In your darkest moments there is still hope

As Easter approaches, we are reminded of the sacrifice made by one man that has changed the entire scope of living on earth. Did you know this world has over four thousand religions? Some may be good to live by but not good to die by. Only Jesus gave his life to set us free from sin. Only Jesus offers an eternity one can truly trust. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

Why can we trust Jesus? For me, I believe only the living word of God has the power to change and permanently transform a person. And, throughout life, after a sinner believes on the power of Jesus to save, you have a friend who never leaves you. He continually leads us and convicts us to live in love and kindness. No other man who's lived on earth has had the impact on humanity as Jesus did and continues to do.

Maybe you could discount the Bible as not being the word of God, but what do you do about the many prophecies that have been, and are being, fulfilled. A good example is 1 Timothy 4: 1-2 "Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron."How true is that?

The Bible sets the bar for good behavior. Why the Ten Commandments are offensive to some, is beyond me. Who wouldn't want to live in a world where no one steals, hates, commits adultery, or murders? Why would anyone NOT want to teach those core values to their children?

Easter has a purpose. It not only reminds us of the supreme sacrifice Jesus made when he died to forgive our sins, but it gives us hope of our own resurrection. Through the portal of death, people are leaving this world on a daily basis, but Jesus' resurrection, and the believer's promise of resurrection lets us know we'll see them again. The greatest reunion of all time will one day be available to all of us who believe in Jesus Christ. What a wonderful hope we have!

Imagine a world without hope of a better place. Even Paul said, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (I Cor 15:19). This life, with Christ, is better than this life without him, but the best thing, to me, is that Christian's have hope for a better world to come. One without pain and sorrow. No sickness. No tears. A life with no stress or anxiety.

And it's all because Jesus died and rose again. If he had only died, then our hope of resurrection would not be believable. But he did rise up out of the grave and according to scripture, he was seen by more than 500 people. They saw the scars on his hands, feet and side. They touched the scars. It was so real to them, that they were also willing to die to spread the good news of Jesus.

Easter reminds us that even in our darkest moments, we have hope here in this life and the one to come.