He is RISEN!

Luke 24

Believe that He is Risen

They came to the tomb and He was not there.  They didn't know what to believe.  Peter had to see for himself.  They experienced Jesus for themselves.  He is risen!

We too must believe that He is risen – that is essential to our faith and matters for how we live our lives. 

                THE REST OF THE STORY

That isn't it.  Jesus rising from the grave isn't it.  That is just the beginning.  If we sit comfortable on Easter and don't move forward, we are missing it.  Yes, Jesus conquered death and the grave.  Yes, He is risen.  But, that isn't it.  There is more to the story.  This is the beginning of the journey.

Jesus had been preparing the disciples for this.  He had been preparing them for what was to come.  Jesus was teaching them so that they would be ready so that when He was risen, they could move forward. There was more to the story (the rest of the story). It wasn't to go back to their old lives.  It wasn't to just sit and enjoy that He had risen and how awesome that was and IS.  It was for a purpose that they were prepared that day!

What do we do with this?  How do we move forward on Easter?

It does begin with believing that Jesus is risen – but there is the rest of the story…

 

Live because He is Risen –

If you believe that Jesus is risen, then you will live because Jesus is risen.  Your life will reflect a resurrected life.  Death to the old…Life to the new.  Jesus tells them get ready.  He tells them that they should go from there with power from on High.  He is giving us power in the risen life.  He is giving us purpose in the risen life.  He is giving us a new start in the risen life.  He is showing us the way in this risen life.  We are not bound to this world and we are not bound to the grave.  We are living a whole new life.  Old things are passed away.  This is a new life.  We are not slaves to sin or to our past…we can move forward for Him. 

This new life has peace and hope and joy and abundant love.  This new life is amazing.  This new life is tough, and filled with troubles and people who want you to change back.  It is filled with adversity from the world.  But, it is filled with Jesus.

Tell that He is Risen –

If we believe and live it, we will tell about it.  Our lives will show it…our words will tell about it…our joy will show… and our light will shine.  People will want to know and even if they don't, we will tell them anyway.  Jesus is risen and that means more than an Easter celebration.  That means a changed life.  That means a new beginning to a life long journey with Him.

There is more to the story than Easter.  What are you going to do with the rest of the story?

Mission for Hondoras Orphanges

In case you missed it on the church website, we are collecting items for the next 2 weeks for 2 Orphanages in Hondoras.  Below is a list of the items needed:

ITEMS NEEDED FOR 2 ORPHANAGES AND NEW SCHOOL IN HONDORAS

 

Items needed for the House of Hope

Pencils - #2 lead - wood with eraser

Spiral notebooks – single subject

Chalk and erasers

Cloth diapers and diaper pins

Children and teens underwear – girls and boys

Roll-on deodorant

Feminine hygiene pads

Soap

Shampoo

Bras – all sizes

Socks – all sizes

Plastic plates, glasses and cups

Flatware – especially teaspoons

 

Items needed for new middle/high school

Backpacks

Spiral notebooks – single subject

Pencils - #2 lead - wood with eraser

Ball point pens

Dry erase markers

Large scissors

T-shirts

 

List for Mama Tara Orphanage

Children's aspirin, Children's Tylenol, Neosporin

Bathtowels

Underwear for children 2-12 years old

Praise HIM

This morning, we celebrate Palm Sunday.  This is the beginning of Holy Week and an important week to remember, to reflect and to seek.

Luke 19:28-40

Jesus is riding into Jerusalem – the victor – what the crowd is doing is normal to welcome someone who has been a king and conqueror.  Little did they know that the ultimate victory had not even come yet.

This is also a fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy…they events told long ago are slowly unfolding right before their eyes and they don't even realize it.

They are praising God for what Jesus had done already.  Think about it.  He has really made a huge difference in lives.  He has healed the sick, made the blind to see, made the lame to walk, awoken the dead.  He has made quite the impact on their lives. 

They are joyful and praising for what they have seen.  But, what they are about to see is more than they can even comprehend.  As of this point, they still don't get who He really is…some never will.

The idea that they were praising and were joyful for what they had seen makes sense to me and makes me wonder if we praise for the same reasons.

This Palm Sunday, here are a couple of questions for you to consider as you praise Him this Holy Week:

-Do we praise Him for who He is or who we want Him to be?

