John 3:16) What love our Heavenly Father has for us! Though we were rebellious children constantly denying his love and authority, he sent his eternal beloved Son to die on our behalf so that we could be brought back into the family.

God loves us. He loves us with an incomprehensible kind of love that is proven by Christ’s death and resurrection. I can be confident of his affections because he didn’t even spare his own Son, but instead gave him up to death and judgement on my behalf. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

I can see that God loves me through the cross of Christ, and I can believe that this love is real because of the testimony of his resurrection.

Because of Easter I can believe the impossible.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1 ESV)

More posts from the Because of Easter… series: Because of Easter… I’m Alive, Because of Easter… I am Reconciled, Because of Easter… I can Serve with Joy! and Because of Easter… I Can Be Honest About My Sin.

Because of Easter… I Can Serve With Joy!

Posted On: 08. 04. 13 | 3 Comments

Easter may have come and gone, but we are stopping to contemplate just what we were celebrating in the first place. How does Christ’s death and resurrection effect our everyday lives? Today, Melissa McDonald shares how Because of Easter she (and you too!) can serve with joy!

There we all were sitting on the living room floor when Annie Mae, my one year old, plunked Cinderella in the driver’s seat of the garbage truck. I smiled thinking that somewhere in the fine print of “Happily Ever After” she ended up driving around the kingdom collecting trash. Disney left out that detail.

But I began to realize that our “Happily Ever After” does include driving around the kingdom collecting trash — or, at least, it includes some type of humble service toward one another.

My self-centeredness cringes at this point. A resurrected life full of service seems less than desirable. But Easter changes all that. Because of Easter serving no longer interferes with my joy, serving becomes the path to my joy.

Because of Easter we see that service is beautiful, not ugly.

For forty days after his resurrections Jesus poured himself out teaching and explaining all that had been written and all that had happened. And then, in John chapter 21, we are told that just as day was breaking Jesus fixed breakfast for his friends beside the sea.

He had served to the uttermost but he was not finished serving. Humility is beauty and fullness and life, not something left behind at the cross.

Because of Easter we find life on the other side of death.

It was written that whoever finds his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ and the gospel will find it (Mark 8:35). The resurrection of Jesus is the proof that there is life on the other side of death.

When I cling to a small bit of my life trying to save it–I will serve my husband and children, but hold a fifteen minute grudge if I can’t drink my coffee hot!–I cling to death. And God doesn’t ask me to let go without promising that there is life on the other side of that release.

Because of Easter the small deaths I endure each day no longer need to produce bitterness and resentment, they are producing for me a heavy and lasting joy instead — a weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Because of Easter we have the Spirit of our Risen Lord at work in our hearts.

There are days when serving others doesn’t seem beautiful. There are days when I would choose my hot cup of coffee over serving others. On those days he opens wide to me an intimate experience of the power of his resurrection.

The Spirit of Christ teaches me to call out, “Help, Father!” when I don’t even want Jesus. He causes me to long for what is good and beautiful. And he causes me to do what is good and beautiful — “to will and do according to his pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). When I pick the oatmeal off the high chair while my coffee grows cold — and when I do it all without tallying up the ways my children have taken my life away — it is my risen Savior himself at work within me.

More posts from the “Because of Easter…” series: Because of Easter… I am Alive! Because of Easter… I am Reconciled and Because of Easter… I Can Be Honest About My Sin

Melissa McDonald and her husband Eric serve and disciple international students at The University of Iowa with their two daughters, Miriam and Annette. Melissa blogs at The Cross and the Kitchen Sink and has written the Bible study guide: To Live Valiantly: A study on the Proverbs 31 Woman.

Because of Easter… I’m Alive

Posted On: 04. 04. 13 | 3 Comments

Join me this month as we contemplate all that Christ has accomplished through his death and resurrection in a new series titled Because of Easter. Today we stop to meditate on the life-giving power of the gospel!

I struggled with the same sins over and over.

They threatened to overtake me and I was powerless against them.

Though I tried with all my might, my greatest efforts were useless.

No amount of toil and no solemn vow could keep my flesh from craving the destructive sin I was enslaved to.

The guilt I carried was crippling.

I was dead.

This was my story before I met Christ: A young girl who was unable to meet the standards of a holy God. Though I desperately longed to please him, to earn his favor, and to escape his wrath, I was helpless. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t conquer my sins and I certainly couldn’t feel at peace with the Most High.

