We will never be able to comprehend the betrayal, rejection, persecution and physical pain that Jesus endured. After such a brutal beating and mocking, He was led to carry a cross by Himself to His death. The ultimate torture lead to the ultimate sacrifice for us.
The complete darkness of the age was blinded that He was the Son of God. They discredited the works of His hands and the miraculous miracles to deliver and heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead.
The resurrection power of Christ to defeat death and the grave and transcend to life embodies the everlasting hope and faith of the ultimate love for the remission of sins. Jesus paid the price and penalty for our freedom and redemption to escape all forms of bondage, sickness, sin and death in exchange for eternal life and abundant living.
May the hope and freedom of His resurrection encourage you to rise above any circumstance and face any challenge with a fresh level of faith towards the future understanding the cost of His sacrifice for the gift of life. May the renewal of this season breathe new life in every area of your soul.
The Resurrection Prayer
Thank you, Lord that you paid the ultimate sacrifice on the cross for my sins. You transformed darkness into light. May your Spirit illuminate my mind, body and spirit with understanding and wisdom as I continue down an unknown path as you continue to guide me along the way. I receive extraordinary faith, peace and power to rise above my present circumstances and to rebuke any challenges, obstacles or distractions that block your plan and purpose for my life. I pray for endurance to fight the good fight of faith and to carry the love of Christ in my heart and to expose the darkness and transcend to light in this world by your Spirit. To God be the glory!
In Jesus name, Amen.
Related Scriptures
Luke 24 – The Whole Chapter
Eph 1:7
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
Eph 1:17-20
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
Eph 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Eph 2:11-13
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him sent himself and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
For what profit Aman if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
“Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” Matt 21:5
And a great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
They cried out saying,
And when He had come into Jerusalem all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes I said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matt 21:10
Hosanna
The words that the crowd shouted, “Hosanna” derives from Hebrew meaning “Save now” or “Save us, we pray,” in which the long awaited time of the Messiah was finally here to bring Salvation and set up God’s Kingdom.
Unfortunately, the masses were seeking political restoration and not spiritual Salvation, much like the people of today whose interest are political, economic and social power of influence.
In that time, the majority of the population did not know or understand that Jesus was there to save them from their sins and to be the living sacrifice for the world and the coming Kingdom.
This was the beginning of the miraculous sacrifice of His love demonstrated for us all.
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna, in the highest!“ Mark 21:9
Hosanna only appears in the Bible twice. Once in Matt 21:9 and the other in Mark 11:10.
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26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.
Isaiah 53
53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lordhath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lordshall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Luke 19:10
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:22
Acts 1:11
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Matt 24:30
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Titus 2:13
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Ezk 13: 3
The world has changed drastically. In his new world that we live in, technology has a major influence in our homes and communities as well as our political, social, educational and spiritual perspectives and views.
We are heavily bombarded with news, opinions, statistics, and innovations. We are quick to follow the latest trends, social media influencers, and controversial celebrity gossip.
Dancing with Divination
On the same scale, we quick to follow prophetic messages with hopes of the promises of good news, fortune and blessings. We desire anything that is pleasing to the flesh – eyes, ears, taste, touch even smell. Some people look to horoscopes, astrology, numerology, charms, crystals, fortune tellers, psychics, soothsayers and false prophets for the latest predictions about upcoming events like it would transform their lives like magic.
Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for their heads of people of ever pay height to hunt souls! Ezk 13:18 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold I’m against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as a prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am Lord. Ezk 13: 20-21
We don’t want to listen to anything that will disrupt our way of thinking or feeling. We crave comfort and lavish lifestyles and reject correction, instruction, wisdom and truth.
The world is going to continue to grow more chaotic and evil. If you’re not rooted in sound doctrine, you will not be able to stand against the attacks, plots, schemes and plans of the enemy.
We must be spiritually discerning and be careful not to align ourselves with false doctrines or mixed ideologies. You cannot call on Jesus and then give credit to the universe. The Lord created the universe and everything in it.
We will go through many difficult situations and circumstances but if we know the character and the Word of God, He will protect and guide us through every storm, valley, evil attack and corruptive agenda that’s placed before us.
Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
Romans 16:17-18
We must test the spirit with the Word of God at all times. You cannot test the spirit if you do not know or understand the Word of God, His character and His ways. The Spirit of God leads you in all truth and teaches you all things in the Spirit.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But, he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that He may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. I Corth 2:14-16
We cannot be spiritually idle or lazy and rely on pastors, ministry leaders and prophetic voices to give us direction. We must know God for ourselves and allow Christian leaders to be the reinforcement and encouragement as well as the teachers to nurture our spiritual growth as a Body of Believers.
The world mixes good for evil and evil for good. There are so many blurred lines that the church is looking and acting just like the world. Recently, Pastor Jamal Bryant stated he wanted to bring cannibus into the church to grow His ministry. There is a serious problem when a spiritual leader is leading his sheep to the slaughter and he doesn’t see anything wrong with it. You need to know Jesus for yourselves. There’s many wolves in sheep’s clothing. Acts 20:28-30
Be sober and vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. I Peter 5:8
The late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was criticized for not doing more to address sexual abuse in the church. He was accused of poor handling of accusations against some priests as the head of Vatican’s doctrinal office.
When you are in the public eye or serving in ministry you have to be extremely careful of falling prey to temptations of this world and appeasing men.
Idolatryis Priority
Fame and fortune is also a snare and can lead you into idolatry. We can look at many examples in Hollywood whose life has been completely destroyed because they did not have the wisdom to handle the responsibilities that come with abundance and prosperity. They simply have money to burn on fleshy pleasures.
For the love of money is the root of all evil; while some has coveted after they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves with many sorrows. I Tim 6:10
Do not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Rom 12:2
Stand in the Test of Time
We are leaning into transformative times that will test our faith. In the Bible, Daniel refused to eat from the King’s plate because the meat was sacrificed to idols. Dan 1:8-16
Joseph refused to sleep with Potiphar’s wife. Gen 39:10
Shaderack, Meshack and Andego refused to bow down to the King of Babylon and the golden statue.
I’m sure you’re familiar with these stories of the Bible. They were thrown in a fire and it was heated seven times hotter than normal. They believed in God and had faith that God would save them. King Nebuchadnezzar saw four men walking in the fire unharmed. The king promoted them to a higher office and decreed that the God of Israel was to be worshipped in the land.
What are you willing to endure? Are you willing to stand alone against mockery and persecution?
The Holy Spirit provides all truth and knowledge to understand the Bible and guides us in all wisdom we need in the instruction for life.
Anything that we deem as priority or worship is a form of idolatry. Here are just a few things off the top of my head that can easily become a snare of idolatry.
Materialism:
Technology
Work/Jobs
Children
Education
Money
Celebrities
Sports
Social Media
Food
Fashion/Clothing
Idolatry means
1. the religious worship of idols.
2. excessive or blind adoration, reverence or devotion
We have carried the same idolatry into the 21st Century which has been in the foreshadows and forefront for decades.
There are many forms of idolatry embedded in our architecture and culture which stems from Egyptian and Assyrian traditions of worshipping the kings and gods during their time.
On Wall Street, there is a golden bull outside of the building of the stock exchange. It reminds me of the golden calf which was created and worshipped when the people lost faith on the way to the promised land.
The Black Egyptian Obelisk, known as the Cleopatra’s Needle, is part of the architecture design which consists of two monuments which are located in Themes embankment in London and Central Park in New York. It stands 69 feet high.
The most modern version of an obelisk is centered directly in front of the White House in Washington DC and stands 555 feet tall. There is also an obelisk located at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
I just realized this while writing this text that even the World Trade Center resembles an obelisk in its architecture design. These monuments are symbolic of the obelisks found in Egyptian architecture.
We must be aware of the different types of idolatry so we don’t succumb to worldly pursuits. We should regularly do a self-check or evaluation to ensure we are walking in alignment with the Lord.
The scriptures listed below relate to false prophets and false doctrines. Please take time to read and meditate on these scriptures. God is not the author of confusion. If you are a new believer and feeling lost and confused with all the noise on the internet. I highly recommend you dig into these scriptures for the truth in God’s word.
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Writing with Purpose 