"Rabboni!"

Holy Week: “Rabboni!” 
                     

“Rabboni!” was Mary’s response when she realized it was her Friend, her Teacher, her Lord, who stood before her—ALIVE! 


In my previous Holy Week blog posts Jesus was joyously welcomed into Jerusalem; He shook things up at the Temple; He blessed children and healed afflicted; He taught about love; we saw the last supper, anguish in Gethsemane, and arrest; we witnessed His crucifixion and burial; now today, we see our risen King!


I hope you will read the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus from all four of the Gospel writers. In my book, The Lord has Need of YOU, I focused on John’s perspective, found in the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John. 


I tell it like this:


Before the sun came up on the morning of the third day, Jesus’ friend, Mary Magdalene, went to His tomb. She was shocked to see that the stone had been rolled away, leaving the burial place wide open.


She ran and told Peter and John. They pushed into the tomb to find the Lord’s face cloth and linen burial cloth neatly folded. But there was no sign of Jesus’ body. Dragging their feet, the men left and went home.


Mary was left alone. She stood sobbing and looking into the tomb where her Lord had lain.


She could not stop the tears from flowing.


Something or someone was coming into focus. There before her were two bright shining angels—one at the head and the other at the foot, where the body of Jesus had been.


One spoke up and said, “Woman, why are you weeping?”


She replied, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”


She then turned and saw someone she thought was a gardener. The man spoke: “Why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?”

Still not recognizing Him, she said, “Sir, if you’ve taken Him away, please tell me.”

He looked her in the eye and said, “Mary!”

Then she knew! She knew that her friend—her Savior—was standing there—ALIVE!

Thrilled with surprise, she dropped to the ground at His feet and proclaimed, ‘Rabboni!’ which means teacher.

 

“Do not hold on to me for I have not yet ascended to My Father. Go and tell My brethren.”

Later that same day, as the disciples gathered together, Jesus appeared and stood among them. …

He showed them the wounds on His hands and feet and then said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”



He then breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”



“Go into all the world and preach this Good News to everyone—that all who believe in Me will be saved.”



For several days Jesus appeared to many people throughout the city, so there were lots of people who knew for certain, Jesus was alive!

The big question today is this, “Is Jesus alive to you?” 


In these chaotic days we’re living in, we need life, hope, and peace. Jesus is the only One who can give these things, in a meaning and lasting way.

He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 ESV).  


Jesus is alive and I pray He’s alive you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please read my blog post tomorrow and see the very last event to this day of our risen Lord on this earth.


At the beginning of this week I encouraged you to read, in your Bible, about the last days of Jesus’ life. A lot happened in those few days. Begin your reading at these points: Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19:28, and John 12:12. Go ahead and read through to the end of each of the Gospels between now and Easter Sunday. Be blessed with me as we learn Jesus. 


Each day this week, I’m posting a few highlights from those amazing days in history. Also, I’m using some of the pictures and quotes from my book titled, The Lord has Need of YOU.* The illustrations are watercolor paintings by artist, Lesley James. 


Thank you for traveling with me through these extraordinary days. God bless you. 


Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. 


*The Lord Has Need of YOU, by Connie Wohlford. Copyright Connie Wohlford, 2019, Hoot Books Publishing.

*The Lord Has Need of YOU can be purchased directly from me via email author@conniewohlford.com or through Amazon,  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1687536104/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

©Copyright 2020 Connie Wohlford

Fill Your New Year With Optimism Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism—Part 3

Fill Your New Year With Optimism

Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism—Part 3

Today’s post concludes my blog series about the seven strategies for attaining optimism. I’m talking about truth-filled hope and an outlook ordained by God that every follower of Jesus can and should attain. 

My previous two posts looked at the first five of the Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism: 1- Let go of the past. 2- Avoid getting hung up on a negative thing or situation. 3- Remember that, for everyone, life has ups and downs. 4- Watch your mouth. 5- Practice gratitude.

Today we’ll consider the last two:

6-  Surround yourself with truth –people, places, things.

Speaking of “fake news”—it doesn’t just exist in politics. We’re surrounded by half-truths, misleading information, exaggerated stories, and our own imaginations. These untruths can flood our minds with worry and wild ideas capable of pulling us down and filling us with stress.

“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened,” declared Michel de Montaigne, about 500 years ago. Many of us could say the same ting today.

Photo by Aaron Burden from Unsplash

Experts report that 85%, and some 99%, of things people worry about never really happen. Pause for a moment and consider your own thought life. What thoughts occupy your mind that are not based on facts? 

Where does your imagination wander that does not lift your spirits?

I recommend we draw our thoughts into the truth of God’s Word. There we find the reality our Creator wants us to base our lives upon.

Paul tells us why: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 JKJV).

We need to allow His truth to be a lamp to the feet of our thoughts and a light for the paths we tread in our minds.

Do you believe God and His Word? The psalmist did when he wrote, “The entirety of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgements endures forever” (Psalm 119:160 NKJV).

Before His crucifixion, Jesus knew his followers had to have God’s truth and prayed to the Father: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17 NKJV). Sanctify meant to set apart. This is huge! God’s truth sets us apart from the world. It’s knowing and living by God’s truth that sets us apart from the world. We’re of another kingdom—God’s Eternal Kingdom.

So, we should look for truth in everything that crosses our paths—people, places, and things.

The better we know God and His Word, the closer will be our relationship with Him. The closer our relationship with Him, the clearer we’ll hear His voice. The clearer we hear His voice, the keener will be our sense of discernment. The keener our sense of discernment, the better will be our ability to know truth when we encounter it—in people, places, and things.

As we surround ourselves with what is right and true, the optimism that fills us will overflow to others. 

7- Remember that God will have His way in the end.

I believe we all get pretty frustrated and angry when we witness injustices, acts of violence, and tragedy. We often feel helpless and forlorn as streaming news broadcasts the horrors of abused children, terrorist acts, natural disasters, and the like.

The tsunami of bad news can bring us into a free fall of pessimism and anxiety. There are many scientific studies focusing on the affects of negative hews and experiences on a person’s well-being. But there is no way to escape bad things.

We need to continually remind ourselves that God knows, God cares, and God loves us with unfailing, unconditional love. As Christ-followers, we have an internal hope that’s like a pilot light.

A pilot light is “a small gas flame … which serves as an ignition source for a more powerful gas burner” (Wikipedia). This pilot light hope never goes out and is always there to ignite the burner that causes hope to rise up and come against a negative event.

When David was greatly distressed because all seemed lost and his men turned against him, he “encouraged himself in the Lord” because he knew his God and within him burned that flicker of hope. That pilot light of internal hope ignited the burner that caused faith and hope to rise up in his spirit (1 Samuel 30:6).

Like David, when life beats up on us and when the world appears to be going in the wrong direction we need to listen to the Holy Spirit and allow our internal hope to ignite the full flame of knowing God will have His way ultimately.

Yes, we may go through some discomfort and heartache along the way. I repeat Jesus words: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). We who are in Christ—those born-again—will be partakers of the awesome Eternal Kingdom He has waiting for us. All hardships and evil will pass away and a glorious future with our Lord and Savior Jesus awaits us.

Just now I read, in its entirety, Revelation 19-22 and was reminded that God will have His way in the end.

Revelation 19 begins, “After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude on heaven, saying ‘Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgements, because…’” (Verses 1-2a).

“Then I saw and angel coming down from heaven and a new earth … And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new …’” (Revelation 21:1a and 4-5).

Rejoice with me in the final passage of God’s Word, “He (Jesus) who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” Revelation 22:20-21).

Let’s be encouraged by the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow optimism to rise up so the world will see Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

 

Every time I read the back of His book I’m blown away by the Ancient of Days—His goodness and greatness—His amazing grace and unfailing love—His breathtaking holiness and perfect justice. In reading these Passages, we’re reminded of God’s cosmic beyond-our-imagination plan. Our God is truly an awesome God. 

I would like to challenge each of us to follow the seven strategies for attaining optimism.  We must remember the bottom line is that ultimately God will have His way and He takes care of His family in the process.

 

Let’s pray: Holy Father, thank You for the hope that resides in Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Please help me to be mindful of the reasons I can be optimistic. And help me encourage others as well. I know that with Your Spirit in me, I can beam with optimism even in tough times and be a light in darkness because of Your unfailing love. Thank You, Father. In Jesus name—Amen. 

 

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford