|
This is part of our Thursday series on the encounters with the Risen Savior that are shared in the four gospels. Today’s encounter is shared with us by John. Last week we looked at Jesus appearing to the disciples. As John finishes his account of that event, in chapter 20 verses 24- 29 he then goes on to say this: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’ I’m just going to say it. I think Thomas gets a bad rap. For centuries he has literally been referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” But based on last week’s readings, if we call him Doubting Thomas, then we should be calling the other apostles Doubting Peter, Doubting John, Doubting Andrew, Doubting James and so on. All of the disciples had two opportunities to believe without seeing that Jesus is alive, but they hadn’t. They didn’t believe Mary and the women. They didn’t believe the disciples from the Emmaus Road. None of them believed until they saw Jesus. In fact in Mark’s account of Jesus’s appearance to the disciples he says that Jesus “reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.” Thomas was not alone in his disbelief, and when he saw Jesus like the others had he immediately confessed, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus’s response to Thomas doesn’t come across too harsh, but still echoes that “reproach” that Mark talks about. Jesus said to Thomas: Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed. The ones who were closest to Jesus, those He’d been teaching for three years, had been hesitant or scared to believe He had been resurrected. They had to see for themselves before they believed, but Jesus said that those who believe without seeing are blessed. That is you and I if we are believers. We had to accept and come to the point of saying you are “My Lord and my God” to Him without physically seeing Him or being able to touch His wounds. It is what we call faith. As the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. We did not see Him resurrected as the disciples did, but we have conviction of things we didn’t see. We have assurance in the hope of salvation, and Jesus calls us blessed. But just as the disciples were far from perfect, so are we. We all have times and areas where we struggle with belief. We may not doubt His resurrection or our salvation, but maybe we have moments where we struggle to believe His love for us, His goodness, His faithfulness to equip us to do what He has called us to, and more. In those moments we need to show ourselves a little grace and realize that moments of unbelief didn’t disqualify the disciples and they don’t disqualify us either. In those moments we need to place our eyes on Jesus and cling to Him until we can find ourselves in midst of our struggles and disbelief finally recognizing the Truth and confessing as Thomas did, “My Lord and my God!”
0 Comments
 Several years ago I was listening to the At the Table Podcast with Patrick Lencioni and heard the episode “What Is Your Genius?” What I heard intrigued me. A short time later, they launched a second podcast called The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni dedicated to exploring this new model called, The Working Genius. Then in 2022 a book featuring the model was released.
I have been a fan of this model since I heard about it on that first podcast episode. It made so much sense to me and helped me to understand so many things about how I worked, how I responded to different types of work and how to recognize reasons for gaps in teamwork. In his book, The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team, Patrick Lencioni begins the book the way he does most of his books and that is with a fictional story. This fictional story that he shares in the first three quarters of the book mirrors how Working Genius came about and its application. He then gives a more detailed overview of the model in the last part of the book. I really appreciate how clearly he is able to present his content through an engaging, easy to read, and entertaining story. By the time I got to the non-fiction overview of the model, I felt like I already had a pretty decent grasp on it from the story itself, but found the overview helpful to tie a nice bow on details. In the book, Lencioni explore 6 different stages that all work requires, whether that work is on a job, at home, or even as a volunteer. Those areas of work are:
He then goes on to explain that each person has two of these six things that they enjoy doing and that fuels them. He calls these their Working Geniuses. There are also two of the six that absolutely drain a person. Those two he calls their Working Frustrations. The remaining two are Working Competencies. Those are aspects of work that a person might be very good at, but over time they can start to become a little draining. He offers some great analogies on how this works a little like different types of coffee cups. He also gives a lot more details about each of the different types and how they work. In addition to the book, The Table Group also offers an assessment that individuals and teams can take to identify your own Working Geniuses, Frustrations, and Competencies at WorkingGenius.com. When I took the assessment I discovered that my Geniuses were Discernment and Wonder (another reason the name of this website seemed so fitting). My Frustrations were Galvanizing and Enablement. The geniuses didn’t really surprise me. They definitely sounded like me and are things I enjoy doing. Galvanizing as a frustration didn’t surprise me either, but I had to consider enablement a little more. While I do definitely do a lot of jumping in to get things done, I realized a couple things about this. First, I tend to bristle if I’m told exactly how