tell them about Easter

The most important day for those who follow Jesus. It isn’t just a holiday or holy day. Then it was, the Passover. Now it is not. It is Easter. We stop to remember. We stop to look inside. We stop to see Jesus, once again.

It is an invitation to life, to a celebration of new life. It is a door to real life. We encounter the one sent from God as we focus on Jesus, the fulfillment of God’s plan for all humanity.

Holy Week. Full of meaning. It all happened because of God’s mission. His love illustrates in a vivid picture of why this is Holy Week.

Friday - It was Good Friday, although anything but God. Or was it. Jesus was betrayed; arrested and tried by authorities —first Jewish religious leaders, then Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Sentenced to death, crucified and buried in a nearby tomb.

Saturday - It was "Holy Saturday" or "Silent Saturday" or one called it “State of Shock” Saturday … losing a loved one suddenly. Lenard Sweet said, “It is the day when all words fail, all metaphors break down, all theological edifices crumble. I LIKE THIS … A story without silences and pauses is poorly told. On dark, empty Holy Saturday, the silence IS the music. The pause IS the story.”

Sunday - This is it — Easter Sunday (appropriately known as Resurrection Sunday), Jesus rose from the dead and, in the days to come, appeared to his astonished followers to tell them the good news: the power of sin and death was broken, and all who believed could find forgiveness and be made right with God.

Empty. There were some things that seemed very empty in this week that was packed with meaning and life change.

Luke 24:5-6 NLT

The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,

Jesus was alive and well. Over the next 40 days He would appear to so many and declare who God is, what He has done, and how His followers move forward.

Stop looking for what is living among the dead. Those are great marching orders. Our leader is alive. We have been blessed by literally having our spiritual lives raised from the dead, and we now live with the promise of eternal resurrection, life with God in Heaven.

May our Easter celebration remind us that Jesus is still king, He is alive again, and our lives matter. And we have a message to share. The world needs to know Jesus. It is our calling and opportunity to tell them about Easter!

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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