I saw the strangest thing this evening.  I was standing at the condiment counter at a McDonalds beside a fairly nicely dressed elderly man who was stuffing his pockets full of those little packets of ketchup, mustard and relish.  Looking right at him I said, "Hey, how you doing?"  Without the slightest embarrassment he responded, "Fine" and kept right on cleaning out the bins.  Unlike the day I observed an old man steal a fish from our supermarket, I wasn't sure if this man was stealing.  I mean, those packets are there for people to take.

Have you ever done something that wasn't illegal but somehow just didn't feel quite right?  It's one of those fine line issues that isn't covered by a rule or law and yet isn't really right. It's the difference between living by laws or living by principles.  It was what Paul was talking about in Galatians.  When we begin to live by the principle of love, laws cease to matter.  We don't need a law telling us not to steal because love motivates us not to harm someone by taking from them.  The same goes for telling bad stories about someone.  When we love we will not do that because we don't want to.

Have you ever heard someone say he did not want to be a Christian because there were too many don'ts?  They just don't get it.  When one is a Christian there are only two principles to guide us, love for God and love for man.  It's the non-Christian who has to worry about not doing a host of things he might want to do. Living by principles is what Paul is referencing in Galatians 5 when he speaks of our freedom in Christ.

Humor brings laughter, lightness and joy into our daily lives.  Often times it relieves a tense situation and puts people at ease.  Whenever a new semester begins students who do not know me are often a bit defensive and fearful.  A big smile and a lighthearted remark made about something other than them often put them at ease.

However I have discovered humor does not always successfully cross cultures. Three weeks ago a crew of Vietnamese men stopped and asked if they could dewinterize my yard.  There was a mountain of last fall's now sodden leaves blanketing everything.  I jumped at the opportunity not to have to do it myself.  They did a great job.  When we walked about afterwards I was so pleased.  It was then that I made an errant attempt at humor.  There was one leaf.  I mean one leaf left in a corner.  I pointed at it and said, "Oh, no. A leaf!  There is a leaf!"   The poor man was crushed. I was joking.  He was humiliated that he had not gotten every last one. You would have thought I had pierced his heart with a sword.  He rushed to pick it up and a flood of apologies flowed from him.  So much for being lighthearted.  It was then my turn at apologizing.

I found myself wondering how many conflicts have begun because of misunderstandings.  How many heartfelt attempts at goodness have been misjudged?   More than once I have had to apologize to a student because of some thoughtless remark.  And often it just pops out without forethought. The key is to be quick to apologize.  James 3 is a great chapter to read at least once a year.

In the midst of a torrential downpour I looked out the window and saw the most bedraggled looking bird at our feeder.  It took me a moment to recognize that it was a male cardinal.  He was so soaked you could barely identify what is usually the most beautiful bird in the neighborhood.  What was he doing?  Why had he not taken shelter like the other birds?  He filled his beak and was off through an incredible storm.  Having a hunch I raced to the other side of the house where we can view a very active cardinal nest. Sure enough mom was covering the chicks as he swooped in with food.  His family needed him.

When I was small my father was a school teacher.  He would come home from the classroom and sleep until 10:00 pm and then go to work in the steel mills of Pennsylvania from 11 to 7. He would come home in the morning, change clothes and go to his classroom.  He did that for years.   My mom, my sisters and I were well cared for.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:11, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" That soaked male cardinal reminded me of my dad.  My dad reminded me of Matthew 7:11.   Jesus was so right.  Why should we fret and worry?  We are loved.  We are cared for.  And should things get difficult there is always a better tomorrow. He cares for the birds that usually take shelter in a storm.  He will always care for you and me.

And we thought the Hubble Telescope in orbit around the earth was the best. Think again. Ready for viewing deep space objects ten times sharper than what Hubble can do will be the Magellan Telescope, which will use seven 8.4-meter mirrors arranged into a pattern of six around one with an effective aperture of 24.5 meters. We are just six years away from completion.  Astronomers tell us we will actually see planets in other solar systems.  We will see the end of the universe.  But how can that be?  The universe has no end.  I think it is time to brag.  My Father and your Father owns it all.  No, not the 600 million dollar telescope, the universe!  

