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What if He Simply Rested?

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Luke 23:54-55 ESV

We all know the amazing and cruel events of Good Friday and how on Easter, Jesus rose from the dead, but have you ever wondered about that day in between? Regardless of the songs, speculations and very elaborate tales, the Bible does not specifically tell us what occurred on Holy Saturday. So, I would like to ask a simple question. “What if Jesus just rested? What if when He said, “It is finished!” and gave His spirit into his Father’s hands, He rested for a day without sorrow, suffering or demands? What if after three and a half years of ministry, in which He had nowhere to lay his head and scarcely time to eat, that Jesus chose to rest in His Father’s ability to do all that needed to be done for the day. And what if Jesus also rested because it was the Sabbath? What if the same day on which the creation of the heavens and earth was finished that Jesus simply paused to see everything that was good in a new creation just beginning? What if there are times in our own lives when there is nothing more holy that we can do than wholly nothing? What if we could take a day and quietly reflect and rest in the completed work of Jesus Christ? What would our lives be like if for even one day a week we simply paused to rest in all that God has done? What if we rested so that through the eyes of Jesus, we could see His new creation unfolding in lives all around us as well as in the deepest places of our hearts?

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Meeting Martha

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. John 11:5 KJV

Once when we were vacationing in Amish country, we decided to take a detour on a back road just for fun. Seeing a farm stand being tended by a little red-haired girl, I parked the car and we got out and began to browse through bins of fresh vegetables, homemade jams, pies and cookies. “Good morning!” I said smiling, while my wife was picking out a bag of cookies. As I went to pay for them, I asked, “And what’s your name?”

“Oh, my name is Martha.” The little girl answered quietly

Strassburg Area

“Well, I ‘ve got good news for you Martha.” I continued. The Bible says that Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and her brother, so you can know for sure that he loves you!”

In the children’s song it says, “Jesus loves me this I know; for the Bible tells me so.” Have you ever wondered where the Bible says that?” The answer is that His love is mentioned everywhere! It says, He knit us together before we were born, and He promises to carry us till old age. He is near us when we are broken hearted and gives us strength when we are weak. He gives streams in the desert when we are thirsty and provides daily bread when we are hungry. On every Bible page we can find His love. The song then goes on saying, “Little ones to Him belong.” So, if today you feel as small as the little Martha we met at the farm stand, then you are exactly who Jesus came to love and He is passing by you today!

What About Lazarus?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

John 11:5 ESV – Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Lazarus is famous for one pretty impressive thing – Jesus raised him from the dead! But while we are all familiar with the story of Martha complaining to Jesus that she was doing all the work and most know about Mary pouring perfume on the Lord’s feet, we don’t really know much about Lazarus. In the Bible we do not even hear a single word he said. When we first meet Lazarus, it is at his sister Martha’s home, not his own. Later, after his resurrection his friends hold the party at a leper’s house named Simon. We don’t know if Lazarus is married, has children or any other detail about him, except that he was sick and died. His was a life that would not have given rise to an impressive resume by anyone’s standards!

But in spite of his unimpressive life, we learn one very important thing from our silent friend Lazarus. That single truth is that we don’t need to impress others to be loved by Jesus Christ. We don’t need the best grades, a good job or a wonderful family for Him to cherish us. None of these details matters more to Him than the simple fact that He has chosen to love us as His child and that, just like Lazarus He will call us from the grave to be with Him forever!

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us – Saint Augustine