LET US PRAY

 

War and Rumors of War. I don't know how many of you are like me in this, when it comes to War, I struggle knowing how to pray. A few weeks ago I came across the prayer below, and I have found it helpful in organizing my thoughts when I pray. Now, this prayer focuses on Israel and Palestine specifically, however its structure lends its self to praying for conflicts in other world areas too.

We hear so much about Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Hamas, yet I was shocked to discover that there are around 20 wars and rumors of war currently in our world. To be honest, that overwhelms me some days.

I am hopeful that today's post will give all of us some idea(s) of how to pray for our world and in particular the war torn parts.


Isaiah 11:9

“They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain...”

Let Us Pray

God of Comfort,
send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives
are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine.
You are the Advocate of the oppressed
and the One whose eye is on the sparrow.
Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression.
Let hearts mourn rather than militarize.

God of Justice,
give strength to those whose long work for a just peace
might seem fruitless now. Strengthen their resolve.
Do not let them feel alone. Show us how to support their work
and bolster their courage. Guide religious leaders to model
unity and reconciliation across lines of division.
Guide political leaders to listen with their hearts as they seek peace and pursue it.
Help all people choose the rigorous path of just peace and disavow violence.

God of Love,
we lift up Palestine and Israel — its people, its land, its creatures.
War is a monster that consumes everything in its path.
Peace is a gift shared at meals of memory with Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
Let us burn incense, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies.
Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries.
We beg for love and compassion to prevail
on all your holy mountains.

God of Hope,
we lift up the cities of the region: Gaza City and Tel Aviv,
Ramallah and Ashkelon, Deir El Balah and Sderot,
so long divided, yet so filled with life and creativity.
Come again to breathe peace on your peoples
that all may recognize you.

God of Mercy,
even now work on the hearts of combatants
to choose life over death, reconciliation over retaliation,
restoration over destruction. 

God of the Nations,
let not one more child or elder be sacrificed on altars of political expediency.
Keep safe all people from unjust leaders who would exploit
vulnerability for their own distorted ends.
Give wise discernment to those making decisions to pursue peace.
Provide them insight into fostering well-being, freedom, and thriving for all.
Teach all of us to resolve injustices with righteousness, not rockets.
Guard our hearts against retaliation, and give us hearts for love alone.

Strengthen our faith in you, O God of All Flesh,
even when we don’t have clear answers,
so that we may still offer ourselves nonviolently
for the cause of peace.


Amen.

I WILL WAIT

 

April 19, 2024


Psalm 37

1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

Be still before the LORD 

and wait patiently for him.

I WILL WAIT 

Waiting in line. Waiting for an appointment. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for repair service. Waiting on hold. Waiting for the results of a medical test. Would you agree we wait but not patiently?
Then we show up to worship after a week of waiting “here, there and everywhere” and the first words are from Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” or Psalm 31:24 “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! Then the we sing a song that begins

There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears
And you meet us in our mourning
With a love that cast out fear
You are working in our waiting

Followed by another that says “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, as we wait upon the Lord ….”

Our explosion of technology and the availability of online resources at our thumb or fingertips, make it easy to get results, news, or information quickly. Yet when we wait or attempt to access information, we often feel frenzied not patient in the waiting. Am I right?

The psalm 37 refers to a frenzied, chaotic, turbulent state. Think of what we just read; evildoers get cut off. Fretting leads to wickedness, plotting against the righteous, and gnashing at them. But “smack dab” in the middle of these awful verses, the psalmist suggests that we be still before God and wait patiently. That’s counter-intuitive for us isn’t it, in such contexts or initial reaction is to push back to “do” something in response.

We are still in the season of Easter; we have been celebrating and reflecting on the resurrection of Jesus and its implications for our life and our world. Here was occurred to me, Waiting, yes even in frenzied waiting, we share a spiritual journey with other Jesus followers and Faith communities, who are also waiting and also sometimes frenzied. Yet, as the People of God we affirm God’s presence in the world today as we are “still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.” We do this is the confidence of Isaiah 64:4 that says,

Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.


There is a prayer attributed to Saint Augustine that often is used by churches at the receiving of communion, picture it you are about to receive the Bread and Wine, and then the gathered community hears these words: “Remember who you are, become what you receive.” Let us be still and know God’s presence.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

How is waiting with God’s presence an active experience?