to do something. I don’t mind helping but I like to figure out the way I think it should be done (wonder & discernment anyone?). I also realized that at times I have to do a lot of this and Tenacity work in my job because none of our team has either of these as strengths which is probably why we often suffer with follow through. Although I am good at these things they drain me and can at times even leave me feeling resentful. The Working Genius book and model helped me to understand that and be able to put language to it. One of the things Lencioni says in the book is this: “For so many people, one of the biggest stealers of peace is having to do work that doesn’t suit their natural, God-given strengths. But because most of these people don’t realize that, they end up feeling really bad about themselves (aka guilty) for not being better at what they are doing. That kind of guilt is unnecessary and leads to serious problems in the lives of workers and the people they love.” I enjoyed this book and the podcasts so much and could see the value in them to the point that I chose to become a Certified Working Genius Facilitator. I would encourage you to read this book and check out this model. If you want more information or would like to know about how it can help you and your team identify your sweet spots in the process of work, please use the contact page to reach out to me. I’d love to talk with you more about this great model. This is week seven in our series on what Scripture teaches us about the value of wonder in our lives and ministries. Today’s Scripture passage is Hebrews 12:28 (NIRV) We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. Let us worship him with deep respect and wonder. During this series we’ve talked about the importance of wondering at the things that God has done and the things that He is doing around us each day, but this verse points us both to what He did for us through Jesus and what He is going to do. “We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken.” As believers, we are receiving this kingdom because of what Jesus did for us in His life, death, and resurrection. His sacrifice restored our relationship with God. It reconciled us to Him. It is because of that that we are receiving this unshakable kingdom. Not only does this point to what Jesus did and is doing for us, but it also points toward the day that He will return again and establish His new Kingdom restoring all things. When this verse says, “So let us be thankful” there is so much for us to be thankful for. We should be thankful for our salvation, thankful for our relationship with God, thankful for being adopted into an unshakeable kingdom, and thankful that one day all things will be made right. That thankfulness should bring about worship that is fueled by both “deep respect and wonder.” We’ve talked before about the importance of letting wonder lead us to worship. True wonder along with deep respect and appreciation for what God has done is best expressed through worshiping Him. All of this comes from a place of gratitude. Gratitude has become a bit of a buzz word in our world today. We see signs and home decor reminding us to be grateful. Scientists have told us that gratitude improves our physical health by helping to lower stress. They’ve also shared the ways that it can improve mental health and relationships. None of this is new though. Throughout the Bible, God reminds us time and time again to be thankful, just like we find in this verse. It’s hard to stay envious or discontent or discouraged when we are taking time to be thankful and grateful. So, what are you thankful for today? Start with what God has done and is doing for you and take time to thank Him for that and more. Allow that gratitude to spark wonder and respect for Him, and allow that wonder and respect to fuel your time of worship today. This is part of our Thursday series on the encounters that Risen Savior shared in the four gospels. Today’s encounter is shared with us by Mark, Luke and John. It was Sunday evening. The women had discovered the empty tomb that morning. They had seen Jesus and told the disciples, but the disciples didn’t believe them. That afternoon Jesus had traveled with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and they ran back and reported to the disciples when they had finally realized that they’d been talking to the Risen Savior. But now, it was Sunday evening. John describes what was going on like this: So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' John 20:19 They’ve been told twice that Jesus has risen, but the disciples are still doubting, scared, and confused. They’ve shut themselves into a room, hiding out if you will, because they are scared the Jews will come after them next. And in the middle of this Jesus suddenly appears with the words “Peace be with you.” Luke describes their reaction in chapter 24, verses 37-41: But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. Although the disciples had been told two different times that Jesus was alive, and even when He stood in their midst, they doubted. They literally couldn’t believe their eyes. Even when He showed them His hands and His feet, Luke says that they “still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement.” It’s easy to say that they had Jesus right in front of them and could see His hands and feet, so how in the world could they doubt. Let’s remember what the last week had been like for these disciples though. They walked alongside Jesus as He entered Jerusalem one week before to the praises of the crowd heralding Him as their Messiah, the one they believed God had sent to rescue them from Rome. Throughout the week they saw many things and heard many teachings which they did