Encouragement

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God's Appointments (John 20:10-16)

“Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” He said, “Why are you crying?” Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned towards Him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means ‘Teacher’).”

This message is a reminder that we can all work in the miraculous power of the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! It is a message of life and hope!

Mary Magdalene was the first to visit the tomb of Jesus, even before dawn on Resurrection day. When she found that the stone had been rolled away, she made haste to share the news with John and Peter, who came to check out her story for themselves (John 20:1-9). The men went back to their homes however, while Mary hung around, seeking the Lord and weeping for His awesome miraculous presence. Encountering Jesus had changed her life. She loved Him for all the Holy Healing He had blessed her with. She had been freed from a life of bondage and oppression. He had given her a second chance. Now she refused to accept that everything He stood for was over and gone. She sought answers which she knew only Jesus could give.

It is interesting that Mary was not taken aback or fearful when she looked into the tomb and saw angels where the body of Jesus had been. When they addressed her, she calmly spoke with them, and told them she was looking for the body of Jesus. It is also worth noting that Peter and John did not see the angels, who may have been sitting there all along! Mary had tapped into the divine dimension, through her patient waiting, and her hunger for the presence of Jesus! She was not willing to go back home and think about the good things that had happened before the crucifixion. She was going to wait there until He showed up, and seek until she found Him!

Jesus always shows up when people seek Him with all their hearts. Jesus was standing behind Mary, but His post-resurrection appearance was different - she did not recognize Him, until He said her name. Jesus knew Mary. This was the lady who had anointed Him with costly perfume and prepared His body for burial. It was Mary who had wept at His feet and received the freedom and forgiveness that only Jesus could give. She loved Him and Jesus knew this. He saw her tears; He saw her longing to be in His presence once more. She mistook Him for one of the gardeners at first, but when she heard His voice, when He said her name, there was no doubt in her mind that this was Jesus. She knew she had found the One she was looking for!
Many of us look back and regret the mistaken decisions of the past. Many of us focus on yesterday, on what is gone and cannot be changed. Many of us look at tomorrow with anxiety and hopeless eyes, when there is so much life and hope in today. Please hear what the Lord has to say to you from this passage of Scripture today.

1) The past is dead and gone. Today is filled with powerful potential and promises to be fulfilled. Stop weeping over the disappointments you may have had to face. Stop punishing yourself about the sins you committed. There is life and hope, freedom, forgiveness and healing today in Jesus. If you have Him, you have everything!

2) You may feel like you are alone or that Jesus has forgotten you – but He is right there where you are; all you have to do is whisper His name. All you have to do is offer Him your heart. He is knocking on the door of your life.

3) Hunger for God opens us to the supernatural dimension – Mary encountered angels. There is so much we could see and experience in that other dimension, if we believed and expected. God wants us to experience Heaven!

4) Mary sought Jesus and she found Him (Jeremiah 29: 13 – “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”) Mary probably had many things to do, but she put everything aside as she waited and sought, and hungered to encounter once more the beautiful presence of the Prince. She was not disappointed.

5) Jesus knows your name! He knows who you are, where you are coming from, and all the desires and hopes of your heart. He loves you like no one else can. He calls your name today, and seeks to be in relationship with you, in sweet and intimate heart to heart union. He will never leave you unless you ask Him to – He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). He is the lover of your soul.
Finally, God would have us remember that our disappointments are His appointments! He may close a door only to open a bigger and better one. When the Lord Jesus died upon the cross of Calvary, His disciples experienced great disappointment. They probably felt like their world was falling apart. They had expected Jesus to be the triumphant conqueror of Roman rule, and the one who would bring political freedom to the nation Israel, but in a matter of hours, He was hanging upon a cross, while they all lived in fear for their lives. But after the cross came resurrection. The seed had to die, for a great harvest to come. The death of Jesus became the power of life for all humanity for all time.

Precious people, God loves you and has awesome plans to prosper you (Jeremiah 29:11). Let the powerful promise of Resurrection day bring you into a new season of blessing and victory, and HOPE! Know that God holds you in the palm of His hand. Your face is engraved upon His heart. He has promised to never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He is able to do “immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him, but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2: 9 & 10, and Isaiah 64:4). When you offer your life to Him, He will exceed your every expectation, and fill your life with His victory and His powerful presence, because “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you…”! (Romans 8:11). You are a powerhouse of potential. I pray that you will walk into all the abundant blessing that Jesus died and rose to give you! He is alive!

Minoli Haththotuwa, 05 April, 2010
www.wingslikeeagles.info

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