CRAFTED AND SHAPED

 

 April 18, 2024

Ephesians 3:21-22


21when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.


2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Titus 3:5

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit

CRAFTED AND SHAPED

One of the great images of “Resurrection Transformation” for me is a caterpillar undergoing a miraculous transformation, emerging from its cocoon as a stunning butterfly. The metamorphosis is complete, and the once plain creature is now a beautiful creation, spreading its wings in freedom. I think that is why I follow so closely the Monarch Butterfly in our area, not only the migration but also the local Monarch enthusiasts who plant gardens with milkweed and “rich nectar” flowers to help with the Monarch’s life cycle, rescue their eggs and protect them until they emerge from the cocoon and then are set free into God’s beautiful world.

This image of metamorphosis captures the spirit of 2 Corinthians 5:17, there we see believers portrayed as new creations in Christ. I know this verse show up a great deal in these devotions but what verse better describes God’s amazing grace-filled work through Jesus in us. Like the butterfly shedding its old form, believers leave behind the old self, embracing a transformed life in Christ.

As Jesus followers we are united with Him, revealing His character in our living. Let us recognize this for what it is, a divine miracle of transformation, as we shed our old ways and they give way to the formation of a new spirit, “Christ in Us the hope of glory.” As St Augustine was to put it, “He became who we are so that we could become who He is.”

The result of this marvelous work is the birth of a new creation, God’s masterpiece in Christ, a new me and you, stunningly crafted and shaped in His image.

Gracious God, thank you for making me a new creation in Christ. Help me continually embrace the transformative power of Your Spirit. Guide my choices and perspectives, leading me to the fullness of the new life in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

RESURRECTION PEOPLE EMBRACE AUTHENTICITY

 

April 17, 2024



Acts 5:1 

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.



2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!


Acts 1:8 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

RESURRECTION PEOPLE EMBRACE AUTHENTICITY

The end of Acts 2 and Acts 4 describes a voluntary type of shared investment among the early church. People sold their possessions and property, bringing the proceeds to the Apostles to meet the needs of others. We said this week that this was the genuine outcome God brought to a faithful group of “resurrection-living” people. It is a beautiful scene as Acts 4 concludes.

Then, in Acts 5, we are introduced to a couple named Ananias and Sapphira who did a similar thing. They sold a parcel of land and brought money from the sale to the Apostles. While they said they brought the entire proceeds, they saved some for themselves. The first push back, or conflict after Pentecost, that we are told about is “internal” not external.

There is so much to unpack in Acts 5, I hope you take the time to read the chapter. Here is what strikes me, that at a time of the powerful authenticity that we see in this community of Jesus, this couple chose hypocrisy and pretense. In Acts 4, Barnabas was admired for selling land and giving the proceeds to the apostles, Luke, then immediately records Ananias and Sapphira’s attempt to mislead the Apostles. Theirs is an example of wanting the outcome of sacrificial generosity without the process.

The scary part comes next. I remember back in seminary in our class on Acts one of my classmates saying, “Acts 5 is the scariest passage in the book of Acts.” Maybe you have thought that too. This couple, Ananias and Sapphira, come separately before the Apostles, but both experience the same thing. They lie to the Apostles. The Apostles confront them. They are struck dead by God in front of the Apostles. See why my classmate said what he said?

The bigger picture of all this is in my view, that God rejected their hypocrisy because He knew the danger it posed to this fragile group of resurrection people. I think we all know that Hypocrisy destroys our communities, many of you have witnessed this no doubt, in church, home or work. 

The profound spiritual momentum and energy recorded in Acts 1-4 could have been extinguished by Acts 5 by what Ananias and Sapphira did by lying. This shocking event occurred to eliminate this behaviour and protect the early community of Jesus. It is always in my mind when I read this account that they could have brought their sale proceeds before the Apostles and said, “we sold our land and here is a portion of the sale to support those in need.” There was no requirement to sell and give all.

So, what is the take away for us? Could it be this story is saying that resurrection people embrace authenticity. Might this story in Acts be in God’s Word to remind you and me to be who God says we are? To live our lives out of the identity we have in Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote that we are new creations - the old has gone; the new has come. In Acts 1, Jesus said we are His martyrs - His witnesses.

