Tag Archives: Easter

He Knows My Name

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Reading of the empty tomb, there is one story that I love the most.

Mary Magdalene is standing outside the empty tomb weeping in despair. All her hopes were crushed when Jesus died on the cross and was placed in a tomb. This man who had delivered her from the bondage of sin. This man who had made her feel a person of worth once again. This man who had showed unconditional love.

Not only was he dead, and with him all the hopes and dreams she and his fellowers had cherished, but now even his body had been stolen.

Who would have taken it? Why would they have taken it? Would they desecrate his body? How sad to not even have his body to anoint and properly bury.

Suddenly she saw a man standing nearby. She thought he was the gardener. Why did she not recognize Jesus? First, she clearly was not expecting a dead man to be standing before her. Perhaps in her tears her eyesight was even blurred. Perhaps Jesus had purposely temporarily allowed her not to recognize him.

How did he reveal to her who he was?

Not by telling her “I am Jesus.” “Don’t you recognize me?”

He simply called her by name.

At the sound of her name in his mouth, she recognized him. What a joy to think that to Jesus, Mary was not just another one of his followers. She was not just “Hey you.” This was Mary.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

“Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father.”

Whenever I read this story I am reminded of the time in my own life when Jesus spoke my name.

At fourteen my father, who I adored, left my mother, sister and me. He also left the church and turned away from following the Lord. I was devastated. He had been my role model. I saw him night after night sit at the kitchen table after supper and read his Bible. Following his example, I loved the Word of God.

Now, confused, brokenhearted, I sat down at my piano and began to play. Music has always been a source of comfort to me. I go to it when I want to celebrate, when I want to cry. Singing an old hymn, “Does Jesus Care” this teenager sang it as a cry to God. Did He really know me and my hurt? Was this little unknown teenager living in a small house in a small town known to Him? Did he care?

As I sang from my heart, tears running down my face, I suddenly felt someone standing beside me. There was no one at home then but myself. I knew no one had come in the front door. Yet, I knew someone was standing beside me.

In that moment, I felt him speak my name. Like Mary, I knew it was Jesus. I was afraid to turn and look as I felt so unworthy to look on him. I never turned. But as sure as I know I am sitting at my computer right now, I know Jesus was standing beside me. He was telling me he not only knew my name, knew my hurt and sorrow, but he cared.

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.”

A Rich and Satisfying Life

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We just finished celebrating Resurrection Sunday. For many when asked why Jesus came it is simply to die and rise again. But why? Unfortunately for many the whole point of his death and resurrection is simply so we can go to heaven someday.

While that certainly is the Christian story, Jesus indicated there is more to his death and resurrection than a ticket to heaven.

At one point He talked about being the good shepherd. He said, “I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.”

But He did not stop at that statement. He added “They will come in and go freely and will find good pastures…My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” The word here in Greek is perisson meaning “exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, more, superfluous, a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate.”

What is this richly satisfying life? In our self-focused society today, we might begin to imagine a large mansion, fancy cars and the latest fashion. There are many TV evangelists that promote this kind of thinking. I have heard that theory called “name it and claim it,” “blab it and grab it,” or “prosperity gospel.”

If Jesus is our example of what it means to follow God, then the abundant life is not about material things. If so, Jesus would have been the richest guy alive. Yet He said He did not even have a place of his own to lay his head. He depended on the generosity of others for his daily needs.

Jesus said that this eternal life is that we would know Him (John 17:3). Abundant life – a rich and satisfying life – is not about material things, not about a successful career, not about a large family, not about popularity – or any of the many other things our culture would suggest brings a richly satisfying life. Rather, it is an ongoing, growing relationship with Jesus.

How do we get to “know” God. Basically the same way we get to know anyone else. By spending time with them and sharing thoughts and concerns and dreams with them. It is a growing process.

When I married my husband, I thought I knew him. Now, after almost 39 years of marriage I realize how much more I know him today than on my wedding day. How did that happen? I have spent 39 years in conversation with him. So as we spend time in prayer, in reading God’s word, in just mediating on what we have read, we grow in our knowledge of God.

