He is Not Here – He is Risen!

He is Not Here – He is Risen!

On Friday just a week ago we were in a rough place. My brother was having brain surgery, which caught us all by surprise. Lots of factors entered into my extreme concern for him. None of us have ever had brain surgery so we knew nothing about the recovery either. We figured it would be days and maybe weeks to get well. Imagine our surprise when just a few hours later he was sitting up in bed with a mere bandage on the spot where the surgery had been performed. What we didn’t know, the surgeon did.  We were very thankful that things weren’t as rough as we thought they would be. Just three days after surgery he was heading home.

There was nothing good about Good Friday. It was a dark day for Jesus. And it was an even darker day for the disciples and His followers, along with His mother.  Jesus knew what was ahead, but the beloved believers had no clue. They were imagining all sorts of things. Fear, worry, anxiety – they were suddenly without their Leader – all they knew was He had been put to death and laid in a grave. They had seen all that with their eyes. All the while they were expressing their concerns to one another, God was working things out in a big way behind the scenes. Jesus did die on the Cross, He did get put in a grave, but there was so much more going on.

In three short days everything would change for them. They would find out that they didn’t worship a martyred man but a Risen Savior! They, who had hung their heads and cried over His death would get a sneak peak of glory as He appeared alive. His promises proved true – every single one of them. He was busy those three days – descending into the very belly of the enemy and taking final authority and control by taking the very keys to Hell away. He was working, they were trembling. He was taking authority, they were figuring out how to hide. But within those three days everything was set right and Christ was and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. All is well, even in the midst of the confusion of life, for God is on the throne.

Oh beloved, you may be in a dark time. All your hopes, dreams and ambitions may have been laid in the tomb. You are struggling to make sense of all the hurts and misdirection.  You wonder where God is and why He has left you alone to make it by yourself. In your heart of hearts you know you can’t make things better, you don’t have enough stamina to go the distance and you don’t have enough hope to look to the future. Nothing seems to matter as you just go through the motions for your family or your friends or your  church.

God wants you to know that even though you may not know what’s going on, He does. He’s risen to redeem you, He’s rising to defend you and He will come again to take you home with Him. You don’t know what’s ahead, but God says it is all good. Everything that sends your heart beating wildly will have to scatter because they are enemies of your faith. You don’t have to walk in fear or dread, for the Word says you walk in the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty, there is joy, there is peace and there is hope beyond your present situation. God knows it all, He’s seen every tear and He’s wiping them away to give you joy unspeakable and full of glory! You are coming into your full life in Christ. Those things that got swept away? They weren’t needed for your walk with God. The things you desire in your heart? God will give them all to you in His time as He makes all things new.

Rejoice in the Resurrection for you are loved and you are cared for. Not just on Easter morning, but every single day of your life.

Matthew 28:6 … He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.

Revelation 21:5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Revelation 1:18 … and [I AM] the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Who Do You Think You Are?

“Who Do You Think You Are?” Watching the program and seeing famous people find out their roots, past skeletons and good news, makes me all the more interested in my own ancestors. Some branches of my family are easily found and bring much good news. Other branches not so much. From the Indian great grandparent who walked the Trail of Tears to Daniel Boone who married into the family, there is much available. But my father’s family tree is amazingly elusive. Beyond my great grandfather I can find very little. It makes me wonder and want to know so much more.

I especially get excited when there is mention of a family Bible or a preacher in the tree. At least I know someone who had a walk of faith.  Just like the title of the show asks, we all want to know something about those who have gone before us. For my husband, he was especially blessed with great grandparents and five generations of living relatives. I’m not so fortunate as my grandparents were gone before I was born.

For the believer, genealogy is incredibly important as well.  We are very fortunate people for our godly spiritual genealogy is written in the Bible. Scripture plainly states the blood line of Jesus’s mother and tells as well the spiritual genealogy of the One Who was born to die for us. Pretty exciting stuff to read the names in that family tree. To start with Adam and Eve, the fleshly line, who for the momentary decision to disobey eternally changed the world. Then to see the spiritual lineage of the Son of Godand read what it means to be In Christ…this line of Christ has spiritually given redemption and eternal life for all mankind. When a person is born again, they are automatically adopted into the line of Christ.

