In preparation for Resurrection Day (also known as Easter *grinz*)

You know, technology can be a pain and it can be dangerous – but it can also be a blessing. I was listening to my Christian “channel” on Pandora today, and a song by Shane and Shane came up that was PERFECT for today: “Before the Throne of God Above.”

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

Isn’t it amazing that the God who created all the “infinite” universe – all the stars and galaxies, all the cells and atoms, all the people and animals that exist – would care so much for humanity that He came down to us and lived among us? Isn’t it incredible that the God we sin and rebel against every day would still love us so much that He, in the Person of His Son, stands before the Father every moment, interceding for His children? Doesn’t it fill you with awe that this perfect, holy, transcendent God would still be so involved with His creation and so desiring to reconcile us to Himself that He would bear all the punishment for our sins and pay the penalty in full on our behalf?!

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

Christian, do you realize that nothing you do can ever make God love you more? Do you realize that nothing you do can make Him love you LESS? Do you realize that He has loved you with an everlasting love and has chosen you as His child from the foundations of the earth? Do you – and I – really understand that no matter how intensely and truthfully Satan may accuse us and bring up all our sin, the sacrifice of the only begotten Son of God as a propitiation for our sins has completely removed all the filthiness of sin? We stand before God clothed in the perfect righteousness of His Son, who loved us and gave Himself for our salvation.

Unbeliever, do you understand that God’s mercy is deeper than the depths of the sea and more vast than all the heavens, and that He is willing and eager to gather you into His family and into eternal joy – if you will only listen to His Spirit calling your name and repent? The Perfect Father is waiting with open arms and will hold you close in His arms and pour out His love upon you if you will only come to Him!

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Satan is no longer my master; I have a new Master who desires only my eternal good. Satan has been defeated, and my new Master will no longer allow Satan to steal, kill and destroy me. Satan’s power over me is broken forever, and if I resist him, he will flee. Instead of a callous slavemaster, I am now under the care and authority of the Loving Father who holds me in His hand and will never leave me nor forsake me. Though the devil may accuse me, I look upon the Author and Finisher of my faith: Christ Jesus, whose Spirit dwells within me… And greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world!

Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Jesus cried out on the Cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” The very Son of God, who always did all that the Father commanded and in whom the Father was well-pleased, prayed to His Father for my forgiveness – for your forgiveness! How could God not have heard His Son’s prayer and granted it with all His heart?!

Jesus cried out, “IT IS FINISHED!” All the infinite debt for our sins has been completely satisfied – paid in full. Jesus’ work on the Cross has fully appeased the just wrath God had toward us, and now His resurrected life brings us into the very presence of His Father. We are now clothed in the spotless white of Jesus perfection and are presented before the Throne of God without stain or blemish.

No further sacrifices, no other acts of atonement are required of us – they would, indeed, be blasphemous! Since Jesus’ perfect, complete, and finished work of atonement has been accomplished, Christians are now free to live before Him in grateful love and joy. We can now follow Him in liberty, desiring to do His will out of love rather than fear. We have been loosed from the terror of the penalty of the Law and follow the Spirit of God because the Law is now written on our hearts.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!

One in Himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

So I look back to yesterday, Good Friday, and can mourn: it was MY sin that nailed Him to that Cross. But I also look back to Good Friday and rejoice, because Jesus knew my sin before I ever lived – and He loved me enough to provide the only way to gather me into His eternal kingdom.

I contemplate the stillness of this Saturday, when Jesus’ body lay in the Tomb and Satan had apparently defeated God… I see that sad stillness and I look forward to Sunday, Resurrection Day, when Jesus rose from the grave in triumph over sin, death, and Satan. Jesus’ resurrection is the proof of His completed work on the Cross – proof that God the Father had fully accepted the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf.

It. Is. FINISHED!

He is risen – He is risen indeed!

Christ has triumphed over my sin, and I can only live a life of loving gratitude and joy for all He has done for me.

Do you know Him? Have you bowed before Him to say “thank You”? Have you laid your life and hopes and dreams at His feet, knowing that He will remake them into an everlasting hymn of praise and glory to His name? Do you understand that though you give up your life to Christ, He will give it back to you transformed into holy perfection and multiplied to an eternal expression of His abundant life?

All I can do is echo His praises and point you to His perfection and love…

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!

(crossposted from CatHouse Chat)