Photo courtesy of Adrian Cogua at Pexels.com

Hi everyone, Ian from Sydney here. How was your Easter? We hope it was full of goodness and happiness, especially with the wonderful message of the Resurrection. Jesus is Risen!

Easter has passed for another year. What happens now? Did the message of the Resurrection change anything in our lives? Is anything different in our hearts and/or lives since Maunday Thursday, less than a week ago?

Maybe? Maybe not?

Why not take a few moments simply to reflect on what’s going on in your heart now. Check in with yourself to see how you are? Perhaps jot a few notes in your journal or phone.

Peace is Available

I love the scene in John 20, the night of Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples are locked in the Upper Room terrified the Jewish leaders are going to break down the door and haul them away. They’re confused. Word is out Jesus is alive. But where is He?

Let’s read it together¹:

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them …”

Let’s stop there. Did you catch it? Jesus appears out of nowhere. The door is still locked. If he’s risen from the dead, surely, he’d have to use the door to enter? Wouldn’t he? Then the being standing in front of them must be a ghost?

Let’s read on … 

“and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

They’re frightened because they’re unsure who or what is standing in front of them. Jesus comforts them with “Peace be with you!” To further convince the disciples he isn't a ghost, Jesus showed them his wounds that were healed but scars were still evident.

That seemed to do the trick. The disciples were convinced. Interestingly, in another Gospel (Luke 24:41-43), Jesus asks the disciples for something to eat. Which is quite funny when you think about it, but another way of demonstrating he’s not a ghost. Never say, Jesus doesn’t have a sense of humour.

The disciples are now convinced their friend and leader is here in the flesh. What a mixed set of emotions they must be experiencing. I expect relief is one of them which would bring such a comfort at this scary time.

Breath of God.

I imagine there’s a lot of good banter going on as this group is reunited, but Jesus isn’t finished with making this night even more special for his tribe.

Let’s see what he says next:

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus offers them peace and then breathes on the group. Wow! Can you picture what a moment this is for everyone present. The breath of God is life! Remember, Adam was formed from the dust and given life by God breathing life in him.

Closed Doors

What doors have you closed in your heart and mind? Invite Jesus into them, if you're able.  And picture him saying those wonderful words, “Peace be with you.” Not just once, but twice.

And then picture Jesus, the lover of your soul, breathing into you. Breathing new life, new love, new strength, new hope, and new joy.

Receive it. All of it. Breathe in His peace. And breathe out the stress, the worry, the fear, the whatever, that has locked you up.

Now step out boldly. Spirit is with you. Spirit is never leaving for. Your heart no longer needs to be locked up.

Jesus is Risen! Holy Spirit is alive in us!

Grace and peace, dear SUMites and enjoy the peace and release.

Note 1: The Bible passage referred to is taken from John 20: 19-23 (NIV)

Who is this man? (Luke 8:25)

Yeshua, the son of the living God. (Matthew 16:16)

My brothers and sisters, while in prayer, I have sat on hundreds of beaches with the Lord, and with a hurting or a hungry person who seeks and receives His love, wisdom, and healing. I’ve watched as our Savior holds the hands of a man or woman and releases them from insignificance, rejection, and false identities.

I’ve been in the room when our Savior entered. His presence is overwhelming and so intense, that I tremble. His love, goodness, and power are transformative, so much so, that He realign my thoughts, my disappointments, and sets me back on my feet, steadied on the narrow path.

His voice is tender, patient with us, and when he and the father converse, they share a familiar chuckle as they smile at our progress in our faith walk.

I’ve also experienced the sheer power of Jesus. I have viewed him in his glorified state. The devil appears next to him as a flea, whom the Lord flicks with a finger and he vanishes in fear. Jesus is strong, the ultimate power and ruler overall!

Jesus is my only protector. His blood heals, realigns my DNA, forgives, and blots out the failures of my life. He delivers me from evil.

Jesus is available. He leads us into greater encounters of truth, hope, and overwhelms me with his fathomless love.

My friends, on this, Easter, Sunday, along with millions who live on earth combined with the great cloud of witnesses, who have gone before us, we collectively proclaim our belief and faith in our King!

We declare before all of heaven and earth, that we are in love with an invisible man. We believe in heaven and an afterlife. We know in our hearts that Jesus came in the flesh, died, and arose on the third day. He is seated at the right hand of God.

He is the son of God.
He is the savior of the world.
He came to set the world right and reveal the kingdom of God on earth.
He is our Lord and lead us to our father, Yahweh.

Nothing is too hard for him. There is no sickness, mental struggle, or disease, he cannot heal. No one is too far away that he cannot reach. No devil or evil spirit can defeat him. Never will he leave or forsake you or me.

This is the Jesus we know. This is the Christ we love. This is the king, who we serve now, and for all eternity. 

I’m so thankful for the cross, the whipping post, and His glorious resurrection. I’m thankful with all of my heart Jesus willingly died for me and for you.

Who is this man? Yashua, the son of the living God. He is everything we will need or desire. And finally, and most importantly,

HE is risen!!!!

Just as he said!

Mark 16: 1-7 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Holy Week. It’s one of my favourite weeks of the year, but also one filled with sadness. It reminds me of Lectio 365’s Lenten Evening Meditation which they title, “Bright Sadness”.

I find the week is a microcosm of life with Jesus. We journey with Him, suffer death, wait for something to happen, and then there is newness in a resurrection of some sort.

It’s good to walk gently through this week and linger. I was reminded of this when I read Ann Voskamp’s post this morning  where she writes:

“Those looking for something sacred travel slow. Those looking for the holy linger.”

Linger with Jesus. However, you do this, but reading his Word is a great place to start. I enjoy reading the week’s liturgy as they walk you through Jesus’s week. We experience him entering Jerusalem on a donkey, him clearing out the temple, Mary’s wonderfully beautiful blessing with the expensive nard, preparation for Passover, the Passover meal in the Upper Room and then Easter.

I listened to Lectio 365's morning reflection today and it mentioned how the fragrance of the nard probably lingered on Jesus as he was crucified; the soldiers would have smelt it as they nailed his hands and feet to the Cross. Amazing.

Encountering Jesus

I’ve been reflecting for several weeks how the world is saturated in love. God is love and He is always present and therefore, His love is all around.

Every day we can choose to receive this love, to step into it, in some way. Receiving love can be hard for many of us, for a variety of reasons. It typically involves us making a conscious decision to do something and often requires making ourselves vulnerable which can be hard at the best of times.

If love is really all around (as the theme of the movie  ‘Love Actually’ suggests), how do we see it or receive it?