The enemy of our soul will taunt us, “Who do you think you are?” He wants us to live under the assumption that all of our genealogy is flawed, simply of the flesh, damned and unforgiven. He wants us to believe that we are destined to remain in a long line of unredeemed people. He also wants us to think that we’re so flawed that we are weak, unable, have no virtue and worthless.  If Adam and Eve were our only ancestors this would be oh so very true.  Satan knows our name but calls us by our mistakes, our failures, our sin.

The lover of our soul will encourage us, “Listen to who you are!”  “Open My book of genealogy and find the incredible story of you.”  God will show you, if you let Him, that you were born to die, but destined to live. That you were born with an incurable disease but because of His incredible decision you have been healed of sin’s sickness unto death. He will go on to lead you through the hall of fame as you learn to live by faith, following your spiritual ancestors in Hebrews 11.  The Lord knows your sin but calls you by name – you are His.

Oh beloved, have you been dwelling on the wrong family tree? Even the best of trees are slated to be cut down and cast into the furnace. But God, your spiritual Father, your heavenly Redeemer has purchased you as His own and has given you life everlasting! Not only that, He’s given you a reason to be forgiven, a reason to forgive all who have done wrong to you and a reason to live in blessings of who you are In Christ. In Christ changes everything. In Christ moves your ancestral curse to a blessing.  In Christ gives you new life, faith and wisdom, power and love.

God loves you and He’s for you and that’s worth being adopted into the Royal Family and letting Christ live through you all the way to heaven.

I Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

John 3:3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Galatians 3:26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

Run to the Spirit of Christmas - Christ Himself!

Our whole family loves A Christmas Carol. There are many versions, from the original movie of 1938 to the most recent Disney remake of 2009.  The story revolves around Ebenezer Scrooge who has spent his life being a grumpy self-centered agnostic. Because of the original Dickens’ story and subsequent movies, people with his personality are referred to as “Scrooges”, especially during the Christmas holidays.

There are three ghosts or spirits in this movie as well. They are sent to try to get Mr. Scrooge back on track and to help him see the error of his ways and thus to give him redemption. Through the visitation of these three spirits – Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future – Mr. Scrooge is sent on a trip of self-discovery and self-loathing, but eventually he finds himself changed and the change becomes well…dramatic to say the least.

We too have to deal with these spirits or issues - Our past, our present and our future.

Christmas past may hold the pain of unrealized dreams and hopes. Nobody’s perfect, especially parents, so there may be hurts that make us unable to enjoy today. If we hold onto those hurts we will find ourselves mourning what we could have had rather than enjoying what we do have. Are you hurt beyond imagination and still reeling from things you could not control? Or maybe you did the wrong thing and you’re still making yourself pay.

Christmas present holds much promise. This year will be perfect! But it’s hard when others don’t share the joy of the season. Or you are facing tragedy, resentment, unforgiveness. Like ornaments that are so heavy they bend the limbs of the Christmas tree beneath the load, these weights tend to bend us over and make us want to forget Christmas altogether. Who needs the pain?

Christmas future holds the highest hopes. We plan for the future and ignore the present because somewhere in the future things will be better, right? So we hold so tightly to our imaginary day somewhere in time ahead that we can’t enjoy the present. We feel destined to repeat the same offenses, but all the while hoping, just hoping that things will be better next year. What is in your perfect Christmas? Love, joy, peace? You’ll never find them on your own.

Oh beloved, run to the Spirit of Christmas – the Lord Himself!  He will take your mistakes and sorrows and rejections and replace them. Just as ornaments on the tree get broken and ruined, God takes each one and gives us a fresh new start! Just as our trees get old and lose their needs, God gives us a fresh today! No need to live with the past, it’s dead and gone. And, His future for us is brighter than the Morning Star! Let the Lord love you today and watch as He says, “Crawl up in my lap and let me tell you about your wonderful life! Speak your Christmas “wish list” into My ear! Give your past mistakes, present worries and future hopes to Me and let Me remake the entire movie into our love story! For I have loved you always. I AM with you in your past, I AM with you in your present and I AM with you in your future. If you let me, I AM able to make this a Christmas without regrets. Don’t turn your eyes on the tinsel or the glitter or the packages or the people, even those you love oh so much! Just turn your eyes on Me, the Author and Finisher of your Faith. I love you and I AM on your side. This is my gift to you this Christmas. Rejoice in My Love for I AM your Redeemer!

1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

2 Samuel 23:5 “Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, Ordered in all things, and secured; For all my salvation and all my desire, Will He not indeed make it grow?

 Job 42:2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

Romans 8:29 We are assured and know that God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. (Amplified)