Risen Lord
“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay”. -Matthew 28:6
Out of all the world religions, Christianity is the only one with a risen Lord. Mohammed is dead, Buddha is dead, Joseph Smith is dead, Lau Tzu is dead, Confucius is dead, and any other religion you can think of, the founders are all dead. Jesus is the only person who has ever lived that died and then came alive again. This is the hallmark of our faith, the fact that Jesus rose from the dead proved that He is God. Not a teacher, not a community organizer, not a good person, Jesus is God Himself.
If Jesus can conquer death, there is nothing He cannot do. That gives up hope in all circumstances. If Jesus can conquer death, He can conquer my sin. If Jesus can conquer death, He can restore life to the most broken parts of my life. If Jesus can conquer death, He can soften the hardest heart. If Jesus can conquer death, He can set us free from any addiction that holds us in bondage. If Jesus can conquer death, He can reconcile any estranged relationship I have. If Jesus can conquer death, Jesus can do anything.
Jesus is worthy of all of our adoration and praise. All of our trust, our faith, our devotion. That infant lying in a manger holds the power to defeat our greatest enemy and deliver us from all our bondage, in Him lies all of our hope.