Photo courtesy of Pexels and Enrique

I love clouds. I’m fascinated by the variety of shapes and designs that God provides for us to view. God knows I love clouds. I talk to God about them, “what’s that shape, Lord?” I often see angel shapes which I love and varieties of other creations. I soak in His creativity up as a way of receiving His love for me. "Thank you, Lord. I know you're close!"

It might be taking the time to chat to a neighbour. Hugging someone and allowing yourself to receive the hug as well (Fiona and I are huggers, and we think they’re one of the best things ever!) It might be a grandchild hopping up into your lap and cuddling. It might simply being silent when you start to pray, allowing God to love you in the stillness and quiet of the morning.

Lingering is so important to realising the many ways God is actively present in our lives. In this special week of brightness and sadness, it’s especially relevant. God is always with us, loving us in our own unique ways, just like Martha mentioned on Monday that Jesus speaks to her in her southern language.

May I encourage you to linger this week with God and allow Him to love you.

What aspect of nature and/or God’s creation do you find stops you in your midst and makes you linger and ponder with the Lord? Why not share it in the comments as we’d all love to the encouragement.

Wishing all our SUMites a delightful Easter.

Grace and peace.

Hi SUM Nation,

Lynn Donovan here. Hope you had an amazing Easter. Mike asked me if he could attend church with me on Saturday. He said he would like to attend as long as it wasn't the early service. GRIN     WAHOO!!

My friends, I sat in service and was astounded by the pastor's message. For the first time that I can remember on an Easter Sunday, the full message of what happened to Jesus from the Last Supper to the Resurrection was told. This is significant for several reasons. One, the Resurrection story is FILLED, I MEAN COMPLETELY FILLED UP WITH SUPERNATURAL OCCURANCES. The death to life thing comes to mind. But, because so many visitors attend on an Easter Sunday, most pastors like to introduce Jesus as the compassionate, healing and life-changing Savior. AND He IS all of that.

But what makes the resurrection story compelling is the telling of how, in the middle of the day, Jerusalem went dark. Because when he died, darkness filled the land. Utter, bitter darkness devoid of all hope. Then the most important place in the Temple the Veil, that separated God from humanity, supernaturally ripped in two, top to bottom.

AND my friends, rocks split apart. The land was rocked by an earthquake and then DEAD PEOPLE arose from the cemetery and went into town and visited with people. 

It is a fantastic story. The audience went wild. Our church experienced 26 baptisms on Friday night at the Good Friday service. I happened to prophetically paint that night. The painting is below. Please notice the beam of light shining upon the head of Jesus. I did NOT paint that and the sunlight was coming in from the opposite direction. I can't explain how a perfect the beam of light is on the Christ. It's a supernatural thing.

GOD IS DOING SOMETHING IN OUR LIFETIME. It's bigger than we know or can expect. Hold on to your hat. Claim your family for the Kingdom of God. Pray and ask for greater faith and belief because we are heading into something the world hasn't seen in over 2,000 years.

Hallelujah!!  

So, what say you? Want to be part of it? Pray the prayer and then say AMEN in the comments. I'll join your faith and let's bring His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. 

Hugs, and blessings, Lynn

Father, in the name of Jesus, DO NOT pass me by. I want to experience everything that your death and resurrection have provided to me and my family. I will not sit back in fear. I have the Holy Spirit and the Wisdom of Heaven to guide and protect me. I want to see the miraculous. I want to pray and watch you heal people. I will be a disciple that casts out demons and brings freedom to many. I stand upon your truth, your word and the power of the Atonement. In Your Mighty name, Jesus. AMEN

Easter Revival 2023 with Lynn Donovan from Marching Around Jericho on Vimeo.

Friday, the day of all days!

Matthew 26:47-27:66, Mark 14:43-15:46, Luke 22:47-23:56, John 18:2-19:37

There’s a song I heard this week for the first time called ‘Thank you Jesus for the Blood’. Well, as we come together on this little place in the web, that’s what I want to say to Jesus today

Thank you for the blood.

There was a moment from the last supper that struck me for the first time yesterday. It was the part when Jesus handed out the bread and the wine and said “I have so longed to do this –“ I could feel his emotion, as if he was saying, “Please, take this – It’s so special to me what I’m about to do for you.”

I call my young-adult sons my babies sometimes. They don’t mind, I’m silly. I call up the stairs to them sometimes: “My babies!” But in all seriousness with this last supper moment I can feel Jesus’ heart in the same way: We’re his babies. And of course he would do this for us because that’s who we are to him -- His children.

On this Passover night, beginning in the Gethsemane garden, Jesus carried out the greatest act of parental love ever seen.

He physically fell over in that garden and sweated blood, so great was his distress.

He was betrayed by those he loved, his very children.

He was spat at in the face.

Blindfolded.

Slapped.

Mocked. Parodied.

Alone.

Ganged-up on.

Falsely testified against.

"We want Barabbas!!" Shout the crowd. "Release the murderer, Barabbas!!! Crucify Jesus, he is worse than that man!!

Scourged. Over and over and over.

Stripped naked.

Punctured with the crown of thorns.

Beaten on the head with a stick.

And then nailed …

Thirsty to the point of torment.

Hung in excruciating pain.

Blasphemed against.

“But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Said Jesus; as if to say, "all is going according to plan."

THEN, THEN, THEN:

As he gave up his spirit in power the sheer awe of the moment showed itself. It was a moment like no other the world has ever seen. An earthquake hit, rocks were split, pitch-black darkness descended on the daytime and the veil in the temple tore violently from top to bottom.

Those watching began to tremble. What have we done? “Truly this was the Son of God”.

Quiet awe. Fear.

And centuries later, here in my little back-garden shed where I’m writing from, I know that because of those events I now have eternal life. What's more, that eternal life has already begun. I can be with him even now.

Mind. Blowing.

Jesus spends Thursday with his disciples.

Matthew 26:17--29, Mark 14:12-25, Luke 22:7-20, John 13:1-17:26

No more crowds; it's just him and them. Round an intimate table he washes their feet and tenderly gives them bread and wine. He says this is something he has longed to do: He just adores them so much, and this bread and wine is intensely special. His body, his blood -- He's giving himself to them.

He then speaks to them, for a long time, about his love for them and what it means to be a disciple.

This week I got an email from one of our British SUM friends, Jim Edwards, sharing some thoughts on the last supper. It's nice hearing other perspectives so I thought I'd share his today. He said: --

***

Ann, thank you for guiding us through Holy Week. It’s such a good practice as others have mentioned in the comments to deliberately walk through each day alongside Jesus.

