But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:5-6 ESV
As we get closer to Easter, we need to remember what our faith is really about. Christianity is not about big church buildings, Christian concerts with special effects or elaborate social programs. Instead, all that we are and everything we do is based on one single morning at a tomb. The body of Jesus was supposed to be inside it. The priests were counting on it, because they had sent soldiers to guard it. Pilate was sure of it, because it was shut with a Roman seal. Even the closest friends of Jesus believed He would be there because they went with spices to prepare the body. And the grave was shut. The tomb was silent. The death from crucifixion was final…. Until it wasn’t!
“You seek Jesus who was crucified” the angel said. “He is not here for He has risen as He said!” And in that moment all History turned on the hinge of one simple miracle - an empty tomb and our risen Lord!
The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; He cries out, ‘Destroy them!’ Deuteronomy 33:23 NLT
In his last speech before he died, Moses began giving both words of warning and blessing to the people. He wanted them to remember after forty long years of living in tents in the desert, that God had been their refuge all along. From their escape through the Red Sea, along the journey to Mount Sinai, where Moses went up to receive the Ten Commandments, God had not abandoned them. Every morning, He had fed them with manna that miraculously appeared and every day He had made fresh delicious water to flow out of a rock. Though they had fallen into sin time after time, God wanted them to realize that at their lowest point, His arms were still underneath them. Yes, there were sometimes severe consequences, yes, they had to repent and pray, but through it all, they remained His people. In so many ways, we are just like them. We who call ourselves Christians have all passed through a Red Sea of the blood of Jesus. And every morning we have access to the manna His words, when we take the time to read them. And every time we go through deserts in our lives, God’s Holy Spirit stays right by our side. In the midst of the hardest and most difficult circumstances, we can be refreshed in His presence that freely flows, as we bow in prayer. Last of all, He assures us, that when we face enemies, whether they be death, doubt, or despair, that He will drive them out, keep us safe and destroy them. Then, because He loves us, we can always count on the fact that everywhere we go that underneath are His everlasting arms!
As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Matthew 13:23 ESV
Too many times, we read about the Parable of the Sower and come to the conclusion that it is about becoming a Christian. Now, Jesus certainly does intend for us to include the time when a person first hears the gospel as one part of His story, but we need to remember that our relationship with Christ is more than a onetime experience. Being a Christian is becoming a garden where God comes to plant new seed every day. Sometimes our hearts are so hard, that we open the Bible, hear a nice sermon on the car radio or maybe even visit with someone on staff from our church, but our heart is elsewhere. We already have our day planned. No one, including God is going to alter our schedule, because we already know what is best. On the other hand, maybe we turn on Christian radio station and smile, tap our feet to the music and begin our drive to work with a cheerful “Christian” attitude. But somewhere along the way we get cut off in traffic, a construction zone blocks the road to our job, or we run into a snow squall along the way. Our smile disappears, we flick off the radio and that joyful feeling evaporates. Some days we may even dodge both of those obstacles and still are staying on track but there has also been something besides God’s word that has taken root in our heart. We may be harboring a secret sin, a longing for something outside of God’s plan for us. This is more than just an unexpected distraction, rather this is a desire for sin that we have hidden from everyone, including ourselves. This kind of problem may stay hidden for days, weeks or even years, but when we allow it to grow in God’s garden, it puts down deeper and deeper roots, until it chokes out God’s word and His plan for our lives. By this time the Christian life may seem hopeless, and we wonder where the excitement and joy of serving God has gone, but the good news is that there is still hope because every day Jesus goes out again to plant. This is a new day, and our Christian life is not just about our efforts, or getting goals accomplished, it is Christ in you and me. Just as a garden is not just about digging up the soil, weeding and taking out the stones. A garden is nothing until someone plants a seed and Jesus is planting a seed that contains the life of heaven in us again this morning. If we will only allow the gentle rainfall of His Spirit to soften our heart, invite His strong hands to dig out the stones of shallowness and pull out the weeds of sin, then that seed will grow again as God intended. We may not see the harvest this afternoon, but with quiet trust and patience one day it will yield the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control: (Galatians 5:22-23). So don’t give up hope, but instead let’s ask ourselves, “What is my life producing today, and Is Christ alive and growing in my heart?”
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