Good Morning,
Praise the Lord that He is risen from the grave. He is the same Lord who walked on water and calmed the surging sea. Anyone who knows the life of Jesus will be familiar with the story of both our Lord and Peter “Walking on the Water” (Matt 14:22-33).
This story is more than an event in a storm in far-off Palestine; it’s the sign and symbol of what He always does for His people, when the wind is contrary and we are in danger of being overwhelmed by the storms of life. Our Christian pilgrimage is much like being in a boat, shaped by our experiences, but it’s when we are confronted by the storms on the sea of life that the challenge to our faith becomes a reality. In the Scriptures, the “sea” is a powerful image of the turmoil of life’s experiences here on Earth. If we have suffered from sea-sickness we can be thankful that the book of the Revelation assures us that in heaven there’s no more sea! The “boat” in which we find ourselves is a metaphor of the Church, the Body of Christ.
The disciples unexpectedly were caught up in a life-threatening situation. Their little craft was “buffeted by the waves”. The word used by Matthew means “tormented”, with the suggestion that the disciples were battling against cosmic forces of evil. It’s clear that there was a definite purpose in Jesus’ action, by the strength of the word used here. He “compelled” the disciples to embark. The disciples were at the start of a great faith adventure.
We also must embark on our own great faith adventure. It is something that we have in common with them. As someone put it, we are “in our short and uncertain earthly life and pilgrimage”. So what can we learn from this real life story?
The story is set at night. During the previous day Jesus had been ministering to the crowds who were now following Him. We read, “he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (14), and then He had met their physical needs by feeding them, miraculously, by five loaves and two fish. But, as nightfall came, Jesus “dismissed” the crowds and “went up into the hills by himself to pray”. Jesus had sent the disciples on ahead, and now they were in the middle of the lake. One of the sudden storms, for which Galilee was notorious, had come down, and the disciples were struggling against the winds and waves, making little progress as they strained to cross the lake. It was in the fourth watch of the night which runs from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., that the incident took place.
If there’s a time when we feel most vulnerable, it’s in the dark and in the middle of the night. It’s when we are naturally at our lowest ebb of body, mind and spirit, that difficulties loom largest – but take heart, Jesus knows all about them and that’s when He comes to meet us. When the wind of life is contrary, when we struggle to make sense of circumstances, we can guarantee that Jesus will be there to help although He may not be immediately detected. There are times when we’re up against it, overwhelmed by in disappointments and sorrows, when we feel we have failed ourselves and those we love. At such a time no one need feel that he or she is alone, for Jesus comes alongside in the storms of life, with hands stretched out to save, and with His calm clear voice urging us to take heart and have no fear.
The disciples had already been terrified on a similar voyage across Galilee when they were fearful of drowning (8:23-27). On that occasion Jesus had been with them in the boat even though He had been asleep until rudely awoken. But now they were on their own. Perhaps this tells us that there’s always more to learn on the Christian journey.
God’s timescale is different from ours as He views our lives from His eternal perspective, so He’s never in a hurry. We would prefer a quick fix, a shortcut to perfection. However, although God could instantly transform us, He has chosen to develop us slowly. He prefers to work in incremental steps in our lives. Often we have to relearn a lesson before it sinks in. We may have to unlearn things from our old nature, habits and practices that need to be removed and replaced. The Bible language for this is “taking off the old self” and “putting on the new self” (Ephesians 4:22,23).
In reading the story of the storm on the lake, we have the advantage of knowing that it all ended happily, but it was not so for the disciples. In addition to their being buffeted by waves and lashed by a howling gale, we are told that “they were terrified” by the figure they saw coming towards them! "'It’s a ghost', they said, and cried out in fear."
How could the disciples not recognize Jesus? They had lived with Jesus in a very personal and intimate way and yet, when it really mattered, they didn’t recognize Him. In the midst of storms, tormented by waves of disappointment and doubt, they saw a ghost. They certainly saw the figure of Jesus, but to them His appearance resembled that of a ghost. Perhaps the rain or fog was responsible as well as the poor light just before dawn.
All too often the adverse circumstances of life obscure our recognition of Jesus being with us. It’s easy to criticize the disciples, but what of us? It is the unexpected circumstances that catch us. The disciples were so wrapped up in the struggles of the moment – the wind and rain, the tossing waves, the threat of drowning – that they missed a greater power, the living Christ. Although we believe Jesus for our salvation and know that He will supply all our needs, if we rely only on our own strength, we will fall apart when life get tough, when everything appears to be contrary.
Furthermore, the fact that we might have come through a trying experience is no guarantee that a more severe testing time won’t come later. We never know what’s around the next corner. It’s a matter of perseverance, of “Keep(ing) Right on to the End of the Road”. We might wonder why God allows these trials to apparently mar our lives here on Earth. Rick Warren tells us in “The Purpose Driven Life” that there are no short cuts to maturity. It takes years for a child to grow to adulthood. The development of Christ-like character can’t be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time. Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi tells us, “I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns” (1:6).
How gracious is our Lord! The disciples, brave Peter among them, "cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus said to them, 'Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid'." Fear is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a safety mechanism. Some fears are good and normal as they help us to survive certain dangers. If we are sensible, we understand that it’s good to have the fear of walking out in the road or of getting too close to an unguarded fire.
But fear can also be a force of destruction if we yield to ungodly forces. God is not the author of fear. The apostle Paul reassured his rather timid friend, Timothy, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim 1:7). We must discover in Him and through His Holy Spirit the power to cope with fear in all its expressions.
“It is I”, said Jesus. He was using the words, “I am”, the powerful name of “Yahweh”, Jehovah, the Lord God who revealed Himself to Moses. Jesus was signaling His claim to deity. God had given mankind rule over His creation, including the sea, and here Jesus, as the Second Adam, was fulfilling God’s purpose for humankind. God has revealed Himself in Jesus as the Second Person of the Godhead. All religions that do not accept Jesus as the Son of God are impostors. They have no power to save; they are merely ghosts bringing fear and dread.
Thank God that, if we are “in Christ” we have the antidote to fear, “Don’t be afraid.” He still tells us today, “You can trust me. You know my character and my competence. You can safely place your destiny in my hands. “Take courage! It is I.” It was 3 a.m. when Jesus appeared, at the least expected moment. There are many instances in Scripture when the dire distress of man became the meeting place with God. In fact, our extremity is God’s opportunity.
Jesus didn’t climb into the boat but rather waited for a reaction to His words. Peter was a natural leader. Matthew presents him in the story in all his impetuosity mixed with his great devotion to Jesus, imperfect as it was. “Lord, if it’s you … let me come to you on the water.” An alternative translation is, “Since it’s you …” The disciples had already done many mighty miracles when they had been sent out into the towns and villages as Jesus’ representatives (Luke 10:17). They knew He could be trusted implicitly.
Though Peter had the once in a lifetime experience of defying gravity by literally walking on water, his faith faltered. But he was raised up to a life of service for his Master. The story of Walking on Water has been preserved for the benefit of Christians of all the centuries to tell us that our voyage across the lake of life will encounter storms because the non-Christian world is a hostile environment to the believer. But take heart, He is Present with us. On our part we must Look to Him to Cope with Fear and To Move Out in Faith. Jesus still bids us, as He did with Peter, “Come, walk on the water with Me.”
In Christ,
Brown
Dear friends,
Please make a note, the location of the concert has been changed from Boulevard UMC to Sarah Jane Memorial United Methodist Church. We are expecting close to 700 young people for the concert.
Please make a note of the following upcoming youth event.
On Friday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. there will be a "Five 4 Five" concert. This concert will be held at Sarah Jane Memorial United Methodist Church, located at 308 Main St. Johnson City, NY. Five 4 Five is a national tour that features five bands in concert for just $5.
The bands are: DIZMAS, THE SEND, A DREAM TOO LATE, CHILDREN 18:3, AND CAYERIO.
