Pete Greig of Campus America wrote a great blog post the other day on the Holy Saturday or ... the day before Easter. He entitled it Where is God When Heaven is Silent? and I believe this is the struggle of many Christians. We are living in what seems to the second day world and trying to generate third day faith. I encourage you to read it.

If you are not familiar with Campus America, here is a video clip of their vision statement. Pray blessings on their ministry. Go after it!

image courtesy of HolyLandPhotos.org

As a Christian you just have to love Easter. It is the celebration of the transaction that defines what we believe. I hope that you yesterday you were able to be reminded of extent Jesus has gone through to show you His love and to show you your freedom.

During the worship time yesterday, the music led into a line about God has moved away the stone. Immediately I thought that this represented the stone God removed from our hearts.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone and
give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26

This is what Easter is about. It is when God has removed our hearts of stone to give us hearts of flesh. He has pulled back the stone that has deadened everything inside of us to allow the air of His Spirit in. O Lord, breathe new life into us. May we be awakened to that which You have created us.

In John 11:39 Jesus had another stone removed away, and He follows it up by calling out the dead man.  Our hearts are tombs because it is where all of life dwells and without the Author of Life living inside, we are the walking dead. As Christians we have the stone removed, but we need to come out. We need to hear the voice of Jesus and to step forth into life.

Life does not come from what we can muster or from what we can avoid. Life comes from the connection to the Spirit who has entered the tomb to lead you to your new home – the heart of flesh.

We need to step out of the old ways of thinking. Life does not come from success. It does not come from hiding away from the things that have caused us pain. It does not come from effort or striving or trying to win favor.

Just as your relationship with Christ started by faith, it also continues in faith. Taking on the heart of flesh requires moving out of the heart of stone. The stone has been removed, but you need to move out of the tomb.

Ask for the Holy Spirit to reveal to you areas where you are living out of a tomb instead of new life. Look for areas where you are living out of fear as these are clues that death is present. Ask Jesus what you need to know or experience to help you leave that way of thinking and living. Go to someone you trust and have them pray with you and stand together with you as you make these steps of faith.

Leaving behind old ways of thinking is not easy. Dead men need help. Remember even when Jesus raised Lazarus He still had the others help Lazarus remove the grave clothes (John 11:44). Work out you salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you (Philippians 2:12-13).

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• Related article: Seeking Jesus In Our Circumstances

One of the most interesting traditions that I enjoyed from the Episcopal Church is the Maundy Thursday service. This is the first service in the Holy Week where they have a foot washing, celebrate the Lord's Supper, and strip the altar. Traditions like these gives us hints at what was going on for the first disciples.

While we are more congenial with authority, the foot washing service still attacks our views of authority to have the priest kneeling down and rubbing your feet. Even knowing the symbolism, it is humbling to allow someone who has been leading you in your relationship with God to come and touch your dirty feet.

The celebration of the Lord's Supper is very common within the liturgical tradition. Having it on this Thursday gives it more meaning in relation to the other events and the celebration of the Holy Week.

Finally, the stripping of the altar is final part of the Maundy Thursday service. For those who have not gone to high church traditions, it may be hard to understand the meaning. Every other day of the year, there is an abundance of the symbolism to the altar that point to many attributed of Jesus. While many get distracted by the actual things, each symbol is placed there to help the church focus on Christ. At the end of the Maundy Thursday service these items are removed. Silently and methodically each our removed out of site. All of our understanding of who is Jesus is hidden from our understanding as He prepares to go to the cross.

We must think of Peter in Matthew 16:13-28. Jesus asks his disciples who people think he is. After a few answers, Peter blurts out that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus affirms Peter, then starts to explain how he must die. This attacks everything Peter believes about Jesus, so he rebukes Jesus. Even now, the thought of the Son of God empty himself unto death should undo us. When we see him stripped of his glory, it should stop us and make us wonder what he is up to.

Take time today to dwell on what Jesus went through. As this sinks into your mind and heart, it will lead you to deeper levels of gratitude and appreciation. Gratitude and appreciation will lead you to a greater love and service. Love and service will lead you to fulfilling God's calling on your life.

We at praytel wish you happy Easter season.