Welcome!
Today: Shocks and surprises!
Passage: John 20 (NIV)
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20, NIV) -emphasis added
”Shocks” and “surprises” are part of life!
As we saw yesterday, Mary Magdalene had a “shock” and then, a “surprise”! Shock because the body of Jesus was missing; surprise because she saw Jesus, alive!
Whenever God met a human being, they had shock/surprise or both!
When Adam sinned, the presence of God became a “shock” to him
When God met Abraham in Mamre, it was a surprise for Abraham! (Gen 18)
When God met Moses in Horeb, it was a surprise at first; but it became a “shock”, when God wanted Moses to go to Egypt and talk to Pharaoh to deliver Israel. It was the place where he killed an Egyptian 40 years back and ran for life!
Gideon was surprised when God visited him in his work
You don’t know when and where God will visit you!
Samuel got a call from God as he just went to bed
One of the areas we have our shocks and surprises, is in our spiritual life, after the re-birth. We will be shocked to hear and see many bad things, and be surprised to see the wonderful way God is moving in certain lives/churches
Marriage/family is another place where people get shocks and surprises
Also in day today life, we get it; “shocks” when those friends whom we never expected to loose/separate leave us; “surprise” when we get friends we never expected to get, in life!
In our life, we recently had a shock/surprise treat; I was missing a very important bunch of keys including the remote key to our car and some other important ones. I thought I misplaced it in the home, so I managed with the other one, still doing some search wherever I could. Then, one day, one of the neighbors gave us the phone number to a man living not too far from us, who came looking for us when we were not home. He had a bunch of keys!
He got it from outside and was looking for me, from a “Library tag” on it
Children sometimes take the key to look for something in the car and then they go play; may be that is what happened!
Thank God for faithful people. Thank God for His faithfulness!
Even when you loose things, God diverts it to the right people!
What belongs to you, God will protect and keep it, and bring it to you!
The biggest “shock and surprise” will be, (if) when we get to heaven
Why? “Shock” because we won’t see many people whom we expect there
You know what the surprise is: there will be many there, whom we never expected to see there- people like Mary Magdalene,……..!
Ready for that “shock and surprise” treat?
May you have a blessed day!
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your care and protection in my day-to-day life. There has been many times when I worried thinking you forgot me. But I know you didn’t! You are in control of my entire life. Thank you Lord for your love! Amen
When we do our part of His work, he will do His part of ours!