Tag Archives: Easter Monday

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Core Curriculum in the School of Resurrection

Everybody Gets Cave Time

SYNOPSIS: Easter has come and gone, and Christ is still risen! But perhaps you’re in a tomb-like experience — you’re in ‘the cave” — and you’re wondering where his resurrection power is for your life. Perhaps you’re complaining to everyone else but God about your cave. If you are, you’re missing a great opportunity to pour out your heart to the only one who can do something about it—the One who conquered death and rose from His cave. So, try talking to the Resurrected One — and be patient, He does His greatest work in caves.

Moments With God // Psalm 142:1

A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.

We all prefer to live in the sunshine of God’s grace, but from time to time we get the “cave” instead. “Cave time” is just core curriculum in the school of spirituality maturity. Call it whatever you want: the pit, the prison, the desert, the wilderness—the cave is basic training for believers.

Joseph had a prison; Moses had the desert; Jeremiah had a pit, Daniel had a den, Paul was in and out of jail so many times, like Motel Six, they “kept the light on for him.” Even Jesus had a wilderness. Oh, he got a cave, too. He once spent three days in one. If Jesus had “cave-time,” the cave won’t be optional for you. Every believer gets “the cave.”

What is the cave? The cave is a place of death, it’s where you die to self. The cave is the place of testing; it’s the blast furnace for moral fiber. The cave is where your mettle gets tested, your maturity gets revealed, and your heart gets exposed! Put a person in the cave of distress, discouragement, or doubt, and true character will show up. And if you are brave enough to open up to the truth about yourself, the cave will reveal just how much work God still has to do to get you ready for great things.

Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey him? (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Likewise, the cave is a place of separation. Not only does God reveal the true you in the cave, but he also strips you of every misplaced dependency. In the cave, God separated David from everything he had once depended on, and all that was left for David was God himself.

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to both you and your ancestors. He did it to help you realize that food isn’t everything and that real life comes by obeying every command of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

The cave was perhaps the most frustrating period in David’s life—but in hindsight, it turned out to be the most fruitful. That’s because the cave is also the place of forging. The cave is where God breaks you down in order to build you up.

For all these forty years your clothes haven’t grown old, and your feet haven’t been blistered or swollen. So, you should realize that, as a man punishes his son, the Lord punishes you to help you. (Deuteronomy 8:4-5)

That’s what God does in the cave. And by the way, God does some of his best work in caves. It was there in the cave of Adullam that David wrote three of his most moving psalms—Psalms 34, 57, and 142, including our key verse:

I cry aloud to the Lord…I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.

If you are in a cave and you are complaining to everyone else but God, you are missing a great opportunity to pour out your heart to the only one who can do something about it. Good things always happen when you get honest with God. So, try talking to him—and be patient, God does great work in caves.

If you doubt that, just remember that empty cave on the outskirts of Jerusalem. For three days, it held a crucified body. But God does great work in caves—the best of which is resurrection. Perhaps that will change your mind about caves.

Take A Moment: If you are in a cave experience, I would encourage you to pray the prayer of Scottish hymn-writer George Matheson, “My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorns. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorns. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross: but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross: teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.”

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Resurrection Monday

If Christ Is Risen, Nothing Else Matters

SYNOPSIS: Jaroslav Pelikan put it profoundly, “If Christ is risen—nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.” What difference does resurrection make? When you take resurrection reality and power out of the church on Sunday and into your world on Monday, transforming faith, unshakeable hope and radical love will be released into your life. Count Bismarck said, “Without the hope of eternal life, this life is not worth the effort of getting dressed in the morning.” But the Bible promises that Jesus’ resurrection is God’s guarantee of your resurrection one day, and that’s something worth celebrating today—even on a proverbial Monday morning!

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // John 11:25-26

“Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’”

The story is told of Martin Luther, who once spent three days in a deep depression over something that had gone wrong.  On the third day his wife, Katie, came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. Luther asked, “Who’s dead?”

She replied, “God!”

Luther was offended, “What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die.”

Kate replied, “Well, the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!”

