Easter

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Easter 2024: Resurrection and the Life

Shared by the Laningas

I AM the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me shall never die.
John 11:25-26

We wait for the Lord, our Beloved,
Our Comforter, Master and Friend,
The substance of all that we hope for,
Beginning of faith and its end;
We watch for our Saviour and Bridegroom
Who loved us and made us His own;
For Him we are looking and longing;
For Jesus, and Jesus alone.
~Annie Johnson Flint

If the Christ who had died had stopped at the cross,
His work had been incomplete,
If the Christ that was buried had stayed in the tomb,
He had only known defeat.
But the way of the cross never stops at the cross,
And the way of the tomb leads on 
To victorious grace in the heavenly place
Where the RISEN Lord has gone.
~Annie Johnson Flint

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.
~Jim Elliot

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Easter 2024: The Battle Won

shared by the Laningas

The strife is O’er, the battle won;

    The victory of life is won;

The song of triumph has begun,

                                                       HALLELUJAH !

The powers of death have done their worst,

      But Christ their legions hath dispersed;

Let shouts of holy joy outburst, 

                                                         HALLELUJAH !

The three sad days have quickly sped;

       He rises glorious from the dead;

All glory to our risen Head !

                                                           HALLELUJAH !

He brakes the age-bound chains of hell;

     The bars from heaven’s high portals fell;

Let hymns of praise His triumph tell,

                                                             HALLELUJAH !

                    Giovanni P. Da Palestrina 1525

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Amen: An Easter Blessing

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.
And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20

by Dan Gibson (written in April 2015)

The Messiah’s last chorus, “Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain”, closes with the swelling refrain of “amen”, repeated with such frequency it is akin to waves upon the seashore. I count nearly 40 amens in the bass line alone. Is this all really necessary? Why not just one good “amen”? After all, how hard is it to simply say “the end”? But perhaps “amen” means something profound, and much more than just “the end”.

That is the conclusion toward which Scripture impels us. Let’s consider four passages, beginning with Deuteronomy 27: 14 – 26. As is true of The Messiah’s final chorus, we read there a chorus of repeated amens. But note the context of those amens. The statement preceding each of the twelve amens is a curse for a particular violation of God’s law for his people. The twelve corresponding amens, shouted by the people of God from the top of the mountain, serve to underline the curses and to invite the execution of those curses upon such disobedience if it occurs. We may say with ample justification that amen here is a swear word, yes, even a God-ordained swear word.  So is that the case with The Messiah—one of humankind’s most beautiful musical testimonies to the glory of our Savior ending with repeated imprecations upon ourselves?

Not at all, for it is precisely through the person and work of the Messiah that “amen” is transformed from curse to blessing. Galatians 3:13 tells us of this transformation in a most arresting way: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us . . . ” Note that it does not say that Christ took the curse from us, though that is also true. No, it says that he became the curse for us. Given the inescapable verdict of guilt upon us by virtue of our disobedience, and having with Israel uttered the amen which calls for God’s justice, we find ourselves face to face with Christ himself. This truth, which comes into focus through the cursed cross, is what the angel of the church of Laodicea had in mind when he spoke: “These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.”  Revelations 3:14

What will Christ be for you, the curse that destroys or the curse that is really blessing? Christ himself follows the words of his angel-messenger with these words addressed to our hearts: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”  Revelations 3:20

Please, Lord Jesus Christ, Messiah for us, come in and eat with us, Amen.

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We are Eastered

by Emily Gibson

“Let Him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.”
― Gerard Manley Hopkins

The bright light of Easter morning can tend to dim over time as we return our daily routines, which these days are anything but “routine.” In mere days, we may allow humdrum to replace the extraordinary, tragedy to overcome celebration, darkness once again overwhelming dawn. The world and our pandemic situation will encourage this, and it is up to us to offer up resistance. Otherwise, we climb right back into the tomb of our sin, move the huge stone back in place, and lie there waiting for rot to settle in.

I am not alone in this. I have plenty of company with me behind the stone. And there is no excuse for us to be there still.

