Tag: Recovery

Tetelestai Recovery

Fossil Fuels

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The winds of change swept through our own valley of dry bones, breathing life into what was dead inside. Slowly, methodically, our powerful army of gifts and talents began to rise, and we were finally able to identify some of the unique character qualities which had been gifted to us by our Creator.

But we were also faced with the dilemma of what to do with the decomposing compost heap of our past, which should never be called back to life? What of the crimes, the addiction, the lost relationships, and wasted years? We certainly didn’t wish to see those rising up like zombies from the swamp.

Through this conflict, we discovered the significance of fossil fuels. As the hardened skeletal remains were good for a resurrection of our gifts, the fossil fuel, made from decomposing waste, could be purified, and used as fuel to propel us into our destiny. A criminal history could be transformed into fuel which would activate a prison ministry. The struggle with addiction and relapse could fuel a new recovery program. A failed relationship could provide the energy for personal growth in matters of romance and respect.

Tetelestai Recovery 2 – Our New Normal (pp 38-39)

https://amazon.com/Tetelestai-Recovery-Our-New-Normal/dp/B0BHR8KXS2/

Tetelestai Recovery

Expectations

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The writer Mark tells us that this group of women went to that tomb expecting to find a corpse, but they still went. I suggest to you that Jesus works this way, even today. If you have just enough faith to seek Him in your despair, in your darkness, in your doubt, even if you don’t expect much, He’s going to give you more than you bargained for. He did for those women, and He still does it today. Marks’ gospel is more concise that the other 3, but it does reveal to us that where they laid Jesus is now a bare spot on the floor. He is GONE. The tomb is an empty place.

For centuries after this event, scholars have wrestled with this problem. In the first century, the Jews thought the disciples stole the body to promote their hoax. The disciples thought the Jews or the Romans had taken the body. The Romans weren’t sure because they had stationed a guard over the tomb. But NOBODY was saying that the body of Jesus was still in there.

Death and despair have been emptied of their power. Destructive forces do not have the final word. The empty tomb is the historical evidence for believing in the truth of the resurrection.

Look for Jesus in the last place you saw Him. It may have even been an unpleasant or traumatic experience, like it was for the women who went to the tomb that first Easter morning. Even if you have low expectations, give it one last shot. This may be the time you find new hope.

~Pastor Marc