Tag: Easter

SUNDAY

It’s Friday.  The disciples are shocked, scattered, and shattered.  It wasn’t supposed to be this way.  They thought there was a future, a plan.  They risked everything they had to follow Jesus.  Now that plan is destroyed.  Terrified, they wonder what is next.  Will the Roman soldiers be coming for them?

We have all had our Fridays.  A midnight phone call, a pink slip at work, a bad diagnosis, an “I don’t love you any more.”  We are devastated.  Brokenhearted.  This is not the way it is supposed to be!  We had a plan, we were all in, and now that plan is in pieces.  We wonder if there is another shoe to drop.  

It’s Saturday.  The disciples are in pain.  Mary must have been in agony.  Still in shock, they are constrained by the laws of what might be their last Sabbath Saturday.  They cannot even care for the body of their Lord.  And God seems silent.

After devastating life events, we too experience those dark Saturdays.  Caught between the familiarities of what were our lives only a few days ago, we are now in uncharted territory.  We don’t know what to do.  We are spent and exhausted.  We can’t even imagine moving forward. And God seems silent.

It’s Sunday!  He is risen!  His disciples wonder if it could possibly be true.  Everything changes.  There is now hope and a future.  They get a new plan, and gradually they understand that this was the plan all along.  They get new marching orders.  They rejoice and sing a new song.

 We finally get a Sunday.  That which was dead comes to life again.  We discover that we can move forward and put one foot in front of the other.  We don’t go back to where we were, but we get a different kind of good, one that we could never imagine.  God gives us a new plan and a new direction, one that we slowly realize as our destiny from the beginning.  We get a new purpose.  We can actually be happy again.

Lord, thank you for Sundays!    

YOU’RE INVITED

Spring seems to bring a round of special occasions and invitations.  There are weddings, showers, graduations, and other events that take place before many of us disperse for summer.  In our family, we have a round of birthdays coming up, but come to think of it, every month is birthday month in our big family.  You may be receiving invitations to one event or another every week.  But I wonder if you have ever been uninvited?

Have you ever heard about a party or special event and wondered, “Why wasn’t I included?”  You may wonder why you are not an A-lister or part of the in crowd.  Why are you left out?  Maybe you are the wrong color or gender; maybe you wear the wrong clothes, or don’t live in the right neighborhood or drive the right car.    And the big lie you believe: “You are not good enough!”  If you buy into that lie, I wonder if you have ever worn yourself out trying to get good enough.   It’s exhausting.  

I was thinking about these things this morning, Good Friday.   It is always the heaviest, hardest day of the year for me as I remember how Jesus suffered.  But in many ways it is the best day of the year.  I guess that is why it is Good Friday.  Because of today I am invited to a party like no other.  John writes about it in the Book of Revelation.  I can’t think of enough superlatives to describe it, so I will compare it to another big event that is coming up.  And no, I am definitely not invited to this one!  In a few weeks the world is going to witness the big elaborate coronation of King Charles.  England will pull out all her jewels and pageantry.  But it will pale in comparison to the coronation of King Jesus.  I am invited!  And my invitation came because of Good Friday.

In every other religion I can think of, man has to work himself up to a god.  Keep enough laws, do enough good things, stay away from all the “don’ts” and then maybe, he will be good enough to reach his god or whatever form of peaceful place he has imagined.  Christianity is the only religion (and I hate that word) where God comes down to man.  God says, and I paraphrase, you can’t get good enough to reach me; you can’t do enough good things to be in relationship (better word) with me.  You are separated from me because you are sinful and I am holy.  So I will come down to you.  I will come in the form of a human, live a sinless life, and suffer and die on a cross to pay for your sins.  I will make a way, and it is the only way because without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Heb. 9:22).   And not only that, I am going to conquer death by rising from the grave and going back to Heaven to prepare a place for you. 

Here is the invitation: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends”  (Rev. 3:20).   You may be wondering how to RSVP to your invitation.  All you must do is agree with God that you are a sinner, believe that Christ died for your sins and ask for forgiveness.   Then turn away from your sins.  If you would like to open your heart to Jesus on this Good Friday, you can pray something like this.  The words are not what are important; it is the attitude of your heart.

