Monday, March 31, 2008

a wEEK aFTER: gLOW oR dOOM?

Passages today are found in Luke 24:13-35 and John 20:19-31.  
It would be great if you read could these passages before you read on.  Thank you.
Living on the Wild Side of Life!
Rehearse what happened to the Christ on that weekend.
• taken and beaten
• nailed
• died
• buried
• arose from the dead
• seen by many
• lives changed
• told to tell others
• met every need/desire/wish
• still alive today

Two special stories that happened that last weekend. One took place outside with only two men while the other took place inside a locked room with only the disciples.

Luke’s first;
On the same day...third day after, two men were walking away from Jerusalem. Questions and sadness. While deep in talk/Jesus joins the two and asks what’s going on.
"What? You don’t know? Are you that new here?"   Then the sad story is unfolded.
"We had hoped…"
"And what is more… "
"In addition…"  
"Then some of our number… "

but Him they did not see. Kept from them...
Jesus replies: “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”

Then the On-The-Road Bible School was open for business! Jesus shares EVERYTHING about Him from the Scriptures beginning with Moses and ALL the Prophets.

He explained to them what was said in ALL the Scripture concerning Himself!

WOW! That was some talk!  And as they were hearing all this, they had no idea Who it was that was talking to them--at all--not a clue. Because, God in His sovereignty did not allow that until it pleased Him to.
It looked like Jesus was going to keep on walking so the two men urged Him strongly to stay with them. It was almost evening and the day light was going fast. Yet, the Light of the World with with them and they were unaware!  

Then this Visitor to Jerusalem did something that caught their hearts and eyes! He took the bread and broke it and gave thanks and began to give it to them...and they recognized Him and He disappeared from their sight!

WOW, again!

Verse 32: They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

What would you have done? Really strange thing here! You walked with a man you had known for at least three years and you did not realize it was Him. Your heart was so down and confused, you could not see Him as He really was. He spoke of the deep things of God and of Himself, and was 150% open with you concerning what the Word of God had said about the Messiah and YOU MISSED IT!

Good stuff, but you did not see the personal connection AT ALL.

And they got up right away and returned to the Group in Jerusalem to tell them what they had seen and heard!
That alone is the message! What they have seen and heard from Jesus--they passed it on to Faithful men and women who did in truth, passed it on to other faithful men and women who were faithful to do the same until it got to you!

Now, what do you do with it?
You Pass it on, too!

Let others know what you already know to be Truth! And how does that work? What power do we have that can help us? Look later in the Luke passage, to verse 44.

He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
 45 Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His Name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with Power from on high."

All we need to know is here, in our Bibles!  But, here is yet more.

Turn to John 20:19-31. This is the small part that is not in Luke’s account but takes right during this visit of Jesus.

This time, the one with the question is Thomas. Poor Thomas! I do feel sorry for him as for all time, he is the one who is called a doubter but yet many doubted Jesus all the time--and still do! Now, Thomas was not there for the first time Jesus comes by. Why? Any number of reasons but the Lord uses this absent follower to show us who are not always there 100% of the time, how He feels about us.

Jesus comes in and says “Peace be with you!” And why not! He just showed up in a locked room! They were afraid the Romans or the Jewish leaders might be bold after they had Jesus taken. Oh, they were afraid alright! And they had every right to be! They had lost their BEST friend to a cruel death. He was murdered under the legal laws of the Romans. They could be next ...yet some of them had some information that really puzzled them. Some of the women had told them that this same Jesus was not dead but alive! Surely they were mistaken. Right?

Jesus showed up during their darkest moment and shone His Light into their darken lives. He showed them His Hands and side. And after He showed them this, the disciples were overjoyed!

Ever been in that kind of a dark time? Just heard that a loved one has Cancer. (That you are have Cancer.) Someone you loved had died. You loss your money in a bank scandal. You are beyond sad! The pain you are experiencing is too deep, too personal! Where is Jesus during these times? Why didn’t He heal? Why did He allow this? He did not show up! Why? Is He too weak?

Most of us do anything we can do to reduce or omit the elements of risk in our living. We do things like wearing seat belts when we drive, read labels on food to check our cholesterol intake, take birth control pills. People tell us that they will not have children because they aren’t willing to chance the heartache children might bring. What if they are born with a birth defect? If they turn their backs on us--on God?

God tends to fly in the face of all creation even though He knew what would happen. He chose to have children. He was very much unlike most parents who would take ALL elements of choice from the child. He did not MAKE Adam and Eve obey Him. God took a deep risk. It was a staggering risk, with deep consequences. He also let others into His Story, and He lets their choices shape it deeply!

Looking back in history, we find the Hebrews were being chased into the desert by Pharaoh and his army who wanted to kill with glad fury. The army was at their backs, tall mountains on both right and left side, and the Sea was in front of them, and then… Then God showed up! 

Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego gets pushed into a hot furnace and was saved -- after they were pushed there. God shows up! 

God lets the mob kill Jesus, bury Him, and then He shows up! Know why He does it that way? Because HE LOVES to come through for us. God loves to show His creation that He has what it takes!

Today, wherever you are, Jesus offers us a present experience of new life. Everything we experience is rooted in a reality and the Truth recorded in God’s Word. New Life is no mere feeling or hope. New Life is a reality, rooted in the historical resurrection of Jesus, God’s Only Son, our Savior and the proof that resurrection provides God’s ability and willingness to transform you and me. To transform our doom into glow! And He shared that with His two friends on the road and the rest of the 12 in the closed room and today, He offers that same word of care to each of us. He is alive, you know. And He loves you deeply.