He is Alive!!!!!!!
....The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. he has risen, He is not here'..........(.Mk. 16: 6) ......Looking for the living among the dead! Jesus is risen, he is alive, alive in each heart that believes in Him, ...He is alive, forever he is alive. Death has no power over Him, he broke the power of death and sin.
The doors were closed in the room where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them.. (Jn 20:19)... the elements can't constrain Him, He has power over all..... O death where is your sting? ...... Do not be afraid, it is I, the First and the Last... I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold keys of death and of the underworld........
If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our failth would be meaningless........There is no shade of doubt in the Scriptures regarding the death and resurrection of Jesus from the dead but how true is this in real life today. on this Easter morning?
Do I believe this? what does the ressurection of Jesus means? How alive is Jesus in my heart, my life, in my family, in my marriage, in my family, in my work place, in my neighbourhood and in my Church community?
Is Jesus Lord of my life? do I have a personal relationship with the Risen Lord? Do I love Him and yearn for His coming again?
Faith is not a myth..... the faith of the Christian is a relation to a person - Jesus who loves us so much that he was obedient to give up his life to save the sinner, to suffer a shameful death, death on a Cross. For this act of selfless act, God raised Him up to be Lord of both the living and dead, He is the Resurrection and all those who believe in Him even though they die shall live and whoever lives and believes in Him will never die. Wait a minute so where are my loved ones who have believed and died in Him? They are alive in Him ....... and those still living, are we hopeful to meet/live with Him soon when we die? .......Do you believe this?
The Lord is truly risen . The resurrection of Christ was the laughter of god at the defeat of death and sin. The holy Mother Church cannot contain her joy today. So She breaks into the Exsultet. She does so even calling the sin of Adam a "happy fault"and "necessary sin ", for it "" gained for us so great a Redeemer!"Let us laugh our hearts out and rejoice! .. ...... He is alive .... become a witness and share your faith with others that
He is Alive !!!!!!
Saturday, 30 March 2013
The Cross (Written in 1982 concerning the Dream I had some years earlier)
I woke up and realised it was a dream; and no ordinary dream it was.
A 'Huge Cross' stood reaching into the heavens, around it a huge crowd, each person carrying a tiny cross.
A light shone from the heavens, and a I heard a voice: "Lift up your tiny cross to the Huge Cross".
No one in the crowd stirred, everyone stood still, each deep in thought.
With a smile and a giggle, I try to lift up my tiny cross and saw that it was heavy and made of silver.
For years I pondered about the dream that is much alive in my heart....As the Lord gives me insight, layers of fear are being dealt with. But now it suffices to know that:
The 'Huge Cross' is the cross of Christ on Calvary,
It was there that the Lamb paid the Price; .....a heavy Price by a Perfect Sacrifice.
But it was not an easy ordeal; ....He suffered shame and humiliation;....He was mocked and scourged..........
Pain, horror, anguish which cannot be described by ordinary words. ..The more I think of it, the more I feel His pain;
In anguish, He cried to His Father.... It was not a cry of defeat........
Rather, it was a cry of Victory! ...His cry rings out into the Heavens!...... it rings down into the earth below....
Graves opened, and death was conquered..... Victory!....Victory!....Victory! There is life beyond the Cross!
As I stand beneath the Cross......God's love is real; I have been saved only through the Cross of Jesus;
For God so loved humanity /me, that He gave His Son to give me life through His death on the Cross
Hail ! All Hail the Risen Christ !; Hail Him who has overcome death !, Hail Him in His New Glorified Body!
Glory to the Father, who is faithful in all His promises,..... even to raising His Son Jesus from Death !
Glory and Honour to the Healing cross !
After 45 years, the dream is still alive in my heart. I relive it often especially at this time of the Liturgical Season - Lent, ...Holy Week....... and today - Holy Saturday - being the last day of Lent, it's good to spend some time meditaing on the Cross by which we have been redeemed. How central is the Cross in my life? Am I able to unite my tiny cross to that of Jesus?......try it.... It can be a daily struggle, each time you do this .... But this is the Master's call: : Come to me, come just as you are, come and learn from Me...... humillity is not a sign of defeat.. for Jesus was humbler yet........dying on the Cross.... for you and me.......
I woke up and realised it was a dream; and no ordinary dream it was.
A 'Huge Cross' stood reaching into the heavens, around it a huge crowd, each person carrying a tiny cross.
A light shone from the heavens, and a I heard a voice: "Lift up your tiny cross to the Huge Cross".
No one in the crowd stirred, everyone stood still, each deep in thought.
With a smile and a giggle, I try to lift up my tiny cross and saw that it was heavy and made of silver.
For years I pondered about the dream that is much alive in my heart....As the Lord gives me insight, layers of fear are being dealt with. But now it suffices to know that:
The 'Huge Cross' is the cross of Christ on Calvary,
It was there that the Lamb paid the Price; .....a heavy Price by a Perfect Sacrifice.
But it was not an easy ordeal; ....He suffered shame and humiliation;....He was mocked and scourged..........