Jesus was and is unexpected.  He isn't who they might have wanted Him to be.  He may not be what we want Him to be always.  We may want more of a no obligation wish granter than a king for our lives.  We may want more of a helper when times are tough than a God who wants to lead and guide every day of our lives.

-Do we praise Him for what He has done or what we want Him to do?

Do we praise Him only when He does what we thought He should?  Do we look for times when God is working and praise Him when He corrects us and shows us the right way?  Do we praise Him when He redirects us?  Do we praise Him when times are tough and not at all what we would want them to be?

-Do we praise Him from our heart because we love Him more than words or praise Him with what we have left?

Do we give God our all in praise or do we give Him our leftovers?  He is deserving of our best and our all.  He is conquering King and should be the Lord of our lives.  He should be leading and guiding us continually…not just when we feel like we are lost.

Psalms continually reminds us to praise the Lord for so many reasons.  Praise Him through it all…even when things aren't going our way…Praise Him with our all, no our leftovers...Praise Him for all

Trust??

Psalm 25

What does it mean to say "I Put My Trust In the Lord"?

Look at what David is saying as he says this…

Someone who puts their trust in the Lord is:

-Seeking the ways of the Lord

                Wants to know what God's ways are…how they can follow those ways…actively seeking to find out how God wants it done

-Learning His paths

                Studying what those paths are…allowing the Lord to reach their heart and be taught…becoming a student

-Led in truth

                Knowing what the truth is and then following in that truth…not swaying from what the truth is

-Remembers that He is the same yesterday, today and forever

                Looking at the ways of God and knowing that if something isn't coinciding, make sure it is of God

-Realizes the great mercy of the Lord

                Can't know His great mercy until we know our great need.  What is He saving us from…what does His mercy really mean for us as sinners

-Recognizes that we are sinful and need Him

                If we don't know that we have sin, we don't know we need a Savior.  Otherwise, we can handle this on our own

How does this all happen? 

By getting and staying in the Word.  Humbly seeking Him and being willing to learn. 

We seek His ways by studying His ways…we learn the paths by studying the paths and being taught…we are led in truth when we recognize the truth…we know His infiniteness when we look at it in the Word…we know we are sinners and the amount of His great mercy through the Word

Where do we go from here?

-Keep our eyes fixed on Him

-Allow Him to take care of us

-Spend much time in the Word and in prayer.

Can you really say, "I put my trust in the Lord"???

Belief=Actions

Luke 6:20-49

Our actions reflect our beliefs.  What does that mean to you?  Does this sound real?  In other words, what is on the inside will show on the outside.  You can't fake being someone you are not for long.  Eventually, what is really true on the inside will show up. 

For me, that's what this scripture is saying.  If you truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is your Savior, then you will follow and obey Him.  There won't be any questions about it.  Jesus died to save you from your sins, you follow Him because you are a changed person. 

Jesus is telling the disciples some radical things.  He is telling them to love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse you, pray for those who use you, turn the other cheek, give to those who steal from you, give away without expecting return, don't judge, don't condemn, forgive and give in great measure…  What is this all about?  What was Jesus thinking?  It sounds like He didn't understand how the world works.  It sounds like He didn't know people would take advantage of us.  He is asking the disciples to do the exact opposite of what they knew to do…

Jesus is asking them to love like they have never loved before.  He is asking them to love HIM and in turn, they will love those whom He loves!  Jesus wasn't asking them to do what comes naturally.  What comes naturally is often things of the world.  It is natural to be selfish and to keep things for yourself.  What comes naturally is to move away from your enemies or at least make them regret what they have done to you.  What comes naturally is to take, not necessarily give.  Jesus is asking them to do something completely different…and is asking us the same.

This can all just sound crazy.  Why would we act like this?  Who would love their enemies and do all these other things?   Who wouldn't care about their stuff on this earth or about obtaining more?  It sounds to me like those who would do things like this would be those who have something different inside.  There has to be something different about the believer than the non-believer because there is something different on the inside.  If you truly love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, then that will show on the outside.  What that doesn't mean is more earthly things but rather less.  It doesn’t mean more time spent on things of earthly reward…but less. 

He is asking us to love Him so much that the things of this world don't matter.  He is asking us to love Him so much that what comes naturally is what comes from the Holy Spirit and not from ourselves.  We are to be driven by our love for Him and a desire to serve and be more like Him. 

