One day there seems to be no sign of life. And then, almost overnight, bright new blooms, luminous green blades of grass, the new song of a baby bird -- it is the glad announcement that the life Jesus gives us cannot be conquered by death. Death is inevitable. But so is resurrection! And for all of us -- for all who believe -- that ought to spell… RELIEF!

It’s been just over three weeks since we celebrated Resurrection Sunday! It frustrates me how quickly after Easter, the intensity of the nails, the blood and water gushing from Jesus’ body, fades to black and white. The health diagnosis, piercing pain of loss of a marriage, a job, or a relationship leaves us once again feeling hopeless. We go back to living as if it is “Silent Saturday” and forget that “Resurrection Sunday” really happened. Sometimes I wonder if we’re more like Thomas than we realize saying “unless I see and touch” Him, it didn’t really happen.

One does not need to be the best or most powerful person in God’s church to make a difference. Not all of us are designed to preach sermons or lead a ministry, but we are all given a unique spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit, and that gift is intended to be used in God’s church for the betterment of the team.

When’s the last time you sat in wonder? When I searched the word “wonder” on the website Bible Gateway, it told me that it appears nearly 300 times throughout the scriptures. Now that’s gotta tell us something. 

If faced with the opportunity to be transformed by Jesus, are we willing to pay the price? Would someone describe you as a deeply formed Christ follower? The only way that happens is by being in the presence of Jesus - so don’t give up. Keep pressing in!

Feeling confused, apathetic, or numb? Seek God’s face and experience real peace.

God came down from Heaven, into our neighborhood, in the person of Jesus to make everything right for us at the core of our being… even when everything at the fringes of our life… might be wrong!

I can’t seem to get those words out of my mind. “Lord, save me! Don’t let me go!” There have certainly been times in my life when I’ve desperately clung to Jesus and begged, “Don’t let me go!” When my sister was killed, when Ken was diagnosed with cancer, when our children have faced challenges, when I’ve felt like giving up on life. It was just too hard on my own - I begged Jesus to not let go!

If my faith is truly in God and not in myself or my circumstances, then I will have a confident assurance that what I hope for will one day come to fruition, but in God’s timing, not mine.

Maybe after Easter we are like the two people on the road to Emmaus discussing the events that just happened in Jerusalem - returning home, moving on. Has a resurrection moved you though from just reporting the events of Jesus to an excitement in a relationship with Him? May you be changed by Easter and your eyes wide open to a Risen Christ who desires to be right by your side everyday.