After Acts 5, we read that the people lived with humility, reverence, and awe for God. As they lived authentically with dependence on the Holy Spirit, God moved in power. People continued to put their trust in Jesus. Resurrection kept happening all around them.

If we’re going to live as resurrection people all year long…

If we’re going to be “Easter people in a Good Friday world”...

If we’re going to see Easter become bigger than one day per year…

That journey begins as we look to Jesus and live expecting Him to bring resurrection all around us. I’m on that journey. I’m excited you are on that journey with me too!



"God, I believe You're at work in the world.
You're bringing resurrection in me and around me.
My eyes are open - I want to see You." Amen

WHAT COMES FIRST? OUTCOME or PROCESS

 

 April 16, 2024

Acts 2:42

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

WHAT COMES FIRST? 

OUTCOME or PROCESS

I Believe that many of us have had a complicated history with Acts 2:42-47. I know some Pastors who avoid preaching on this text, one colleague said to me “I did my best to avoid preaching it. The passage felt like a perfect, unrealistic, and fictional experience.” Others have said that the notion in verses 45-46 of communal ownership, and selling properties to help where there was need, “just doesn’t preach well” in our modern world. Yet, I read and listen to other Pastors who declare "If only we could just be like the Church in Acts 2."

When you read our Bible reading today, what was your first reaction? Maybe you agree with one of the views I mentioned above.

I noticed something in wrestling with this passage that helped me gain a “fuller” understanding of this text.

For these early followers of Jesus, community was not the goal, it was the outcome. These ordinary people lived as witnesses and, as we mentioned yesterday, they lived their lives with the expectation that God would move through them. They were faithful, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer,” (vs. 42) and God looked after the outcomes. The outcome of their faithfulness was community, they looked around, and boom! They had a lot of company in those very same faithful pursuits.

I wonder, if the goal had been to build the kind of community Acts 2 describes if they would have been disappointed. I wonder if they would have missed out on witnessing the power of the resurrection at work.

My thought is that the kind of community we long for is the result of a process where we witness the resurrection of Jesus. We experience the same power which raised Christ Jesus from the dead. According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 8, that resurrection power is alive within us. See, when we experience that power and discover other people experiencing that power, God creates a united community.

So, the early disciples believed that this same power that raised Jesus from the dead was alive in them. They witnessed the resurrection. They watched Jesus ascend to heaven. They received the Holy Spirit. Resurrection power dwelt with in them. They experienced the miraculous work of God’s Spirit around them daily. People responded by trusting in Jesus and thousands were baptized. Their process was, being faithful, and learning (together) what it meant to live in light of the resurrection every day. From this process, a tight-knit, unified, together community emerges. Seems like some really good preaching material, doesn’t it?

I have lived most of my life, maybe you can relate, wanting the outcome without the process. We forget we only get a resurrection community when we live as resurrection people together.

The early disciples weren’t sitting at the tomb, expecting the resurrection of Jesus. They were grieving their crucified and dead teacher. God raised Jesus from the dead when they were hopeless. If they can be surprised by hope there, I wonder what God can do in our hearts.

"God, I believe You're at work in the world.
You're bringing resurrection in me and around me.
My eyes are open - I want to see You." Amen

 

GREATER THINGS

 

April 15, 2024

John 14:12

12 What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who believes in me will do the works I have been doing. In fact, they will do even greater things. That’s because I am going to the Father.

John 16:33

33 “I have told you these things, so that you can have peace because of me. In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world.”

1 Corinthians 15:54

54 In fact, that is going to happen. What does not last will be dressed with what lasts forever. What dies will be dressed with what does not die. Then what is written will come true. It says, “Death has been swallowed up. It has lost the battle.”

 GREATER THINGS

Sometimes I think about what it would have been like to be among the followers of Jesus in the time depicted in the gospels, to hear the words spoken, see the miracles. Have you ever thought of what it would have been like to sit in front of Jesus' teaching? Would you have been taking hurried notes, live messaging His best lines, or camera recording it to post on your Instagram stories?

