Every Christian knows Jesus died for us (well at least they'd better know!). Its drilled into us who grew up in Christian homes, we get it from church, we hear it in songs. Its one of those facts that at least everyone knows even if they don't believe it. Its what we tell all unbelievers, that Jesus died on the cross for them. We can even be dramatic about it: "Jesus died on the cross for YOU!"

And you know what, that's AWESOME that Jesus died about it! We've been granted an eternal home in heaven with Him someday!!!

Hebrews 9:15
And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.


But you know what, sometimes, we tend to leave it at that. Jesus died for us!!! WOOT! We're saved!!! ..... But what about the fact that He rose again? Sometimes we get so zeroed in on Christ's death that we forgot that His resurrection was just as significant. I can't tell you how many sermon's I've heard on Jesus and His death on the Cross, but very little on the amazing importance of the fact that He rose again.

A lot of people won't just leave it at His death, they will mention that "Jesus died and rose again, and now we're saved". But that's too vague for me. We already covered what the result of His death is: eternal life in Heaven. But what is the result of His resurrection? It is ABUNDANT life here on earth.

John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Jesus died amen! And we have died with Christ. But we are not dead, because Christ rose again and we live through Him now! If you're anything like me, life STINKS. And I catch myself being so depressed and feeling so hurt. But then I realize I'm acting like Christ is dead! I DO NOT serve a DEAD God. I serve a LIVING God. Let me tell you something: dead gods can do nothing. But a living powerful God can do everything.

Jeremiah 10:10
But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

Matthew 16:16
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God

Matthew 22:32
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Luke 20:38
For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

John 6:57
As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me

And if Christ lives, we also live with Him.

Romans 9:26
And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,‘ You are not My people,’There they shall be called sons of the living God.

2 Timothy 2:11
This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.

Romans 6:8
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him

Romans 14:9
For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Jesus died not only so that we could live eternally with Him, but He rose again so that we could have a new life here on earth. An ABUNDANT life.

I heard someone illustrate it best this way:

A kid goes to Disneyland. His ticket is paid for and he's inside the gates. But he just stays at the gates watching all the people have fun inside and going on all the rides.
Then Walt Disney comes along and says "hey son, are you having fun?"
The boy says "no sir"
Walt says "Why not? What rides have you gone on?"
"None sir"
"What?!! Listen son, I made this wonderful place for you! Your ticket's been paid and you're inside. Come with me and I'll take you through the park, and you'll enjoy it!"

Its the same way for us in life. We got access to heaven, our ticket's been paid and we're standing in a new life, but we're just standing at the gates watching other believers with the joy of Christ and the abundant life that they are leading and we're saying "this isn't as fun as I thought it would be".

Do you ever feel like that? You accepted Christ and you're saved, and when you accepted Christ you thought life would be so much better, but now you're sitting thinking, "This sucks, this isn't what I thought it would be at all". You know what, life is always going to be hard and I can guarantee you its never going to be easy. But life is NOT supposed to suck! And if you feel like that right now, you're not experiencing the abundant life Christ is giving us.

If that is what you are going through right now get on your knees and pray, and ask God to make you alive as much as He is today.

Acts 28:1-6
When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta.
The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.
But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.
When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, "Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live."
However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.
But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.


I am a high-stress person! If you're anything like me when something goes wrong I totally freak out!!! I'm all drama, a big drama queen! Even when I was little if I got an eensy weensy cut or saw a bit of blood I'd act like my life was over. I screamed bloody-murder when I got my first bee sting. The same seems to work in my spiritual life, something in life seems to go wrong and immediately I'm on full-alert, stressing out because things aren't going right from my control-freak perspective. I've worn myself out physically and spiritually from this.


That's why I've always loved this passage in Acts about Paul. He was shipwrecked on this strange island and as if things weren't worse enough, this big viper latches onto his arm! Now I don't know about you, but if that were me I'd be screaming loud enough to vibrate Stonehenge! I'd faint, or run, make a last will, mutter about seeing a pretty white light ... I think you get the idea! But in Acts it says that Paul "shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm".


Have you ever wanted to just shrug something off? Well here's a biblical example of someone who did! Paul was just like "oh dude, there's like this reptile biting me, whatever" *casually knocks it off into the fire* *goes back to gathering sticks* It even tells us he suffered no harm! Why? Because Paul trusted God, he knew that the Lord was taking care of him, He saved him from the storm, and Paul had no doubts that the Lord would save Him there too. He knew he was called to Rome, and to Rome he would go! Nothing was standing in his way.


I WANT TO BE LIKE THAT!!! Let me ask you, today are you shipwrecked? Does it seem like you were called to go someplace but then a storm comes along and dumps you on some weird island with smelly natives? Is there a viper hanging from your arm? Satan, the snake of old, is gonna come out and he's gonna latch onto you, and try to hinder your call. Are you trusting the Lord? Are you able to just shake Satan off and continue on, trusting the Lord, that He will do all that He has said He will do?