Tag: Israel

Women’s Role in the First Easter – Sharing the Message of the Resurrection

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

How will you spend this day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God, and the Savior who loved EVERYONE in this world so much that He gave His life so that each person who believes in His resurrection can freely enjoy relationship with God, receive His love, and call Him, “Father”.

Resurrection and Life

The first people to be sent to tell the exciting news of Jesus being no longer dead but risen and alive were women! Like women typically do, they rose early, before dawn, to care someone else. This time, it was for the purpose of taking care of the dead body of One they loved– Jesus. They walked from their homes to the tomb where Jesus had been laid so that they could apply spices to His entombed body. Have you ever wondered how they expected to get beyond the soldiers who had been posted there and how they planned to move the stone that sealed the tomb?  I suppose it didn’t matter to them, they just knew what had to be done according to their Jewish custom and they went, prepared to get it done.

Jesus had women involved in His ministry while He was on earth, and now that He was risen, He commissioned them to spread the Word that He was alive. It was to be an important mission of love to share an important message of love. He wanted them to be the heralds to spread the message of a new relationship that was now available to everyone, not just the 12 disciples and followers within the borders of Israel.

Here’s how those first evangelists spent their day:

“The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.

 At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. He was shining as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear because of the angel, and they became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was.  And go quickly and tell his followers, ‘Jesus has risen from the dead. He is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened. Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.”The women came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell…”  

~Matthew 28:1-10 (NCV) 

Isn’t it just like Jesus to recognize how women are typically more relationship-oriented and therefore would use them to be the first to give the message to others that a new relationship was now available with God? He gave  a word of comfort to them to share so that others would believe in Him through their words. He entrusted women with birthing His church by giving them the message of His resurrection to share. For thousands of years, that message those women shared about Jesus being alive has brought victory to all who believed it.

How will you spend this day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus? Will you share the good news of His resurrection with someone who may not know it?

celebrate resurrection of Jesus

Successful Like a Cow

“Meditation” is defined as contemplation, reflection, rumination and spiritual introspection (Source: Dictionary.com). Most people relate this word with TM, Transcendental Meditation, a “new age” technique based on Hindu writings. But did you know that there is a biblical form of mediation?

Joshua 1:8 gives us great insight into what biblical meditation is and how it differs from TM or any other type of meditation.

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (NIV)

In this verse, God is instructing Joshua about how to succeed as the new leader of Israel. But we can also glean from this scripture about how to be successful in life today, especially as we look forward to the new year. “Meditate” here means to ruminate, to speak (utter sound), to imagine, to speak with oneself (muttering) in a low voice (whisper). It is not simply reading the Word, thinking about it for a brief moment and quickly forgetting it. Biblical meditation involves using your voice to affirm God’s Word for your life and is an action you take frequently throughout the day.

But God didn’t tell Joshua to say anything and everything that came to his mind. He instructed him to meditate on the Book of the Law. God wanted Joshua to read, think about, and mutter God’s words! He wanted Joshua ruminate the good things about God and His love for him and the people of Israel.

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Rumination usually brings to mind the picture of a cow chewing it’s cud. When a cow chews it’s cud, it is regurgitating the food it has eaten earlier, chewing it again, swallowing it, and then regurgitating again, chewing, and swallowing that same food repeatedly to gain the most value out of the food. We are to do the same in our meditation of God’s Word. To gain the most value from God’s words of life (John 6:63), we are to read His Word, speak His Word, think about that Word, and again speak His Word and think about His Word, repeatedly during our waking hours. I have found this can easily be done in snippets of 60 seconds here and there throughout our day.

For example, Psalm 1:3 tells us that the people who frequently meditate God”s Word “are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” In meditating that particular verse, you can frequently whisper to yourself throughout the day, “I am like a tree planted near water, always bearing fruit at the right time, never unhealthy, always prospering.” Change the words if you like, but think and speak about how God loves you and firmly establishes you for success through His Word in every area of your life. There’s something in the Word of God that is the solution for our every problem and need! Speaking God’s Word is one of the keys to unlocking and unleashing it’s problem-solving power.

To become more diligent at doing meditating, I set the alarm on my phone to go off at a specific time every day, Sunday-Saturday, to remind me to take just 60 seconds, right at that moment, to meditate on God’s Word or to pray in the spirit. I can’t tell you the level of peace I’ve begun to experience and the insights for my life that I’ve gained just my incorporating this quick habit into my day. It has made a huge difference in how I view God’s love for me and His work on my behalf.

I’m considering providing a program that helps you understand, establish, and gain the most from this habit of 60-second biblical meditation. Would you like to become more like a cow, getting the most value out of God’s Word by incorporating this habit of success into your day? Let me know below.