Now it’s Wednesday. A quiet day. Well, it is in the Scriptures but there was still a lot of activity, some in public and some of it in secret.

A day Jesus’ enemies plot against him. We’ll get to that in a moment.

Jesus Teaches (Luke 21:37-38)

As he has done each day so far Jesus leaves Bethany to travel to Jerusalem to teach in the temple. Remember, there are millions of people in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival and Jesus is taking every opportunity to teach as many people as He can.

What do you think it would have been like in Jerusalem this week? I’m not good in crowds but the opportunity to hear Jesus would be something special, wouldn’t it?

Plotting to Kill Jesus (Matthew 26:3-5; Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2)

We’re told in Matthew that the leaders of the Sanhedrin are meeting at the home of their boss, the chief priest Caiaphas. They want to surprise Jesus by arresting him by stealth, so that there isn’t an uproar from the masses of people in the city.

The decision is made. But they must wait until the end of the Passover Festival which is tomorrow (Thursday) night. The crowds would leave the city on Friday so there’s less chance of a riot.

There is now an increasing sense of darkness in the city. The plot is hatched, they have their spy, Judas, and now they just wait for Thursday to be over.

I’ve always found it incredible that one of his followers would betray Jesus. I wonder if Judas wanted Jesus to be that messianic King who would take on the Romans and help the Israelites live a life of peace?

Judas challenges us to wonder if we have expectations of Jesus that maybe He doesn’t meet? Perhaps healing of a relative, rescuing a prodigal child, or salvation of our spouse? Why not take a moment to talk to Jesus about any hurts or disappointments you might have regarding any expectations you have of Him.

And now to Maundy Thursday we go.

Have a blessed Easter, dear SUMites. May I remind us to keep our eyes and hearts firmly focused on Jesus. He’s right here with us.

Rather than leaving you with a song as Ann has done this week, I thought I'd leave you with some reflections on this day from the pen of Ann Voskamp. I've been following Ann now for over 1o years and she has such a gentle soul for Jesus which I so admire. I trust you find Ann's words encouragement as we step into the next couple of tough days. Grace and peace, dear friends.

My friends, we've reached Tuesday of Holy Week.

Matthew 21:20-26:16, Mark 11:19-14:11, Luke 20:1-22:6, John 12:20-50.

Honestly, so much happened on this day that it makes my head spin. It's not just the amount of things that happened; it was also the things that Jesus spoke that were particularly intense.

You'll see what I mean in a minute.

On this day, Jesus had several really intense conversations with different groups of people: The Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection, the Pharisees who were challenging him as usual, and his disciples who just had a whole bunch of confused questions. He was also asked a key question: About the end of the age.

Is it a natural human thing to think of the world ending? Maybe!

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:3, NKJV).

So Jesus told his disciples about the future. He told them that Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies, and he told them about what's known as 'the great tribulation' -- a very difficult time in the world's future. He was pointing not only to the siege of Jerusalem that would occur in 70AD, but he was also speaking of a future eschatological event: The end of the age.

He told his disciples that he would come again on the clouds, in glory. And yet he also told them, more immediately, that in three days’ time he would be crucified:

“You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” (Matthew 26:2, NKJV)

His disciples were sorrowful.

Later, in a house surrounded by those he loved, a woman who herself loved him (Mary) cracked an expensive alabaster flask of oil over him. Judas watched and, filled with the wrong spirit, became a voice of criticism:

“Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and used to take what was in it” (John 12:5-6, NKJV)

Jesus answered:

“Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial”. (v. 7)

Quietly then, Judas slipped away and started making plans for Jesus’s betrayal, receiving thirty pieces of silver to give up his friend.

What stands out most to me about this particular day is that Jesus talks repeatedly about something tough: The eternal destination of people according to their own choices. In several of these conversations he alludes unashamedly both to hell and eternal life. Some in the world will go one direction, others will go the other direction. He speaks of disobedient hearts versus faithful hearts, sheep versus goats. It's Mary contrasted with Judas. 

An alabaster flask contrasted with thirty pieces of silver.

Jesus says that in a future time of judgement he will sit on the throne of his glory and divide people: The one category (goats) will go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels; the other (sheep) will have eternal life. 

Gulp.

For me personally this a very difficult part of the Gospel message. I struggle to speak of hell as well as heaven, and I struggle to understand it. But I do see it there in the words of Jesus, and so I must hold that info but also trust that God is good and he knows what he is doing. 

I suppose the big lesson here is this: There is eternal life waiting for those who choose to repent and say yes to Him. For as Jesus said on this particular Tuesday, those who go into eternity will be like the angels of God in heaven.

I, for one, know where I want to be. With him, like the woman who broke that alabaster flask. So on that note, I end today’s post with the song 'Alabaster' from Rend Collective. Hope you like this one.

Ian will be writing tomorrow, so over to him next!

Love you all,

Ann

Hi everyone, we have reached Monday, four days before the crucifixion.

Matthew 21:10-19, Mark 11:12-18, Luke 19:45-48, and John 12:20-50.

On this day, Jesus does two key things: One looks big, one looks small. We'll get to that in a minute. But first, I want to say that Jesus is feeling it. He says to his disciples on this day,

My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name. (John 12:27-28, NKJV).

Later in the week Jesus tells his disciples he will be crucified and betrayed. Eventually he becomes so distressed by this fate that he sweats drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.

But first, there are several 'symbolic jobs' for him to do this week and the Father is strengthening him so that he can get through this week.

On this Monday, then, here are the two things that Jesus did that made it into the gospel accounts. They involve (1) the temple, and (2) a fig tree.

(1) The Temple

Jesus went into the temple and drove out those who were buying and selling in it. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said:

Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves'. (Mark 11:17, NKJV)

And then after doing that he simply sat with the people, and he taught.

(2) The Fig Tree

The other thing he did on this day is seemingly smaller, but it's actually huge. He was hungry and saw a fig tree. The fig tree was not yet in season, but nevertheless he looked for the fruit on it. When he saw no fruit he said to the fig tree: "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."

It was a seemingly passing comment. Yet the next day his disciples noticed with amazement that the fig tree had withered and died; and once again they paused in awe and thought to themselves, 'What just happened?'

See, they had seen Jesus bring someone to life -- Lazarus. Now what they were seeing was equally miraculous: With a simple spoken word Jesus had put something to death. Life and death were in his tongue.

