Easter, again?

 Jesus’ rising from the dead may seem, to some, a bit over done.

How many Easter’s have we experienced?

Does it have any relevance for today?

How does someone’s miraculous resurrection of 2000 years ago, have any effect on the world today?

The effect is not necessarily mind blowing. 

It is largely internal.

Anxiety, anger, jealousy, hatred, hurt, offence, shame, guilt, depression, rebellion , rudeness, pride, boasting, addiction can all be treated to some degree with medication counselling and other modalities. 

But a man named Jesus, can enter a person’s life, and bring peace and acceptance where there was once turmoil. This would not make headlines.

Faith in the name of Jesus can turn a person around, from a raging bull to a gentle giant. From anger to joy. From fear to peace. Again, not headlines.

People who trust in Jesus believe he is with them in every detail of their lives, even when they aren’t concentrating on him.

“Everlasting arms”, is the title of a hymn. It does apply.

If he rose, he remains alive today.

Not a skeleton, not a mummified body, not a fossil, not a zombie, but a man. A warm, breathing, heart beating, physically solid ,communicating man. 
A risen man with a risen body which is still human but now stronger, beyond sickness, beyond death, un-kill-able.

People sometimes try to meet their idols.
For example, people continue to visit Graceland to experience something of Elvis, who certainly had a charisma that can be experienced even today from old footage.
But Elvis himself is no longer accessible, other than archival material to be viewed on a screen.

I would love to visit the birthplace of Mozart, or to touch an original manuscript, but I can never meet Mozart face to face, today.
There is a tuft of Beethoven’s hair somewhere.
 
We have no archival footage of Jesus, but we have the gospels and the New Testament. This is very good, and extremely valuable to all Christians. 

But because Jesus is still alive today and lives forever, he is theoretically accessible right now. Yes, this moment. 

40 days after the resurrection, He physically  rose into heaven, to the Father’s right hand, he is physically in heaven , and he will physically return in the future.

But in the meantime he promises to be present to us, whenever people gather in his name. He has this ability. 

And many will say today they have personally experienced Jesus’ presence. I believe this is true.
But we mostly experience Jesus through each other, his followers are considered witnesses, and we do radiate Jesus to others whether we realise it or not.

Celebrating the resurrection is partly reminding ourselves that we do have access even now, to a risen saviour.

But the other deeply important issue we are reassured about when we put our trust in Jesus, is that the resurrection confirms that his self-sacrifice was an effective payment for our sin and the sin of the whole world.

Those of us who are troubled by our thoughts and actions, who have not found true peace in life even with a stable job and family dynamics, who feel an emptiness regarding our true purpose in life,

we give thanks that there has been an event, a well recorded event,  that has dealt with all of the above (sin, failure, rebellion, the letting down of others, etc)

Those of us who are untroubled by our conscience, and simply want to experience anything and everything, prefer no moral impediments, we don’t need or want a resurrection, it is quite annoying to have to hear about it again and again.

But to those of us who are morally troubled, this event of the cross or crucifixion of Jesus  was the way God pulled together all of the sin (past present and future) of the whole  world  “he (Jesus) became sin”, and destroyed it fully. He “took the grenade for us”, in Bruno Mars language.
This is why Christian’s believe their sins are forgiven. 
But without a resurrection the death of Jesus would not necessarily stand out from any other death.

The resurrection was an apt reward to Jesus for his surrender for our sakes, 
but it also was God’s way of assuring us that Jesus is his true son, and the the cross has the desired effect of atonement and propitiation. Words that basically mean our sin is done and dusted and no longer separates us from God who is holy.

Wouldn’t it be simpler if we didn’t sin, and simply got on with one another? After all this sounds like an excuse to keep sinning?

The reality is, I keep sinning even when I try hard not to. Obviously the idea is to live better lives once Jesus is part of our lives, and for the most part I think we do. But we really do need a payment for our sin that lasts forever. Jesus did this.

Believing in the name of Jesus, as God’s Son, King of all Kings, and Lord of all Lords, has an effect on our internal workings.
Whether we know it or not, we begin to change, some faster than others, but the change happens. It’s a good change. Like I said, internal peace, a calming of anger and frustration, hope and happiness starts to take hold, a desire to sing, and a deep gratitude for even the smallest things appears. 
It can be faked, it can be mimicked, and we can temporarily revert to our old selves, but in the genuine believer, it is real and lasting.
And as I mentioned, having Jesus in our lives, means that we are making him present to others. 

The resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus is powerful, in a supernatural way, even today. 

Even today any person can call his name, and he can and does hear us, and he responds!

the disciple whom Jesus loved.

This will be a quick one.

I am convinced that John used this expression about himself very deliberately. (Eg John 13:23)

This way of talking about himself might seem somewhat boastful. He never refers to himself by name, or as “me” only as “the disciple Jesus loved.”

But my point of view is that he used this description as a deliberate alternative to “the disciple who loved Jesus”, which no doubt, he did.

John states in his first letter that “We love, because he (meaning God) first loved us.”

