"Unbelievable!"

Read Luke 24:1-12, Luke's account of the Resurrection. Read it as if you were reading it for the very first time. Does it sound "unbelievable"? How would you feel if you were one of the women at the tomb? One of the men back at the house? How would you feel if you were Peter? What does the Resurrection of Jesus mean for your faith, for your life? Have you ever experienced "resurrection" - times when one or more doors closed for you, times when you felt lost and deadened, only to find a new door or window flying open? Between now and Easter Sunday allow yourself to experience the "good-by" of the Last Supper and the despair of the crucifixion. And on Easter morning, wake up with the joyful assurance that He Is Risen! Christ Is Risen Indeed! A happy and blessed Easter to all.

For God So Loved The World

Yesterday was "John 3:16" day on Facebook. Read John 3:16. Read it in several different translations. Meditate on it and let its meaning sink deeply into your heart.

Whose Job Is It?

Read Matthew 28:16-20: This scripture is called "The Great Commission." Right before the resurrected Christ is taken up to heaven, he gives these instructions to his followers: go to all nations and make disciples in his name. Sometimes in the church we forget that this is our true mission statement, directly from the mouth of Jesus. Sometimes we forget that the mission statement of The United Methodist Church is: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Sometimes we live like this story:
"This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could it but Nobody realized the Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done."
Does this sound familiar? What will you do next time there's an important job to be done in the name of Jesus Christ, for the mission and ministry of his church?

Psalm 63:1

Read Psalm 63:1. How often do we seek a realtionship with God with the same intensity that we would search for water in the desert? Trying to live without a relationship with God is like living "in a dry and parched land where there is no water." As we prepare to water and fertilize our gardens with the coming of Spring, let's also remember to water and fertilize the gardens of our souls.