Eternal life

Meeting Jesus

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His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.         Revelation 1:14 KJV

On the first Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene met Jesus outside of the tomb. Jesus was right there, but until He revealed himself to her she thought He was just the gardener. What is Jesus really like? What would it be like to meet with Jesus? How can we relate to a God with flaming eyes that see into the deepest places of our soul? When John first saw Jesus he tells us that he fell down in a dead faint! It was too overwhelming seeing Jesus even for a moment! But Jesus came and put out his hand to touch John and said:

… Fear not; I am the first and the last: Revelation 1:17 KJV

Jesus knows every detail of our lives, and He wants us to know Him. Easter Sunday means finding Jesus is not only alive, but alive and wanting us to know Him. Are you waiting outside a tomb of dying hopes and wondering where Jesus is today? The message of Easter is that He will come just when we least expect. He knows all about us and He is waiting to come and change our lives forever! What a wonderful Risen Lord! What a Savior we have waiting for us again this Easter!

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Heaven’s Treasure

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I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living    Psalms 27:13

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I dreamed I stood at heaven’s door

and heard its hinges creak

Around its frame a light shone out

As it opened for the King

“What have you brought?” He asked

“From your time on earth now through”

I didn’t know what I could say

I just had to tell the truth

So I talked about the mission’s trips

And how each day I prayed

And how I often read His word

And all the tithes I gave

When I finally stopped – He paused

And then He gently said

“Those were not from your truest heart

But just rituals instead”

“But the forgiveness you gave your parents

When divorce left you alone

And love you shared with strangers

When you opened up your home

And sorrowful repentant tears

And confessions in the night

Those are the things I treasure here

And are precious in my sight!”

 

Lilies and Sparrows

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When I was a teenager I sometimes worked in the hay fields during the hottest part of Summer. The farmer would pass ahead of us through the fields gathering and baling the loose hay and we followed behind piling the bales on a truck and then stacking them in the barn. The fragrance of the freshly cut hay still lingers in my memory as well as the 1554287255655_image.jpg

view from where I rode on top of the pile.  From there I could look out and see the tiny flowers that had nestled under cover of the tall grass, now uncovered in all their startling beauty. 

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us not to be concerned about the details of our life. He said that we could trust Him to take care of us just like He took care of those wild flowers in the field. Then He talked about sparrows. Maybe he choose sparrows because they have no colorful feathers, mighty talons or majestic wingspan.

1554287664847_image.jpgThey are ordinary just like us and Jesus said that God watches over every one of them and even notices when they fall.

With Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday on our horizon, let’s think for a moment of how Jesus was doing more than just telling us not to worry. He was also reminding us that we could trust God even during the worst moments of our lives just as He did. At the cross they stripped Him naked and gambled for His clothing; but today He wears a robe of light and is clothed with the sun. And on that same dark afternoon He fell to the ground like the sparrow and they took and laid Him in a tomb. Though only a few saw the place where He was laid; God had not forgotten. He knew exactly where to send the angel to roll back the stone on Resurrection morning. In one miracle moment the Spirit breathed the breath of life into Him and Jesus walked out to comfort Mary Magdalene; to bring peace to Peter and John and the assurance of faith Thomas.  Today He freely offers any of us who will believe a gift greater than lilies and sparrows. He promises that if we follow Him we will find our own eternal place in His home and at His side forevermore!