On behalf of Ascension's Adult Ed. Blogging Team- I thank you for journeying with us and letting us journey with you this Lent. We pray that you experience the power of Jesus' Easter transformation this year.
- Pastor Tim
The Lazarus Life in Easter (by R.S.)
Lazarus heard the call, “come out”.
And rose from his bed of death
His spirit and his soul revived
And his lungs filled with breath
He heard the Word of God
The voice of the Holy One
The healing power of God
God’s only begotten Son
And from the tomb he came
Into the arms of His Lord
Freed from the chains of death
And fully, completely, restored
To live an eternal life
In joy and peace and love
To dwell with the Almighty
In the eternal realm above
Do you hear the call of God?
“Be free from the bonds of life
Be free from all fears and foes
Be free from terrors and strife”
Then Believe the Lamb of God
Believe in the Holy One
Heed the call “come out, come out”
Be freed by the Eternal Son
John 8:36
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Saturday, April 3rd
I am Lazarus and it is a bright, bright sunshiny day!
My family was driving through Kansas during a trip back to the Midwest. The land was very flat with no place to turn into. The sky was turning ominous and my wife turned on the radio for the weather report. The sky grew darker and darker as they traveled on. In front of them appeared a heavy wall of water falling from dark overhanging black clouds.
The radio announcer said that there were tornados in the area. The dark wall of water hit the car and they heard thunder and lightening. The car was rocked with wind. Then suddenly they passed through the darkness and the water into a bright and clear day. The sun was shining radiantly and they heard from the car radio a song with these lyrics.
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day.
I think I can make it now, the pain is gone. All of the bad feelings have disappeared. Here is the rainbow I have been praying for. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day!
Lazarus emerged from the tomb and he saw the radiant face of Jesus. All the dark obstacles to his transformation disappeared and he was entering into a bright, bright sunshiny day.
With Jesus shining in our hearts, we can enter into bright, bright sunshiny days. With the Holy Spirit working in us, we can be empowered to forgive and be freed from the rags of hate and revenge, and we can gain the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:6-26, NIV.) With Jesus, we can enter into eternal bright, bright sunshiny days.
R.S.
My family was driving through Kansas during a trip back to the Midwest. The land was very flat with no place to turn into. The sky was turning ominous and my wife turned on the radio for the weather report. The sky grew darker and darker as they traveled on. In front of them appeared a heavy wall of water falling from dark overhanging black clouds.
The radio announcer said that there were tornados in the area. The dark wall of water hit the car and they heard thunder and lightening. The car was rocked with wind. Then suddenly they passed through the darkness and the water into a bright and clear day. The sun was shining radiantly and they heard from the car radio a song with these lyrics.
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day.
I think I can make it now, the pain is gone. All of the bad feelings have disappeared. Here is the rainbow I have been praying for. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day!
Lazarus emerged from the tomb and he saw the radiant face of Jesus. All the dark obstacles to his transformation disappeared and he was entering into a bright, bright sunshiny day.
With Jesus shining in our hearts, we can enter into bright, bright sunshiny days. With the Holy Spirit working in us, we can be empowered to forgive and be freed from the rags of hate and revenge, and we can gain the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:6-26, NIV.) With Jesus, we can enter into eternal bright, bright sunshiny days.
R.S.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Friday, April 2nd
It’s Good Friday. Have you been transformed yet in our Lenten journey of transformation together?
Not yet?
Well, here’s a thought . . .
Good Friday provides one of the most remarkable examples of God’s power of transformation ever seen – the cross.
In a culture where the cross was a cruel, crude, feared method of execution, Jesus turned it into a symbol of love, hope, salvation and victory.
Writing about the significance of Christ’s dying on the cross, Luke Timothy Johnson, a professor at Emory University, writes, “God’s wisdom and power is revealed through foolishness and powerlessness, so that the power can be seen as God’s and not as human.” Did you catch that? God uses the foolish and the powerless to reveal his wisdom and power? Sounds like he’s talking about God using you and me.
The cross would never be seen the same way again. Neither are we when we allow ourselves to be transformed today by the living Christ.
That seems to be what Paul is getting at when he writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (or she!) is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Ed Klodt
Not yet?
Well, here’s a thought . . .
Good Friday provides one of the most remarkable examples of God’s power of transformation ever seen – the cross.
In a culture where the cross was a cruel, crude, feared method of execution, Jesus turned it into a symbol of love, hope, salvation and victory.
Writing about the significance of Christ’s dying on the cross, Luke Timothy Johnson, a professor at Emory University, writes, “God’s wisdom and power is revealed through foolishness and powerlessness, so that the power can be seen as God’s and not as human.” Did you catch that? God uses the foolish and the powerless to reveal his wisdom and power? Sounds like he’s talking about God using you and me.
The cross would never be seen the same way again. Neither are we when we allow ourselves to be transformed today by the living Christ.
That seems to be what Paul is getting at when he writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (or she!) is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Ed Klodt
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