Freedom From Sin's Grasp!

The book of Romans, chapter six, deals with sanctification – the change God makes in our lives as we grow in the faith. The Bible makes it clear that we are saved by grace (Romans 10: 8-10) and that once we have repented from our sins and accepted our Lord Jesus as being our Savior, we are “guaranteed” or “sealed” by the Holy Spirit to have a place in heaven (1 John 5:11-13; 2 Corinthians 5:1-11).
It is interesting to see that even the Apostle Paul was criticized by "religious leaders" for his theological belief (eternal security) that once a person turned their life over to the Lord Jesus and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, they were saved and nothing, and I mean NOTHING, could take the love of God from them (Romans 8:38-39).

Let us look into what the Word of God has to say about the freedom of liberty that each of us have in Christ when we come to know Him as our Savior and Lord.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? “ (Romans 6:1-2)

We, as believers are free from sin’s control. Since sin in a way makes grace more abundant (Romans 5:20, 21) why not continue in sin? This is certainly a possible conclusion, though a wrong one, from the teaching about grace in chapter 5. Apparently the Apostle Paul had been accused of teaching this false doctrine, called antinomianism, so to silence his accusers, the Apostle Paul shows in this chapter that a believer who continues in sin would be denying their own identity in Christ.

But you might say also, that if God loves to forgive, why not give him more to forgive? If forgiveness is guaranteed, do we have the freedom to sin as much as we want? The Apostle Paul’s forceful answer is “By no means!” The Greek expresses a response of shock, that has even been translated “God forbid!”

The thought of a believer living in sin in order to take advantage of grace was abhorrent to the Apostle Paul. The reason believers should not live in sin is that they have died to sin, as is explained in verses 3 and 4. Such an attitude – deciding ahead of time to take advantage of God – shows that a person does not understand the seriousness of sin.

God’s forgiveness does not make sin less serious; His son’s death for sin shows us the dreadful seriousness of sin. Jesus paid with His life so we could be forgiven. The availability of God’s mercy must not become an excuse for careless living and moral laxness.

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)

In the church of the Apostle Paul’s day, immersion was the usual form of baptism – that is, new Christians were completely “buried” in water. They understood this form of baptism to symbolize the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming up out of the water symbolized resurrection to new life with Christ.

If we think of our old sinful life as dead and buried, we have a powerful motive to resist sin. We can consciously choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus.

When a person trusts Christ, they are incorporated into and united to, Jesus Christ, which includes being united to His death. Jesus’ death becomes our death. Christian baptism makes these spiritual realities vivid.

“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,” (Romans 6:5)

As believers, we can enjoy our new life in Christ because we are united with Him in His death and resurrection. Our evil desires, our bondage to sin, and our love of sin died with Him. Now, united by faith with Him in His resurrection life, we have unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin’s hold on us. Having died and having been raised with Christ, the believer should live a new kind of life.

Word Focus: “united together”
(Gk. sumphutos) (6:5) G4854: The expression, which occurs only here in the New Testament, means “to grow in union” or “to plant in union.” The word describes two plants that have been planted together and are growing together, closely entwined or even united. The context speaks of union, our union with Christ in His death (6:4) and resurrection (6:5). Our union with Christ in death is like being planted with Him. Like a seed, our sinful natures must die with Christ so that we might grow in Christ and bear spiritual fruit (John 12:24). Our union with Christ is now a loving union, in which we are growing with Him “in the likeness of His resurrection.”

“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7)

The power and penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. Our “old self”, our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power. The “body of sin” is not the human body, but our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though our body willingly cooperates with our sinful nature, we must not regard the body as evil. It is the sin in us that is evil. And it is this power of sin at work in our body that is defeated.

The Apostle Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, “not guilty” before God. Here the Apostle Paul emphasizes that we need no longer live under sin’s power. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots – we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ.

We, as believers, are “freed from sin”. The word “freed” used here translates the Greek word for “justification”, which is a legal term. The idea is that the believer no longer has any obligation to sin.

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” (Romans 6:8-10)

Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, his followers need never fear death. That assurance frees us to enjoy fellowship with him and to do his will. This will affect all our activities – work and worship, play, Bible study, quiet times, and times of caring for others. When you know that you don’t have to fear death, you will experience a new vigor in life.

Jesus died for our sins and He did it “once and for all.” Jesus is now alive at the right hand of God. Since we, as believers, have been joined to Christ and to His death and resurrection, we can now believe that we too are alive to God.