Pain, horror, anguish which cannot be described by ordinary words. ..The more I think of it, the more I feel His pain;
In anguish, He cried to His Father.... It was not a cry of defeat........
Rather, it was a cry of Victory! ...His cry rings out into the Heavens!...... it rings down into the earth below....
Graves opened, and death was conquered..... Victory!....Victory!....Victory! There is life beyond the Cross!
As I stand beneath the Cross......God's love is real; I have been saved only through the Cross of Jesus;
For God so loved humanity /me, that He gave His Son to give me life through His death on the Cross
Hail ! All Hail the Risen Christ !; Hail Him who has overcome death !, Hail Him in His New Glorified Body!
Glory to the Father, who is faithful in all His promises,..... even to raising His Son Jesus from Death !
Glory and Honour to the Healing cross !
After 45 years, the dream is still alive in my heart. I relive it often especially at this time of the Liturgical Season - Lent, ...Holy Week....... and today - Holy Saturday - being the last day of Lent, it's good to spend some time meditaing on the Cross by which we have been redeemed. How central is the Cross in my life? Am I able to unite my tiny cross to that of Jesus?......try it.... It can be a daily struggle, each time you do this .... But this is the Master's call: : Come to me, come just as you are, come and learn from Me...... humillity is not a sign of defeat.. for Jesus was humbler yet........dying on the Cross.... for you and me.......
Friday, 29 March 2013
Meaningless Death?
The event of today, 'Good Friday' is about Death. Not any ordinary death, but the death of Son of God, Jesus. A seemingly useless, unnecessary death that could have been avoided if only he had been careful, more prudent, more tolerant, had compromised a little! A seemingly wasted life and a wasted death. But is it so? Seemingly wasted life indeed, but the final words of Jesus reveal something very precious.
Ït is accomplished"!!!!!!
So, his seemingly meaningless death was an accomplishment.... What is accomplished through his death? His Mission... the purpose for which he was born.... Reconciliation of sinful humanity with God.... Our redemption.
Can one death mean so much? Yes His death does. There was a Death, certainly, but it was also a 'birthing'.
On this 'Good Friday'. let us reflect what Jesus did for us on the Cross......With sorrow and gratitude, let us look on him whom we have pierced. For his death has birthed us into new life. For Death could not constrain or overcome Him. All death can best be seen in His death.......The pain and suffering he endured, paid the price for our sins that we may have eternal life.
His death is not meaningless ... hold on, the best is yet to come for it will lead to a Glorious..............
The event of today, 'Good Friday' is about Death. Not any ordinary death, but the death of Son of God, Jesus. A seemingly useless, unnecessary death that could have been avoided if only he had been careful, more prudent, more tolerant, had compromised a little! A seemingly wasted life and a wasted death. But is it so? Seemingly wasted life indeed, but the final words of Jesus reveal something very precious.
Ït is accomplished"!!!!!!
So, his seemingly meaningless death was an accomplishment.... What is accomplished through his death? His Mission... the purpose for which he was born.... Reconciliation of sinful humanity with God.... Our redemption.
Can one death mean so much? Yes His death does. There was a Death, certainly, but it was also a 'birthing'.
On this 'Good Friday'. let us reflect what Jesus did for us on the Cross......With sorrow and gratitude, let us look on him whom we have pierced. For his death has birthed us into new life. For Death could not constrain or overcome Him. All death can best be seen in His death.......The pain and suffering he endured, paid the price for our sins that we may have eternal life.
His death is not meaningless ... hold on, the best is yet to come for it will lead to a Glorious..............
Monday, 25 March 2013
If today is all you have, there is one thing you cannot postpone.
Do we live as we should if today is all that we have? we may have been able to get away by postponing many decisions for 'tomorrow' for some years but we can't continue to do this in our walk with God because we do not know the the hourof His coming to take us to be with Him................
In the Banana Republic, the older one goes first but in reality each one of us from the time of birth are on the count-down. And if this short life (even one hundred +) compared to eternity, is for preparation to return to our Maker then we cannot affort to spend it on trivials. Thus our relationship with God cannot be postponed any further; we need to get reconciled with him and each other as God lives in each person.
In the story of the Prodigal Son, when he realised how far he had wandered away from his loving father he took a decision to go back 'home' and followed it . And the father, seeing him a long way off ran to meet him.........and called for a celebration!. For this son was lost/dead but found/alive....................
God, our 'Prodigal' Father. as he loves us beyond compare, is waiting for the return of each of his prodigal sons/daughters.. ......to rejoice over us, embrace us and restore us to our rightful relationship as sons/daughters.
This week is a special period of grace as God's unconditional, overflowing love for us, is revealed in the sufferings and death ........of Jesus for our redemption and restoration.
Behold, I stand at the door and knocked, if you will open to me, I shall come in and dine with you.....
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts................
Today you shall be with me in paradise.................
Today I will dine with you...........