This ongoing, growing relationship with Jesus is what the abundant life is all about. While clearly Jesus died and rose again to give us access to forgiveness of our sins and the hope of eternal life in heaven someday, it is more than that. Abundant life begins now – as the death and resurrection of Jesus declares “Come walk with me and know me, have a relationship with me. In this you will find a richly, satisfying life.”

Sad, Somber Saturday

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I post this every year – but I think the message never gets old.

First, the cross

We talk a lot about the cross and how terrible the death of Jesus was.  The story of Peter’s denial of Jesus and the rest of the disciples fleeing from the garden where he was arrested are familiar to us.  It is good that we take time to reflect on the agony, the pain, the shame that Jesus suffered for us on that Friday.

Then we jump to Sunday morning and the wonderful fact of the resurrection!  The surprise, the doubt, the joy as they realized that Jesus was alive.  Again, it is good that we celebrate this tremendous event, this foundation stone of our faith.

But, what was that Saturday like?

Have you ever wondered what that Saturday was like for the followers of Jesus as they hid behind locked doors?  After the shock, the horror of his death, can you imagine the range of emotions they felt on Saturday?  Sad, somber Saturday!

Of course, there was the sorrow they experienced at the loss of their friend.  I cannot really begin to understand the pain his mother must have felt as she reflected on the suffering he had experienced.  Perhaps she could not even sleep, or fell asleep only to wake up from a nightmare seeing him once again being viciously beaten.

There must have been great confusion.  Questions as they remembered all the miracles he performed, all the parables he had told.  Wondering how he could have come to this end.  Had he not made tremendous promises?  Had he not proclaimed that he was the only way to God?  Had he not even raised a dead man after four days in the tomb?

There must have been great disappointment.  What were they to do now?  They had left their homes, their employment to follow him.  They had been so excited about the kingdom he would set up, even arguing over who would sit on his left and his right hand in that kingdom.

There must have been great fear.  Would the Romans come after them now?  How could they get out of Jerusalem and back to their villages and their old life safely?

Had they really heard Him?

We have the advantage of looking back on history, on knowing how the story turned out.  So it is easy for us to say, “Did they not really hear him?”  After all he had told them that he would be killed and would rise again on the third day.  Did any of them think about that and wonder if it could be true?

We have our Saturdays too

But before we berate them for not really hearing Jesus, not really understanding, not really believing what he said about his death and coming back to life, are we any different today?

When our Fridays of suffering and difficulty come and we face a sad, somber Saturday dealing with the problems we face, do we forget his promises?  He said he would never leave us.  He said we would have tribulation in this world, but to be of good cheer because in him we could overcome.  He said he gave us his peace, not the peace of the world, but that peace that comes from knowing who is in control.

Today, before I rejoice at the resurrection, I ask God to help me in my times of sorrow, confusion, disappointment and fear.  I ask him to remind me that Fridays come and we have sad, somber Saturdays dealing with the problems of Friday, but for the child of God, Sunday is always on the way!

Are You Washed in the Blood – A Strange Question

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Growing up in a conservative church background we sang a lot of songs about the blood:

  • There is Power in the Blood
  • Oh the Blood of Jesus
  • What Can Wash Away My Sins? (Nothing but the Blood of Jesus)
  • The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power

I hear less and less songs about the blood.  Many seemed to think such songs “turn off” people we are trying to reach.  The very thought of being washed in blood is, honestly, a little strange.  When I turn on my shower I would be horrified to see blood instead of water coming from the shower head.  And who would wash their white tops in blood and expect them to come out sparkling clean.

On the surface it is a silly concept.

Yet when the Bible was written little was known scientifically about blood.  Everything the Bible said about it was in opposition to scientific knowledge.

For instance, throughout the Bible we are told that the life is in the blood.  Yet, until just a few hundred years ago doctors would bleed patients thinking losing blood would cure them. Now we know how important blood is to life and have blood drives to encourage people to donate blood. Truly the writer of the Old Testament knew what he was talking about when he said there life in the blood.

Recently reading a book by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey, In His Image, it was interesting to see how science has discovered the cleansing power of blood.

