{"id":35233,"date":"2023-04-09T03:30:29","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T10:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=35233"},"modified":"2023-04-06T14:22:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T21:22:38","slug":"april-9-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2023\/04\/09\/april-9-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"April 9, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Walk His Wa<\/em>y invites you to join an Easter Sunday service with us today!<\/h5>\n
Join us in-person at LCC or click on this link to watch our Live Stream at 10a: LCC Redding Live Stream<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n

The Invitation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cBut the angel answered and said to the women, \u2018Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.\u2019\u201d<\/em> Matthew 28:5-6<\/p>\n

How many of you, when you began to read this Scripture, skipped right over it as soon as you realized it was the same one you always hear at Easter? I admit, if I wasn\u2019t the one writing this, I might have done the same.<\/p>\n

It would have been a half-hearted reading, at best. A quick run-through. A meaningless moment, if truth be told.<\/p>\n

Especially if we\u2019ve walked with the Lord a long time, we are in danger of becoming desensitized to the great truths of the Bible. Oh, we believe them. But we can be numb to them. They don\u2019t hold the same depth, the same application, as they once did. They don\u2019t bring forth a heart-response as they once did. They certainly don\u2019t bring the tears they once did. The crucifixion doesn\u2019t make us hate our sin. The risen Christ doesn\u2019t stir our passionate rejoicing.<\/p>\n

Have we become indifferent to the Resurrection of our Lord? Are we detached from that long-ago event which we\u2019ve celebrated so often? Have we allowed the distractions of \u201cEaster Day\u201d to deter us from worshiping God in spirit and in truth? Are we hard-hearted, like stones? May it not be so! Ezekiel 36:26 says, \u201cAnd I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh\u201d<\/em> (ESV).<\/p>\n

If you are anything like me, you will understand that sometimes, even in a moment that should profoundly touch us, we remain unmoved until we see someone nearby weeping. Then our own tears seem to be loosed, and we cry out our grief. Perhaps in our own look at the cross and the tomb, we should look upon those who stood by, weeping bitterly. His mother. His friends. Some followers. Look closely. See the tears flowing freely. Feel their sorrow. Sense the openness with which they showed their love for Him.<\/p>\n

And when we have begun to hate our sin that drove Him to this extreme, and when we have grieved with a tender heart and a seared conscience, then we will hear the angel\u2019s invitation. \u201cCome! See where He was! See that He isn\u2019t here, but He has risen!\u201d It was an invitation to remember all that He had said would happen. It was the fulfillment of a nearly unbelievable promise. Rejoice and be glad!<\/p>\n

God, break open our stony hearts. Then, broken hearted, let us come boldly to the throne of grace for our own sins. Cause our apathy to vanish in the face of an empty tomb. Let us see afresh the tears of those who walked with Your Son on this earth, and let it make a difference. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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