Resurrection Renewal

Signs of spring are all around us – green grass, the sound of lawnmowers, birds singing, buds blossoming, and warmer days.  We celebrated the resurrection of God’s Son, our Savior, on Easter.  God offers us new life, hope, victory over sin and death, and joy through Christ’s resurrection.  Now, like the first disciples, we seek to understand what that means to us in our daily lives.  

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3

Does the resurrection mean that our problems dissolve?  Our health improves?  Our debts decrease while our income increases?  Or that home improvement project gets done without our effort?  Not necessarily.  But Christ’s new life can give us strength to face those issues, or hope and strength to stand up in the face of our problems, if we keep seeking the Master of Life.  In over 15 years of living with chronic back pain, I’ve found that God’s new life and power give me the hope and perseverance to keep moving forward.  God’s new life and hope can give you and me the strength to face issues we’ve been avoiding or fearing for years.   

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."  Romans 6:8-11

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that [at] the last he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God, whom I will see for myself, and whom my own eyes will behold, and not another.   (Job 19:25-27)

If God could take a valley of dry, dead, human bones, and make them into living, breathing humans again (Ezekiel 37), God can certainly renew your life and mine.  The key is looking to the Creator of Life to re-create our lives and hold us up in the face of difficulties.  Let us trust the One who has power over life, death, and sin.  Let us bow our heads and hearts to the Master of Life everyday in praise and prayer.  

Where Does Your Hope Come From?

On April 28-30, the NFL held its annual draft of college football players, and each team chose about 7 players each - fresh, young players.  Almost immediately afterwards, each team sign about 20 more undrafted players.  So every NFL team has restocked its roster with dozens of new, young players.  Thus every team believes they’re going to be better than last year.  Yes, this is the season when hope is renewed for every NFL team. 

Hope is an abstract thing that affects almost every aspect of one’s life.  It affects how one thinks or feels, how one sees oneself.  It affects how one relates to others.  You can just sense, when listening to another person, whether that person is hopeful or not.  One’s level of hope affects how much one accomplishes. 

In Isaiah’s time, the chosen people of Israel were feeling like they were no longer chosen, as if God had lost track of them; a few even dared to say that God no longer cared about them.  As Isaiah 40:27 says, “Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel,
My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

God Himself says it best in the 4 verses that follow, Do you not know?  Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
   He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
   Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
   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.

Did you catch that line in bold?  Did you notice where Isaiah’s hope came from?  Isaiah’s hope didn’t come from believing in himself, or following a self-help book, or from his wonderful friends.  No, his hope, the hope that renewed his strength, came from the LORD – the everlasting Creator of the world, the God who doesn’t get tired or weary, and his wisdom cannot be understood by any mere mortal.  Are you actively trusting in that God?

A few verses later, Isaiah wrote, So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (41:10)

If you aren’t listening to the God of Isaiah, why not start seeking Him today?  If you’re troubled or afraid, turn to the eternal Creator of the world.  If you’re weak or weary or discouraged, why not put your hope in the Lord who promises to renew your strength?  He will uphold you with his holy, right hand, and help you.

Celebrate the Holy Spirit!

Sunday, June 7 is the 50^th day after Easter, which is the day the Holy Spirit came on the followers of Jesus in Acts 2.  Some call it Pentecost Sunday.  The Greek word for pentecost means fifty.  Acts 2 tells us that Jesus’ disciples were gathered in the upper room when they were filled with the Holy Spirit; they heard a great wind and spoke in different languages as tongues of fire settled upon them.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, which is essential for salvation.  The Spirit counsels and comforts us (John 14:16, 26).  The Spirit guides us.  In John 6:63, Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life.”  The Spirit renews us.

In the languages of the original Bible, Hebrew and Greek, the word for “Spirit” is the same as the word for “breath.”  Genesis 2:7 speaks of creation as God breathing the breath of life into Adam and Eve’s nostrils.  Sometimes we say that the Spirit is like the wind.  We can’t see it, but we can see what it does.

The Apostles’ Creed says, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”  Do we truly believe that the Spirit is working in us and through us?

When we pray and read the Bible, do we expect the Spirit to speak God’s Word to us?  Do you let the Spirit guide you and lead your conversations with others?  Are your relationships marked by the love, joy, and peace of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)?  When we meet together in a small group, class, committee or in worship, do we really expect the Spirit to work in us or through us?

I encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open.  It’s too easy to miss what the Spirit is doing.  The Spirit is working in our midst, but if we’re not alert, we miss the special things that God’s Spirit is doing.  God’s Spirit is alive and moving and making old things new!  Let us give thanks to the Lord and praise Him for the work of His Spirit!

To God be the Glory!

This is the “Come holy Spirit” prayer from Cursillio:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,

and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created.

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,

Did instruct the hearts of the faithful,

Grant that by the same Holy Spirit,

We may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.aler

Become Part of Spring's Renewal

Spring began officially on March 20.  Birds are singing in our yard every morning.  A few flowers are blossoming, and trees are budding.  The grass is turning green.  After surviving a cold winter that began with a huge ice-storm, folks in our area are getting outside more on the warm, spring days when the sun is oozing light and warmth.   Spring is happening!  

Every spring, my spirit feels rejuvenated and renewed.  It was in spring that I first submitted to Jesus as my Savior and Master as a teenager.  Later, our pastor told me that people in general are more open to the Holy Spirit’s work in the spring, and that still makes sense to me, over 30 years later.  If God could take a valley of dry, dead bones (Ezekiel 37) and make them into living, breathing people again, God can renew our hearts and souls in the springtime.

During the cold winter months, we stay inside more - kind of like hibernating to some extent, and avoid going out in the frosty weather.  My heart and soul sometimes seem more closed to outside influence from God during the colder months, perhaps because my chronic pain level increases during the cold winter months.  And believe me, I seek the Ultimate Healer through Scripture and prayer when my body aches continually.  

But spring is happening now!  My soul seems like budding and blossoming to God’s nurturing Spirit.  I hope that spring will bring new buds and blossoms from your heart and soul, too.  God is actively renewing his earth and his people, if we are open and sensitive to God’s promptings in our midst.  May God renew you this spring!  “Those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles.  They will run and not get tired.  They will walk and not grow weak.”  (Isaiah 40:31, NIRV)  Pray for God to give you new life, hope, friendship, and peace.  Become part of the spring renewal.