Lord, I confess to you that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died
for my sin and that you raised Him to life.
I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord,
from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will.

I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Easter…So What?

It is the Monday morning after Easter.  I hope you all had a glorious Easter Sunday celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. I hope you had the opportunity to attend a church service.  Our church was overflowing at each service, and I suppose your church was full also. Maybe the music was glorious, and moved you as you thought about the amazing sacrifice our Lord made for our sins. Maybe you got together with family and friends, everyone decked out in Easter finery.  I imagine there was good food, flowers, and children with Easter baskets, looking for eggs.

But today is Monday. Most of us had to get up and go back to our normal routines.  Maybe it’s another Monday of fighting traffic and getting into the Monday morning work grind. If you are a student, it is probably back to school, with finals looming around the corner.  Maybe you are a stay-at-home mom with a busy day ahead. The dishwasher and the washing machine are running, you are picking up Easter grass and candy wrappers, and mentally making a grocery list.  Easter is in the books for another year.  What does it have to do with my Monday?

I was eighteen when I received Christ as my Savior.  I knew I was a sinner, and I was grateful, so grateful, that through His death I could be forgiven.  I believed that I would go to Heaven when I died.  And that was it.  I compartmentalized that event and got on with my life.  It was about five years later when Jesus began to woo me into a Bible-teaching church.  It was there that I began to realize the claim that Jesus had on my life…my entire life, not just my Easter Sunday life.  And I also learned the rest of the story.  Christ didn’t just save me and leave me to navigate this life on my own. There are so many benefits to Easter in addition to salvation that I’m sure I will only scratch the surface naming them.  But even if salvation was the only gift, that would be amazing, incredible, and so much more than I deserve!  

  1. The first benefit that comes to mind is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  When we receive Christ, His Spirit comes to dwell in us.  Think of it…the third person of the Trinity living in me!  I talk to Him all day long.  And He talks to me though I don’t always listen, and sadly, do not always obey.  He guides my steps, He comforts me, and He interprets God’s word to me.  He leads me in my daily decisions.  If I need to buy a new air conditioner, He has ideas about that. If I am worried about my children, He reminds me that there is One who cares about them even more than I do.  When I am concerned about the future, He assures me that He is in control. 
  2. Access to the throne of God.  He hears my prayers.  Because of Christ’s death I have been reconciled to God.  We are no loner enemies.  And because that temple veil was torn from top to bottom, I can go straight to Him in prayer.  At any time, on any day.  I do not need a human mediator because I have a High Priest who sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for me.  I have the amazing privilege of prayer, and I confess that I am not very diligent about it. It is very hard for me to sit for an hour (or even a half hour) and pray. But I am really good at carrying on a continual conversation with the Lord.  We talk all day long.
  3. Death is not final.  I have the peace of knowing that when my appointment with death comes, I will slip from this life into the next.  And I will be reunited with family and friends who have passed before. How I look forward to that! Sometimes I ask God to deliver a message from me to them.  I’m not sure that is scriptural, but I do it anyway.  
  4. The church.  I have fellowship with other believers.  There is nothing like the body of Christ!  Not only can you share spiritual things, what God is doing in your life, and prayer concerns, but also your church family cares about your practical needs and will rally around you in days of trouble, sorrow, or joy. Church ladies excel at casseroles and pies!
  5. There are many more benefits, but I just want to name one more big one: The Bible.  What would I do without the Word?  It is full of God’s promises, it comforts me, and it is “a lamp unto my feet.” The Bible is the main way God speaks to me.  It is the story of redemption, for Genesis to Revelation.  And even though I’ve read it many times, it is always new!  I will never completely plumb the depths of God’s Word.

So today, as you are putting away the things of Easter, the dinnerware, the clothes, the baskets and bunnies, I hope you will put on all that Christ offers you because of Easter. As you go about your workday, on your commute to work or school, as you face the trials of this world, I hope you realize there is One who wants to be a part of every facet of your life.  I hope you can celebrate Easter 365 days a year. He is risen.  Hallelujah.  

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