Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts

Saturday, 30 March 2013

Knee-Deep In Daffodils

Our Daily Bread


Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Luke 24:13-34

The Lord is risen indeed! —Luke 24:34

When the first flowers of spring bloomed in our yard, my 5-year-old son waded into a patch of daffodils. He noticed some debris from plants that had expired months before and remarked, “Mom, when I see something dead, it reminds me of Easter because Jesus died on the cross.” I replied, “When I see something alive—like the daffodils—it reminds me that Jesus came back to life!”

You may be down on Friday, but Sunday's coming!

...for had they known, they would not have crucified

the Lord of glory. - 1 Corinthians 2:8

Dear Loved One,

The Lord has an awesome habit of turning things around. What human hands could never change, He does when He is invited into the equation. And just when it seems flesh and the Devil have had their day, the Lord gives them their comeuppance.

"Comeuppance" is a great word for Easter. The consummate comeuppance is what Easter is about: Jesus rising from the dead. And while it is such a brilliant strategy on the part of God, the Scripture says that the rulers of this age didn't know what they were doing in sending Jesus to the Cross. If they had known, they wouldn't have done it. What they thought would be their moment of triumph instead set up the mammoth turnaround of the Resurrection. Jesus, of course, becomes the victor and the manifestation of justice that is restored.

Each ONE Matters To God

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

Dear Loved One,

God's love for the world is inclusive of every human being. And it is also very specifically directed at each one of us. This heavenly truth was brought to my earthly understanding several years ago, a few weeks before Easter.

I was walking across a parking lot when I looked down and noticed a penny on the asphalt. Frankly, I thought, "It's more work to stoop over and pick up that thing than it's worth." But there came a whisper in my soul from the heart of God: It's still ONE. And I knew the Lord was talking about His heart for people. So I bent down and picked up the penny.

For The Love Of Life

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me,

though he may die, he shall live." - John 11:25

Dear Loved One,

We tend to think of Easter as the commemoration of a great point in history, and that's a worthy reason for celebration. We also rejoice in anticipation of the resurrection unto eternal life ahead of us; a promise to all who open to the love of God in Jesus Christ. But there's also a present reality to be celebrated: Jesus rose from the dead, and He is alive forevermore. He's available right now to bring life to anything in your situation that may be dead or dying.

Why Ash Wednesday belongs out of the church and out on the streets

There is something decidedly public about Ash Wednesday. Walking around all day with a gash of grey ash across one’s forehead — this is among the most visible Christian things I do each year. This is a rare day when I cannot and could not hide my Christian commitments and my Christian aspirations, even if I wanted to.

This year, I will be joining many Episcopal priests in taking the public witness of Ash Wednesday one step further. On Wednesday, my colleague Catherine Caimano and I will put on cassocks and surplices, and go to a corner near Duke University Hospital with small containers of ashes and copies of a litany of repentance from the Book of Common Prayer. We will offer “the imposition of ashes” to people in the street.

We will offer to pray with people — prayers that name our failings and our striving to change: “We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed,” our Ash Wednesday litany bids us to say.

We Live In A Good Friday World

David Burchett

A couple of years ago I saved an article from USA Today . The title, We are Easter People, was intriquing enough to merit a second look. Here is a portion of the piece written by Diane Cameron.

One of the lowest points in my life occurred years ago when I was living in Washington, D.C., at Easter time. My older sister had recently died and both of my brothers were seriously ill; my best friend was leaving town, and on top of that I was questioning my work. In my journal that April I wrote, "Am I depressed?" When I read those pages now I laugh and shake my head. "Depressed?" That I even had to ask. In that long year I thought I'd never laugh again, just as I thought I'd never again feel love, the joy of easy friendship, or the satisfaction of good work.

I went to church that Easter out of both habit and desperation. I had grown up in a church-going family. It was what we did. And so to honor the family that I was losing I went. Easter after all, is the centerpiece for Christians, honoring and recalling Christ's triumph over death.

I chose a big downtown church for Easter services — one with hundreds in the congregation — not daring to visit a smaller church where I might have to speak to people or be embarrassed by my own tears. I wanted the paradoxical safety and anonymity of being in a crowd.

The minister that Easter Sunday said many things that I don't remember, but one sentence has stayed with me all these years. He said, "We live in a Good Friday world."

That I understood. A Good Friday world is a world full of suffering, questioning, unfairness, trouble, mistakes, hurts, losses and grief. Good Friday in the Christian faith is the day Christians commemorate Christ's suffering and death on the cross. So that certainly made sense to me at that difficult time in my life.

