Creation: Created and completed by Jesus

  In John's rewriting of Genesis, the resurrection of Jesus completes the creation story. The week of the Genesis creation was complete as Jesus rested ("was buried") on the seventh day, the Sabbath. Then Jesus presented himself alive to his friends and followers early in the morning following the Sabbath. Over time they realized that they were now involved in a new creation week marked by this "eighth day" resurrection. Gradually, the traditions and commands associated with Sabbath were transferred to Sunday, referred to as "the first day" (Mark 16:2 and John 20:19) and "the Lord's Day" (Rev 1:10).

  -- p.119, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson

7 miles. Yes, I believe.

It's Easter Sunday! Resurrection!

Resurrection!

In Jesus, God was satisfied. So Jesus lives again!
Because of Jesus's perfect obedience and sacrifice, God is no longer angry with His people.
God is no longer angry with me, no more angry at me. Jesus completed my salvation. When God looks at me, there is only the everlasting love and good will towards me.
How can this be?
The perfect King died the death of the worst rebel.
The holy Son of God was counted as the filthiest and the ugliest sinner.
And God's righteousness was upheld and vindicated.
God's justice and mercy weaved such a mystery.
Oh, how rich is His mercy? How great is His grace?

So come, repent and believe in Him.
Trust in Jesus Christ, the triumphant King over all.
He will return and receive all who loves Him.

The pattern for Christian living

[...] there's always something that has to be left behind if you're going to embrace God's vocation for you. One rather portentous but nonetheless very profound way of expressing this is to say the Christian life according to the New Testament is to be lived according to the baptismal pattern, which means that experiences of renunciation even to death (or what feels like death) constantly precede experiences of resurrection in which you're made rich again. But the resurrection doesn't come until after the death. And it's round the circle of that pattern for each of us over and over again: death followed by resurrection is the recurring sequence. This is part of the Lord's discipline for our personal living, just as it's part of the pattern of the Lord's work in the church and in the world.
- p.170, Never Beyond Hope by J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom

I just finished reading this book, Never Beyond Hope. I didn't do the study guides, though. It's probably worth going through this book again sometime in the future, perhaps with some other people. Then, I may do the study guide at the end of each chapter.

You can get this book at Koorong or from Amazon.

For Christians, there's more that just the "heaven", there is the Resurrection!

Be sure to read this short post at The Gospel Driven Life.

Jesus did not die and rise again so when we die we go to a better place. He died and rose again so that death will be swallowed up, this mortal shall be clothed in immortality, and our parents (and all who fall asleep in Christ) will be re-embodied.