Resurrection Then ... and Now

“At dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb.” Matthew 28:1-10

Imagine the emotional turmoil in Jerusalem during Passover Week. Even before Jesus’ arrest, the twin curses of confusion and chaos had been unleashed. Judas, one of the chosen, betrayed his King. Their Messiah had been unmercifully beaten and crucified. A living nightmare unfolded for the disciples, and Jesus’ followers. One can almost taste and smell the vile injustice and cowardice. Where were they to turn now?

Picture Mary Magdalene and the women—trudging to the tomb, hearts broken and numb. Most likely their minds recalled every conversation they had with Jesus. Perhaps, none could move beyond their grief. 

Mary must have felt panicked when she saw the stone had been rolled away. She wasted no time in running to tell Simon Peter and John to come see. John not only saw; he quickly determined that Jesus had resurrected and believed. 

As the men left for home, Mary remained weeping, not grasping the miracle. When she looked inside the tomb, she saw two angels who asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?” After explaining to them that her Lord had been taken away, she turned around and saw another man who was Jesus. But she didn’t recognize Him. 

Picture, for a moment, this sorrowful scene. Mary is beyond being emotionally distraught; she cannot recognize her Teacher, the very one for whom she is grieving. She is exhausted and mistakes Him for the gardener. But at the sound of Jesus’ voice, when He says, “Mary,” she immediately recognizes Him and replies, “Rabboni!” Her Teacher, who was dead for three days, was now miraculously alive. Mary’s belief in the fact that Jesus had resurrected makes her one of the first believers. 

The poignancy of this resurrection moment is so powerful it makes me want to stop and shout, Hallelujah!! But Jesus immediately gives Mary a directive and a mission: 1) “Do not cling to Me,” and 2) “Go tell My brethren I ascend to My Father and Your Father, and My God and your God.”  

If we look closer at Mary Magdalene, there are several things that speak of her faith. She was:

Devoted and Grateful
Jesus had cast out seven demons from Mary. She had been freed from the bondage of Satan, seven times over. Imagine the depth of her gratefulness! Jesus’ love had transformed Mary into a new creature, with a new attitude, and, most importantly, a new spirit. Her radical life-change directly impacted her devotion to and faith in Jesus. 

Listening 
Having a bit of ADD as a young girl, I recall my dad advising, “Listen up, girl.” Distraction is a black hole of befuddlement. Those were the times I lost the message and the meaning. It seems Mary’s born-again experience motivated her spiritually to listen to Jesus’ message.  His teachings directly impacted the things she heard so she could trust Him fully.

Faithful
After witnessing Jesus’ barbaric crucifixion, Mary’s grief and confusion became profound; this could have stymied her faith. The unsettling flashbacks could have overwhelmed her. But Mary’s faith in Jesus spoke of bold authenticity. She would not be moved. Ultimately, Jesus blessed her with His first post resurrection apparition.

In the face of adversity, such as our present pandemic, I tend to get distracted by the “what-ifs” and “whys.” Studying these events permits me to see things clearly from God’s perspective. The Resurrection comes into its proper focus.

Since Jesus is the Resurrection, His blood sacrifice cancels all sins for all eternity to any who believe. Resurrection is validation that we are God’s children and are part of His family.

Jesus’ resurrection frees us to boldly proclaim with full hearts: “Christ the Lord is risen today. Hallelujah! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

Lord Jesus,

Words cannot adequately express our thanks to You for the free gift of Eternal Life. Teach us to be effective Resurrection people every day of the year, so that You would be lifted high and glorified. We pray this in your holy name. Amen.
                                                                                                                
~ Jan O’Neal | April 12, 2020
                    
Bibliography:
Matthew 28:10
Luke 9: 31
Luke 18:31-33
Luke 18:34 
John 20:1-2, 20:11-16
Hebrews 11:1-3

Mission Partner Highlight | The Gideons International

During his early teens, Anthony Payton chased after drugs in hopes of filling a void left in his heart. He would get paid for the drugs he was trafficking and then use the money to support his own addiction, a habit that landed him in jail.

He began attending a bible study led by a Gideon, who would often visit the jail. Anthony developed a relationship with the Gideon, and he would listen to the message of God's word week after week. During one of his visits, the Gideon pulled out a New Testament and shared a series of passages with Anthony. There in that jailhouse, Anthony prayed to receive Jesus Christ. Today, he serves as a pastor leading others to wholeheartedly reach people for the Lord.

Apostles provides financial support to the Gideons who use 100% of the funds to purchase and ship scriptures all over the world. All overhead/administrative costs are paid by the Gideons themselves.  Our church also has a Gideoncard display in the upstairs lobby. There you can donate bibles in memory of a loved one, in honor of someone you want to remember, or to simply say "Thank you" or "I'm praying for you" to someone. 

