May Christ\’s Resurrection Manifest in Garissa, Kenya

$\"gariisa280_large\"$ Today, Christian history calls for us to recognize the day in which Jesus rose from the dead. Thank God for the power of resurrection!

In this morning\’s sermon at the First Presbyterian Church of Norfolk, Pastor Jim Wood pointed out that not only was resurrection something that Jesus did on the third day, but also Jesus IS the resurrection. Jesus did not hesitate to proclaim at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11:25, \”I AM the resurrection and the life.\”

So, today, we both celebrate what Jesus did and who Jesus is — \”the resurrection and the life.\”

Friend, our world really needs to know Jesus as the resurrection!

I want to challenge you this week to pray for the resurrection power of Christ to become real in the midst of the mayhem and decadence that is plaguing our global communities.

In particular, please pray for Kenya!

Terrorism has struck the vulnerable and ravaged the halls of a Kenya college–Garissa University College. So much hate and fear invade our world; if we are not careful, calluses will form around our hearts. We will become numb to bad news.

This must not happen! To revise a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., \”hate anywhere is a threat to love everywhere.\” If we do not do something to condemn evil, hate and violence, then who will?

Christ has flung the Church against darkness like a rock. Christ has already declared that the very gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church (ref. Matthew 16:18). Our invasion against darkness is not of physical violence but spiritual aggression. It is a spiritual warfare of love and truth.

We must not back-up. We must prevail in love. We must persevere in prayer. We must condemn evil everywhere.

If our world is to see another side to evil, we have to show them the cross. On one side of the cross is darkness, pain, evil, and hopelessness. But on the other side of the cross – after the resurrection, we see light, healing, love, and hope. Hallelujah!

Christ is the resurrection. As the Body of Christ, the Church is the hope of resurrection in a world of devastation, hate, and evil.

There is another side to this. May Kenya and everywhere that evil seems rampant arise from the brokenness, the pangs of evil; may Islamic terrorism around the world be stopped in its tracks, and may the love of Christ and the witness of Christ arise with eternal hope, in Jesus\’ name. Amen!