GOOD NEWS RISES...

SCRIPTURE

Mark 4:1-20 (NRSV)
The parable of the sower

Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that
'they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'"

And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

MEDITATION—Today is Saturday Psalmody! Today, the meditation is offered as a psalm from my heart. If you would like a more traditional devotion, please search the archives for a title that appeals to you! (smile)

GOOD NEWS RISES...

My Lord and My God

How I need GOOD NEWS.

Please ,

speak to me afresh

I need to hear from you.

For this bad news world

With all its trials and tribulations

Heartaches and failures

Hatred and division

Striving, scraping, and scrapping

Has worn me thin

Torn me down

Bowed my head

Beaten upon me until

I

Just

Can’t

Get

Up…

How I long to run away

To just give up

To hide my face

To weep until I am dry

And no more tears will come…

My Lord and My God

How I need GOOD NEWS

For I know and believe

By faith---

That there is GOOD NEWS

For me…

I sit in silence

Pondering my life

Realizing

that for today GOOD NEWS

May simply mean

That you love me

And that Your extravagant Spirit

Extends to me unconditional love

Unmerited mercy

And life everlasting…

GOOD NEWS

Means that Jesus did go to the cross

He did bleed, suffer, and die

He did make reparation for my sin—

But not for my sin only,

But for the sin of the whole wide world!

GOOD NEWS

Means that Jesus did not stay dead

But, He was resurrected; just as He said!

GOOD NEWS

Means that the angels

Did herald your great victory

Over sin, death and the grave

And they bid the women GO

And TELL the story…

Jesus is risen!

He is risen indeed!

GOOD NEWS Rises

In my heart

Even at the most distressing of times

When my sin,

Or the sin of others

Tries to choke GOOD NEWS out of my life…

GOOD NEWS rises

When the cares of this world—

The lust for fame,

fortune, success,

and popularity,

threaten to destroy my joy.

GOOD NEWS rises

In every time

And every place

In every circumstance of life

Reminding me

Calling me

Beckoning to me…

JESUS LIVES!

And because He lives*

I can face tomorrow

And because he lives

All fear is gone

Because I know

He holds my future

My life is worth the living just

Because He lives!

GOOD NEWS rises…

Lord, please let me be swift in sharing it with others. Amen.

Acknowledgements

*“Because He Lives” was written by William J. Gaither

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to the people who have recently put all of their hope in Jesus! We celebrate your re-birth-day and promise to hold you in our prayers!

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right!

Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com

He Arose! He Arose! He Arose From the Dead!

SCRIPTURE

Resurrection of Our Lord
John 20:1-18 (NRSV)

Seeing the risen Christ

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

DEVOTION

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Don’t you just love Easter? It is a day of so much hope, promise, and victory it makes you feel like giggling…

I get so happy every year when our Lenten journey ends in the celebration of God’s victory. Jesus did die, but he did not stay dead, he was resurrected, just as he promised!

Mary went to the tomb weeping and left the tomb laughing! She went to the tomb full of despair and left the tomb full of hope! She went to the tomb depressed and went away overflowing with the joy of having seen the Lord!

I don’t know about you, but I, too, feel hope and joy when I think about the great victory Jesus wrought when he overcame sin, death, and the grave on Easter morning!

Like Mary, this is news that I cannot possibly keep to myself! Jesus told her, “Go to my brothers and tell them…”

Wow! What an awesome charge! Jesus made Mary the first barer of the GOOD NEWS message. She was sent to proclaim, “Alleluia. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!”

Mary did her job faithfully and because of her bold witness, we are yet proclaiming the mystery, “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!”

Today, as we should, many of us will get dressed in our fanciest clothes, place hats upon our heads, and gloves on our hands and go to church to worship our awesome God! Truly, on this day of greatest victory, we should make our way into the house of prayer and offer God our very best worship, praise, and adoration in the company of our community of faith! Together we sing, "He Arose! He Arose! He arose from the dead!"

But, once we have done that, let us also make time to go to the highways and byways of our towns and communities and tell people who may not know--or believe--that God loves, God gave, and God saves!

Undoubtedly we all have family members or friends who will not go to church today. They do not yet acknowledge God’s great love for them revealed in Jesus Christ’s dying on the cross to save us from our sins and to gift us with eternal life. But, there is yet hope! Jesus loves them and died for them whether or not they yet believe!

I have a dear friend who recently passed away. For the majority of his life he was unable to believe the GOOD NEWS message. He did not believe that God loved him or could forgive him of his many, many sins. But, at the end of his life, when he was sick and frail, he turned to Jesus and reconciled his relationship with God. As he lay dying, all of the GOOD NEWS words that had been spoken by his friends and family rose up in his heart and he gave his life to Jesus! He left this world in peace, secure in the blessed assurance that he would spend eternity with a loving and compassionate God, who had forgiven him all of his sin!

My friends, never, ever, grow weary in well doing! Don’t give up on those who seem resistant to God’s love and your message of hope. Keep on gently and respectfully proclaiming the GOOD NEWS message! Keep on telling them, just as Mary did, “I have seen the Lord!”

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Who can you share the Resurrection story with today?


All Powerful God, thank you that you have forgiven all of my sin and restored my right relationship with God. Your victory over sin, death, and the grave is amazing! I can’t wait to go and tell somebody, “I have seen the Lord!” Show me who to share this GOOD NEWS with today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.





ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus" found at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Have a blessed Resurrection Day (Easter)! You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/