He is Risen!!

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, "Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died."

The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.


[Shorter ending of Mark]

Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen.


[Longer ending of Mark]

After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn't believe her.

Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: they will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed."

When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs. Mark 16: 5-20

I love reading about David...

and how he trusted God. I happened to come across this scripture in a daily devotion...

But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats, he said. "When a lion or bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from it's mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death." 1 Samuel 17: 34-35


I think this is definitely a source of inspiration, especially when we're blind sighted to something that initially looks like trouble. When the lion or bear comes to destroy his flock, it was actually a great opportunity for David to develop into the warrior, and man after God's heart. Our human minds tend see that as horrible, but it was actually God's opportunity in disquise.

Think of preparation. David killed bears and Lions, AND THEN killed Goliath! If he had failed he probably wouldn't have become God's chosen king! Friend, when a "lion" or a "bear" comes into your life, try to look past the ugliness and the fierceness. It's H-A-R-D, but can be done. I would never tell you to 'do what I say' and not 'do what I do.' It's not impossible; let the Lord open your eyes to see Him in it. Every difficulty that comes our way, if we receive it correctly, is God's opportunity.

When you turn to Christ...

you begin to see Him differently! The blind man Jesus had just healed was being questioned by the Pharisees...


Then they cursed him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don't even know where this man comes from."

"Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where he comes from? We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn't have done it."

"You were born a total sinner!" they answered. "Are you trying to teach us?" And they threw him out of the synagogue.

This man's new faith was severely tested by some of the authorities. He was cursed and evicted from the synagogue. Persecution may come when you follow Jesus. You may lose friends; you may even lose your life. But no one can ever take away the eternal life Jesus gives you.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man answered, "Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him." "You have seen him," Jesus said, "and he is speaking to you!" "Yes, Lord, I believe!" the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

Then Jesus told him, "I entered this world to render judgment--to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind." Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, "Are you saying we're blind?"

"If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty,was" Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can see." John 9: 28-41

This man gained not only physical sight but also spiritual sight.

The Pharisees were shocked that Jesus thought they were spiritually blind. Jesus countered by saying that it was only blindness (stubbornness and stupidity) that could excuse their behavior. To those who remained open and recognized how sin had truly blinded them from knowing the truth, he gave spiritual understanding and insight. But he rejected those who had become complacent, self-satisfied, and blind.

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I'm sitting here thinking of Job...

The book of Job reveals how God speaks to us, and gives us some reasons for suffering. Let me share them...God speaks again and again though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds. He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. He makes them turn from doing wrong;he keeps them from pride. He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.

Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds, with ceaseless aching in their bones. They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food. Their flesh wastes away, and their bones stick out. They are at death's door; the angels of death wait for them." Job 33: 14-19, 22

"Yes, God does these things again and again for people. He rescues them from the grave so they may enjoy the light of life." 33: 29-30


So God speaks (1) through dreams...and (2) through pain. I heard a great teaching by John Piper on the book of Job. If you want to hear it, the link is Desiring God

I think a lot about the prophet Jeremiah...

He is the author of Lamentations, where the previous scripture came from. My life resembles his. That's my comfort. Listen to this...

"Lord, you know what's happening to me. Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors (My persecutor is this Muscular Dystrophy)! Please give me time; don't let me die young.
It's for your sake that I am suffering. When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven's Armies.
I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because your hand was on me I was filled with indignation at their sins.
Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry."

This is how the Lord responds:

"If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me.
If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them; do not let them influence you!
They will fight against you like an attacking army, but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze.
They will not conquer you, for I am with you to protect and rescue you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Yes, I will certainly keep you safe from these wicked men. I will rescue you from their cruel hands." Jeremiah 15: 15-21