God is compassionate but he is also just..........get reconciled today, listen to his call: Come back to me with all your heart, long have i waited for your coming home....... Jesus is the 'easy-jet' to the Father through His suffering and death on the Cross, because of His great love for you and me.......give it some thought and take a decision today before it's late, if not too late. .......
You have been bought at a price - by the Precious Blood of Jesus.
Do we live as we should if today is all that we have? we may have been able to get away by postponing many decisions for 'tomorrow' for some years but we can't continue to do this in our walk with God because we do not know the the hourof His coming to take us to be with Him................
In the Banana Republic, the older one goes first but in reality each one of us from the time of birth are on the count-down. And if this short life (even one hundred +) compared to eternity, is for preparation to return to our Maker then we cannot affort to spend it on trivials. Thus our relationship with God cannot be postponed any further; we need to get reconciled with him and each other as God lives in each person.
In the story of the Prodigal Son, when he realised how far he had wandered away from his loving father he took a decision to go back 'home' and followed it . And the father, seeing him a long way off ran to meet him.........and called for a celebration!. For this son was lost/dead but found/alive....................
God, our 'Prodigal' Father. as he loves us beyond compare, is waiting for the return of each of his prodigal sons/daughters.. ......to rejoice over us, embrace us and restore us to our rightful relationship as sons/daughters.
This week is a special period of grace as God's unconditional, overflowing love for us, is revealed in the sufferings and death ........of Jesus for our redemption and restoration.
Behold, I stand at the door and knocked, if you will open to me, I shall come in and dine with you.....
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts................
Today you shall be with me in paradise.................
Today I will dine with you...........
God is compassionate but he is also just..........get reconciled today, listen to his call: Come back to me with all your heart, long have i waited for your coming home....... Jesus is the 'easy-jet' to the Father through His suffering and death on the Cross, because of His great love for you and me.......give it some thought and take a decision today before it's late, if not too late. .......
You have been bought at a price - by the Precious Blood of Jesus.
Saturday, 23 March 2013
He Thought of us/you/me:
'Consider how Jesus, in making this journey with the Cross on his shoulders, thought of us and offered for us to the Father the death he was about to undergo' ( Jesus Receives the Cross - 2nd meditation of the Stations of the Cross).
Take a moment and spend some time on this revelation - before you and me came to exist, God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to redeem us, and Jesus on his way to death, thought of us/you/me and offered for us to the Father the death he was about to undergo. What did we do to deserve this? nothing whatsoever, God just love us without compare! Unconditional love, O love that will not let me go! The sinless one, hates sin, yet died for the sinner - me.
As we enter Holy Week, it will be good to spend some time meditating on the sufferings of Jesus while carrying the Cross on the way to Calvary.......relive some of the events. See yourself in the scenes and remain with the Station{s} that touched you most.: who are you in this Station? one who pushed Jesus, mocked him, spat in his face, reluctantly helped him with the cross, or a Veronica who despite any repecursion dared to wipe the face of Jesus? Where do you stand under the Cross? with the sorrowful Blessed Mother Mary and John. . . ? or a spectator in the crowd mocking him to come down from the cross if He is the Son of God? May be like the soldier who pierced him in His side, you may also come to confess 'truly, this was the Son of God?'
Then what next? how has this confession changed or will change your life?...may the events of this coming week lead us to a new awakening to return or seek the Lord in a new/deeper relationship. He thought of us even before we came into existence. Without any good deeds on our part He loves you/me/us into folly, but do I know this and love Him in as much as He loves me? .......Have a very blessed Holy Week.........
'Consider how Jesus, in making this journey with the Cross on his shoulders, thought of us and offered for us to the Father the death he was about to undergo' ( Jesus Receives the Cross - 2nd meditation of the Stations of the Cross).
Take a moment and spend some time on this revelation - before you and me came to exist, God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to redeem us, and Jesus on his way to death, thought of us/you/me and offered for us to the Father the death he was about to undergo. What did we do to deserve this? nothing whatsoever, God just love us without compare! Unconditional love, O love that will not let me go! The sinless one, hates sin, yet died for the sinner - me.
As we enter Holy Week, it will be good to spend some time meditating on the sufferings of Jesus while carrying the Cross on the way to Calvary.......relive some of the events. See yourself in the scenes and remain with the Station{s} that touched you most.: who are you in this Station? one who pushed Jesus, mocked him, spat in his face, reluctantly helped him with the cross, or a Veronica who despite any repecursion dared to wipe the face of Jesus? Where do you stand under the Cross? with the sorrowful Blessed Mother Mary and John. . . ? or a spectator in the crowd mocking him to come down from the cross if He is the Son of God? May be like the soldier who pierced him in His side, you may also come to confess 'truly, this was the Son of God?'
Then what next? how has this confession changed or will change your life?...may the events of this coming week lead us to a new awakening to return or seek the Lord in a new/deeper relationship. He thought of us even before we came into existence. Without any good deeds on our part He loves you/me/us into folly, but do I know this and love Him in as much as He loves me? .......Have a very blessed Holy Week.........
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