In other words, our ability to love as Christians (to love God and to love our neighbour) is the fruit and result of God’s amazing love towards us, working powerfully in us.

John is not suggesting Jesus loved him more than anyone else, but simply that Jesus loved him before John loved him back. From this point of view, I find this phrase quite touching and humbly true.

We likewise could refer to ourselves as the disciples Jesus loved.

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What is the grace of God? (Family Christmas devotion 2025)

 

Luke 2:4-12 (NIV) 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 

John 1:14 (NIV) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

 

What is the grace of God?

  

When the news of Jesus rising from the dead started spreading around the world, the disciples, like Peter and John, and also Paul, started teaching new believers about Jesus our Lord, and about God our Father and about the Holy Spirit. They came up with a very important word about God. They taught about God being kind and loving and patient, but they also found a very important word that helps to explain how good God is, and that is the word; “grace”.

We sing that word in a famous hymn called “amazing grace”, and we use it for a name, and also we use it for the prayer we say before a meal, but even though that is the same word it has a different meaning.

We read it in the reading this morning from Paul’s letter to Titus which says that the grace of God appeared and brings salvation. Which means that this word grace, which belongs to God, has the power to bring us to a safe place, which is where Jesus is.

 

So, I want to try and explain this word; “grace”.

 

If you fell into a raging river and were running out of strength and you were about to drown, grace is like a rescue boat that comes out of nowhere and pulls you out of the water and brings you back safely to dry land.

If you got lost in the jungle, and had no money or food, and you were starving hungry, grace is like a food helicopter that comes out of nowhere and dishes out a beautiful meal full of chicken and gravy and tasty vegetables and then flies you to where your parents are looking for you.

If you get really sick and are almost dying, and your parents take you to hospital, grace is like a wonderful nurse that comes out of nowhere and gives you the most special medicine and then you wake up and are well again.

Grace is strong enough to help us even when we don’t want to be helped.

Grace fixes things, but it doesn’t fix everything, only the really important things in our lives.

What’s the most important thing in our whole life?

To be part of God’s family.

We all need to be part of a family, God gives us parents and grandparents and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and children and grandchildren, as well as special friends. These are so important to our lives, but the most important family is God’s family.

God started a family a long time ago with Adam and Eve, but they were tricked into breaking God’s rules which left them in really big trouble. It was like they were lost, but the worst thing was that they had broken God’s rules on purpose, and they felt really ashamed and had to hide from him.

We also break Gods rules, like when we think about ourselves and don’t love each other, and don’t love Jesus.

Being like that means that we also can hide from God and end up sad and lonely, which is like being lost in a jungle with no food, no family and no way home.

 

But God always knew that we would need something really special and strong, that would take away our shame, and bring us back home to him.

It was grace.

Grace means that God still cares for us, even when we are angry or upset with him.

Grace means that God still wants us in his family even when we slam the door in his face. Grace means that God loves us and will do everything that he can possibly do, to make sure we are safe, and will be part of his forever family.

 

In John’s gospel in the Bible, it says that Jesus was given to us so that we could be forever with him. (John 3:16) It also says that Jesus was full of grace and truth.

When the very first Christmas happened, Jesus was born as a tiny helpless baby.

God gave us his precious baby boy to live with and grow up with Mary and Joseph as his parents, but his true father was God.

That baby grew to be our Lord Jesus who died on the cross for us, and all of that happened because of God’s grace, God’s saving grace. Which comes out of nowhere and wipes away all of our fighting and arguments and disagreements with God and with each other, as well as our being greedy and nasty. Anything we do that we are ashamed of, God fixes with his grace, and gives us love and joy and a forever place with Jesus in heaven.

We call that really good news.

When we believe in God’s grace, which is his special power to change our lives through his son Jesus, then we do change on the inside in a beautiful way, and we learn how to live the way God wants us to live.

Christmas is when God’s grace arrived in the world through the baby Jesus. Jesus is full of grace. Jesus is, in a way, God’s superhero with the special power called grace.

And his grace will never fail.

Jesus Loves Me This I Know.

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.” Matthew 2:6, Micah 5:2

Bethlehem currently is a city of just under 30,000 people on the west bank, south of Jerusalem. It is an ancient city going back more than 3000 years, and was at one point destroyed by the Romans, and then rebuilt by Constantine.

King David was from Bethlehem, he reigned somewhere between 900 and 800 BC

The quote above is from the Old Testament prophet named “Micah” which was written about 700 BC.

It is also found in Matthew’s gospel which was written by Matthew (one of Jesus’ twelve disciples) possibly as early as 40-50 AD.

The reason Matthew mentions this quote from the prophet Micah, is because he is telling the story of the “Magi”, the “wise men” who brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Three valuable gifts from possibly three wise men? Matthew does not mention how many wise men came from the east following the star, but all the songs say three (including mine!).

These wise men, where exactly they were from we don’t know, maybe China, or somewhere else, but they were definitely not Jewish people. They were foreigners. But despite not being Jewish or from anywhere that was known for faith in the one true God, here they were, with expensive gifts, looking for God’s son, and they wanted to worship him!

