Resurrection

Jesus is Right on Time!

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Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”          John 11:21-22 ESV

Just like Martha we spend a lot of time worrying when Jesus is going to show up. I have an expectation that He must do something but no matter how much I fuss or complain about my problem, Jesus sticks to His own timetable. But if we will we still believe like Martha, then He just might surprise you with a miracle. Someone once said, “The hurrier I go the behinder I get.” Though it sounds funny it is no fun experiencing it. After all they had done for Jesus, Martha and Mary were probably shocked when He didn’t come to help their brother. Maybe they began to wonder if Jesus was as kind and loving as they thought. But they both knew in their hearts that Jesus hadn’t forgotten them. Even though Martha couldn’t understand she still believed that somehow He could still come to help. At the deepest point in her sorrow she still believed that it was not too late!

Part of our struggle is that God doesn’t have the same goal that we do. When Jesus waited an extra few days while Lazarus died it must have seemed cold hearted. After all hadn’t he already healed hundreds of other people? Why wouldn’t He come as fast as possible to heal one of His closest friends? But God had something better in mind. He didn’t just come for healing…He came for resurrection!

Back to the Garden

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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. John 15:1

Back in 1970 Joni Mitchell wrote the now unforgettable song titled “Woodstock.” A famous line says; “We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.” Perhaps today in the midst of rioting, shutdowns and general societal chaos a lot of us feel that same longing to be able to get back to that first garden… the Garden of Eden. Though I have always loved Joni Mitchell both as a song writer and singer; the hope for returning to the innocence of creation’s garden doesn’t lie within ourselves. The path to that place runs through another garden where the body of our crucified Lord was buried. There on the third day when they came to find Him He was not to be found (At least not at first). But Mary Magdalene remained behind even when everyone else had gone home. By going and waiting in that garden she discovered that Jesus had been there waiting all along. Today He is there still waiting for you and I. It is the Garden of Prayer and He longs for us to come and meet with Him there.

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? John the Apostle says of his own unexpected meeting with Jesus on the Island of Patmos. Imagine how John felt! How do 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!

body of water near mountain

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It was too overwhelming seeing Jesus even for a moment! But Jesus came and put out his hand to touch John and said:

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, 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!