"Lazarus, come forth!" (John 11:43, NKJV)

"(Fig tree), Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." (Mark 11:14, NKJV)

The thing he put to death was fruitlessness. In the temple he also put to death fruitlessness. And that act of speaking to the fig tree showed just how powerful his mouth was, and how he had all authority under heaven. This teaches us something about our own authority when we follow him: For we too have the power of life and death in our tongues.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21, NKJV).

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain 'Be removed and be cast into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whateve he says.' (Mark 11:23, NKJV).

So today's lesson is that we don't want any kind of dead, fruitlessness like the religion seen in the temple. No, we want the kind of kingdom lifestyle that Jesus modeled, where our tongues bring life, and put fruitless things to death.

A hearty amen to that!

Friends, how are you enjoying walking through Holy Week so far?

I'm going to finish with one of my favorite worship songs: Glorified. I have chosen this song because Jesus on this day asked the Father to glorify His name through all that he was about to endure.

See you again tomorrow,

Ann

Hi friends,

It's Ann here and I'm looking forward to diving into our journey through Holy Week. Let's start here:

Following in Jesus’ footsteps, we find ourselves in Jerusalem five days before the crucifixion. It's Sunday.

This day is described in Matthew 21:1-9, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19. And based on those four accounts, here's how it went:

Lazarus has just been raised from the dead in the most crazy miracle EVER. The disciples are mind-blown. Word is spreading like wildfire: "You know Lazarus from the next village over? He was raised from the dead!!!"  

"Seriously? Seriously? How do you know?"

"He was starting to stink! That's how we know."

Side note: I have a friend who has seen someone raised from the dead in a church in South Africa. I hunger to see those kinds of miracles.

Anyway, back to Jerusalem in 30AD. Rumors are circulating:

“It's that man, Jesus, from Nazareth.”

“Nazareth? Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

And, against this backdrop of frenzy, the disciples and Jesus arrive at the outskirts of Jerusalem. Crowds, meanwhile, are flocking to Jerusalem in the hope of seeing him. Belief is rising.

Because Jesus only did what the Father said, I imagine it is the Father who tells him: “Ask your disciples to get a donkey and its colt from Bethphage village.” It is a quirky request, but whenever God asks unusual things of us it has purpose. In this case the purpose was to fulfil an ancient prophecy:

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9, NKJV)

The disciples didn’t understand the donkey until after Jesus had died. How amazing that would have been for them to uncover that ancient prophecy afterwards, and say to each other –

"Ohh, he entered Jerusalem on a donkey."

Awed silence.

"Ohh, Jerusalem did shout that day. They called him King."

Awed silence.

We know the next bit: Jesus did enter Jerusalem on that donkey and the city issued a shout:

Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!

"Who IS this?" the rest of the city wondered. And the pharisees – their nagging voice providing a constant backdrop – despaired and grew enraged. They were losing the battle and commented to each other:

You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” (John 12:19, NKJV)

To that I say, centuries on, "Too right, Pharisees! The world has gone after him." A third of the world is now Christian, at least nominally. Our savior, Jesus, came to defeat the enemy and that Sunday was only the beginning.

I'm going to finish with a rendition of the song 'Hosanna', which was sung live on the Temple Mount a few years ago. Watching this video it's clear to see how the world has indeed gone after King Jesus.

Photo courtesy of MinAn at Pexels.com

Hello, Ian from sunny Sydney. Lent started last Wednesday 22 February with Ash Wednesday. It’s a season that marks the 40 days leading up to Easter, mirroring the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness. Accordingly, it’s a season when we have an opportunity to consider that we too are sent into a wilderness of sorts by the Holy Spirit so that we can draw closer to Him and deepen our faith.

Repentance

Often, much of this season can be spent on penitence which can be misconstrued as an emphasis on our sinfulness. As we know when Jesus stepped out of the wilderness His first words were:

“The time has come; the Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15 NIVUK)

This is an invitation to turn our lives around; that’s the meaning of ‘metanoia’ which is the Greek word used here in this verse for ‘repent’. Lent is a great season for us to do just that; take some time with Jesus and reflect on our friendship with Him, how we’d like it to deepen or otherwise.

Glass Half Full

One of the opportunities in Lent is to reflect on the goodness of God. And our inherent goodness as His beloved children. Remember at the end of Genesis 1, God sat back and reviewed all He’d created and regarded it as ‘very good’.

As some of you will recall, I tend to read one or two books during Lent to aid my devotional time. One I’m reading this time is “Small Surrenders” by Emilie Griffin. She says this in one of the early pages:

“One way to spend Lent, even as we reflect on our sins, is to consciously dwell on our redemption. No, the glass is not half empty. It is half full. The full half is the important half, the part that can make our lives complete and whole.” (Kindle edition, 14%)

I love that notion of glass half full. Let’s be people who meditate on the goodness of God, of what we have in being in relationship with Him.

Small Surrenders

Griffin weaves the idea of daily small surrenders through each page. We often think we need to do “BIG” things to turn our lives around when often it’s the daily choice of surrendering something to God. He understands us, He knows everything we think, and what we’re going to say and do before we say and do. He’s always gracious and always kind.

A small surrender might be to ‘fast’ from something for some days during Lent. Or it might be to linger longer on a Bible passage, to try to sit in silence with God for a few minutes, to pop in next door to say hi to your neighbor who you haven’t spoken to for months.

Small surrenders are a choice. Ours to choose. We might be surprised by the grace we receive in response. As Griffin says, “grace comes little by little. But we can choose” to live a life of small surrenders or not.

Let’s share in the comments whether Lent is a season you observe. If not, that’s okay. There are no brownie points for observing it. If you do, what do you do to observe it. Are there any practices you take up or do you fast? Love for us to start a discussion or two below.

Many blessings, dear SUMites.

Hi everyone, Ann here.

After Friday's post I've had a little thought stuck in my head that's somewhat creative but it's been speaking a powerful message to me. It's this:

When attending church alone, many of us lament, naturally. This thing is tough, and even those who have attended church alone for decades will say that. For those of us women, we think about our husband: 'He is not here,' and it can be painful enough to bring tears. For the guys, the version of that is 'She is not here.'

However, what's struck me is that those words, 'He is not here', also happen to be the words that were used by the angels who announced Jesus's resurrection at the empty tomb. For them it carried a completely opposite message -- A message of victory and joy:

He is not here, He has risen! (Luke 24:6; Matthew 28:6).

Amen, amen, amen to that.

So, for us we could say we have two versions of 'He is not here' in our life. We have the version where we're looking at our spouse's spiritual condition and seeing it as a dead situation. And then there's the version where we're looking at Jesus and his resurrection, awe-struck. These are two very different things in our life.

