Sunday is Coming

"...Christ died for our sins...was buried and raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

That Jesus Christ died is a historical fact. The Bible speaks to the death of Jesus Christ. But so does the historical documents outside the Bible. Jesus died. Better yet, Jesus was murdered.

Yet what the historical documents do not tell is the why of Jesus' death. Certainly there are some which try to explain the reason for His death. Some would say He died a victim of tragic circumstances. Some would say He died because of mistaken identity. Others would argue that Jesus Christ died simply as a result of the fear of others and the religious leaders. However, the Bible gives the why. Plain. Simple. To the point.

In what may be the most succinct description or account of Jesus Christ's death, the Apostle Paul pens these words to the believers who live in Corinth. To them he writes that Jesus died (historical fact) for our sins (biblical fact). It wasn't because Jesus had some fatalistic dream of dying at the ripe "old" age of 33. He died for our sins. But for the reader who knew the Old Testament's teaching, this was no surprise. Hundreds of years earlier Isaiah the prophet said:

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him" (Isaiah 53:5-6).

When Jesus died, He fulfilled this prophecy that He would die for our sin, our iniquity, our transgression. Everything that we had done against God was laid upon Him. He paid for every last sin and then from the cross declared "IT IS FINISHED." Shortly thereafter, Jesus died.

The devil probably threw a party thinking Jesus was finished. The religious leaders exhaled with deep relief saying "I'm glad that's over." The disciples of Jesus scattered about with many of them returning to their former occupations. But Jesus wasn't finished. Sunday is coming.

When Sunday arrived, it would have been no surprise to anyone that the tomb was empty. Jesus Himself in Matthew 12:40 stated that just as Jonah had been three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so He would be three days in the heart of the earth before He emerged...and victorious at that. Sunday came. The women arrived. The tomb was empty. Jesus is ALIVE.

Scores are the numbers of individuals who have sought to discount the resurrection. Every erroneous theory has fallen short. The main reason is that Jesus is alive. The resurrection is essential to Christianity. Remove the resurrection and you remove the hope that it extends to all who believe. Say it doesn't matter and you at once create uncertainty with the believers as to what will become of us if even Jesus Christ was not raised.

Jesus is alive. Sure He died and He died for our sins. But Sunday is coming and that grave was not strong enough to hold the Son of God. Happy Easter!

Last week Micah apparently had a virus. From Tuesday to Thursday he was throwing up and weak. We spent a long time Thursday at Duke for him to get fluids and have his levels checked in order to help keep him hydrated as well as keep him (and us) out of the hospital. Friday was another visit to Duke to check his blood levels again.

His liver levels, on the other hand, look great right now. And they did even last week. He still hasn't rebounded fully yet. His eating of table food is increasing though his formula intake is up and down right now. We continue to pray for him to increase in strength and health.

The doctors are continuing to wait for another few weeks to perform the CT scan to look at the bile duct and the cavity of fluid. At that time, if there is not change, the surgery to repair it will be scheduled.

This past Sunday we had another incident in our household. I guess with three boys you ought to expect there will always be something. Ethan had climbed on the kitchen counter (following his older brother's lead) in order to get a peanut (yes, a peanut). As he reached to grab one out of the bag from the top of the refrigerator, he slipped. And great was his fall. He hit one of this front teeth forcing it back up into his gum. Yesterday we took a trip to the dentist. Ethan did great opening his mouth for the dentist to see. He even sat still in my lap for them to take the x-ray of his teeth. At this point, we are waiting to see if the tooth emerges on its own. This is what we hope for and pray will happen. If it does not, then the dentist will have to extract it.

Apart from all this, today (at least as I departed this morning) is a good and calm day. No blood. No screaming. No emotional breakdowns.

Please pray for Micah's continued health and strength. Please also pray for Ethan that hopefully his tooth will come back down into place. And as always, thank you for praying. And as always, pray that our Great God would be glorified in and through our lives.