YWAM’s Homes of Hope Ministry Is Thirty!
Even though we’re currently on “pause” due to COVID-19, this is something worth celebrating. Especially the part about 700,000 tacos! Kidding! It’s the lives that have been transformed… all those family that have received homes, and all those volunteers that built them. Way to go Jesus!
Another fun fact about Homes of Hope is that I got to lead the process to create that spiffy Homes of Hope logo up there.
(If you missed it, here is how YWAM SF is responding to the needs of their neighbors).
Steve leads the Restoration Initiatives at YWAM SF and is an absolute hero in that he and his team are on the frontline caring for some of the most vulnerable among us. He does it with gratitude and faith. I’m pretty sure Steve is the author of this post on the YWAM SF blog. Here’s an excerpt:
Resurrection Day… reminds me why I breathe, why I do what I do and why I am who I am. It is on this day that I remember that it is Christ who gives me great hope. It is his work in me that enables me to love the people that he loves so much. It is his forgiveness that enables me to forgive, and his new mercies that enable me to show mercy to those around me.
So a huge thank you to these heroes. It’s my privilege to be associated with them, even from this distance. Here’s an opportunity for you to be a part of their work through generosity. I believe when we give, it somehow pushes back the darkness in the world. It opens up the possibility for hope. Giving shapes us to be more like our generous Creator. Would you prayerfully consider joining Steve and his team by sending a gift to keep those showers open?
Photo Credit: Pam Menegakis via Unsplash
I can’t really blame me for falling off the wagon tho… I mean there’s a pandemic, come on! And is anyone else freaking out every time they get a tickle in their throat? Are you convinced you caught the COVID if you feel a little tightness in your chest? Just me?
Do Faith
Do Generosity
Do Feel
Do Social (at a Distance of course!)
Do Respect
Don’t Fear
Don’t Hoard
Don’t Numb
Don’t Isolate
Don’t Disrespect
Let’s all have a good week, mmkay?! Now go wash your hands.
Photo: Bruno van der Kraan via Unsplash
No. The movement Jesus started was over, and those that were a part of it were just coming to grips with the death of it and with the death of Him.
Mary, Mary, and Salome went to the tomb to do the proper burial things. They intended to minister to Jesus’ body. I’m sure they were somber, and perhaps even anticipating some unpleasant tasks. They were thinking practical and reasonable thoughts:
They asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb?” Mark 16:3
Of course, they were surprised to find that the stone had been rolled away. They must have been shocked to find someone else in the tomb.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. But he has risen! He is not here! See the place where they had put him. Go! Tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. It will be just as he told you.’ vv. 6-7
These three women were the first ordained evangelists. They received their ordination from a heavenly angelic being, “Go, tell…”. How wonderful! What a privilege for these women to be the first ones sent with the Easter message. It’s interesting to me that some of us still struggle with the idea of women preaching the gospel.
Not only that, but the risen Jesus himself appeared to Mary Magdalene:
Jesus rose from the dead early on the first day of the week. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. He had driven seven demons out of her. v. 12
I imagine this was special for Him and for her. I wonder what he said. I wonder what she said. I wonder if she said anything at all. I am sure she was overwhelmed. I wonder if she was overwhelmed only because he was alive, or if he was somehow glorified or transfigured. I think it’s special that he revealed himself to her first. It’s honoring. In her culture, women were not credible witnesses in a court of law. In her culture one person alone wasn’t strong evidence. And so a lone woman was not readily believed. Still, Jesus chose to appear to her first. To me this emphasizes his connection to her. To me it validates her identity, her female-ness, despite her culture.
Interestingly, he also appeared to two other disciples “in a different form” (what??) and no one believed them either. I presume these others were male. Still, the unbelievable was hard to believe.
Then there is the Great Commission:
He said to them, “Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.” v. 15
I feel like Jesus is sharing his dream more clearly than ever here. Everyone everywhere should know this good news. He died in our place, overcoming sin. He was resurrected on the third day, overcoming death. Everyone everywhere should be invited into relationship with Creator God. The path has been made clear!