I wonder if we can take that little 'play on words' and think about it some more. There is a real counter-truth to our pain of doing faith alone, and that counter-truth is that JESUS is fighting for us in this situation, as are the angels. Knowing that, if we say 'our spouse is not here' about a hopeless situation we can then follow it up by declaring the same words were used by the angels about Jesus: But He (Jesus) has risen! 

In other words:

He is not here (my husband, that is).

BUT, hang on, there is power working in my family:

Jesus is risen! And that means the enemy is disarmed in this situation, death has lost its sting, and the power of God is working in my family for the salvation of all my household.

How powerful is the resurrection for our life circumstance? Can we trust God to do a miracle and raise the spiritually dead? Absolutely. Yes, our spouse has free will, but we can at least know that the resurrection power of Jesus is a force as mighty as an atom bomb. 

When the women went to the tomb on that morning of the resurrection expecting to anoint a dead body with perfume and spices, they instead got the shock of their lives to encounter angels. Angels in shining garments declare to the women:

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen! (Luke 24:6, NKJV)

And, an angel with a countenance like lightning and clothing as white as snow, says:

Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead (Matthew 28:5-7, NKJV)

That is our God! That is his truth. Whew, mighty power.

Knowing that power, I wonder if we can challenge ourselves to do the following: Next time in church when we feel that sadness of our spouse's absence, perhaps we can try to put that thought away deliberately because it is us focusing on a dead body. Instead, let's say out loud --

But, He (Jesus) is not here, he is risen! And that same power of the resurrection is working in my family.

I'd like to finish with a prayer --

Dear Jesus, thank you that you did conquer the grave and you did give us power and hope. We ask for every single person in this SUM community, that you will help us not fall into lament when we sit in church alone, but help us instead to focus on your power and the resurrection. Show us more of what your resurrection power can do in our families. Thank you, Lord.

Love you all, 

Ann

My friends, today it is Resurrection Sunday, and along with the wider Body of Christ around the world we're celebrating this wonderful, wonderful event.

It's funny to think about how that group of people in first-century Jerusalem (e.g., the disciples) were so normal ... And yet what they experienced that day was completely mind-blowing.

That day, that Sunday of the Resurrection, the women went to the tomb to find a stone rolled away, and men dressed in white -- Angels. One of the women, Mary Magdalene, even saw Jesus with her own eyes. Was she crazy??

Peter and John raced to the tomb to find it was indeed empty. The burial garments were lying in a pile, including the body's head covering neatly folded in a corner. What on earth had happened?

Two men were walking on a road to Emmaeus and Jesus appeared to them to explain the scriptures and what had just happened. As soon as they recognized him he vanished from their sight. "Didn't our hearts burn within us?" They said afterwards, trying to debrief with each other.

And finally, the grieving disciples were in a locked room hiding from the Jews when suddenly their beloved Master appeared from the dead in front of them! They nearly fainted with shock, but then got to touch his side, saw his hands, and sat back in awe, hearts pounding.

That was the immediate reality, though several of these people might have wondered if it was real. The Bible says many doubted, and it's not surprising. It was an extraordinary day which they would never forget.

What they couldn't possibly have imagined, however, is what would happen to the world after that. That, to me, is as big a miracle. That resurrection power swept through the world, beginning in Jerusalem, and changed individual life after individual life, eventually reaching yours and mine. It first touched people in the places where the twelve apostles took the Gospel, and then continuing to explode like an atom bomb from generation to generation, like a powerful domino effect. Signs and wonders often accompanied the message, as did a lot of prayer behind the scenes by saints past and present.

The resurrection message of Jesus had the power to spread without compulsion or force and it changed whole nations. Every authentic conversion that occurred did so by that same resurrection power that lifted Jesus from the dead.

That you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead .. (Ephesians 1:18-19, NKJV) 

Today almost one third of the world's population calls themselves Christian, and the resurrection power of Jesus Christ continues to touch individual lives, one after another. 

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. (John 21:25, NKJV)

The above verse is the very last verse of the four Gospels. Though it is speaking of all the things Jesus did in first-century Israel, it feels to me like a prophecy too. Indeed, the world truly cannot contain the number of the things that could be written about what Jesus has done ever since the Resurrection. Testimonies of changed lives are now as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.

Amazing.

What do we do with that? Well, I'd say we must stand on the fact that the power of the resurrection is such a powerful force that it changed our world. If that is the case it can change our home too.

And that brings us to the end of our time of commemorating the passion of Christ. Dear SUMites, I hope you have a meaningful day and let's celebrate the Resurrection today with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength.

Love,

Ann

Dear friends

It's Ann here, and we've reached Friday, the very last day of Holy Week and the day where Jesus was eventually taken to his death.

This particular year I have been thinking a lot about the visual signs of power in that last moment on the cross:

"From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened they were terrified, and exclaimed "Surely He was the Son of God!" (Matthew 27:45-54, NIV)

That picture stuns me. The brooding darkness, the rock-splitting earthquake, and the curtain in the temple being violently ripped in two. I'm picturing the shock of those who discovered or saw that curtain. Would they have registered at all what was going on?

At that very moment humanity was being given free access to an intimate relationship with God. As Jesus breathed his last, he said: "It is finished." It's done.

The earth shook, the rocks split, the tombs broke open. Dead people would start waking up and coming out of their tombs days later. Can you imagine?! The sheer power of that moment leads me to ask a question of myself: What exactly does the power of the cross mean for my own life?  

I had a chat with a Christian friend last week. She told me that she was facing a distressing situation at work that was proving to be quite severe. A colleague of hers was displaying some very dark behavior and she was being challenged in a number of ways that actually seemed spiritual. She then told me God's answer to her had been this:

"Lean on the finished work of the cross."

She and I chatted a little about that, and both felt it was a somewhat elusive phrase, but nevertheless a phrase that really made us think. What does it look like, exactly?

Lean on the finished work of the cross.

In our lives, the finished work of the cross means that the enemy is disarmed. It means that good is more powerful than evil. It also means that Jesus has cleared our own sin to such a great degree that we know we are loved.

Lean on the finished work of the cross.

The finished work of the cross is power in our lives, and it means we have the kind of access to God that we otherwise never could have had. It means rock-splitting power. Resurrection power.

So, with all that said, here's a little idea: Consider sitting with the Lord to ask him about what the finished work of the cross means for your current circumstances. Share in the comments any insights you come up with.

And .. We will be back on Sunday!

