Celebrating Easter

His is risen!!!

My granddaughter Aby, age 3, came to our home today for Easter lunch. When she arrived, she came into the kitchen all excited and said, "Jesus is alive! He is risen." That was a really cool moment. Easter is a special celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's Resurrection was God the Father's declaration that the sacrifice that Christ made at the cross was accepted as the full payment for our (my) sin. Hallelujah, Amen!!!

Today in our Easter Celebration Service the presence of God's Spirit was very evident. It was a wonderful time of worship and celebration of what Christ did for us through His sacrifice, but He did not stay down. Death could not contain Him. On that first Easter morning His arose victorious over sin and death. I am reminded of the words Jesus declared to a grieving sister, Martha, when He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25,26a). Having declared this truth to Martha then Jesus asked an important question, "Do you believe this?" (John 11:26b)

My pastor is currently preaching a serious entitled "Hostage." He is addressing some of those things that kept Christians hostage causing us to miss out on the freedom and fullness we have in Christ. You can check our Church's website (http://www.rockwaychurch.com/) for a podcast on his sermons.

Sadly many Christians are held hostage by the fear of death. Death is one appointment you and I will not be late for. We will all physically die. The only exception would be if the Lord were to return during our live time and take us home to be with Him. Come Lord Jesus!!!

Easter is a reminder that death holds no victory over the believer. For a genuine believer in Jesus Christ physical death is not the end of life. Remember what Jesus said, "He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." For me, death is not to be feared. I could die tonight, but if I do, please don't grieve for me like people who have no hope. Death is just the threshold through which we enter into our eternal destiny. For me, that destiny was sealed on November 10, 1966, when as a young 19 year old Marine in Oceanside, California, I invited Jesus Christ into my life. For some that might seem to be a little arrogant. Please don't misunderstand me. I don't deserve Heaven, but by faith when I accepted Jesus Christ -- I simply took Jesus at His word. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). In this life I'm just a pilgrim passing through to my home in Heaven. While I don't know when that day will come, I believe that it would be foolish to be held hostage by the fear of death. It will happen. The number of days that I will live is already decided just as the psalmist declared, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16b).

Again, I hope you had a great Easter. I would love to read your comments about your Easter experience.

If the Lord tarries in coming to night, I hope you allow the Lord to use you to be a blessing in the life of someone that crosses your path. If He chooses to come tonight, see you on the way up.

Come Lord Jesus!!!

As Our World Turns

As our world spins on its axis for most of us life simply goes on as usual. Have you every stopped to seriously think about how much we take for granted? Me, neither! Usually we just kind of do life the same way we did it yesterday. We have our routines. After all it works for us-- so why change things? So, without giving any thought to the fact that our lives are in a rut which I once heard described as a grave with the ends knocked out, we go about our busy routines unaware of things around us.
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What would happen if the earth suddenly stopped its rotation?
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Well, I'm no scientist (some of you out there in cyberspace can tell us what would happen-- please feel free to post your knowledge with a comment), but while I can't tell you exactly what would happen I do think it would definitely get our attention real quick.
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Have you ever had one of those "earth stopping" experiences?
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For example---

• The hated "C" word used by the doctor tells you that the biopsy revealed that you have cancer with only a few months to live.
• Your spouse just announced they want a divorce.
• Your teenage daughter just told you she's pregnant.
• On payday you find a "pink slip" in your pay envelope.
• Your boss announces the business is down sizing.
• Your receive notice from the bank that you're overdrawn.
• The car has a major mechanical problem leaving you stranded on the side of the road.
• You get a phone call from a family member regarding the death of a parent.
• Your teenage child is arrested for drug possession.
• Your depressed with no visible hope that anything will change.
• Etc.

The list of those "earth stopping" experiences is endless. Your specific one may not have been listed above, but when it happened your whole world came to a sudden halt. What once had been taken for granted for so long was now gone. In those kind of experiences life has its way of getting in your face in a hurry.

What "earth stopping" experience has happened to you?

When your "earth stopping" experience happened, what did you do?

What gave you strength to continue?

To whom did you turn?

How important was your faith?

What have you learned since then?

For me, my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ stands as the foundation. As a Christian, there are no guarantees of a life without "earth stopping" experiences, but Jesus did say, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33). On another occasion, Jesus made it clear that He would never leave us or forsake us. We are never alone, and when one of those "earth stopping" experiences has occurred I've learned that He walks with us through the experience-- in fact, He has often had to carry me.

Bucket List

I never saw the movie, but I have a bucket list (i.e.-- a list of things I would love to do before I kick the bucket.) At the present time my list is pretty short. You probably will think I'm strange, but at the top of my list in the number one position would be spending six months on the International Space Station soaking in the amazing view high above the earth. That would be so awesome. The number two item on my bucket list would keep my feet firmly planted on planet earth. I would love to take six months or longer in the Holy Land. I would love to go to the land of the Bible and study God's Word in the places where the events originally occurred. I would love to sit along the shore of the Sea of Galilee reading the Gospels. It would be awesome to walk the country side from Jericho to Jerusalem, and to walk the streets of Jerusalem. There are so many places spoken about in the Scriptures too numerous to list them all. I would enjoy traveling the path of the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys, see Egypt, and walk the streets of Baghdad, ect. Obviously six months would be too short to see it all. Not just the tourist sites, but spend time meeting the people and learning about the cultures. What's on your list?