He Has Risen

 

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.

And behold a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.

And his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow.

The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come see the place where He was lying.”

“Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.

And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.

Matthew 28:1-9

Jesus' Body Taken To The Tomb

And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the Kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

And he took it down and wrapped it in linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.

It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. They returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Luke 23:50-56

Jesus was gone. All that was left was the shell of His body. And, God sent a man named Joseph to care for the body and to bury it in a tomb.

Everyone saw it, everyone knew it: Jesus was dead. His disciples and followers mourned.

But that was not the end of the story.

Not Because He Was A Criminal

Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.

There they crucified Him, and with Him, two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

John 19:16-19

 

The Beginning Of The End

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples.

Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

He said to them, “I am He.”

… So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him….

John 18:1-4, 12

And, so the end began.  Jesus, an innocent man, arrested and taken way.

Boldly Proclaim Jesus

 

They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the king of Israel!"

John 12:13

Jesus did not hide from His enemies; He boldly came into the city and was received with joy and honor by those who had heard of His mercy and love and good works.

Jesus did this knowing that in only a few days everything would change and He would be charged, convicted and crucified for our sins.

Let us remember that being a Christian is not about being comfortable, it is about doing what God calls us to do. We may think that God requires a lot from us, but it is nothing compared to what He did for us when He sent His Son, Jesus, to deliver us from our sins.

Celebrate the love of God and boldly proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the world.

God Cares For You

Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

 

God is loving and cares for you.  He does not want you to be weighted down with worry and fear. He guards you and yours.  Don't spend your time worrying about things over which you have little or no control.  Do what you can do, and trust God to take care of the rest.  

 

God will carry your burdens for you.  

 

May you find peace in your life.

No Condemnation

“Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.”

Isaiah 1:18

Jesus did not come to condemn us, Jesus came to forgive us. All we need to do is to confess our sin, ask God’s forgiveness and invite Jesus to be our Lord, Master and Savior and we are made perfect in the eyes of God. We are white as snow.

God Is Waiting For You

 

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

Whoever is discerning, let him know them.

For the ways of the Lord are right,

And the righteous will walk in them.

Hosea 14:9

Hosea again and again preached doom and gloom to the Israelites. And, the Israelites had it coming because they refused to give up idolatry and return to the one true God.

In all this there is the undercurrent that in spite of the Israelites unfaithfulness, God was ready to welcome them back if they would repent of their sin and come to Him.

No matter how far we stray from God, He is still there waiting to welcome us back. God is merciful and all we have to do is ask forgiveness for our sin and accept His mercy.

Not The Lions' Lunch

Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den…. Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him, and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”

Daniel 6:16, 19-22

Daniel trusted God. It did not matter that statistically it looked like he would die when the King threw him in the lions’ den. What mattered to Daniel was that God had never failed him, and he believed that God would not fail him in the lions’ den. Daniel was right. His trust in God trumped the power of the King and the appetite of the lions.

When we faces lions we need to remember that we serve the same God as Daniel, and that He never changes. We are not the lions’ lunch, we are God’s children, and He protects what is His.

Celebrate The Good Stuff In Your Life

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:15-17

There is nothing that compares to happy children. They chatter and laugh and dance around with total joy. They live in the moment.

Perhaps we should spend more time living in the moment. We can allow our existence to be blackened by worry or circumstances, to the point that we fail to rejoice in the good things that happen. We may not have great victories to celebrate, but we do have things in which we can take joy.

That is why the Apostle Paul reminds us to worship with joy and thankfulness. We are uplifted when we sing praises to God for His goodness and love. So, stand up, clap your hands and sing and bask in the joy of the love of God.

Waiting

 

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.

They will mount up with wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow tired.

They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 40:31

When we are waiting for an answer from God, it is not like Google giving us instant multiple answers. But we know the answer we get will be the right answer. 

Have a little patience, God will keep you strong.

