Author: S.M. Wibberley

Jesus had been looking forward to the first Easter morning, this day we are celebrating, for a long time. He was looking forward to it in Isaiah’s time, 700 years before He was born. And in David’s time, 1000 years before. And in Moses time, 1400 years before. And in Abraham’s time, 1800 years before. In fact, Jesus had been looking forward to this morning since before the foundations of the world were laid, before any person had been created.

As God, Jesus knew that people would sin, how the creation would be twisted, how there would be the need for a Savior. And He was willing to be that Savior.   He was willing to suffer in many ways so that we might be rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of light.  Let’s remind ourselves of some of the ways Jesus led Himself through suffering to redeem us.

Jesus as God was present everywhere in the universe all the time, but he was willing to be confined to a body.

He who lived outside of time was willing to be limited  to the present minute.

He who lived in pure and beautiful perfection of Heaven was willing to live in a world with lice and fleas, where people rarely bathed, smelled bad and were hungry, sick and many demon possessed.

He who is sinless and righteous was willing to live amongst rebellious, evil, godless and destructive people—people naturally just like me and you.

He who had the power to speak stars into existence and the right to judge all creation perfectly, was willing to submit himself to the attacks of unjust, selfish and cruel men.

He who was holy, was willing to become sin and be crushed under the wrath of God to pay the debt for all his enemies.

He who was without fault was willing to put himself under the curse of Adam.

And most powerfully and painfully, He who had enjoyed the perfect fellowship and community of the Trinity, was willing to have that relationship ripped apart.  When Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” the sinless Father and Holy Spirit had turned away from the Son who had become sin.  Jesus was left completely and utterly alone.

This tearing of the fabric of the Trinity was, I believe, the most painful part of all the suffering that Christ endured. Since God is love Himself, this relationship of love among the Trinity was the essence of His being, and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all willing to have that destroyed for a time to save their enemies.

Jesus had not been looking forward to suffering this immense, immeasurable, excruciating pain. However, He faced it with determination, courage and love, thinking of how it would glorify the Father, redeem mankind and bring an end to evil.

He who was life itself was willing suffer death, to die as a man, to be killed cruelly so the price of redemption could be paid and the resurrection occur.

He who created the beauty and peace of heaven was willing, after he died, to descend to the lower parts of the earth, perhaps into Hell where all is fire and fear and futility. He descended there to fight and defeat the devil and death in order that the universe might be renewed and all his enemies who are willing would be swept into the Family of God.

That is why Jesus was looking forward to this morning, for it marked the beginning of the great reversal of the great rebellion.  It marked the start of the indwelling of every believer by the Holy Spirit. It marked the beginning of the church, of the revelation of the Mystery of the indwelling Christ.  It marked the beginning of every child of God being able to walk in the power of the Spirit so we can live a godly life that brings joy to the heart of God. It marked the possibility of the end of slavery to sin and the beginning of freedom to live in Truth.

Jesus was looking forward to this morning  of His resurrection because it was the most powerful pivotal point of all history.  It should also be the most important pivotal point for us every day as we remind ourselves of the gospel: that is,

–We only deserved hell, but He has given us heaven.

–We only deserved condemnation, but He has given us forgiveness.

–We only deserved death, but He has given us eternal life.

 

Let us profit from this pivatol point of Easter to live in the light of truth, basking daily in the love of Jesus, choosing to respond in our love for Him by obedience.

Let’s live in a way so that Jesus looks forward to each morning when He can spend the whole day with us, where we walk in the light of His presence, living in a way that brings pleasure to His heart.

And how do we do that? Primarily by praising Him in and for everything that comes to us. Praise is the power to please God. May He look forward to each morning with you.

I praise you this morning, Lord, for your steadiness in the face of my floundering. I am up and down, both diligent and lazy, productive and useless, strong and weak, spiritual and selfish, kind and harsh, disciplined and rebellious.

I give you praise that you are so unlike me, that every day you are the same in your character, your heart, your plans, your love.  Each morning when I awake, my emotions are jumbled, my thoughts are full, my impressions from yesterday are varied, but you are the steadily the same, ever the same: gracious, great, glorious and unyieldingly, unwavering, unbelievably good.

Being thankful for this is not enough: you are Someone to be ecstatic about, the One to be celebrated, rejoiced in, exalted and worshiped. To turn our inner eyes away from self, the world and all that is in it to You is to go from darkness to light, from weakness to strength, from groveling on the streets of life, to walking with the King of creation.  You are such a contrast from the weak and temporary things we have here.  You are the Creator and Sustainer of all, the Preparer of a new heaven and earth, the Ender of history and the Essence of eternity.

In you is endless beauty, unfathomable love, unsearchable wisdom, inscrutable holiness and unending goodness. In you we can rest in security, in you we can live in light, in you we can know Truth, in you we can be abundantly accepted, lavishly loved, completely cherished and deeply delighted in.

I can praise you now for what will come today, Lord Jesus, for you have prepared it all, will guide in all, will provide in all. I can rest in the richness of your character, be at peace in the provision of your grace, bask in the light of your love and rejoice in the certainty of your presence.  You have given me all joy and peace in yourself. What more could I need? Nothing! You are far more than sufficient and I rest in, rejoice in, respond in the wonder of being your undeserving but beloved child.

