Holy

Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Don’t be conformed to your former desires, those that shaped you when you were ignorant. But, as obedient children, you must be holy in every aspect of your lives, just as the one who called you is holy. It is written, You will be holy, because I am holy. (1 Peter 1:13-16, CEB)

Place your hope on the grace Christ gives us.

Do not continue to live your life about yourself, but live life for others.

Share the love and grace we have been given with the world and make sure people know God loves them and so do you.

Loving People. Loving God.

Love and trust

Although you’ve never seen him, you love him. Even though you don’t see him now, you trust him and so rejoice with a glorious joy that is too much for words. You are receiving the goal of your faith: your salvation. The prophets, who long ago foretold the grace that you’ve received, searched and explored, inquiring carefully about this salvation. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was saying when he bore witness beforehand about the suffering that would happen to Christ and the glory that would follow. They wondered what sort of person or what sort of time they were speaking about. It was revealed to them that in their search they were not serving themselves but you. These things, which even angels long to examine, have now been proclaimed to you by those who brought you the good news. They did this in the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven. (1 Peter 1:8b-12, CEB)

I’ve never seen Jesus but I love him.

I don’t see Jesus now but I trust him.

I’ve never seen God (ok that really isn’t true, I see God in the face of every person I come in contact with, but I think you get what I mean by that statement) but I still love God.

I don’t see God now (see the above parenthetical) but I still trust God.

This reading flies in the face of yesterday’s, where they wanted signs to know the promises were real. The author of 1 Peter says that faith is our way and we have received the goal of faith, our salvation. We trust, believe, and have faith the promises are true even though we have not seen and still do not see.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the trust that God is good for God’s promises.

Believe it. Trust it.

Loving People. Loving God.

Give us a sign!

At that time some of the legal experts and the Pharisees requested of Jesus, “Teacher, we would like to see a sign from you.” But he replied, “An evil and unfaithful generation searches for a sign, but it won’t receive any sign except Jonah’s sign. Just as Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights, so the Human One will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The citizens of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it as guilty, because they changed their hearts and lives in response to Jonah’s preaching. And look, someone greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will be raised up by God at the judgment with this generation and condemn it because she came from a distant land to hear Solomon’s wisdom. And look, someone greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:38-42, CEB)

Do you need a sign from God that what God says is true?

We hear the promises and see the things God has done in others’ lives and yet we still want to know for sure that this is all real.

Why?

Why do we question the love that God has for us?

Do you really need a sign? Have we not seen and heard enough?

It is faith after all!

Loving People. Loving God.

death…

If we have a hope in Christ only in this life, then we deserve to be pitied more than anyone else. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He’s the first crop of the harvest of those who have died. Since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came through one too. In the same way that everyone dies in Adam, so also everyone will be given life in Christ. Each event will happen in the right order: Christ, the first crop of the harvest, then those who belong to Christ at his coming, and then the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he brings every form of rule, every authority and power to an end. It is necessary for him to rule until he puts all enemies under his feet. Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end, since he has brought everything under control under his feet. When it says that everything has been brought under his control, this clearly means everything except for the one who placed everything under his control. But when all things have been brought under his control, then the Son himself will also be under the control of the one who gave him control over everything so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:19-28, CEB)

I love this cartoon because it depicts death destroyed by the tomb. Now we know we will all die, but if you have faith in God and believe the promises we have been given, then death is not the end but a step in eternity.

Know there is no enemy God can not and has not overcome and God walks with you through life.

So go into the world knowing we are free and there to be beacons of hope.

Share Love.

Loving People. Loving God.

as you go

So if the message that is preached says that Christ has been raised from the dead, then how can some of you say, “There’s no resurrection of the dead”? If there’s no resurrection of the dead, then Christ hasn’t been raised either. If Christ hasn’t been raised, then our preaching is useless and your faith is useless. We are found to be false witnesses about God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, when he didn’t raise him if it’s the case that the dead aren’t raised. If the dead aren’t raised, then Christ hasn’t been raised either. If Christ hasn’t been raised, then your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins, and what’s more, those who have died in Christ are gone forever. If we have a hope in Christ only in this life, then we deserve to be pitied more than anyone else. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He’s the first crop of the harvest of those who have died. (1 Corinthians 15:12-20, CEB)

We preach Christ raised from the dead. And if some say there is no resurrection, then our faith is false and our preaching is useless.

And today, have you ever seen a person come back to life? I have heard stories of good friends who were dead, from them. They died but were resuscitated. They were clinically dead, but are alive. So yes people are still resurrected today. We have medical science to explain it today, but it does happen.

Faith in believing Jesus was dead, but then was alive again is what gives us hope. Jesus came to show us how to live, and God showed us that if we love as God loves then death is a step in eternity and not the end.

Hope is believing in the resurrection.

Live in hope. And share love as you go.

Loving People. Loving God.

Unbelieving Thomas

It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.” Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.” After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!” Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.” Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll. But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name. (John 20:19-31, CEB)

This text for the longest time was known as the doubting Thomas text because what Jesus says to Thomas was translated incorrectly.

