SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE US

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31

Something inside cannot quit hoping. Something inside keeps drawing us back to this rabbi. Something about His life, His works, His faith. Something about His belief that the universe is run by the kind of Father Jesus described and loved. Something about His power. Something about His peace draws us to Him as it has drawn people all over the world to Him for two thousand years and draws them still.

Something deep inside tells you that you are standing alone on the edge of a cliff, and the only alternative to Jesus is illusion or despair.

We can't see and know everything about hope now, but one day we will. Maybe it's like this, as written by a preacher named Bruce Thielemann:

"Imagine a colony of grubs living on the bottom of a swamp. And every once in a while, one of these grubs is inclined to climb a leaf stem to the surface. Then he disappears above the surface and never returns. All the grubs wonder why this is so and what it must be like up there, so they counsel among themselves and agree that the next one who goes up will come back and tell the others. Not long after that, one of the grubs feels the urge and climbs that leaf stem and goes out above the surface onto a lily pad. And there in the warmth of the sun, he falls asleep. While he sleeps, the carapace of the tiny creature breaks open, and out of the inside of the grub comes a magnificent dragonfly with beautiful, wide, rainbow-hued, iridescent wings. And he spreads those wings and flies, soaring out over those waters. But then he remembers the commitment he has made to those behind, yet now he knows he cannot return. They would not recognize him in the first place, and beyond that, he could not live again in such a place. But one thought of his takes away all the distress: they, too, shall climb the stem, and they, too, shall know the glory."

-- John Ortberg in “Faith & Doubt”

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WHAT REALLY MATTERS

“Jesus told [the sister of Lazarus], ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?’  ‘Yes, Lord,’ she told Him. ‘I have always believed You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.’”  (John 11:25-27 NLT)

Perhaps it is only when we realize and celebrate the intrinsic value of every human life that celebrity -- true celebrity -- shines most brightly. On our death beds, none of us will speak of the jobs we’ve held or the stuff we’ve acquired in our lifetimes; here Bull Markets and Nielsen ratings are irrelevant. A life-threatening illness jettisons pretention in no time flat. Death is the great equalizer. Death dares us to define what really matters. 

-- Nancy Cobb in “In Lieu of Flowers: A Conversation for the Living”

#6352

VICTORY IN JESUS

“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 NIV)

The natives of the Fiji Islands have a hopeless custom known as "calling to the dead."  The one who has suffered the death of a loved one climbs to a high tree or cliff.  He mentions the name of the deceased, then cries out desperately, "Come back!  Come back!"  The eerie echo of grief fills the air.  Those who have suffered the loss of their soul mate, companion, or beloved child can sympathize deeply.

The Christian does not need to climb to the top of a cliff, because Jesus climbed the hill of Calvary.  You don't have to cry out, "Come back!" from a high tree, because Jesus cried out, "Father, forgive them," from a wooden cross.  The resurrection power of Christ over death and hell brings a Christian hope in this life and the life to come.

-- Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose in “Pathway to God's Treasure: Ephesians”

#6348

THE LAST WORD

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.”  (John 20:1 NIV)

Early on the first day of the week, some of those who had loved Jesus the most came to pay Him love’s continuing respect. Especially, there was Mary of Magdala. She had been such a bewildered, mixed-up, self-destructive soul until Jesus came into her life, and He had turned her all around. But now He was gone. She had heard the last word: death. She had heard it right from hell, for hell is always trying to tell us that it has the last word.

When she got to the tomb, she found the body missing. This seemed like the final indignity, cruelty heaped on sorrow, for she felt someone had stolen His body. So she stood there weeping. That’s what you do, if you think the last word is the devil’s word: you weep.

Then a voice asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for?” Mary was so broken by sorrow that she didn’t even look up, and so dulled by tragedy that she didn’t recognize the voice. “Sir,” she said, “if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” She may have been grief-stricken, but to her credit, she hadn’t stopped loving.

Then Jesus said just one word. “Mary.” He called her by name. It must have been reminiscent of that day, months or years before, when He spoke her name and in doing so, called her out of the darkness and confusion which had so long characterized her life. At any rate, it was all she needed. “Teacher!” she cried. Then she hurried back to the disciples. “I have seen the Lord!” she told them. Which is to say -- death was not the last word. It wasn’t even the next-to-last word. Hell tried to tell her, when they took her Lord from the cross and carried Him off to a tomb, that the last word had been spoken, but it hadn’t. Because the last word is God. And then, the exclamation point.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015), excerpted from a sermon entitled “In the End, the Exclamation Point”, February 28, 1990 

#6342

RESURRECTION FAITH

“On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days… ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give You whatever you ask.’”  (John 11:17, 21 NIV)

This one statement reveals two types of faith.

