rise and shine
"Surely we cannot help speaking of what we have heard and seen." —Acts 4:20
If you will be a witness to the risen Jesus, He will be a witness to you. If you go forth like Mary Magdalene and tell the good news, many will refuse to believe it (Mk 16:10-11). However, Jesus will come and back you up. He will take "them to task for their disbelief and their stubbornness, since they...put no faith in" your witness to Him (Mk 16:14). He will confirm the good news you have announced by stretching forth His hand with signs, wonders, and "a remarkable show of power" (Mk 16:17; Acts 4:16).
Jesus will make sure the good news will be confirmed, proclaimed, and emphasized, even dramatically. The Lord will do His part if we do our part and give Him something to work with. The devil could not stop Jesus from rising and cannot prevent Him from powerfully backing up the good news of the resurrection. The devil's only chance is to stop us, the middlemen and women. He will give us "a stern warning never to mention that Man's name to anyone again" (Acts 4:17). He will make it clear that under no circumstances are we to "speak the name of Jesus or teach about Him" (Acts 4:18). However, we must obey God rather than man or the devil's manipulations (Acts 4:19).
Although Jesus is out of the tomb, no one will know it if we let the devil entomb the good news by backing us into a tomb of fear and selfishness. Rise and shine.
Prayer: Jesus, may I be willing to pay any price to witness to You risen from the dead.
Promise: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation." —Mk 16:15
Praise: "Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who in His great mercy gave us new birth; a birth unto hope which draws its life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pt 1:3).
Rescript: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 12, 2004
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