The event is being sponsored by the Union Center, Boulevard, and Hawleyton United Methodist Churches, First Presbyterian Church of Endicott, and First Baptist Church of Owego.
Tickets are available at itickets.com or by calling 1-800-965-9324.
Tickets can be purchased from Arrowhead Christian Bookstore 607-798-1793
Union Center UMC—Pastor Brown, umcgospel@aol.com or by calling, 607-748-6329.
First Presbyterian Church—Jeremy Finn, JMFinn@hotmail.com or by calling 748-1544.
Hawleton United Methodist--Ray Haskell, wpuckey@stny.rr.com or by calling 669-4373.
First Baptist Church Owego--Rev Marlene Steenburg, mcsteenburg@aol.com or by calling 607-232-2302.
Boulevard United Methodist Church--Rev Tony, blvdumc@stny.rr.com or by calling 607-797-5675.
Sarah Jane Memorial United Methodist Church-Phone number is 797-3938
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 3-27-08
Good Morning,
The Biblical writers loved to tell true fish stories. We read about an amazing catch in Luke 5. In the Post-resurrection events of our Lord we read about another amazing catch in John 21.
Jesus’ relationship with the disciples began and ended with a miraculous catch of fish. The disciples met him in the midst of a miracle. It is important to obey Jesus. Sometimes the Lord puts us in situations where it seems like there is no answer. We have tried everything. We thought we knew what needed to be done. It worked before, so we think we already know how to handle it, and now someone tells us a simplistic answer that drives us up the wall. Perhaps the Lord is asking us to do something beyond what is simplistic; it may even seem like something foolish. It is counterintuitive. We have been fishing on the left side of the boat, and now you think fishing on the right side of the boat will make a difference? We have been working all night and you think one more cast is going to change anything?
Remember that the disciples were professional fishermen. They knew all about fishing, so they had to be humble enough to do what Jesus said rather than trusting what they had personally learned about fishing. Jesus wants each one of us to have a teachable spirit. I am convinced that having a teachable spirit is one of the most important characteristics that you can have in life. There are some people to whom you simply cannot tell anything, because they think they already know everything. They do not desire your advice.
King David, in his great penitential prayer said, “Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:12). We meet God when we come to the end of our resources.
The disciples had been fishing all night. They had done all they could do. They knew the best fishing holes. They knew how to use their tackle. They were experts at their trade, but they still had no fish. They were at the end of what they could do. Their resources were spent. That’s when God showed up. The point where we give up is often the exact moment that God shows up.
Simon Peter was certainly at the end of his resources. He had boasted that if everyone else left Jesus, he would still be faithful. Yet, he wasn’t. He had failed. He played the coward. He fell when he boasted that he would stand. He failed Jesus. When he first met Jesus he was very aware of his sinful heart. Before Peter had been called to be a disciple, at the first miraculous catch of fish, the Bible says, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:8). At this second miraculous catch Peter would have liked to have said the same thing, but he was too ashamed to say anything.
It is interesting that the Greek word for charcoal fire is found in only two places in the New Testament. One is in this story where Jesus is cooking fish for the disciples' breakfast, and the other is when Peter stood warming himself after the arrest of Jesus in the courtyard. It was there that Peter denied the Lord and saw Jesus look at him as the cock crowed. As he smelled the charcoal fire on the shore this day, he must have been taken back again to that shame filled moment in the courtyard. Peter realized that he was at the end of his resources. He knew now that there was nothing good left in him.
Paul had the same moment of realization when he said, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out”(Romans 7:18). If anything good was going to come out of him it had to be through Jesus. It was good for him to give up thinking that he was someone special and realize that he could fail like everyone else, because that is when he really began to understand his weakness, the forgiveness of God, and the power of a new life. It was in his brokenness that he experienced Jesus in a new way.
It is good to come to the end of our personal resources and realize our weaknesses, so that we can give in to God utterly. We just turn the control completely over to him, and forget about personal success. We realize we cannot do anything on our own anyway, so we ask him to completely take over, and determine that we will do whatever it is he wants us to do. We stop trying to make things happen and we start to let him have his way. Amazingly, that is when things begin to happen. When we come to the end of ourselves we come to the beginning of God. When we come to the end of what we can do that is when we are ready to see what God can do.
When the disciples came to the end of their resources, that is when they had a miraculous catch -- 153 to be exact -- and all large fish. The catch was so large that they could hardly get the net to shore. But, in spite of the pressure on the net, it did not break or tear. And when they arrived on shore, Jesus already had breakfast for them. You have to wonder where Jesus got the fish. The fish were already on the fire before the disciples reached shore, and there was bread as well. Did Jesus go to the market, or did he miraculously create the bread and fish as he did when he fed the multitudes?
Jesus was always making something out of nothing, and he has not changed. He is still the same today. When everything you have tried in life turns out to be nothing, he can make something out of it. He creates fish and bread and wine. He gives health where there was only sickness. He gives strength when there was only weakness. He gives life where there was only death. He gives hope where there was only despair. He gives forgiveness where there was only shame. He is the God of new beginnings. When we reach the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of him.
Consider this. The fish were not on the other side of the lake; they were just on the other side of the boat. The answer is often as close as your willingness to obey and do what God is asking.
There is an interesting story in the Old Testament about a Syrian General named Naaman. One day he awoke to find that leprosy was beginning to spread across his body. His slave girl, whom he had taken captive in one of his battles against Israel, said to his wife: “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3). So Naaman went to Elisha, the prophet, who did not even come out of his house, but had his servant go out and tell him to bathe in the Jordan River. He was to dip himself in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman was furious. He felt insulted that he had to bathe in a river of Israel. Besides, he wanted something miraculous, something stupendous, to happen. He said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy”. So he refused to obey and submit to what the prophet told him, and stormed off in a rage. Then one of his servants tried to reason with him, saying, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” Then the Bible says, “So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy” (2 Kings 5:14).
The answer was closer than he realized. It was humbling, but it was the thing he needed to do. It did not make sense at the time. He thought he had better water where he lived in Syria, but the answer was closer than that.
If you are going to fish, you have to put down your net where the fish are. If you are going to receive the answer God has for you, you are going to have to do what he says, when he says it, and where he says to do it. I have known many people who have prayed for an answer to their problems, but when the answer came they didn’t like it. They already had it fixed in their head how God should do it. They did not want to humble themselves and would not accept what God was asking them to do. They did not want to look foolish. They did not want to do the thing God was telling them to do. They wanted God to do it all. They wanted him to wave his hand and make it all go away. They wanted a supernatural, exciting answer. They would do a great thing, but not the small thing, the humble thing. But God is not asking you to do a great thing that will get lots of attention; he is only asking you to do the simple thing of obeying what he says, and do it consistently. Eugene Peterson calls it “a long obedience in the same direction.”
In Christ,
Brown
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Worst Analogies Found in High School Papers
"He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it."
"She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again."
"The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't."
"McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup."
"From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30."
"Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze."
"Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center."
"Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:flw.quid55328.com\\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\\flw.quidaaakk/ch@ung by mistake."
"Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever."
"He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree."
"The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease."
"Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like 'Second Tall Man.'"
"Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph."
"The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can."
"They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth."
"John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met."
"The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play."
"The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon."
The Biblical writers loved to tell true fish stories. We read about an amazing catch in Luke 5. In the Post-resurrection events of our Lord we read about another amazing catch in John 21.
Jesus’ relationship with the disciples began and ended with a miraculous catch of fish. The disciples met him in the midst of a miracle. It is important to obey Jesus. Sometimes the Lord puts us in situations where it seems like there is no answer. We have tried everything. We thought we knew what needed to be done. It worked before, so we think we already know how to handle it, and now someone tells us a simplistic answer that drives us up the wall. Perhaps the Lord is asking us to do something beyond what is simplistic; it may even seem like something foolish. It is counterintuitive. We have been fishing on the left side of the boat, and now you think fishing on the right side of the boat will make a difference? We have been working all night and you think one more cast is going to change anything?