not fully understand. Then on Thursday night, one of their own had betrayed Jesus and turned Him over to religious leaders. He had been arrested, brought before numerous leaders, beaten, mocked, and eventually crucified. He had been dead and buried. They had been grieving for three days. Probably grieving the loss of the friend and teacher, and grieving because they thought He was the Messiah and didn’t know how all this could happen. And they were afraid that the same thing might happen to them. But now, in the midst of their fear and grief, this Messiah who they had been grieving over was standing in their midst saying, “Peace be with you.” If we’re honest, we’d be pretty confused and struggling to believe too. I find it especially interesting when Luke says that they “still could not believe it BECAUSE of their joy and amazement.” Have you have been there? You are so amazed and overjoyed about something you’re almost afraid it can’t be true. Some people might even respond to a situation like that by saying “pinch me” because they’re afraid they must be dreaming. The disciples were seeing, hearing, and touching Jesus. Their senses were telling them that the Messiah was alive, but their brains just couldn’t fully comprehend or believe it yet. They’d never seen anything like this. It was incomprehensible, but it was obviously true. While we might not have Jesus physically standing in our midst eating a broiled fish, much like the disciples there are times in our lives when we see God doing something that just doesn’t make sense to us. We see His work and we hear Him, but our brains just can’t comprehend or fully believe what is happening is real. Those are moments in life when faith is challenging. Our brains may eventually catch up like it seems happened with the disciples, but sometimes there are things about God and His work that we may never fully comprehend. In those moments, I think He would say to us just as He did to the disciples in that room, “Peace be with you.” That is my prayer for you and I today that even in moments of confusion, fear, joy, amazement or doubt our hearts will no longer be troubled because we will hear the soft, still voice of God whispering in our ears “Peace be with you.” This is week six in our series on what Scripture teaches us about the value of wonder in our lives and ministries. Today’s Scripture passage is Luke 5:26 (NLT) Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today! This verse comes from the passage where Jesus was preaching to a room so crowded that the only way a group of men could get their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing was to go up on the roof and lower their friend down into the middle of the crowd. Jesus then forgave the man’s sins and healed him. This verse, Luke 5:26, was the crowd’s response to what they had just seen. They weren’t just quietly wondering. They were “gripped” with “great wonder and awe.” When was the last time that you were gripped with wonder and awe over something that God had done? That word “gripped” gives me a picture of wonder and awe closing in all around me, surrounding me, and making it impossible to ignore. When was the last time that you simply couldn’t ignore the wonder of God in a moment? If it’s been awhile, is it because God doesn’t do wonderful and amazing things that often anymore or is because we’re just failing to be gripped? I fear that it’s become far to easy for us to evade this grip of wonder and awe. We’re busy and move right past it without looking or giving it time to grip us. We’re so focused on other things we miss the moments entirely, or maybe we’ve just come to expect those moments and take them for granted. Maybe we need to slow down just a bit so we don’t miss or just brush past these opportunities to be gripped with wonder. You may be saying, “That sounds great, but you don’t know my schedules, the demands and responsibilities I have. I don’t have time to slow down.” Do you have time not to? If it’s been a while since you’ve been “gripped with great wonder and awe,” then I would wonder how your soul is doing? I know when I get caught in seasons that are so busy or stressful that I stop noticing the wonderful and amazing things that God is doing around me, whether I want to admit it or not, I feel it in my soul. Instead of wonder and awe and praise filling me, I find myself struggling with discouragement or discontent or envy or bitterness or even anger. So I ask again, do we really have time not to slow down and take notice of the wonders that God is doing around us? In difficult times, it might start out with looking for the small everyday things that we have been missing: a sunrise, a sunset, a flower, a interesting cloud formation, something or anything that reminds us that God is good and still pretty amazing. It also might start with going back to John 3:16, Romans 5:8, or another favorite verse that reminds us how much God loves us and how truly wonderful He has been to us. I would challenge you, and me, this week to start opening our eyes to the wonders around us and then respond as this crowd did by praising God and exclaiming to ourselves and others that “We have seen amazing things today!” This is part of our Thursday series on the encounters that Risen Savior shared in the four gospels. Today’s encounter is shared with us by both Mark and Luke. This encounter begins with two followers of Jesus walking down the seven mile stretch of road between Jerusalem and the village of Emmaus. Thanks to Luke we know that one of them was named Cleopas. He and the other traveler, possibly his wife or another disciple, were talking about everything that had happened. Luke describes what happened next like this in chapter 24 verses 15 through 17: While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, ‘What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Luke goes on to tell how the two travelers began explaining about Jesus and their hopes that He would redeem Israel, but that He had been crucified. They also shared how the women had reported that He was alive. Then Luke says in verses 25-27 that Jesus “said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” As they got to the village, the travelers asked Jesus to stay with them and in verses 30 through 35 Luke tells us that: When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’ And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.’ They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. So like Mary Magdalene, these two travelers didn’t recognize Jesus right away, but here we are specifically told that “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” They were prevented the whole time they were traveling, but after arriving at their destination and sitting down to eat they saw Jesus break and bless the bread and then disappear. This is when their eyes were finally opened. This was probably a very familiar action that they had seen Jesus do before and it helped them recognize Him in that moment. What are the things that you have seen Jesus do in your life? Are you keeping your eyes open for similar ways that He might be working, ways that might help you recognize His presence today? I pray that we would all have open eyes looking to encounter His presence in our lives today. Then when we do, let’s be like these two travelers who immediately turned back around and travelled seven more miles to go share about their encounter with the Risen Savior. This is week five in our series on what Scripture teaches us about the value of wonder in our lives and ministries. Today’s Scripture passage is Luke 8:25 (KJV) And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him. As we have been looking at examples of wonder in the Bible, we have seen a lot about wondering in awe at the works of God and our awe and wonder in remembering those works, but as we see in this verse sometimes we wonder out of perplexity and confusion instead of awe. When we first started talking about wonder, we looked at the following definition: Wonder - a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. There is another definition for wonder though. Sometimes wonder means: Wonder - feel doubt. The storm they were experiencing led them to wonder. They wondered what was going to happen to them. They wondered why Jesus was sleeping. They doubted their safety. Jesus recognized this as He asked them where their faith was. Like the disciples, we have times where our wonder comes from a place of doubting too. We wonder why He is doing what He is doing, or why He is allowing something, or why He won’t do something. Like the disciples we find ourselves in the middle of a storm, scared, confused, and wondering in doubt. The storm got pretty bad before the disciples went to Jesus with their doubts and concerns. We often do the same thing. We’re so focused on the storm and maybe wondering why God isn’t already doing something about it. We try to handle it on our own or conceal our doubts, but like the disciples finally did we need to take our doubts and concerns to Him, and let Him help us through it. There’s one more important definition for wonder: Wonder - Desire or be curious to know something Sometimes the doubting type of wonder leads to amazed wonder which leads to this curious type of wonder. The disciples took their doubts and concerns to Jesus and then saw Him do something amazing. He spoke a word and calmed the wind and the waves. There was definitely surprise from something unexpected and inexplicable, but there was also curiosity over something. They were curious how He calmed the storm. This was not normal human behavior, so they wondered who He was and how it was possible. Sometimes we see God working and we wonder in amazement and it also drives us to wonder more about Him. This can lead to a deeper faith and a deeper relationship with Him which is always a good thing. So if you are finding yourself in the middle of a storm or a season of storms, it’s okay to have doubts and concerns, but take them to God. Let Him help you through it until He brings you to the point that you can look at what He did in amazement and longingly desire to know Him more. Each year as we celebrate Easter, we often lead up to it by detailing the account of the Passion or Holy Week going all the way to the empty tomb. We celebrate the fact that “He is Risen” on Easter morning and then move on to focusing on other parts of Scripture. It can be easy for us to lose sight of the fact that Jesus continued appearing to people after His resurrection for 40 days before He ascended to Heaven. What do we know about those days and appearances, and what can we learn from those encounters with the Risen Savior? During the next few weeks, each Thursday we are going to take a look at one of the post-resurrection encounters with Jesus that are mentioned in the four gospels. Today we are going to start with the one we may have heard about on Easter Sunday: the women at the tomb. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all begin their accounts of the resurrection indicating that Mary Magdalene and some of the other women following Jesus headed to the tomb to finish properly preparing Jesus’s body for burial. When they arrived at the tomb, they found that the stone had been rolled away and an angel gave them that great message so famously quoted from Matthew 28:6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” The women were then instructed to go tell the disciples. After this happened, Matthew tells us that Jesus appeared to the women and they worshipped Him and went to tell the disciples. Mark and John single out Mary Magdalene and tell about her encounter with Jesus after His resurrection. John describes it this way in chapter 20 verses 14 though 18: When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and that He had said these things to her. As we look at these encounters with the Risen Savior during the next few weeks, we will see that Mary was not alone in not immediately recognizing Jesus after the resurrection. Clearly He no longer looked the same. Even when He first spoke there was not an immediate recognition, but when He said her name something changed. We don’t know exactly what it was about that that made her realize who He was. Maybe it was just that He didn’t give her ears to hear until that moment. Maybe she was too distracted by her grief until that moment. Maybe it was the familiarity of His voice speaking her name that finally broke through. Maybe He spoke her name with such care and compassion that she realized it could only be Him. This makes me wonder: Do I listen to Him that carefully? Do I recognize His voice as clearly as Mary eventually did? Or do I fail to recognize His voice like Mary first did because I am distracted with my own thoughts and a difference focus? My prayer today for me and for you is that He will open my ears and hear Jesus clearly. I pray that we don’t miss out on anything He is saying to us because we are too distracted to recognize His voice. Then when we hear His voice, let us be like Mary and boldly be able to tell others “I have seen the Lord.” This is week four in our series on what Scripture teaches us about the value of wonder in our lives and ministries. Today's Scripture passage is Daniel 4:3 (NASB). How great are His signs In a previous article in this series, we talked about the importance of recognizing God’s wonders. This verse from Daniel starts off in much the same way, but those last two lines are different than other verses we’ve looked at about wonder. They remind us that these amazing wonders are a part of God’s everlasting kingdom which has gone and will continue to go from generation to generation. And we get to be a part of that! This verse is actually spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as he is giving credit to God after a very challenging season and time of learning. If you aren’t familiar with the story, I highly encourage you to read all of Daniel chapter 4, but understand that Nebuchadnezzar was greatly humbled before he learned to fully appreciate not just God’s wonders but His sovereignty as well. Like Nebuchadnezzar, pride can often keep us from recognizing God, His wonders, and his dominion in our lives and in the world. If we take time to humble ourselves before God, then maybe He won’t need to humble us like He did the king. Pride makes us think or act like everything is about us or because of us or for us. Pride makes us think that we’re the main character in the story. When we humble ourselves before God, we remember that He is the main character of the story. We simply get to be a part of one chapter, or one page or maybe just one paragraph of His everlasting story. But think about that for a moment. We get to be a part of the story of the King of kings, Creator of the Universe, Lord of lords, and Savior. We get to see and experience His wonders. At times we even get to be a part of His wonders. We’re not a part because of our timing or coincidence or just because we accidentally stumbled into His great story. We get to be a part of it because He chose for us to be a part. We get to be a part of it because He loves us. What an amazing perspective! So what’s your viewpoint today? Are you frustrated with your story and focused on yourself? Or are you wondering over the fact that God loves you and chose you to be a part of His everlasting kingdom story? This is the seventh in our series of Holy Week devotionals. Happy Easter! He is risen! Today is a day filled with joy and thankfulness! But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened. Luke 24:1-12
In the course of two short verses we see Peter and the other disciples going from believing the testimony of the women was “nonsense” to Peter walking away “marveling.” So what made the difference? He saw for himself. The women saw the empty tomb. They heard from the “two men” in “dazzling” clothes. They heard the words “He is not here, but He has risen.” They were reminded of what Jesus had already told them. Then they excitedly went and told the others. But the others didn’t believe them. The others thought what the women were saying was nonsense! But…they decided to check it out for themselves. They saw the wrappings, and they saw that Jesus’s body was gone just like the women had said. The women could tell them, but ultimately they needed to see and experience for themselves. We celebrate today with excitement because we have realized that the tomb is empty. We know Jesus is not dead, that He is alive and has risen! We are reminded of God’s great love for us and that Jesus’s paying the price for our sins means we can be in relationship with God. Although we are excited about the joyous message of today, we might encounter others who believe it is nonsense. Like the women, we need to be faithful to tell others what we have seen and experienced. We need to encourage them to check it out for themselves, and then pray that they will do just that and encounter the hope of Jesus’s resurrection for themselves so they too can marvel at what happened. As you celebrate today, let these women of Easter inspire you to share the Good News of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ with others today! |