This is what theologians refer to as “total depravity.” From the moment I was born, I could not help but sin. This sickness, this brokenness that runs through every son and daughter of Adam is present in each of us from the moment of conception. We find in the Psalms David crying, “in sin my mother conceived me” and in Romans, Paul explains that not a single person can claim to be sinless for “none is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” As Adam and Eve sinned, so we too sin.

We are depraved and unable to live up to our created purpose: to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

In Ephesians 2, a passage of Scripture each of us can relate to, Paul reminds his readers that they were indeed dead in their trespasses and sins before the glorious work of the gospel. Dead. Each of us who love Christ, who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit were once dead in the futility of our ways walking a path of certain judgement… until our Savior took that punishment upon himself.

No matter how “good” we were, no matter how self-righteous we looked, our hearts were far from the Father and unable to please him. Our minds could not understand spiritual things and our souls could not grow in holiness. Though we may have looked good from the outside, like a rotting tooth that has recently been whitened, it was all a facade. On the inside we were in bondage to our sin.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…” (Ephesians 2:4 & 5)

Could there be any sweeter words uttered in the entire universe? This God who is rich in mercy and who loves us with a great love, reaches down and gives life where there is none. He stoops down to show grace to those who deserve none. He rips out our hearts of stone and replaces them with a living, pumping, fleshy hearts that beat for him.

As Christ died on that terrible cross, so we too died once and for all, and as God raised him from the dead, so we too have been raised from the dead. We are made to walk in newness of life-free from the bondage of sin and free to choose righteousness.

Oh marvelous grace, how is it that Christ’s righteousness could be counted mine? How is it that my sins could be completely and utterly forgiven? How is it that I am daily being transformed into the image of my Savior? How is it that God himself has chosen to reside within me through the Holy Spirit? Grace, oh marvelous grace!

Now, though I struggle with sin, I also conquer!

Now, though sin still threatens to overtake me, I am assured that it never will!

Now, I need not try by my own might to put sin to death, but instead the Holy Spirit diligently and effectively seeks to sanctify me and causes me to be victorious!

Now, my appetite is for holiness and nearness to God, not for the things of the flesh!

Now, the mercy I have been shown and the joy I experience is overwhelming!

Now, I am alive.

Don’t miss the previous posts in this series: Because of Easter… I am Reconciled and Because of Easter… I Can Be Honest About My Sin

Because of Easter… I Can Be Honest About My Sin

Posted On: 03. 04. 13 | Leave a Comment

Join me this month as we contemplate all that Christ has accomplished through his death and resurrection in a new series titled Because of Easter. Today, Staci Eastin shares how Christ’s death and resurrection allow her (and YOU) to be honest about sin.

A few years ago, I failed to do the right thing. Let me rephrase that. A few years ago, I sinned.

I had a choice. I could make a stand for what was right, or I could remain silent. I chose to remain silent. And though my insides were roiling, to all those around me, my silence indicated approval.

I managed to forget about it for a while. What’s done is done, I said to myself. But after a few months, I couldn’t ignore the guilt and condemnation that came crashing through my conscience.

I tried to rationalize. Yes, it appeared to be sinful, but it was a tricky situation. There were nuances to it all. Besides, I managed to preserve the relationships I had with these non-Christians. Surely that was important too? Wasn’t it?

When that no longer worked, when I could no longer deny that I’d been a coward, the guilt was tremendous. I went to the people involved, confessed my failure, and did my best to make amends, but the damage was done. I fell into a pit of self-condemnation. Who did I think I was, writing about Christianity when I couldn’t even take a stand? I should just quit teaching, shut down the blog, and lick my wounds in private.

It was only when I told my husband how plagued I was by this situation that I finally got some peace. I told him what bothered me the most was that it had happened at a time when I should have known better. I could have excused such cowardice in a new Christian, but I thought I should have been past such things by then.

He reminded me that Christ’s forgiveness is not just given to us until the point where we think we’re a “mature Christian,” but for always. All of our sin—past, present, and future. The grace that is such good news for the new believer is good news to the long-time believer, too.

The first two ways I tried to deal with my sin—rationalization, then self-condemnation—are two sides of the same coin. The first way I tried to justify myself by telling myself that I really wasn’t that bad. The second way I tried to justify myself by wallowing in my guilt, as if that would be adequate payment. In both of these I tried to deny my need for a Savior.