Remember that the disciples were professional fishermen. They knew all about fishing, so they had to be humble enough to do what Jesus said rather than trusting what they had personally learned about fishing. Jesus wants each one of us to have a teachable spirit. I am convinced that having a teachable spirit is one of the most important characteristics that you can have in life. There are some people to whom you simply cannot tell anything, because they think they already know everything. They do not desire your advice.
King David, in his great penitential prayer said, “Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:12). We meet God when we come to the end of our resources.
The disciples had been fishing all night. They had done all they could do. They knew the best fishing holes. They knew how to use their tackle. They were experts at their trade, but they still had no fish. They were at the end of what they could do. Their resources were spent. That’s when God showed up. The point where we give up is often the exact moment that God shows up.
Simon Peter was certainly at the end of his resources. He had boasted that if everyone else left Jesus, he would still be faithful. Yet, he wasn’t. He had failed. He played the coward. He fell when he boasted that he would stand. He failed Jesus. When he first met Jesus he was very aware of his sinful heart. Before Peter had been called to be a disciple, at the first miraculous catch of fish, the Bible says, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:8). At this second miraculous catch Peter would have liked to have said the same thing, but he was too ashamed to say anything.
It is interesting that the Greek word for charcoal fire is found in only two places in the New Testament. One is in this story where Jesus is cooking fish for the disciples' breakfast, and the other is when Peter stood warming himself after the arrest of Jesus in the courtyard. It was there that Peter denied the Lord and saw Jesus look at him as the cock crowed. As he smelled the charcoal fire on the shore this day, he must have been taken back again to that shame filled moment in the courtyard. Peter realized that he was at the end of his resources. He knew now that there was nothing good left in him.
Paul had the same moment of realization when he said, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out”(Romans 7:18). If anything good was going to come out of him it had to be through Jesus. It was good for him to give up thinking that he was someone special and realize that he could fail like everyone else, because that is when he really began to understand his weakness, the forgiveness of God, and the power of a new life. It was in his brokenness that he experienced Jesus in a new way.
It is good to come to the end of our personal resources and realize our weaknesses, so that we can give in to God utterly. We just turn the control completely over to him, and forget about personal success. We realize we cannot do anything on our own anyway, so we ask him to completely take over, and determine that we will do whatever it is he wants us to do. We stop trying to make things happen and we start to let him have his way. Amazingly, that is when things begin to happen. When we come to the end of ourselves we come to the beginning of God. When we come to the end of what we can do that is when we are ready to see what God can do.
When the disciples came to the end of their resources, that is when they had a miraculous catch -- 153 to be exact -- and all large fish. The catch was so large that they could hardly get the net to shore. But, in spite of the pressure on the net, it did not break or tear. And when they arrived on shore, Jesus already had breakfast for them. You have to wonder where Jesus got the fish. The fish were already on the fire before the disciples reached shore, and there was bread as well. Did Jesus go to the market, or did he miraculously create the bread and fish as he did when he fed the multitudes?
Jesus was always making something out of nothing, and he has not changed. He is still the same today. When everything you have tried in life turns out to be nothing, he can make something out of it. He creates fish and bread and wine. He gives health where there was only sickness. He gives strength when there was only weakness. He gives life where there was only death. He gives hope where there was only despair. He gives forgiveness where there was only shame. He is the God of new beginnings. When we reach the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of him.
Consider this. The fish were not on the other side of the lake; they were just on the other side of the boat. The answer is often as close as your willingness to obey and do what God is asking.
There is an interesting story in the Old Testament about a Syrian General named Naaman. One day he awoke to find that leprosy was beginning to spread across his body. His slave girl, whom he had taken captive in one of his battles against Israel, said to his wife: “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3). So Naaman went to Elisha, the prophet, who did not even come out of his house, but had his servant go out and tell him to bathe in the Jordan River. He was to dip himself in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman was furious. He felt insulted that he had to bathe in a river of Israel. Besides, he wanted something miraculous, something stupendous, to happen. He said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy”. So he refused to obey and submit to what the prophet told him, and stormed off in a rage. Then one of his servants tried to reason with him, saying, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” Then the Bible says, “So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy” (2 Kings 5:14).
The answer was closer than he realized. It was humbling, but it was the thing he needed to do. It did not make sense at the time. He thought he had better water where he lived in Syria, but the answer was closer than that.
If you are going to fish, you have to put down your net where the fish are. If you are going to receive the answer God has for you, you are going to have to do what he says, when he says it, and where he says to do it. I have known many people who have prayed for an answer to their problems, but when the answer came they didn’t like it. They already had it fixed in their head how God should do it. They did not want to humble themselves and would not accept what God was asking them to do. They did not want to look foolish. They did not want to do the thing God was telling them to do. They wanted God to do it all. They wanted him to wave his hand and make it all go away. They wanted a supernatural, exciting answer. They would do a great thing, but not the small thing, the humble thing. But God is not asking you to do a great thing that will get lots of attention; he is only asking you to do the simple thing of obeying what he says, and do it consistently. Eugene Peterson calls it “a long obedience in the same direction.”
In Christ,
Brown
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Worst Analogies Found in High School Papers
"He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it."
"She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again."
"The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't."
"McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup."
"From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30."
"Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze."
"Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center."
"Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:flw.quid55328.com\\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\\flw.quidaaakk/ch@ung by mistake."
"Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever."
"He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree."
"The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease."
"Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like 'Second Tall Man.'"
"Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph."
"The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can."
"They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth."
"John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met."
"The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play."
"The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon."
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 3-26-08
Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for the way He has called us to be His people who have been redeemed by His own blood. We serve the Risen Savior who is in the world today.
For 2,000 years the foundation of Christianity has rested securely on this simple yet unfathomable truth: Jesus is alive! The resurrection of Jesus Christ has given rise to a living hope for those who believe it. In 1 Peter 1:3, we read these wonderful words from one of Jesus’ own apostles, who was an eye-witness of Jesus’ resurrection: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).
Surely no apostle felt the death of Jesus more agonizingly than Peter. He had boasted that he would not leave him nor forsake him. He had bragged that he would stay true and fight for him even unto death. Peter meant well, but failed so miserably. All the apostles experienced the loss of hope when Jesus died, but Peter experienced additional shame and disgrace because of his denial of even knowing Jesus.
I believe that it is likely that there are many whose hopes have been crushed and whose dreams have been unfulfilled. Maybe, even a few years ago, they had glorious dreams of what they would like to be, and what they would like to do, but all those dreams have faded away or collapsed. Yet, it is just that kind of loss of hope and that level of disappointment that the resurrection of Jesus is designed to relieve.
We celebrate Easter and the great triumph of Christ over the grave — and it is a great triumph — but I think we often forget that Easter also stands for the presence of Christ with us to meet the pressures of life as they come to us day by day. Jesus understood how Peter felt in the hour of his monumental failure and collapse of faith, and he sought him out, appeared to him, and reconciled Peter to himself. Do you remember that Jesus appeared to the disciples on the shores of Galilee after his resurrection? He prepared a meal for them on a fire, and called them to come and join him. Then Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me, Peter?”
Three times Peter affirmed his love. And three times Jesus gave him something to do, “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15-18). That was an enormous encouragement to Peter. Surely that was on the forefront of Peter’s mind when he wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Author Philip Yancey describes a unique funeral custom conducted by some African Muslims. Close family and friends circle the casket and quietly gaze at the corpse. There is no singing, no flowers, and no tears. A peppermint candy is given to everyone. At a certain signal, each one puts the candy in his or her mouth. When the candy is gone, each participant is reminded that life for this person is over. They believe life, like a peppermint, simply dissolves. Isn’t this a hopeless view of life?