You can get much more information about how the Lord is using the Gideons: gideons.org

Out Of Idleness: Post-Sabbatical Note from Rev Eric Bolash

Out Of Idleness
Post-Sabbatical Note from Rev Eric Bolash

I’m back! It wasn’t easy setting the alarm for that first Monday morning, but I came in to a “decorated” office as my welcome back from sabbatical. 

I realize it’s been an exceptionally eventful summer for our church. That’s putting it mildly. Although I haven’t been here, I know it’s been difficult. As I return, I am ready and want to be available to walk further with everyone through this time. Call or email if you’d like to get together. I’m eager to listen. 

My time away was restful. The Bolash family had great adventures in Iceland, London and Scotland. A few highlights:

● We met some spirited Icelandic teenagers in a store called Reykjavik Records
● We saw Shakespeare’s A Comedy Of Errors at The Globe
● We tried Haggis in Scotland--which I do not recommend
● We saw Nessie at Loch Ness--I can show you the photo
● Robin and I stayed in an 11th-century Scottish castle
● Robin and I spent several peaceful days in a quiet Scottish fishing village by the sea

Otherwise, as much as I could during the last two months, I have woken up in the mornings, made coffee, had breakfast and then gone out to a quiet spot to read Scripture, pray, walk, read poetry and write poetry. The Lord brought refreshment through the time.

The above title, “Out Of Idleness,” is a phrase from Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick. In the novel, Captain Ahab roars his command at the sailors to “split your lungs with blood and thunder” as they pursue the white whale. Meanwhile, in contrast, the harpoonist sits nearby, completely still, quietly waiting. From the book: “To ensure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpoonists of the world must start to their feet out of idleness and not out of toil.” Author and pastor Eugene Peterson points out that the harpoonist appears unproductive. But this is only so that when the right moment comes, he is rested and ready for his unique task. 

So, being away allowed some time for idleness. That was a big theme. All of us as Christians need idleness. We need sabbath. Jesus said sabbath was created for us, as a gift to us. In it, we learn that God is always at work. Sometimes he invites us into his work. Sometimes he rests us so that we are again ready for work.

Below you’ll find a sampling from the poems I penned during the time away. I learned that writing decent poetry is harder than it looks. Some of mine was pretty terrible! But the use of words to communicate spiritual truth is an important part of pastoring, so it was a valuable component of my time away. 

Out of Idleness ~ Poems From Sabbatical

I am looking forward to seeing everyone again in worship and joining with you in God’s work in and through this church body.

In Christ,
Eric

Greetings From Gikomero! ~ Church Building Update

The progress on the church construction is moving forward partially due to the $12,000 gift from the Apostles Rwanda Fund.  The government several months ago told the parish that they needed to complete the construction by the end of July or risk the old building (still out of building conformance) being also closed.  The government has witnessed the progress and is not planning to take any such action now that the new building is moving forward so well.  Praise!  Much of the work is done by members of the congregation - the money is mainly for materials and some special sub contractors.

Words below from Marcel Sebahire at the Shyogwe Diocese and good friend of Apostles:

Greetings from Gikomero, your sister church.

We are very excited to share with you about the construction progress that we have done so far.

1. We have finished elevating the walls: The walls are now elevated and well finished;

2. We are done with plastering: The inside walls are all plastered;

3. We have put/installed all doors and windows;

4. We have installed the electrical wires: The rest is to connect the lambs and connect the church electricity system to the public grid;

5. We have finished digging the toilet pits: We are seeing how to construct the toilet building;

6. We have done outside finishing activities for all doors and windows

WHAT IS BEING DONE RIGHT NOW?

1. We are laying stones for pavement with cement

2. We are building the front (altar) and we will continue with tiling.

3. We are putting metal tubes in the two up-sides of the church building where the glasses will be installed.

Guatemala Team ~ June 21, 2019

Receiving a Partnership Certificate for the Church of Apostles from Potter’s House.

Guatemala Team 
Having returned yesterday to Guatemala City from our work in Chiquimula, our morning began with a short drive to Potters House. The ministry, now 33 years old, is a beacon of Light in its neighborhood, adjacent to the city dump. Meeting the staff and seeing the well-established programs and the medical clinic encouraged me to pray and believe God will accomplish the same at the Potters House satellite in Chiquimula.

After our tour, the team had the privilege of walking the neighborhood. We were welcomed into the homes of some of the Potter’s House families, where joyful, tearful reunions of Guatemalans with team members who had worked with the families on prior trips occurred! Before leaving each home, we gathered around and prayed together for them.

We finished our time in Guatemala by traveling to Antigua Friday afternoon. We enjoyed leisure time in this beautiful city.  Active, smoking volcanoes sit on the very near horizon. We leave Guatemala early Saturday morning (alarms set for 3 AM!) with renewed love and gratitude for our Lord’s heart for our brothers and sisters in this beautiful country.  We will look forward to our return next year. Our hope and prayer is that others from Apostles will join us. It’s a privilege, not to be missed. Adios!