"But," he continued, "We are Easter people." Those words stopped me cold. I was stunned to be reminded that painful morning that there was something other than what I was feeling.

Wow. What an amazing message as we head into the Easter week. We do live in a Good Friday world. How easy it is to stop right there, just short of healing, not realizing the hope of resurrection. The story of Easter week did not stop on Friday. The hope of this season is all about Sunday. Tony Campolo writes about a life changing sermon he heard in his book It's Friday but Sunday's Comin'. (Note to spiritual cyber hall monitors...I know Mr.Campolo is controversial. Just enjoy this illustration, take a deep breath, and move away from the keyboard). Campolo writes about hearing a wise African-American pastor preach about the events of Easter week.

For an hour and a half he preached one line over and over again..."It's Friday, but Sunday's comin'!" He started his sermon real softly by saying, "It was Friday; it was Friday and my Jesus was dead on the tree. But that was Friday, and Sunday's comin'!" One of the Deacons yelled, "Preach, brother, Preach!" It was all the encouragement he needed.

He came on louder as he said, "It was Friday and Mary was cryin' her eyes out. The disciples were runnin' in every direction, like sheep without a shepherd, but that was Friday, and Sunday's comin!"

The preacher kept going. He picked up the volume still more and shouted, "It was Friday. The cynics were lookin' at the world and sayin' `As things have been so shall they be. You can't change anything in this world; you can't change anything. But those cynics don't know that it was only Friday. Sunday's comin'! It was Friday, and on Friday those forces that oppress the poor and make the poor to suffer were in control. But that was Friday! Sunday's comin'!

It was Friday, and on Friday Pilate thought he had washed his hands of a lot of trouble. The Pharisees were struttin' around, laughin' and pokin' each other in the ribs. They thought they were back in charge of things. But they didn't know it was only Friday! Sunday's comin'!

Campolo continues, "He kept on working that one phrase for a half hour, then an hour, then an hour and a quarter, then an hour and a half. Over and over he came at us, "It's Friday, but Sunday's comin!" By the time he had come to the end of the message...He had me and everybody else so worked up that I don't think any of us could have stood it much longer. At the end of his message he just yelled at the top of his lungs, `It's FRIDAY!' and all 500 of us in that church yelled back with one accord, `SUNDAY'S COMIN'!"

A lot of people who stumble across this site might be in the middle of what seems to be an interminable Friday. It is hard to accept suffering and illness. Relationships that hurt us make Friday seem like it will never end. The trials of living on a fallen planet will make this seem like a Friday world at times during the journey. Two years ago Joni’s diagnosis of cancer put us into a Friday state of mind. But we trusted that Sunday's comin'! As we told our wonderful sons, if your faith doesn't work at times like this it is of little value for the rest of the time. And it does work. We have been blessed with healing for now but we have the greater hope of the resurrection of Jesus as we continue. We trust in a God that has been faithful to strengthen us for the battle, work through us for His glory, and teach us to be dependent on Him.

I believe the message of this week. Sunday's comin'. And I believe that with all of my heart and soul. Paul wrote in Romans...

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Romans 1 NIV

I am not ashamed of the gospel. I fact I am excited about the gospel. Even though I may be living in a Good Friday world today I am convinced that Sunday's comin'!

Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People and Bring'em Back Alive: A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church. You can reply by linking through daveburchett.com.

http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/david-burchett/we-live-in-a-good-friday-world-11570780.html

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

"The Angelic Perspective on Easter" - Easter Devotional

by Fred Alberti, Crosswalk.com Director of Social Media

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16

During this time of remembrance of Christ's sacrifice I am prone to wonder about the angels.

I see them standing at attention internally grieving over the suffering of their creator. Jesus was not merely the creator of just mankind. The Bible says that it was by Him that all things were created. This was their creator in the flesh suffering a brutal death.

I imagine more than a few wishing to dispense with the humans who were causing this atrocity. Matthew records Jesus stating, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Read Matthew 26:53). What incredible self-control! What awesome love to bear the punishment of the cross when it could have all ended so easily.

In talking about the prophets, Peter reveals that the angels long to look into this whole business about redemption and the good news of the Gospel (Read 1 Peter 1:12).

They didn't understand why all this was happening. All they knew was their King was being murdered.

