Now what?
Easter Sunday captivated and confounded us with the power of God’s truth. We are all amazed at the biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection and how it impacted the disciples then… and how it continues to impact us even now. The resurrection changed everything! Second chances to do what is right never sounded so good before! Eternal life is now in the grip of our hands and the challenge for us is to not allow what we experienced with Jesus on Easter to be forgotten in the weekly soup of our lives!
It is possible to experience the miracle and miss the significance.
The resurrection takes time to understand—some might say it takes our lifetime and probably eternity to make sense of not only what God did but how He did it! The fulfillment, the rescue, the ransom, the atonement, the debt paid in full…we could go on and on. Discipleship is about application. I think a lot of us know the story. Even non-believers and unbelievers know this story. But, perhaps the resurrection hasn’t had a direct impact on our personal lives that we thought it would. We’ve witnessed people die and not come back to life. There is still mega-watt evil and destruction in our world and the relationship between us: God, human and creation is still broken. Even though Jesus did all the heavy lifting, the application of his life-death-resurrection work to our own lives is still incomplete. We have to do our part.
Let’s start at the beginning.
This week we launch a preaching and small group series titled: The Gospel of Mark: Let the Gospel tell the Story. You can learn more about our fresh approach to reading this gospel on our webpage.* Mark’s gospel takes us through the fast paced, miracle working ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. There is no birth narrative. No deeply theological statement as we begin Mark’s gospel. It just starts at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. You can focus on Jesus. As you read Mark’s gospel, you can get a sense of Jesus’ personal life and his relationship with the disciples. I challenge you to look through your Bible and notice the headings: it’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Jesus does this. Jesus does that. Jesus is…
That’s the point. It is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Life can get very busy fulfilling tasks, overloaded with information and polluted with pointless data. Our spiritual lives take the backseat to the driving, relentless pace of the lives we lead. I am writing to you from experience—don’t let ministry fool you. Sometimes those of us who work in ministry are farthest away from Jesus. Working for him doesn’t secure our place with him. The same goes for people who volunteer or serve at church. Review last week’s Holy Week scriptures if you need to remember how far away disciples can be from Jesus.
Food for thought as you begin.
The most important gospel is the one you write—your life story with Jesus. You have four different approaches to choose from in the Bible and countless resources available to you. Begin at the base level—your foundation. Your spiritual life must be built on a solid rock—the firm foundation—the stone the builders rejected which must become your cornerstone. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He is the one who called you. He is the one who invited you. He is the one who can change you. Sacrifice what you think you may know—place it before God as an offering. Don’t conform to the pattern of what you’ve been previously taught—but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
Prepare. Make a straight path for Jesus—no more zigzag around obstacles surrounding your heart. Invite the Holy Spirit to show you something new and allow the gospel to tell your story.
“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way—a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’" (Mark 1:1-3)
Pastor Jen