Thank you for praying for the Quebec radio ministry. This morning, Pastor Michel Martel recorded eight messages which will be aired in the coming months, Lord willing. A month ago, there was a noise in the recording that prevented me from finishing recording Michel’s messages. After Pastor Martel left, I found the problem and hopefully it won’t happen again. On Tuesday night, I asked our church small group to pray for the recording session and I thank the Lord for all of you who stand with us in prayer. I believe that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle, as the devil doesn’t want the gospel of Christ to be preached on the air and on the Internet.

This afternoon, a neighbour came to our door to say that she had been looking for her cat for three days and saw that it was in the crawl space under our house. I had seen a cat in our backyard a few days ago and this morning I heard a cat crying while I was reading in bed. Our bedroom is above the crawl space, but I never thought that the sounds were coming from there. Am I ever glad that our neighbour found her cat before I opened the door to the crawl space to get the lawn mower. I would have “freaked out!” Our neighbour was so relieved to find her cat, because she feared that she had died.

In reflecting on this, I thought about the different reactions to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. His disciples met in a room with the doors locked “for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19). The chief priests and Pharisees met with Pontius Pilate, reminding him that Jesus (whom they described as “that deceiver”) had said that he would rise in three days (Matthew 27:63). In order to keep the disciples from stealing His body, they asked Pilate to command that the tomb be made secure until the third day.

The final chapter of the gospel of Matthew tells what happened when Mary Magdalene and a friend went to the tomb early on the first day of the week. There was a great earthquake and an angel rolled away the stone, so that people could enter the tomb to see that Jesus had risen from the dead, just like He said He would. “And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men” (Matt. 28:4). Have you ever jumped when someone startled you? Many times probably, but this incident was extraordinary because the angel’s countenance was “like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow” (Matt. 28:3). In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “Matthew highlights the terrific irony that living humans became like corpses when they had been sent to guard a corpse who had suddenly become more alive than ever!”

It is interesting that the angel says nothing to the guards and that his first words to the women are “Do not be afraid” (Matt. 28:5). The same expression is used by the angel who appeared to Joseph in a dream (Matt. 1:20) and by the angel who announced “good tidings of great joy” to the shepherds (Luke 12:10). The first time that the word “afraid” appears in the Bible is when Adam told God “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). Adam was really afraid because he had disobeyed God and now knew that he was not only naked, but guilty. If we are seeking to do God’s will, we need not fear His condemnation. However, if we choose to live in sin, we must expect His discipline.

Scripture for the weekend: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV) 

Thought for the weekend: “If we are to grow as individual believers and as churches, we must sit under the Word. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to plant and to weed the gardens of our hearts. This spiritual growth is not optional; it is vital, because spiritual growth indicates life. Things that are truly alive, grow.” – Mark Dever (from his book “Nine Marks of a Healthy Church”)