John 11:25, NIV
I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.

"I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." Was there ever a more powerful, profound, encouraging, incredible, life-transforming statement than that?

But Jesus’ timing seems a bit off. He says these words to a heartbroken sister whose brother has just died. She must have been so shocked and confused! Of course, she didn't know what would happen next. Jesus commands Lazurus to come out of the tomb he’s been in for four days and when Lazarus comes out of that tomb his sister sees him alive again, even though he had been dead.

Jesus’ promise is not just made to Lazarus. It’s made to Mary and Martha and the crowd that sees Lazarus rise. And it’s made to you and me.

When we made Jesus Saviour and Lord our old selves died right there and then. And now - because we believe in Jesus - we will never see death again. Never.

Tomorrow, Jesus’ resurrection seals that promise for eternity. Hallelujah. What a Saviour.

Let's pray
We're going to finish with the words of another powerful Easter hymn. You can sing it with thanksgiving today.

“Man of Sorrows!” what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
Philip P. Bliss

John 14:6, NIV
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me

Imagine the scene. It’s the feast of Passover, and you have spent the evening with your friends and ministry partners remembering the goodness and faithfulness of God. And as the meal ends your very best friend gets up and starts to wash everyone’s feet. And as he does it he starts to tell you the things that are on his heart.

He tells you he is leaving you but doesn’t tell you where he is going. He talks about how you will need to be with each other - how you will need to love one another. He tells you not to be afraid and says he will prepare a place for you. And then Thomas - good old say-it-how-it-really-is Thomas - says, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
And then, the man you love most in the world, the one you have followed for three long years, says to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus doesn’t just say that he speaks the truth, he says he is the embodiment of truth. He doesn’t just say he can help you with your life, he says he is life itself. And he doesn’t say he is one of many ways, he says he is the only way.

And you don’t understand what he saying but you know deep in your heart that Jesus is sharing a profound truth with you. He is telling you that because of who he is you can have a personal relationship with Almighty God and call him Father.

You can start today. Simply pray this prayer and begin on the great adventure that is loving and following Jesus.

Let's pray
Lord God, Please forgive me for all the things I have done wrong. I turn to you now and turn away from all those things. Jesus, thank you for giving up your life for me on the cross. I place you at the centre of my life from this moment on. I welcome you as my Lord and Saviour and great friend. Holy Spirit fill me and empower me to live as a much-loved child of God. In Jesus' matchless and wonderful name. Amen.

PS: If you prayed that prayer please find a great church and let them know. they will help you grow and learn more about Jesus.

John 10:14-15, NIV
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

We have two amazing dogs - both Newfoundlands - called Baloo and Daisy. Before that we spent nine and a half years as the servants of another extraordinary Newfie named Harvey. The fascinating thing about dogs is that although they can’t process complex sentences, they CAN learn around 250 words and hear and understand intonation. The words and tone we use with our dogs help them to work out who we are and what matters to us.

Baloo and Daisy know important words like ‘dinner’ and ‘treat’, ‘good boy’ or 'good girl'. They know ‘wait’ and ‘no’. They know their names, and all the nicknames we have for them. They know our voices. In short, they know us. They know that if we give them something to eat, it’s going to be good. If we tell them to do something, it’s because it’s the best for them. They know we will look after them, keep them safe, and love them for as long as they live (and beyond!).

Jesus tells us he knows us and we know him. And we're not just fully known, we're also fully loved. The proof is right there on the cross at Calvary and the confirmation is right there in your spirit.

Let's pray
Thank you, Jesus, for the truth I am fully known and loved by you. Thank you that your love never fails, never ceases, and I can revel in the high, wide, deep, long love you offer me every moment of every day. Help me love as you love today, Jesus. Amen.

John 6:35, NIV
I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger.

Jesus says this in the context of one of his best-known miracles - the feeding of the five thousand - a miracle that involved bread.

Bread was an essential part of the diet of Jesus’ time, and so it is natural that when faced with a hungry crowd, Jesus would feed them bread. So, in John 6, we read that five loaves and three fish miraculously feed five thousand men plus women and children. But even though the crowd has experienced a miracle, they still want a miraculous sign! And, so they follow Jesus to the other side of the lake asking for more food. At this point, the crowd can’t see any further than their physical needs. Jesus, though, wants them to focus on their spiritual needs. So he tells them he is the bread of life. In doing so, he tells them he is everything that is essential for life. He is the source, sustainer, and provider.

