Happy Easter, friends. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Today is the day of great promise, of great hope, and of unending joy, for today is the day of life. On this day our Savior rose from the dead, no longer leaving us bound by the chains of sin and death but breaking those chains and bringing us total and everlasting freedom.

No matter where you are in life coming into Easter, this Good News is for you. Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father, the Logos, the Word of God who became flesh has walked through His earthly journey, gone to the grave, defeated death and risen to new and eternal life.

This is the very heart of the Good News: when we were separated from the Father by our own sin, Jesus became like us in all things but sin. When our sin punished us with the death we had earned, Jesus defeated death so that we no longer suffer its consequences. In the very midst of our sin and our brokenness, God loved us enough to enter our mess and pull us out of it. The Eternal Word, the God who made all things, sees you and I, knows everything we have done or will do, and chooses to die for us so that, with Him, we might rise to new life.

Whether you're experiencing the joy of new life this day, or limping towards Easter after a rough Lent, the Good News is for you. Whether you're closer to God than you've ever been or farther than you even realized, this Easter is for you.

When Peter and John heard from Mary that Jesus had risen, they ran to the tomb. They weren't running because they had it all together or knew what it all meant; they were running because Jesus was their Savior and He had defeated death! With the joy of those Apostles who have just heard that their friend, their teacher, their Lord, is alive, let's run together to Jesus' empty tomb. Today, let's run with everything we have to the Lord, knowing that we don't need to have it all together but we just need to give Him our hearts. And, if we really run and really give Him everything we've got, He will fill us with the greatest joy and cause for rejoicing we could have ever imagined.

Where are you today, Easter Sunday? Are you close to God, far from Him, or somewhere in between?

What is your response to hearing that Jesus is risen? Do you dare to run to the tomb like Peter and John?

How can you live your life in light of the Easter joy we celebrate today?

"He is risen!"

"Alleluia."

​"Thank you Jesus."

Find joy today. Jesus has risen and because of that, there is joy and hope in this world. Cling to that today, and be filled with Easter joy.