The apostle Peter wrote his letter to Christians who were facing persecution, difficulties, and death because of their faith. He exhorted them to stand strong, repeatedly reminding them of Christ’s example, and probably mindful of his own failure. Peter, who is also called “the apostle of hope,” encouraged them to trust in Jesus, live obediently in hard circumstances, and keep their hope fixed on God’s ultimate purpose of deliverance.
When Jerome Groopman diagnosed patients with serious diseases, the Harvard Medical School professor discovered that all of them were “looking for a sense of genuine hope—and indeed, that hope was as important to them as anything he might prescribe as a physician." After writing a book called "The Anatomy of Hope", Groopman was asked for his definition of hope. He replied: “Basically, I think hope is the ability to see a path to the future. You are facing dire circumstances, and you need to know everything that’s blocking or threatening you. And then you see a path, or a potential path, to get to where you want to be. Once you see that, there’s a tremendous emotional uplift that occurs.”
The doctor confessed, “I think hope has been, is, and always will be the heart of medicine and healing. We could not live without hope.” Even with all the medical technology available to us now, “we still come back to this profound human need to believe that there is a possibility to reach a future that is better than the one in the present.”
In our day “hope” is a rather weak word. One dictionary defines it as “desire with expectation of obtainment.” And it lists “trust” and “reliance” as synonyms.
But we usually mean much less than this. We speak of “hoping against hope” or “hoping for the best,” which implies that we are not very hopeful. But this is not what “hope” means in the Bible, and even the dictionary definition falls short of it.
In the Bible, “hope” means “certainty,” and the only reason it is called “hope” rather than “certainty” is that we do not yet possess it, although we surely will.
“Hope”, in this passage, does not imply a wishfulness but rather a dynamic confidence that does not end with this life but continues throughout eternity.
“Hope is one of the theological virtues,” C. S. Lewis said. “This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set out to achieve the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built the great cathedrals and made monumental contributions to the world of art during the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade - all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is because Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in effecting change in this one. "Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”
There are many people who have an uncertain hope for the future. They do not have a clear path to where they need to be. They do not have a certainty about what the future holds. However, for those of us who believe in Jesus and in His resurrection, we do not have an uncertain hope; rather, we have a certain hope.
The Scripture assures us that we can face the future, especially death, with the promise of great truths.
We are given the assurance that we will not be alone. There will be a divine companion with us; a hand will steady us through this time. Jesus said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 b). We have that promise, whether we feel it or not, that we will not be left alone. Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).
Over and over we have this promise repeated in the Word, that Christ will be with us always, especially in the hour of death. Many of those who have died have borne testimony to that fact. When D. L. Moody was dying, his last words were, “Earth is receding, heaven is approaching; this is my crowning day.”
We need have no fear about death. Christ promises us that there is no ground for fear. I have been struck by the fact that in the Word of God there are 365 places where it says, “Fear not.” The reason is that Christ has promised, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 b). There are many passages in the Word of God that assure us of the promise of a greater future beyond death. There are passages that describe the glory to come, and picture for us the beauty of life beyond as a great and marvelous experience where we will be more alive than we ever were here. Paul says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
In the New Testament you can see how these early Christians were filled with a constant sense of the presence of Jesus with them. Everywhere they went they did so with joy and optimism and expectation. When you read the book of Acts you see that from beginning to end it has a ring of triumph. Peter declares “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope. . . .” All of us can experience a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
In Jesus,
Brown
It is always the case that when the Christian looks back, he is looking at the forgiveness of sins.
Karl Barth
Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols.
John Calvin
God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us - as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray.
John Calvin
Praise the Lord for the way He has called us to be His people who have been redeemed by His own blood. We serve the Risen Savior who is in the world today.
For 2,000 years the foundation of Christianity has rested securely on this simple yet unfathomable truth: Jesus is alive! The resurrection of Jesus Christ has given rise to a living hope for those who believe it. In 1 Peter 1:3, we read these wonderful words from one of Jesus’ own apostles, who was an eye-witness of Jesus’ resurrection: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).
Surely no apostle felt the death of Jesus more agonizingly than Peter. He had boasted that he would not leave him nor forsake him. He had bragged that he would stay true and fight for him even unto death. Peter meant well, but failed so miserably. All the apostles experienced the loss of hope when Jesus died, but Peter experienced additional shame and disgrace because of his denial of even knowing Jesus.
I believe that it is likely that there are many whose hopes have been crushed and whose dreams have been unfulfilled. Maybe, even a few years ago, they had glorious dreams of what they would like to be, and what they would like to do, but all those dreams have faded away or collapsed. Yet, it is just that kind of loss of hope and that level of disappointment that the resurrection of Jesus is designed to relieve.
We celebrate Easter and the great triumph of Christ over the grave — and it is a great triumph — but I think we often forget that Easter also stands for the presence of Christ with us to meet the pressures of life as they come to us day by day. Jesus understood how Peter felt in the hour of his monumental failure and collapse of faith, and he sought him out, appeared to him, and reconciled Peter to himself. Do you remember that Jesus appeared to the disciples on the shores of Galilee after his resurrection? He prepared a meal for them on a fire, and called them to come and join him. Then Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me, Peter?”
Three times Peter affirmed his love. And three times Jesus gave him something to do, “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15-18). That was an enormous encouragement to Peter. Surely that was on the forefront of Peter’s mind when he wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Author Philip Yancey describes a unique funeral custom conducted by some African Muslims. Close family and friends circle the casket and quietly gaze at the corpse. There is no singing, no flowers, and no tears. A peppermint candy is given to everyone. At a certain signal, each one puts the candy in his or her mouth. When the candy is gone, each participant is reminded that life for this person is over. They believe life, like a peppermint, simply dissolves. Isn’t this a hopeless view of life?
The apostle Peter wrote his letter to Christians who were facing persecution, difficulties, and death because of their faith. He exhorted them to stand strong, repeatedly reminding them of Christ’s example, and probably mindful of his own failure. Peter, who is also called “the apostle of hope,” encouraged them to trust in Jesus, live obediently in hard circumstances, and keep their hope fixed on God’s ultimate purpose of deliverance.
When Jerome Groopman diagnosed patients with serious diseases, the Harvard Medical School professor discovered that all of them were “looking for a sense of genuine hope—and indeed, that hope was as important to them as anything he might prescribe as a physician." After writing a book called "The Anatomy of Hope", Groopman was asked for his definition of hope. He replied: “Basically, I think hope is the ability to see a path to the future. You are facing dire circumstances, and you need to know everything that’s blocking or threatening you. And then you see a path, or a potential path, to get to where you want to be. Once you see that, there’s a tremendous emotional uplift that occurs.”
The doctor confessed, “I think hope has been, is, and always will be the heart of medicine and healing. We could not live without hope.” Even with all the medical technology available to us now, “we still come back to this profound human need to believe that there is a possibility to reach a future that is better than the one in the present.”
In our day “hope” is a rather weak word. One dictionary defines it as “desire with expectation of obtainment.” And it lists “trust” and “reliance” as synonyms.
But we usually mean much less than this. We speak of “hoping against hope” or “hoping for the best,” which implies that we are not very hopeful. But this is not what “hope” means in the Bible, and even the dictionary definition falls short of it.
In the Bible, “hope” means “certainty,” and the only reason it is called “hope” rather than “certainty” is that we do not yet possess it, although we surely will.
“Hope”, in this passage, does not imply a wishfulness but rather a dynamic confidence that does not end with this life but continues throughout eternity.
“Hope is one of the theological virtues,” C. S. Lewis said. “This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set out to achieve the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built the great cathedrals and made monumental contributions to the world of art during the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade - all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is because Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in effecting change in this one. "Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”
There are many people who have an uncertain hope for the future. They do not have a clear path to where they need to be. They do not have a certainty about what the future holds. However, for those of us who believe in Jesus and in His resurrection, we do not have an uncertain hope; rather, we have a certain hope.
