We are in the season of Easter.  The session ends 50 days from Easter Sunday with Pentecost.  During that period, Jesus appeared several times to His followers, particularly the Disciples.   

He does this to prepare them.  They had been with him for 3 years, yet they were not fully prepared to begin ministry to the world.  It was not that the three years were wasted; even though being with them for three years was instructive, they were not completely focused and were not in unity of purpose with each other.  The 50 days were different because there was a sense of urgency among the Disciples.  Jesus had a sense of urgency, particularly in the last year of His ministry, but the disciples had gotten comfortable with how things were and had their own ideas for the future.

We in the church are much the same.  We get comfortable, like the way things are, and lose the sense of urgency.  We like the way things are and don’t want anything or anyone to disrupt our sense of security.  But Jesus is a disrupter; He wants us on our toes (Matthew 24:42-43).  He wants us to understand the urgency of the Gospel message.  While we are comfortable, others are dying without accepting Him, Jesus, as Lord and Savior.  Jesus wants us to know that the time is short.  He may return at the trumpet call tomorrow, next week, or next century, but in the meantime, others are dying now, and without a savior, The Savior, they are lost, but we, the found, are called to go out on the rescue mission to save the lost.  Tell someone today that God loves them and Jesus wants a relationship with them.  Tell them your story of being found and the story of Jesus’ great love for them when He died for them on the cross. 

Be God’s Ambassador to the World.

Pastor Burt