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:11-13)

When we see the phrase, “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin”, this means that we should regard our old sinful nature as dead and unresponsive to sin. Because of our union and identification with Christ, we are no longer obligated to carry out those old motives, desires, and goals. So let us consider ourselves to be what God has in fact made us. We have a new start, and the Holy Spirit will help us become, in our daily experience, what Christ has declared us to be.

Though believers in Christ have died to sin, sin is still a problem. The sin nature is still present and can express itself through the mortal body, the body that is subject to death. The difference is that sin has no right to reign. Thus, the Apostle Paul admonishes the believer not to obey it.

Verse 12 has the whole body in view; Whereas verse 13 focuses on the individual parts of the body such as the hands or mouth. Believers are not to present the parts of their bodies as a means of sinning. Simply put: Do not use your hands to steal or your tongue to lie. Rather believers should present themselves to God and the parts of their bodies as instruments of righteousness.

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? “Certainly not!” (Romans 6:14-15)

If we, as Believers in Christ are no longer under the law but under grace, are we now free to sin and disregard the Ten Commandments? The Apostle Paul says, “Certainly not!” When we were under the law, sin was our master – the law does not justify us or help us overcome sin. But now that we are bond to Christ, He is our Master, and He gives us power to do good rather than evil.

The Mosaic system consisted of external laws which revealed the sin prevalent in human hearts. In contrast, God’s grace places the believer in Christ, and the Holy Spirit in the believer. Therefore a Christian does not have to sin, they can resist temptation and do what is right (2 Cor. 3:15–18).

References: NKJV Bible; Nelson Study Bible, and the Life Application Bible (NIV).

Let's Work Together Folks!

Sometimes as Christians we need to say, “Enough is enough!” when it comes to the Word of God and someone attempting to tell us what we should “believe in”. I have always felt that being a Believer, with the Holy Spirit (Spirit of Truth) dwelling within me that I did not need someone to “interpret” what God was saying to me when I read the Holy Bible.

It is true that sometimes as “babies” in Christ, we need the wisdom of a mature Christian to guide us along and help us understand what the Word of God may be saying too us, but this is done through prayer and Christian Love.

Now I fully understand that, as human beings, we will never agree on all of the Christian Doctrines that make up all of the denominations of the world. That is why there so many different denominational churches out there.

I ran a check on the internet which provided a comprehensive overview of the diversity among denominations of Christianity. Would you believe that there are reported to be approximately 38,000 Christian denominations? Now do you see why so many people that are “lost souls” get so confused about what church to join, or what it takes for them to go to heaven. Note: Between denominations, theologians, and comparative religionists there are considerable disagreements about which groups can be properly called Christian, disagreements arising primarily from doctrinal differences between the groups.

I have surfed several hundred Christian Blogs over the past six months now and generally I see that their authors show genuine Christian love and concern for the “lost souls” of this world. Every one of us who operates a Christian Blog has this deep and affectionate love for our Lord Jesus Christ and we want to share that love with other people or otherwise we would not be blogging.

I truly believe that God has inspired each of us to go out (Using the internet) and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to tell everyone how they can have that intimate and personal relationship that we, as believers, have in our Lord.

This is why I think it is important not to “trash” or call other bloggers for Christ “False Teachers” or past judgment on their denominational church just because “they” don’t agree with your way of thinking regarding a church ordinance or what day of the week one should worship our Holy and Awesome God.

Starting today, I will not let the devil tempt me into believing that in order to win souls for Jesus, I need to “trash” or “cut-down” another Believer in Christ.

Father God, it is my prayer that I do not past judgment on any other Christian Blogger who may have a different point of view regarding church ordinances and church traditions. Lord just lead me to be a blessing to anyone who reads my blog. I continue to pray for discernment and the wisdom necessary to tell people about Jesus. Father God, continue to search my heart and soul for anything that would be stumbling blocks for anyone to come to you Lord. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nick Vujicic (In Christ Alone)

Sometimes we forget to count all of our blessings that God has given us and we start to feel sorry for ourselves and slip into a "pity party". Please watch the below video of Nick Vujicic who has such a wonderful testimony and strong faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed Assurance -- Jesus Is Mine!

I just returned home from a visit with one of my hospice clients by the name of John. When I arrived, I noticed John was in his bed with his oxygen hooked up to him. It had been a week since I saw John, and I could tell that he was getting weaker and that it would not be to many more days until he died.

