Easter

Surprised by Love

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Luke 22:24 ESV

Earlier this year, I was surprised by the beautiful flower that suddenly appeared on a large cactus, that had always looked awkward and unlovely. Somehow, just the right combination of rainfall and temperature, had flipped the switch on an inner clock and spectacular white blossoms began to cover its dull and twisted trunk. In the same way, a funny thing happened at the Last Supper. Just after Jesus had finished giving them the bread and the wine, while supper was ending, the disciples began arguing among themselves about who was most important. I can just imagine Jesus striking his forehead and crying out “Oy Vey! These disciples are making me crazy!”

We may chuckle at the absurdity of that scene, but sadly, that conflict about who is the most important, has remained among us till today. But that night, Jesus set us all an example of what we should be doing, when He surprised the disciples by beginning to wash their feet. Now, we don’t do much foot washing in the 21st century, but the kind of service that this humble task represents is still very much with us. As Easter approaches, we need to each ask God just how He wants us to wash feet. His answer just may become the greatest surprise of our lives!

 So He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-6 ESV

He Lives!

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  John 20:17 ESV

Though some may consider the song. “He Lives!” a less important Easter song, due to the lack of Biblical context, it makes an important point. Both our lives and our faith are like two-sided coins. On the face of the coin is of course, the image of Jesus. That is because both salvation and grace must begin in Heaven with God, and they need to help of ours. But when God begins His work in us, what He has done by grace will be reflected in our hearts. In the words of Alfred Ackley’s song, I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast,” because “He lives within my heart!” Is He really living in your heart? If you aren’t sure of the answer, then there is no better time to receive Him with praise than on Palm Sunday weekend. Why not humble your hearts for a moment and kneel down and pray right now? There is always hope, because God will always help us to find Him, when we are truthfully looking for Him with all our hearts!

He Arose at Life Care

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 ESV

Sometimes I try to imagine, what t would have been like on that first resurrection morning and wish I had been able to see Jesus with my own eyes and hear HIs voice, saying, “Fear not.” Thomas wished the very same thing, and eight days later, Jesus obliged that wish and showed Himself to Thomas and invited him to come and touch His wounds. What a privilege Thomas had to be able to see and touch Jesus, but how humbling that must have been for him to also hear, “More blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed.” So, on those days when, like me, you wish you had been there, remember that you are more blessed than even those eleven disciples, and have an opportunity for an even greater joy. In singing Robert Lowry’s rousing hymn, “He Arose”, it gives us me the sense of what it must have been like to rejoice in seeing Jesus just like the first believers. We get to lift our voices with such a joyful uncompromising praise that my heart is filled to the brim. The most amazing miracle of all time – the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead changes both all of history and the history of our lives, because we believe in Him. I hope that you will enjoy seeing the many faces of our special friends in assisted living as they joined with us today. But no matter whether you sit in a wheelchair in a long term care facility or in the corner office of a giant corporation, there is no greater hope that you can have, than to know Jesus. He rose from the dead and has come to offer us eternal life, if we will put our trust in Him. “He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose!”