This is now the second week after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Easter Sunday is such a noted Christian date of celebration that it is easy to forget anything followed after that surprise morning. When Mary ran from the roller away stone tomb, to tell the disciples hidden in a room that Jesus was alive, she had been on a roller coaster. Here early morning duties on Easter Sunday morning was to go and finish the task of attending to the dead body of Jesus. Obviously she wasn’t expecting Jesus to be alive, she’d watched Him be put to death. He plans were to finish the responsibilities of burial, not attend to the living. That is often the case with many of us too. We should all be able to identify with her as we have forgotten our instructions and teachings way too often. We have, or at least I have, repeatedly expected one outcome based off my experiences and totally forgotten who God is, what His power and capabilities are, (which are limitless) without the first thought or reflection to His Will and plans. On that first Easter Sunday evening, what a surprise when Jesus showed up to address the disciples. I have often thought that Easter Sunday is great night to have evening church and worship, reflecting on His first post-resurrection appearance. If your church places emphasis on that time period, congratulations. I believe the focus on what happened in the evening of Resurrection Easter Sunday is valuable and has many teachable lessons of faith and God’s work. The first week following Easter Sunday had its highlights too. We do not know where Thomas was on the evening of the resurrection. What we know is that he was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them. One would think if you had the personal testimony of 10 friends that you had traveled with, shared meals with, had deep conversations and debates with, their word would be one you’d trust. But not Thomas. The disciples, Mary, and others all shared with Thomas what they had experienced. But yet Thomas, refused to taker their word for anything. He was standing on and in concrete. He would not believe Jesus was alive unless he himself say Jesus with His own eyes. I can only imagine all week long following Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas walking around constantly sharing his discontentment and disbelieve that he wasn’t believing until he saw Jesus. Not sure how you feel about Thomas and his actions, but personally, I must sadly identify, I’ve acted like a child too regarding matters of hearing testimonies from others. I am thankful I have moved from poking holes into the stories of Jesus to just believing in faith. I can confess, I’ve had some Thomas attitude displayed in my life before and I stand on guard today not to allow any of that bad attitude to creep back in. 7 days after the resurrection of Jesus and in His timing, Jesus would suddenly appear again back in the same room as before, but this time the remaining 11 disciples were present. Thomas’ doubting was removed totally upon seeing Jesus. It is one thing to see and believe. I get it because I’ve said before “I’ll believe it when I see it”. The point to remember is the bigger blessing, the more to learn from and through, is believing without required evidence. Faith requires exercise! Now we enter into the 2nd week after Easter Sunday. What’s up with that, you ask? What’s up is that with history available today, we can easily read and understand timelines. Two weeks out from the stone being rolled away there are many things happening and at play in such a short time. The first question being asked and raised by the Roman Government, the Sadducees and Pharisees and even Mary, the disciples and followers of Jesus was, who had stolen the body? A great lesson from the resurrection is that things are not always as they first appear. (I’ll say those thoughts for another column) For the enemies of Jesus they might have be on the Thomas bandwagon for awhile themselves. Not believing Jesus was alive, after all then had been responsible for His death. They had orchestrated it all so their surprise is understandable. The enemies of Jesus however would waste no time plotting again, what to do about all this about Jesus. This column series will continue. Don’t forget about Easter Sunday in just 14 days of time. Until then

What is it about the church?