Such a pipeline exists inside each one of us, servicing one hundred trillion cells in the human body.  An endless supply of oxygen, amino acids, nitrogen, sodium, potassium,…surges past our cells, carried on blood cell rafts or suspended in the fluid….that same pipeline ferries away refuse, exhaust gases, and worn-out chemicals….The components of this circulatory system cooperate to accomplish a simple goal:  nourishing and cleansing each living cell…Every cell in every body lives at the mercy of blood.

It is not true that blood represents life to the surgeon but death to the Christian.  Rather, we come to the table also to partake of His life.  Christ came not just to give us an example of a way of life but to give us life itself.  Spiritual life is not ethereal and outside us, something that we must work hard to obtain; it is in us, pervading us, as blood is in every living being.

This “Good Friday” I am thankful for the blood of Jesus that cleanses me from sin.

The Best Week of the Year

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Christmas gets a lot of attention. The stores have barely cleared their shelves of Halloween decorations when they put out Christmas trees, Santa Claus and elves and all kind of Christmas decorations. All through the month of December, parties are scheduled, churches plan Christmas programs.

But for me as a Christian while Christmas is important, this week is the best. Obviously, Jesus coming in the form of a little baby speaks volumes of God’s love and his willingness to become one of us.

But without the cross and the resurrection his birth would not have completed the mission He had when He was born in Bethlehem.

Good Friday is a day to reflect and weep. But to me Sunday is the highlight of the entire year.

Gospel preachers today preach the gospel of the Crucifixion; the Apostles preached the gospel of the Resurrection as well. The Crucifixion loses its meaning without the Resurrection. Without the Resurrection, the death of Christ was only the heroic death of a noble martyr; with the Resurrection it is the atoning death of the Son of God….R.A. Torrey

Too often this wonderful event is presented simply as a “ticket out of hell.” Jesus died so we could go to heaven.

But His death and resurrection mean so much more than that. He came to restore what He first created in the Garden of Eden. A relationship between God and man. He said He came to give us life and that more abundantly.

As we reflect on the events of this week that happened long ago it is my prayer that we come to understand Jesus did not suffered just so we would be forgiven – though that is of course so important – but so that we could enter into a relationship with Him and through that relationship reach out to others to share His love and His joy.

May this Holy Week bring us all to a new appreciation of the love of Jesus and draw us into a closer relationship with Him. May it empower us to reach out to those around us with this new good news. God loves us!

What Kind of Fast Does God Desire?

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We have entered the season of Lent – 40 days of prayer and fasting before Easter as we reflect on the suffering of Jesus Christ and examine our own hearts.

For some churches this is a very big part of their services. For others, little, if anything, is said about this season.

Growing up in a church that did not emphasis Lent, I have come to really appreciate it as an adult.

While the Bible does not specifically mention anything about Lent, (the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. began this observation), the Bible is full of calls to fasting and prayer.

  • 1 Samuel 7:6 – the people fasted in repentance.
  • 2 Chronicles 20:3-4 – the people fasted for protection
  • Ezra 8:21-23 – the people fasted for direction and unity
  • Matthew 4:1-11 – Jesus fasted in preparation for His public ministry.
  • Acts 13:1-3 – the people fasted in preparation for expansion of their ministry.

There are hundreds of ways people observe this time of prayer and fasting. Some actually go without eating for a day; others miss a meal for one day or throughout Lent. Some give up a specific food or drink that they normally have each day.

The idea is not just giving up something, but spending the time that would be given to a meal or a favorite food in prayer.

But Lent is not about giving up to make us feel “holy.” If we do not take this time to really reflect on and seek God for spiritual direction, vision, right living, compassion….the list could go on and on….our sacrifices of food or favorite things are meaningless.

Isaiah 58:6-8 tells us what kind of fasting we should do in this time of Lent.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

The Morning After

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This beautiful painting is by my husband Paul W Lane

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

(Keith Getty and Stuart Townend)

Sorry We Didn’t Recognize You Jesus

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Today the church remembers the death of Jesus on the cross. As we read the story we often denigrate the Roman soldiers, the Jewish religious leaders, Pilate and even the followers of Jesus.

How could they not know that this was the Son of God we ask? How could they mock Him as He hung on the cross and died?

I recently read an article by Steve Cordle in his book A Jesus-Shaped Life which I would like to share here.

