“Having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.” Matt 27:26
“Father, forgive, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
“He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.” Matt 28:6
“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt 28:20
Reading and hearing the account of the Resurrection each year, these are the passages that jolt me and make me draw a deep breath. The pain of scourging. The power to forgive. The power to own eternity. The power to be with all peoples at all times. Thank you Jesus for ALL you have done in order for us to spend eternity in pure freedom.
And while we wait for eternity, I refuse to just muddle through life here on earth…which leads me to Eph 1:17-21 where Paul writes: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Wow. We have available to us real Easter power! Yet we can live our whole lives blindfolded to it because we have never really had to depend on his power. This wheelchair has made me depend on him, and at times, his power alone. I pray that you will not wait for a catastrophe to lean hard into his muscle. At some point this weekend, I encourage you to put the jellybeans and colored eggs aside in order to spend time in worship and asking Him to give you the “spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”
Hi – i just wanted to say that I heard you speak/sing in the 1990’s and well, you inspired me very much. 🙂 and I just wrote a post about it…..
I pray you had a wonderful Easter celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection. I was busy playing guitar for liturgies but also had time to get together with my family.
Praying for you & your family always. Hope to see you at an event soon. I saw you last year in Fullerton at St. Julianna. God Bless.