Since humility is part of a Christian character and it is not becoming to brag about ourselves, even though we are princes and princesses of the universe, let's brag about our Father.  Our Father knows everything.  Our Father has been everywhere, well, actually He is everywhere.  Our Father can do anything.  Wait a moment.  No He can't.  There are things God cannot do. He cannot tell a lie.  He cannot cause harm.  He cannot violate the righteousness of His character.   Some of you are probably thinking, "No, He can, but He will not."   No, He can't.  Having the power does not mean He can.  He is governed by His own integrity. He is integrity personified. And it is integrity that He wants to infuse into us.  Once that happens we then will be safe to roam the vastness of His universe because we will do so without taking harm with us.  The way we are now, we are so harmful.  That has to go.

It will go. I Corinthians 15 promises, "This corruption will put on incorruption."  How grand that will be.     

According to the Associated Press, "British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking says aliens are out there, but it could be too dangerous for humans to interact with extraterrestrial life."  When we contemplate the vastness of the universe and its billions of galaxies, each of which contain billions of suns, it would be foolish and egocentric to conclude we are alone.  In Hebrews 1 we read that Jesus is the creator of worlds.  Please note the plural.  If we could it would be amazingly dangerous to physically interact with them.  There are several issues, the largest of which is our human tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.  We would be a great source of harm to them.  We can also add to the danger that their bodies and our bodies would have no immunity to each other's bacteria.  Note what happened to North American natives who came into contact with Europeans.  The result of mere contact was devastating to them.

While we have never had contact with beings from other worlds we are in continual contact with beings from heaven. The Bible speaks over and over of our contact with angels.  Actually there are over one thousand Biblical references to angels.  Angels are extraterrestrial life and come to us all the time.  Apparently we are no physical danger to them.   They are ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14) sent to announce heaven's intentions (Luke 1) and to sometimes protect us from harm.   Psalm 91:11, "He shall give His angels charge over thee."   One of my favorite stories is about the morning Elisha's home was surrounded by angels.

Dr. Hawking is correct.  Yes, they are there.  But I am sure angels are not the kind of extraterrestrial life to which he was referring.    

With great regularity my wife comes up with terrific ideas. It's nice to live with her because I often take the credit for the good things that result from her brilliance. Here's one of MY latest really bright ideas. Our new puppy Annie walks about the house looking for things to chew. We supplied her with lots of chewy stuff but noticed the novelty of each new item soon wanes and she is off looking for something else. MY new idea is to put the chewy items in the bag with her food. They soak up the flavor and are then received with great unwaning interest.

Very early on in life I learned the value of surrounding one's self with people who are smarter than I am. My wife is smarter than I. Thus we had children who are smarter than I. I really don't mind being the dumbest person in the family because of the collateral benefits I then receive. It also works with friends. I must say I have many really brilliant friends. They are fun to be around because they are witty and kind enough to laugh at my often poor attempts at humor. Once again I benefit.

This idea also works in my spiritual life. Some people are easily influenced by those about them. I think I am one of those easily influenced because I note how quickly my conversation degrades or elevates depending upon the moral tone of those about me. I'm a better person when I am with good people. I can be pretty seedy when with those whose conversation focuses on base things. If you are like me and have a malleable character, make it better by spending time with good people, smart people and best of all, spend time each day with Jesus and His word. You will be so pleased with the result.

It's spring time on the east coast and one of the most wonderfully obnoxious of all plants has once again sprouted fresh new leaves.  I speak of POISON IVY.   As I am writing to you I am looking at my right hand all puffy and itchy.  My hand looks like I am wearing an inflated rubber glove.  One of my nursing students asked if I was retaining fluid and my answer was, "Only in spots."  

In II Timothy 4:3 Paul speaks of "itching ears."   While he was not speaking of the fruit of exposure to poison ivy, he was speaking of something far worse.  He was talking about our seeming hunger to listen to pass on poisonous stories.   We seem to crave hearing the worst about someone or something.  If there is a bad story we seem quick to listen and pass it on as truth without any verification.  In Paul's time gossip was passed on by whispering in someone's ear.   Today via electronics we can prodigiously spread vicious tales.  We are literally capable of inflicting pain, chaos and untruths in gigantic proportions.

