FRIDAY May 19, 2023

Hope of the Resurrection

And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
Acts 10:39-41

Peter preached the Gospel of peace. Cornelius was listening to the account of Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection. Peter was a bold witness of Christ’s Resurrection. He saw Jesus firsthand, with the other disciples, after His death and Resurrection. They even ate breakfast with Him:

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.” Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” . . . Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead (John 21:10-14).

The Resurrection is the central theme of the Gospel message; without it, there is no Gospel. The Apostle Paul gave a picture of our hopeless state:

...and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit—not based on truth] . . . For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, either; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and powerless [mere delusion]; you are still in your sins [and under the control and penalty of sin]. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:14-19 AMP).

If you are without hope today, know there is hope in Christ and in His Resurrection. Your death is not the end; it can be a new beginning.

The resurrection blasts apart the finality of death, providing an alternative to the stifling, settling dust of death and opens the way to new life.
~Billy Graham~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!