Risen and Always With Us
"Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her." (John 20:18 NIV)
C. Austin Miles was a pharmacist, turned Gospel songwriter, turned editor and manager of a music publishing company, turned part-time photographer. It was one day while waiting for some film to develop of pictures he had taken that he picked up his Bible, which had fallen to the floor. The passage it happened to be open to when it had fallen was John 20, which told about Mary Magdalene's visit to the garden at the tomb where Jesus had been buried, and her encountering Him fully alive. As C. Austin Miles read that passage, words started flowing easily to him:
"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on mine ear, the Son of God discloses
And He walks with me, and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known."
He was able to imagine what it must have been like for Mary Magdalene as she began to realize that her friend, whom she thought was lost forever, was suddenly and unexpectedly alive and with her again.
I myself have visited that garden and tomb, which still exists in Jerusalem to this day, and even in spite of the hundreds of visitors that that day had come to visit what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus, still found it to be a peaceful place. What made the experience even more meaningful was to see that although the tomb where Jesus was believed to have been laid still exists, it was indeed empty.
It remains empty because Jesus is risen. He is fully and physically alive, never again to die. He is with us, hidden from our sight, but is still with us in power. His power can give us courage to make it through every day, and His presence with us can comfort us in the struggles and troubles of life. He lets us know, in many ways, even small ones, that He is with us, and brings us peace and comfort at the right moment. He is with us every day, and never leaves us. He is as close to us as He was close to Mary Magdalene after He rose, and He remains close to us even now. He is available to us at any time - and wherever we are, He is there.
Dear Jesus, thank you that you are risen victorious, live forever, and you are with me every moment of every day. In your Name, Amen.
"Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her." (John 20:18 NIV)
C. Austin Miles was a pharmacist, turned Gospel songwriter, turned editor and manager of a music publishing company, turned part-time photographer. It was one day while waiting for some film to develop of pictures he had taken that he picked up his Bible, which had fallen to the floor. The passage it happened to be open to when it had fallen was John 20, which told about Mary Magdalene's visit to the garden at the tomb where Jesus had been buried, and her encountering Him fully alive. As C. Austin Miles read that passage, words started flowing easily to him:
"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on mine ear, the Son of God discloses
And He walks with me, and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known."
He was able to imagine what it must have been like for Mary Magdalene as she began to realize that her friend, whom she thought was lost forever, was suddenly and unexpectedly alive and with her again.
I myself have visited that garden and tomb, which still exists in Jerusalem to this day, and even in spite of the hundreds of visitors that that day had come to visit what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus, still found it to be a peaceful place. What made the experience even more meaningful was to see that although the tomb where Jesus was believed to have been laid still exists, it was indeed empty.
It remains empty because Jesus is risen. He is fully and physically alive, never again to die. He is with us, hidden from our sight, but is still with us in power. His power can give us courage to make it through every day, and His presence with us can comfort us in the struggles and troubles of life. He lets us know, in many ways, even small ones, that He is with us, and brings us peace and comfort at the right moment. He is with us every day, and never leaves us. He is as close to us as He was close to Mary Magdalene after He rose, and He remains close to us even now. He is available to us at any time - and wherever we are, He is there.
Dear Jesus, thank you that you are risen victorious, live forever, and you are with me every moment of every day. In your Name, Amen.
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