Very few of us seem to be immune.  I know I am guilty.  As soon as I hear something juicy, I rush down the hall to pass it on to my colleagues.   What is the matter with us?  We almost seem to delight in hearing bad news, even when it is so preposterous it can't be true.  Paul also wrote in Philippians 4:8 that we should think about things of "good report."   I'm sure all of us would agree that is what we should do, but good stories rarely tantalize and satisfy our itchy ears as much as something sensationally scandalous.   What is the matter with us?

It was time for some tough love.  For some unknown reason Annie, our new lab puppy, decided the road was a place to explore.  Just as soon as I would carry her back and put her down she scurried back to the street.  It was time to put on the little red collar and turn on the electric fence. Because we knew what was coming, we almost cried as she headed for the street toward the little white flags.  She never knew what hit her. I don't think she will be very interested in the street anymore.  The little white flags have taken on new meaning.

God tells us not to do certain things.  We are curious beings and find delight in exploring forbidden things.  The forbiddenness actually increases the lure.  If we could only understand, God only wants to keep us from harm. He withholds nothing from us that is good.  If it's good He encourages us to go for it.  Just as we are many times smarter than a puppy so God is many times than us.  We know Annie cannot safely play in the street.  God's commandments are His telling us not to play in the street.  

Sometimes He has to decide it's time for some tough love.  At Thanksgiving we often sing, We Gather Together to Ask the Lord's Blessing.   There is a very meaningful line that often rings in my head.  It goes like this, "He chastens and hastens His will to make known."   I was a father before I finally understood that line.  I think He must cry when He sees what is coming but He lets it happen because He knows it will save us from something far worse.  We are loved.

Almost everywhere I go these days there are containers dispensing hand sanitizer.  I see them in schools and offices and this weekend I noticed one in the lobby of my church.  It's a good idea considering how often we shake hands with others.  It really is surprising how healthy most of us are considering that people cough and sneeze into their hands and then shake our hands.

Shaking hands is a very old custom crossings many cultures.  Last evening I noticed the following in Galatians 2:9, "James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship."  Martin Luther once refused to shake hands with Zwingli because Zwingli believed the Lord's Supper was only a memorial. And John Wesley refused to shake hands with George Whitefield because they disagreed over the doctrine of election.  It is interesting how passionate we can be over our beliefs.  I won't mention politics other than to say I know a Republican who won't shake hands with a Democrat.  Ouch.

If you want an interesting topic to occupy your time look up variations of the word "shake" in a concordance.   You will find hands shaking, heads being shaken, the heavens and the earth shaking, fruit trees shaken, knees shaking, minds shaken and of course the whole room was shaken when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost.   Jesus even told His disciples to shake the dust off their feet if they were not welcomed where and when they tried to share the Good News.   I have often thought about shaking Jesus' nail scared hands.  I do think He will extend them to us, but I think the sight will be too overwhelming for me to reach out and touch them.

Our ball of fire lab puppy, Annie, has adapted to us very well.  From the very first night she slept quietly, well almost quietly.  She snores. She has us trained to run for the door when she starts sniffing about the house. She gets a treat when she waters the lawn.  The problem is she now fakes it. She squats and then comes running for her treat.  We had a dilemma today. It was over a stick.  It was the perfect stick.  It was much too good to put down. However, how does one eat one's treat when one's mouth is already full?   This produced a lot of whining.

She is so much like some humans I have known.  God offers some incredible blessings.  However, often they are conditional on our actions.   Sometimes we have to give up something to make ourselves able to prosper from what He offers.  If we want the blessing of health we have to give up some bad eating habits.  We have to get off the couch and walk around the block each day.

God wants to forgive us of our sins but we make ourselves ineligible because we continue to harbor grudges against others.  It isn't that God doesn't want to forgive us.  Our unforgiving spirit interferes with God's work in our hearts.   Often just like Annie we whine about life's misfortunes when the irony is we are the author of our misfortunes. It is easier to blame them on someone else.   My students who do not study don't do well on exams and it is my fault when they receive a poor grade.    If we truly want all the goodness God offers there are some things we must let go.  

One of life's great truisms is if we are selfish we will never reach our fullest potential.   And one of life's great ironies is if we are unselfish we will never reach our fullest potential.   If we are selfish we will become stagnant and cease to grow.  And if we are givers God will launch us upon a journey to infinity, for God is a giver and we were created in His image.  Should we seek to be like Him the possibilities before us are amazing.  Paul says our possibilities are beyond our wildest imaginations. Peter says we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises. Jesus says ask and we will receive.