That was a wake-up call to the great reformer. Luther snapped out of his funk. And Jesus’ claim to being the resurrection and the life ought to snap us out of our funk, too. Jesus is alive, and because he lives, we will live—forever.  This business of resurrection isn’t just for Easter Sunday, it is for Easter Monday and every other day of the week as well. The resurrection is our living hope (I Peter 1:3)—Sunday through Saturday—and that’s all that matters. I love how historian Jaroslav Pelikan put it,

“If Christ is risen—nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

What difference does resurrection make? When you take resurrection reality and power out of the church on Sunday and into your world on Monday, transforming faith, unshakeable hope and radical love will be released into your life. Count Bismarck said, “Without the hope of eternal life, this life is not worth the effort of getting dressed in the morning.” But the Bible promises that Jesus’ resurrection is God’s guarantee of your resurrection one day, and that’s something worth celebrating today—even on a proverbial Monday morning!

Apparently in the Greek Orthodox tradition, the day after Easter is devoted to telling jokes. Why? They believe they’re imitating the cosmic joke God pulled on Satan in the resurrection. Satan thought he’d won, that he’d gotten the last word, or so he thought. But God raised Jesus from the dead, and salvation and eternal life became the last word.

When you make the resurrection the foundation of your faith, claim the Risen Savior as the basis of your hope, and invite the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead to be your overflowing source of radical love, come Monday you can laugh in Satan’s face when he throws all kinds of garbage at you. You see, no matter what he does, you win! That is the last word. You are living in the power of the resurrection and the hope of eternity!

Even on Monday morning!

Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, “Christ is risen,” but “I shall rise.” ~Phillips Brooks

Reflect & Apply: Charles Wesley wrote what is arguable the greatest resurrection hymn of all, Christ The Lord Is Risen Today.  If you know it, sing it every morning this week before you head out for the day. If you don’t know it, it would be a great one to memorize (look it up on your Internet search engine) along with the memory verse.

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Hope is Alive

Nothing Else Matters

CHRIST IS RISEN—AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! If you believe Jesus rose from the dead, then stop living like he’s still in the tomb. Jesus died on Good Friday and rose again on Easter Sunday so that you and I can live with hope on Monday—and every other day of the week throughout life and for all eternity.

Enduring Truth // Matthew 27:50, 1 Peter 1:3

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit…Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Jesus died on Good Friday, but rose again on Easter Sunday, so that you and I can live with hope on Monday—and every other day of the week throughout life and for all eternity. That is what Peter calls living hope:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

When you fully embrace this living hope, you will quit living like Jesus is still dead! That is our problem, I think: We embrace Good Friday and rejoice in Resurrection Sunday, but go back to work or school on Monday and live as if the Lord’s body is still in the tomb.

The story is told of Martin Luther, who once spent three days in a deep depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife, Katie, came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. Luther asked, “Who’s dead?” She replied, “God!” Luther was offended, “What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die.” Kate replied, “Well, the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!”

Peter calls to us today, to snap out of post-Easter funk, because Jesus lives! We have a living hope that really matters beyond Easter!” I love how historian Jaroslav Pelikan said it, “If Christ is risen—nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

What difference does an Easter resurrection make on a back-to-work Monday?

  1. Christ’s death and resurrection are the foundation of your faith. The fact is, without the resurrection, your faith (and life) is meaningless. I Corinthians 15:14 says, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.”
  2. Christ’s death and resurrection are the basis of your hope. 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than anyone else in the world. But Christ has been raised to life! And this makes us certain that we will also be raised to life.” Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.” Romans 5:5 say this “hope does not disappoint us!”
  3. Christ’s death and resurrection are the guarantee of your resurrection. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” If you do—believe, that is—the cross and the empty tomb become God’s signature on the Divine contract with you assuring you of eternal life after you die.

Yes, Christ is risen, and nothing else matters!

Thrive: When you wake up tomorrow, try singing, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” It just might fill you with hope, and that can’t hurt.

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Resurrection Monday

Reflect:
John 11:25-26

“Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’”

The story is told of Martin Luther, who once spent three days in a deep depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife, Katie, came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. Luther asked, “Who’s dead?”

She replied, “God!”

Luther was offended, “What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die.”

Kate replied, “Well, the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!”

