The new life in Christ

 The joy of Easter still rings in my ears and in my thoughts. I can still hear those wonderful words, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." (Luke 24:5b-6 ESV) He is not here. He has risen. Not "He will rise" or "He still has to rise," but He has risen. The event has already taken place. Jesus, the One who was crucified and buried, has risen from the dead. Never again will He die. Paul writes, "We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him." (Romans 6:9 ESV) New life, eternal life, never again to die.

Jesus is the risen and living one. John writes what Jesus says to the seven churches in Revelation. To Smyrna, we hear, "The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life." (Rev. 2:8 ESV) The living Lord! The living Savior. He died and rose again.

That is the focus of the message of the Gospel. Jesus came to pay the price of our sins, to suffer in our stead, to die for us and to rise again to life - to give to us forgiveness, faith and eternal life. That eternal life is more than just a hope. It is more than just an ethereal existence in some other form of being, some sort of spirit living in the air, floating around bodyless, as though the physical, the body itself is the problem and we have to discard the body in order to reach a higher level of existence. That is the teaching of the gnostics of the 1st and 2nd centuries, that wanted people to believe that all physical life was sinful and needed to be removed from you by some higher knowledge, so that once you reach that level, you no longer need the terrible, physical body. They would tell you that you are better off without it (even while living in this world, if you reached their level, you could then act however you wanted, because you transcend the physical and live in the knowledged, the gnostic level which frees you from responsibility for the physical actions - I know, a vague generalization but just wanted to say that.)

No, the body is not what we must be rid of. It is the sin that must be removed from us. And in Christ, that takes place. So when we die, this body, laid in the ground or cremated, is not the problem. Instead, there is more life to come. For Christ will raise these bodies from the grave, from the dust and will give to us a glorified body like His, to live with Him eternally in the new heaven and new earth (and there can be much discussion about what that means, but not here, not at this time). 

He rises. And in that resurrection, He assures us that we shall live also. I think of this as I prepare to go to a funeral of a Christian who died. The message needs to be one of the resurrection. Don't tell me about how good the person was. Tell me what Christ has done for her, that she has received forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ, a gift given to her through the working of the Holy Spirit. Tell me about the new life she has in Christ. Tell me that she will rise from the dead, this body sown in sorrow will be raised in joy, this mortal body will be raised immortal. That is the message I need to hear. That is the message the family needs to hear. 

That is the message of Easter. Ringing loud and clear in my ears on this day. He is risen! And in Him, all shall rise again to life eternal! Praise be to God!

Thoughts on gardening

Wind! Need I say more? Those of you in this area, you understand what I am talking about. As I watched the weather this morning, the meterologist said that the wind gusts would only be up to 30 mph. That seems to be pretty strong winds. Then he stated that there were 60 mph wind gusts over the weekend. The you realize taht 30 mph is not so bad for a wind gust. Did I really just say that? Yes I did. It was so windy on Friday and Saturday, actually windy all last week. After the storms came through Saturday evening, it calmed down for a little while. That was so nice. 

Potatoes have been planted. It was a week after Good Friday, which I have always heard was a time to plant potatoes. That day and also St. Patrick's Day. But we had googled the time to plant potatoes, and it said that this last weekend was the time to plant them. I am glad to hear that, because we did not have the time last weekend. We plant our potatoes in plastic tubs. Filling the tubs with dirt, then the potatoes, more dirt and then straw. We did it last year and it worked really well. Instead of having to dig the potatoes, you just have to lift the tub up, and then dirt falls out (the bottom is cut out of the tub), and there are the potatoes. Makes it simple. I pray that this year goes as well for us.

We have not planted anything in the garden yet. We are going to sow some turnip seeds this year. We have not done that before. So we will see how they do. Should be interesting. 

Gardening is a fun thing to do. We also like to plant flowers. I like zinnias because they draw butterflies. The irises are coming up nicely. So are the hostos and lily of the valley. Tulips look good. Waiting for the lilies we have planted the past couple years to come up. We take our Easter lilies and plant them in the yard. They come up each year. So we are waiting for them to poke their heads through the ground. Has not happened yet. We have a couple of lilies from the year to plant as well.

