Remembering Good Friday and Celebrating Easter Sunday (Devotion 2)

What Does the Resurrection and the Victory of Easter Mean to Me?

By Ps Paul Ng, Church of Christ the Rock

Soon to be 65 years old, what has life taught me thus far? It doesn’t matter who you are and what you have, 100 out of 100 people will still end up in the grave. So, an age-long question surfaces: Borrowing the words from Job 14:14, ‘If a man dies, will he live again?

And Jesus answered, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

The entire belief of Christianity rest upon an empty tomb. The empty tomb speaks of it all. According to Dr Henry Morris, “The bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God, and the Christian faith is absolute truth.”

What then shall be held as proof of the resurrection to both believers and non-believers?

In short, this is what John Stott suggested: Perhaps the transformation of Christ’s disciples is the greatest evidence of all for the resurrection. It was the resurrection which transformed Peter’s fear into courage and James’ doubt into faith. It was the resurrection which changed the Sabbath into Sunday and the Jewish remnant into the Christian Church. It was the resurrection which changed Saul the Pharisee into Paul the apostle and turned his persecuting into preaching!

The above can certainly be a list that goes on.

My 18-years profession as a State Registered Nurse took me to various disciplines and postings both locally and abroad. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly in the course of my job. I have seen and understood much about life and death. My conclusion is that life is short and unpredictable, but all face the same fate in the end: Death!

But is that the end of all?

Long before I became a Christian, I had already been convinced about the reality of eternity, heaven and the nether world due to what I had seen and heard first-hand from terminally ill patients before they passed on. However, because of the Victory of Easter, I can, and I will live with a hope and a purpose to continue what God has entrusted despite the many unexplainable happenings around me.

1. A woman’s 10-year-old daughter was suffering from terminal cancer. Her daughter told her not to disturb her every evening around 6pm because Jesus would enter the room to speak to her in person privately. Yet ultimately, God still took her home.

Naturally, the woman was still disappointed with God on why He didn’t heal her daughter. While the woman slept, God responded to her in a dream. She dreamt of her daughter being healthy and lively in the presence of God’s dwelling. And she told me, “Paul, if I tell you there are flowers in heaven, do you believe me? But I just can’t describe the color to you! You can never find such color here on earth.” And while we believe in miracles, our trust must be in God!

2. Before the death of my father-in-law, he accepted Christ at age of 70+. Though he never attended church or watched the “Jesus” film, yet on the day he was water-baptized, thrice he said, “Jesus is walking towards me!” The next day, he was taken to be with the Lord.

A few weeks after his death, one of his grandsons fell under the power of God when someone prayed for him. The first thing after he got up, excitedly he exclaimed, “I saw my grandpa walking in the streets of gold.” My Lord promised: Where I am, you will also be!

3. An elderly new convert in Kuala Lumpur who was dying from terminal cancer accepted Christ after a supernatural encounter in her dream. She was later brought home to pass on peacefully at home rather than in the hospital.

While still gasping for breath on her deathbed, the adult family members were discussing about the funeral arrangement. The grandchildren were still playing in the hall near the bed of their granny. Suddenly, there was absolute silence outside, so the adults rushed out to see what was happening.

They witnessed with their eyes the grandchildren looking upward towards the ceiling with hands bidding farewell. They were not looking at her physical body. Perhaps God had opened their eyes to see that the angelic hosts coming to take her up to heaven.

What Does the Victory of Easter Mean to Me?

In Christ, death is not permanent, and hope is always built on the foundation of the Risen Savior!

These are but a few examples of what the Victory of Easter means to me. In Christ, death is not permanent, and hope is always built on the foundation of the Risen Savior! Jesus will return when the divine trumpet sounds, and in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed.

Because He lives, we will also live in this divine hope and purpose.

Prior to his calling into the full-time ministry in Bethel AG Church, Rev Paul Ng was working as a staff nurse for 18 years. He has learned what patience is and what it takes to be a good listener. After careful consideration and conviction by the Holy Spirit, he finally answered the call of God to serve in the church as a Christian worker. For four years, he learned and did his best to serve God in faith and faithfulness. By His divine purpose, we started Church of Christ the Rock in October 2001. Together with his wife Joanna and three grown-up children, they are still faithfully serving God, with the help of lay-pastors and leaders.