Do not fear!

Image: Pixabay

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 28:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid'.... Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid...'" Matthew 28:5,10

So often in the Bible, the first words heaven speaks when it encounters earth is "Do not fear. Do not be afraid."

Why is that? Perhaps because there is within those encounters all the fear-producing elements:

Fear: 1] an agitated feeling aroused by awareness of actual or threatening danger, trouble, etc., 2] An uneasy feeling that something may happen contrary to one's desires. 3] A feeling of deep reverential awe and dread 'the fear of God.' 4] A continuing state or attitude of fright, dread or alarmed concern."

Angel encounters are beyond the ordinary, the explainable, and outside usual human experience. Our sinful state and tendencies anchor in reality the fears that come out in such meetings. It is natural to react like Isaiah did: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" - Isaiah 6:5.

The word 'fear' used by the angels and Jesus here is phobeo, defined as "panic that grips a person causing him to run away, be scared, alarmed, frightened, dismayed, intimidated, anxious and apprehensive (compare 'phobia)"  - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1308.

"Don't do that — run away, be scared, alarmed, frightened," say the angels and Jesus at the unveiling of the resurrection. "For this is good news. Now your most basic fear — the fear of death — is conquered."

Imagine how incredible must have been the realization for Jesus' disciples and friends that He was back. But even greater the joy when it finally sunk in what He had accomplished. That what He had said to Martha just before raising Lazarus ("Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die'" - John 11:25-26) was now a reality for them, indeed for all who believe in Him. For us! We do not need to be afraid of our last great enemy - death.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for conquering death in Your resurrection. May the knowledge of what that means for me sink deep into my psyche, helping me life free-fear. Amen.

MORE: Easter! "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" - Steve Green




The Easter Day liturgy begins with this collect:

O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pinch me - is this really happening?

He is risen! He is risen indeed! (An Easter coloring page) - Image: pixabay.com

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 24:1-12

TO CHEW ON: “And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.” Luke 24:11

Joanna  woke before it was light. Her first moments in the sweet forgetfulness of just-waking were pleasant. But then the heavy sense of something wrong returned. Oh yes. Jesus, her rabbi, friend and hero, was dead (Luke 8:1-3). 

Ugly scenes replayed in her memory: Word that Jesus had been arrested. The terrifying bloodthirsty shouts of the mob. Jesus bruised, bloody and half-naked, dragging His cross through the city. Soldiers nailing Him to the wood and hoisting the structure upright on Golgotha. Hours hanging there. The uncanny darkness. His last agony-filled cries. His last labored breath. Dead.

Now she disentangled herself from her coverings. It was early but their errand demanded the cover of pre-dawn darkness. Dressed, she picked up the bundle of embalming spices and hurried out to meet the others at the appointed place.

Their discussion of their oversight in forgetting to bring someone to roll away the heavy stone from the tomb entrance stopped as the site came into view. The mouth of the grave was black – open. What? Who?

They went in. No body. Instead, two men in shining clothes. Their words – “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen!” – it took a while for them to sink in. It couldn’t be, could it?

Incredulous and filled with questions they returned to the others with the news of what they had seen and heard. Some recalled His predictions of just this happening. Others were suspicious of the Jews and the Romans. It took hours, days and numerous post-death appearances by Jesus before they were all convinced He really had risen.

The disciples’ reluctance to accept this incredible good news shouldn’t surprise us. For Jesus’ death and resurrection had changed everything – and it takes a while to recast paradigms and rebuild frames of reference. Now His teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven took on a new significance. His explanations of who He was and what He had come to accomplish began to make sense. He was a triumphant king, but in an altogether different way than they had expected Him to be. He had paid the price for sin. He had conquered death.

Joanna probably awoke the next morning – and the next and the next – with the sense you and I feel on the morning after our favorite team has won the Stanley Cup, or the World Series, or the Brier or the Scotties, or our favorite athlete has won a gold medal at the Olympics, or we had just successfully birthed (after months of anticipation, and hours of painful labor) a baby!

PRAYER: Thank You, Jesus, for all that Your death and resurrection accomplished for the world – and for me. Please give me a greater appreciation for their meaning and significance. Amen.


MORE: “See What a Morning (Resurrection Hymn)” Stuart Townend



Today the church celebrates Easter. Ponder and enjoy the liturgy for Easter.

Collect that begins the service:

"O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Be afraid of the dark

Image: Jingoba / pixabay.com

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 23:26-56

TO CHEW ON: “Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened.” Luke 23:44-45a


Darkness is not a real, tangible thing. Rather it is the absence of something real, tangible and measurable – light. There can be degrees of darkness with complete, utter darkness being the complete and utter absence of any light.