I asked John, "What do you want to do today?" John told me that he really couldn't do much. I suggested that we could set and talk. John started asking me questions about death and heaven. John had told me in recent visits that he was a member of a small Christian church so I knew that at least he knew about Jesus.

I asked John if he knew for sure that he would go to heaven when he died. John told me that he hoped he would. Then John said, "Do you think He (God) will take me?" I asked John if he had ever accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. John replied, "Yes." I then explained to John that at the time he repented of his sins and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit entered him, and that was his assurance that he would have a place in heaven when he died.

For the remainder of our visit John and I talked about heaven and the joy we will have being reunited with loved ones that had gone before us. Before taking off, John asked me if I would pray with him. We prayed and thanked God for His promise of salvation and for Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

I told John that if I wasn't able to see him next week, that I would see him again in heaven.

UPDATE: On Thursday, April 22nd, 2010, John went Home to be with the Lord.

Will You Spend Eternity With God?

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. (2 Corinthians 5:1-3)

Notice that the Apostle Paul contrasts our earthly bodies (“earthy house”) and our future resurrection bodies (“a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”) so we KNOW that we will be clothed in our heavenly bodies when Jesus returns.

Paul clearly states that our present bodies make us groan, but when we die we will not be spirits without bodies (“be found naked”). Suffering makes believers long for their glorious future in heaven (Romans 8:22-23). We will have new bodies that will be perfect for our everlasting life. Like Paul, we look forward not only to our resurrected body but also to the reward we will receive in the future.

For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:4-5)

The believer’s future experience is called life, meaning the full experience of eternal life in Christ. The life experience of the future is being determined by how we invest this life today. The Holy Spirit’s work in believers’ lives can be compared to a deposit or down payment. The presence of the Holy Spirit assures believers that God has purchased them. It is a GUARANTEE that our Lord has prepared a place for us. We are no longer slaves to sin, but His children. We WILL receive all the rights and privileges of children of God when our Savior returns or when we die, which ever comes first.

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

Because the believer has God’s guarantee (v. 5), we can be confident, a word that means “to be of good cheer” or “to be of courage.” Sight means “appearance.” Christ is not physically present, so believers live by faith (John 20:29). After the parenthetical thought of v. 7, Paul resumes where he left off in v. 6. He was not only confident (v. 6) that he was going to be with the Lord, he was pleased that he would be with the Lord after his death.

This is one of the passages in the New Testament that indicates where believers will go immediately after their death; they will be with Jesus in heaven (Phil. 1:23). Jesus’ promise to the repentant criminal on the cross next to Him indicates this: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. (2 Corinthians 5:9-11)

Wanting to be with Christ (v. 8) produces the ambition to please Him (Luke 19:17). We strive to please the Lord not only because we know we will be with Him (v. 8) but also because He will evaluate our work—whether good or bad—and reward us accordingly.

The person unconcerned about doing good deeds shows a grave lack of vision. Appear means “to make visible” or “to make known.” Here it may refer to nothing more than an appearance, such as appearing in court before a judge. Or it may mean believers will stand before the Lord with their true character revealed. Receive means “to receive back,” “to get an equivalent,” or “to get one’s due.” The believer will be either approved or ashamed (2 Cor 5:3; Luke 19:11–26; 1 Cor. 3:14, 15; 9:27; 1 John 2:28; 2 John 7, 8). This truth should dramatically change the way we live, for our actions will be evaluated by our Master.

Only believers will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. The “great white throne” judgment described in Rev. 20:11–15 is for unbelievers. At His judgment seat, Jesus will determine a believer’s faithfulness to Him and reward each person appropriately (1 Cor. 3:11–15). This will not be a determination of one’s eternal destiny; that issue is decided the moment a person believes in Christ.

Knowing that in the future we will stand before Jesus Christ and face a review of our lives should motivate us to live righteously and faithfully in the present. How can we prepare for our eternal “audit”? Walk by faith not by sight (5:7). Develop a longing for heaven (5:8). Make it our chief aim in life to please the Lord (5:9). Keep the judgment seat of Christ in view (5:10).

Therefore indicates that this verse is a conclusion drawn from the previous one. The terror of the Lord is the fear of standing before the Lord and having one’s life exposed and evaluated. The reality of giving an account to the Lord motivated Paul to persuade people, in this context meaning to convince the Corinthians of his sincerity and integrity.