If you are going to garden or plant flowers, go for it. Enjoy it. Penny and I have been raising gardens and flowers for many years. It has been fun and we enjoyed the time together working the ground and planting the seeds and plants. We will see how the garden grows this year. 

Have fun playing in the dirt!

Thinking about the resurrection

 The week has been ticking along. Today is the middle of the week. Just another week, another day of doing the regular daily chores. Going to work. Going to school. Going about the day as a retired person. Living as a single parent. Living as a married couple. Living as a single person. Living as an older person. The days continue on.

Today is Wednesday. Here is the question: What did this last weekend have to do with your everyday life? The weekend came. The weekend went. Some people went to church. Some people stayed home. Some people sang songs of praise. Some people did not even think about those songs of praise. Some people said, "He is risen!" Others did not even think about the resurrection. Does it make a difference?

Yes it does. For you see, Jesus rose from the dead on that first day of the week so many years ago. He died on the cross, was laid in the tomb and then came back to life. What does that mean? It means that He defeated sin, death and the devil. He faced the Law and paid the price for your sins. He took on the power of the devil and defeated him. He was placed in the grave and rose victorious, destroying the power of the grave. 

He did that for everyone. You, me, every single person in this world. It did not matter if someone believed in Him or not. He died and rose for each and every person. He died and rose for the Roman soldier that crucified Him, for the pharisee that hated Him, for the disciple that followed Him, for the person who trusted in Him, for the person who did not trust in Him, for the person who followed Him and cried at seeing Him carrying the cross and for the person who could care less about what He did. Jesus death and resurrection was for all people, leaving no one out of that which He did.

So what does it mean for you? It means that Jesus died and rose for you. That which you need is to believe in Him as your Lord and Savior. Through faith in Jesus, you receive the blessings of forgiveneess of sins. Through faith in Jesus, you are given the promise of life eternal in heaven. Through faith in Jesus, you will receive the wonderful gift of the resurrection of the body on the Last Day. All who die believing in Jesus will rise to a new life, bodily, with a glorified body.

That carries me through the week. That encourages me on this Wednesday, to face today because Jesus Christ lives. He lives and grants me daily breath. He lives and I shall conquer death. He lives and is with me in everything I face each and every day. He lives to guide me through this Wednesday - in both the good and the bad, the positive and the negative. 

I can face today because Jesus lives for me! You can face today because He lives for you! Yes, I do need to believe in Him. Yes I do need to praise His name. Yes I do need to worship Him. Yes I do need to receive His body and blood in the Lord's Supper. Yes I do need to live in Christ each day. It makes a difference. I give thanks for His resurrection for it carries me through today. 

Starting the day

I have a hard time thinking about what it must have been like for Jesus on that Thursday morning. Nothing that happened was a surprise to Him. He knew what was going to take place later that day. He knew that within 24 hours, He would be hanging on a cross. He had told His disciples numerous times that He was going to die on the cross. Just as recently as earlier in this week He had told them that the Son of Man would be lifted up and would draw all people to Himself. John records that He said this to show what kind of death He was going to die. No surprise to Jesus.

I was thinking about today being Maundy Thursday, the day He tells us to love one another as He loves us, then showing us that He gives us the Sacrament of the Altar, where we receive His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine. Loving us greatly, He goes to the cross. So when He rises on Thursday morning, He knows what the day is going to bring. 

What a weight to carry. I think about how difficult it is to get up when you know that you are going to have to face a rough day. When you have to go to the bosses office for a situation that is difficult, makes it hard to get going. I think about how difficult it was to get up and face the day when I was going to have a complete knee replacement, or when I was going to have to have another heart cath. It made the day overwhelming to face, a weight on the shoulders. 

Can you imagine how it must have been for Jesus? We get a feeling for that when He is in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was overwhelmed. He as carrying a heavy weight (my sins, your sins, the full weight of the Law). He prayed to the Father, sweating the great drops of blood, having an angel come to comfort and strengthen Him. We see the weight. 