So what is wrong when we ask and don't receive?   It is all about motive. If our asking is selfish it is futile. When we cease to be givers we cease to be like Him and thus we have lost our original purpose for being.  Why should God pour out blessings for us if we are like the Dead Sea that only takes?   The more God can trust us to be a conduit of blessings to others, the more blessings He will channel through us.  Heaven is full of blessings and God needs ways to dispense them.  The more we give the more we become. The more we become the greater the possibilities for us to become even more. It is a never-ending pattern of growth.  

Here is the fascination of this.  If we don't give we die and will never be all that we can be.  If we give we will live and never be all that we can be, because there is always tomorrow with bigger and better blessings. The possibilities are infinite.  How grand.

I was sitting in a Burger King this evening when an employee started yelling, "No, no. Please no."   My imagination immediately created the worst possible scenario.  I was ready to run for an exit or hide under a table as I imagined someone had entered with a gun.   What a relief to know it wasn't what I thought.  A bus had pulled up to the door and offloaded forty-six teenage girls who then lined up at the order counter.  The financial boon for Burger King meant a whole lot of work for the three employees behind the counter who were contending with a never-ending line of cars at the drive-up window.

So I wondered why it was that my mind had first gone to something bad. Could it be that we have developed a culture of fear because of all the bad news we continually hear on our radios and televisions?   Twenty-four hour news channels have a voracious appetite for content.  In order to stay fresh they garner all the bad stories that occur all over the world and frighten us into thinking our neighborhoods are filled with all the gruesomeness they can dish up.   Organizations with a need for government or charitable funding hype their cause and exaggerate so they can maintain their existence.  The end result is we have come to believe the worst.

I would like to state that while it is true some places in the world are racked by war, famine and genocide, that is not the norm.  The norm is so much better.  I don't want to be a Pollyanna but if we really believe we are under the shadow of the Almighty we can truly say to each other, "Fear not."

I am sometimes amazed at the longevity of things that are just not so. Decades ago we were told we only use ten percent of our brains and if we used all of them we would be incredibly intelligent.  Despite the fact we have known for a long time that we use all our brains, one can still hear the old wives' tale.

Our brains are amazingly complex organs with different parts designated for different tasks.  Fact retention and mood retention are executed in specific and separate locations, and so it is that researchers have discovered something most interesting.   People with Alzheimer's disease have difficultly retaining memory of recent events.  We can visit grandpa only to have him in just a few minutes forget we were there.  However, the mood we set for grandpa will stay with him all day.  If our visit makes him happy, even though he forgets we were there, he stays happy for the rest of the day.  Our visit made a huge difference in the quality of his life.   He cannot tell someone what it was that made him happy.  He just knows life is good.

When I was young our church would visit "The Old Folks Home" on Sabbath afternoons.  We called what we did, "Sunshine Bands."   We would sing and visit people who couldn't get out of bed.   I must confess I used to be a bit cynical about the value of this.  I thought it did more good for us than it did the old folks.  Now I am not so sure.  I know it is good for us.  But research now tells us it makes grandpa's day.  Matthew 25 has become more meaningful.  "When I was old you came and visited me.  You made my day."

If you are thinking about getting a dog but you're not sure, don't (I repeat. Do not.) visit an animal shelter just to see what's there.  We did. We now have a new dog.  A shelter is totally pathetic.  As you walk down the aisle past all the cages it seems like some form of a penitentiary.  Some of the prisoners rush to the door of their cells barking "Pick me, pick me. Please pick me. I need to get out of here."   Others sit and look up with the most pleading eyes you have ever seen.   One fine fellow put his paw out as if to say, "If you touch me, we will be friends forever."  One very muscular bulldog gave me the eye as if to say, "Hey Buddy, you looking for some protection?  I'm your man."

I, along with many of you, grew up hearing Joshua 24:15, "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve."   So we chose thinking we were initiating a relationship with God.  We couldn't have been more wrong.  In Matthew 25 the king said to those on His right hand, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." God said to Jeremiah, "Before you were born I chose you.

Unlike the dogs at the shelter, we do not have to jump up and down or beg for God to pick us.  He already did before we were born.  Actually, He already did before the day He said, "Let there be light."   He knew us.  He knew we would be here and He longs to have us with Him.  That's why Jesus told us to call His father our Father.