There are many things that I really like about going to church. I like the hello’s, the waves, the conversations, I like the experience of doing things with other people. The word “fellowship” is the combination of these named likes, but I have a list that could keep going that fit the “fellowship” experience too. When most folks think about a pastor, the first thoughts usually are about the act of preaching. Preaching is a very important duty but the fulfillment of pastoral responsibilities is much more than just a message on a Sunday. Teaching, evangelism, discipleship, going and listening are all also important. The preaching of God’s Word, I also like to hear and share. Music it has been said, is one activity here on earth, that we will be doing in Heaven. Singing has been a big part of my life from my earliest of childhood memories. From hearing music in church, too singing with my paternal grandmother, too even singing with my sister while riding on the back of a motorcycle, holding on, traveling up and down good Southeastern Kentucky dirt and gravel roadways. Music for me took a deeper dive in church when I met Dr. Harold Wortman. “Doc” as he was affectionally called, taught me about words, inflection, singing diction and expression. His influence single handily changed my life. Because of that, my experience with music and church is a like about church that will never change. Growing up as a teenage, a more contemporary song that we sang in church was “What a mighty God we serve”. The tempo was upbeat, the music was lively and the words remain powerful. Those lyrics include: What a mighty God we serve, angles bow before Him, Heaven and earth adore Him, what a mighty God we serve. I command you Satan, in the name of the Lord, to take up your weapons and flee, for the Lord has given e authority to walk all over thee. What a mighty God we serve. This tune and words have been published in over 12 different hymnals, its been song by millions, yet the human author and writer is unknown. The one author we easily give all the credit to is God. The song has been used to motivate and encourage Christians on their journey and for that we give thanks to God. In part of 2020 and 2021, I was involved in a personal project of spiritual growth where I wrote a daily thought and took time for an added personal reflection. I did this to help me grow my reliance on God and to grow my faith and to write down my interactions and thoughts about my life as a Christian. Some of my expressions are statements, some are questions some are from evaluations of the failures in my life. Day 235 of this #56 project, I wrote on April 18, 2021, “What would happen is you just moved from singing, what a mighty God we serve, to believing it” - THM. I remember my thinking on this day with this quote. I was reflecting on the importance of words and actions. James, the brother of Jesus did some reflecting on this too. He wrote under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, that words and actions are not stand alone foundations. His challenge to us was that our words and actions together would be a foundation not only to stand on, but to build upon. My self reflection was about all that I had possibly missed out on because I hadn’t moved to the next step from just singing to believing. As a Christian I don’t want to miss out on any of God’s plans for my life. I am striving everyday to be more alert, more in tune with His ways and His opportunities, so I can be in His Will. It's not easy, but the effort is one I believe, I am required to strive for. What is it you life about church? What area or areas is there that God uses to speak and challenge you through? When you reflect, what do you see you can do better that will grow your relationship with God? For those answers, you will be required to have a conversation with Him. Until then

Easter

This week and Sunday especially, are considered by many, to be the most sacred of days on the Christian calendar. Easter arrives at the end of 40 days that we call lent. Easter arrives following a time of complete and overwhelming frustration and even devastation. Easter is a time of “high church” for many Christians. I write this because if there is an organ in your church, you will hear trumpets. There will be Easter Lillies standing tall, people will be dressed up and looking sharp. When I was growing up, Easter was that one time of the year my brother and I knew we would be off to get “Easter clothes”, mother made sure of that. Easter is filled with many elements of highlight and celebration, even though until Easter Sunday morning, it appeared that every dream had been crushed in just a few days. How could such an emotional, roller coaster occur? Why had the disciples, the followers of Jesus and even His mother Mary discovered themselves to be in such disarray? We need to be reminded that Jesus began His public ministry surrounded by questions of doubt and speculation, questions about anything and everything, Jesus. Who was He?, who sent Him?, what is He teaching?, under what authority does Jesus say and do the things He is saying and doing? All questions of doubt and inquiry. Jesus didn’t being His ministry with a big fan fare. If you pause and reflect, you will recognize from scripture, that Jesus worked purposely to keep a lid on the things He was doing. At the wedding, He asked those around Him to step out of the room, even His mother, He asked. Jesus repeatedly used the expression, tell no one, keep this to yourself. As He began His public ministry He had spend time continuing the reflection He had begun as a child. All throughout His life, Jesus knew His Heavenly Father, had sent Him to be on mission, with a purpose and He was working though His own decision about obedience. That was the challenges facing Jesus, so why would we think we could avoid an emotional roller coaster, when Jesus Himself faced the challenges and the temptations to fight His way through to obedience? Last Sunday Jesus had entered into the City of Jerusalem being greeted by folks lining the streets, waving palm leaves, and shouting “positive” phrases as He rode into town. Yet, in just 3 days, Jesus would find His disciples sleeping on the job, He would be betrayed by one who was with Him in the inner circle of trust, Jesus would discover those who had sat and listened to Him teach in the temple and hillsides, to now discover they had only been by-standers and were not followers at all. Jesus would be arrested, beaten and all the hopes, thoughts and dreams His followers had believed, was now all being questioned. This is how on that first day of the week, there was no fanfare by any of His followers. It was only Mary and Mary Magdalene only and even they had great reservations, and were so distraught from all they had just experienced. They were on their way to the tomb because of obligation. Jesus’ death had caused them a great rush to get His body into the grave before sundown. The work wasn’t finished and this was the first opportunity they had to complete the task. This was the church scene in that day, which is much different than our Easter Sunday services today. Today it is celebration, big dinners, happiness, faith expressed in many ways and forms, but in that day, the Mary’s had great challenges to even convince the disciples that Jesus was alive! Life has many experiences, up and downs. This Easter Sunday maybe filled with great highs, but come next Sunday, why should we let down the celebration of God’s love so greatly demonstrated for us? Why should we not be more pumped up tomorrow than today, because of our faith relationship with Jesus? History clearly shows we know He is alive today, where in His day and on that day, they were about to remember what He had taught them. If we know, then let us not delay, but God help us lead. Until then