Ann

The Passion Week – Wednesday- by Lynn Donovan

The Silent Day

SUM Nation, on this Wednesday as we remember and honor the Passion of Christ, let’s focus on what happened on Wednesday leading up to the resurrection. The Bible offers little information regarding Jesus, His disciples, and their activity that day.

But we know many things were rumbling underground that day. This is when I believe satan issued his command to kill the Christ. The devil knew from the beginning who Jesus was and believed it would be catestrophic to allow him to live. Evil foresaw the future where the entire world became healed, prospered, and stepped into our original design and destiny as children of God.

The satanic evil counsels conspired plans to stir up Judas Iscariot and the Sanhedrin to torture and kill the Son of God. Their wicked laughter shook the blackened ruins of hell, as the tempters planned Christ’s death with a mere pieces of silver placed before a very broken and greedy man, Judas Iscariot. Demonic generals inhabited the religious rulers and they formed a plan to kill LIFE itself.

BUT……. If satan knew what would happen with the death of Jesus, he would have stopped it at all cost!

In the silence this is what God was doing!!!!!!  Jesus aligns fully with His destiny. He is resetting the entirety of humanity back to our original design and purpose.

• Death is DEFEATED. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:54
• He creates a new species of beings on earth. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17
• The Holy Spirit arrives in power and with comfort. ACTS 1:8
• We become Children of God and co-heirs with Christ. ROMANS 8:17
• Our eternity is certain. 1 JOHN 2:25
• Daily life is covered with hope and promises. 2 CORINTHIANS 1:20
• We reign with Christ forever. REVELATION 5:10
• We have life abundant. John 10:10
• We have a renewed mind, a healed heart, a firm foundation and a life of promise. ROMANS 12:2, 1 PETER 5:10, MATTHEW 7:24-27, ROMANS 10:13

In the silence of a single day, Father, saw His Son and affirmed Him. He saw His many children lost and deceived and knew they were about to experience the greatest moment of all time.

The death and the glorious resurrection of the Messiah. Yeshua, who is Christ the Lord!

Is silence your companion today? Is the enemy plotting-destroying your hope and peace? Is it a struggle to see a way forward because all is silent and dark?

My friend, stand up because Sunday is your destiny. It IS WRITTEN. IT IS ACCOMPLISHED ALREADY! And life within the Kingdom is not just a wish. IT IS OUR BEAUTIFUL REALITY!

We can do all things through Christ, because He LIVES!

Leave me your prayer requests and let’s destroy the silence and live a loud and bold life. In Jesus name. AMEN. Blessings and hugs, Lynn

"Then He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and began to pray, 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me - nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done.' Then an angel appeared to Him, strengthening Him. Being in anguish, He prayed more fervently, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground" (Luke 22:39-44, CSB).

Jesus felt fear, He felt anguish, He felt overwhelmed, He felt exhaustion. We know this because of scriptures like the one above. But what did Jesus do about it? What was His response to this event He knew was causing all these feelings? Even in the face of pain beyond measure, He told the Father, "Not my will, but YOUR will be done." Jesus had human feelings. That is one of the beautiful things about conversing with Him in prayer, we can be honest with Him and take comfort in knowing He truly understands what it is like to be human. We know Jesus NEVER sinned, yet He did have feelings. It was His response to those feelings that we can learn so much from!

Jesus did not take human emotions lightly. He knew exactly how much trouble they could cause if one gave in to them. I am sure that is one of the reasons He frequently sought alone time with God. He knew He HAD to stay close to the Father, every moment of the day. This was one example He gave us of how to survive in the flesh and not fall into temptations. Constant communion with Father! He also showed us how to fight against Satan, using God's word (Matt 4:1-11), resting when we need to (Matt 8:24), and in the gathering of the disciples He showed us the importance of a supportive faith community!

His simple, yet profound prayer in the garden showed us what we should all do in times of great crisis and pain, times of fear and exhaustion, times of sorrow and anguish, even in times of hope and anticipation: "Not my will, but Yours be done."

I recently had a sort of come-to-Jesus moment in my life. Emotions were running high and I was faced with a hard decision. One that would very much change my life. I could run towards this issue. Face it and work it out. Or I could run and choose the easy way. The calmer waters full of instant gratification and self righteousness. So I prayed, but it was one of those prayers where you THINK God is going to agree with you, ya know those? Well just imagine how I felt when He gave me very clear instructions to do exactly what I DID NOT want to do! Funny how that works isn't it? ;)

So, after crying my eyes out and having a little pity party, I said, "Okay, not my will, but Yours be done." And you know what? The weight of this issue, which before felt suffocating, was suddenly lighter. Peace has been filling me ever so slowly and gently as each day passes that I keep choosing to live in His will. I have not seen the fruit of this decision yet, but the obedience and trust in the Father is more important than the result itself. I know I am on the road God wants me to be on. I just need to quit thinking I know a short cut, because He has the map! ;) "Not my will, but Yours be done." Not my way, but YOUR way Lord!

Is there anything in your life to need to let go of? Or maybe even trying to let go of before God has told you to? Ask God about it today! With a humble heart and listening ears say "Not my will, but Yours be done," and see what peace comes when you walk in His will! I would love to discuss this with you all in the comments. Have a blessed Holy Week my SUM family!

Amanda

Dear SUM family,

It's Ann here and I wanted to tell you about some special plans we have for next week -- Holy Week.

Next week we are going to take some time to honor Jesus by focusing on his final week on earth, his death and his resurrection.

Lynn, Ian, Tiffany, Amanda and I are going to take it in turns to write a devotional each day, and we'll walk through Holy Week together. Ian is going to kick us off on Monday, and we so hope you'll join us.

We're really looking forward to it. We all love this time of year, and it's a good chance to lift our eyes off our circumstances and onto this incredible LOVE story.

For God so loved the world that He gave his begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NKJV)

Many of you know we also have a Facebook group. That group is led by two wonderful SUMites, Gladys Arias Rosario and Barb Twigg. Well, several of the ladies in that group are going to do something special on Resurrection Sunday. They're each going to put a picture/photo on their own Facebook profile with the words 'Jesus belongs in my city'. They'll be a little creative, so no two posts will look the same. Once they're up if you'd like to take a look at these posts you can search for #Jesusinmycity, #Resurrectioninmycity and #SUM. And hey, if you feel like joining in and doing the same, please do!

Well, I will leave it there but we will see you on Monday, ready to journey through Holy Week.

Love,

Ann

Photo by Italo Melo from Pexels

A month ago, I wrote this post about shifting focus onto Jesus. Why do we want to focus more on Jesus? Because in discovering how to continually draw close to God, we learn how to let go of control which helps us to worry less and to love more. And now I start fulfilling my commitment to you on how to do it. Well, on some ways I've found to do it. :)

Lent starts Today!