Annie and I took our first late night walk together last Thursday evening. We didn't get very far because the neighbor left his yard light on.  Annie soon discovered something was following her.  It was dark and no matter how fast or slow she went it stayed with her.  She pulled the leash to go home so I released her. She ran as fast as she could go, but that thing chased her right into the alcove to the door.

Shadows can be frightening and also comforting.  Consider Psalm 17:8, "Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings."  That's one very comforting shadow.  Too bad they are all not that way because we must also consider Psalm 23:4, "I walk through the valley of the shadow of death . . ."    Just as shadows grow longer toward the evening of day so that shadow grows longer in the evening of life.  

I cannot imagine what that must be like without having Jesus in one's life. Though the shadow looms for me, it isn't terrifying.  Yes, we will miss our families.  Perhaps we will miss seeing our grandchildren graduate from college or see our great grand children graduate from eighth grade, but we know it is not the end.  Paul so eloquently put it in II Timothy 1:12, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."  

There are no shadows dark enough or deep enough to swallow up the light of Jesus.  He is the light of the world.  He is the resurrection.  The only shadows He creates are good ones.

Six weeks ago one of my very best friends gently went to sleep in my arms. Mandy, our black lab, had been with us for over thirteen years.  Needless to say, it was a very emotional moment, so much so that I have not been able to write about it til now.  I still am not able to say much because she was to me the perfect dog. Her devotion and love were beyond description.  We spent so much time together roaming the mountains of Massachusetts.  But the years took their toll and finally she just ran out of gas.  The last few days she needed assistance just to stand up.  The vet came to our house and Mandy closed her eyes in the comfort of home.

The reason I can now speak of it is that this afternoon Annie has come to live with us.  She too is a black lab.  So here we go again.  The next few weeks we will be soaking up puddles and trying to keep the house from being chewed to pieces.  For the past few hours she has bounded about the house sniffing everything.  She climbed the stairs to the second floor but getting back down was very scary.  It's much easier going up.  We are wondering if we will get much sleep tonight.

While I do not believe Jesus died to save dogs I do believe Jesus will do everything possible to make heaven great for us.  Therefore, I anticipate opening the door of my heavenly home to see Mandy waiting for me.  Some of my friends tell me I should anticipate about a dozen other dogs I have loved through the years.   If I add thirteen or fourteen years to my present age this will be my last dog.  Surely God smiled the day He made dogs and even though Genesis doesn't mention it, I am sure He said, "That is very, very good."

It was creepy looking. All winter it appeared in various places around the house. We often found it crawling up and down the drapes in the family room. Today was spectacularly warm for April and so tonight it used up its welcome. Knowing that it would not have to fend against ice, snow and below zero weather I cupped it in my hand and took it outside. I was not expecting that my hand would smell so good. Really. I'm not being facetious. It was a very sweet smell quite unlike the pungent odor left behind by lightening bugs. I cannot imagine it was a defense smell so I am going to anthropomorphize this potato bug that spent the winter with us and fantasize that it was saying, "Thanks for the winter accommodations."

We anthropomorphize so many things. We give human characteristics to our pets and other forms of life. We even anthropomorphize our heavenly Father. I think He wants us to. He knows it helps us approach Him and understand that we are loved. Jesus told us to call Him Father. However we make a huge mistake if we limit Him to some grandpa in the sky. He is so much more than the figure on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel touching fingers with Adam. His Fatherhood is only one aspect of a creator who not only knows how to convert energy into mass but established the laws that govern our vast universe. The laws of gravity, magnetic fields, and light rays filled with color all originated from His massive intelligence. How grand that someday we will see Him face to face. Jesus promised, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Matthew 5.

It was a beautiful moment. This morning I was walking down the hallway of a large elementary school when the principal announced over the loudspeaker that it was time to pledge allegiance to the flag. I was where I could see into four classrooms as everything came to a halt and the children in all four rooms rose to simultaneously pledge to our flag. But that was not the really great moment. I had been following two little boys down the hall. This was the great moment. They stopped, stood at attention and facing a flag that we could see in one of the rooms they put their hands over their hearts and loudly said, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." As they turned to continue on their way I noted one of them was wearing a yarmulke.

