In the Bible, the Apostle Paul opens the books of  Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, and Titus, with the words “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”


Eleven of Paul’s thirteen letters that he penned by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit begin with grace and peace.


Have you ever wondered why? It is because you and I need God’s grace and peace everyday of our lives.


GRACE and PEACE.


Grace, the unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor of God, is the oil that smoothes life’s friction and frustrations. Peace, the sense that everything will be all right when things don’t make sense, is the salve that soothes restless hearts in troubled times. Grace and peace steady hearts and calm the storms of life.


Grace and peace produce joyful living.


Grace makes it possible for us to begin anew each day. Grace erases our mistakes. Peace settles what is unsettling. Peace makes it possible for us to rise victoriously above all circumstances through faith in Jesus Christ. Christian joy is a byproduct of God’s grace and peace in our hearts.
    
Please note carefully that the source of grace and peace is God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in God do we find grace and peace. There is no grace or peace without God. The world system is what I call “grace bankrupt” and has no clue where to find lasting peace. Unbelieving man’s search for peace dead-ends because Jesus is our peace.


The Lord alone gives peace, His peace (John 14:27). The God of peace gives us peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7, 9). People without Christ’s peace-producing presence end up ungracious, judgmental and condemning of themselves and others.


Steve Roll needs grace and peace.


I need to know that God forgives my mistakes and covers my sins with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. I need His peace that consoles, comforts and strengthens my spirit when life turns south. I need assurance that in spite of my shortcomings, of which I have more than a few, that God still and will always love me. Because of grace, the Lord will continue to believe in me, equip me and use me to glorify Him and further the work of His eternal Kingdom.


Knowing this softens the hard edge of life and produces peace, sweet, restful peace, that nothing can surpass.


People I come in contact with need grace and peace.


People you know need grace and peace too. Grace-less, peace-less people surround us. So many people in our society feel condemned and restless. Worry and fear pummel their mind and heart with anxious thoughts and negative feelings that often lead to desperate actions.


Hurting people beat themselves up and mess up their relationships. Weary eyes and shaky voices tell the true tale of lives being lived without God’s grace and peace.   
If you don’t believe me, take a few minutes to listen to people vent their frustrations and heartaches.


Application of this word for the week is pretty straightforward.


First of all, are you walking in God’s grace and peace?


Have you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If so, do you look to the Lord each day for a fresh dose of His grace and peace through the Holy Spirit? Is there anything hindering the flow of God’s peace and grace in your life? Be honest. The flow of God’s grace and peace will be interrupted if we are not living right.


Secondly, who do you know who needs to know about God’s grace and peace? 


Who do you know who is hurting and searching for answers to their problems? When you walk into a room, does God’s grace and peace enter with you? Are you a bearer and sharer of God’s grace and peace in crisis settings, at business meetings, family gatherings, church fellowships and social functions? Would people you know say that you bring grace and peace into their lives?


Imagine what your and my day would be like if we by walked faith employing and enjoying the grace and peace that God provides. Imagine how you and I could make someone’s day by sharing God’s grace and peace with them? What would our world look like if we all chose to receive grace and peace from God and let it flow freely and abundantly through our lives each and everyday?


I believe we would dwell in a much more gracious and peaceful world.


Wouldn’t it be awesome if we greeted everyone we meet with the words “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ?” Certainly worth considering isn’t it?


My fellow Christian, walk in grace and peace. Share God’s grace and peace with others.   


“The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee.”                                              Isaiah 26:3


“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”                                II Corinthians 12:9a


A Word For Your Week: Grace and peace is yours in Jesus Christ.

God’s holy, eternal, authoritative Word is revealed in the Bible.


Preachers of the Good News love to preach. There is nothing like preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I have always said that if a preacher cannot preach the resurrection, he can’t preach!


In the past I preached a message at Easter entitled “Good News From The Graveyard.” I shared with the congregation that Easter emphatically declares that you can put Truth in a tomb but you cannot keep Him there!


An angel of the Lord, bright as lightning, sat on the stone at the opening of the once sealed and guarded tomb of Jesus. Grinning from ear to ear, the heavenly messenger told the two Mary’s who had come to look at the grave that “Jesus whom you seek is not here. He has risen, just like He said he would! (Matthew 28:1-8).


JESUS WAS ALIVE!


Hearing this glad announcement and having collected their spiritual and emotional senses, the women “with fear and great joy” went to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive and they would see their Master soon.


Good news from bad news! The tragedy of Golgotha turned into the triumph of the graveyard. Crucifixion became resurrection. Death gave way to life. A huge stone, Roman seal, squad of soldiers, religious hypocrites, Satan, sin and death could not hold Jesus back!