The first is what I call preventative faith… Preventative faith believes God can keep things from happening. So we pray for traveling mercies or a hedge of protection around our children. And while there is nothing wrong with that, there is a second dimension of faith that believes God can actually undo what’s been done. I call it resurrection faith. It’s a faith that refuses to put periods at the end of disappointments because God can make your impossible possible. Even when the application is denied or the adoption falls through or the business goes bankrupt, don’t put a period there…

What needs to die in your life so that it can be resurrected? So that God can reveal more of His power? So that God gets all the glory? You need to bury it. Then if it’s resurrected, you know God did it.

It takes courage to end an unhealthy dating relationship, but you won’t find Mr. Right as long as you are dating Mr. Wrong. It takes courage to quit a job, but it might be the difference between making a living and making a life. It takes courage to change majors, but it’s better to fail at something you love than succeed at something you hate. Maybe you need to bury the relationship, bury the job, or bury the major. Then you need to wait for Jesus to show up.

“Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”  (John 11:43-44 NIV)

-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible”

#6326

HEART, MIND, AND IDENTITY RECALIBRATION

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."  (Colossians 3:1-4 NIV)

Paul’s words are a gentle but firm recalibration. He reminds us that resurrection isn’t just a future hope -- it’s a present reality. We’ve been raised with Christ. That means our spiritual GPS has been reset. Our affections, ambitions, and attention are no longer tethered to the dust of this world but drawn upward to the throne where Christ reigns.

But this isn’t escapism. It’s engagement with eternity in the now. To “set your hearts on things above” is to let heaven’s values shape earthly choices. It’s choosing grace over grudges, compassion over judgment, truth over convenience, and service over self.

Paul doesn’t say “glance” at things above. He says “set” -- as in fix, anchor, dwell. Our minds and hearts are to be intentionally directed toward the reality of Christ’s rule and our identity in Him. Why? Because our true life is hidden in Him. Not lost. Not forgotten. Hidden -- secure, protected, and waiting to be revealed in glory.

HEART CHECK: What has captured your heart lately? Is it something eternal or something fleeting?

MIND SHIFT: What thoughts dominate your day? Are they rooted in fear, comparison, or control -- or in the peace and promise of Christ?

IDENTITY REMINDER: You are not defined by your past, your performance, your politics, or your possessions. You are hidden in Christ. Let that truth shape how you walk through each day. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources 

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A LIFE-CHANGING REALITY

“And [Christ] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again... Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”   (2 Corinthians 5:15,17 NIV)

The Resurrection is not simply a historical event; it’s a life-changing reality. Jesus’ victory over death was meant to transform more than just Himself -- it breathes new life into His followers. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, those who live in Christ are no longer bound by their old ways. They are made new, with their lives reflecting the hope and redemption found in the risen Savior.

The following quote beautifully captures this truth: “The greatest witness to the Resurrection is the changed lives of people, the emergence of a dynamic community of faith.” (Dwight W. Vogel and Linda J. Vogel in “Syncopated Grace”)  Our lives, reshaped by God’s love and grace, become living testimonies to the power of the Resurrection. When we let go of self-centered living and embrace our identity as new creations, we stand as evidence of Jesus’ work in the world.

But this transformation is not an isolated event. It creates a community -- a fellowship of believers united in Christ by love, purpose, and mission. Together, we embody God’s Kingdom, offering hope to the hurting, healing to the broken, and light to the lost. The Resurrection compels us not only to change individually but to join in building a dynamic community of faith that reflects Christ’s redeeming love.   

Your life is a testimony of God’s transforming power. Today, ask how you can reflect His love -- through kindness, forgiveness, or a simple word of encouragement. Together, we are His dynamic, living witnesses to the Resurrection! 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources

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ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS

Jesus said to the two walking on the road to Emmaus, “‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself."  (Luke 24:25-27 NIV)

Well, what do you know, [the resurrected] Christ conducted a Bible class. He led the Emmaus bound duo through an Old Testament survey course, from the writings of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) into the messages of Isaiah, Amos, and the others. He turned the Emmaus trail into a biblical timeline, pausing to describe… the Red Sea rumbling?... Jericho tumbling?... King David stumbling? Of special import to Jesus was what the Scriptures said “concerning Himself.” His face watermarks more Old Testament stories than you might imagine. Jesus is Noah, saving humanity from disaster; Abraham, the father of a new nation; Isaac, placed on the altar by his father; Joseph, sold for a bag of silver; Moses, calling slaves to freedom; Joshua, pointing out the promised land.

