RESURRECTION RECAP...

"Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?" Luke 24:5

     The starting line is Christmas.  God comes to man.  He comes to live with us so as to    know what it's like to be human!  He let's us see how He would act if He was in our place.

     The finish line is Easter.  Jesus rises from the dead.  He shows His power.  He shows our hope.  He gives us eternal life.
     As we celebrate Christmas let us do so in light of both the start and the finish.  But wait.....
     CHRISTMAS ISN'T THE STARTING POINT, EASTER ISN'T THE END!  God has been working through people for thousands of years before and after each.  The story of Christmas is not just about Jesus - it's God with us!  We are all in this together.  The story of Christmas is still going, we are still writing it with our lives, worked out in harmony with God's.  

"You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened over the last few days."  

"What things?" Jesus asked.

     Do you think Jesus had a little smart-aleck in Him?  I guess it depends on how you "see" Him saying this, but in my mind he's got a little Mr. Roper smile on his face as He says this.  Later, he even says, "You foolish people!"  Jesus either has an edge or is just the fun-loving, likes to joke around, isn't afraid to bust a little ____________ kind of guy.  I'll take a little of the former with a whole bunch of the later; because that would make Him a lot more like me.

"And they spent all of their time in the temple praising God."  - Luke 24:53

       Guess what the disciples did after they realized Jesus had risen from the dead.  All day, every day - praising God at the temple.  
       Guess what we all know too.  The good news is that we don't have to go to the temple.  We can praise God at school, our workplace, the Jewel or in our own homes.  And we don't have to do it solely with song, prayers and Bible reading.  We have our hands, our feet, our mouths, our brains!  We can praise God by the way we treat others, by what we decide to do!