It was a proud and revealing moment for me. When I was a little boy we always recited the Lord's Prayer after the Pledge. Sometimes I get all sweaty because we no longer have prayer in school. But I have to tell you. This morning I was glad we did not. I was glad we did not shove Christianity in the face of a proud little Jewish American, who most obviously loves his country as much as the rest of us. If both or either boy wanted to pray there was no one stopping them from each having his own moment. Sometimes we get overly egocentric and think this world and especially our country is all about us. It is about "us" as long as "us" includes everyone else who is here with us.

This evening I saw Romans 1:16 on a church sign. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." In modernity we could wonder why Paul would say such a thing. There are hundreds of millions of Christians in the world. Why would anyone be ashamed? However, it hasn't always been this way. When Paul wrote there were but handfuls of Christians in the Roman world. It sounded bizarre to speak of a God who died on a cross. The cross in the Roman world was used for the vilest of criminals. The scum of society were crucified. Today we have sentimentalized the cross by singing such songs as "On a Hill Far Away." For Paul's listeners the cross was far from beautiful. It was an instrument of torture designed to humiliate and break the will and composure of the strongest of men. The cross turned most men into crying, groaning, screaming pieces of human refuse. To have a son crucified would be a family scandal never spoken of at family reunions.

Try to imagine Paul beginning an evangelistic sermon to people of his day as he said, "Let me tell you about my crucified savior." Sounds of disgust would have erupted from his hearers as they turned away. His preaching of such a Jesus got Paul beaten, stoned, arrested, and finally executed. Such experiences would have shut up a common man. Most of us would have fled and never said another word about Jesus. Not Paul. He was not ashamed of Jesus. He knew who Jesus really was. Read Colossians one and Ephesians one. His description of Jesus is shear poetry. He wrote, "I know in whom I have believed. He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him." II Timothy 1:12

When my wife and I fly somewhere she always gets me a window seat and herself the aisle seat, which means there is a stranger sitting between us. I think I remember the pastor who married us saying something about let no man come between. Anyway it is quite fun to note when the person in the middle discovers we are together. That person always, I mean always, lights up and ever so generously offers to trade places with one of us so we can sit together. At that point the light goes out of their eyes as they realize they are doomed to the center seat with no place to put their drowsing head.

There is no question but that it is easy to be generous when we get something good out of it. I once had a guy pay me twenty dollars to trade seats so he could sit because a young lady he was wooing. I was happy to accommodate. Now you are wondering why I took the money and didn't just trade seats out the goodness of my heart. I figured he would get lots of mileage with her when she saw how much it was worth to him to sit beside her. Isn't it great how we can spin things?

Life works best when winning or gain is reciprocal. When both people walk away feeling satisfied because they have gotten something good makes for happiness all around. When Jesus died on the cross He gave so much it is difficult for us to understand what He got out of it. However, according to Scripture He gained the right to give you and me eternal life. I find it difficult to understand why He thinks that is a good trade. But I am not going to argue. I love what we got. And He loves what He got.

There are no words adequate to describe Easter weekend. We go from the agonizing horror of Gethsemane to the ecstatic elation of Sunday morning. The events in between are staggering to ponder. Created beings not only reject their Creator they mangle His humanity in some of the most barbaric techniques of torture ever conceived. By the time He arrives at the actual nailing to the cross, His body is a quivering mass of flesh kept from bleeding to death by handfuls of salt rubbed into the meat of His back.

All heaven must have been in deepest sorrow and mourning the Sabbath He was in the tomb.  Ever so anxiously they must have watched the earth turn into the sun as it rose over China and then India getting closer and closer to Judea. The earth quaked when the word was given and the resurrecting angel rushed to his task.  The hordes of evil under the enemy's direction were determined to keep Him in His tomb.  They scattered like leaves before wind in the presence of that one righteous angel. Goodness, righteousness always wins. The horror of the last two days was eclipsed by the power of life, light and purity.

Choirs in Andromeda and galaxies at the edge of the universe broke into anthems of victory as their Creator rose to forever be the victor over evil and death itself.  Months before this He had proclaimed in front of Lazarus' tomb that He was the resurrection and the life.  Never again would it be doubted.  It was.  He lives and we live in Him.  "For whosever believes will have everlasting life."  Believe with me.  Believe. Live not just now, but into infinity.