11Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17Jesus 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.’ ” 18Mary 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.
He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed! These are the words that indicate the immense joy in knowing that our Lord and Savior, Jesus, has conquered death, even death on a cross, and has ascended into Heaven. On Maundy Thursday we learned that the mandate Jesus gave to us was this: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Then, on Good Friday, we saw the bitter hatred that caused us to join in with words of Crucify Him! Crucify Him! It was then that we were at our lowest, as we watched Our Lord die.
Today, though, is an entirely different picture! He Is Risen! Shout praises to God for this miraculous truth — Jesus Is Risen! Our Savior Lives!
Prayer Requests and Praises!
- My sister Robin starts us off this week. Here is what she said, followed by my response:
Mike, we had a similar situation in Round Hill a few years ago. The bike riders were doing an event, not for charity, and they asked the churches to close one Sunday so they could have the downtown for their bike rides. It was absolutely ridiculous. Of course we said no and to the best of my knowledge they haven’t asked since.
If you could add Carol to the prayer list, she has stage 4 ovarian cancer. She is a friend of mine and Jim’s and has until December. She is doing an alternative form of “treatment” instead of the surgery, chemo, and radiation so we hope that this decision will give her peace and some sense of control. It is a horrible situation and one I would not wish on anyone. Either “treatment”, I use that term loosely since it is a terminal diagnosis, will garner the same results so essentially she is choosing to not do the more violent form of therapy. I can’t blame her one bit.
Our county school board is playing Russian roulette with the budget again so teachers are being held hostage, and RIF notices are pending. I don’t know if I will be teaching in the fall or not so prayers for that situation are desperately needed. I know that God is bigger and better than this, but still it is somewhat daunting and clarity would be a good thing. But then I wouldn’t depend on Him as much so I guess He knows what He is doing :-)
Love to all of you!- Robin, I’m sorry that I didn’t see this request sooner! I’ll add you all in my prayers right now, in fact, please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, your servant Carol is fighting a serious illness, one that the doctors believe she won’t overcome. We know that Your Will will be done in this, and we pray that you would help Carol to have the Peace, Comfort, and Strength to endure in whatever way You lead her. Lord, please be with her friends Robin and Jim as well, and all of her family and friends as well, and grant them the Peace and Strength that they need in the days, weeks, and months ahead as they stare death in the face. Please remind them that You are there for them during this struggle as well as any other struggle that they endure.
Lord, I also ask that You look after Robin and all of her fellow teachers as they wait to hear what the school board does with the budget for the teachers of Loudoun County. It is such a shame that insanity seems to rule the day, but we know that this is because of Satan’s influence on our fallen world, and know that one day Jesus will come again and set things right.
Until then, Lord, please plant that seed in us to be prepared for that day, so that we will not be like the brides that didn’t have enough oil for their lamps and thus missed out on His return.
Lord, we pray these things in the beautiful name of Your Son Jesus, with absolute Thanksgiving for all that He has done for us.
Amen.
- Robin, I’m sorry that I didn’t see this request sooner! I’ll add you all in my prayers right now, in fact, please pray with me:
- My friend Amanda has an update on her husband Daniel’s medical issues. Here is what she wrote:
Happy Easter! First we wanted to thank everyone for all the prayers, support and positive thoughts coming our way! They seem to be working! It’s an amazing feeling to feel people praying for you!
Now, on with the update! Daniel had a biopsy last Friday. On Wednesday, the results came in and it is a recurrence of the colon cancer on his liver so we are now at Stage IV. The good news is it appears to be a single, localized lesion. We met with the oncology surgeon on Wednesday. He seemed very positive about the possibility of being able to surgically remove the tumor after a round of chemotherapy to see if it can be shrunk to a more manageable size. So he scheduled a CT of the liver for this coming Monday to make sure there are no major structures involved in the tumor and that it is in a place that can be resected.
Today we met with the oncologist. He was also very positive. He took Daniel’s case before the Tumor Review board and they felt there was a chance the resection surgery could be done before the chemo is started. This is awesome news! It’s still a long shot but it would be a huge step in the right direction if it comes to pass. The CT will tell them if that is possible. If the resection can be done now, we will do the surgery, then go on a chemo regimen for anywhere from 6-12 cycles and then a maintenance chemo for however long the oncologist tells us. If it can’t be resected now, we will do 6 cycles of chemo, reimage to see if the tumor has shrunk and if it has, do the resection followed by another round of chemo.
So we need our prayer warriors to pray for some specific things in addition to Daniel being healed and cancer free. We need prayers that no major structures are involved in the tumor and the resection can move forward immediately AND that the tumor is KRAS negative. This will allow them to use a more effective chemo agent. We so appreciate everyone being there for us. You are all our support system and with that and our faith, we can stay positive and ready for battle!
Please pray for her and her husband — and please, pray specifically for what Amanda wrote above. Thank you everyone for being a prayer warrior for Amanda and her husband and their family during their time of struggle! - During the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon last Sunday, there were two runners that suffered conditions and died as a result of this condition. Jason Schlosser, age 31, was from High Point, NC, and Derrick Myers, 35, of Raleigh, passed away during the event. Please take a moment and pray for their families as they mourn the loss of their loved one.
As always, my friends, we close today by saying the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:
Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done,
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us our Daily Bread,
And forgive us our Trespasses,
as we forgive those who Trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and ever. Amen.
My friend Kristin shares with us a huge praise on the anniversary of God’s Miracle for her sister Ally:
This time last year, I posted this:
“How do I say enough thank you’s for today? It’s been a year since we almost lost you, Gracie, and there is so much to be thankful for. The friend that called 911 and the officer who stayed with you until EMS arrived. The crew that airlifted you to CMC and the surgeons, docs and nurses that saved your life. Our guardian angels. The prayers that got Mom and Dad through that hour long drive in the middle of the night. The fact that you awoke from surgery and spoke, after a traumatic brain injury. And 4 days later you walked. I just want to shout it…”Ally is here!” Thank you Jesus, your grace is immeasurable. There will never be enough thank you’s but I will do my imperfect best to try and you, Lord, will always be more than enough.”
And so, I will continue with this-
Two years ago Kevin and I made a long 9 hour drive from Hershey, PA to Charlotte, NC. I experienced for the first time what my husband was like as a doctor. He kept me calm, delegated what needed to happen next, and hid from me what he thought could be true…irrevocable damage to my sister’s brain. And, that whole long trip, for one of the first times in my life, I didn’t worry. I didn’t worry because GOD didn’t let me worry. HE was present the whole time. It’s now been two years, and my sister Ally is thriving! I couldn’t be more proud of her. And most of all, I can not be more thankful for Jesus, His presence, His love and His grace.
Love you more than words Gracie! Love you forever Jesus!
So many praises — for her husband’s skill as a doctor, the way he was able to keep his wife calm and collected, for the safe 9 hour journey for them and the 1 hour journey for her parents, but most of all, huge praises for God for being there for them that day, and for the witness that they have become for Him.