Which straight away is a challenge to me. I wonder how many times Jesus meets my needs one way and I miss it - I miss the miracle, I miss the sign, I don’t recognise what he’s done, what he’s miraculously provided. Or how many times I see the miracle he’s provided but I’m so busy looking for the next miracle I forget to be thankful for the last one.

Fill yourself up with The Bread today. Ask him to open your eyes to the miraculous in your life.

Let's pray
Jesus help me to recognise the miraculous today. Make me aware of the things that wouldn't happen were it not for you: birds singing, my breathing, the setting of the sun and so much more... Help me see you at work and then open my mouth in a song of gratitude and praise. I am not going to rush on to the next miracle until I've enjoyed the last one. Amen..

John 10:9, NKJV
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Doors are great things. They let you in, they let you out. A closed door gives you privacy, stops draughts, and shuts out noise. An open door can bring in extra light, a welcome breeze, and help you stay connected. And it’s that combination of security and freedom that Jesus references when he says he is the door.

Jesus is clear, there is only one way to access the Father - only one way - and that’s through him. But that door is open to all of us. And once we’ve said ‘yes’ to going through that door we not only gain a relationship with God the Father, but the promise of a great future because in the next verse Jesus tells us he has come so we may have life and have it to the full.

I want to encourage you this morning to say ‘yes’ to Jesus. You may have said ‘yes’ to him many times before but say it again today. He has so much for you on the other side of saying ‘yes’ to him. On the other side of the Door.

Let's pray
Lord Jesus, Here I am, all of me, and I am saying 'yes' to you today. Take this moment and the rest of my day and use it for your glory. In your matchless name I ask. Amen.

John 15:1, NIV
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

I am a gardener. I love gardening. I don’t espescially like weeding - that's just something that needs to be done! - but I love planting and pruning and planning where plants will go. My garden is my happy place.

And as I’ve gardened I've learned two things. First, you have to give plants the conditions they like or they won’t flourish. Second, the rootstock is everything. If you have poor rootstock you get a poor plant because the rootstock is the part of the plant from which new growth can be produced. And the genius of rootstock is it is possible to graft a young plant from a closely related plant species into an established rootstock. Why is this genius? Because the young plant benefits immediately from the quality of the old rootstock. For example, rootstock allows young trees to bear fruit earlier. It also determines the tree and root system size, the yield, longevity, resistance to pests and disease, cold hardiness and the plant’s ability to adapt to soil types.

So when Jesus says, “I am the true vine.” I get really, really excited because I know I am grafted into quality rootstock and it is my being directly linked to Jesus that will determine how quickly I bear fruit, what my yield is, my longevity, my resistance to pests and disease, my hardiness and my ability to adapt to the conditions I face.

That is true for all of us who love and follow Jesus. We can celebrate today because we come from great stock.

Let's pray
Thank you, Father, that you have provided the greatest rootstock in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that it is your greatness that determines my ongoing strength, growth and resilience. I bless you for your continued tender care. Amen.

Another stunning Easter reflection today with a link so you can listen:

See Him there, the great I Am
A crown of thorns upon His head
The Father's heart displayed for us
Oh God, we thank You for the cross

Lifted up on Calvary's hill
We cursed Your name, and even still
You bore our shame, and paid the cost
Oh God, we thank You for the cross

Behold the Lamb
The story of redemption written on His hands
Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours
We sing Your praise
Endless hallelujah to Your holy name
Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours

All for us, this sacrifice
For every sin our saviour died
The Lord of Life can't be contained
Our God has risen from the grave
Oh, our God has risen from the grave

Behold the Lamb
The story of redemption written on His hands
Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours
We sing Your praise
Endless hallelujah to Your holy name
Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours

When the age of death is done
We'll see Your face, bright as the sun
We'll bow before the King of kings
Oh God, forever we will sing

Behold the Lamb
The story of redemption written on His hands
Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours

Behold the Lamb
The story of redemption written on His hands
Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours
We sing Your praise
Endless hallelujah to Your holy name
Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours
You reign forevermore
The victory is Yours
King Jesus reigns forevermore
The victory is Yours

Phil Wickham / Melodie Malone / Kristian Paul Stanfill

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36, ESV

There are those who think freedom is something only Christians have a right to. But that’s not the way the Bible tells it. The Bible says initially God’s image-bearers (humans!) were given extraordinary freedom. The freedom to name the animals, enjoy companionship with each other, and spend quality time with the Father in a beautiful garden every day. Freedom is the birthright of every human being.

