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Showing posts with the label Resurrection

Living - Dying - or somewhere in between?

There are days when we just don't think we have much purpose in whatever journey it is we are called to undertake, but let me be the first to assure you nothing could be further from the truth! Whatever it is we are called to do, we are to do it with intent, commitment, and love. Jesus had one of those days when it seemed like he was just 'on his way' from one place to another. He found himself coming into Bethany, a town a had frequented on many occasions. It was kind of common place for him to 'cycle' through Bethany on his travels. He even had friends there. One very special event had transpired there that made Bethany a notorious place - Lazarus had been raised from the dead. Not just the dead, but the smelly, not so inviting tomb. Already wrapped in burial clothes and scented with the herbs of burial, he laid there for three days prior to his coming forth from death. His unmarried sisters were grief-stricken at the loss of their brother - their male head of the...

The burden he carried

As I sat at dinner last night, celebrating with my oldest grandson his twelfth birthday, my youngest grandson wanted to tell me what he had written in his journal at school yesterday.  As he spoke, it become apparent to me this little guy was actually listening in his Sunday School class!  I am not going to do this justice, but here is pretty close to what he wrote:  "Jesus died on the cross.  Jesus died on the cross and was buried in a grave.  Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the grave to separate us from our sin and death."  Those aren't the exact words, but he was so articulate, not veering one word as he restated it from family member to family member around the table.  Obviously, this little guy got the message - we are no longer separated from God because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ! So he was despised and forsaken by men, this man of suffering, grief’s patient friend. As if he was a person to avoid, we looked th...

Getting his "cowboy" on

People can take portions of scripture, hang their hat on them, and take them totally out of context.  Whenever they do this, they are in danger of missing the intent of the passage in which the portion of scripture resides.  The issue is not so much that scripture isn't able to stand on its own, but that we cannot make scripture stand for what we "believe" it should stand for.  An example of this is when Jesus used a whip to drive the money-changers out of the Temple one day toward the beginning of his ministry.  Many find this a fascinating passage simply because it seems to support some type of "flaw" in the character of Jesus - that anger was indeed something he "struggled" with. In reality, they miss the context of the passage.  It is the words which come as a result of his actions which are the issue in the passage - not his actions. His actions merely support prophecy and show the intention of his heart to have God's gathering place cleansed...

Grave clothes and tomb living

Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living.  John 12:1 It would be easy to read over this passage and just miss entirely what John recorded for us about Jesus' entry into Bethany.  One very special event had transpired there that made Bethany a notorious place - Lazarus had been raised from the dead.  Not just the dead, but the tomb.  Already wrapped in burial clothes and scented with the herbs of burial, he laid there for three days.  His sisters were grief-stricken at the loss of their brother - the male head of their home.  Now, we'd miss the intention of these opening words if we were to just gloss by them on our way to learning about how Judas would betray Jesus.   No words are recorded for us by accident.  They aren't in the Bible just to give the story some sense of "plot" or to "add character" to the passage.  They are each there by intention.  Therefore, when we ...