If we aren't looking different than everyone else in the world, then there is something wrong.  Have we so integrated our faith into our lives that our fruit is stale and good for nothing?  Have we become so accustomed to the way things are that we fail to look for the way things God would want them to be?  Have we become so lost in our world that our shining bright light looks more like a dim flicker? 

For me, it goes back to what we believe.  Do we believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior?  Do we really believe that?  Do we really believe that we would be lost without Him?  Do we really love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength?  Do we really not care about the things of this world because He means so much more?  Let's look at our fruit and that might answer our questions for us!

The Almighty God

Genesis 15:1-12; 17-18

Psalm 27

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Luke 13:31-35

Luke 9:28-36

Some days are so overwhelming.  Some circumstances are more than we can bear.  Some situations are more than we feel like we can deal with.  Is there good news in all of this? 

Less than 2 weeks ago, we began the journey of Lent.  Lent is the opportunity for us to spend extra time with the Lord, put things behind us that have been hindering our relationship with Him, and focus on following Him.

If you have been looking inward and searching, you know the bad news.  You know that you have sin.  You know that as a human, you sin even when you aren't trying to.  You know that the more you try to live the right way, life pushes back.  It may seem that the more you want to live a good Christian life, the more that the devil is pursuing you.  That doesn’t mean we give up.  That doesn't mean we give in.  That doesn't mean that we don't keep doing the right thing continuously.  The bad news may be that we can't do anything about our situation on our own. 

The good news is that we serve a mighty God…a powerful God…a God that can move mountains and calm storms…a creator God.  That is what we read about in the scriptures today.

Abram was struggling.  He was doing the right thing.  He was being faithful.  But Abram wasn't seeing the promise from God.  He wasn't seeing how all of this was going to possibly work out.  God gave Him a promise…showed Him the stars…asked Him to believe and Abram did.  This made the difference.  Abram believed that God could do anything…even make Him a father at his age and a father with so many descendants that he would not even be able to count.  I'm sure Abram couldn't even begin to imagine how this would happen.  He had to believe that God was bigger than He was…God was more powerful…God was not like him in that God was sovereign and just…God was creator.

David had so many things going against him on so many occasions.  Yet, he writes about the Lord.  He remind us that the Lord is light…salvation…stronghold…teacher…guide.

Paul reminds us in Philippians to keep our minds not on earthly things but on the Lord.  What we seek, we will find.  If we are seeking earthly things, that is what we will receive.  These will all perish and so we will in our pursuits.  If we seek heavenly things…those things of the Father…that is what we find…things of eternal value.  Jesus will transform us when He comes again.  That is powerful!

In the first scripture we read in Luke, Jesus wasn't intimidated by Herod or by anyone else.  Why?  Because Jesus was on a mission and His mission would be accomplished regardless of Herod.  He knew that Herod may have had earthly power but that was nothing compared to the Kingdom Power.  Jesus had a mission to accomplish and that is exactly what He intended to do.

In the last scripture of Luke, we see what is referred to as the transfiguration.  This is where Jesus is transformed right before the eyes of Peter, James and John.  What does this do?  It reminds the disciples that Jesus isn't your average prophet.  He isn't someone to take lightly or to ignore.  God acknowledges Jesus once again and gives the command to listen to Him.  Why?  Because Jesus is on God's mission and is doing the things of God. 

All of these scriptures remind us of a powerful God who can do anything.  Yet, we still struggle.  We still fall.  We still get weary.  We still grow impatient.  We still DON'T TRUST.  Why??  Why don't we get that we serve a mighty God and if we will just trust Him, He can take care of it?  We read the scriptures?  We hear the mighty works of God? 

I think it is because we are scared.  I'm scared.  We are scared of what we don't know and we don't know the future.  We are scared of what we can't fix or can't do something about.  We are scared because we look in the mirror and know the sins that keep creeping up inside of us.  We are scared and so we decide we can do this on our own.  It is easier if we hold the reins.  It is easier if we just try to figure it out.  Totally let God?  That is a terrifying place to be…or is it?

Who is it that we serve again?  Who created us?  Who brought us here?  Who has taken care of us?  What do we do when we have control?  What are we thinking?  God is good and powerful and just and loving and sovereign.  Yet we can't trust.  What are we thinking?  How can we constantly focus on Him during Lent?  What can we do to remind ourselves that He is God??