"...if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved"-Romans 10:9-10 (NIV).

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!  That will be the call response at many Easter services tomorrow morning.  For many, the moment is traditional...an automatic response.  Imagine the emotions Mary felt when she exclaimed, "He is risen," to His grieving disciples, Peter and John's report, "He is risen," when returning from the tomb, the emotional report of the two who walked with the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus, "He is risen."  Yes, it's true!  He has conquered death!  Let the whole world proclaim...HE IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!

"When He had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit"-John 19:30 (NIV).

Good Friday is such an emotional day.  We weren't there; yet, Jesus was sacrificed for us all.  We can identify with some who were there: Peter; who denied knowing Jesus; Mary, who grieved the loss of her Son; Pilate, who caved to the demands of his job; disciples who had abandoned Jesus in Gethsemane; Judas, who couldn't live with what he had done; the Roman centurion, who realized he was standing at the feet of the crucified Son of God; Simon, who was ordered to carry Jesus' cross up to Golgotha; the guilty criminal, whom Jesus promised paradise; Jerusalem citizens, who didn't even know what was going on; Pharisees, who thought that it was finally finished.  The Godly propitiation was completed, the price costly (Psalm 49:8).  Praise God, we are redeemed!   

"And His affection for you is all the greater when He remembers that you were all obedient, receiving Him with fear and trembling"-2 Corinthians 7:15 (NIV).

The song "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" was written, before 1865, by an anonymous lyricist.  It takes you through Christ's crucifixion: "Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?" "Were you there when they pierced Him in His side?" "Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?"  Each verse holding the heartfelt, passionate lyric: "Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.  Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"  We demonstrate our love for Jesus by being obedient (John 14:15).  Let us receive Him with trembling.         

""So if anyone tells you, 'There He is, out in the wilderness,' do not go out; or, 'Here He is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.  For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man""-Matthew 24:26-27 (NIV).

We eagerly await the return of Jesus, but the Son of God gives us a warning in Matthew.  We are not to allow our curiosity to mislead us.  What harm to go see?  What harm just to hear? There will be many deceivers, not just one...up until the day Jesus returns (2 John 1:7).  Do you want to be found in the presence of an Antichrist?  The Lord's return will not come from a secondary source...Jesus is the Primary Source...the First and the Last.    

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you.  When a believing person prays, great things happen"-James 5:16 (NCV).  

Reflecting on our sins is uncomfortable, but to confess them to others is like showing our dirty laundry; however, the Bible instructs us to share with each other our shortcomings and then to pray for each other.  The most intimate relationships we ever have are those in which we share deeply, uncovering layers we've kept hidden, fearing judgment...rejection.  There is no doubt written in this Scripture; no "maybe" or "probably."  "So" and "when" are faith and trust that confession and prayer bring us before the Throne of Grace...where great things happen!