But there’s a problem. Our amazing heavenly Father gave us choice. And we chose to disobey and distance ourselves from him. Doing that led us to think and act in ways that didn’t line up with his best for us. We bound ourselves in pride, envy, hatred, small-mindedness, indifference, greed, racism, sexism… We opened our world to disease and decay. Even at our best - at our most generous, loving, kind and sensitive - we know, deep down, that there is something missing. We need help to become the people God intended us to be. We need help to be truly free.

That’s why the resurrection is the central fact of the gospel. The moment Jesus rose again he utterly defeated everything that keeps us captive. The cross became a cosmic restraining order against sin, death, sickness, lack, powerless… and much, much more.

Jesus’ story is the only story that starts and ends with us being loved unconditionally and able to live in total freedom. Jesus is the only one who guarantees us that freedom and to live in it we have to choose him - above everything else - every day. Choose freedom today. Choose Jesus.

Let's pray
Father God, thank you that liberty is my birthright. I choose to follow Jesus and live in the fullness of the freedom he offers me today. Help me not to take the gift of freedom for granted but to rejoice in it and use it to extend your Kingdom and bring glory to you.  Thank you that you have helped me become truly free. Amen. 

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." Revelation 3:20, NIV

I see a parallel between the urgent search of the maiden for her beloved in Song of Songs (5:1-16) and the desperate grief of Mary in the garden when she looks for Jesus (John 20:10-16). Surely Mary would have described Jesus as the maiden describes her love: altogether lovely, my  beloved, my friend.

But there is a stark contrast, too. The maiden lost her love because she chose not to open her door. She was indifferent to her lover’s approach, reluctant to get up and go to him. This was never an issue for Mary. Mary followed Jesus willingly, became a disciple and funded his ministry. But loving Jesus cost her a great deal more than money. Mary was, after all, one of the women at the foot of the cross. A friend who stood by her beloved Teacher as he died an unspeakably brutal, unjust death. No wonder she grieved so openly in the garden.

Today's verse from Revelation tells us that in a similar way to the lover in Song of Songs, Jesus knocks at our door asking to come in. And, like the maiden, we can choose not to open the door or we can welcome Jesus into every area of our lives in the same way Mary does.

Be warned there may be a cost involved; life with Jesus is an extraordinary adventure but not without its challenges. But be encouraged; once you’ve said “yes” to him you’ll never need to search for an altogether lovely, beloved friend again. You will have found the lover of your soul.

Let's pray
Lord Jesus help me to grow in the awareness that you are my best friend and the one who loves me unconditionally. Help me, too, to keep the door open to you at all times. Thank you that I can call you my friend. Amen.

Psalm 46:10-11, TPT
Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. I am the God above all the nations, and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth.”

There is a whole series of sermons in this stunning Psalm but as we focus on verse 10 we see in it an instruction that comes with a promise.

You may have heard me speak about how I have a habit of crashing into the throne room of God with my (many!) requests. And that’s a great thing to do. But there are times when I need to button it. To hand over my worries and concerns, to stop talking, stop trying to fix it myself, and just listen. Because it is then that God shows himself faithful. And he shows himself fighting for me (verse 11: The God of Jacob fights for us!).

This verse doesn’t say he fills the silence with speaking; it says he fills the silence by showing us who he is! And I think we need that revelation of who God is right now.

Surrender your anxiety. Stop talking. And let God show you who he is!

Let's pray
Thank you Jesus that you made it possible for me to crash into the throne room of the Father but you also showed me what it is to be still and know who he is. Holy Spirit, calm and settle me today. Whatever I or others face remind me that my Heavenly Father is God above all the nations. He will be exalted and one day every knee will bow at the name of Jesus. Amen.