Praise the Lord!
Summer 2016 has made its debut a little early. The temperature here
in central New York reached into the 80's yesterday, and later this week
it may approach 90. It was sunny and stunning with the beauty of
sunshine. It is mid-summer in the Orissa, the State where I has born and
raised. The temperature there has been reaching to 115. Some
regions of India it reaching 121 F and higher. I was examining some of
the fruit trees we have such as Pears and Cherries. They are bearing
fruit, luxuriant. I noticed in one of the pear trees a robin has built a
nest. The birdies are hatched and being cared for and fed by mommy and
daddy robins. Though Summer has arrived, Spring is lingering as well.
Alice
and I went for a long walk last evening. We noticed the crabapple
blossoms, lilacs, and other Spring flowers are still blooming. I love the
long and lazy days of spring and summer when the sun sets well after 8:00 PM
and it is still daylight after 9:00 PM. Praise the Lord for the wonders
and blessings of His creation. As we were walking yesterday around
town we noticed all the walkers strolling around town. People were
congregating around the Ice Cream Pub with sweet smiles. We ran into many
people exchanging greetings and haloes. We stopped to talk with a young
couple who has purchased one of the gigantic, gorgeous, and ornate
houses in town. It is historic with classical architecture. They were
landscaping beautifully and shared that they are restoring the interior of the
house to its original architectural moorings and designs. We ran
into some of Alice's former students who are planning to go on to
Universities and colleges. It is all exciting and thrilling. In Jesus
life is full of immense possibilities and His amazing and Eternal
Promises.
Jesus
said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he
dies” (John 11:25). He said, “In my Father’s
house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am
going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where
I am” (John 14:2-3). Without the resurrection the
words of Jesus make no sense. They would only be irrational
babbling.
In Charlotte Brontë’s classic book Jane
Eyre, Jane is an orphan being raised by a wealthy, but cruel, aunt named Mrs.
Reed. Her aunt decides to send her to Lowood School which is run by Mr.
Brocklehurst — a man who is even more cruel and hypocritical than her
aunt. After her arrival, Mr. Brocklehurst asks Jane if she knows where bad
girls go after they die. Jane frankly replies, “To Hell, Sir.” Whereupon
Brocklehurst spits out: “And what do you plan on doing about it?” Jane cooly
responds, “I plan to live a very long time, sir.”
There is another alternative. Jesus Christ came to deliver us from our sin and gave us the promise that he will also deliver us from our grave. Peter said, “When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26). You don’t have to live a long time here, you can live forever in the presence of God — all because Jesus lives.
The realization of the resurrection, which led to the certain hope of the second coming of Jesus, was the driving force behind the evangelism of the early church. Because Jesus was alive He could transform human lives. Because He had conquered death, life had endless possibilities. Because He was coming again, it was imperative for everyone to be ready to meet him. This new truth created an urgency in the heart of all believers who understood its implications — as it still does today.
As Spring arrived this year, I watched as the new growth literally exploded from the ground. I began to think about the trees, which had looked so dead, but which were now budding and bringing forth blossoms, leaves, and eventually fruit. I thought about the flowers which would bloom and grass which would grow. . . and grow. . . and grow. The ground had been holding life all winter just waiting for the promised moment. I began to think about how impossible it would be to hold back Spring. You could chop down trees, but their stumps would sprout. You could dig up flowers, but their seeds would grow. You could plow the ground, but the grass and vegetation would come back. You could even drop a nuclear bomb, but it could not stop the Spring. It’s impossible. Life would be popping out all over. It was the same with the resurrection of Jesus. Death could not keep its grip on Him. He exploded from the grave full of life, and his life was life-giving.
There is another alternative. Jesus Christ came to deliver us from our sin and gave us the promise that he will also deliver us from our grave. Peter said, “When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26). You don’t have to live a long time here, you can live forever in the presence of God — all because Jesus lives.
The realization of the resurrection, which led to the certain hope of the second coming of Jesus, was the driving force behind the evangelism of the early church. Because Jesus was alive He could transform human lives. Because He had conquered death, life had endless possibilities. Because He was coming again, it was imperative for everyone to be ready to meet him. This new truth created an urgency in the heart of all believers who understood its implications — as it still does today.
As Spring arrived this year, I watched as the new growth literally exploded from the ground. I began to think about the trees, which had looked so dead, but which were now budding and bringing forth blossoms, leaves, and eventually fruit. I thought about the flowers which would bloom and grass which would grow. . . and grow. . . and grow. The ground had been holding life all winter just waiting for the promised moment. I began to think about how impossible it would be to hold back Spring. You could chop down trees, but their stumps would sprout. You could dig up flowers, but their seeds would grow. You could plow the ground, but the grass and vegetation would come back. You could even drop a nuclear bomb, but it could not stop the Spring. It’s impossible. Life would be popping out all over. It was the same with the resurrection of Jesus. Death could not keep its grip on Him. He exploded from the grave full of life, and his life was life-giving.
The life in Jesus that lifted him
from the grave now lives in us who know him — so it is impossible for death to
keep its hold on us as well. Nothing can keep us in the ground. The
Bible says, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will
be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). “For the Lord himself will
come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and
with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After
that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the
Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Thanks be to Jesus.
Thanks be to Jesus.
In Him,
Brown
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