Then I hear amongst the mass chaos of the darkness and the rumbling of the earthquake as the Roman Centurion and the witnesses to Jesus death beat their chests proclaiming, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" (Read Luke 23:47-48 and Matthew 27:54).

It was over. Jesus was dead. Now it was time to bury Him in a borrowed tomb.

Three days later I imagine the angels clamoring to be on the special detail that was posted. Who would get to roll back the stone? Who would get to wait in the empty tomb to deliver the wonderful news?

"He is not here, He has risen" (Read Matthew 28:6).

Oh, what a glorious pronouncement. I wonder just how the angels rejoiced. Were they slapping each other on the back? Were they shouting in victory? Were they beaming with joy over the news that their King was no longer in the grave?

How will we celebrate that day?

How will we honor the death and resurrection of the creator of the universe?

Intersecting Faith & Life: When you make your Easter eggs this year do one with angel wings on it to remember the angel's words, "He is not here, He has risen."

Further Reading

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
God's Secret Agents

http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/easter-devotionals/easter-devotional-march-31.html

Not to Worry... Christ is Risen!

Charles R. Swindoll, Insight for Living
Chuck Swindoll gives us the three

On the day Jesus was crucified, a sinister darkness blotted out the sun and smothered Jerusalem under a blanket of evil. It would have appeared to anyone seeing through eyes of flesh that the darkness, the devil, and death had defeated the Son of God once and for all.

I will admit to you that those three Ds lie at the root of almost every worry I suffer. I worry about death - in particular, the death of the people I love. I worry about darkness, both literal and figurative. I worry about what the devil is up to.

Demons, darkness, and death . . . all three worked diligently throughout the ministry of Jesus to bring about this long and anguishing day. But what no one could see was that the Messiah's death would strike at the very heart of evil.

Three days after Jesus was placed in the grave, on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and a group of women converged on the tomb. As they approached, they saw that the giant stone had been tossed aside. Mary Magdalene immediately ran to tell Peter and John: "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him" (John 20:2).

While Mary Magdalene was away, the other women took a closer look. The grave was gaping open. The grave wrappings lay there, still together and intact, but empty. The body was gone. They stood dumbstruck for several moments, until they realized that two angels appeared behind them. One sat on the stone while the other stood nearby. "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has been raised!" (Luke 24:5-6 NET).

Rushing from the empty tomb, they encountered someone who calmed their fears. "Jesus met them, saying, 'Greetings! . . . Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there' " (Matthew 28:9-10 NET).

When the women told what had happened, the disciples dismissed their story as insane, exaggerated chatter. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene found Peter and John. At first, they, too, dismissed her story, but curiosity eventually got the better of them and they raced to the tomb.

When John arrived, he stopped at the entrance and looked inside. Peter ran straight into the tomb and was shocked by what he saw. Joining Peter inside the tomb, I like to think that John whispered, "He's alive!"

As word spread, a multitude began to assemble at a home in Jerusalem. With the doors locked tight, a familiar voice rose from the middle of the room. " 'Peace be with you.' And when [Jesus] had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side" (John 20:19-20). And they believed.

Unfortunately, Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not there. When he arrived, everyone told him the story. Thomas wouldn't believe the reports. "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (20:25). Eight days later, Thomas found himself inside the house with the doors of the room shut tighter than before. "Peace be with you" (20:26). Again, Jesus stood in the middle of the room. "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing" (20:27). Thomas didn't move. He didn't even lift a finger. He responded as only a genuine follower of Jesus can respond: "My Lord and my God!" (20:28).

The responses of the people who knew Jesus that Sunday morning parallel the reactions I encounter every day as a modern-day bearer of this good news.

Some believed immediately. They were given the information, remembered what Jesus had predicted during His ministry, and accepted His resurrection as genuine.

Some believed with indirect evidence. They initially doubted the notion, but when they received further information - such as seeing an empty tomb - they knew He had risen.

Some believed with direct evidence. They only believed that Jesus had risen after seeing Him with their own eyes.

Demons, darkness, and death have been vanquished, yet they continue to lash out in desperate hatred against everything in God's creation. But not to worry . . . Jesus is alive with a new kind of life that He longs to give any and all who will believe. Are you in that company? Or, have you come to realize your need for a Savior? Good for you! The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast, the pangs of life will sting for a while longer, but the forces of evil are breathing their last. So there's no need to worry . . . He has risen! He has risen, indeed!