Jesus took them through the writing of “Moses and all the prophets.” Can you imagine Christ quoting Old Testament Scripture? Did Isaiah 53 sound this way: "I was wounded and crushed for your sins. I was beaten that you might have peace" (v. 5)? Or Isaiah 28: "I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem. It is firm, a tested precious cornerstone that is safe to build on" (v. 16)? Did He pause and give the Emmaus students a wink, saying, "I'm the stone Isaiah described"? We don't know His words, but we know their impact. The two disciples felt "our hearts burning within us while He talked" (Luke 24:32 NIV). 

-- Adapted from Max Lucado in “Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear”  

#6100

JESUS IS CALLING YOU OUT OF YOUR TOMB

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb [of Lazarus]. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ He said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone… Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”  (Excerpts from John 11:38-44 NIV)

This miracle doesn’t just foreshadow Jesus’ own resurrection. It foreshadows yours! It’s not just something Jesus did for Lazarus. It’s a snapshot of what Jesus wants to do in your life right here, right now. When we sin, it’s like the enemy of our soul wraps us up in graveclothes. Sin buries us alive and makes a mummy out of us. We become shadows of the person we were meant to be. And if you keep on sinning, it’ll weight you down like a hundred pounds of graveclothes. But Jesus is calling you out of your tomb.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to personalize the promises of Scripture is to take out the original name and insert your own. And I think it’s okay to do that. After all, every promise God has made is yes in Christ. So take out Lazarus’s name and insert your own: Mark, come out!

Can you hear Him call your name? He’s calling you out of sin. He’s calling you out of death. He’s calling you out of your tomb. 

-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible” 

#6073

THE IRREPRESSIBLE THEME OF JOY

“Be full of joy in the Lord always. I will say again, be full of joy. Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon.”  (Philippians 4:4-5 NCV)

To a large extent, joy flows from a certain kind of thinking. Cognitive psychologists remind us that always between the events that happen to us and our responses to them lie our beliefs or interpretations of those events. This thought helps us to understand the irrepressible theme of joy in the New Testament. The New Testament writers were engaged not so much in some form of positive thinking as in what might be called "eschatological thinking." That is, they viewed all events in light of the Resurrection and the ultimate triumph of the risen Christ.

-- John Ortberg in “The Life You've Always Wanted”

#5848

THE BREATH OF NEW LIFE

"[Jesus] breathed on [His disciples] and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'"  (John 20:22,23)

When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He brought them more than proof that He was indeed alive -- He gave them new life. As Jesus breathes on His disciples, He is giving them the Holy Spirit. This is the ‘ruach’, the breath, the life, the Spirit of God filling them up and changing them. Something new is expected of them in light of this Spirit. They are to be new people, new creations. This act of breathing the Holy Spirit out brings new life for the disciples, one in which they follow a resurrected Christ who is Life, who is Spirit, who is Breath. With each breath, we too can take in the glory of God and be reminded of the Spirit that fills us and sustains us and changes us.

-- Carla Barnhill in “The Green Bible Devotional” 

#5831

EYEWITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTED CHRIST

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you -- unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him.”  (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NLT)

Modern attempts to get away from the sheer historical facts of the Resurrection are, at best, based on a total misunderstanding.  The whole Bible proclaims the need for, and the achievement of, a salvation that will remake creation, and it is just such a salvation, at once supernatural and historical, that was won on Easter Day.  If the Resurrection narratives are [merely] a subtle way of convincing us that God still loves us, or that there is a life beyond death, they must be reckoned among the oddest and most ill-conceived stories ever written. 

-- Michael Sadgrove & Tom Wright 

#5830

MY EASTER QUESTION: WHY GALILEE? – Part 3 of 3

That first Easter, nobody actually saw Jesus rise from the dead.  They saw Him after He had risen.  They didn't appear to Him; He appeared to them.  Us.  In the Bible, the "proof" of the resurrection is not the absence of Jesus' body from the tomb; it's the presence of Jesus to His followers.  The gospel message of the resurrection is not first, "Though we die, we shall one day return to life," it is, "Though we were dead, Jesus returned to us." 

If it was difficult to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, it must have been almost impossible to believe that He was raised and returned to us.  The result of Easter, the product of the Resurrection of Christ is the church -- a community of people with nothing more to convene us than that the risen Christ came back to us.  That's our only claim, our only hope.  He came back to Galilee.  He came back to us.