The Scripture assures us that we can face the future, especially death, with the promise of great truths.
We are given the assurance that we will not be alone. There will be a divine companion with us; a hand will steady us through this time. Jesus said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 b). We have that promise, whether we feel it or not, that we will not be left alone. Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).
Over and over we have this promise repeated in the Word, that Christ will be with us always, especially in the hour of death. Many of those who have died have borne testimony to that fact. When D. L. Moody was dying, his last words were, “Earth is receding, heaven is approaching; this is my crowning day.”
We need have no fear about death. Christ promises us that there is no ground for fear. I have been struck by the fact that in the Word of God there are 365 places where it says, “Fear not.” The reason is that Christ has promised, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 b). There are many passages in the Word of God that assure us of the promise of a greater future beyond death. There are passages that describe the glory to come, and picture for us the beauty of life beyond as a great and marvelous experience where we will be more alive than we ever were here. Paul says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
In the New Testament you can see how these early Christians were filled with a constant sense of the presence of Jesus with them. Everywhere they went they did so with joy and optimism and expectation. When you read the book of Acts you see that from beginning to end it has a ring of triumph. Peter declares “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope. . . .” All of us can experience a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
In Jesus,
Brown
It is always the case that when the Christian looks back, he is looking at the forgiveness of sins.
Karl Barth
Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols.
John Calvin
God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us - as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray.
John Calvin
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 3-25-08
Good Morning,
The Lord of creation must love women; He made so many of them. The Lord of Redemption must love women for He used them as the witnesses to His birth, mission, passion, death, and Resurrection. It was a woman who was the first to know about the Incarnation from an angel. It was who was the first to believe in the incarnation of Jesus. Women were the last to leave the crucifixion on Good Friday. Women were the first to come to the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning. The Lord has wired the women with a special DNA, so that they have a great capacity to love to the end.
That women were the first witnesses of the resurrection is really a cool thing. The testimony of women was not acceptable in courts of law at that time. Only men were considered to be credible witnesses, so this actually gives greater credibility to the resurrection story. If someone had made up the story, if it was fabricated, they certainly would not have made women the first witnesses. They would have made it Peter or John or some other respected man. But women were, in fact, the first witnesses in the gospels. That’s what really happened.
Because Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb just moments before the Sabbath began, there wasn’t time to complete the burial procedures before the Sabbath, and Sabbath laws forbade work on the Sabbath. Thus, as soon as the Sabbath was over on Saturday at sundown, the women went to the local shop and bought burial spices. By then it was dark, so they waited through another long night until first light on Sunday morning, when they went to the tomb. They certainly didn’t expect the resurrection; they had an important job to do,embalming the body.
They were overcome with grief as they trudged along on their sad mission. Only
as they made their way to the tomb did it dawn on them, “What about the stone? Who will roll the stone away for us?" It was far too big for them to move by themselves. Who could move it? In a way that stone is a reminder of life’s insurmountable problems and barriers for us. They block our way. They are too great for us to move on our own, and we don’t know what we can do about them.
As they arrived at the tomb, the women looked up, and saw that the stone was already rolled back. God takes care of barriers even when we cannot.
The women did not know whether this was good news or bad news, but the way things had been going, they probably expected the worst. Their hearts were pounding as they cautiously approached the tomb. Had someone stolen the body? God forbid, had they desecrated it? Was someone still inside? They didn’t know what to expect as they stepped inside. Their eyes began to adjust to the low light, and they were startled to see a young man sitting there. Their hearts leaped in fear. The text says they are “startled” or “alarmed.” Terrified might be a good word.
The visitor was, of course, an angel. In the Bible angels strongly resembled people—no wings, no halos, no special glow. And usually when angels appeared, people were terrified. So here, as in most cases, the angel’s first words were, “Don’t be alarmed. Settle down. Don’t be afraid.” Then he gave them a message that changed them and the world forever. It is a message that truly breaks the bounds of life’s limitations. It contains two parts, each having an implication—a “therefore” or “so what”—connected with it.
The first part of the message is, You’re looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn’t here. He has been raised from the dead. Their minds probably could not get around this, because it was not at all what they expected. He confirmed that they were in the right place. "Look, this is where they laid his body." The implication is, “Look, this is the place. But the body is gone. It’s not here. He is risen!”
This is arguably the most important, and one of the best-attested, facts of history. The fact of the resurrection is very convincing. If the resurrection didn’t happen, a lot of other things would have to be explained. For instance, 1) how do you explain the empty tomb? Some have argued that the disciples came and stole the body while the Roman guards slept. But if a Roman guard was caught sleeping on duty, he was executed. They had pretty good motivation to stay awake. Even if the whole group had slept, wouldn’t the noise of the disciples moving the stone have awakened even one of them? The disciples themselves were grief-stricken and distraught. They didn’t have it in them to pull off such a theft. Furthermore, almost all of the disciples were martyred for preaching that Jesus is alive. Is it conceivable that under the pain of torture and death not one of them would ever break and tell the truth if they had stolen the body?
You say maybe somebody else stole the body? Who? The Jews? The Romans? They both wanted to show that Jesus had not risen, so why wouldn’t they produce the body if they had it? It would have been easy to kill the whole Christian movement in those early years by simply coming up with the body. But they couldn’t do it. Besides, a thief would not take time to take care of the grave-clothes. They would have taken the clothes along with the body. The tomb was empty.
This is the news these women encountered that first Easter morning when they stepped into that empty tomb. He is risen! And because he is risen, there is an implication for them, a response. Go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter. The women were the first believers to be specifically told to tell others about Jesus. You will be my witnesses. It is the mandate of the whole church because Christ is alive.
The specific mention of Peter is a tremendous blessing. Remember Peter had failed Jesus - big time. He denied that he even knew him. But the resurrection revokes death, sin, and failure. It shows God is greater. It’s the promise of a new start. I t proves our past can’t limit us or hold us back. This hints at Peter’s restoration a short time later despite his huge failure. It reminds us that Jesus doesn’t give up on us, his disciples, no matter how badly we have failed. Because of the resurrection, there is hope of a new and positive future.
Jesus goes ahead of you. His promises are true. That’s the second part of the angel’s message. The implication or response implied by that is trust him. Trust him. He said he would come back from death and he did. If he can do that, he can keep all of his other promises as well. He will be with you. He will never abandon you. He will forgive your sins. He will restore you to God. He will restore purpose and meaning to your life. He will give you joy and peace. He’ll give you power to live a new life. He has proven himself faithful. He keeps his promises, so trust him.
The women at the tomb were overwhelmed. They were dumbfounded, to say the least. They stood in awe and wonderment. They didn’t know what to think. Mark says that they fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk. Obviously their silence was temporary. You can’t keep news like this secret. The fact that their story is written here shows that they did share it. They did tell others, though initially they were dumb because they were afraid. Fear kept them from telling others what they knew about Jesus.
The resurrection transforms a hopeless end into an endless hope. Because Jesus rose from death, we can trust him as our Savior. The resurrection shows that our faith does not depend on our own adequacy. It depends on the power of God. The disciples failed repeatedly, yet the gospel went forward by God’s power, not by their successes. Failure is not the end. Don’t we need to hear that? Failure is not the end. The Risen Lord is at work, even through our failings.
Like the first disciples, our greatest need is not just to see or hear about the resurrection, but to have the resurrection happen to us. Lloyd Ogilvie says, “The most powerful historical proof of the resurrection is the ‘resurrected’ disciples. Dull, defeated people became fearless, adventuresome leaders. Cowards became courageous; the timid became triumphant; the inept did the impossible. ‘He is risen!’ became the joyous chant of a new life without limits” (Life without Limits, p. 283). Jesus said, "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:19). The resurrection life is the same as eternal life. It is far more than just time with the ends knocked out. It is a new quality of life that includes God in our day-to-day experience and is powered by his Spirit. The message of Easter is that the resurrection can happen to us now.