God’s first positive act of creation, which began to bring order to the chaos of earth, was to create light (before He created the sun, moon and stars (Genesis 1:2,3), which brings up the question – what was that light like; did it emanate from something, or somewhere, or Someone?).

This physical phenomenon of light and darkness is used throughout the Bible in a symbolic way, where light is equated with God and darkness the absence of God. At various times (this being one of them) God sent or allowed supernatural darkness. Another such time was the ninth plague of Egypt when the darkness was so thick the people felt it, couldn't see each other, and were confined to their homes for three days (Exodus 10:21-23).

I imagine there was some of that quality of palpability and isolation to the noon to 3:00 p.m. darkness that accompanied Jesus' death on the cross. Did He feel cut off from God as He hung there?  In Matthew’s telling of this incident just after he describes the darkness, come the words of Jesus: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ( (Matthew 27:45,46) ). This was the utter darkness of God having withdrawn Himself completely.

It’s easy to shrug this off as a phenomenon that has nothing to do with us. But it does.
- The power of darkness controls us before we come to God (Colossians 1:13,14).
- Our preference is for darkness (John 3:19).
- When we come to God we pass into the realm of light (Ephesians 5:8-13).
- But even here we can quench light by living in darkness (1 John 1:6). 
- Jesus warned against the possibility of being thrown into darkness that lasts forever (Matthew 25:14-30).

How awesome and frightening must have been the darkness on the day of Jesus’ death with its effect on even hardened soldiers. His identification of what made it terrible – God’s absence – is instruction to us. The more God has of us, and we of Him, the more there is no room for darkness.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for enduring the agony of the darkness of God’s absence to buy my salvation. Help me to live always in Your light.

MORE:  Today some churches celebrate Holy Saturday, others the Vigil of Easter. 

• The liturgy for Easter Vigil is HERE.

• The liturgy for Holy Saturday is HERE. It begins with this collect:

"O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Trustworthy

"Women at the Sepulchre" by Harold Copping

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 16:1-8

TO CHEW ON: "'But go tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.'" Mark 16:7.

The angel who welcomed the women at Jesus' empty tomb had obviously been listening in on Jesus' conversations with His followers. The little phrase at the end of our focus verse "...as He said to you" was like a rebuke that reminded them 'He told you all this would happen. You could have expected it.'

Did Jesus indeed predict His resurrection while He was still alive? Yes, many times, according to the Gospel writers:

• "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must ... be raised on the third day" - Matthew 16:21.

• "...and the third day He will rise again" - Matthew 20:19.

• "'But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee'" Matthew 26:32.

• "He commanded that they should tell no one the things they had seen till the Son of Man had risen from the dead" - Mark 9:9.

• "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up'" - John 2:19.

So why were they so surprised? Perhaps they forgot? Perhaps Jesus' words had been so far from fitting into their scheme of what they thought possible, they never really heard them in the first place?

Jesus' words are still trustworthy. Just as what He said about Himself rising from the dead came about, so we can be confident that the things He said that have not yet happened will happen. As in:
- He will return (Matthew 24:27-28; Acts 1:11).
- There will be a day of judgment, reckoning, and rewards (Matthew 25:14-46).
- The earth and its systems will pass away (Matthew 13:47-50; 24:35).

Have we really heard these things? Do we believe them? Does our belief affect the way we live? Or will the angels need to someday break through our shock and incredulity with "It has happened as He said to you"?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You arose from the dead as You said You would. Help me to hear, believe, and adjust my life to the things You have said that have not yet happened. Amen.

MORE: He is risen. He is risen indeed!

Today is the day millions celebrates the resurrection of Christ from the dead. (Liturgy for Easter Day.)

The Collect prayer that begins the liturgy:

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

We join with Steve Green in singing the triumphant "Christ the Lord is Risen Today".



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This can't be happening!

Banner from The Children's Friend - Part 5

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 24:1-12

TO CHEW ON: “And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.” Luke 24:11

Joanna  woke before it was light. Her first moments in the sweet forgetfulness of just-waking were pleasant. But then the heavy sense of something wrong returned. Oh yes. Jesus, her rabbi, friend and hero, was dead.

Ugly scenes replayed in her memory: Word that Jesus had been arrested. The terrifying bloodthirsty shouts of the mob. Jesus bruised, bloody and half-naked, dragging His cross through the city. Soldiers nailing Him to the wood and hoisting the structure upright on Golgotha. Hours hanging there. The uncanny darkness. His last agony-filled cries. His last labored breath. Dead.

Now she untangled herself from her coverings. It was early but their errand demanded the cover of pre-dawn darkness. She dressed then picked up the bundle of embalming spices and hurried out to meet the others at the appointed place.

Their discussion of their oversight to bring someone to roll away the heavy stone from the tomb entrance stopped as the site came into view. The mouth of the grave was black–open. What? Who?