When Christ died on the cross, he took the full weight of God’s wrath for my sin upon himself. When he rose from the dead, he proved that his sacrifice was sufficient for my sin (Romans 4:25). Because of his death and resurrection, I am made holy (Hebrews 10:10). When God looks at me, he does not see my sin; he sees Christ’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Because of Easter, I can be honest about my sin. I can admit my sin is an unholy treason against a righteous God, but I don’t have to try to pay for it by wallowing in guilt and shame. I can set it all at the foot of the cross, knowing that it’s paid for. And I can walk away in peace, knowing that his sacrifice was sufficient for me.

Did you miss Monday’s post? Click here to read Because of Easter… I Am Reconciled.

Staci Eastin is the author of The Organized Heart (Cruciform Press, 2011). She also blogs at Writing and Living and the group blog Out of the Ordinary. She and her husband Todd have been married since 1994 and are the parents of three children. Staci lives in Southeast Missouri.

Because of Easter… I am Reconciled

Posted On: 01. 04. 13 | 4 Comments

Join me this month as we contemplate all that Christ has accomplished through his death and resurrection in a new series titled Because of Easter. Today we look at the blessing of reconciliation!

“Christianity isn’t about religion, it is about relationship.” Have you ever heard this phrase before? It’s usually being said to emphasize that our faith is not built upon empty traditions or institutions, but rather on an intimate acquaintance with the Lord. There’s emotion, friendship, love and communication involved, not just church attendance or rule adherence.

Though these things are true, you would be hard pressed to find a person who has a genuine “relationship” with the Lord who is not as a result “religious.” The one who is intimate with the Almighty, can not help but bow down in worship of his holiness. A woman who has tasted the goodness of a loving king cannot help but pledge allegiance to him. She is compelled by his grace to set him as Lord over her life and seeks to obey his Word in everything.

No, a right relationship with this Holy Being always results in devotion.

It is also true that a person does not begin a relationship with God at the moment of salvation. The natural man doesn’t go about his daily life in spiritual neutrality. There is not an absence of relationship with God before salvation because as his created beings, we are born into a relationship with our Creator. Unfortunately, do to our sinfulness, this relationship is broken and characterized by estrangement. Light cannot dwell with darkness, and before Christ, we are most certainly lost in utter darkness.

No, before salvation we have a very real relationship with God, but it is a relationship defined by defiance, rebellion, and impending judgement.

This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again (John 3).

We are all, since Adam born into a severed relationship with God. Our sin makes us enemies of the Creator and keeps us under the weighty hand of his righteous judgement. In order to experience the joy and peace of a right relationship with God, we must somehow get rid of the sin that keeps us from him. We must somehow go from being enemies to friends. We must go from being traitors to being loyal. We must do the impossible.

If it weren’t for Easter, if it weren’t for the truths that we celebrated yesterday–Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf–this would be the end of the story. We would be eternally lost in our sin and unable to be reconciled to our Creator. We would still be in need of the impossible and completely impotent to bring about any change.

If it weren’t for Christ’s death and resurrection, my 15 year old self would have never been able to draw near to her Heavenly Father and experience his forgiving love for the first time. I would still be seeking righteousness in my own weakness; I would still be painfully estranged from the only one who could give meaning to my life.

But.

At the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. He took the punishment for my sins and experienced the holy wrath of a righteous judge–the wrath that would have come to me one day.

The Sinless was punished for the sinner.

The Creator experienced death for the created.

The eternal Father turned his back on the eternal Son so that he could turn and embrace me.

Because of the death and resurrection of Christ, I am reconciled to God. I am no longer an enemy of God, but a friend. Though once a rebel, I now receive the benefits of a loyal subject. What’s more, I am treated as his beloved child. I am now a fellow heir with Christ receiving all the love, affection, and reward that the eternal Son of God receives from his Holy Father.

The impossible was made possible–not through my work, but through God’s.

We have much to celebrate in light of Easter Sunday. We who were once far off have been brought near. Though once bound to sin and at enmity with God, we can now experience peace with him. Though the word “relationship” could mean nothing but judgement for us before Christ, it can now mean love and acceptance. For those who place their faith in Christ’s work on the cross, there is a glorious and satisfying relationship with the Holy One.

Let these truths sink in and encourage your soul today. Accept Christ’s work on your behalf and live in this marvelous relationship, enjoying the fruits of Christ’s righteous life as though it had been yours! Live as one who has complete access to the Father and all of his love.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11 ESV)

Rejoice with me as those who have been reconciled to the Creator!