Easter: Friday, April 27, 2007

Old Testament Lesson

Daniel 6:1-15

We see Daniel make the brave stand of doing what he knew to be right, regardless of what the consequences were. It is very easy us to talk about taking brave steps such as this, but is it much harder to actually do. Daniel had the courage to do this. The text says he knew the consequence of praying to God, but he did it anyway?

How? How does someone find strength to do something such as this? I think to places. First, the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Our Lord said that the Spirit would give us the words to say and the way to say them. Only through God's strength can we live and do the things that we know are right. Second, trust. Daniel trusted in God, and he knew that whatever might happen, God was at work. Does that make it easy to do what he did? No, but by the power of the Spirit, and the trust in our Lord, we can do whatever it is He has called us to.

New Testament Lesson

2 John 1-13

We see this new commandment; that we love. We love our Lord by following His commands. We love each other by serving each other. Love is more than just a feeling. Love is something that produces actions. I cannot say I love my family and then not spend time with them. I cannot say I love my church and then not serve them. I cannot say I love my God and then not obey Him. Love should compel us to action. Today, may we love our Lord and love neighbor not merely with words, but with actions. And in doing this, we show our faithfulness to God and each other.

Gospel Lesson

Luke 5:12-26

This is one of my favorite stories in all the Bible. I like it so much because of the effort of the friends. They know their friend needs help, and they know that he cannot do it alone. So, they pick him up and carry him to Jesus. That is what friends do. When we cannot carry ourselves, they carry us. When we cannot stand on our own. They help us stand. When we cannot do the things that we need to do, they help give us strength.

There is an old saying, not found in the Bible, but true none the less. To have a friend, you must be a friend. We have had friends stand in the gap for us at times in our lives. Have we done the same? We have had friends. Are we not being the friend that we need to be to someone else?