A forty-year-old white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap found a spot next to a garbage can near the entrance of the Washington metro station. He pulled a violin from a small case and placed the open case at his feet. As most huskers do, he threw in a few dollars as seed money and began to play.

He spent the next forty-three minutes playing immortal classics by Mozart and Schubert as a parade of people streamed by. This violinist was no ordinary street musician, however, and he didn’t need the money. His name is Joshua Bell, and he is one of the finest concert violinists in the world. The violin he was playing was a Stradivarius made in 1713 and worth over $3.5 million.

The Washington Post newspaper had arranged for him to play at the metro as an experiment in whether people would recognize greatness and beauty in unlikely places. That day, 1097 people passed by Bells concert. Seven people stopped to listen to him play. Only one person recognized him.

That same week, Bell played to capacity concert hall crowds paying at least $100 per ticket. At the subway Bell collected a total of about $32 from the twenty-seven people who stopped long enough to donate.

It is understandable that most people did not recognize Bell. Even if they were classical music buffs, no one expects to come upon a world-renowned virtuoso playing in the subway.

No one expected that God would appear on earth in the form of a servant either.

But are we any different today? How often do we go about our busy lives – doing our own thing – and take little or no time to communicate with Jesus? How often do we make decisions without even bothering to seek His direction? How often do we fail to see His mercy, His love and His grace all about us? How much of our time is devoted to our own pursuits with little time left over for Him?

As we reflect on His death so long ago, help us to not be guilty of giving Him a few moments this weekend and then go back to our own routines with little or no acknowledgment of Him.

Are We True Servants?

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Today in many churches there will be a service called Tenebrae. This is a Latin word meaning “darkness.” These services share the story of the suffering and death of Jesus from the Gospel of John. The lights in the church are dimmed and candles are lit at the front. As each portion of scripture is read, a candle is extinguished. The final story of the burial is read in near darkness. As the service concludes everyone is encouraged to leave in silence and to spend time thinking of the death of Jesus – and of the celebration waiting on Sunday.

As we ponder this day we remember that it was on Thursday that Jesus washed the disciples feet. He did this to emphasis His purpose in coming to earth – and also to set an example to us of what true Christianity was all about – being a servant.

In Mark’s Gospel we are told:

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

When His disciples were arguing about who would be first in God’s kingdom Jesus told them that His kingdom would be different than any kingdom.

You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 

“Be a servant.” “Be a slave.” That hardly fits with our culture today. We are encouraged to “get ahead”, “be successful”, “rise to the top.”

Many times before we commit to something we want to know “what’s in it for me?”

Jesus has called His followers to be different.

In Philippians we are told:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

As we reflect and celebrate what this weekend means to Christians, let us renew our commitment to be “like Jesus” and be a servant.

What does a servant look like:

  • They do not seek the limelight
  • They often work behind the scene
  • They do not expect a payback
  • They put the needs of others before their own

I think perhaps the best statement of a servant was by Rick Warren who said:

The real test of whether we are a servant is how we act when we are treated like one.

So I Know It’s not Easter!

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This week our pastor encouraged us to realize committing our live to God was not a one time event. Neither was it a “get out of hell” card. Rather that commitment to God was only the beginning of what God wanted for us. She shared with us this verse:

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

One of her suggestions was to “turn off the noise and be silent.” How can we hear from God when we have such noise all around us?

I thought a lot about that yesterday. We get in the car and turn on the radio; we spend too much time on social media, the news. None of that is bad – but sometimes it can become overload. So today while cleaning my kitchen I turned off all the “noise” and just let my heart and mind pray as I polished the dining table, underloaded the dishwasher and swept the kitchen floor. How peaceful I felt.

Then I put on an old CD to hear a song I have not listened to in years. It is a song that used to be sung in church and played on Christian radios every Easter. But we seem to only want to hear songs that have been written in the last two years 🙂 and some powerful songs are forgotten.

Today, I am reminded of the wonderful story that Jesus died not only so I could look forward to eternal life after this life, but could have joy and peace today – joy and peace that come to me when I take time to worship Him.

If you have not heard this song before, I hope it speaks to your heart. And if you have, I hope it reminds you that we serve a God who is able to help us no matter what our circumstances. And I think we need to celebrate this more than just one Sunday in spring.