The 12 Days of Easter: Day 11, Everlasting Life

Easter 6

Day 11: Everlasting Life

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. Romans 6:22

everlasting [ev-er-las-ting, –lah-sting]

adjective

1. lasting forever; eternal

2. incessant; constantly recurring

3. lasting or continuing for an indefinitely long time

Antonyms
1. transitory.

Everlasting life. Ever lasting life.

When I was a much younger Christian, I was very afraid of death. It kept me awake at night, tossing, turning, and wondering about the great unknown that would one day separate me from everything I had ever known.

Life after death seemed to be death after life. Everlasting, never ending death. I did not understand this life is only a shadow of everlasting life; silhouette on black and white,  a cardboard cut-out,  a distant echo of a beautiful melody.

Like a baby carefully cradled in the womb of his mother; life on earth is life in the shadow-lands. Until one day … we are born (again) into a new world of light, color, possibilities, and opportunities, and placed in the arms of our Father. Forever. Forever-lasting life. Everlasting life.

Death, where is thy sting?

Point to Ponder:

Please fill in the blanks below ( I did the first two to get us started).

In Jesus I have:

everlasting  joy,  everlasting love, everlasting ___________, everlasting ____________

everlasting _____________, everlasting ____________, everlasting ____________

Prayer:

Dearest Heavenly Father,

We thank you for the gift of everlasting life; a life that never ends in death.  We can live forever in Your Presence when we accept Jesus death on the cross as payment for our sins. One day we shall see Him as He is, and every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Please help us to remember that in Jesus, for every Good Friday, there is an Easter Sunday. One day we will rise to everlasting life, and live with You forever and ever.

In Jesus Holy Name,

Amen

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Rev. 21:4

This Easter, please accept the gift of everlasting life. Please click on the links below to learn how to enter into everlasting life.

Ever Lasting Life (article)

The Way To God (video)


 
everlasting. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/everlasting (accessed: March 08, 2015).


The 12 Days of Easter: Day 9, Bread of Life

Easter 6

Day 9: Bread of Life

 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

bread [bred]

noun
1. a kind of food made of flour or meal that has been mixed with milk or water, made into a dough or   batter, with or without yeast or other leavening agent, and baked.
2. food or sustenance; livelihood:
3. Ecclesiastical. the wafer or bread used in a Eucharistic service
4. necessary food; nourishment: give us our daily bread
Bread. Lehem, in Hebrew; artos, in Greek. For the ancient Hebrew and Greek, bread was the mainstay of every meal.  Mid-westerners like bread too, especially during the bitter cold of winter. After shoveling a foot of snow from a long drive, there’s nothing so comforting as hot soup and warm bread.
In the verse above, Jesus reveals He is the Bread of Life. Why did He call Himself this unusual title? Please read John 6:4-11. What amazing event had just occurred?  When Philip had admitted their inability to provide even a bite of bread, Jesus, the Bread of Life, born in Beth lehem (the house of Bread), freely provides bread for the 5,000.  Not just a bite, John 6:11 says, Jesus provided, “as much as they wanted.”
Jesus is the Bread. We are the hungry. We can have as much as we want. This Easter, what are you hungry for … love … purpose …  respect … righteousness … peace? Whatever your hunger, Jesus is the Bread of Life. He calls us to come, eat, and be filled and to taste and see that the Lord is good.
Point to ponder:
Concerning the Bread of Life, where do I fall on the scale below?
1                         2                         3                         4                          5
famished                snacking           breakfast, lunch, dinner     3 square meals + dessert     feasting!
Prayer
Dearest Father,
This Easter, we come to you hungry. You are the Bread of Life; the only One who can fill us. Just as You rained down bread from heaven for your people to gather each morning in the desert, You rain down bread for us. May we come each morning to gather our Bread of Life, fresh from your Word.  Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
In Jesus Holy Name,
Amen.

bread. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bread (accessed: March 08, 2015).