Praise you, Lord, for your gracious and kind hand at work in my life. I give you glory for your rock solid goodness, your whole-hearted holiness, your deep, continual steadiness. You do not vacillate the way I do, you do not sin and suffer remorse, you do not stray off the path of righteousness and need correction as I do.

I praise you for your immutability, your perfection, your flawlessness. In you there is surety, in you there is certainty, in you there is eternal, unshifting, beautiful purity. You are the One, the only One, upon whom I can lean, for you will never  change and will never let me down.

You are the great and gracious One, ever active in my life, correcting, directing, protecting, empowering. When I stray, you are there to prick, convict and correct, bringing me back to the Path of peace and the Rock of rest.

It is so comforting, so encouraging, so gracing to live in your powerful presence, your lavish love, your awesome acceptance and your righteous rule. I look out over the sketch of today, just a few bare points of possibility visible to me, but at the same time you, Lord, see every detail of what will happen in full color, every dimension, total outcome. Therefore I can rest in the fact that for you there are no surprises, you can guide me through every twist and turn, every problem and possibility. You prepare me, bringing to mind what should be done, what I should remember and what I should avoid. Praise you, Lord, for your complete love, your competent preparation, your consistent protection, your continual presence.

To you belongs glory, honor, praise and obedience for you are perfect in personality, complete in character, marvelous in ministry, powerful in performance and illogical in love, giving us the opposite of what we deserve.

I praise you, bask in your love, revel in your goodness, rejoice in your patience, celebrate your acceptance and rest in your forgiveness. Today I bow before you in awe, surrendering whole-heartedly, to rise up in obedience and go forth in joy, all because of your infinite greatness. To you be glory today in all I do and say, think and feel, desire and do. Amen.

Praise you, Lord, that we are alive, physically and spiritually, able to walk in your grace, in your power, in your protection. I thank you for the great privilege of being your child, your servant, your brother, your partner in the great plan of transformation that you have for the universe.

You, Lord Jesus, are my stability, my shield, my fortress, my God and my King. You are unswerving, unshakable, unchanging, undefeated. You are powerful, personal, present and perfect. In you is all we need, all we desire, all we long for.To know you is far more than enough, to belong to you is abundance, to live for you is richness, to work with you is awesome.

I praise you, Lord God, for revealing yourself through your Word, for working in us through your Spirit, for strengthening us through your power, for guiding us through your wisdom, for protecting us through your might.

You are worthy of worship, praise, glory and honor each moment, from now through eternity. Praise and glory be to you today from each specific decision I make!

Praise you, Lord, for a new day, another chance to live with you. In the night my uncertainty, worry and fears surface and I often feel far from you.  But this is an opportunity to touch the Rock and remember how safe I am in you: you know what you are doing; you have a plan; you are moving us forward; stability does not depend on my performance but on your character—which is immutable, mature, holy, perfect and eternal. You will take me to the next step; you will guide me in all that is to be done today. I can rest in you, trust in you, rejoice in you.

I may fail (and will every day), but you are always there to fill in the lacks, to pick me up, to give guidance, to encourage and to love. I can relax in you, listen to your voice and move ahead in Truth. How wonderful it is to be your child, to wait in you, to rejoice in you. I give you honor, praise, glory and exaltation. May you be honored and glorified in my life today.

Praise you, Lord, for your good and gracious work in our lives. Your faithfulness, unyielding goodness, wide ranging wisdom and persistent power, all coordinated and motivated by your love, ensure us that we live in the mighty shadow of your persistent protection. You are the trustable One, the encouraging One, the empowering One, especially when things look and feel bad.

I praise you, O God, for your wonderful care and provision, which we have seen so clearly, especially over the last few weeks as we prepared to leave Europe and return to the States: the way you guided int the clearing out of my mother-in-law’s house (and so much going to others to be used further); for the sale of it at the last minute for the amount we wanted, to a believer who was positive, helpful, faithful, willing to clear out the remaining furniture and send it to poor believers in other countries;  for the great help that several friends gave; for the loan of a van the last week; for another friend taking us to the airport; for the airline accepting all the luggage; for it all arriving safely; for a friend picking us up.

We praise you, too, for the time we will have to rest here, for the things that awaited us, for the good things you have given us and for how you will watch over us in the future. It is wonderful to be your child, Lord, to walk with you, to serve you.

Yesterday when a neighbor came to visit there was quite a barrage of negatives about others and worry about the future.  Thank you that in this, too, we can turn to you, be in your light and shrug off this darkness and fear, refusing to allow it to envelop us, instead putting on the sweet smelling garments of praise and be refreshed in the warm and assuring strength of your love.

I praise you, Lord, for the perfection of your being, the marvelous, majestic, magnificent grandure of you multifaceted character, shining in holiness, goodness, love, light and life. In you is all that is positive, all that we desire, all that we need, for you made us to be in rich relationship with you, our heavenly Father.  To you be glory, praise, honor and worship, today, forever, for all eternity, for you are worthy of all the love, obedience and delight we can give you! May our contentment in you give you ever growing glory. Amen.