"Alive"

Alive! Alive!  He is alive!

Shout it loud to every tribe!

The Lord is raised,

His name be praised,

Thank God, He is alive!

There on the cross He paid my cost,

So all the world would not be lost,

The Lord is raised,

His name be praised,

His grace we can’t exhaust.

Down in the grave, the world to save,

He was laid low, our Savior brave,

The Lord is raised,

His name be praised,

It’s how His love He gave.

And third day came, and God took aim,

The stone was rolled, to show His fame,

The Lord is raised,

His name be praised,

And all so we won’t be the same.

Death lost its sting, and everything,

Is changed when this Good News we bring,

The Lord is raised,

His name be praised,

Just kneel and say that He is King.

We love to tell, we’re saved from hell,

Both here and then, with Him to dwell,

The Lord is raised,

His name be praised,

Got up from where we fell.

“I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look- I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave…” (Revelation 1:17-18, NLT)

In John’s great revelation Jesus appears to him and calls Himself “the living one.” All of life is tainted by death. The sin of Adam and Eve is our sin, and opened the door to death and its destructive force. But because Jesus died and was raised, He holds the keys to death and the grave. Paul wrote that Jesus will reign until all of His enemies submit, and the last to be conquered is death itself. Life may have an expiration date for each of us, but we have received eternal life. And death itself has an expiration date, too. And it’s all because Jesus rose from the dead. Our faith, our lives, and our eternity rest upon this miracle. And that’s what makes it true.

Lord, help us to realize the full impact of Your resurrection from the dead, in Jesus’ name.

Photography by Jess Lee, jessleephotos.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Jess, and God bless you.