Where There Is Life, There Is Hope

“The Angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just he said…” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’” 
Matthew 28:5-6 & 8-10

Still reeling from the events of Thursday night and Friday, the friends, followers, disciples of Jesus were hold up together. They were grieving the loss of the one they were so certain was the Messiah. Wondering about what was next. Perhaps feeling like all hope was lost – dead and buried with their friend, teacher, master. Then something amazing happened.    

In the still and quiet of the early morning, some of the women went to the tomb to in some way be closer to Him. Some of the Gospels say the women went to finish taking care of His body properly after the hasty burial on Friday. Whatever the reason that’s where this week’s passage comes into play. As they are arriving in the garden with the tomb, the earth shakes as an angel of the Lord arrives, scaring the you know what out of the Roman soldiers assigned to guard the tomb. After rolling the stone out of the way the angel takes a seat and speaks to the women. The angel first tells them: “Do not be afraid” and then explains that Jesus isn’t there, “remember He told you all that he would rise” and so he has. After hearing the angel and his instruction to go tell the others – they take off in a hurry only to bump into someone as they go.

I wonder what that scene was really like. Were they so afraid and overwhelmed with joy at the same time that they weren’t paying attention to where they were going and almost run Him over? Did they make quick apologies and hope to continue on their way? Then the stranger they had run into spoke and they instantly recognized Him, fell at His feet and worshiped Him. If hope had started building with the words from the angel – seeing Him, hearing Him must of brought that hope roaring back to fullness. Where there is life, there is hope.  

Under the snows of winter, rests the hope of spring. Beyond the storm clouds and waves, lies the hope of calm, smooth sailing. In the midst of the things that bring us despair and hopelessness – sin, selfishness, suffering – there is a living Savior who understands and brings the hope of forgiveness, selflessness and healing. Where there is life there is hope and HE lives! 

No matter what the circumstances of your life are at this moment – listen for His voice, it is filled with life and it carries hope that will see you through till eternity and beyond.

A Prayer
Father – Thank you for the hope we have because Your Son still lives. In this fallen world it can be so easy for fear, despair and hopelessness to settle into our minds and hearts. Remind us through Your creation and by the gentle voice of your Spirit, that there is hope enough to fill us, no matter what we are facing. Hope enough to drive out fear and despair. Help us to let the hope that we who believe have shine through to those who need a dose of Your hope too. In the name of Jesus, because He lives there is hope – Amen.

Blood, Sweat & Tears

“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
Luke 22:21-44

There used to be a commercial for deodorant with a tag line that was “never let them see you sweat” the commercial was about being under stress but not letting anyone see it. Do you sweat when you are stressed? Do you cry? Do you hold it all in so no one sees how much you are struggling? We are now in what the Church identifies as Holy Week and in just days we will remember with somberness the day that Jesus died.    

In some ways Thursday was a good day and in other ways it was not. Jesus had shared a good meal with his friends, He had blessed the bread and the wine and called on them to remember Him and the new covenant he was making with the world, that would be sealed with his own body – the time was drawing near for the reason He had come. Jesus also identified his betrayer and told Peter, that he would not stand up to the pressure and would deny even knowing him.

After supper they went out into the country side to a place on the Mount of Olives that Jesus liked to frequent. Jesus wanted to pray, He needed to pray. The human side of him didn’t want to go through with the plan. That’s where we are with this week’s passage from Luke. Matthew and Mark both tell us that Jesus said to them “that my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38, Mark 14:34). Jesus asked His Father to take the cup from him, Mark says He essentially cried “Daddy, daddy everything is possible for you, take this cup from me” (Mark 14:36).  

Each time he prayed, Jesus seemed to be more distressed. In the passage from Luke we read that at some point an angel appears and provides something that strengthens Him, what we don’t know – perhaps the angel carried a message from the Father, that He understood it was hard but that it would be ok. Perhaps the angel’s presence gave him some supernatural strength. Luke tells his readers that even with the visit from an angel, Jesus was still in deep distress, so much so that not only was He sweating, He was sweating blood. Each time he prayed, He told the Father, even so not My will but Yours be done. Yet by the time Judas arrives with the authorities, Jesus seems to be calm and in complete control, enough to control at any rate to heal the high priest’s servant. Enough control to fulfill Isaiah’s words “…he was led like a lamb to slaughter…” (Isaiah 53:7). 

We are the cause of His great distress, we are responsible for the pain He endured. Our judgmental attitudes, our disobedience, our selfishness, our self-reliance, our lack of compassion, our desire to be our own god – these are the things that brought Jesus to the garden, that caused Him such pain. Yet it was His non-judgmental attitude, His obedience, His selflessness, His reliance on His Father, His compassion that allowed Him to pay the cost required of Him, to restore the relationship between God and mankind, to make everyone who believes new creatures, who look like him and will spend eternity with him.

It is His blood, sweat & tears that makes us whole and give us abundant and eternal life    

A Prayer
Father – forgive us for our judgmental attitude, our disobedience, our selfishness, our lack of compassion and our desire to be our own god doing things our own way. Thank you that Your Son, was everything that we are not and that He has shown us a better way. For those of us who believe and have been recipients of Your amazing gift, may our lives reflect Your Son in all we do and say. Give us the strength and the courage to point others to the cross with our actions and words. In the name of Jesus, whose blood, sweat and tears makes us new – Amen.

