Easter morning has arrived, and the tomb of Jesus stands empty; the sorrow of Good Friday, and the solemn silence of yesterday is over... Jesus Has Risen! This moment is the pinnacle of our faith. Can we carry it with us always; even into the valley?
This morning I am sifting through my life and identifying those things which God has asked of me that remain undone. For the most part I have done the big things, but what about those details that didn't seem too significant or relevant to the big picture... did I gloss over them and leave them undone?
What does it mean to be yoked with Jesus? This is our concentration for the day. Will we find a life of leisure, hardship, joy, suffering? What will this life mean to us spiritually and physically?
There are many gifts that are given us by God, but eternal life and power are not among them. You are probably asking how I can say such a thing. Aren't these part of the promise we have been given?
On April ninth we concluded that we can, and should, find ourselves crucified with Jesus, so this morning we will ask ourselves another question... are we resurrected with Him as well, and what does that mean in our lives.
In celebration of Holy Week, and Easter, I wanted to do something a bit different this morning. Instead of our typical devotional message I have prepared something special that I hope you will enjoy and contemplate throughout the remainder of the week.
We have entered Holy Week, and during this week we live and are crucified with Christ during His final days. We follow Him through the joy of His arrival in Jerusalem, to the last supper, His anguish in Gethsemane, the capture, trial, and scourging of our Lord, and then we join Him on the cross for His crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension.
Have you seen Jesus? I am not talking about the feeling that comes over us when we first believe in faith, but in a one on one encounter with the risen Lord. When it occurred did it change your life forever; greater even than even the moment you first believed?
I am lost in thought this morning regarding the gift that was given us from the cross. We all know that Jesus suffered, died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven, to release us from sin and death, but there is more.
This morning I read of Jesus, before the passion, allowing Peter, James, and John to see Him speak with Elijah and Moses on the mountain, and He was transfigured right before their eyes. Even His clothing glowed... yet He commanded them not to tell anyone of this until He had risen from the dead... why the silence?
I am resting in the shadow of the cross this morning. My thoughts are on Jesus, the cross, and what that moment, in human history, when Christ hung from it means to you, me, and the world. Jesus was not a victim, the cross was not imposed upon Him.
We are approaching Holy Week and Easter so my mind dwells on the activities that are about to transpire. This morning I am concentrating on the Garden of Gethsemane and the sorrow and agony that Jesus faced there.
This morning I am contemplating that time when our faith moves into its maturity and we leave the close care of our Lord and the nursery which is our church, to test our spiritual wings within the world. Are we ready for what lies ahead? Is our faith ready to become real and not just theory?
This morning I am contemplating those things of faith to which we become blinded. I recall the words of Jesus regarding Jerusalem and ask myself if this could happen to me as well. Could my religion become my hindrance?
What is the focus of our life? Is there something or someone that fascinates us beyond anyone, or anything, we have ever known? Is it something of this world, or God and Jesus? Are we spiritual in our journey through life?