Rise to the Occasion

I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. Psalm 119:30

He is not here; he has risen, as he said. Matthew 28:6

The first year Randy and I were married, I ended up in the hospital for surgery on my thyroid. It was a couple of weeks before Easter, and the movie The Ten Commandments was on television. Randy and I sat in my hospital bed together and watched the movie which we’ve done almost every year since.

At that time, the scene where the Hebrew slaves cross the Red Sea was a cinematographic wonder! God parted the Seas for them, got them safely through, and closed the waters over the Egyptians. He was there to rise to the occasion every time they needed Him.

Easter has come again and with it brought so many different ways of worshiping during this COVID 19. No matter how we are worshiping or what we are doing, the truth remains that on this day Jesus arose from the dead and is alive and among us. He is alive – His body is warm! The tomb is empty! He is not the Great I “Was”, but He is the Great I “Am.” He has risen to the occasion.

Now, as we go back to the reality of our lives, our question becomes, “Is Jesus alive or dead for us personally?” Many times we testify with our mouths that He is alive, but then we live as if He’s dead. If He is alive, then we should act like it, but sometimes after the moment is gone, we forget to rise to the occasion every day.

In the middle 1980’s when we served the First Methodist Church in Calhoun, Randy was searching for a visible way to show that Jesus was alive, that He had risen to the occasion. He came up with the idea of having each person bring a live flower to place on the cross. It was a beautiful morning, and the cross ended up being a beautiful concrete way of celebrating the resurrection.

The tradition of placing flowers on the cross remained during our time there, and when we came to Mt. Bethel in 1988, Randy and the worship team (thank you Susan, Phyllis, and others) expanded on the idea and made it more spectacular each year. Now, almost every church around has picked up on the idea and crosses are alive every Easter.

This year, yet again, the church and individuals has found a way to keep that spectacular vision which symbolizes the resurrection alive. It just proves to me that not even COVID-19 can keep the resurrection, God’s church, or His people from rising to the occasion of Easter!

During the weeks to come, remember this quote, “My child, you can trust the Man who died for you. If you cannot trust Him, then whom can you trust?” Unknown author

Happy Easter!

I serve a risen savior, He‘s in the world today. I know that He is living whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer; And just the time I need Him, He’s always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me, and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives? He lives within my heart. He Lives by A.H. Ackley

(The picture is of our front yard cross. After seeing some beautifully crafted crosses in neighborhoods, we made our own from two limbs. Not the most spectacular, but still symbolic.)