Augustine summed up the heart of this psalm. “You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”
Daily we are bombarded with luring messages that promise contentment. The advertising industry is built with promises that come up short on delivery. Nothing is new under the sun and nothing of this world will bring deep inner peace.
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According to German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, “God is dead.” According to God, “Nietzsche is dead!”
For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, God’s not dead—he’s alive! Yes, some may think, as some of the disciples did, that it’s “all nonsense” and “not believe” (Luke 24:11). But it’s true, Christ “has been raised from death” Luke 24:6. So we celebrate, thanking God that this is the day death died!
Read More hope, resurrectionThe death and burial of Princess Diana caused great controversy among the British people and members of the royal family. Although she was in some disfavour in the royal family she was in the end given a funeral and burial that were worthy of any royalty. Jesus was looked upon by Jewish leaders and Roman officials as a heretic and a common criminal but in the providence of God, he was given a burial that was worthy of his status as the Son of God.
Read More resurrection, support, evidenceJ. R. R. Tolkien coined the word “eucatastrophe” to describe the reversal that takes place when a tremendous victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat. A eucatastrophe occurs when darkness, despair, and defeat gives way to light, hope, and glory. The greatest eucatastrophe of all, according to Tolkien, was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Read More resurrectionFirst day of the week, A.D.33: After several days and nights of sorrow, the three women who loved their crucified Teacher woke with a plan: to meet very early. To hurry to the tomb. To offer a final gift of service: the embalming of his body.
They worried that the impossibly heavy stone would stop them. They expected a dead body.
Read More worship, praise, resurrection, remembranceOver the years I’ve heard people give various reasons why they don’t believe the good news about Jesus Christ. These reasons run the gamut from the deeply personal to the loftily philosophical, from heartbreak to arrogance. Some invoke science, claiming faith and “logic” are somehow irreconcilable. Others point to the moral shortcomings of those of us who do believe, claiming the credibility gap is too wide.
Read More awe, resurrection, amazement, joyPopular culture offers various views of what may happen to our spirits after we die. Many are entertaining even to the comical point of a cartoon-like image of the dearly departed floating upward to settle on a cloud with cherubs playing harps.
The Sadducees didn’t believe that people would rise to any new life.
Read More resurrection, Sadducees, divinity“Father, if you will, please don’t make me suffer…” This is Christ, fully aware of the importance of what he is about to accomplish but also fully aware of the suffering about to be imposed. His words underscore the depth and intensity of this hour of darkness. Scourging, denial, mockery and hours of excruciating pain and torture. Verse 44 gives us a glimpse of the magnitude of this horror when it tells us “his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.”
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Sometimes we need to take a step back, and think about how we read as well as what we read. This is one of those times. Today’s chapter is full of allusions and symbolic actions.
Elijah, knowing that he is about to be taken to heaven, first visits the other prophets in Israel, and Elisha doggedly insists on going with him.
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