Its not everyday you get a phone call from Jesus asking you to come and see him. But Saturday our good friend Richard called to say he was appearing in a play at his church and his role was Jesus. We accepted the invite and the play was excellent, the play started with a tableau of the last supper by Leonardo da vinci, very clever.Afterwards Richard and I helped take down the black scenery cloths while the rest of the family went home to prepare some tea.

It did seem strange as I followed Richards car to his house, still thinking of his portrayal as Jesus, I kept having all these thoughts about following Jesus through the darkness and seeing him earlier on the cross.Its great to spend some quality time with Jesus to have a real relationship.

Easter Sunday Testifying without a touch
23 Mar 2008 UCB Notes
'Blessed are those who believe without seeing.' John 20:29
Asking for proof before you believe something, can stop you from receiving what God wants you to accept based on His Word. Thomas saw Jesus after his resurrection. That's hard evidence to refute. As a result Thomas decided to believe only what he could see and verify. When your faith has been shaken, you're inclined to cling to things that are practical, absolute and tangible. Jesus graciously gave Thomas the proof he needed, and said, 'You believe because you have seen...Blessed are those who believe without seeing.' The fact remains however, if Thomas hadn't been permitted to see and touch Jesus it wouldn't have changed the reality of the resurrection one iota. Thomas' problem wasn't lack of faith, it was misdirected faith. He trusted only what he could process on a human level. Sound familiar? By contrast, when Mary Magdalene met Jesus at the tomb He told her, 'Don't touch me...But go find my brothers and tell them' (John 20:17 TLB). Mary once washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair; touch was important to her, and touching Jesus at that moment would have confirmed what she'd seen and heard. This time, however, Jesus asked her to trust His Word and not His flesh; to be willing to testify without a touch. Sometimes we feel 'the touch of God' calming us, strengthening us, reassuring us that He is still in control. The truth is His touch has often kept us from giving up or going over the edge, but sometimes He asks us to trust Him without the crutch of sensory perception. That's faith at its highest level.

Call to Prayer

I'm writing this from Istanbul, a great place to come for a visit, but this is not the reason for my post, we are staying with some friends in an apartment over looking the Bosphorous,but interrupting our view and our sleep is a small and very old mosque. 5 TIMES a day Every day (literally) very early 3,4,5 am the loud speakers on the minaret burst into life and "THE CALL TO PRAYER " is broadcast to the surrounding area, and all over the Muslim world.This call early in the morning challenges believers with the words Prayer is better than sleep, not in our case, but our prayer challenge came in an unexpected way on Monday. Not from a minaret but a text message The son of a dear friend of ours fell out of a tree at the weekend and lay in intensive care with a broken collar bone and punctured lungs plus other internal injuries and was drifting in and out of consciousness. So the call to prayer came and we here in Turkey are praying for this poor chap JOHN is his name please pray for his recovery.

There are more tears shed over answered prayers than unanswered.

Teresa of Avila