salvation

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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The New People

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For the entire ten years we lived in a rural Pennsylvania community we were considered the “New People”. I felt better when I learned that there were other “New People” just up the road from us.  They were from New Jersey and had lived there since the 1950’s!

In a more serious light the hysteria and anger over “New People” (Mexicans, Arabs, Muslims, Asians) has culminated in the most recent massacre in New Zealand. How we as Christians to respond must be linked to how Jesus responded to hatred and prejudice.  Jesus loved the immigrant, the stranger and amazingly so even His enemies. Jesus was not angry with Samaritans who had come from another place and worshipped differently than Jews.  Jesus did not protest about the brutal Roman rule or even agitate for the removal of Herod, who had murdered his cousin John the Baptist. Maybe Jesus was accepting of the “New People” because he knew what being rejected felt like. 20171231_232022

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. John 1:10-11 NKJV

Change can be difficult and unsettling, especially if we feel we are threatened by those new and different circumstances. But no matter what situation we find ourselves in the only true place of peace and acceptance is not in being surrounded by “Our People”. Real peace comes as a result of being adopted into God’s family by the blood of Jesus Christ.

I was thinking how last Wednesday a friends of ours; who is one of those,  “New People” became a U.S. citizen. He and His family eat different food, speak a different language and has a different culture.  But today Raj and I both have exactly the same rights, responsibilities and privileges. In the same way, when Jesus laid down His life on the cross to pay for our sins, we gained the privilege of citizenzenship and includsion in the community of God. Yes as His children,  we may always be treated as the “New People”; but God calls us His own. How much more should we  be ready to embrace whoever He has allowed to live just down the street in our town?

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For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20 NKJV

 

Easter Adventure

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When Daniel goes to Jerusalem with his family he finds himself in the middle of a crowd shouting the praises of a young rabbi riding in to the city on a Donkey. Five days later he becomes trapped in a mob and separated from his family by soldiers who are marching three men out the gate to be executed. At sunset as Daniel tries to find his way home he sees in the distance that the young rabbi and two others have been crucified on a hilltop. While he is running home in fear, Daniel meets a young man named John who begins to tell him all about Jesus. How will Daniel deal with his fears and doubts? Who has the answers for where his life? Come follow him as he discovers the adventure of God’s plan and where he really belongs! Daniel’s Easter Adventure is available on Amazon in both ebook and softcover.

This Easter story is dedicated to our seven grandchildren who are an adventure of their own!

Daniel’s Easter Adventure