The longer I have followed Jesus and the more I re-read the Gospels, I wonder if I would have been confused, or unsure about what Jesus said. If I had been there and heard what Jesus said in John 14. There, He told the disciples that if they believed in Him, they would do the things He had been doing and even greater things than He had done.

What?! I believe most of us have wrestled with the implications of this verse. Because of the Holy Spirit, Jesus promised we would do greater things than He did.

Remember the context of these words Jesus spoke in John 14 and 16. They occurred during the Last Supper. This conversation most have been fresh in the disciples' memories after Jesus resurrected, spent 40 days with them, and then returned to heaven. It impacted how they lived in the days after the Holy Spirit came upon them with power, just as Jesus had promised.

What I notice, in the Book of Acts particularly is that as those early disciples went through their daily lives, they lived like they expected great things. Like they expected God to do these great things through them. And do you know what happened? God did great things!

The early disciples, I believe, knew something that we need to believe today. I read one time that “Our expectations shape our experience.”

When we experience the resurrection in our lives, we begin to notice the resurrection in our world. We leave room for God to bring life out of a situation that seems dead. We expect God to bring reconciliation out of betrayal. We find brokenness and injustice, and we anticipate God will bring healing and justice there. We hold onto hope!!

Resurrection hope does not deny reality; it defies reality. We see the same thing everyone else does, but we also know that resurrection power is at work in the world. We don’t ignore what we see. We simply see more through a “resurrection worldview”.

So, what are you expecting today? We know that God will not meet every one of your expectations. He did not promise that death, and despair will never happen in our life. God did boldly promise that resurrection power was at work in us.

"God, I believe You're at work in the world.
You're bringing resurrection in me and around me.
My eyes are open - I want to see You." Amen

Let’s pray this little prayer above each day this week, and then with eyes open watch for God’s revelation and resurrection. Share what you notice with someone.

MARTYR! WHO ME?

 

April 10, 2024

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

2 Corinthians 5:14

For Christ’s love compels us ....

MARTYR! WHO ME?

We all have experiences that mark us. It seems impossible to explain who we are, and how we move through the world, without mentioning those moments.

For me it was a trauma I experienced at a young age. The supernatural healing of a family member who had a tumor disappear, leaving the Doctor’s without explanation. Marrying into a family that accepted me and loved me, so much so that I dropped “in law” from my language, they became Mom, Dad, sister, brother to me. In 1996 God picked me up in one Christian denomination and set me down in another Christian domination to pastor, for which I am grateful everyday.

I am a witness to those events in my life. You, also are a witness to the events which made you who you are today.

Following His resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days on earth, appearing to over 500 people and confirming His defeat of death. Before He ascended to heaven, He spoke a few final words to His disciples.

In Acts 1:8, Luke records Jesus announcing that the early disciples would be His witnesses. He told them they would head out from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

One of things about Acts 1:8 that has really shaped my thought is the Greek word used in the verse for “Witness” translates as “martyr”. Martyr means “a witness.” When Jesus was preparing to leave his disciples and ascend to heaven, He said to them, “You will be martyrs.”

Truth is history reports that in the ancient Roman Empire, around the late 60s AD, many followers of Jesus died for their faith. They died in the Colosseum at the hands of lions. The Romans crucified them outside cities. Doused in oil, they burned at the stake to provide light for lavish parties.

These martyrs died because they confessed Jesus as Lord, not Caesar. Followers of Jesus refused to deny the resurrection of Jesus, unwilling to speak something they knew to be untrue.

For centuries, the word martyr has been used to describe someone who loses their life because of their faith or commitment to a cause. It has carried a negative connotation in some circles. However, you do not have to die to become a martyr. In truth, all of us are martyrs. We are witnesses to what we believe and what we value every day. In our jobs. With our family and friends. In our neighbourhoods. In our city and county. As I see it, you and me were martyr’s yesterday. We were a witness to what we believe and witnessed to why it mattered.

Remember, what we have been saying? Resurrection isn’t just a day on the calendar, the Easter message is the focal point of our faith. Our words and actions are influenced by our belief in the resurrection. For example, when we enter rooms, conversations, and relationships expecting God’s resurrection power to be at work in us and through us, believe me people can feel that. We are living as martyrs to the resurrection every day! I believe that when we take account of the things that shape us, and our personal experience of resurrection and new life, we live with great hope and expectation, and that is our “witness” that people notice.