You Got To Give Something Up To Get Something

“We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”

…When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

Numbers 11:5-6, 9

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to freedom, God provided everything they needed. He gave them free food, manna. The manna fell from heaven every day and all the people had to do was gather it, prepare it and eat.

However, the people complained about the food and lamented that they had better food in Egypt, all the while forgetting that they were slaves and brutally treated and nearly worked to death. They lost sight of what their journey was really about – getting to the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey.

When we set out on a journey at God’s direction, we need to remember what the big purpose is and be willing to sacrifice a little comfort to get there. It is not until we are at the end of our journey that we can see the whole picture of God’s plan.

And, there is not a better place to be than the Promised Land.

What Are You Serving Up?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25

When we examine ourselves, we can look at what it is we take out into the world with us.  How do we approach life?  If we are grouchy, we need to consider that we are not serving up the best God has for us to share.  

We all have bad days and we all can be caught up in a really bad attitude, but we need to remember that that is not what we are called to and not what God has for us.

The fruits of the Spirit remind us that we are more than our circumstances - we are chosen and we have been gifted much from God and we can show it by allowing the fruits of the Spirit to fill us.  

 

A Great Message

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

We started taking our Granddaughter to church when she was four years old.  I was not sure how much she learned about God, but I knew that she had a good time. One day when she was six years old, she said, “Jesus took all our sins and died so that we can go to heaven.”

If a six year old understands this, then why are we not shouting it from the roof tops for everyone to hear? I think it is because we are afraid we will be met with skepticism or ridicule or be labeled as religious fanatics.

What we need to consider is that we live a world full of people looking for God, and it is our job to tell them about Jesus. We have a great message and we should not be afraid to boldly proclaim it: “… God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Look For The Door

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond that what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Temptation comes all dressed up in its Sunday suit. It dangles promises of good fortune. But temptation is a liar because what it does not say is that, when we compromise what we know to be the right thing to do, we end up with a broken heart and a broken spirit. The consequences of un-resisted temptation can be crushing.

When we are tempted to do that which we know is wrong but which at the moment looks attractive or to be the only thing we can do, we need to remember that God is with us and will give us the strength to overcome the temptation. And, what’s more God promises to provide a means of escape for us.

When tempted, look for the door.

Misuse of the Scripture

He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

Matthew 12:30

I think this is one of the most frequently misused scriptures. It is used to bully opponents to support controversial and sometimes immoral actions by implying that seeking answers to lingering questions is somehow hindering progress. The misuse of the words “If you are not for us, you are against us” does nothing to resolve conflict or promote truth. It only serves to make people angry.

And, yes, there are people today who are enemies of the Gospel. And, yes, we need to arm ourselves with the Truth of the Gospel and be prepared to do battle for the souls of men and women who have been misled about the nature of God by telling them about Jesus who loves them.

Remember, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He comes in love.

Get Harvesting

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into this harvest.”

Matthew 9:35-38

I don't know about you, but I see people who are distressed and dispirited.  It is not just the people who are poor or ill, I am talking about people who have everything money can buy. 

Part of the problem is that they feed on news that tells them how bad off they are.  True there are many people who are needy and are suffering, but people who have the means to change the lives of others are not helping things when they wallow in pity because their perceived state of life.

I might be wrong, but when my friends get on the pity train that the world is terrible and woe is them, I say, "So, tell me about your life.  You look like you are doing pretty good.  Nice house, nice car, money to pay your bills, so what is it that is so terrible in your life."

Most, can think of nothing terrible.  That's when I suggest that perhaps they might consider joining a group that works to make life better for other people, like a church or charity or a free meal kitchen, because Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful and the workers few."

What will they do?  Who knows, but at least they have something to think about.

Running Not So Well

You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?

Galatians 5:7

Every now and then we experience an event which puts a stick in spokes of our faith and we find ourselves sprawled out and dazed as we dust off after the wreck. Everybody has times when they get tangled up by people or circumstances which result in less than Christ like behavior.

