A Meditative Easter

Today has been a quiet, meditative Easter. So I've been sitting here in my “comfy” chair and thinking. I was reflecting on Jesus’ death and how it must have seemed so final. It was the end. They were beginning to trust this Jesus and then he died a horrible death at the hands of his enemies. They were just beginning to have hope and then “bam” it was snuffed out like a candle. I was thinking of their confusion when the women ran in saying that Jesus was alive. They wanted to believe, but the situation must have seemed so bleak, so unlikely, so impossible that it was just too much to think about right at that moment. Then later, Jesus joined them in the upper room. Imagine their joy! As I was thinking about how overjoyed they must have felt, I couldn’t help weeping myself. I was weeping for the unimaginable joy that they must have felt when they realized Jesus was alive. I was weeping with gratitude for all that Jesus endured for me. I had tears of joy that Jesus overcame death. The grave was no match for my savior. Praise God! His disciples had hope. It is the kind of hope that shoots out of the ground like the first crocus of spring. They had hope that Jesus was the Son of God. We can have that hope too. If he can conquer the most bitter enemy of death, is there anything too hard for him? Yes, we have hope that Easter was just the launching pad of greater things because he lives. Life without Easter would truly be a life without hope, but we do have the hope of Easter.

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Live Fearlessly

As I was driving home today, I passed a person walking on the side of the road. Since it was cold, and snowy, I thought I should stop and offer the person a ride. As I drove on by, I was irritated with myself for not stopping. I could have and should have but I didn't. Why? I was scared! Maybe that wouldn't bother you, but I'm willing to bet there are things that make you afraid. It may be snakes or spiders that send the ticker into overdrive. Or maybe it's your job and finances that keep you up at night when you should be resting. Then again perhaps it's relationships that consume your thoughts and energy. As followers of God, we know that we are told not to be afraid. Yet we often are afraid despite everything we know. As I was driving away from a missed opportunity, I began thinking about what it is that makes us afraid. I honestly am not sure what it is that causes us to be afraid when we should be bold, but I

Tragedy: A Christian Response

I want to start by telling you a story. We were new parents. When Our oldest, a son, was about eighteen to twenty months we had another baby, a girl with brown hair and huge eyes. One day as I went to feed her, my son who may have been two at the time wandered off to another part of the house. The next thing I heard was a thud. I grabbed my baby girl and ran to see what happened. There was my son with a table on top of him. He had pulled it over on himself and more blood than I had ever seen was running all over. We put him in the car and dashed for the ER. It was not a fun trip. He had a skull fracture and many stitches. Fast forward about fourteen or fifteen years, I’m at a stop light and watch my youngest daughter about ten start across a street on a bike start across a street just as a truck comes around a corner into the path of the bike. She hit the side of the truck and bounced onto the road. I grabbed her up and checked her over there were no injuries, but

The God of Order

Yesterday, my children and I went walking on a bike trail. The weather was perfect. Sunny, warm but not hot. As we were walking, we started to talk about creation. Creation itself always amazes me. Can you imagine watching creation unfold at the word of the Almighty? It would be the most glorious and lovely thing to see. As we were talking, I asked, “What do you think would have happed if God had created people first?” They stopped gave me a questioning look then my daughter said, “I suppose that we would have starved because there was no food.” And we all had a laugh creating other scenarios for what might have happened if creation had happened in any other way. Yet, the fact is that creation itself demonstrates that God is a God of order. Each day of creation built on what had been done the day before. It also reminds me that God wants our lives to be as orderly as possible. God planned creation before one word was spoken

Inspirations

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