Glad The Tomb Is Empty Luke 24:5

How do you reconcile the doctors diagnose of cancer? I heard it at the age of 42. I was just hitting my stride (so I thought). After the initial shock and rapid succession of imaginary body blows that required me to sit back in what now became a very uncomfortable chair, I was confident that I could and would beat back this intruder. I held my wife’s hand as she gently squeezed to reassure me. I was in the early stages so we had a “minute” to decide how to arm ourselves. We took a trip and prayed and talked and prayed and talked and decided how we would attack instead of waiting to be attacked. A strategy was in place. As most wars proceed, you win some battles and you lose some. I lost a few and almost my way. There were a few late nights in ICU were I wanted to wave my big white sheet (flag). I wanted to be well but I could not find the strength to hold on to the idea. I found myself looking for relief in the IV or the Dixie cup every four hours.

Exhausted from eight weeks of fretting over every “specialist’s” consultation every day of the week, I was ready to concede. In the dark empty hospital room, I heard the “swoosh” of air come from the decompressing cushion of an empty chair. “I am still here.” That night I slept peacefully in an uncomfortable bed with a horrific physical condition. The next morning I understood that I was looking for solutions to my physical ailments in the wrong places. The errand journey caused my mind and spirit to begin to crumble. That night I found rest and peace in what some might think was an empty chair.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen!” Luke 24:5-6

If you have breath you will have trials that may overtake you and consume the very spirit that Jesus left with you when He left that borrowed tomb. Fight the urge to doubt God and yourself. He can defeat the “guards” and move the “stone” of deception that we may see as certain defeat. “A person who doubts himself (or God) is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself.” Find rest in your prayer closet, find rest in prayer during your drive time, or find rest in your prayer time early in the morning or late at night. Find rest in Him and be… Glad the tomb is empty…

The Day of Preparation (Matthew 26:17-35)

One of the hardest things to do is prepare a will to protect those you love when God calls you home. A few years ago my siblings and I did this with and for my mother. It was a strange conversation to have but necessary. My mom trusted us with this task so we were sure to document her wishes and agreed that there would be no discord amongst us.

Imagine the setting in that “certain man’s” house as Jesus broke bread with the disciples for the last time. Instead of the disciples preparing for what was to be the culmination of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus was preparing them for the discord they would experience on that very night. The carnal man in me often questions why so much pain and confusion was necessary at this juncture in the human life of Jesus and His disciples.

The spiritual me knows that our sins troubled God so much that He required a sacrifice that we were unable to provide. Any of the twelve could have had a moment of weakness and betrayed Him. Any of the twelve could have also been confronted and given the opportunity to deny Jesus. Many do this today. We betray Him with our sins and deny Him when confronted. Yet, He went willingly to the cross while we were in sin. Jesus chose to prepare His disciples for the days to come. We are always asked to reflect before partaking in the Lord’s Supper. We should choose to reflect\prepare ourselves for the gift of salvation that His unselfish act allows us to enjoy. The Last Supper was a call to remember His body that was broken, and His blood that was “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Thank you our God our Father and our Lord for the time you set aside to prepare us for the time when we would be challenged for your name sake… Amen