So first, they went to Herod, the Jewish King at the time of Jesus’ birth. It made sense to them to ask him where they would find the newborn king that was clearly announced by this special star in heaven.

But Herod was caught by surprise (I don’t think he liked surprises). For some reason, he had not even the slightest inclination that a new king, a godly King, had been born in his country, God’s country. He was clearly not too interested in religious affairs, and suddenly needed the help of other wise men, the religious leaders of his land, to answer the question these strange but important travellers had asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

How did Herod find the answer?

He had to get his old (but expensive- well he was the current King!) bible off the shelf and dust it off, and with the help of these religious leaders and bible teachers, looked up what had been written 700 years before (and kept preserved by those who knew it was important.)

There it was, towards the end of his Old Testament, in Micah’s prophetic writings, chapter 5, “Out of you (Bethlehem) will come a ruler of my people Israel”.

With that information, those travellers, the wise men, or “magi” went from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus and worshipped him.

God gave those wise men a beautiful star in heaven to follow, but without that old Bible, they may never have found Jesus.

Have we made communion too religious?

 

Have we made communion too religious?

The command Jesus gave was to do this in remembrance of him.

What was he wanting his disciples to do? What was he wanting us to do?

Was he asking some of us to take on his authority and lead a ceremony?

Was what he did at that last supper a ceremony?

 

There was ceremony involved in the Passover feast.

God had told Moses what was to be eaten, and how it was to be prepared and how those participating were to dress.

 

But did Jesus imply a similar ceremony in the sharing of communion amongst Christians for the coming ages?

 

Was the table of the last supper an altar?

 

Was a sacrifice made at that original meal?

 

Were those present reverent?

 

Were they dressed in a particular way?

 

Did they each bow as they received the portion of bread and a share in the cup?

 

Did Jesus have to quieten those present to concentrate on what he was sharing?

 

Would a live video of the actual last supper surprise us in how different it may have been to what we practice today? Or would it surprise us in its similarity?

 

Was Jesus wearing priestly garments? Was he praying for the elements to be transformed by the Holy Spirit?

 

Were those who shared in the bread and cup deeply reassured of their salvation at that time?

 

Was Jesus’ physical presence with them valued in the way it ought to have been? Or, unlike the transfiguration event, was his appearance ordinary and humble, with those present having an unclear or, at best, incomplete understanding of the significance of that meal?

 

What do we do today that gets in the way of what we are meant to experience and proclaim in the sharing of communion?

 

What do we do today that supports the sharing and proclamation of the true message of the communion meal?

 

How do we recognise the body of the Lord at communion? Is it the bread, or is it the gathered believers?

 

How do we enter an appropriate posture of reverence, and attitude of gratitude, inspite of distractions when we share communion?

 

Does the act of sharing in communion help us internalise the grace of God in a way that the inspired word of God alone, cannot?

 

Does the office of priesthood truly confer authenticity to the transformation of the elements, and thus guarantee God’s physical presence to us in receiving communion?

 

Or does God preside, despite our mode of sharing this meal (for better or for worse)?

 

Who is truly free to partake of this meal? Who forfeits this invitation?

 

Is there a minimum age to share in communion?

 

Was Judas stopped from sharing in the cup?

 

Did sharing in the cup affect his decision to betray Jesus?

 

I may be implying some of the answers to these questions, but I would rather ask you to consider the questions honestly.

 

Unfortunately, the way we share communion tends to divide us in the Christian world.

 

I disclose my bias, that I do believe in leadership and eldership in the church, but I do not believe in a clergy/laity divide. 

Long Problems

If you have life experience, and once we have lived as adults for some time, we all do, we experience what I will call “long problems”. They are situations which are not able to be resolved quickly, no matter what action is taken. They are unpalatable, painful circumstances that will not go away.   They may seem to occur without invitation. We wonder how we could have avoided them. And they cost us time, money, joy, freedom, peace, comfort, and all the things we equate with success. 
Others may or may not think our situation is our own fault, and judge us as stupid for allowing something like this to happen, but from my perspective, I am my own worst judge. Kicking myself mentally for making an error of judgement and not avoiding the issue.
As we mature we can see these things approaching and avoid some of them, but others still happen.
The media portrays successful people, those who do not have "long problems", or have overcome them. But I suspect most ordinary people have them. 
They are our crosses to carry, our thorns in the side.
We may or may not have caused them, but once they are present they are there for a long time, sometimes for life.
Occasionally we see a way out and gain hope of freedom, only for the door to cruelly close. And sometimes we exchange one long problem for a worse one, hence the saying “better the devil you know”.
But what I have not said is that God is with us in our long problems, even when we have caused them, even when we deserve them. He gives us some of them, for our sake.
He wants us to continue behaving as Christian’s in those circumstances, which includes gratitude, and prayer.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” Said by the man with a thorn in his side who prayed for relief but was granted only grace.
I say “only” because I must admit that grace at times, seems little, though really it is the full tsunami of God’s holy love. 
And there will be a day when all creation (including us) stops groaning under the strain of long problems. Until then,
Rejoice. Even in our sufferings, which produce, amongst other things, true hope.