Christo vive,
Susanne Berger

Guatemala Team ~ June 20, 2019

A view from the future site of the Potter’s House Expansion Field Office in Chiquimula, Guatemala. 

Team One 
“Team Avery” had an awesome final day at Casa de Jeronimo. We did final touch-up work on the hygiene unit and installed the high efficiency stove. Better than that, we had the opportunity to dedicate the unit to Rosa, Leonardo, Francisco, Esperanza, and all the other precious family members in the name of Jesus Christ. We prayed together and said tearful goodbyes thanking God for each other and for our time together.

It’s remarkable how quickly time can pass, especially when you are working, joking, and enjoying life together with some very special friends you met just a few days before. The bonds we share in Christ have such an amazing way of instantly cutting through differences in culture, ethnicity, economic status, and language. We are all equal at the foot of the Cross of Christ, and this week was an incredible demonstration of this.

Thanks so much to Avery, Patrick, Ethan, and the Potter’s House staff of Josue’, Annbella, Monica, Jose’, Carlos, and all who made our time in Chiquimula so special. You are all treasures in the eyes of God, and I am so grateful to have had the privilege to spend the week with you. To God by the glory, great things He hath done!

~John Rustin

Team Two
This morning, our last day in Chiquimula, our team arrived at the Escalante’s home, feeling more and more like family.  We spent the morning installing a stove, which comprises one quarter of the new integrated hygiene unit and touching up the painting we did on the unit the past 2 days.  

There was less work than the prior 3 days here, as we only had a couple of hours in the morning before making the trek back to Guatemala City.  As we finished our work, we were able to spend some time with Amelida and her father, Marcel, who has been working alongside us all week. We ended our time together, praying for each other and enjoying the sweet fellowship that has developed between our team and these fellow believers so many miles from Raleigh and in such a different culture and situation, with the confidence we have in our Lord that we will have the opportunity to rejoice together for eternity as the Lord makes all things new.  (Rev. 21:5).  

~Bruce Berger 

Guatemala Team ~ June 19, 2019

Medical Team
Today we went to another neighborhood, outside of Chiquimula a bit, and put on a clinic there. A highlight was working with several earnest Guatemalan medical students who worked up patients and presented them to Farr. There is much to say, but a prominent theme was how much loss people have suffered. Multiple patients had lost children, including a woman whose one year old daughter died of a febrile illness last year, and a woman whose daughter was sent to jail three months ago. The people are carrying so much suffering in their bodies. A highlight was meeting a 74 year old man who has worked in the field since he was twelve years old and listening to him testify about how God has provided for him and his children all of his life, even as they have been incredibly poor by any standard. He spoke directly to the medical students about committing their ways to the Lord, and seeing that he will give them the life they long for. Amazing. We spoke about how we might have been attending to angels unawares. Finally, we saw painfully how little access people have to the healthcare they need. For example, the last patient was a 25 year old woman—the one whose daughter died last year—and she had a problem with uterine bleeding. She needs a careful gynecological evaluation, but to get that will cost her maybe a month’s income (~$200). So it won’t happen unless God works a miracle. We are praying for that and hoping to bring Stacy Boulton with us next time!

~ Farr Curlin

Team One

Today during our time at the work site, we painted the hygiene station in the baking heat. While we were painting the station, we were able to experience the effects of God’s work in our lives and how it is expressed through others. We were able to pray with the family, lead by Avery, for God’s will to be done in their lives as well as ours. The will of God was shown through the gratefulness of the Jeronimo family and the work we have put in to the hygiene station by being the hands and feet of God. We are very grateful for the work we are able to do in our short time here and to experience the love of God and how he shows us how much he provides for us and our brothers and sisters in Christ when we are in need.

~ Ethan Morales


Team Two
Today was the final day of all-day-long construction in Chiquimula.  We had a sweet time of fellowship with Amelida’s family and continued encouraging them that the Lord is good and He will continue to provide all they need.  If you are getting our updates, please pray for our friends here, that they would receive rain. We also pray for Amelida’s husband Hugo, who is not a believer.

We worked hard and today was really hot, but Jesus sustained us physically and kept us all healthy. I hope these pictures convey the fact that the relationships we have developed with this family are really precious, as well as the fact that the hygiene stations we have had the privilege to help build are really cool. (They have a sink, place to wash, a shower, and toilet.)  Tomorrow, we will assemble the stoves and finish touching up the final details.  We are all pretty exhausted, but very encouraged. 

The Potter’s House staff are so fabulous;  they love the Lord with all their hearts and love their neighbors fiercely.  It’s been such an encouragement and challenge for us to be here.  Their witness and the sacrifices they make daily make us want to be better neighbors when we get back to Raleigh.

~ Sarah Alexander