Paul says in Romans 6, "Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was." That’s not just by and by when we die. We are raised to new life right now. He says, "Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. Now the power of God lives in us, rather than the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again." And Paul concludes, "So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus" (vs 5-9, 11).
Because Jesus broke through death, we can live a new life without limits. Think back to those things that limit you. With Ogilvie we can say that we, by ourselves, are not able. But with the confidence of the resurrection we can know that he is able. Listen to the undaunted faith of those early Christians in whom the resurrection was more sure than their own pulse beat, ‘He is able to strengthen those who are tempted’ (Hebrews 2:18); ‘He is able to save those who draw near to God through him’ (Hebrews 7:2); ‘He is able to keep you from falling’ (Jude 24); ‘He is able to subdue all things unto himself’ (Philemon 3:21); ‘He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day’ (2 Tim 1:12); ‘He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think’ (Eph 3:20).”
Easter is not just a celebration of something that happened 2000 years ago. It is the celebration of the power of the Risen Savior over sin and death, that gives us new life today. Jesus's resurrection power in us frees us from the old boundaries and limits and the “NOs” that had kept us bound. The Bible says that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives (Romans 6:4 NLT).
He is Risen. Hallelujah! Christ is Risen indeed!
Brown
• "No, we can never think that Jesus died in despair or "of a broken heart," as some have said. He was dying in victory, not defeat. He foresaw, if anyone ever did, that future which is more real than the present."
-- Frederick C. Grant
• • "Rise heart: thy Lord is risen. Sing His praise without delays, Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise with Him mayst rise: That, as His death calcined the to dust, His life may make thee gold, and much more, just."
-- George Herbert
• "Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted."
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• "Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime."
-- Martin Luther
• "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? This is so true that even Satan cannot deny it. Christ's resurrection and victory over sin, death and hell is greater than all heaven and earth. You can never imagine his resurrection and victory so great but that in actuality it is far, far greater."
-- Martin Luther
The Lord of creation must love women; He made so many of them. The Lord of Redemption must love women for He used them as the witnesses to His birth, mission, passion, death, and Resurrection. It was a woman who was the first to know about the Incarnation from an angel. It was who was the first to believe in the incarnation of Jesus. Women were the last to leave the crucifixion on Good Friday. Women were the first to come to the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning. The Lord has wired the women with a special DNA, so that they have a great capacity to love to the end.
That women were the first witnesses of the resurrection is really a cool thing. The testimony of women was not acceptable in courts of law at that time. Only men were considered to be credible witnesses, so this actually gives greater credibility to the resurrection story. If someone had made up the story, if it was fabricated, they certainly would not have made women the first witnesses. They would have made it Peter or John or some other respected man. But women were, in fact, the first witnesses in the gospels. That’s what really happened.
Because Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb just moments before the Sabbath began, there wasn’t time to complete the burial procedures before the Sabbath, and Sabbath laws forbade work on the Sabbath. Thus, as soon as the Sabbath was over on Saturday at sundown, the women went to the local shop and bought burial spices. By then it was dark, so they waited through another long night until first light on Sunday morning, when they went to the tomb. They certainly didn’t expect the resurrection; they had an important job to do,embalming the body.
They were overcome with grief as they trudged along on their sad mission. Only
as they made their way to the tomb did it dawn on them, “What about the stone? Who will roll the stone away for us?" It was far too big for them to move by themselves. Who could move it? In a way that stone is a reminder of life’s insurmountable problems and barriers for us. They block our way. They are too great for us to move on our own, and we don’t know what we can do about them.
As they arrived at the tomb, the women looked up, and saw that the stone was already rolled back. God takes care of barriers even when we cannot.
The women did not know whether this was good news or bad news, but the way things had been going, they probably expected the worst. Their hearts were pounding as they cautiously approached the tomb. Had someone stolen the body? God forbid, had they desecrated it? Was someone still inside? They didn’t know what to expect as they stepped inside. Their eyes began to adjust to the low light, and they were startled to see a young man sitting there. Their hearts leaped in fear. The text says they are “startled” or “alarmed.” Terrified might be a good word.
The visitor was, of course, an angel. In the Bible angels strongly resembled people—no wings, no halos, no special glow. And usually when angels appeared, people were terrified. So here, as in most cases, the angel’s first words were, “Don’t be alarmed. Settle down. Don’t be afraid.” Then he gave them a message that changed them and the world forever. It is a message that truly breaks the bounds of life’s limitations. It contains two parts, each having an implication—a “therefore” or “so what”—connected with it.
The first part of the message is, You’re looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn’t here. He has been raised from the dead. Their minds probably could not get around this, because it was not at all what they expected. He confirmed that they were in the right place. "Look, this is where they laid his body." The implication is, “Look, this is the place. But the body is gone. It’s not here. He is risen!”
This is arguably the most important, and one of the best-attested, facts of history. The fact of the resurrection is very convincing. If the resurrection didn’t happen, a lot of other things would have to be explained. For instance, 1) how do you explain the empty tomb? Some have argued that the disciples came and stole the body while the Roman guards slept. But if a Roman guard was caught sleeping on duty, he was executed. They had pretty good motivation to stay awake. Even if the whole group had slept, wouldn’t the noise of the disciples moving the stone have awakened even one of them? The disciples themselves were grief-stricken and distraught. They didn’t have it in them to pull off such a theft. Furthermore, almost all of the disciples were martyred for preaching that Jesus is alive. Is it conceivable that under the pain of torture and death not one of them would ever break and tell the truth if they had stolen the body?
You say maybe somebody else stole the body? Who? The Jews? The Romans? They both wanted to show that Jesus had not risen, so why wouldn’t they produce the body if they had it? It would have been easy to kill the whole Christian movement in those early years by simply coming up with the body. But they couldn’t do it. Besides, a thief would not take time to take care of the grave-clothes. They would have taken the clothes along with the body. The tomb was empty.
This is the news these women encountered that first Easter morning when they stepped into that empty tomb. He is risen! And because he is risen, there is an implication for them, a response. Go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter. The women were the first believers to be specifically told to tell others about Jesus. You will be my witnesses. It is the mandate of the whole church because Christ is alive.
The specific mention of Peter is a tremendous blessing. Remember Peter had failed Jesus - big time. He denied that he even knew him. But the resurrection revokes death, sin, and failure. It shows God is greater. It’s the promise of a new start. I t proves our past can’t limit us or hold us back. This hints at Peter’s restoration a short time later despite his huge failure. It reminds us that Jesus doesn’t give up on us, his disciples, no matter how badly we have failed. Because of the resurrection, there is hope of a new and positive future.
Jesus goes ahead of you. His promises are true. That’s the second part of the angel’s message. The implication or response implied by that is trust him. Trust him. He said he would come back from death and he did. If he can do that, he can keep all of his other promises as well. He will be with you. He will never abandon you. He will forgive your sins. He will restore you to God. He will restore purpose and meaning to your life. He will give you joy and peace. He’ll give you power to live a new life. He has proven himself faithful. He keeps his promises, so trust him.
The women at the tomb were overwhelmed. They were dumbfounded, to say the least. They stood in awe and wonderment. They didn’t know what to think. Mark says that they fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk. Obviously their silence was temporary. You can’t keep news like this secret. The fact that their story is written here shows that they did share it. They did tell others, though initially they were dumb because they were afraid. Fear kept them from telling others what they knew about Jesus.
The resurrection transforms a hopeless end into an endless hope. Because Jesus rose from death, we can trust him as our Savior. The resurrection shows that our faith does not depend on our own adequacy. It depends on the power of God. The disciples failed repeatedly, yet the gospel went forward by God’s power, not by their successes. Failure is not the end. Don’t we need to hear that? Failure is not the end. The Risen Lord is at work, even through our failings.
