Tag: Jesus

Today’s news

Jesus Christ is Risen!

Read John 20 for the full account!

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus and Thomas

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of This Book

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

He is Risen, indeed!

Alleluia!

Breaking through

God created the way to enter into fellowship with Him.

God took the form of a man – Jesus – and took on all of sins of the world to pave the way, to make the path, to secure salvation for us.

He sees what we cannot see. He gives what we cannot give.

And He loves in ways we cannot comprehend.

This Jesus, our Jesus, took on the sin, pain, guilt, and shame. It is challenging enough for me to think about it in terms of my own sin.

But what about that one who hurt my loved one, did something vile to me or my family, has no remorse or regret, is blind to the consequences of their sin — and isn’t even convinced they have sinned?

Jesus died for all – even them.

Our sin is heavy, it can be debilitating, it can be suffocating. It is a burden.

Drag your burdens to the cross. Leave them there. Trust in God — He is working on your behalf. He has provided the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Jesus can carry it all.

Sacrifices

Some sacrifices hold more weight than others.

We might come close to imagining the weight of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. But it is heavy.

Jesus took on all of our

missteps
mistakes
selfishness
arrogance
rebellion
insistence
anger
hatred
violence
lies
deceit
cheating
unbelief
denial
sins

Our list alone is enough. And then multiply it by all of humanity. All that has and all that will happen.

All for us.

This is a gift from God. This is sacrifice. This is Jesus.

Things tossed in a box…

Have you ever tossed things in a box and closed it up and tucked it away and forgot about it for a chunk of time?

It is so easy for me to think about that for physical things because it has happened to me several times. We have moved a time or two so it most often has happened then but it has also happened when I have a box of things I am not sure about so I gather them, put the somewhere and then it is a big surprise when I pull it out.

It’s so easy for me to forget about what I have — like that mini muffin tin I couldn’t find only to buy a new one and then find the old one less than a week later.

Or that can opener I set down in the pantry. Couldn’t find. And after I finally bought a substandard one (and used it) I found the other one less than 24 hours later. Ugh!

I do this with tangible things — what about those intangibles? Things that are gifts from God that I set aside and forget about like

Prayer

Have you ever set it aside and stopped using this amazing form of connecting with God? I think it happens to everyone at one point. Things happen, life takes a wild turn, and pretty soon it has been days when you are not connecting with God.

Don’t forget about this gift!

Dust it off if it has been set aside. Dig into God’s Word for some amazing Psalms as examples or utilize The Lord’s Prayer. Hymns can be another great prayer offering.

Are there other good gifts from our Heavenly Father that you may not be utilizing? Let this be an encouragement for you to remember them and utilize them.

Rebelling

I don’t mind going against the flow a bit. Sometimes I like to do it for the sake of argument.

But I have to ask myself why I rebel against the very thing I want? It makes no sense.

And then I remember this verse from the Bible:

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Romans 7:18-20 ESV

And the struggle is real. I can hear it in my mind. And, if I close my eyes, I can almost see the battle play out before me.

It is a condition of my human nature. . I know I will not win every battle, in fact, it isn’t even me that can win. I have God on my side if I can follow the Holy Spirit’s guiding. And God, through Jesus, has surely won the war.

What good thing have you been rebelling against?

THE Root

I have been interested in genealogy for a while and the language around family trees can be helpful in explaining family dynamics and relationships. The Bible also talks about who Jesus is in terms of ancestry. And this is where that shoot that grows out of THE root is a very good thing for you and me.

“Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.” Isaiah 11:1

This is good news for us! Jesus is here with us and for us.

Let’s let His love for others take root in our lives. Let’s be open to His pruning. Let’s trust Him to provide what we need to grow our faith while also being intentional about learning more about God through His Word. Let’s plants seeds. Let’s water the faith of young or struggling Christians. Let’s think about our faith soil — are we surrounded by life giving nutrients?

Has a lot of manure (difficulty) come your way? As stinky as that can be, it truly can grow you like nothing else can. God can use every last bit of our personal struggles to deepen out faith.

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may 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, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV

Father of Compassion

I stumble. I fall. I do those things I wish I would not do yet again.

Even though I get frustrated with myself, I have never once imagined God ready to pull His hair out because I am not “getting it.”

Instead, I see His mercy and grace and compassion.

It isn’t that the wrath of God does not exist. But the Bible illustrates many situations where God showed compassion: Jesus feeding the crowds, Jesus meeting the woman at the well, Jesus healing the many, many people He healed.

Maybe all of those different scenarios are for us to see ourselves in them.

God does not tire of hearing from us. When we are coming to Him it is usually out of our own need or we are coming on the behalf of others.

Even if we aren’t coming to Him with pure intentions He can take and shape our prayers to become “His will.”

As humans, we can get tired of repeated situations with the humans around us. Our fuses are sometimes short for our siblings, co-workers, neighbors, spouse, children, or grandchildren.

He is the Father of Compassion.

My prayer is that I respond as one who is frequently shown compassion, mercy, and grace. I hope to reflect my Father’s heart.

The Empty Tomb

The empty tomb is full of promises kept.

Jesus fulfilled that which we could not.

From start to finish

From beginning to end

From now until forevermore

God makes the way by providing what we need for this life and the new life to come.

Come, Lord Jesus. Be our guest. And let thy gifts to us be blessed. Amen.

He is Risen!

He is Risen, indeed!

Alleluia!

What is to come

Sometimes we want to know how “it” is going to happen. Or when “it” will happen. But, mostly, it seems, we don’t get the heads up. Things happen and we are either ready for it or we are not and we need to switch gears.

Sometimes the anticipation is more anxiety producing than the event we are expecting or dreading.

God is there. He is here, now. And He is there, in our next steps. And He will carry us through in ways we mY not be able to put into words.

Some of our “to comes” are things we are dreading…things we don’t want to walk through, witness, or endure.

Even as we think about Jesus’ betrayal, suffering, and death — not something to look forward to experiencing. Yet, in that ugliness God gave us an unimaginable gift.

May we view our uncertainties and difficulties knowing that Jesus understands our pain and will lead us through them. God’s unimaginable gift is for us each and every day.

Heavenly Father — Thank you for Jesus’ sacrifice. It allows us the gift of everlasting life. Amen.