Starting that Thursday, knowing what was coming. He sends His disciples to set up the place for them to eat the Passover, knowing what was to come later. "This is my body," He says. "This is my blood poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins." He knows that He will give His life for the salvation of all people. He knows that as He sits down for breakfast that morning. Was He able to eat breakfast? I know what I am very nervous about something, eating is difficult. Was He able to eat? I just can't imagine.

I am so thankful I really don't know what each day will bring. Yes, I make plans. I have a schedule that tells me what will take place. I pray to the Father that He would lead me through the day, praying that what I plan is according to His will. Then I go about my day. Thankfully, I do not know all that will take place. 

But Jesus did. And I cannot imagine what it must have been like for Him. I give thanks that He went through the day, moving steadily to the cross, to the grave and then, to the resurrection! Thanks be to Jesus.

Thinking about Tuesday

Today is Tuesday. Not just any Tuesday. This is Tueday of Holy Week. What does that mean? For most of us, it probably means another day of work, school or retirement. It is just another Tuesday, in another week, in just another month in this year of 2022. 

Being Tuesday in Holy Week, there are generally no special services, no "great" events (such as the institution of the Sacrament of the Altar, betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, death) in the life of Jesus. So it is just another Tuesday which shall pass by as we look towards the end of the week.

Yet, we must realize that on that Tuesday during the Passover week, Jesus was in Jerusalem. During the day, the Sadducees and Pharisees were trying to find some way to discredit Jesus, to cause people to doubt that He was a special Teacher, or to find some way to get Him arrested so they could get Him out of their way. So why is this important? Because Jesus continued to show Himself to be One who knows the Word, and was able to answer any questions without failing, without bringing out a false teaching and without giving them a reason to arrest Him. 

He is sinless. He does nothing wrong. Which is important when it comes to His sacrifice on the cross. If Jesus told a lie, if Jesus gave a false teaching, if Jesus did not faithfully and perfectly follow the will and the word of the Father, He would not have been the sinless sacrifice. He is the perfect, sinless, Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

This Tuesday of Holy Week is important. It might be overlooked by most of us, but it is important for us to understand that it has an impact upon what will take place on Thursday and Friday of this week. Thanks be to God that He sent His sinless Son into this world, incarnate as a man, to take the sins of world (your sins and my sins), pays the price of the Law, suffers and dies for the salvation of all people. Each day this week, we look forward to Sunday - the resurrection! That is a grand and glorious day. I can't wait.

Thoughts on a windy day

 It is a windy day today. They are saying that we could have some major wind gusts. I heard on the news this morning that Omaha already had a 58 mph gust this morning. That is some mighty strong wind. Do you ever wonder how wind forms? Put simply, watch the weather people or google it. I know it has to do with isobars, high and low pressure systems, and so on. As the isobars get tighter, there is more wind. 

I thought about what Jesus told Nicodemus: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8 ESV) What is Jesus talking about? He is talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in the hearts and lives of people, each and every day. He brings people to faith in Jesus Christ (conversion) and He continues to help people to remain in faith daily (regneration). He helps each one of us to continue to live in faith in Jesus. He keeps you and me in faith.

This is the work of the Spirit. If you want to get a feel for the work of the Holy Spirit, I would encourage you to read what Martin Luther wrote on the 3rd Article of the Apostles' Creed. He did a good job explaing the work of the Spirit. "I believe I cannot by my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, strengthen me with His gifts..." Yes, it is the work of the Spirit to bring us to faith and to keep us in the faith.

He does this through the Means of Grace - Word and Sacraments. Through the Word and Baptism He brings us to faith. Through Word, Baptism and Lord's Supper, He strengthens our faith.

All of this ran through my thoughts as I listened to the wind blow. Thanks be to God that we have the Holy Spirit working in our lives each and every day. As you listen to the wind, I encourage you to think about how the Spirit works in your life. And give thanks to Him for all He does in your life.