They went in. No body. Instead, two men in shining clothes. Their words–“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen!”– t took a while for them to sink in. It couldn’t be, could it?

Incredulous and filled with questions they returned to the others with the news of what they had seen and heard. Some recalled His predictions of just this happening. Others were suspicious of the Jews and the Romans. It took hours, days and numerous post-death appearances by Jesus before they were all convinced He really had risen.

The disciples’ reluctance to accept this incredible good news shouldn’t surprise us. For Jesus’ death and resurrection had changed everything – and it takes a while to recast paradigms and rebuild frames of reference. Now His teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven took on a new significance. His explanations of who He was and what He had come to accomplish began to make sense. He was a triumphant king, but in an altogether different way than they had expected Him to be. He had paid the price for sin. He had conquered death.

Joanna probably awoke the next morning – and the next and the next – with the sense you and I would feel on the morning after our favorite team had won the Stanley Cup, or the World Series, or the Brier or the Scotties, or we had just successfully birthed (after months of anticipation, and hours of painful labor) a baby!

PRAYER: Thank You, Jesus, for all that Your death and resurrection accomplished for the world – and for me. Please give me a greater appreciation for their meaning and significance. Amen.

MORE:  “See What a Morning (Resurrection Hymn)” Stuart Townend

Today the church celebrates Easter. Ponder and enjoy the liturgy for Easter.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Satan bested at his own game

Satan tempts Eve

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

TO CHEW ON: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see HIs seed, and He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall proper in His hand" - Isaiah 53:10

In this one verse we have a sum-up of what we celebrate this coming weekend. It is the ultimate defeat of Satan in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The opening line of our focus verse reminds us of the ancient prophecy that God spoke to the snake-incarnated Satan in Eden:

"And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise your head
And you shall bruise His heel" - Genesis 3:15 (emphasis added).

We may wonder why, in the face of such a prediction of his own demise, did Satan pursue Jesus' death? In his book Unlocking the Mysteries of Satan (Ebook Shorts), Dennis McCallum suggests that God deliberately hid the connection between Jesus the predicted Messiah and Jesus the Suffering Servant. He notes that in all the Suffering Servant Songs (Isaiah 42-53) there is not one reference to Messiah. Satan, with his fixation on confounding Jesus the Messiah (King), missed that He was also the Suffering Servant.

"Satan … thought Jesus had come to rule immediately. Indeed, he tried to kill Jesus when he was a baby. Jesus' self-effacing behaviour must have been confusing, but most people thought he would reveal his power any day (Luke 17:20; 19:11; Acts 1:6) and Satan may have thought this as well ….

If Satan were mistaken about Jesus' intentions, he naturally would have concluded that arranging to kill him would short-circuit the planned kingdom …. too late he realized that he had facilitated not the destruction of God's everlasting reign but the salvation of the human race!" - Dennis McCallum, Unlocking the Mysteries of Satan,  Kindle Locations 253-259.

It was after Jesus' resurrection ("…and He shall see His seed, and He shall prolong His days") that the disciples' (and no doubt Satan's) eyes were opened (Luke 24:45-47). Imagine the disciples' euphoria on realizing God had had the whole matter in control the whole time.

This outworking of God's cleverness in the face of all Satan's scheming prompts reactions in me, perhaps you too?

1. Admiration at God's wisdom in giving Satan the slip.

2. Gratitude for God's sacrificial love as He allowed Jesus to die in our stead.

3. Confidence in God's ability to keep us from getting snagged in Satan's schemes as we entrust ourselves to Him.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your plan which included Jesus' death for me, but also the resurrection and the final defeat of Satan's destructiveness. Help me to live in that victory now. Amen. 

MORE: Handel's Messiah Alert

G. F. Handel used words from today's reading in five Messiah choruses:

Chorus 23: "He was despised" - Isaiah 53:3.

Chorus 24: "Surely He hath borne our griefs" - Isaiah 53:4,5.

Chorus 25: "And with His stripes we are healed" - Isaiah 53:5b.

Chorus 26: "All we like sheep" - Isaiah 53:6.



Chorus 31: "He was cut off out of the land of the living" - Isaiah 53:8b.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

The wisdom of silence

"Jesus brought before Pilate"
- William Brassey Hole

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 14:66-15:20

TO CHEW ON: "And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing ... But still Jesus answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled." Mark 15:3,5

A few weeks ago I let myself get drawn into a war of comments on a book review I wrote. When a commenter posted, under a review of a book of children's Bible stories, "... my wish would be that no child is exposed to this propaganda ... it is based on falsehood. At the very least the book should be marketed as fiction," I jumped in. What a pointless exercise! I made of myself a good example of what not to do.

Jesus, here, shows us the power and dignity of silence in the face of accusation and attack. Of course He wasn't completely silent to his accusers.