The stone is pushed aside, the burden shouldered, the debt completely paid.

So we can’t allow the light to dim.

He is risen. We are eastered.

Even in these extraordinary times, we need to live our lives illuminated by that truth.

Let’s keep writing, Chapel folks! Easter is never over just because the calendar says it is. Send your thoughts, your prayers, your thanksgiving and your favorite hymns to me at emilypgibson@gmail.com. It will be shared here.

photo by Joel De Waard of 2019 Easter Sunrise Service at BriarCroft

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God Names and Claims His People: Redeemed

by Chris Lovegren

  Are we or were we once slaves? To whom?  The answer given to all of us in scripture is: yes, but it’s not to whom, but to what.

  The ‘what’ is sin. The Apostle Paul says that when Adam died that all of us have inherited his curse for his sin: death, the penalty for sin. Paul says yes, we are slaves and can be bought:  Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.”

  How? Could we ever have been bought by a good Master and then given the freedom to enjoy a life of gratitude dedicated to Him? What word describes this purchase and freedom given to a sinner beyond impossible cost? 

      Redeemed! 

Dictionaries – Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology – Redeem, Redemption:Finding its context in the social, legal, and religious customs of the ancient world, the metaphor of redemption includes the ideas of loosing from a bond, setting free from captivity or slavery, buying back something lost or sold, exchanging something in one’s possession for something possessed by another, and ransoming.

   So we are redeemed if we have faith in Christ’s work of obedience and redemption. 

Now what? Why is it still so hard?

   Because sin is still in the world and it still affects us. John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 

    I was cutting some fire wood for home one time and had a vine maple spring pole hit me in the face. A spring pole is a live limb that has been held down by a fallen tree. It is under tension and can travel several feet quickly when released. My face was its target that day and I eventually had thirteen stitches sewn into my lower lip, some inside and some outside. As soon as I was hit I knew that I would be miserable for two weeks.

  As I was in the doctor’s waiting room (45 minutes) I knew the tribulation spoken of by the Lord was upon me. 

   I then realized that it could have been even worse because breaking news of the Gulf war was on TV and I saw that there were guys being injured much more severely than I was.

  There is an abyss of tribulation or struggle with our own sin into which we sometimes fall. How far? Is it endless?  Sometimes we have only one hope left during these times and we cling to that because He told us to. 

  The Lord has promised to be with us through the plunge and I realized that no matter how far the fall that there is Someone Who will always be there and He will catch me. It will end and we shall ever be at peace and face to face with Him.

Happy and Blessed Resurrection Day!

“In all the things that cause me pain You give me eyes to see.

I do believe but help my unbelief.” 

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He is Eastered in Us

Hear the bells ringing
They’re singing that you can be born again
Hear the bells ringing
They’re singing Christ is risen from the dead

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He has risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He has risen, hallelujah
He’s risen, hallelujah
He’s risen, hallelujah

Hear the bells ringing
They’re singing that you can be healed right now
Hear the bells ringing, they’re singing
Christ, He will reveal it now

The angels, they all surround us
And they are ministering Jesus’ power
Quickly now, reach out and receive it
For this could be your glorious hour

Joy to the world, He has risen, hallelujah
He’s risen, hallelujah
He’s risen, hallelujah, hallelujah

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He has risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He has risen, hallelujah
He’s risen, hallelujah
He’s risen, hallelujah
Hallelujah
~Keith Green

“Let Him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.”
― Gerard Manley Hopkins

Too often, the bright light of Easter morning dims over time
as we return to our daily routines.
In mere days,
the humdrum replaces the extraordinary,
tragedy overcomes festivity,
darkness overwhelms dawn.

The world encourages this,
we don’t muster enough resistance.
we climb right back into the tomb of our sin,
move the huge stone securely back in place,
and lie there waiting for rot to settle in.

We are not alone. We have plenty of company with us behind the stone.

The stone is pushed aside,
the burden shouldered,
the debt completely paid.

How can we allow the light to dim?

He is risen.

We are eastered beyond imagining.