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/not-to-worry-christ-is-risen-11628140.html

Resurrection Power for Parents

Barbara Curtis, Crosswalk.com Contributor

As a writer/encourager of parents, I often hear from moms like me who not only suffered as children at the hands of others but are further burdened by the realization that as they struggled for emotional balance they caused suffering for their own children too.

Here’s just a sample excerpt from the heart-wrenching story of a mom who’d transcended much to finally become a good mom:

Can these things -- these insecurities and emotional damage/neglect, or feelings of loneliness and somehow feeling rejected -- can these things be healed? I know God can -- and is willing to -- do anything. And He works with and through our mistakes. And He loves our children more than we do. I still wish I knew, though, of ways to perhaps correct mistakes that were made, judgments that were made in haste, or excessive punishment for simple childish behaviors and mistakes, simply because Mommy's heart and mind were enduring more in life than she could handle. My heart still hurts over all of it.

My babies are so precious, such sweet, kind, loving children who are a joy to everyone who meets them. And my heart still breaks every time I think of years past when they needed a mommy and Mommy was too wrapped up in personal turmoil to really and truly see them and respond to them the way they needed. How do you get past all of that? How do you help to heal those hurts, outside of moving forward and just plain doing things differently? Is that all you can do? I am so thankful for a God of redemption and grace and mercy. Surely He will be that in my children's lives as well.

For those of us who came from shattered pasts, these words may sting. Even if we’ve recovered, we worry about the time before God got hold of us and wouldn’t let go.

And I can think of no better time to offer this for reflection than as we approach Easter. This week we will focus intensely on Jesus crucified for our sins, and through Lent we have asked God to show us – no matter how much it hurts – all the times we have made the wrong choices, all the hurt we have caused others and all the occasions on which we have grieved Him.

Each of us starts this journey of parenting wanting to be perfect – many of us determined to be better mothers than our own. But parenting has a way of breaking you. Inevitably something happens that brings us face to face with the reality of how far short we've fallen. And it seems that those who’ve tried the hardest often have farther to fall when God brings us to the realization that we’ve tried to do it on our own steam, not understanding our dependence on Him.

When Jesus healed, the blind could see, the lame could walk, the possessed found peace. We can do that too, trusting in Him to guide our sight, our steps and our sanity as we move forward with our lives. For mothers who need a fresh start, I just want to encourage you to focus on the path in front of you and not to be crippled by your past. Our children at some point will have to deal with the fact that their parents were not perfect. It will be a test by which God will help them grow – if they let Him.

My point is that God is bigger than any mistakes you have made.

Is something troubling you today? Are you feeling remorseful, guilty or unworthy? The celebration of Jesus's sacrifice for us – His death and Resurrection – is a wonderful opportunity to confess and lay these burdens at the foot of the cross, to apologize to anyone you have hurt, to mend broken relationships and to allow the Resurrection to shine in your own life beginning this moment.

Blessings to you all this Easter!

Barbara Curtis is an author and mother of 12 who blogs at MommyLife.net.

http://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/easter/resurrection-power-for-parents.html

Did Jesus Die for the Whole Universe?

Dr. Roger Barrier, Preach It, Teach It

Editor's Note: Pastor Roger Barrier's "Ask Roger" column regularly appears at Preach It, Teach It. Every week at Crosswalk, Dr. Barrier puts nearly 40 years of experience in the pastorate to work answering questions of doctrine or practice for laypeople, or giving advice on church leadership issues. Email him your questions at roger@preachitteachit.org.

Dear Roger,

If life exists on other planets, did Jesus die and resurrect for them, too?

Sincerely, Tom

Dear Tom,

What a great Easter question!

Revelation 13:6 describes Jesus as the "Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”

Could it be that Jesus was crucified and then resurrected on a cosmic cross before God spoke the universe into existence?

“World” is the English translation for the Greek word “cosmos." Jesus was the Lamb slain before the creation of the cosmos. Sometimes, "cosmos" is translated as "universe."

Notice that He was slain "from" or "before" the creation of the cosmos.

The idea that our universe is populated with others is not hard to imagine any more. Our universe is “carbon based” and life-friendly. It stands to reason that life on earth is not the only life in the universe. Scientists have already found over 400 planets orbiting distant stars. Approximately 25 of them are in the bio-life zones surrounding stars that could sustain life as we know it. A billion trillion more stars exist that have yet to be observed. The number of planets in our universe must be mind-boggling.

Personally, I have a hard time imagining that the only life in the universe is on our little planet Earth. After all, our sun us just a second-rate star tucked between two spiral arms in the Milky Way galaxy. We are not even in a spiral arm! Our earth is cosmically insignificant!

