Jesus

Getting into the boat with Jesus doesn’t mean you trust Him

Sailing (1 of 1)

Jesus had just finished healing the sick and casting out demons. The crowd overwhelmed Him. He needed a break, so He instructed His disciples to crossed on the other side of the lake.

The Bible said, ” Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You are men with little faith!” Then He got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him” (Matthew 8:23-27).

Apparently, the disciples, who had been with Jesus for a long time did not know Him. They had seen Him cast out demons and healed the sick, yet they did not trust Him. Do you?

Jesus is calling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5GjRHG3YMk

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

 

Do you think Christmas is bigger than Easter?

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Do you think Christmas is bigger than Easter?

This seems like an easy question to answer. However, opinions and contexts differ. For me, the answer is NO! And I am not the only one. Apparently, the Rev. Ray Pritchard agrees with me. Let us take a gander at what he wrote on his http://www.keepbelieving.com website.

In our society, there are two great religious holidays-Christmas and Easter. For most of us, Christmas is the bigger and greater season of the year. It is the time of year when we gather with family and friends to sing carols, decorate the tree, and exchange gifts. Christmas is the climax of the whole year. Easter? Well, for most people it is just another long weekend, another chance to get away for a few days.

Even Christians view Easter as a second-rate holiday!

Somehow we’ve gotten our thinking mixed up. If Easter had not happened, Christmas would have no meaning. If the tomb is not empty, the cradle makes no difference. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then He is just a misguided Jewish rabbi with delusions of grandeur. If Easter is not true, then Christmas was only the story of an obscure baby born in an out-of-the-way village, in a forgotten land 2000 years ago. It is Easter that gives Christmas its meaning.

Do You want proof? In all the New Testament, no major doctrinal point is ever built upon the virgin birth of Christ. Not one. It is true. It happened. But it is never discussed or mentioned. In fact, two gospels do not even say anything about it.

However, when it comes to the resurrection? That is a different story. In every part of the New Testament, it comes up again and again. Read the sermons of Acts. When the first Christians preached, they did not mention Bethlehem; they talked about the empty tomb. They never got over the fact that on Easter Sunday when they went to the tomb, Jesus was gone.

Up from the grave He arose

Matthew 27 and 28, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

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So, the Romans nailed Jesus to the cross and waited until He was dead. (they thought that was the end of the trouble maker)  Then they handed the body over to Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea. Joseph wrapped the body in a long sheet and placed it in his personal tomb which was carved out of a large rock. He then rolled a great stone across the entrance.

The Bible says on the next day, (the Sabbath), the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we are requesting that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then tell everyone he was raised from the dead!
Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

But something spectacular would happened on Sunday morning. The Bible says, early on Sunday morning, as a new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.

  • O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
  • For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake and an angel came down from heaven, rolled the stone aside, and sat on it. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and He is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”

The women ran from the tomb quickly. They were frightened but also filled with great joy. They rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”