On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).

According to the church calendar, we are currently midway between Jesus’ Resurrection and Pentecost, which occurred 50 days after Easter (May 24 this year). Jesus has commanded his disciples to stay in Jerusalem to wait for their baptism with the Holy Spirit. In hindsight, we understand what Jesus meant. However, the disciples must have been filled with quite a bit of uncertainty. They asked questions, but Jesus told them “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority (Acts 1:7). And then Jesus did promise them “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). What???

What must it have felt like to the disciples during that time? Their beloved leader said he was leaving, but they needed to stay in Jerusalem, a dangerous place for them. Jesus told them just enough to give them hope. He told them to wait for the gift he had promised. Apparently, they would be traveling soon. And they would have power from the Holy Spirit, which perhaps they had some idea about but not fully. And Jesus gave them the ultimate ambiguous command: Wait!

Does anyone like to be told to wait? Indeed, does anyone like to wait? For sure, there are rare circumstances where waiting is better than the alternative. But mostly, waiting is painful. We wait for the doctor, the diagnosis, the treatment date, to recover. We wait for the plane to take off. We wait for the interview, the offer, the start date. We find ourselves in the middle of waiting: for someone to show up, for someone to leave, for the show to start, for the game to be over. Waiting is a fact of life. It is not if we will wait, it is how we wait.

In truth, on an earthly level, we are waiting for all those things I listed above—health, financial, job, relationships; all have a waiting component. However, on a spiritual level, we are also waiting. And although it might not be obvious, God is working while we are waiting. We are on his timetable, rather than the other way around. God is working out his plan for his good pleasure. He has a role for each of us, and he will put us in at just the right time. He will give us our directions and ensure that we have just what we need when we need it. So how do we wait for it?

1. We wait in humility, with the perspective that God is God, and we are not. “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure” (Psalm 39:5).
2. We wait with trust in God. We know that He is able, and that He is loving. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8).

The apostles gave us the best example of how to wait, and their example is applicable for most any circumstance. We read in Acts 1:13-14 that after Jesus ascended to heaven, they returned to Jerusalem together (as instructed), and “When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:13-14).

The next time you find yourself waiting, remember these words. Find some prayer partners and devote yourselves to prayer. Prayer is not what we do as a last resort. It is the first and foremost way to participate fully in God’s plan for our lives.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

In Christ,

Judy

“Mary Magdalen went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her” (John 20:18).

Easter Sunday was just a little over two weeks ago. Now it seems that we are all back to “business as usual.” Was Easter just another day on the calendar? No! Not for believers. Knowing that Jesus was crucified for our sins, buried, risen from the dead, and ascended to Heaven to be with his Father demands a response from us. And do not be deceived: no response is a response. In His words: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).

Reflecting on the events preceding Easter, I cannot imagine the roller coaster ride the disciples took from the day they entered Jerusalem during Passover Week on a high note, enjoying intimacy with Jesus during the Passover supper, then seeing him arrested, beaten, humiliated, and then crucified and buried. And then to see him risen from the dead! How could this be?

What emotions! We would expect joy, but there was also fear, for very good reason. In fact, the first thing the angel in the tomb said to Mary was “Don’t be alarmed. He is risen! He is not here.” “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (Mark 16:6b,8).

I am sure Jesus’ family and friends were experiencing a variety of emotions from grief to disbelief, to fear. They had aligned themselves with a man who had become an enemy of both the Jewish leaders and the Romans, to the point where he had been cruelly murdered. They thought they had chosen to follow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but their guy had been hung up on a cross in between common criminals. What was to be their own fate? They were hiding, trying to figure out what to do. Leaderless, unaffiliated, unemployed, in a hostile environment. The situation could not have been worse.

Not only that, unbeknownst to them, the guards and priests were devising a cover story to put the blame on the disciples for stealing Jesus’ body. They were afraid that they would get in trouble with the governor of Judea, so now any punishment for “losing” Jesus would fall on the disciples. Where do you hide, now? Just try to absorb all this and put yourselves in their shoes. It has gone from bad to worse. But then!

“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 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. 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.’” (John 20:19-23).

What a roller coaster ride! Jesus is with them. Now He is blessing them and giving them the power of the Holy Spirit as He sends them forth. And they are obedient, even at risk of personal, financial, and physical harm. Jesus loves his followers; He calls us to tell the story of the Good News to all who would believe. What a story! What a Savior! Like those first apostles, how can we keep this Good News to ourselves, especially when the only real risk in our day and time is perhaps some unpopularity.

Easter represents the Resurrection of Jesus to all believers. As believers, we identify with Jesus and his message. He sends us forth to tell the Good News of forgiveness of sins through his atoning sacrifice. When we believe, we must share this Good News!

In the words of Martin Luther: “Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

In Christ,

Judy

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).

The opening verse for last week’s Chaplain’s Corner was from Job 19:25 “I know that my Redeemer Lives.” This is a powerful verse. Because this is the Truth—the Redeemer lives, and one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But, can you say, “I know Christ?”  Because being able to say you know your Redeemer puts you on the right side of Jesus—where you can speak this truth knowing you will be living forever with your Redeemer, rather than acknowledging this truth from a position of forever looking on but not being with.

Here’s an example: For a long time, I knew that deep sea diving would be fascinating, but I didn’t know about it personally until I tried it for myself. Not until I jumped into the ocean to swim among the fishes and coral reefs could I really know the incredible seemingly infinite wonders of the deep sea. That’s just a sliver of an example of the difference between knowing that Jesus lives — there is historical proof of his life, death, and resurrection — and knowing Jesus Himself.

How can we go beyond knowing the fact to actually knowing the Saviour?

1. We must trust our equipment. When I dive, I am equipped. I cannot dive without my equipment, especially my tanks which supply oxygen for breathing. When Jesus walked the earth, those around him could physically interact with him. They could actually touch him, speak with him, eat with him, and get to know him personally. But now that he has ascended to the right hand of God, we must have equipment, and in our case, it is the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, to access Jesus. Jesus speaks to us through the Scriptures, and he resides in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And trust me, this equipment is as life supporting as are my oxygen tanks. Trust the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit when they tell you Jesus died for your sins and that receiving this gift means eternal life (Romans 6:23).
2. We must practice regularly. It is easy to get out of the habit of knowing what to do when you go for a long time without actually doing it. You get rusty. If you go too long between dives, you should take a refresher course. Jumping back in without regular practice is not impossible, but it is not as easy either, and you never get better at it (2 Timothy 2:15).
3. We must go all in. You can’t just half-way dive or be casual about it. Your head is either under water or it’s not. And if it’s not, then you are not scuba diving (Romans 12:1-2).

Granted, this is not the best analogy because I no longer dive, but I’m still all-in with Jesus. I gave up on diving, so it gave up on me. But thank God, Jesus will never give up on me! There’s really no comparison with knowing Jesus, because once you really know him and accept him as your Saviour, then He knows you and the relationship cannot be undone. It is forever!

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

In Christ,

Judy

“I know that my Redeemer lives!” (Job 19:25)

We just celebrated Easter, exulting in the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and lives at the right hand of God. He is our living LORD!! This is the good news of the Gospel, but maybe in the reality of your actual life, this good news doesn’t always seem to be enough?

Do you know about the Job of the Bible? Job experienced terrible physical pain, absolute financial ruin, and the tragic deaths of all his children at the hand of Satan. I honestly have never known anyone who has had it worse than Job; he lost everything except for his wife and a few “friends.”  And for the first half of the book about him, Job in utter misery cursed the day of his birth, complained about his problems, and wished for death; in fact, he said he wished he had never been born. This is a picture of someone who is completely hopeless (he said his spirit was broken). Perhaps you can identify with Job, at least at some level. To add to Job’s problems, his friends tried to “counsel” him and just made it worse. Maybe you can even identify with that.

However, about halfway through the book, Job arrives at this wonderful statement of faith: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27).

When Job acknowledged his trust in God and proclaimed the sovereignty of God, his life changed. In the end, Job’s fortunes were restored. Not all of us start out rich, and even if we trust in God we may not end up with earthly riches. But when we trust in God and acknowledge that our Redeemer lives and that He holds our future in his hands, we will have the life that God intends for us, and it will be worth living. The words of this song by Matt Maher speak to this truth. Read this (click on the link to hear it).

Because He Lives (Amen)

I believe in the Son
I believe in the risen One
I believe I overcome
By the power of His blood

I was dead in the grave
I was covered in sin and shame
I heard mercy call my name
He rolled the stone away

Because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
Every fear is gone
I know He holds my life my future in His hands

Amen, Amen
I’m alive, I’m alive
Because He lives

Amen, Amen
Let my song join the one that never ends
Because He lives
Because He lives!

I pray that you will know the perfect peace that comes from really knowing your living Savior and trusting in Him. Amen.

In Christ,

Judy