That was a wake-up call to the great reformer. Luther snapped out of his funk. And Jesus’ claim to being the resurrection and the life ought to snap us out of our funk, too. Jesus is alive, and because he lives, we will live—forever. This business of resurrection isn’t just for Easter Sunday, it is for Easter Monday and every other day of the week as well. The resurrection is our living hope (I Peter 1:3)—Sunday through Saturday—and that’s all that matters. I love how historian Jaroslav Pelikan put it,

“If Christ is risen—nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

What difference does resurrection make? When you take resurrection reality and power out of the church on Sunday and into your world on Monday, transforming faith, unshakeable hope and radical love will be released into your life. Count Bismarck said, “Without the hope of eternal life, this life is not worth the effort of getting dressed in the morning.” But the Bible promises that Jesus’ resurrection is God’s guarantee of your resurrection one day, and that’s something worth celebrating today—even on a proverbial Monday morning!

Apparently in the Greek Orthodox tradition, the day after Easter is devoted to telling jokes. Why? They believe they’re imitating the cosmic joke God pulled on Satan in the resurrection. Satan thought he’d won, that he’d gotten the last word, or so he thought. But God raised Jesus from the dead, and salvation and eternal life became the last word.

When you make the resurrection the foundation of your faith, claim the Risen Savior as the basis of your hope, and invite the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead to be your overflowing source of radical love, come Monday you can laugh in Satan’s face when he throws all kinds of garbage at you. You see, no matter what he does, you win! That is the last word. You are living in the power of the resurrection and the hope of eternity!

Even on Monday morning!

“Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, ‘Christ is risen,’ but ‘I shall rise.’” ~Phillips Brooks

Reflect & Apply: Charles Wesley wrote what is arguable the greatest resurrection hymn of all, “Christ The Lord Is Risen Today“. If you know it, sing it every morning this week before you head out for the day. If you don’t know it, it would be a great one to memorize (look it up on your Internet search engine) along with the memory verse.

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Hope Lives

Read: Matthew 27

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. (Matthew 27:50, NLT)

Jesus died on Good Friday, but rose again on Easter Sunday, so that you and I can live with hope on Monday—and every other day of the week throughout life and for all eternity.  That is what Peter calls living hope:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (I Peter 1:3)

When you fully embrace this living hope, you will quit living like Jesus is still dead! That is our problem, I think: We embrace Good Friday and rejoice in Resurrection Sunday, but go back to work or school on Monday and live as if the Lord’s body is still in the tomb.

The story is told of Martin Luther, who once spent three days in a deep depression over something that had gone wrong.  On the third day his wife, Katie, came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. Luther asked, “Who’s dead?” She replied, “God!” Luther was offended, “What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die.” Kate replied, “Well, the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!”

Peter calls to us today, to snap out of post-Easter funk, because Jesus lives! We have a living hope that really matters beyond Easter!”  I love how historian Jaroslav Pelikan said it, “If Christ is risen—nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

What difference does an Easter resurrection make on a back-to-work Monday?

First, Christ’s death and resurrection are the foundation of your faith.  The fact is, without the resurrection, your faith (and life) is meaningless.  I Corinthians 15:14 says, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.”

Second, Christ’s death and resurrection are the basis of your hope.  I Corinthians 15:19-20 says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than anyone else in the world. But Christ has been raised to life! And this makes us certain that we will also be raised to life.” Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.” Romans 5:5 say this “hope does not disappoint us!”

Third, Christ’s death and resurrection are the guarantee of your resurrection.  Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” If you do—believe, that is—the cross and the empty tomb become God’s signature on the Divine contract with you assuring you of eternal life after you die.

Fourth, Christ’s death and resurrection are the fountainhead of God’s love for you. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Yes, God loves “the world”, according to that verse, but you are the “whoever” the Apostle John had in mind when he penned those famous words.

Do you want to radically change your Monday mornings from here on out? Embrace God’s eternal, inexhaustible love for you that was on display when Jesus forgave your sins by dying on the cross and rising from the tomb on the third day.

Begin to live Easter every day of the year…especially come Monday morning!

“Without the hope of eternal life, this life is not worth the effort of getting dressed in the morning.” ~Count Otto von Bismarck

What If God Took Over?

The fact remains, even though Jesus died, he rose again. The stone was moved—the tomb is still empty!  That is why your faith is a living hope!  So take Easter with you into Monday…and Tuesday…and…well, you get the idea.  When you live Easter every day of the week, you will find stones still get moved and tombs still get emptied when you make Christ’s death and resurrection the foundation of your faith.