In life, in death, in any life beyond death, this is our great hope and our great commission.  Hallelujah!  Go!  Tell!  The risen Christ came back to [your town], uh I mean Galilee.

-- Adapted from a sermon entitled “He Came Back… To Us!” by William Willimon

#5829

 

MY EASTER QUESTION: WHY GALILEE? – Part 2 of 3

One might have thought that the first day of His resurrected life, the risen Christ might have made straight for the palace, the seat of Roman power, appear there and say, "Pilate, you made a big mistake.  Now, it's payback time!"

One might have thought that Jesus would do something effective.  If you want to have maximum results, don't waste your time talking to the first person whom you meet on the street, figure out a way to get to the movers and the shakers, the influential and the newsmakers, those who have some power and prestige.  If you really want to promote change, go to the top. 

But Jesus?  He didn't go up to the palace, the White House, the Kremlin, or Downing Street.   (Jesus never got on well with politicians.)  Jesus went outback, back to Galilee. 

Why Galilee?   Nobody special lived in Galilee, nobody except the followers of Jesus.  Us.

The resurrected Christ comes back to, appears before the very same rag-tag group of failures who so disappointed Him, misunderstood Him, forsook Him and fled into the darkness.  He returns to His betrayers.  He returns to us. 

It would have been news enough that Christ had died, but the good news was that He died for us.  As Paul said elsewhere, one of us might be willing to die for a really good person but Christ shows that He is not one of us by His willingness to die for sinners like us.  His response to our sinful antics was not to punish or judge us.  Rather, He came back to us, flooding our flat world not with the wrath that we deserved but with His vivid presence that we did not deserve.   

It would have been news enough that Christ rose from the dead, but the good news was that he rose for us.

-- Adapted from a sermon entitled “He Came Back… To Us!” by William Willimon

MY EASTER QUESTION: WHY GALILEE? – Part 1 of 3

“Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.’”  (Mark 16:2-7 NKJV)

Mark says that on that first Easter, women went to the tomb to pay their last respects to poor, dead Jesus.  To their alarm, the body of Jesus was not there.  A "young man, dressed in a white robe" told them, "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified?  Well, he isn't here.  He is raised.  He is going ahead of you to Galilee."

Here's my Easter question for you:  Why Galilee? 

Galilee?  Galilee is a forlorn, out of the way sort of place.  It's where Jesus came from (which in itself was a shock -- "Can anything good come out of Galilee?" -- John 1:46).  Jesus is Galilee's only claim to fame.  Jesus spent most of His ministry out in Galilee, the bucolic out back of Judea.  He expended most of His teaching trying to prepare His forlorn disciples for their trip up to Jerusalem where the real action was.  All of Jesus' disciples seem to have hailed from out in Galilee.  Jesus' ultimate goal seems not to focus on Galilee but rather on the Capital City, Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem He was crucified and in Jerusalem He rose.  Pious believers in Jesus' day expected a restoration of Jerusalem in which Messiah would again make the Holy City the power-center that it deserved to be, the capital city of the world.  Which makes all the more odd that the moment He rose from the dead Jesus left the big city and headed back to Galilee.  Why? 

-- Adapted from a sermon entitled “He Came Back… To Us!” by William Willimon

#5827

BESIDE US IN GRIEF

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 29:2 NKJV)

God does not cheapen Himself or us by offering us easy answers to the anguished, "Why?" that we who are human cannot help but ask.  The mystery of life and death and suffering remains a mystery in all human generations, and it is no less a mystery for us.  We don't get a quick fix from our faith.

But we do encounter a God who sits patiently beside us in grief, usually silently, like an orthodox Jew sitting shivah with his bereaved friend, offering no words to explain away a mystery that is beyond words.  God sits with us in our sorrow. In the days and weeks after a loss, as we sit together in the silence, something new begins to creep into our consciousness. The faith that has sustained our whole lives will begin to knot our sorrow over this death together with what we believe about the life to come [through faith in Christ].  Faith and experience will knit together like a broken bone knits together as time passes.  We begin to be able to see for ourselves what is already a reality for those who have gone on ahead of us, something the tears of early bereavement make it hard for us to see at first.  They begin to appear in our vision of heaven, taking their place in the communion of the saints. We begin to feel their presence, not just their absence.  Once again, the resurrection faith to which we cling gently bathes our hearts, and our hearts are healed. 

-- Bishop Edmund Lee Browning from "A Year of Days with the Book of Common Prayer" 

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