LET US PRAY

God, fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Let my words carry the weight of Your love, So that those who listen may know Your heart. Lord Jesus, grant me the eloquence to share Your story of redemption and bear witness to Your sacrifice. Amen

 

EXPECTING RESURRECTION

 

April 9, 2024

Romans 8:11

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

EXPECTING RESURRECTION

Do you expect resurrection,

When you get out of bed in the morning?

When you go to work?

When you sit down with a friend?

Many of us believe in Jesus’ resurrection, but do we believe that power is still at work in our world today? A while ago, Barbara Johnson wrote that "we are Easter people in a Good Friday world.” Does that make sense? In a world marked by death and darkness, hate and anger, and disappointment and grief, sounds like Good Friday themes don’t you think. I wonder is it possible to live as resurrection people in a world of brokenness and discord?

What would it look like to expect resurrection? Resurrection is the hope that out of death, life can emerge. If you've experienced betrayal or relationship wounds, expecting resurrection might look like trusting someone enough to let them in. If you've lost a job, a business, or a dream, expecting resurrection is choosing to begin dreaming again. In the broken, twisted, and heart-wrenching experiences of life, resurrection invites us to keep believing in life and working for beauty, justice, love and light to overcome (eclipse?) the darkness.

The Apostle Paul said that the same power that resurrected Jesus is now at work in us. Have you considered that this resurrection power is at work in you? We resurrection people can respond with love and peace because we have been healed and made whole (Made New), through Jesus Christ.

Over the next few devotions, together let us consider how to live as resurrection people by grasping the pattern of the first disciples of Jesus. Easter Day may be over, but there is so much more to discover about resurrection living. May God help us to understand and experience the power of the resurrection of Jesus.

May you “have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”

Ephesians 3:19

RAISED TO LIFE

April 8, 2024

 

 John 20:19-20

On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 

RAISED TO LIFE

Resurrection Matters. Resurrection alters things. Resurrection creates new life and renewal. When the truth of Easter lays hold of us we live as a changed people. Not because of any personal accomplishments, but because of what was done on our behalf. Jesus’s resurrection gives us a new identity. This is so beautiful, after Jesus resurrection, the basis of our identity is not in the choices we make or what we accomplish, but who we are, our identity is found in who Christ’s resurrection has made each of us to be.

The life of the disciples after meeting the resurrected Jesus reminds me of this. “On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord (John 20:19-20).”

It was the first day of the week. The disciples had locked themselves away out of fear. Everything Jesus had taught, everything He had said or done… it all seemed like some distant memory now.

However,  we see these same disciples again in Acts 4, preaching to the Jewish leaders they had been hiding from. “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).”

Something happened in that locked room that radically transformed them from fearful, anxious followers into powerful witnesses that refused to be silenced, they would not be ashamed of the gospel, they would not stop proclaiming what Jesus had done, even at the cost of their own lives.

What I want to suggest about these followers is that they began to live, not out of who they were, but out of who the resurrection had made them to be. Their encounter with Christ was so deeply rooted in their hearts and minds that they never forgot what Jesus had done in his suffering, death and resurrection. Acts, well the rest of the New Testament tells us, that this was the story they told, over and over again, for the rest of their lives.

The resurrection was everything to/for them. It was both and end and a beginning as we observed on Friday's devotion. It was the end of who they had been, and the beginning of who they truly were meant to be. When Jesus came back to life, they came alive too.

Let us give Easter/Resurrection the place it deserves,  let us not relegate it to a day on the calendar but to a defining moment we celebrate over and over again, day after day for the rest of our lives like those first disciples. 

Christ has risen. The grave is empty. Everything is changed. 

Romans 6:4

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

 

UP FROM THE GRAVE HE AROSE: THE END?

 

April 5, 2024

Matthew 28:5-6

“I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, ….”



Matthew 28:18

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

UP FROM THE GRAVE HE AROSE:

THE END?

We have spent the past few weeks looking forward to Resurrection. We prepared our hearts. We reflected on the cross and its significance. Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday we spent time waiting for the discovery of an empty grave and a risen Savior. And then it comes. Jesus comes, “up from the grave He Arose”, we sing. And then it’s over.