After studying and meditating on the above scriptures, can you now answer the question: Will You Spend Eternity With God? I can answer this by saying, YES, I will spend eternity with my Lord and Savior when I die.

Note: Some of the above information was taken out of the Nelson Bible Study.

I Love You Lord!

I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2)

The above psalm is one of the Passover psalms (Ps. 113-118) that was most likely recited by Jesus on the night of His arrest as He was celebrating Passover with His disciples (Luke 22:15).

The author of this psalm is unknown; however it reflects the psalmist’s love for the Lord. The wording of "I love the Lord" in Hebrew suggests deep excitement and emotion. He has inclined His ear to me: As in psalm 40:1, these words speak of the love of God: He bends from His place of glory to meet the needs of His people.

My wife and I just returned home from a wonderful and lovely three days camping trip on the Oregon coast. While walking along the sandy beach and looking out at all of God’s beautiful creation, I began to think of the love I have for our Lord.

It is so amazing that our loving and Holy God would even think about a sinner like me, but He heard my voice when I pleaded for mercy and forgiveness. God heard my voice when I accepted His Son, Jesus into my life as my Savior and Lord. God heard my supplications because He inclined His ear just for me, a sinner, who humbled himself before the Almighty. I will forever call upon the Lord my God as long as I shall live.

Like the lyrics to this old Christian hymnal: Thank you Lord for saving my soul. Thank you Lord for making me whole. Thank you Lord for giving to me, my great Salvation so rich and free. Amen.

Is Your Heart Troubled Today?

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."(John 14:1-3)

With all of the conflict and problems that are going on in this world today, how do we control our own personal anxiety? Our Lord Jesus was the Master of being able to bring comfort and peace to the troubled soul. Just prior to Jesus crucifixion, He began to comfort His disciples after telling them that He would be going away for awhile. Jesus was referring to His death and resurrection, but His disciples still did not fully understand what was going on.

Jesus made this promise to His disciples that He would be preparing a place for them in heaven and that He would come back for them and take them home with Him. Jesus made this promise to everyone who puts their total belief in Him as their Lord and Savior. This belief goes beyond just knowing who Jesus is! We must also have an intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior by giving 100% of our heart, soul, mind and life to Him.

When we surrender everything to Jesus, then we can have the peace, joy, and comfort of knowing that He will someday return and take us home with Him. We, as believers, no longer have to fear death because it has no sting… For we know that when we are absent from this body, we will be present with our Lord.

Ricky Martin Reveals He's Gay

Well folks, here we go again with another Hollywood celebrity going public about being gay. After years of sidestepping questions about his sexual orientation, singer Ricky Martin reveals in a heartfelt posting online that he is gay.

It just saddens my heart to think of the millions of fans that idolizes Ricky Martin that may be influenced to adopt his homosexual lifestyle as their own. In a statement posted in both Spanish and English, Martin said: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am."

It is interesting how these Hollywood celebrities throw around the word "Blessed" when describing their sinful lifestyles. Now the word bless or blessed (adj) means Worthy of worship; Holy; Held in veneration; Revered. My question is this: Is Ricky Martin really blessed? Does our Holy God bless a person who willfully engages in sin and does not repent?

If you would like to read the whole story regarding Ricky Martin coming out of the closet, just click on the title.

Footprints

This morning while I was meditating on God's Word, I began to think back on all of the times in my life that my Lord and Savior helped me through some most difficult days. I began to think of the words in the poem "Footprints", where God had never abandoned His child, but was in fact carrying him when he was in his darkest hours.

Today is my son Jim's birthday. Even though it has been over six years now that Jim took his own life, today it seems like it was just yesterday.

Father God, there are so many blessings that you have given to me over the years. I thank you daily Lord that before Jim died he accepted You as his Savior and Lord. Heavenly Father, I thank you for carrying me through those rough years of my life. I thank you Lord for giving me the peace, joy and happiness that only an intimate relationship with You can bring. Love, Your child, Lloyd

Hypothetical Story – Serious Question!

Once about a time there was a really nice, middle aged couple, by the name of June and Leroy Smith who lived in the small town of Yorkville, Minnesota. Now June and Leroy had worked hard all their lives and did volunteer work for the Boy Scouts of America and for the local VFW post. They both had high moral values and were considered very prominent in the community.