Creating billions and billions of galaxies with trillions and trillions of planets seems like a tremendous waste of God’s time and energy if He created only one planet to harbor life.

When Henry Ford began mass producing cars in giant factories, thousands of cars emerged from the warehouse doors. It's inconceivable that Ford would build massive factories and then make one automobile and no more! In the same way, it is hard to conceive that God would make a massive universe and produce only one car — I mean only one planet with living humans. I believe that God loves people and He enjoys having many of them posited throughout His universe.

Jesus may have made an oblique reference to life on other planets in John 10:16. He told His disciples: “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” Most probably Jesus was referring to the Gentiles. Nevertheless, some people have put this verse into a cosmic perspective and wondered if Jesus were talking about sheep on other planets.

Because of the distance between stars, the likelihood of actually visiting another planet to verify the existence of life there is miniscule. Wormholes are highly unlikely to work (if they even exist). The instantaneous connectivity of Quantum Mechanics may one day prove otherwise -- but probably not.

Then why bother to speculate on such questions?

Because such imaginings stretch our insight into the "height, depth and width" (Ephesians 3:14-19) of an all powerful, all-knowing and always-present God!

Again, why bother to speculate on such questions?

Because if alien life does exist throughout our universe, what might be God’s relationship with them?

In his Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength), C.S. Lewis ponders the existence of life on other planets and asks the same question.

Out of the Silent Planet is set mostly on Mars. Dr. Elwin Ransom voyages to Mars and discovers that earth is exiled from the rest of the solar system due to its fallen nature. Earth's Oyarsa, or the angel whose assignment was to protect earth, has rebelled against God and fallen into sin. Instead of protecting, he has seduced mankind into sin. People on the other planets know that something horrible has happened on earth and that the people of earth are now bent. No more information is know about the fallen planet.

Intriguingly, four races live harmoniously on the planet Mars where sin has never occurred. Dr. Ransom observes that Satan is trying mightily to bring sin into any or all of the four races?

Perelandra is set mostly on Venus. Dr. Ransom journeys to an unspoiled, sinless planet in which the first humans have just emerged. Only two people live on Venus. Satan is utilizing every trick in his Satanic tempt book to seduce them into sinning.

Perhaps there are aliens in our universe where sin has not occurred. They would not need a Savior. But, it is more likely, I suppose, for aliens to be just as sinful as we are. They would certainly need a Savior.

(For your information, That Hideous Strength is set on Earth. A scientific think tank is secretly in touch with demonic entities who seek to ravage and lay waste to Earth.)

Jesus being crucified and resurrected "before the creation of the cosmos" (Hebrews 11:3) may mean that Jesus died on some sort of cosmic cross with an accompanying cosmic resurrection.

He is free to come in a human or alien form, incarnated in a physical body, die an actual physical death and be fully, physically resurrected to pay the penalty for sin on any planet that needs it.

As far as Earth is concerned, Jesus was crucified and resurrected before the creation of the universe. Our fallen earth is saturated with sin and needs a Savior. So, according to John 1:14, the cosmic Christ (the "logos," or the "unrevealed wisdom of God" in John 1:1) put on a body and appeared on earth in human form. Then, He was crucified on Good Friday, 30 A.D., and resurrected by the Father and the Spirit three days later on Easter Sunday morning.

Well, Tom, thanks for the great question. The speculation is fun. The possibility is mind-shattering.

God bless you. Have a happy Easter.

Love, Roger

Dr. Roger Barrier recently retired as senior teaching pastor from Casas Church in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to being an author and sought-after conference speaker, Roger has mentored or taught thousands of pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders worldwide. Casas Church, where Roger served throughout his thirty-five-year career, is a megachurch known for a well-integrated, multi-generational ministry. The value of including new generations is deeply ingrained throughout Casas to help the church move strongly right through the twenty-first century and beyond. Dr. Barrier holds degrees from Baylor University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Golden Gate Seminary in Greek, religion, theology, and pastoral care. His popular book, Listening to the Voice of God, published by Bethany House, is in its second printing and is available in Thai and Portuguese. His latest work is Got Guts? Get Godly! Pray the Prayer God Guarantees to Answer, from Xulon Press. Roger can be found blogging at Preach It, Teach It, the pastoral teaching site founded with his wife, Dr. Julie Barrier.

http://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/easter/did-jesus-die-for-the-whole-universe.html?ps=0

Saturday, 25 February 2012