It’s significant that this post lands on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Perhaps you don’t pay much attention to Lent. And that’s okay. Lent marks the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness and perhaps more significantly, as we journey through this season, we begin to appreciate with greater understanding the gift of Jesus' death. I love Lent as it helps me shift my focus. By choosing to be intentional in fasting, taking up a new spiritual practice, and reading specific Lenten resources, I find my focus shifts. A little. And a little is good enough¹.

A Trouble-Free Life

I was thrilled to read Tiffany’s post of a few days ago where she wrote about shifting her focus towards a calling she believes God has put on her heart. She took her eyes off worrying about how her husband might react and turned them to her calling.

I think all of us can relate to that conundrum. Out of fear of upsetting our spouse and/or homelife, we elect to choose the safe option. I get that. I’ve lived like that most of my married life. And please don’t get me wrong, sometimes (maybe often) God will guide us to choose that safer option.

But God wants all of us. His love for us is so deep and intense, it is better than life as David says in Psalm 63. He knew it from personal experience. God knows our marriage, He’s all over it. And in always choosing the safer option as I’ve mostly done, I’m not sure it’s drawn my wife closer to meeting Jesus. Because when I've done that perhaps I’ve chosen her and my marriage over God.

I’ve come to realise God can handle our marriage and my spouse. We need to intentionally hand both over to Him in the process of shifting our focus towards Him.

In doing so, does it mean our spouses will soon discover Jesus? Possibly not? But it’s not ours to control. It’s God’s. Does it mean our troubles suddenly disappear? Possibly not. God will walk with us through each and every one of them. Because He can’t help Himself not too. It’s our choice whether to keep holding onto Him through the trouble.

Meditating on the Word

For many years of my life as a believer, I’ve been more a ‘devotional’ reader of the Word. I’ll grab a handful of verses each day, read a Psalm and then move onto my day. But I’m realising I’m limiting its power. The Word is alive, it’s living. That’s one of the many mysterious aspects of following Jesus. And Jesus is in it. He is the Word.

Learning to meditate on the Word shifts our focus. Why? For many reasons, but I’ll just share one. Because we invite God into reading it with us. And wow, it then gets really exciting.

I’m not going to say anymore other than to lead us in a little exercise. I did this yesterday and found it so powerful and know I should share it. Bill Gaultiere was the one who led me through it (well his book did²)

Here we go. We’re going to read Matthew 11:25-30. Three times. Three times slowly. And after each time you’re going to ask yourself a different question. Bill suggests you give 30 minutes for the exercise. Maybe you can't do this now. May I encourage you to set aside some time to do it in the next few days. Save it up for the weekend.

Here’s the passage. Bill used the Message version so I’ll do that too.

“Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Questions to Mediate Upon (perhaps write your responses)

1. After 1^st reading: What is one word or phrase that shimmered or stood out to you? Meditate on it.

2. 2^nd reading: Enter into the passage. What do you feel? Is there a specific situation in your life today that relates? Why not pray about it? Ask God about it.

3. 3^rd reading: Do you sense God inviting you to something specific? Write it down and pray about it with God. Wait on Him to speak to you. Or simply rest quietly with God.

That’s it. How do you feel? Perhaps we can share some of our thoughts in the comments.

BTW, this form of Bible reading is known as Lectio Divina which is simply Latin for ‘Divine Reading’. It’s not supposed to replace one’s standard Bible reading rather complement it. It’s not something we need to do every day, but perhaps it might be a new practice some of us might like to introduce, gently move towards.

I’ll be back next time with another shift enabling practice. Remember, little by little. As Kate Bowler says, ‘good enough’ is well, good enough.

Grace and peace, my friends.

1. We place too much pressure on ourselves to be the best at everything, to control and we get disappointed when we miss the mark or don’t grow in our relationship with God, our spouse or our children. Kate Bowler in her little book is teaching me how to simply be ‘good enough’. It’s what I’m reading for Lent. 2. Bill Gaultiere, “Your Best Life in Jesus’ Easy Yoke’, Soul Shepherding.org, 2016.

Image courtesy of FAVPNG and workablequantit26

Hi Sumites, Ian here.

Another Easter has passed. Ann led us through Holy Week and I thought I’d share some thoughts on one of the stories we read post Jesus’ resurrection.

Thomas and his doubts

When Jesus first appeared to the group of disciples in the Upper Room on Sunday night, Thomas was missing. Why? The Biblical accounts don’t tell us.

In the days following, Thomas catches up with his friends, only to be informed that he missed the return of Jesus. Incredibly, he doesn’t believe them. Why would his friends mislead him? Why doesn’t Thomas trust their words?

Thomas responds with his well-known statement: ““Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24 NIV)

Soon after, the disciples are all assembled in the Upper Room once again. This time, Thomas is with them. Lo and behold, Jesus turns up (not bothering to use the door. Remember, He’s fully divine now!) Jesus knows what’s going on in Thomas’ heart and not wanting him to feel left out, offers Thomas the same opportunity he gave the others the previous night: come and touch my wounds. Tellingly, he encourages Thomas to “stop doubting and believe.”

We’re all like Thomas

Jesus knew Thomas’ doubt. What does he do? Jesus knows what will eliminate that doubt: touching his wounds. Lovingly, Jesus invited Thomas to draw close, touch and believe.

We all struggle with doubt from time to time, don’t we? When will my spouse come to know the Lord? Will they ever come to know the Lord? What happens if they don’t? Why does God appear to be silent when I cry out for help: for peace in my family, for healing of an illness, for an end to this pandemic?

Like Thomas, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus had doubts. Once again, Jesus gave them the best answer he could: Himself.

Jesus knows our doubts. He knows every single one of them. And like Thomas, Jesus invites us to experience … Him. Jesus asks us to do something, well, two things: act and believe.

Thomas missed the initial opportunity to stop doubting because he had separated himself from the others. I often do this too. When I’m fearful, or doubting, or simply fed up with the journey, I retreat. I shut myself off. I get lackadaisical with prayer and Bible reading. I stop listening, I allow myself to be easily distracted and stop being present.

Reading the Word, prayer and Christian community are all examples of acting. The reason these are so important are that Jesus is in all of them. He’s present. We’ll find Jesus in the Word, when we pray (and be still to listen) and when we meet with others (“when two or three are gathered”)

May I encourage each one of us to move towards Jesus. He always has open arms, inviting us to step into them, yes, to touch his wounds and simply, experience his presence. 

Which of these three activities: Bible reading, prayer, Christian community do you find most challenging when life becomes difficult? Be wonderful if we could share with each other in the comments below.

Grace and peace, my friends.

Dear SUMites, Ann here.

I hope you enjoyed our little experience of walking together through Easter. I have to say it was a great discipline for me to focus solely on Jesus that week. 

On the topic of 'focusing solely on Jesus', when I first started writing for this blog a few years ago I asked Lynn "What would you say the mission of this ministry is?" Her answer: "Point the SUM community to Jesus."

Obviously, on this blog we write about all sorts of topics around that. We try to revisit practical things like financial giving or church involvement – Things that are surprisingly common challenges for us all. And then the spiritual aspect of a SUM is also a big topic for us – Things like prayer, spiritual warfare, God’s promises and so on. But primarily the key to thriving in any hard circumstance, including a spiritually mismatched marriage, is this: Focus on Jesus.

Early on, when I was really finding it difficult having this gaping faith difference in my marriage, a friend gave me some advice:

“Ann, if you focus on Jesus, Bryce will eventually see the spiritual bloom on your cheek.”

Quite honestly, at the time I felt overwhelmed by that. Only because I was all-round 'overwhelmed' anyway. I guess it was all proving too difficult to follow Jesus when there was so much resistance. I thought if I did move forward towards Jesus any more than I already was doing, my husband might even leave me. It was incorrect thinking, but it was my fear. The whole thing seemed a massive risk, and I wondered if this advice was a little … Too simple, perhaps?

But now I look at that advice and think ‘Yep!’ Spot on. Thank you to that friend. It is simple, and it is the key. Focus on Jesus.

It’s not easy to push forward towards Jesus, but the fruits do come. The joy, the peace, the love, and eventually the power. For what happens is that the more we fill ourselves up with the Spirit of Christ, what we carry becomes far stronger than what is in the world. And that is when testimonies happen!

So now, on the topic of testimonies, I have something curious to share next time I write -- Something that has happened in my home. More on that another day (I'm smiling).

For now, how easy do you find it to 'focus on Jesus' amidst your SUM circumstances? Let’s chat!

Heavy Stones and Dry Bones – A Poem by Charumathi R. Rao

She walked down the dusty path, very early on that Sunday morn,

A bag of spices in her hands, teary faced and heart forlorn.

She’d seen him stripped and beaten blue, a crown of thorns upon His head,

All He’d said had seemed so true, but then He still did end up dead.

A hasty burial did no justice, to a man beloved and so adored;

So, with the spices and some friends, she walked to His tomb, down that road.

A heavy stone they’d rolled across, the tomb to shut and seal it well,

They’d posted guards to add to the loss, just in case some mischief fell.

“Now, who shall roll that heavy stone?”, she worried as they walked along;

She knew it was a heavy stone, and they surely needed someone strong.

But when they reached the place she saw, the open tomb, an empty grave,

And in the place of a body dead, the risen Savior she found instead…!

A broken seal and scattered guards, the heavy stone was rolled away,

Her tears of sadness turned to gladness, joy in place of utter dismay.

Overwhelmed and hope renewed, ran Mary, to declare that day,

That no heavy stone could hold Him down, not even death could block His way…!

And since that day, this hopeful news, remains the same and very true;

That Christ is risen from the dead, and His love our life’s rescue…!

We too can know, as Mary learned, and John and Peter, got to glean,

Nothing can stop, our risen Lord, no matter what, the dreary scene.
 

And so, my friend, what lies upon, your burdened, weary heart today?

What is the tomb you face with fear? What worries now, hold you prey?

What heavy stone, now shuts the tomb? And in the guarded tomb what lays?

Are they crushed hopes? Dreams in repose? Or prayers that are much delayed?

What valley do you have to cross? What dusty dry bones do you see?

What grief has held you captive long? What cares and worries do you flee?

What red sea now, stands in your way? Or are you in, a lengthy drought?

What’s that thing, you cannot bring, yourself to hope, once more - about?

If He can set the captives free, the blind to see and lame to walk;

If He can calm, the stormy seas, and even cause the mute to talk;

If He can bring the kingdoms down, and sets up kings upon their thrones,

What are heavy stones for Him or a valley full of dry bones?

So, whatever be, the tomb you face, shut and sealed, with heavy stones,

And whatever may, your valley be – that’s now filled, with dry bones,

Come - cast your cares, upon the Lord, For He’s alive and oh so well,

He’d fight for you and guard your soul, His victories you, will live to tell.

If He fought for, the saints of old, and proved His power, to Ezekiel and Mary,

He’d do much more, for you and me, if we’d seek His will, pray and tarry,

For He is faithful, true, mighty and able; alive and seated on His throne;

So, what are heavy stones for Him or even a valley full of dry bones?

Hi friends, Ann here.

As we consider the story of Jesus's last week, we've reached the day after the crucifixion.

And today, I've been thinking about how God is just the best story-teller!   

How would the disciples have felt, I wonder, during those long, long hours when Jesus was in the grave? Trauma, no doubt. Confusion, perhaps? Fear, for sure. An inkling of something good to come next, but serious difficulty believing it. If I were in their shoes I'm not sure I'd have been able to believe the good at that point.

Little did they know that every single part of that story they were living out had been pre-planned by God down to the finest detail. Later, that story would be written as part of a wonderful and coherent book. A book that starts with 'Genesis' and ends with 'Revelation'.

When Jesus had told two disciples to go to Bethphage and untie a donkey, for example, it was so that a prophecy in the Old Testament could be fulfilled.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9, NKJV)

When he told two of them to find him a room to eat the Passover, it was so that he could eat the lamb with them. This was something foreshadowed generations earlier by their Jewish ancestors when the Passover meal was first instituted. And when Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, it had already been prophesied centuries ago (Zechariah 11:12-13).

It was all one exquisitely crafted story. A love story.

Just like those disciples, we -- Jesus's present disciples -- can't really see the story we're part of. God continues to write stories using our lives. These stories turn into testimonies but while we're in the midst of our own personal testimony it's hard to understand what on earth God is doing in our lives. Or to sit through it.

Still, for those disciples something was round the corner. The same is true for our own lives. There will always be a 'something next' that God is doing.

Back tomorrow, friends, on Resurrection Sunday!

If you want to have a greater appreciate for all that is ours because of the Blood of Jesus, you need to watch this video. You will see the sacrifice differently from here on. Blessings on this day. NEVER be ashamed of the blood of Jesus. Shalom, Lynn