Your Resurrection Story

I was 7 years old. “Uncle Wally” and “Aunt Alexa,” quintessential children’s Sunday school teachers, were offering the invitation to accept Jesus into my heart. They had offered this invitation and led hundreds of kids before and after me at Edgewater Baptist during the 1960’s and 70’s. But this time I knew it was for me. I’d heard it my whole life (all 7 years of it) and I knew it was time to pray. That’s my resurrection story.

What’s yours? Your come to Jesus moment? Take a minute, stop reading and say it out loud. Tell yourself, tell the person next to you, tell it to Jesus. When did you ask Him to be your Savior?
You back? Feels good doesn’t it? Saying it out loud? It’s good to proclaim it out loud. It’s good to remind the evil one whose you are. It’s good to remind ourselves whose we are.

It’s so easy to live behind the stone. In the grave — cowering, defeated, wounded from living in this sin-sick world. I say it’s easy, but it’s not really. It just feels that way sometimes. Who wants to deal with problems, issues, wounds? It’s scary to face what’s holding you down, holding you back from changing, from living in freedom. We’re not sure what we gotta give up, turn away from, deal with.
You see, it’s one thing to believe in victory. It’s another thing to live in it.

What’s behind your stone?
Are you in debt?
Are you living in fear for an unbelieving son or daughter?
Is it a dad you’ve never forgiven?
Maybe it’s this thing at work you’re tangled up in–an unethical deal, an inappropriate friendship.
Maybe it’s cancer.
Or… maybe things are going great, but you have this nagging fear knowing you’re not living close to your Lord, and it could all come crashing down and then what…. Run to Him? Well, yes.

Notice how it’s called a stone when it’s blocking life, but Jesus is called the Rock, the One to stand on?
Ask Him. Ask Him to move that stone, that weight that is crushing you. Come out from behind the stone, crawl out of the grave and look to the Victor.

Take a step into His Presence.
Your grave issues may not disappear, but you’ll be in such glorious light that your hope will appear.
Look to the Victor for that broken relationship.
Look to the Victor to capture your loved one’s heart.
Look to the Victor to unwrap you from those grave clothes you’re entangled in.

He can take the weight of that stone off of you now. You don’t have to wait. For He said: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25)

That’s for now. Not just for someday.
Do I believe that? Do you believe it?
Sometimes it’s easier to believe in the Victor then to live in Victory, but oh how He wants us to. Oh how He wants us to leave our grave clothes behind and look to Him.

Leave the stone and turn to the Rock. It’s there you will find blinding light and undefeatable hope.