The Day Inbetween

I can only imagine what must have been going through the heads of the disciples on that Saturday 2000 years ago. They had just seen the man they had dedicated their lives to killed on a cross. The kingdom they thought they would help usher in crumbled to pieces as Christ breathed His last then gave up His spirit. The "Promised One" escaped what seemed to be certain death several times before. (Luke 4:30; John 7:30; 8:59; 10:39) I am sure as they sat alone in hiding on that Saturday not a single one of them was able to make sense of what just took place. The King of kings gave Himself up without a fight. None of what just took place would have seemed logical to those men. With a whip, a cross, a couple of nails, and a hammer everything that these 11 knew as a certain foundation became quicksand.
What an amazing roller coaster of emotions they must have felt as they woke up Sunday morning to find the dreams they had were still alive. Not just alive, the dreams they had were surpassed. The dreams they had were way to small. God's kingdom that Christ cemented was eternal. The nations that would be blessed were countless. 2000 years later, Christ is still on the thrown, the Kingdom is still growing, the glory is greater than ever. Christ way surpassed the dreams of those 11.
I don't know were you find yourself as you celebrate Easter this year. Some of you may be reeling from the hurt you experience at home, some of you have seen your dreams crumble, some of you may have watched people you have looked up to fail you. Maybe you feel as though God has given you hopes and dreams, yet you haven't seen Him bring those dreams to reality. I hope that you find encouragement in the disciples. Maybe you find yourself in the day between the heart break of the cross and the joy of the resurrected King. Though it seems like your world is crumbling in around you, Sunday is coming. Christ has always been faithful to prove Himself trustworthy. Following Christ doesn't mean you won't ever be disappointed, hurt, broken-hearted, or confused. What it does mean is that Christ works all things out for the good of those who place their lives in His hands. It means that the dreams God has are far greater than the dreams we have floating around in our heads. Though it sometimes doesn't feel like it; our God is not far off, He is not dead, He is not asleep at the wheel. He is alive and well, and closer than you think, working in ways that you can't even imagine.

Love Is In The Air

One thing that I constantly preach and remind students of is our task as believers to continually remember what it was like to first come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. I hope that we can never get over the fact that Jesus Christ is madly, crazy, passionately in love with us. It is so important for us to always preach the Gospel not just to others, but to ourselves. The Gospel message isn't just beneficial for salvation; it's huge for those who already believe. We as believers should have an ongoing love affair with Jesus. It is so huge to be reminded why exactly we love our Savior. I have been in love with Connie for almost 6 years now. I can't imagine getting to the point where I am no longer amazed that she is in love with me and that she chose to be in a relationship with me. I think it's because every time I see her, I am reminded of how beautiful she is. Every time I spend time talking with her I am reminded of how amazing her personality is. Every time I am away from her, I look forward to when we get to be around each other again. I want to spend time with her because I love her, and every time I am around her, I fall more in love with her.
It seems like that's the way Jesus wants us to be with Him. He wants us to spend time with Him, not out of obligation, but because we want to. Love, not guilt, drives us to meet with Him. And as we meet with Him we fall more in love with Him.
This week I had the chance to experience that. I really needed to spend some time with Him. I needed to gain some of His wisdom. One day this week I had a chance to go to a park and hang out on a bench. It was a perfect date spot with Jesus. The sun was out for the first time in a week, and it had some warmth to it for the first time all winter. As I sat on the bench, I spent some time talking with Jesus and listening to His word. I want to share one of the passages I read with you, in hopes that you are reminded of the great love our Jesus has for us.
Ephesians 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him."
I don't know about you, but as I read that it took me like 30 minutes just to try to let that truth soak in. God in heaven has given us so much. For some crazy reason He has chosen us and counted us as holy and blameless before Him. How in the world does the God who created the sun and all that sits under its warmth love people like me? This fact alone has driven me to a mad love for Jesus. I hope that you find yourself in that same place sometime soon. How sad it is to fall out of love for the Author and Perfecter. My prayer for you this week is that if you have found yourself in a place where you have gotten over the fact that Jesus saved you, that you would remember that first love. Oh the riches of knowing the faithful love of Jesus.