One day, while June was out in her yard weeding her flower beds, her neighbor walked over and started talking to her about Jesus. Now, at first June was a little apprehensive and didn’t really feel comfortable talking about “religious things” with someone she hardly knew. June’s neighbor asked her if she was going to one of the local churches in town. June told her that she and her husband never got around to joining any church because they had been so busy with other things. Now this neighbor began to witness for Jesus and even invited June and her husband Leroy to their church on Sunday. June was sort of excited because she always believed that there was a God, and she had heard stories about Jesus when she was a child. June told her neighbor that no one had ever invited them to church before, and that she would talk to her husband about it.

That evening, June mentioned to Leroy about their neighbor coming over and talking to her about Jesus. Leroy told June that for a long time he had felt that there was something missing in his life, that even though he had everything he wanted, there was still this feeling inside him of emptiness that he couldn’t explain. Leroy told June that maybe they should show up at the neighbor’s church on Sunday and sort of “check it out”.

On Sunday, June and Leroy showed up at the neighbors church early. The neighbor greeted them and was so excited that they had decided to come. June and Leroy were introduced to the pastor and the entire congregation. Both June and Leroy felt so much at home with this church, the people were so nice and friendly and they seemed to be genuinely concerned for them.

After the morning service was over, June and Leroy could not wait to talk with the pastor about finding out how they could become “believers” and join the church. The pastor explained to both June and Leroy that they would have to make a profession of faith in Jesus, repent of their sins, and then they would need to be baptized by being immersed in water. The pastor went on to tell June and Leroy that the Bible tells us that we are to remain faithful to the Lord up to the point of death.

Both June and Leroy were so excited and full of joy as the pastor explained to them what they needed to do so they too could become “believers” and have a place in Heaven when they died. Leroy asked the pastor if there were any reasons why he and June could not make a profession of faith now and be baptized. The pastor explained to June and Leroy that they could make a profession of faith, but the baptism would have to wait until next Sunday. That seemed fine to June and Leroy because they were so excited about coming to Jesus, that waiting only one more week for baptism would not matter.

At that moment, both Leroy and June reached out to God and prayed, asking God to forgive them of their sins and to have Jesus come into their lives. Leroy and June openly prayed before the pastor that they believed that Jesus was the Son of God and that He died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day. The pastor continued to pray with June and Leroy who opened up their souls and accepted Jesus into their lives as their Savior and Lord . There was so much joy and excitement as other members of the church stood by and watched . The pastor told June and Leroy that he would schedule them both for their baptism the next Sunday morning.

Now, as the story goes, Leroy was involved in a serious traffic accident which left him in a coma at the local hospital, before he was able to be baptized the coming Sunday. June was so devastated and asked the pastor if this would affect Leroy’s salvation if he should die. Well, Leroy did die and this left June with a very heavy burden caused by the death of her husband and also a very serious question that she needed answered regarding Leroy’s salvation.

The Questions are:

1) Is Leroy in Heaven because of his profession of faith in Jesus?

OR

2) Is Leroy eternally separated from God because he was not baptized?

Now before answering one of the above questions for June, please pray that our Lord will give you the wisdom needed and the Holy Spirit will lead you to know what to say to her.

Whatever answer you believe that the Holy Spirit is leading you to choose, please support it by what the Word of God says in scripture and remember that there is only one “true” answer. God is not the author of confusion and He does not contradict Himself.

He has Risen! He has Risen Indeed!

It was an early Sunday morning, after Jesus’ death, when a sad group of women made their way to His tomb. It hadn’t been that long ago when they watched in horror as their Savior, the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, had been brutally beaten and then crucified. Oh, how their hearts must have been heavy with disappointment, grief and sorrow. But soon their disappointment, grief and sorrow would turn to excitement and joy when they discover that Jesus had risen from the grave and that He was ALIVE!

As Christians today, we must remember that God kept every one of His promises and prophesies regarding the Messiah. For example, Jesus died on the cross before the soldiers decided the break the legs of those being crucified (Ex. 12:46; Ps. 34:20). The Roman soldiers pierced His side with a spear to be certain that He was dead (Isa. 53:5). Jesus was then buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isa. 53:9).

Let’s look into what the Word of God has to say about what took place over 2000 years ago, on that early Sunday morning, when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ conquered death.

Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. (John 20:1-18)

Father God, I thank you daily for my free gift of Salvation. I thank You Lord Jesus for thinking of me personally when You went to the Cross. Thank You Lord Jesus for taking the beating and the nails driven into Your hands and feet that were meet for me. Thank You Lord Jesus for all that You do in my life. You are my Lord of Lords, King of Kings, my Salvation.