Like the first disciples, our greatest need is not just to see or hear about the resurrection, but to have the resurrection happen to us. Lloyd Ogilvie says, “The most powerful historical proof of the resurrection is the ‘resurrected’ disciples. Dull, defeated people became fearless, adventuresome leaders. Cowards became courageous; the timid became triumphant; the inept did the impossible. ‘He is risen!’ became the joyous chant of a new life without limits” (Life without Limits, p. 283). Jesus said, "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:19). The resurrection life is the same as eternal life. It is far more than just time with the ends knocked out. It is a new quality of life that includes God in our day-to-day experience and is powered by his Spirit. The message of Easter is that the resurrection can happen to us now.
Paul says in Romans 6, "Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was." That’s not just by and by when we die. We are raised to new life right now. He says, "Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. Now the power of God lives in us, rather than the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again." And Paul concludes, "So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus" (vs 5-9, 11).
Because Jesus broke through death, we can live a new life without limits. Think back to those things that limit you. With Ogilvie we can say that we, by ourselves, are not able. But with the confidence of the resurrection we can know that he is able. Listen to the undaunted faith of those early Christians in whom the resurrection was more sure than their own pulse beat, ‘He is able to strengthen those who are tempted’ (Hebrews 2:18); ‘He is able to save those who draw near to God through him’ (Hebrews 7:2); ‘He is able to keep you from falling’ (Jude 24); ‘He is able to subdue all things unto himself’ (Philemon 3:21); ‘He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day’ (2 Tim 1:12); ‘He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think’ (Eph 3:20).”
Easter is not just a celebration of something that happened 2000 years ago. It is the celebration of the power of the Risen Savior over sin and death, that gives us new life today. Jesus's resurrection power in us frees us from the old boundaries and limits and the “NOs” that had kept us bound. The Bible says that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives (Romans 6:4 NLT).
He is Risen. Hallelujah! Christ is Risen indeed!
Brown
• "No, we can never think that Jesus died in despair or "of a broken heart," as some have said. He was dying in victory, not defeat. He foresaw, if anyone ever did, that future which is more real than the present."
-- Frederick C. Grant
• • "Rise heart: thy Lord is risen. Sing His praise without delays, Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise with Him mayst rise: That, as His death calcined the to dust, His life may make thee gold, and much more, just."
-- George Herbert
• "Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted."
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• "Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime."
-- Martin Luther
• "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? This is so true that even Satan cannot deny it. Christ's resurrection and victory over sin, death and hell is greater than all heaven and earth. You can never imagine his resurrection and victory so great but that in actuality it is far, far greater."
-- Martin Luther
Monday, March 24, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 3-24-08
Good morning,
Happy Easter. Jesus came, He saw, He conquered death and He is alive forevermore. Indeed, Christ is risen. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Easter day yesterday. It was a glorious morning. I woke up around 2 a.m. and saw that the moon was bright and brilliant. All was calm and all was beautiful and the Lord blessed us throughout the day in Worship and in fellowship. Indeed, "better is one day in Your house than a thousands elsewhere. Praise the Lord for the way Jesus is the resurrection and the life. All the glory and victory belong to Him. We serve a risen Savior, who is in the world today. We wish you the joy of the risen Savior and the power that comes along. Happy Easter.
Joyce Hollyday tells the story of a schoolteacher who was asked to work with children in a large city hospital. Another teacher, knowing that she had been assigned to the hospital, called and requested that she visit a child who had been in her class. The teacher took the boy’s name and room number, and was told by the teacher on the other end of the phone: “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework, so he doesn’t fall behind the others.” What the teacher did not realize was that the boy was in the hospital’s burn unit. She was unprepared to find a young boy horribly burned and in great pain. But she knew that if she fled from the room that it would frighten the boy, and so she began somewhat awkwardly, “I’m the hospital teacher, and your teacher sent me to help you with nouns and adverbs.” The boy was hardly able to respond because he was in so much pain. It seemed so senseless and heartless that the teacher could hardly force herself to go through the lesson. But the next morning a nurse on the burn unit asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” And before the teacher could say anything, the nurse said: “We’ve been very worried about him. But ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back; he’s responding to treatment. It’s as if he has decided to live.” Later, when the boy had recovered somewhat, he said that he had completely given up hope until he saw the teacher. He realized something very important. He said: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a boy who was dying, would they?”
The message of Easter is that we are going to live. There is hope for us. Jesus came to us, not to perform last rites, but to give us life. God would not have sent Jesus to rise from the dead if we were going to die and stay in the grave, now would He? We will need the lessons He came to teach us. Life may have wounded us, but Jesus came to heal us. He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Easter tells us that life is not over; the story has not ended; the best is yet to come. This is not the end, it is the beginning. What is ending is the night, the confusion, the dysfunction. What is beginning is the day, the solution, the answer. Jesus’ triumph over death has opened the door to eternal life and eternal joy into the despair and hopelessness of the world, Jesus came. One day He entered a garden as He commenced His work to restore the breach between the human family and God. From the garden He made His way to a tree. He would die on that branchless, barren tree, and as He died, He would hold out the gift of eternal life with nail pierced hands. The tree is no longer hidden or barred from us. This was made possible by Christ, for as the Bible says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13). But this forgiveness was not merely a legal transaction, its intent was that we should be new people. Hear the words of Scripture which say, “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
The tree of life appears in the first and the last books of the Bible. In the first book, access to the tree of life was lost. In the last book it is restored. We read in the book of Revelation: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2). Later it says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14). The work of Jesus Christ on the Cross reversed the curse and condition of mankind. The Bible recognizes the connection between Adam and Christ, when it says, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).
But Jesus did not stay on the Cross, and neither did He stay in the grave. The apostles said, “We are witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him by hanging Him on a tree, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen” (Acts 10:39-40). And if His death was effective in its power to give life, how much more was His resurrection? The Bible puts it like this: “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life ” (Romans 5:10). That is to say, His resurrection Life.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday, the children and crowds shouted His praise waving the palm leaves in their hands. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples ” But Jesus said, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:39-40). On Easter morning the stones did cry out. The stone was rolled away and the stone grave cried out: “He is not here He is risen." When that stone was rolled away, it opened the door to the future. Paradise was opened again, and the path was made possible by Jesus’ victory over death. Death came because of the transgression of Adam and Eve in the garden. God had said, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). But they did eat, and the process of death began in their bodies. But through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, eternal life is now available to each of us. The Bible says, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:10-11). Without the resurrection of Christ there is no hope, no future, no forgiveness, no heaven. The apostle Paul wrote, “If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:16).
Dr. Joseph Haroutunian was from Armenia. In 1940 he was brought to McCormick Theological Seminary to teach systematic theology. A friend of his once suggested that he change his name, saying: “Your name is difficult to pronounce and difficult to spell — it could hurt your professional career. Why don’t you change your name to Harwood or Harwell or something like that?” Dr. Haroutunian asked him, “What do those names mean?” His friend answered, “Well, nothing. They’re just easier to remember.” Dr. Haroutunian said, “In Armenia, when my grandfather was baptized, they named him Haroutunian which means ‘Resurrection.’ I am Joseph Haroutunian and I will be a son of Resurrection all my days.” That is the same privilege which can be ours. We can be sons or daughters of the Resurrection. The promise of the open tomb is ours. You may have never heard of Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, but in his day he held a great deal of power. He took part in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper, Pravda, and was a full member of the Politburo. He wrote books on economics and political science. The story goes that in 1930 he took a journey from Moscow to Kiev to address a large audience on the subject of atheism. As he talked, he spoke against Christianity using insult and argument. He spoke for an hour, and looked out over the crowd, absolutely sure that he had crushed any remnants of faith among the audience. “Are there any questions?” he asked smugly. There was an appalling silence until one man slowly walked to the platform and then stood behind the lectern next to the communist leader. He looked over the crowd gazing to one side and then to the other. Suddenly he raised his voice and shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: “CHRIST IS RISEN ” And from the great crowd there arose a deafening response: “HE IS RISEN INDEED ”
Doubt always loses.Faith always wins. Because Jesus lives!
