The Lifestyle of Faith
Luke: Well, friends, if you've enjoyed Rev Goddess's reflections on Easter, check out rooftopministries.com and his daily devotions on YouTube and his weekly sermons there as well. I'm sure you'll continue to be blessed by his work as I am. One last devotion from Ray as we consider the empty tomb.
Ray: Maybe we need to just think about when the present – Jesus – was revealed to Mary. You see, she acknowledged the present completely. She didn't question or only half believe. She believed immediately and completely. She immediately realized that this was Jesus and He had risen from the dead. This is how she answered: “She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabbi!" which means teacher.”
Full Acceptance Leads to Transformation
I think this is something that we as Christians need to hear and understand. You see, when we accept Jesus as Savior, that's not the end, but it is the beginning. There is more to being a Christ-follower than just believing. There is more to being a Christ-follower than just being present each Sunday for a service.
To experience Christ, we need to accept that this is not just a belief, but rather a lifestyle. And if it's a lifestyle, it's something that we need to realize changes us, molds us, and we need to get changed. We need to be molded because of the calling of Christ in our lives.
We need to live a life closer to God. We need to live a life that Jesus came and brought to earth and showed us what life was all about. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work with us and through us. You see, that's a life called Christianity.
From Witness to Authority
Mary has changed. She's become an authority, as a Christ-follower. She's been touched by Jesus, the first person to be touched by Jesus, the risen Jesus, was Mary. And her life would never, ever be the same again. She's got a new boldness. She's got a confidence that she never, ever had before. She runs back to the disciples, and she shares part two of the first gospel message. She goes back and she teaches the disciples their first lesson of the risen Jesus Christ. She teaches them all about what she's just experienced. And this was the grounding of the ministry for all time to come.
Mary was the first person to actually end up focusing on the present and not just the box.
Luke: I love that! May you and I too go and focus on the present, on Jesus Christ, and share our faith with everybody. God bless you my friends. Thank you for your support of this ministry.