Jesus is risen, and guess what, all who believe in Him are too! Paul writes in I Corinthians 6:14 “Now God has not only raised the Lord but will also raise us up through His power.” I Corinthians 6:14


Paul declares that not only has God raised the Lord, but He raises us up also! How? Through “His power.” The very same power of the Holy Spirit that resurrected His Son Jesus resurrects us. Absolutely amazing and totally true!


Because He lives, we live!


Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, His power is our power. The supernatural power that raised Jesus from the dead raises us up to abundant and eternal life! Hallelujah! 


IT’S A BIBLICAL FACT: Christians are resurrection people because of the resurrection power of Christ.


Do you realize if you call yourself a follower of Christ that you have been raised from sin, death and the grave just like Jesus was? You are not dead in trespasses and sin. You are alive in Christ! The redemption He purchased for you through the shedding of His precious blood on the Cross and Jesus’ powerful resurrection from the tomb means you and I are resurrected too! Glory to God!


Therefore, as resurrection people with resurrection power nothing can hold us back either. Heaven shouted and hell shook when Jesus rose again. Heaven shouts and hell shakes when we rise up in faith and live for Him!


Knowing this, is your life a vibrant and influential witness of resurrection power? Is your Christian testimony and lifestyle one of power and victory? It should be.


Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that His followers (that is us) would receive power through the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses throughout the world. What kind of witnesses? Dynamite ones! The Greek word for power is dunamis and means dynamite. Shaking things up is what dynamite does! Dunamis is resurrection power.


There is no place for powerless Christianity. How do we know? THE RESURRECTION!!!


There is an empty tomb in Jerusalem where Jesus once laid for three days. But on the third day, just as the Lord said He would, Jesus rose in power and glory to never die again. The Living Savior walked out of that tomb and walks into our hearts when we receive Him by faith!


As a resurrection person with resurrection power through Jesus Christ:

• I am powerful, not powerless!
• I am whole, not broken!
• I am victorious, not a victim!
• I am above, not beneath!
• I am the head, not the tail!
• I am unbeatable, undefeatable!
• I am a winner, never a loser!
• I am headed for heaven, not hell!
• I am not dead but alive forevermore in Christ!

*******How about a loud shout of praise and thanksgiving for resurrection power to live triumphantly and joyfully for the Lord and the Kingdom of God?


My brothers and sisters in Christ, live your life with vibrant, confident faith in the power of the resurrected person of Jesus Christ.


“That I may know Him and the POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION, and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death, that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”                                   Philippians 3:10-11


“And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33


A Word For Your Week: Be a resurrection person by tapping daily into Christ’s resurrection power!

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.


Boldly and joyfully, the Bible declares God’s Son is alive! And so are the sons and daughters of God!


“He is not here; for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying” (Matthew 28:6) The angel’s out-of-this-world, early morning announcement to the despairing disciples on that first Easter morning changed forever the lives of Christ’s fearful, feeble followers.


Paralyzing fear gave way to potent faith. Believing in Christ’s resurrection, the disciples were transformed into resurrection people. Previously powerless, Christ’s followers became spiritually powerful. Through Jesus’ mighty resurrection power, they turned their world upside down and right side up (Acts 17:6).


The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:10-11 “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”   Philippians 3:10-11


Paul longed to know Jesus and “the power of His resurrection”! Paul’s supreme desire was to personally experience the person of Christ (“that I may know Him”) and to live his life with His resurrection power. Paul’s ultimate spiritual goal was to be raised from the dead himself (“attain to the resurrection from the dead”).
    
While journeying on this earth, fighting the good fight of faith, the apostle’s heart cry was to endure and overcome suffering for Christ (“the fellowship of His suffering’) and conquer the power of death (“being conformed to His death”) through the resurrection power of Jesus.


Personally knowing God. Daily experiencing His resurrection power. Overcoming suffering and conquering death. That a prescription for victorious Christian living!


Paul hit the proverbial nail on the head: Christlikeness and Christian living is all about Christ’s resurrection power in us. What a way to live…the only way to live the Christian life!


Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead provides power for the powerless…. hope for the hopeless…. help for the helpless…. and abundant, eternal life for the lifeless. THE RESURRECTION IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH.


Without resurrection, death rules and reigns. Resurrection destroys the power of death…. and life reigns!


How about you? What does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to you? Are you living your life according to the power of His resurrection? Do you experience spiritual power on a daily basis? Does resurrection power empower you to overcome life’s difficulties and live a victorious Christian life?


Christians are resurrection people with resurrection power for resurrection living!
    
Here are some thoughts worth meditating upon regarding Christ’s resurrection power.

• Resurrection power is a by-product of a personal relationship with Christ. Christians are powerless without resurrection power.
• The Holy Spirit fills us with is Jesus’ resurrection power (Acts 1:8).
• Resurrection power provides power for effective witnessing to Christ’s resurrection (Acts 4:33).
• Resurrection power empowers believers to rise above and triumph over life’s trials.
• Resurrection power is the power the world is looking for.
• Resurrection people’s lives attract lost people to the resurrected Christ.
• Resurrection power provides power for victorious Christian living.
• Resurrection power is the power that will propel God’s people to heaven!

