"7" Minutes Alone with God

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me  (John 14:1) I hadn’t slept all night which wasn’t unusual for an insomniac like me.  I intended to go to bed but as the evening wore on and my energy increased, I decided to work until I got sleepy.  The next day was Easter, and following morning worship we were having guests for dinner; there were still preparations I could make that night.  Hours passed but sleep didn’t come so I kept going.  It was satisfying to see my to do list shrink as the hours ticked by. About 5:00 the next morning, as I checked off the last item, it came to me that, all across the land, people were getting ready for sunrise services.  Our church wasn’t having one so I decided to have my own in our sun room, praying, meditating, and watching for the sun to rise. Easter that year fell on the first day of daylight savings time so there was very little light in the sky as I entered the darkened room. I a...

The story of Jesus -- His birth, life, death, burial and resurrection; His ministry and mission – has been depicted in many ways throughout the 2000+ years since He lived on Earth.  Artists have portrayed it in wood, stone, brass and pottery as well as charcoal, ink and paint of every color and hue. Literature has presented it in prose and poetry with dramas ranging from manger scenes to passion plays.  Music encompasses the scale with everything from cradle songs to stirring anthems.  Greeting cards and gift bags, ornaments and jewelry are available as well. Perhaps no life has ever been represented in such a wide array of mediums, and new ones continue to surface each year.  One of the simplest and most colorful can be found in a bag of jelly beans which are for sale in abundance around Easter.  These shiny, delicious little candies can represent many truths about Jesus as recorded in the Bible. White for the purity of His virgin mother: the angel Ga...