April 1 Devotion - Jesus' Resurrection

 

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by Peter, then by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.

 فَالْوَاقِعُ أَنِّي سَلَّمْتُكُمْ، فِي أَوَّلِ الأَمْرِ، مَا كُنْتُ قَدْ تَسَلَّمْتُهُ، وَهُوَ أَنَّ الْمَسِيحَ مَاتَ مِنْ أَجْلِ خَطَايَانَا وَفْقاً لِمَا فِي الْكُتُبِ، 4 وَأَنَّهُ دُفِنَ، وَأَنَّهُ قَامَ فِي الْيَوْمِ الثَّالِثِ وَفْقاً لِمَا فِي الْكُتُبِ، 5 وَأَنَّهُ ظَهَرَ لِبُطْرُسَ، ثُمَّ لِلاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ. 6 وَبَعْدَ ذلِكَ ظَهَرَ لأَكْثَرَ مِنْ خَمْسِ مِئَةِ أَخٍ مَعاً

1 Corinthians 15: 3-5

The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is vital to Christians because our justification depends on it.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

 الَّذِي أُسْلِمَ لِلْمَوْتِ مِنْ أَجْلِ مَعَاصِينَا ثُمَّ أُقِيمَ مِنْ أَجْلِ تَبْرِيرِنَا

Romans 4:25

A dead Saviour cannot save, but we have a living Saviour who justifies us and makes intercessions for us.

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them

وَهُوَ لِذَلِكَ قَادِرٌ دَائِماً أَنْ يُحَقِّقَ الْخَلاصَ الْكَامِلَ لِلَّذِينَ يَتَقَرَّبُونَ بِهِ إِلَى اللهِ. فَهُوَ، فِي حَضْرَةِ اللهِ، حَيٌّ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ لِيَتَضَرَّعَ مِنْ أَجْلِهِمْ وَيُحَامِيَ عَنْهُمْ!

Hebrews 7:25

Although different denominations differ on the date of the resurrection of Christ because they use different calendars, Jesus’ resurrection is not a denominational issue or a point for theological debate. Either we believe Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven or we do not. If we reject His victory over the grave, we deny ourselves a place in eternity.

Believing that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead is essential for Christians, because merely recognizing that He died for our sins is not enough; we must accept His resurrection in order to receive eternal life. Christ paid our debt, but His sacrifice on the cross means nothing if He possesses no power over the grave. In vanquishing evil and death, the Lord made our salvation possible. Jesus’ resurrection proved He was able to remove sin and its penalty.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour, and I know that I know that I know in my heart that God raised You from the dead. Jesus, I thank You for saving me through Your atoning death on The Cross and Your resurrection , and for making me righteous in the eyes of God our Father. Thank You Jesus, that because I believe in Your resurrection, I am granted eternal life. Abba Father, I thank You for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Father God, I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, I lift You up on high, and glorify Your holy name. I pray in Jesus’ holy name to You Father. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein