Pastor's Newsletter Article for May

Emerging from the Resurrection

We emerge from Easter, with new insights and new energy. At least that is the hope. Do you have new energy and new insights as a result of the resurrection? Is your faith bright, vibrant and alive? I ask this because I know how easy it is to slip back into a daily grind and a routine that seems to burden us. After all, we do have to manage our lives! We do have to negotiate the complexities of living, raising kids, getting old, managing relationships and so forth. We can’t just be in a state of celebration all the tim. Can we?

Maybe, maybe not. First Peter tells us that we have been given new birth (17:23), not from the type of seed that decays but from seed that does not. When Jesus rose from the dead, he conquered sin and death and gave us eternal life, which equates to a freedom from the fears that plagues non-believers.  Verse 19 reads, “You were liberated by the precious blood of Christ.”

            So, do you feel liberated through the resurrection? If not, what is binding you? What is holding you in a place of drudgery? What is holding you down? Take a moment and just dwell on verse 18, “Live in this way, knowing that you were not liberated by perishable things like silver or gold from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors.”

            Now doesn’t that just give you pause? The passage suggests that you cannot be liberated by things or actions of this world - not through wealth and not through the lifestyle or tradition you inherited from your family. So then, we know better than to place our hope in these things. So we awaken again to the truth - God will bring us through!

With that in mind, take a moment and write down the big problem that is troubling you most right now. Yes, right now! I’ll wait. Once you have written it down I want you to recite this prayer out loud,

“Dear Jesus, I know you rose from the grave to free me from earthly cares and fears. I know my faith and hope should rest in you. Help me turn this problem I am facing over to you and trust in your deliverance. Give me new freedom by guiding me in finding ways to address and resolve it. I believe you will come through. Praise your name, amen.”

            Now, doesn’t that feel empowering to you? It’s a little bit of the resurrection coming back into your day. Always remember, that when you take it to the Lord, he can deliver you. Never doubt that.

            Wiley and McClave are going through a time of transition as am I. Let us be in prayer and let us receive God’s guidance and blessing! Meditate on verse 1:22 from First Peter,

            “As you set yourselves apart by your obedience to the truth so that you might have genuine affection for your fellow believers, love each other deeply and earnestly.”

With resurrection affection,

Pastor Robin