Update:
My “wheelchair rest” at home and the heating pad have done wonders with
my pulled abdomen muscle. I’m not
completely healed; but I am much better.
With the pain decreasing my blood glucose levels are dropping back
towards normal. I’m going to ease into a
little more activity today and see how that goes.
I got the rough draft of my Easter message completed. This is the earliest in the week I have ever
done that! Being stuck at home and
unable to really do anything has its advantages, I guess.
This morning I got up and cooked Karen breakfast. She was going to skip breakfast and I was
going to sleep in; but I woke up just in time to get it made for her. She took it as she rushed out of the door to
her first appointment. She hasn’t gotten
much sleep this week so far preparing for the Easter Drama. First performance is tonight at 7:30
p.m.
Ruth and Cody arrived last night after 10:30 p.m. I don’t know exactly what their plans are for
the day but they are sleeping in this morning.
They rarely get a chance to do that back home in Chicago. I think we are all going to see “Simon of
Cyrene” tonight. If we can work it out,
perhaps we’ll go to dinner before the show.
Three of the five light bulbs in the chandelier in the dining room have
burnt out. The low light levels are driving me crazy. But the replacement light bulbs are downstairs
out of my reach while I’m in the wheelchair and even if I had the bulbs, I
wouldn’t dare try to stand on a chair to change them while wearing a
prosthetic. Going outside to get a
ladder to stand on is way outside of my current level of activities. So I sit in semi-darkness waiting for a
family member to get to it later today.
Everyday kind of things like that, which we take for granted, can be
insurmountable tasks to an elderly neighbor or handicapped friend. Take a moment or two out of your day to check
in on someone you know and see if they have an odd job or two that they need
assistance with. You’ll brighten their
day!
Thought for the Day:
I am currently reading the Gospel of John during my devotional
time. I’m in chapter 12 which is after
Palm Sunday but before the Passover—so it pretty well corresponds to where we
are today, just prior to Easter Sunday.
In John, Jesus has been teaching and many people have responded in faith
to what He has said, what He has done, and whom He has demonstrated He is.
But for some people it is just not enough. Some people want more signs. Their attitude is “if I see just one more
miracle, then I will believe.” They’ve
seen and heard dozens of testimonies about what Jesus has done; but it is not
quite enough. They see Lazarus who
Christ brought back to life after being day for four days. The listen to man who had been blind since
birth tell how Jesus healed him. All
they need to do is dig a bit deeper and they would find person after person who
has been touched by Jesus—all the miracles that they really need to make a
decision have already been performed.
There are others who have seen it all but instead of deciding to follow
Jesus; they reject Him. The religious
leaders who should have been the first to see and believe; instead have chosen
to ignore the signs and plot to kill Jesus.
More and more people are coming to believe in Him. The religious leaders fear that people’s
hopes will lead them stage an uprising against the Roman government; and the
Romans would crush the Jewish nation and those currently in power would be
removed from office. So in violation of
the Law of Moses, they plot to kill Jesus to remove the threat.
John 12:37-43 “Even
after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence,
they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word
of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the
arm of the Lord been revealed?’ 39 For this reason they could not
believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 ‘He has blinded their
eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor
understand with their hearts, nor turn--and I would heal them.’ 41
Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. 42
Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But
because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear
they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise
from men more than praise from God.”
As I re-read the Gospel account of the life and ministry of Jesus, I am
convinced once again of the deity of Christ.
He is who He claimed to be and therefore He is more than able to deliver
on His promises to us of eternal life.
He is worthy of our faith. And I
believe; as I know many of you do as well.
But there are many in society around us who don’t have a clear picture of
who Jesus was; they don’t really know what He said and who He claimed to be;
they aren’t aware of the miracles that He performed that give testimony to the
truth.
There are others around us who have shut their eyes and ears to the Gospel
because if they listened and believed they would have to give God His rightful
place in their lives and they don’t want to give up the position they have
assumed.
There are two things that we should do for those around who have not
believed. First, pray that God would
open their eyes and ears and that they would respond to Jesus in faith. Secondly, as appropriate we should give
testimony to the hope that is within us.
Just expressing your own faith may challenge them to consider the claims
of the gospel.
At Christmas time we often hear, “Remember to keep Christ in Christmas—Jesus
is the reason for the season.” As
families enjoy Easter baskets and egg hunts and marshmallow peeps, please
remember to make the primary focus of Easter on the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
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