Good day my dear brothers and sisters! I pray you are all doing well as you read my blog, enjoying the Lord’s favor in your life!!

We have come to the month of April; the month in which we commemorate the most glorious time of all for Christians; Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. for without Jesus’ resurrection, there would be no hope for the believer. Many will be in church on Easter Sunday to praise the Lord for what He has accomplished in our behalf. Let me say that Easter Sunday is more than just about rejoicing that Jesus has risen.

In John 20:19-23 Jesus appeared to His disciples for the first time since He rose from His grave. The disciples had been in hiding since Jesus had been crucified and laid in His grave, thinking that they were next to be killed.

I love the very first words Jesus speaks to His disciples, “Peace be with you!” Jesus shows His disciples His hands and side to verify that it truly was Him who stood before them.  You can imagine the wonderful joy that filled the disciples hearts when Jesus, “The Peace” now stood before them. 

The next few words Jesus spoke are very important for you and I to grab. Jesus again speaks those beautiful words to His disciples, “Peace be with you.” It’s almost as if Jesus was trying to reassure His disciples that everything was going to be fine from this point on, no matter whatever they were to face. This should reassure us today as well. Though trials will come our way, because we have the Lord in our hearts, peace is with us!

Jesus goes on to tell His disciples, and us today as well, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.” The greatest fear I had in my early years as a Christian was that I thought the Lord would send me to Africa or some far away place like that. Now that I have walked with the Lord for over 30 years, I have discovered that my fears were unfounded, for the Lord was sending me to a greater, more difficult place than Africa or some far away place like that; He was sending me to my very own backyard!!

In Acts 2, Jesus tells His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Father had promised to them.  This gift, the Holy Spirit, would empower them to be His witnesses in, wait, did He say Jerusalem!

So many of us think if we could go on a mission trip to some far away place that our life would be more enriched because of that, and that is true. Yet, why is it that we discount our own backyard, our Jerusalem, as not doing the same thing for us, if not more?

Proverbs 12:17 “A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.” I have gone on mission trips to other parts of the world and let me say that you can pretty much say anything you want and the people there will believe you. Yet that is much more difficult to do in our backyard, our Jerusalem. The reason I believe this is true is because the people in our backyard, our Jerusalem, know us and for the most part they can tell if we are lying or trying to embellish our testimony.

Our relatives. our co-workers, our close friends, where we do business is our Jerusalem and if we can’t be a true witness in those settings, then we have no business desiring to do that anywhere else.

Jesus’ whole ministry on earth took place in a very limited area. Some of you may never leave the confines of the city, the neighborhood  you now live in. Are these places any less significant than Africa or some far away place; of course not. Have you not been sent to be the Lord’s witness there?

The good news of Easter Sunday is that the Lord has risen and we must rejoice in that but we also need to go the extra step. Take the good news of the Gospel of Jesus to the place and people where you are at today. Be His witness right where you are, for that is where you have been sent! May you and yours have a wonderful Easter Sunday 🙂