And when he was done, he ascended:
When the Lord Jesus finished speaking to them, he was taken up into heaven. He sat down at the right hand of God. v. 19
So on this Easter, even though we are in an unprecedented season, let’s follow the example of his disciples. Let’s “go” everywhere and tell everyone that forgiveness is available!
All scripture quotes from the NIRV (New International Readers Version)
Our black Labrador died a few years ago. One of the things I remember most about him is how he loved tennis balls. The ball was life to him. When I had it in my hand, ready to throw, I had Judah’s full attention. He was focused. He stared at it, his ears up, every sense tuned to me. Often he would very slowly sit down, even if I didn’t tell him to. He knew good things happened after a sit.
Sometimes I would set the ball down in front of him and say, “Wait”. Judah was good at waiting. He would stare still at the ball, hoping, willing it to move. He’d often steal a look at my face, to see if he could read my intent. Of course I would kick the ball and send them both in random directions. He’d come trotting back, with a spring in his step, chomping away at the dirty tennis ball in his mouth.
* * * * * * *
Today is Holy Saturday. It’s a day for waiting. The original disciples didn’t know what they were waiting for… maybe the other shoe was going to be dropped. Maybe they too would be arrested, beaten, and killed. They locked themselves in a room and waited. We of course, already know the rest of the story. But still it is good to wait. It’s good for me to focus my attention on the Master. In my waiting, I can still myself. As I wait, I can remember all the times He has been good to me. In my waiting, I can prepare myself to move and to act.
And I suppose the whole world is in a kind of waiting. Billions of us are under shelter at home orders. It is good to wait. Let’s focus on our Master and pray for Him to move.
“Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
Photo Credit: Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash
“So Moses made a bronze snake. He put it up on a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake remained alive.”
“But the servant was pierced because we had sinned.
He was crushed because we had done what was evil.
He was punished to make us whole again.
His wounds have healed us.”
“Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. In the same way, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. Then everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.””
“It was now about noon. Then darkness covered the whole land until three o’clock. The sun had stopped shining. The temple curtain was torn in two. Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my life.” After he said this, he took his last breath.”
It is amazing to me how God foreshadowed this all the way back in the desert, thousands of years earlier. I think there are nearly 25 or 30 other references to Jesus’ death on a cross in the Original Testament.
And it is amazing to me that our wonderful God chose self-sacrifice to overcome our evil. I am grateful. May the whole earth be covered with the knowledge of him, just like the waters cover the sea.
Photo Credit: Adrian Dascal via Unsplash
That means tonight we remember the night that Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane. A few years ago, Kay Charlotte and I celebrated our 20th anniversary by taking a trip to Jerusalem. We were able to go to the likely site of this garden, just across the valley, East of the Temple Mount. On the site, this church was built:
It was designed by Antonio Barluzzi, and I think it was may favorite place. Of course, it was beautiful, and the olive trees in the garden around the chapel were too. I like to think Jesus was familiar with this place. Maybe he came here again and again to pray over the course of his lifetime. I imagine that when the gospel writers record that Jesus went away to pray, that he went to places like this one.
I tend to think that Jesus was stoic and just accepted his fate– that he resolutely marched to Jerusalem, his jaw set with a grim determination to overcome evil with self-sacrifice. But his prayer in the garden shows that he was deeply troubled, even in agony. I love that he came to this place to be near the Father.
Jesus expressed his humanity here. He asked the Father if there was any other way. The Father seems to welcome this question. There’s no record of God being angry with Jesus for asking. There’s no indication that God wasn’t pleased with his son. This gives me courage. I think I can also go to God when I’m uncertain. Maybe I can even question his instructions. Of course, Jesus submitted himself to what was to come, and glorified his Father with his obedience.
Here’s a link to the story as recorded in the book of Matthew.