Brown
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than ten years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?"
"I'm four and a half."
You're never 36 and a half ....You're four and a half going on 5.
You get into your teens; now they can't hold you back.
You jump to the next number. "How old are you?"
"I'm gonna be 16." You could be 12, but you're gonna be 16. Eventually.
Then the great day of your life; you become 21.
Even the words sound like a ceremony.
You BECOME 21....Yes!!
Then you turn 30. What happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED; we had to throw him out. What's wrong? What changed? You BECOME 21; you TURN 30.
Then you're PUSHING 40....stay over there. You REACH 50.
You BECOME 21; you TURN 30; You're PUSHING 40; you REACH 50; then you MAKE IT to 60.
By then you've built up so much speed, you HIT 70.
After that, it's a day-by-day thing. You HIT Wednesday...
You get into your 80's; you HIT lunch, you HIT 4:30. My Grandmother won't even buy green bananas. "Well, it's an investment, you know, and maybe a bad one."
And it doesn't end there....
Into the 90's, you start going backwards. "I was JUST 92."
Then a strange thing happens; if you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half."
Happy Easter. Jesus came, He saw, He conquered death and He is alive forevermore. Indeed, Christ is risen. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Easter day yesterday. It was a glorious morning. I woke up around 2 a.m. and saw that the moon was bright and brilliant. All was calm and all was beautiful and the Lord blessed us throughout the day in Worship and in fellowship. Indeed, "better is one day in Your house than a thousands elsewhere. Praise the Lord for the way Jesus is the resurrection and the life. All the glory and victory belong to Him. We serve a risen Savior, who is in the world today. We wish you the joy of the risen Savior and the power that comes along. Happy Easter.
Joyce Hollyday tells the story of a schoolteacher who was asked to work with children in a large city hospital. Another teacher, knowing that she had been assigned to the hospital, called and requested that she visit a child who had been in her class. The teacher took the boy’s name and room number, and was told by the teacher on the other end of the phone: “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework, so he doesn’t fall behind the others.” What the teacher did not realize was that the boy was in the hospital’s burn unit. She was unprepared to find a young boy horribly burned and in great pain. But she knew that if she fled from the room that it would frighten the boy, and so she began somewhat awkwardly, “I’m the hospital teacher, and your teacher sent me to help you with nouns and adverbs.” The boy was hardly able to respond because he was in so much pain. It seemed so senseless and heartless that the teacher could hardly force herself to go through the lesson. But the next morning a nurse on the burn unit asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” And before the teacher could say anything, the nurse said: “We’ve been very worried about him. But ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back; he’s responding to treatment. It’s as if he has decided to live.” Later, when the boy had recovered somewhat, he said that he had completely given up hope until he saw the teacher. He realized something very important. He said: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a boy who was dying, would they?”
The message of Easter is that we are going to live. There is hope for us. Jesus came to us, not to perform last rites, but to give us life. God would not have sent Jesus to rise from the dead if we were going to die and stay in the grave, now would He? We will need the lessons He came to teach us. Life may have wounded us, but Jesus came to heal us. He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Easter tells us that life is not over; the story has not ended; the best is yet to come. This is not the end, it is the beginning. What is ending is the night, the confusion, the dysfunction. What is beginning is the day, the solution, the answer. Jesus’ triumph over death has opened the door to eternal life and eternal joy into the despair and hopelessness of the world, Jesus came. One day He entered a garden as He commenced His work to restore the breach between the human family and God. From the garden He made His way to a tree. He would die on that branchless, barren tree, and as He died, He would hold out the gift of eternal life with nail pierced hands. The tree is no longer hidden or barred from us. This was made possible by Christ, for as the Bible says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13). But this forgiveness was not merely a legal transaction, its intent was that we should be new people. Hear the words of Scripture which say, “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
The tree of life appears in the first and the last books of the Bible. In the first book, access to the tree of life was lost. In the last book it is restored. We read in the book of Revelation: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2). Later it says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14). The work of Jesus Christ on the Cross reversed the curse and condition of mankind. The Bible recognizes the connection between Adam and Christ, when it says, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).
But Jesus did not stay on the Cross, and neither did He stay in the grave. The apostles said, “We are witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him by hanging Him on a tree, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen” (Acts 10:39-40). And if His death was effective in its power to give life, how much more was His resurrection? The Bible puts it like this: “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life ” (Romans 5:10). That is to say, His resurrection Life.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday, the children and crowds shouted His praise waving the palm leaves in their hands. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples ” But Jesus said, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:39-40). On Easter morning the stones did cry out. The stone was rolled away and the stone grave cried out: “He is not here He is risen." When that stone was rolled away, it opened the door to the future. Paradise was opened again, and the path was made possible by Jesus’ victory over death. Death came because of the transgression of Adam and Eve in the garden. God had said, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). But they did eat, and the process of death began in their bodies. But through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, eternal life is now available to each of us. The Bible says, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:10-11). Without the resurrection of Christ there is no hope, no future, no forgiveness, no heaven. The apostle Paul wrote, “If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:16).
Dr. Joseph Haroutunian was from Armenia. In 1940 he was brought to McCormick Theological Seminary to teach systematic theology. A friend of his once suggested that he change his name, saying: “Your name is difficult to pronounce and difficult to spell — it could hurt your professional career. Why don’t you change your name to Harwood or Harwell or something like that?” Dr. Haroutunian asked him, “What do those names mean?” His friend answered, “Well, nothing. They’re just easier to remember.” Dr. Haroutunian said, “In Armenia, when my grandfather was baptized, they named him Haroutunian which means ‘Resurrection.’ I am Joseph Haroutunian and I will be a son of Resurrection all my days.” That is the same privilege which can be ours. We can be sons or daughters of the Resurrection. The promise of the open tomb is ours. You may have never heard of Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, but in his day he held a great deal of power. He took part in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper, Pravda, and was a full member of the Politburo. He wrote books on economics and political science. The story goes that in 1930 he took a journey from Moscow to Kiev to address a large audience on the subject of atheism. As he talked, he spoke against Christianity using insult and argument. He spoke for an hour, and looked out over the crowd, absolutely sure that he had crushed any remnants of faith among the audience. “Are there any questions?” he asked smugly. There was an appalling silence until one man slowly walked to the platform and then stood behind the lectern next to the communist leader. He looked over the crowd gazing to one side and then to the other. Suddenly he raised his voice and shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: “CHRIST IS RISEN ” And from the great crowd there arose a deafening response: “HE IS RISEN INDEED ”
Doubt always loses.Faith always wins. Because Jesus lives!
Brown
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than ten years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?"
"I'm four and a half."
You're never 36 and a half ....You're four and a half going on 5.
You get into your teens; now they can't hold you back.
You jump to the next number. "How old are you?"
"I'm gonna be 16." You could be 12, but you're gonna be 16. Eventually.
Then the great day of your life; you become 21.
Even the words sound like a ceremony.
You BECOME 21....Yes!!
Then you turn 30. What happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED; we had to throw him out. What's wrong? What changed? You BECOME 21; you TURN 30.
Then you're PUSHING 40....stay over there. You REACH 50.
You BECOME 21; you TURN 30; You're PUSHING 40; you REACH 50; then you MAKE IT to 60.
By then you've built up so much speed, you HIT 70.
After that, it's a day-by-day thing. You HIT Wednesday...
You get into your 80's; you HIT lunch, you HIT 4:30. My Grandmother won't even buy green bananas. "Well, it's an investment, you know, and maybe a bad one."
And it doesn't end there....
Into the 90's, you start going backwards. "I was JUST 92."
Then a strange thing happens; if you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half."
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