"God has chosen to make known... the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:17).
When we lived in Austria, I loved the tolling of the bells from the church tower near our home. Different bells for different occasions. They summoned us to come to church. In it's beautiful interior, the pipe organ music lifted our hearts to God in worship. But there was one day of the year when the bells were silent. The organ did not play. It was Good Friday.
I would shiver in my pew as I listened to the mournful sound of an instrument we called a ratsche. It's grating noise called forth the terrible suffering and death of Christ. I visualized Jesus hanging on a Roman cross, wrapped in burial cloths, buried in a tomb. It always filled my heart with great sadness and my eyes with tears. To think Jesus suffered that much for me!
But on Easter Sunday morning all the bells rang out. Joyous soprano, alto, and bass notes bounced off the greening country side. They skipped around my heart, awaking a joyous refrain: Christ has risen from the dead. Hallelujah! "Come and see," the bells seemed to be saying as I hurried toward the church. There the pipe organ joined in the triumphant chorus.
The message of the bells has stayed with me throughout the years. When life has defeated me and all I hear are the mournful, grating sounds of a ratsche, I remember that Easter is just around the corner. Christ has risen indeed. And if the risen, living Christ is within me, I have the power to overcome. I, too, can rise above my circumstances, not in my own power and ingenuity, but in Christ's.
What is your life like right now? What sounds are you hearing? If you're feeling down then please pray the following prayer: Father, thank You that I need not live in defeat. In Christ's power I can rise above my faults and failures, above the adversities of life, above destructive habits. I surrender myself to You now. I invite You to live Your life in me. Amen.
Posted by Prophecies Of Revelation
at 7:31 AM CDT