- In Matthew we see His inquisition before Caiaphas, where He answered once (Matthew 26:65).

- When He faced the Sanhedrin, He also spoke briefly in His own defense (Luke 22:67-70).

- Here before Pilate, both Luke and Mark's accounts record His answer to Pilate's question, "Are you the King of the Jews?" with "It is as you say" (while John gives a bit more of His speech - John 18:37). But then He refused to say more.

Why the silence? Jesus gives one answer. "If I tell you, you will by no means believe" - Luke 22:67.

Perhaps that is also a good reason for us to stop talking. For when it becomes apparent that there is no openness and no desire to dialogue but just the need to trash beliefs and get in the last word, silence may be the best option.

The words of Amos, spoken to Israel in a dark day, is probably advice we should take more often: "Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time. For it is an evil time" - Amos 5:13.

PRAYER: Dear God when I face attacks on You and my faith in You, I need wisdom. Help me to know when to speak and when to keep silent because I have said enough. Amen.

MORE: "He gave His back to the smiters" - Handel's Messiah

Rebuked

"Jesus appears to the eleven"
Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 16:9-20

TO CHEW ON: "He appeared to the eleven as they sat at table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen." Mark 16:14

How sobering to be the object of Jesus' rebuke. This stern passage had me wondering about other times Jesus rebuked people. On doing a little study, I found at least six categories of rebukes (oneidizo: reproach, revile, suffer reproach, upbraid) that Jesus issued:

1. He rebuked the demonic. When a demon speaking through a demon-possessed man in the synagogue exposed and opposed Him, Jesus said, "Be quiet and come out of Him" - Mark 1:25.

2. He rebuked those who criticized the extravagant love showed to Him by others.

• During the incident of Mary anointing His head with oil at Simon's dinner, Jesus rebuked Simon and all those critical to Mary's lavish demonstration of love. (Mark 14:6-9, also Luke 7:44 and John 12:7).

• When Martha hosted Jesus in their Bethany home and complained that Mary wasn't helping, Jesus rebuked her for having chosen the wrong priorities  (Luke 10:41).

3. Jesus rebuked those who followed Him for selfish reasons:

• He rebuked the people who followed Him simply because He had fed them (Luke 6:26).

• He also rebuked a man who came to him trying to get his inheritance by having Jesus intervene on his behalf (Luke 12:14).

4. Jesus rebuked those (and these were His followers) whose weak faith made them powerless.

• He scolded the disciples, calling them a "faithless and perverse generation" when they couldn't cast out a demon from an oppressed boy (Luke 9:41).

• He also rebuked them when, in Gethsemane, they slept instead of watching and praying (Luke 22:46).

5. Jesus had many rebukes for those who didn't understand the part He played in God's plan. He rebuked His opponents for this:

• The Scribes and Pharisees because they couldn't read the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3).

• Those who questioned His authority to say, "Your sins are forgiven you..." to the paralyzed man (Mark 2:8).

• The synagogue ruler for being more concerned with following man-made Sabbath-keeping than the well-being of a woman He healed (Luke 13:15).

But His disciples didn't understand His role either. He was no less harsh in rebuking them.

• When Jesus prophesied His torture and death and Peter took Him aside, rebuking Jesus for saying those things, Jesus rebuked him right back, identifying the spirit behind Satan's words as satanic (Matthew 16:23, also Mark 8:33).

• Jesus rebuked His followers for not getting the connection between His life and fulfilled prophecy in Luke 24:25.

• Later when Peter tried to defend Him with a sword, Jesus rebuked Peter and healed the damaged ear (John 18:11).

• Our focus verse today (Mark 16:14) would be another rebuke in this category. His eleven disciples, who had been with Him for almost three years, and who had heard what He taught and been eye-witnesses to all that He did, still remained cynical of the reports of those who had seen Him after His resurrection.

In Revelation when the resurrected Jesus gives John messages for the early churches, He gives a reason for His rebukes. It's because of His love: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten" (Revelation 3:19).

I ask myself, am I in any of the above categories? Haven't I been guilty of criticizing the extravagant worship of some?  Haven't I been weak-faithed and powerless to do the things Jesus said His disciples would do? Haven't I sometimes been a cynic when it comes to believing eye-witness miracle testimonies?

What about you?

Let's welcome Jesus' love shown through constructive rebuke, and ask Him for faith and courage to change our ways.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus I know that I am as vulnerable to rebuke as were the people in Bible days. Please forgive me and show me my real self so I can grow as Your disciple. Amen.


MORE: Easter Monday

Today the church celebrates "The Monday In Easter Week,"  or Easter Monday.

The collect for the day that begins the liturgy:

"Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that we who celebrate with awe the Paschal feast may be found worthy to attain to everlasting joys; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."