Morning Thoughts - by Elder Philip Conley

Morning Thoughts

Mark 16:6, "And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

This morning, there are many that are affrighted in this world. They are scared about their future, worried about their finances, in terror about their children's future, and troubled about their doubts in their spiritual walk. From time to time, we all become plagued with such thoughts and cares. The angel meets these women who are seeking the body of the Lord. They are affrighted at the sight of the angel, for they were seeking the wrong thing.

Many times during the Lord's earthly ministry, He told His disciples and those that followed Him that He would rise from the grave after three days and three nights. Therefore, it should not have been a time of mourning when the 1st day of the week came. It should have been a time of rejoicing had they believed what He preached. However, you find two on the road to Emmaus who are troubled and sad.

These women are coming to anoint the body of the Lord, not believing in faith that He was risen. There are many today that are seeking to find something tangible about the Lord Jesus Christ. They want something that they can see like a cross, a fish, a picture, or a natural sign during their worship service. They are not walking by faith and looking at the things not seen but hoped for. Today, we should not be affrighted. The reason is that we should be seeking Jesus, but not to try to touch Him naturally or physically. We should be trying to touch Him through faith.

We should be diligent in our studies to see Him. He is painted throughout the Bible, and we need to dig until we find Him. We need to pray through Him to the Father. We need to look for Him in the faces of His brethren. We need to hear about His righteousness from the pulpit, and have His love flow from breast to breast and faith to faith. This is the seeking of the Lord that we need. Notice what the angel said in conclusion. Come see where He was laid. This is where He once was, and will never return to again. The country where the Lord walked is not the "holy land" any more. It ceased to be holy when the cloud received Him out of their sight. Now, holy ground is wherever two or three are gathered in His name and He in their midst. May we ever seek Him through faith, and not be in fear of what man may do to us. He has promised to come and receive us to Himself. Ever speed the day, even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.

In Hope,

Bro Philip