Considering the above truths, how can we possibly live powerless lives when the power of Christ’s resurrection is available to us every day?


Think about it. If I am walking through life without power, what does that say about my faith in the One who provides all the power I need to overcome through His resurrection from the dead?


Fellow Christian, we are alive in Christ! You and I are powerful persons. Filled and empowered with resurrection power! His power! Formidable, life-changing spiritual power for overcoming life’s trials and witnessing successfully for Him.


Resurrection people should live productive, powerful lives, not pitiful, powerless ones.    


Away then with powerless lives and non-productive living! Do not be pushed around by life. Never allow thoughts of despair, defeat, disaster, destruction or death to trouble you. YOU ARE ALIVE IN CHRIST AND HAVE POWER OVER DEATH!
    
So boldly lay hold of Christ’s resurrection power…. and His power will lay hold of you. Settle for nothing less than a powerful, productive life in Christ that is powered by His resurrection. Rise up today in resurrection power as a resurrection person and bring resurrection life to people who need the Lord.


Glory to God for Christ’s resurrection power!
    
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”                                          Romans 8:11


“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”                            I Peter 1:3


A Word For Your Week: Live your life with resurrection power.

“It is finished.”
God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, uttered these three last words as He voluntarily and sacrificially died on the Cross (John 19:30).
We humans tend to pay attention to and give homage to people’s last words.
We memorialize and even immortalize “famous” final words. As Christians, I believe you and I should humbly, reverently, thankfully and joyfully acknowledge the last words of Jesus which are the greatest last words of all time.
This week set apart some time to read the account of Christ’s crucifixion in all four Gospels (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19). Meditate upon the narrative of Jesus’ last moments. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew within you a fresh understanding of what really happened when the Lord declared “It is finished.”
“It is finished” meant mission accomplished. Jesus, committed to do His Father’s will, came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). That’s you, me and all who choose to believe in Him.
What was finished? Salvation. Atonement. Redemption. Forgiveness for our sins. A reconciled, restored relationship with our Father in heaven.
What happened that memorable day on the Cross on a mount named Golgotha (Place of the Skull) in a singular moment changed human history for time and eternity.
As Jesus suffered on the Cross, being in unimaginable spiritual, physical, mental and emotional agony, His wounds pouring out His precious life blood, the boisterous, devil inspired, disrespectful, irreverent crowd at Calvary, led by the religious hypocrites, trash-talked, taunted and mocked Jesus.
If you are the Son of God come down off the cross. Look, He saved others, but cannot save Himself. The spiteful, hateful, heart-piercing words of deceived, spiritually lost men and women only drove the cold metal spikes further into His wounds.
The Lord’s response to the abuse: “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Forgiveness based on God’s love was the suffering Savior’s offer to those who hated Him.
 My friends, there is power in the Cross of Christ. The power of God’s love. The power of hope. The power of forgiveness. The power of salvation. The power of restoration. The power of a new beginning. The power of death to life!!!
The Apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 2:2-5 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
Paul’s ministry was founded upon the central themes of the Cross of Christ and the Lord’s resurrection. In the Cross, Paul saw the power of God unto salvation. Paul was faithful to preach Christ and Him crucified in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus humbled Himself to the death of the Cross (Philippians 2:8). The Lord endured the Cross, despising the shame (Hebrews 12:2). Why? So you and I could be saved. His death in our place made it possible for us to be forgiven and restored to the Father.
That is power!!!! Pure power from the throne of Almighty God!
What do you think about and how do you feel when you consider the Cross of Christ? I know how I feel. I am deeply moved with a mixture of overwhelming sadness and soul-wrenching heartache for my tortured, brutally beaten, abused, bleeding, beloved Savior and a deep, inexpressible well of undeserved gratitude for His sacrifice for a sinner like me.
Where would I be if Jesus had not stayed on that Cross? I would still be spiritually lost, dead in my sins, headed for hell, not heaven. I would not know the power, freedom, peace and joy of the unconditional love of my heavenly Father.
The hymn says it well.
“I will praise Him, I will praise Him, praise the Lamb for sinners slain,
Give Him glory all you people, for His blood has washed away my stains.”  
Lord Jesus, my precious Savior, thank You for shedding your holy blood on the Cross for Steve Roll.
As we prepare to celebrate the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, remember there is no resurrection unless there is a death first. Jesus died so you and I could be forgiven and have eternal life.
He sealed salvations’ deal when He rose from the dead! THE CROSS AND AN EMPTY TOMB IS GOD’S WAY OF SAYING I LOVE YOU!
Because He died and lives, we live!
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:13
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greeks.” Romans 1:6
 A Word For Your Week: Glory to God! “It is finished”!
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