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.

You Were Meant to Travel Light!

While working on my boss’s travel to Washington DC last week, I noticed that he had two tickets for baggage. Each time he checked his baggage, it cost him.  It wasn’t a whole lot of money, but if a person had to declare their baggage and pay for it every week it would count up.  I understand that some airlines charge for baggage even more when it weighs more. The heavier it is and the more bags you’re carrying, the more it costs. You can be charged on one airline for heavy baggage, large baggage and too much baggage. Three prices added up makes for expensive travel.  Imagine if you had to carry your heavy, large and overloaded amount of baggage onto the plane yourself? It would be so tiresome that some folks would just give up trying to fly.

We all have had baggage. Some of it was of our own making. We gave our hearts to the Lord but we didn’t know how to give our problems, our past, our regrets, our fears to Him. So we kept hauling that stuff around with us everywhere we went.  It makes for expensive travel. It bears so heavy on some folks that they are totally bent over with the load. Without having anyone to carry their baggage for them, they are destined to live under the load, tiring out easily and always out of breath. They can neither travel the high mountains of extreme joy nor make it through the valleys of trouble. It’s a rough life to walk around with excess baggage.

We were meant to travel light. We were never meant to carry the stuff we had before Christ with us forever. We aren’t meant to gather new baggage either. If we insist on carrying our own stuff, we will be so burdened that we won’t be able to share God’s love and tell others how He heals, sets free and delivers.  We won’t be able to do that because we won’t be walking in freedom from the load.

People are looking for someone to lighten their load. Nobody intends to live burdened lives with all that junk stacked in their hearts and minds. Nobody wants to have to pay daily for excess, too large or too much baggage.  It’s hard to feel you can never let it go. It’s a rough life to walk around with all your fears and animosity, your troubles and regrets drug behind you like an anchor in the sea.  You know people are looking for an answer to this oh so heavy load, because there are so many self-help books on that subject. Trouble with self-help books is they all point you to you!

Oh beloved, this morning God is walking beside you and He’s telling you that He will lighten your load! He will say to you were never meant to carry that stuff around with you eternally. He says to you, lay your burdens on Me. Let’s look at those things you’ve been carrying far too long and talk about each one. There – that Unforgiveness? I can relieve you of that. For I forgave you at the cross and already made arrangements for all of that.  There – those Regrets?  You don’t need to carry them around with you for I don’t even know about them – they are in the sea of forgiveness never to be brought up again. Fear? Oh my beloved, you were never meant to carry one ounce of fear, not for yesterday, not for today and certainly not for tomorrow. I AM your load bearer, I AM your lifter and your lightener. If you will let Me I will remove your baggage and together we will travel to My anointing and My plan for your life.

This morning the Baggage Carrier is calling out to you, I love you, I love you, I love you! And because of His incredible, unending, eternal, perfect love He will lighten your load, carry your burdens for you and give you a travel plan that’s out of this world!

 

Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Psalm 55:22 Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Psalm 146:8  The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly.