He Has Risen!

He has risen indeed!


So I was reading this morning about Jonah (not Jesus), when I found myself reading in Romans, and discovering a good passage that reminded me of this glorious Easter day.

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Romans 8 (NIV)

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

 ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:   


“For your sake we face death all day long;
   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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I love that, as a Christian, I needn't be afraid of what's going to happen to me, because in all things God works for my own benefit...because he loves me. He loves me. And he loves you. And nothing anybody does can separate us from Him and His love.

One last passage...

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Romans 6 (NIV)

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

⁵ If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

To the glory of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ

So tonight was the first night of the Easter play my church put on. Let me tell you, it's been a rough production. A member of my church wrote and directed (and acted in) it, and it was the first one he's ever done. Which means he didn't really have a clue what he was doing. He did a pretty good job for his first time, but getting the play to actually come together I think took a bit longer than he was expecting. So coming into the performance tonight was a bit overwhelming for some of the cast. I was afraid for tonight. I was afraid we were gonna do horribly and make fools of ourselves.
But there must of been someone in the audience that God wanted the message to reach, because everything seemed to go really well. I was sitting back in the green room most of the play (my part was small), and it seemed like every other person who came in from the stage made a comment about how they or so-and-so missed this line or that line, but they managed to smooth things out.
How amazing is our God? Even in the midsts of what seems like chaos, He is in control. He has a purpose and a plan for everything, and it's such a comfort to know that no matter what happens, no matter what we do or say, He will work it out. He will get the glory in the end, just as he deserves.

Spyder in the Bathroom

This morning as I was brushing my teeth, a spider dropped itself right in front of my face. After I recovered from the surprise, I stepped back to watch its decent. The way it slowly lowered itself from the ceiling, with its legs all spread out, reminded me of a secret agent.
He moved pretty smoothly, with only a few jerking halts here and there, like a slightly inexperienced spy. Right before he entered the bowl of the sink, he stopped. He appeared to be scoping out the area. Obviously, he realized that the sink was dangerous territory. It was as if he could read my mind, because I was totally waiting for him to land so I could rinse him down the drain. After a few minutes, he determined the area to be too dangerous to land in, aborted his mission, and started pulling himself back up. The climb upwards was a little rough, however. He would climb a few spider lengths, and then his cord would give way a little. He'd climb a little bit further, and it'd give way again. This happened several times, until finally he aborted his upward journey as well; he was getting nowhere fast. Again, he stopped to think through his next move. I could hear the little gears whirring. Finally, he decided to move on with his first plan to land in the sink. Since this was his only option, he went all out, dropping quickly into the bowl.
As soon as he landed, I reached for the faucet. But I hesitated. I felt a connection with the little guy. He had really thought through his plan. I thought, maybe I should just save him, since he worked so hard to get here...
And then I turned on the water.

Joseph and Jesus

Recently I've been studying "Second Chance" stories in the Bible. There are a heck of a lot, but one that really stood out to me was the second chance Joseph gave his brothers.

For those who don't know the story, Joseph was sold into slavery by his own, jealous brothers, because their father loved him the most. But God made Joseph prosperous, and eventually he became second in command over all of Egypt.

While Joseph was in command, there was a period of seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of famine. Through a dream, God informed Joseph of the famine to come, and Joseph prepared for the famine by collecting all the food during the years of abundance and storing it up in store houses all across Egypt. Then, during the years of famine, he opened the store houses and sold food to all the Egyptians. Even people from all over the world came to him for food, because the famine was severe everywhere.

Joseph's brothers eventually made their way to Egypt to buy food from him, though they did not recognize him as their brother. However, Joseph recognized them, but he kept his identity secret for a time.

When Joseph finally revealed himself to them is the part that is so moving to me. Here's the passage from scripture:

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Genesis 45 (NIV)

Joseph Makes Himself Known

 ¹ Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. ³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
 ⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.^[a]
 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. . . ."
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I can just imagine him pouring his heart out, voice hoarse with emotion, so full of forgiveness and joy.
Can you believe that? After all they had done to him, he was so ready to forgive them! Perhaps it took him a while to come to that point, but if it were me, the sight of them would renew all the old feelings I had for them.


In this story, a couple different points seem to pop-out at me. First, I find it impressive that Joseph was able to see God working in such terrible circumstances. How often are we able see the good happening in bad situations? My eyes are usually blinded by my emotions in those instances, and only after the fact am I able to look back and see what God has done. But if I'm able to step back and view the situation before I react in the same way Joseph did, perhaps less damage would be done.


Also, the second chance Joseph gave his brothers is much like what Christ has done for us. Even after he died a horrible death to pay the penalty for our wickedness, we continue to live out our sinful lives, making a mockery of his redeeming death and resurrection. Yet when we turn to him for salvation, he receives us with open arms and tears of joy. Isn't that amazing? How merciful and loving he is to us when we don't deserve it!


What wonderful examples of Christ's love and forgiveness we have, even before Christ was born! I love how stories all throughout the Bible seem to point back to what Jesus has done for us on the cross.


Now if only I could learn to forgive as He forgave...