The Time Has Come

“This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 
Matthew 21:4-5

As I was thinking about Palm Sunday which marks Jesus’ triumphant entry to Jerusalem, the beginning of the final week of His life on this planet These lines form Lewis Carroll’s poem The Walrus and The Carpenter came to mind “The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things: of shoes & ships and sealing wax of cabbages and kings.” The time has come to talk of the King.   

Both Matthew and John quote the prophet Zechariah as they talk about what we know as the Triumphal Entry. So the time has come to talk of the King. Zechariah speaking to encourage those who had returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile says: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

The crowd certainly helped to fulfill Zechariah’s words. Jesus, riding on the colt of a donkey does indeed, receive a king’s welcome into the city. In Matthew’s Gospel the crowd acknowledges that Jesus is the “Son of David (Matthew 21:9). Mark writes “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David” (Mark 11:10) and John writes “Blessed is the king of Israel (John 12:13). The celebration wouldn’t last, between the people not understanding that Jesus had not come to save them from the Romans – He had come instead to save them from their selves and the fear and jealousy of the Jewish religious leaders it would prove to be a hard week leading up to His death and resurrection. 

Another – The time has come moment presents itself as Jesus stands before Pilate. Matthew, Mark and Luke all share a brief exchange between the two men. Pilate asks Jesus if he is the king of the Jews? Jesus replies that he is correct. John however, gives us a bit more of the conversation between these two men (See John18:33-38). After pulling Jesus aside so that they might talk more privately, Pilate asks, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus’ reply is a bit surprising, since until now he has remained mostly silent when spoken to, He responds “Is that your own idea or did some other talk to you about me?” You can almost hear the sarcasm as Pilate says “Am I a Jew? Your own people have handed you over – what have you done?” Jesus takes the time to try to explain and the conversation ends with Pilate asking “What is truth?” 

I often wonder what happened to Pilate later in life. He had gotten to speak to the Son of God, face-to-face, he knew he was sending an innocent man to his death. Pilate aside for watching out for his own interests, played his role in carrying out God’s will. Did his interaction with the King of Kings affect his life later, after he was no longer Governor and responsible for keeping the peace at all cost? Did he and his wife become believers?  

We all have had or will have a – the time has come moment when we will need to talk of the King. If we are on the side of truth, if we desire truth then we will surrender to His Kingship, bowing before Him and then accepting His hand as He lifts us up, made new by His touch.

The time has come my friends to talk of other things: Of forgiveness & compassion, mercy & grace, of light and power, of the cross & the tomb and of the King.    

A Prayer
Father – Thank you for “the time has come” moments you give us. Open our hearts and our eyes to the need around us, to others who need one of those moments with Your Son. Thank you that the truth of who you are and what you have done, makes us new. May we often talk of other things and especially of the King. In the name of Jesus, Our King – Amen.

Boats & Helicopters

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:13-14

You’ve heard me say or you have read it in one of these devotions, that God often uses ordinary, everyday people and things to provide what we need. Gifted doctors bring healing, first responders rescue and protect us. A stranger’s smile can brighten our day. Our pastor shared a story that illustrated how sometimes we miss the miracles around us because we are looking for something extraordinary. The story went something like this. A man is trapped by rising flood waters, so he prays for God to rescue him. Soon a boat arrives to rescue him, but he sends it away saying God would rescue him. The waters continued to rise until the man was on the roof. He prayed again for God to rescue him and along came a helicopter to carry him to safety. The man waved off the helicopter saying God would rescue him. The water continued to rise and the man was washed away. When he arrived in heaven he asked God why he hadn’t rescued him – God’s reply I sent a boat and a helicopter you didn’t accept either of them.   

We live in a dark world, darkened by human selfishness, pride and disobedience. While God often uses ordinary people and things to provide for our needs, only He can bring us out of the darkness of this world. In this week’s passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossian believers he reminds them that God is responsible for rescuing them from the “dominion of darkness” and for making them subjects of Jesus’ kingdom, who has provided the redemption and forgiveness they needed – that we need.

Here is the thing though – just like the man caught in the flood we have accept God’s rescue attempt. God doesn’t force us to accept his love, mercy, forgiveness – He reaches out His hand and tells us to grab hold of His nail pierced hand and to trust him with our lives - we can choose to knock the hand away or to grab hold for all we are worth.

God is so committed to rescuing us from the darkness that we allow into our world that more than 2000 years ago He put on skin like ours, showed us a better way and then paid the price we could never have paid and can never repay and He stretched out his hands as far as the east is from the west, to rescue anyone who will believe and grab hold. 

Once we have grabbed that offered hand, and surrendered our need for the darkness, we are expected to live like children of the King, living in the kingdom of light. Our lives should be overflowing with gladness and joy – not because life is perfect, but because our King is and He is making us perfect day by day.

He won’t let you go once you have grabbed His hand, because He holds you in His heart. I want to challenge you as we step even closer to the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter that as you hold firmly to His saving grace, that you reach your hand out to someone who needs to be pulled from the darkness of loneliness, soul sickness and rejection and use the power He has bestowed on you to bring them within reach of His hand and heart.    

A Prayer
Father – Thank you for the times when you use ordinary people and things to provide for us. There isn’t anything we can say for what you have done to rescue us from the darkness of this world. Help us to show our gratitude in the way we worship you each day with our lives. Show in fresh ways the power Your love gives us and help us to reach out a hand to someone who needs to reach you. In the name of Jesus, who sometimes sends boats and helicopters and sometimes reaches out His own hand. – Amen.