Easter Thursday
Acts 3:11-26
Lk 24:35-48
“…it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations… ”
Previously, when I read this passage when Jesus said that it is written or prophesized by Moses, the Prophets and in the Psalms, I nodded to myself and mentally took note that, ‘yup, heard, noted and understood’. Upon reflecting, I realized that I did not, and still do not grasp, the enormity of what Jesus said.
There are so many things that can be said and discussed about this passage, but I want to dive deeper into just two points.
Firstly, when we doubt God has a plan for everything, ponder on this fact. More than 1,400 years before Jesus was born, during the time of Moses and the Prophets, they were writing about the coming of Christ. They knew that a Saviour of the world was going to come, although they did not know when. But they knew One from God was coming. How? Because God told them. Think about that. God had a plan for the salvation of the world long before it actually happened. If you ever doubted that God has a master plan and He knows precisely what His plans are, this should put your mind at ease. For God has it all planned out before we even existed. How does that pertain to us and in this age of instant gratification? Trust and confidence in God’s plan and mercy. Hope and patience while we wait to understand His perfect plan.
The second point is, from the fall of man, the time of Adam and Eve to the time of the Old Testaments to the New Testaments to now and to the distant future; the brokenness of man, the brokenness of us, has led us to offend God and turn our backs to Him time and time again. Yet, throughout the bible, when we see God was angry at the sins of His chosen people, of the people who crucified our Lord, of our sins that help nail Him to the cross; God never for one second forsaked them nor forsaked us. Despite our many inequities, God remembers His covenant with Abraham, remembers His love, His mercy for His people. Despite all that we have done or failed to do, God still honours His new covenant, which Jesus established. Despite it all, God still loves us, unconditionally.
What more is there to say about such a loving, merciful, wonderful God? If we spend our lifetime praising Him, loving Him, it still would not be long enough.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)
Prayer: Jesus, help us to truly understand Your words and the enormity of its meaning. Help us to truly understand the sacrifice that You made for our atonement, give us the grace to live according to Your word, and to be truly a disciple of Yours.
Thanksgiving: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for all Your love and mercy. Thank you for not dwelling on our shortcomings but loving us unconditionally. Jesus, thank you for dying for our salvation and for establishing the new covenant with us.
OXYGEN 
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