The good news is that we can examine our lives and with God’s help repair our spiritual selves.

Get up and get moving. God has work for you to do.

A Little Advice

 

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Proverbs 12:15

Did you ever notice that when you get off track that God sends someone to flag you down and suggest that you rethink your course of action? I have. Nobody likes to be told that they are wrong, but if the message measures up to the Word of God, we need to listen and heed the warning.

We Get More Than We Deserve

 

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

With God we get more than we deserve. God’s love is extended to each and every one of us, without question. God’s only desire is to rescue us out of sin and into his grace.

Pack Light

And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money, and do not even have two tunics apiece.”

Luke 9:2-3

When God sends us on a mission, He gives us everything we need to do His work. We don’t need to dwell on what we don’t have but to believe that we have all that we need – the Spirit of God upon us.

Make Peace, Starting With Yourself

 

Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11

Paul’s encouragement still applies today. We as Christians can become more resilient by changing our attitude about how we let life’s little aggravations affect us. Getting into a frame of mind where we can say to ourselves, “So what,” or “Whatever,” when little things go wrong, can change our whole outlook on life and open us up to receive the blessing of peace.

Give What You Have

 

But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk!”

Acts 3:6

Did you ever think you should say something and then not speak? Well, when we are confronted by people who have problems or issues and we don’t have a clue what we can say to help them, we can take a hint from Peter. We can say, “Can I pray with you?” Or if we are not that bold, then we can say, “I hear what you are saying, and I will pray for you in this difficult time.”

We can bring the love of Christ to many people, just by being willing to offer what we have – faith in God, that no matter what He is looking after all of us.

Not The End Of The Story

 

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.”

John 18:25

The Apostle Peter was famous for messing up. He was the guy who cut the Roman soldier’s ear off in the garden and who denied Christ three times in one day. Peter was not perfect, but he was forgiven and he became one of the most dynamic evangelists in the world, bringing thousands to know Jesus. So, awe inspiring was Peter’s ministry that he is the model for the Pope of the Catholic Church.

We all mess up. We all sin. We can beat ourselves up for our shortcomings and have a regular pity party. Or, we can ask God’s forgiveness and get on with the mission God has assigned us – to take the Gospel to the world.

Forget your sin because God has forgiven you, and get busy on the rest of the story.

Look Out For Others

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Give Thanks

 

So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly, and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

“Both riches and honor come from You and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

“Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise Your glorious name.”

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

When we are down in the dumps, we need to think about what we have to be thankful for and give thanks.  We may think things are bad, but it could be worse.  

Take time to give thanks and get that blessed feeling back.

Everything we have comes from God and we are grateful.

Give It Up

Therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

1 Peter 2:1-3

 

If you feel hate or malice, if you have a bent to deceit, or if you recognize hypocrisy in your life, give it up. 

 

God is kind to us, and we should be kind to our fellow human beings. Our goal is to grow in the love of God and in knowledge of His ways and be reinvented as one who not only follows God, but strives to be godly. 

 

Because God is kind to us, we are kind to others.

Amen.

It Is The Greatest

 

One of the scribes came and heard them arguing and recognizing that He (Jesus) had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is foremost of all?”

Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”

“The second is, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:28-31

We Are Remade Perfect

“Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.”

Isaiah 1:18

Sometimes We Get Roughed Up

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:10

Sometimes when you get something going, it's hard to shake loose of it and you just have to role with it.  The something is good sometimes, but sometimes it's bad.  Like when we get a cold, then pneumonia, and land in the hospital. Or, worse yet, it's when we are treated badly because we are Christians.   

Getting roughed up for no good reason, is tough to take.  What is worse is that the rougher can create a toxic environment not only for us, but for those who are around us, which can result in even more roughing for us.

The Apostle Paul, experienced this and he tells us to be strong because our strength comes from God, not from man.  

So, when things are going wrong, role with it and trust God to take care of you.

Get On With The Task At Hand

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Philippians 2:12-16