New Beginnings

Do You Recognize Him?

Can you just imagine how the disciples and followers of Jesus felt after watching Jesus die on the cross?  Jesus, their precious Jesus, was gone.  Tortured, beaten, spit on, hung between to criminals.  He was Dead.  In a tomb, covered by a stone.  That was it--the end.  They were so sorrowful.  They thought He was going to be their King, their Savior, but He died.  What did He mean? Why did He leave so soon?  What now?  Where do we go from here?  Life was hopeless once again. 

They are in such despair that some of them didn't even recognize the risen Jesus when He walked with them on the road to Emmaus.  He was right there and they didn't even know it! They were blinded by their despair, by their disbelief, by their worry, by their circumstances. 

They didn't recognize JESUS!  How could that happen?  How could anyone who knew Him and love Him not recognize Him?! 

It must be pretty easy to do.   We fail to recognize Him everyday! He is with us ALWAYS.  We have that PROMISE and the Bible doesn't just tell the Truth, it is the TRUTH.  Jesus does not just tell the truth, He is the TRUTH!   So, we know Jesus is with us always. 

With Jesus, things are not always as they seem to be...... our circumstances may seem terrible, but once we have passed through them, we look back and see.... "Oh, that is what He was doing".  He was there the whole time.  We just didn't recognize Him! 

When we worry, we cannot recognize that Jesus is right there. 

When we fail to believe that His hand is in our circumstances, controlling the details, we cannot recognize Him, but He is there, right there.  Shoulder-to-shoulder with us.  Going through it all WITH us.  Trying to make eye contact with us--sometimes probably waving His hands saying---- "here I AM!  Look at me!  Hold on, it is going to get rough for a bit!"  But, we just don't recognize Him. 

In a way, we are at an advantage from His disciples and followers at the time.  We know the whole story.  They learned it as they went along! In human form, He was limited as to where He could be.  In the form of the Holy Spirit, He can be at all places at all times.  We know that He overcame death and saved the world.  They didn't know it until they finally recognized Him and He proved it to them.  In a way, we "watch" the story like a movie.  They LIVED it.  They physically, with their own eyes, saw Him die.  They watched Him take His last breath and cry out to His Heavenly Father.  We get to flash forward to the good part--He rose again!   They had to suffer for 3 days, in immense sadness with broken hearts!

But when they put all of the pieces together and saw and recognized their Jesus, there was no holding them back! THey wanted to tell the world!  It didn't matter what they had to go through to do it.  I want to be more like that--compelled to tell His story.   I also want to recognize Jesus in every day situations.  He is alive and well working in us and through us this very day!  Yeah, Friday came, but so did Sunday! 

Dear Jesus,

Thank you so much for what You did.  It is hard to think about.  It is hard to talk about.  It was so terrible we cannot bear to dwell on it too much.  We helped to do it.  We drove the nails.  You felt our pain, shame, sin and failures on that cross.  We don't deserve Your Gift.  But we are eternally grateful and blessed. 

Grant me the wisdom and revelation to know You better so that I recognize You in my everyday situations.  Help me to know and remember at all times that I have resurrection POWER residing/abiding in me as your HOly Temple!  No greater love has ever been or ever will be than Your love for me.  Help me release more of me to You so that I may be filled with that love in all possible measures. 

This Easter weekend, and always, help us to remember the Cross, but let us not dwell there too long.  Let us linger more at the empty tomb!  LEt us look for You on our roads to Emmaus and SEE you there with us--shoulder-to-shoulder.

I praise You and Love You!   Amen.

Happy Easter everyone!  Praise the Lord that we serve a RISEN Saviour.  Death could not defeat Him.  He has ALREADY won the war against all evil.  Let us RECOGNIZE Him walking with us everyday!