The temptation is to treat Easter like it’s an ending. Jesus is risen we went to church, we celebrated, we gathered for a family feast. Now it’s back to “normal life.” Can you connect with this feeling?

But nothing was normal after Jesus. resurrection was a revolution. It was the day after which nothing was the same ever again. This event changes everything.

I mean, when a man who claims to be God rises from the dead, it just cannot be “business as usual”, normal life, whatever that was/is, ceases to exist. From resurrection day forward, life is lived by either affirming that he is risen or by denying it. I have come to recognize that Easter isn’t just a time to pause and reflect on some nice truths that we tend to forget in our busy world of family, friends, and vocation. Resurrection is the core of our faith. It is the truth that establishes hope.

It is April, we are a third of the way through 2024, and maybe the “fresh start” you thought this year would bring has already been contaminated with disappointments, mistakes, failures. If that’s normal life, then I am sure that you, like me, are ready for a change, ready for resurrection.

Easter isn’t an ending. It’s a beginning. It’s THE beginning, the fresh start all our hearts long for. It isn’t about fluffy bunnies, cute as they are, and beautiful pastel colors. No Easter season is about the radical death, relentless love, and revolutionary power that is ours in Jesus.

The cross, the empty grave, and the resurrected Jesus not only give us a reason to hope for change and renewal, but they also give us the power for change and renewal. See, maybe instead of us trying to bring change from our own efforts, we need to lean in with faith and let the resurrection change us.

In Romans 8, Paul reminds us: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

This changes everything!!

OUR LIVING HOPE

April 4, 2024

1 Peter 1:3 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

OUR LIVING HOPE

Jesus is risen. “Praise be to God!”

This good news is so amazing that Peter can’t even hold back his praise for God exclaiming, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Peter worships the Father because he has caused us to be born again! New Life through his great mercy! It is not due to anything we have done. God is the active one, according to his great mercy he creates new life in us, a new direction, a rebirth, to be born again. To what end? To a living hope! Our hope is not a perishing or fading hope, it is living! How? Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! We are born to new life through Jesus and are being raised to new life through him. We have a living hope because we worship a living Savior!

We all put our hope in something. We hope in our savings accounts to bring security, we hope in our relationships to make us happy, we hope in our careers and hobbies to bring fulfillment, we hope in healthy living to bring us long life, we hope in wise children to give us peace, we hope in entertainment to bring us comfort and joy, the list can go on and on. I suppose we could say that those that feel hopeless even demonstrate that they put their hope in something, they have simply come to realize that it has failed them.

Peter is a man who denied Jesus. Not once but three times. He turned his back on him to save his own skin. Jesus died, and Peter wept bitterly, knowing in that moment, he would never be able to say “I’m sorry” or make it right with Jesus again.

However, Sunday came, Jesus came triumphant from the grave! When you get a second chance like that, a new hope, a new and living hope, it changes everything. Resurrection hope changes everything.

So, Peter in response shouts out. 

Total praise! 

New birth! 

Living hope!

Peter came to know that the resurrection of Jesus was of greater worth than anything else. In fact, Peter gave his life to it. He gave his life for it. Tradition records that Peter, like his Lord, was crucified as a follower of "the way", as an apostle of Jesus.

With a "new and living hope" worldview, in the light of resurrection promises and reality, nothing could stop him as a messenger and minister for Jesus Christ. Resurrection means death ultimately will have no hold over Jesus followers. 

When you know this truth it does really make a difference. Our Bible reading reveals that all we need for our life, God has already given us. We are prepared for anything. All the opportunities, information, relationships have already been given to us through knowing Him.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:8 that this resurrection hope results in a confident faith response. Here is what he writes, "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Thanks be to God!

Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

“Hope is called the anchor of the soul because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a ‘wish’ I wish that such-and-such would take place rather, it is that which latches on to the certainty of the promises of the future that God has made.”

R.C. Sproul

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

 

April 3, 2024

John 11:17, 21-22, 25-26



17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. . . .

21“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” . . .

