He's Alive!

Easter has always been one of my favorite days of the year. Fortunately I was taught from an early age that this day isn’t about the Easter Bunny but it is about a risen savior.

With this day representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, it also gives us the promise of eternal life.

I always think back to a song called “He’s Alive” which I first heard performed by Bubba Cardin who is an old church friend at a church summer camp. The song gave me chills and excitement that Jesus is alive.

The chorus explodes with this proclamation:

He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide

If you’ve never heard this song, you need to listen to it. Here is a link to it:  https://youtu.be/aidWs3tceYw?si=-WVgzQk9F2ByHEnv

We celebrate the resurrection. Jesus defeated death. While this means we have the hope of eternal life when we die, does it also mean some could be raised from the dead now?

I have wondered about that many times. The reality is that more people die than are raised from the dead but there are some situations where it has happened. I have heard stories but I have never had personal knowledge of anyone being raised from the dead.

When I was younger I experienced the tragic death of two young people in our church. Weeks after their deaths I was still praying for them to be raised from the dead. I believed it and I prayed earnestly for it to happen. It never did. That was hard for me to comprehend.

Even with stories of someone being raised from the dead, some will always come back with a scientific explanation on these accounts. Even if these stories are true, they will still have to face death again. The story of when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb is an amazing miracle but Lazarus eventually had to die again.

The resurrection power that Jesus has is the finality of death does not mean it is final for those who believe in Him.

Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in Corinthians:

But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?

Easter is the hope we have in the resurrection! Death is not the end.

Does It Matter How Many People Pray?

When we are in a desperate situation, we will usually ask others to pray for us. I have seen requests for prayer in church and on social media.  When we are in need and we reach out to others for help in praying.

But does it make a difference how many people are praying?

The number of people praying does not necessarily increase the chances of God answering in the way we want, prayer is not about "numbers" or manipulating a specific outcome. However, shared prayer is highly valued for unity, encouragement, and communal worship, with promises of presence when even two or three gather. I know that we like to read the passage in Matthew 18:20 when it says "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  We often mistake that to mean that our prayer will be answered but this just assures us that Christ will be in our presence.  It doesn't mean we tip the scales in our direction.

The sincerity, faith, and alignment with God's will are generally considered more important than the number of participants.  Personal, private prayer is considered just as valid and effective as group prayer.

There may be some situations when prayer can change God’s mind but this isn’t dependent on the number of people praying.

I know when I ask people to pray for my need, I only seek out those I have confidence in and know who will pray for my need and not just say they will pray and then forget about it.  Sometimes I just don't have the words to pray or I feel weak in my faith so I reach out to others who I know will hold me up.

Ultimately, the answer to our prayers is in God’s hands. We can’t assume that we know what it is. Sometimes His answers do not make sense to us.

In my opinion, when you have a desperate need you do all that you feel you need to do in prayer. Tell no one or tell everyone. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.  Even if numbers don’t make a difference, having the support of others can be encouraging to help us during our time of need.

Red Sea Moments

One of my favorite scenes from the “Ten Commandments” movie is when Moses leads Israel to the Red Sea. They suddenly find that the Egyptians are pursuing them. They are trapped with no place to go. 

Immediately they turn on Moses. The Carlton Heston version of Moses tells the people that they are going to see the salvation of the Lord. Moses lifts his staff and the Red Sea is parted. 

There are times in life where we find ourselves in situations where we feel trapped. We trust and believe in God but we see the waves of our Red Sea and the enemy approaching. It’s a scary moment.

We can still be scared and trust God. Our faith sees things that we don’t see with our physical eyes.

It’s easy in these moments to complain as Israel did to Moses about the situation.

The pharaoh character in the movie played by Yul Brenner was leading the charge of the Egyptian armor toward Israel. When they got close he said “Their God is a poor field general.”

There are times when we wonder why God has led us to a place that has us trapped with no deliverance in sight. It would seem that God is not in control.

It the moments where is appears God has been a poor field general, He opens the way to our greatest victory.

The Red Sea scares us. We wonder where God is. Our faith is tested. Will God deliver us this time or will the enemy destroy us?

The only thing we can do is stand still. Does it guarantee that things will turn out the way we want it to turn out? Not always but where else are we going to turn?  Some times it simply comes down to the fact that either God will deliver us or He won't.  None of us knows the mind of God and what His purpose is in what we are facing.  

God’s faithfulness and our faith do not guarantee our deliverance. Likewise, ongoing pain and lack of deliverance do not indicate a lack of faithfulness on God’s part or lack of faith on ours. Whether God parts our Red Sea moments or not, we still put our trust in Him.  Stand firm and endure.