The Best News Ever!

Dear friends of mine ~ I have to share this with you, because it truly is the best news in 
all the world! A truer story has never been written....take a minute and imagine with me the 
feelings of Jesus' band of friends millennia ago ....

Friday evening ~

It looked like all was lost. Every ray of hope destroyed.

Jesus, their friend - the miracle worker - the preacher who had an

upside down, radical message of love and relationship,

of mercy and forgiveness,

of hope and promise -

the One who made people laugh and dance - who changed sickness into health - 
who fed the hungry, who touched the untouchable; Jesus, who spoke of the

wonders of things to come, the One who calmed the wind with just a word and 
commanded Death to give way to Life ...

Now He, Himself, was dead.

Devastation - Disbelief - Questions .... Doubts.  Fear.

"What just happened? HOW could this have happened?"

But His death was confirmed.  No question. Certain. Final. Buried.

That was Friday.

______________

Saturday  dawns ~

A day of grieving, of despair, of wondering how to move forward 
amidst the shards of shattered hopes and dreams.

______________

Then came Sunday morning....

and

the earth trembled, then shook with force.

A blinding, brilliant, angelic light moved to the massive stone that sealed the tomb.

Heaven was descending to write a new ending to this story.

Guards,  posted around the grave,  could not withstand the forces they witnessed and 
fell to the ground as if dead.

Jesus, who had been bloodied and beaten, blow by blow - 
who had been nailed to a Roman cross, who had been pierced in His side with a spear... 
Jesus, who had breathed His last breath as a prayer to His Father - this same Jesus 
whom His friends had wrapped for burial and sealed in a tomb, all in public view -

now, He walks out of that tomb vitally alive!

Healed from his wounds, but with the evidence of His scars.

Victorious over the specter of death!

___________

His friends:

From grieving, hopeless, disbelief to

laughing, incredulous joy!

Amazing!

The miracle worker has dealt Death its death blow.

Now, so much of His message - not fully understood in the preceding days - 
fits into place with deep meaning.

As the Roman Soldier said, observing Jesus’ death:

“Surely this was the Son of God.”

_____________

     What strikes me, dear friends, is that the happenings of those 3 days reverberates 
through time and history and it's still good news today ... the BEST news, ever!  We - each of us - 
are invited into Life!!

     But the bad news that is on the forward side of the good news has to be faced. We are born 
into a far less than perfect world. We each live with our mistakes, with wrongs we might wish 
to right, with attitudes that could have been better, with good that we didn't do... 
We are trapped, really, in the way we are. Living with our failings -  trying to be better - 
is never good enough, according to God's perfect standards.

      Jesus' upside down message then and now says, there's HOPE! There's a way out... rescue!  
His perfect life and unjust death is God's answer to our predicament.  Out of His great love, 
He died to take on the weight of everything wrong in this world. He satisfied God's requirement 
for justice and also showed God's love for mercy. He paid my debt (and yours too) and then burst 
out of death's grip – into vibrant life. And He offers to bring each one of us with Him! So many years 
after that first Easter, His gift is still extended to all who choose to embrace it - 
those who say, "Yes, I believe."

       I know I can't provide any of that for myself; only God could.  Physical death may still stalk us, 
but the inner life of the spirit - the eternal soul - is alive and well forever! What great news - 
we have hope! Not just the "maybe" kind of hope, but hope based on the assurance of God's promise 
and the proof is in Jesus' resurrection. That's a hope no one else offers!

"But to all who believed in Him and accepted Him, 
He gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12

     Easter is a day of joy and thankfulness, a day of brilliance shining into darkness. It's a day that 
offers a Life that prevails over Death! It's a day when God proves His love for each of us.

The whole of this amazing story - an eyewitness account of it -

is found in the New Testament. I suggest reading beginning in John, chapter 18. 
The account continues through chapter 20.

      This is the best news I know how to send! I hope it's news that encourages you and gives you hope! 
It could be news that changes everything. Please don't hesitate to send me a message if I can help! 
That's what friends are for!

Wishing you a  Joyful and Happy Easter ~ may it be a day of deep blessing.