25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

What is important to remember about these words is the place where they were spoken. Jesus said this at the side of his close friend’s tomb. He said it after death invaded a family he loved. He spoke these words to his friend’s sister, Martha. Jesus said this to her in her time of grief while she was wondering why he didn’t come sooner and why God didn’t do something to stop her brother’s death. I sure identify with Martha, do you?

You can read the full story of what happened in John 11. I want us to focus in on something that I believe is key. Jesus doesn’t just promise Martha a future resurrection. Jesus is God’s future resurrection. He is God’s future resurrection breaking in—here—today! Martha gets to witness this.

One of truths that this passage holds for us is that with God, we don’t have to pretend or hide. We don’t have to stifle our worries and grief. It’s the Easter season, but maybe you’re not in a good place. You feel old, worn, discarded. You’re sad, grieving, or struggling. You can come to him openly—honestly, freely, with every bit of loss and hurt. Remember, Jesus doesn’t tell us to look inside ourselves for the answers to life’s deepest hurts. He tells us to look outside ourselves, to him. He says, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.” Because no matter what we face, we face it knowing that Jesus lives, that our Risen Lord, “walks with us and talks with us and tells us we are his own.”

Whatever we face doesn’t change that one bit. We can hold on to the future hope of what God will do, but we can also cling to Jesus today. Jesus is alive! This confession means everything, and changes everything! And it’s just the beginning. “Do you believe this?” Jesus asked this question to Martha, who was grieving. He asks us too.



LET US PRAY

I want to invite you in your prayer today to pray with great openness and transparency. Don’t stifle your grief, or your worries, or your feelings but bring them before your loving God.

Here is a little sample to get you started

God, I bring my hurt, sorrow, grief, pain, worries (add your own words) to You, knowing that You understand the depths of my suffering. I ask for Your healing presence in my life so that I may know your comfort. Fill my heart with Your peace, that surpasses all understanding, as I trust in Your purpose and plan. Draw me closer to You, deepen my faith and dependence on Your unfailing love. Amen.

"he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities; 

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, 

and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

EXPECT A MIRACLE

 

April 2, 2024

Luke 24:1-8



24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

EXPECT A MIRACLE

Expect a Miracle. These words were displayed on a card that I saw every Sunday morning for years on the pulpit of our family’s church. It was meant to remind worshippers that God does miraculous works in our day, just as we witness in the Bible. Expect a Miracle was an emphasis to trust in God’s promises.

Over the years, perhaps you can relate to this, I have witnessed God do something so powerful and outside the realm of expectation, that when it happens, it catches me by surprise. Even though I know I worship a God who can do anything, a God who will with certainty be faithful to his promises. Still  I am caught off guard, surprised, “wowed” by God’s miraculous works. 

That’s what it was like that first Resurrection Day.

In the gospels we read that the women didn’t go to a tomb, thinking they would witness a resurrection. Jesus’s disciples were hiding behind locked doors because they didn’t understand what was coming. Jesus had told them again and again.

Matthew 12:40

for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Matthew 16:21

From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

Matthew 17:22-23

And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

Mark 10:32-34

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

The reality is what they knew and what we know, too, is that dead people don’t come back to life.

When we read on in the story, we discover that when they came face-to-face with Jesus back from the dead, it was a “game changer,” or as we said on Sunday, this experience “changed everything.” Changes Everything for us too. The Bible has a message of good news. The good news is that Jesus rose from the dead! Just as the scriptures had said, had promised. That on that first Easter, the women took their spices and went to a tomb to prepare a dead body. But instead, what they found was an empty tomb and a risen Messiah!

That on that day, they came face-to-face with Jesus in the flesh! In Luke 24:39 Jesus says to his followers, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Notice the language, not some soul or spirit, but Jesus, back to life! Transformed and renewed. Stronger than death. Alive! God’s new age and new hope for all of us, comes with a promise of resurrection.

“Christ is risen!” “He is risen indeed.” is a refrain shouted by worshippers around the world on each Easter Sunday. It’s a shout of joy and surprise that Jesus is no longer dead. It’s a shout of hope and victory that he’s risen from the grave! “He is not here. He is risen!” May those words from the angel that first Easter change everything for you and me too.

LET US PRAY

JESUS, on the first Easter you stood face to face with your disciples and your resurrected presence transformed everything. Come to us today, we pray, in your risen power and make us glad with your presence. Amen