In the text above Jesus says, “No more disbelief. Believe!” In the older texts, it said do not doubt but believe. The text in the original Greek is καὶ μὴ γίνου ἄπιστος ἀλλὰ πιστός. The part that gets translated doubt but believe is the same word only the first has a negation added to the front of it. απιστος and πιστος. The word means faith, trust, or believe. So if you say the translation should be do not doubt but believe, then doubt is the opposite of faith. Is doubt the opposite of faith?

Doubt makes us look for answers or dive into darkness. Faith brings us out of the darkness and could be the answers we are looking for. So in this sense doubt could be the opposite of faith, but I think doubt is more of a helper along the way to faith and not the opposite. Like is the opposite of love hate? I think the opposite of love is indifference. Hate still means there is a connection, indifference is nothing.

Do not be unbelieving but believe. Let your questions point you more to faith.

Loving People. Loving God.

_________

Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” As soon as she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to me, for I haven’t yet gone up to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene left and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.” Then she told them what he said to her. It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy. (John 20:11-20, CEB)

We all give Mary a hard time, or at least I have heard it asked, why didn’t Mary know Jesus?

Have you ever been so filled with grief that you couldn’t remember things?

Have you ever lost a dear family member and didn’t know how you were going to get out of bed or face the day?

Grief is powerful. Mary was overcome with grief. The person she loved who she had spent every waking day with for the past years was brutally killed by the Romans. She was overcome by grief. And through that cloud and not expecting to see Jesus alive she didn’t know who he was. Until he spoke her name.

I can imagine the moment. Probably a lot like the moment I saw my oldest daughter after she was brought home after she ran away. I wasn’t sure I would see her, hear her, or hold her again. The moment I wrapped my arms around her was sweet. And when Mary heard her name roll off the tongue of Jesus, her grief moved over and her mind said, wait a minute, that is Jesus!

When God speaks your name you can feel the love.

When God speaks your name you know you are loved.

When God speaks your name everything may not be right, but you know you are not alone.

Loving People. Loving God.

appeared…

Brothers and sisters, I want to call your attention to the good news that I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand. You are being saved through it if you hold on to the message I preached to you, unless somehow you believed it for nothing. I passed on to you as most important what I also received: Christ died for our sins in line with the scriptures, he was buried, and he rose on the third day in line with the scriptures. He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, and then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once—most of them are still alive to this day, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me, as if I were born at the wrong time. I’m the least important of the apostles. I don’t deserve to be called an apostle, because I harassed God’s church. I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing. In fact, I have worked harder than all the others—that is, it wasn’t me but the grace of God that is with me. So then, whether you heard the message from me or them, this is what we preach and this is what you have believed. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11, CEB)

Paul here writing to the Corinthians about Jesus and his death and resurrection and who saw him after the resurrection.

Paul says Jesus appeared to Cephas, which is Peter, and then to the twelve. The twelve meaning the disciples. But isn’t Cephas a disciple? I know there is the whole thing at the end of the gospel of John where Peter denies Jesus and Jesus restores Peter. But the disciples include Cephas. so shouldn’t Paul have written, Jesus appeared to Cephas and then the eleven? But wait the eleven includes Judas, and didn’t Judas kill himself? So would he be part of the disciples anymore? And Matthias replaced Judas but not until after Jesus ascended which is 50 days after Easter, so that hasn’t happened. Who are the twelve? Now, this is a minor detail, but it is one that shows that maybe the scriptures are not a cohesive unit. It is a gathering of books, letters, and writings that help us understand our faith, but may not always have all the details right.

This doesn’t mean it isn’t useful or inspired. It simply means to me that it isn’t inerrant. That doesn’t mean it’s not holy, or from God, but it might not be completely accurate because man wrote and translated it. Errors can and I am sure did happen.

But the underlying message of the book is love. God so loved us, that God came and showed us how to live, love, and be merciful and gracious to others.

So love.

Loving People. Loving God.

pray

Keep on praying and guard your prayers with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray for us also. Pray that God would open a door for the word so we can preach the secret plan of Christ—which is why I’m in chains. Pray that I might be able to make it as clear as I ought to when I preach. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. (Colossians 4:2-5, CEB)

Pray always for others with thanksgiving.

Pray that those who are messengers of the gospel will have the will to continue sharing.

Pray that those who preach will be clear in their proclamation.

Pray that followers of the way wouldn’t make it hard for others to come to belief.

Pray.

Loving People. Loving God.

Go and tell

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him. Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.” With great fear and excitement, they hurried away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. But Jesus met them and greeted them. They came and grabbed his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers that I am going into Galilee. They will see me there.” (Matthew 28:1-10, CEB)

Every gospel has the first witnesses of the resurrection being women.

They were going to the tomb to finish the prep of the body because they rushed to get him off the cross before the Sabbath started. So they went to the tomb early Sunday morning and were told Jesus isn’t here, he is alive.

And they see Jesus and Jesus tells them to go and tell the disciples. Usually, Jesus was telling people not to tell, well now to these women, Jesus says go and tell. Go and tell. Be a witness to me. Jesus empowered women to be messengers, teachers, and prophets!

Why do we say they can’t be leaders? Who are we to say that Jesus got it wrong?

Love People. Loving God.