We recently spent a week in Estes Park, Colorado, and it’s time for our annual wildlife report.

We usually see A LOT of elk – not this visit. We didn’t see this one until our last day there:

The turkeys, however, were plentiful, complete with a bit of showing off.

While not wild, I don’t remember seeing these beautiful draft horses before at the Jackson Stables at YMCA of the Rockies where we stayed. Look at the size of their hooves:

Finally, while we are very familiar with deer and magpies, I’d never seen them together. This is right outside our cabin:

Turns out magpies like to eat the ticks off of deer. It’s a win-win.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all. – Cecil Frances Alexander

God blessed them and said, “…let the birds increase on the earth.” … And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1.22 – 25, NIV)

I closed yesterday’s blog on the Artemis II lunar mission with a teaser that Christian astronaut Vic Glover had an Easter message. I didn’t hear it live. I just heard about it last Tuesday. You can listen to it, it’s only 1:35.

Here’s what he said, when asked by a CBS news correspondent for an Easter message:

I don’t have anything prepared, but I’m glad you asked. These observances are important. As we’re out here looking at the beauty of creation, my personal perspective is that I can see the earth as one thing. And when I read the Bible and look at all the amazing things that were done for us, whoever created it, you have this amazing place, this spaceship.

You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe. Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special, but we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you — just trust me — you are special.

In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.

I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together.

As he finished, the other astronauts spontaneously shook his hand. Christina Koch applauded.

It was moment reminiscent of the Apollo 8 crew reading Genesis 1.1 – 10 on Christmas Eve 1968:

William Anders

We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Jim Lovell

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Frank Borman

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas — and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.

Praise God for them all. A bit of workplace ministry!

A few minutes ago, the NASA Artemis II mission came to a successful conclusion when the Orion capsule containing four astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego. Here they are approaching earth…

Before splashdown, they had to jettison the service module:

The capsule came through the atmosphere just fine, the drogue chutes deployed as advertised and then the main chutes. And we have splashdown, right on schedule. The crew are fine. Praise the Lord.

The crew had at least one practicing Christian on board, pilot Victor Glover (top of picture):

Here’s an article published by Christianity Today three years ago when he was selected for the crew: NASA Astronaut Asks for Prayer for Moon Mission. It opens this way:

Victor Glover will pray his way to the moon.

When the Artemis 2 takes off sometime late next year, four astronauts will strap into a gumdrop-shaped capsule atop a tower of rockets taller than the Statue of Liberty. Mission control will count down—10, 9, 8, …—and a controlled explosion with 8.8 million pounds of force will fire, throwing the four astronauts from the coast of Florida into high-earth orbit, where another engine, setting spark to a mixture of liquid hydrogen and oxygen, will thrust them beyond the bonds of Earth for the first time in more than half a century.

And Glover, the pilot of the spacecraft, will say a few words to God.

I’d be saying A LOT of words to God! Rocket launches are terrifying, and re-entries are even scarier. June and I with our oldest son Mark gathered to watch the launch on April 1.

They circled the moon on Monday, April 6:

And they made it back. It’s the “and back” that’s important. Astronaut Jim Lovell who commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission said, “Moonandback was always one word for us.”

Praise the Lord for courageous astronauts, a faithful and uber-competent ground support team, and for the engineers and mathematicians who correctly applied the laws of rocket science and orbital mechanics. Don’t miss the wonder of it all.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8.3, 4, ESV)

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19.1, ESV)

PS Christian astronaut Vic Glover had an Easter message from space. Stay tuned.

We take a short break from Jeremiah to contemplate NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission, which is ongoing. The astronauts are scheduled to splash down tomorrow, Friday, April 10. Tomorrow’s blog will reflect on what I pray is a successful conclusion to the mission.

Today, the Orion capsule has circled the moon after an exciting liftoff on Wednesday, April 1.

Later, we have this stunning image of the booster rockets falling off:

The next day they did a 6-minute burn to throw the capsule toward the moon.

I hope you understand, that satellites and, in this case, the Orion capsule are not flying around like an airplane. They are falling. The rockets literally throw their payloads high enough and fast enough that they fall around the earth without hitting it. Orion is falling toward the moon, and they are timing it so that the moon’s gravitational force will capture Orion and throw it back toward earth:

That’s the moon speeding across the bottom of the graphic, and it has captured Orion and slung it back toward earth.

When I thought about the process, I was reminded of Silent Saturday, the day we tend to rush through or skip over in our haste to celebrate Easter. But just as Jesus was dead, his body waiting for the resurrection, the astronauts were waiting. There was nothing they could do to speed up the process. They fell from the earth toward the moon, and they arrived when the unfailing laws of orbital mechanics dictated they would, and not one second sooner. Now they are falling back to earth, same deal. They can’t rush their return.

It’s a lesson in patience, isn’t it? And waiting on God.

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2.3, ESV)

PS Heather Holleman’s April 6, 2026, blog echoes the same point: He’s Good, but He’s Slow. Worth the read.

PPS Tomorrow’s splashdown is scheduled for 8:07p, EDT, which is a bit later than the time my daily blogs usually come out. Fits today’s theme: wait for tomorrow’s blog…it will come!

As we start to move through Jeremiah it’s useful to remind ourselves that our primary purpose is not to review Old Testament history, as important as that is. Our purpose is to hear the prophecies as God’s warnings to us today. We tend to think of “prophecy” as foretelling the future, but it’s real role is changing behavior today.

Ephesians 4.11 lists prophets among God’s gifts to churches:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers… (Ephesians 4.11, ESV)

It takes a team. We might think of “apostles” as the pioneers: for example, church planters or those who expand ministries into unreached areas. New Testament “prophets,” as of old, help keep people on track. There’s a huge difference between those with prophetic gifts and those with pastoral gifts. I consider myself, for example, as more of a prophet. I leave pastoring to those who are good at it.

So what’s the prophetic word from Jeremiah chapter 2?

Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2.11 – 13, ESV)

“Changed their glory” reminds me of Romans 1, a passage we usually relegate to God’s judgment against “outsiders” while Romans 2 is God’s judgment against “insiders.”

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1.22, 23, ESV)

But in Jeremiah, it’s the insiders who changed their glory:

The main indictment?

They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

If that’s not an accurate description of today’s culture in the US, I don’t know what is. Jesus is the fountain of living waters:

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4.13, 14, ESV)

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” (John 7.37, 38, ESV)

Jesus gives living water, but he has been rejected in favor of…everything else: illicit sex, gambling, drugs and alcohol all used by people seeking…the living water. I could say more, but I think you know.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. (Proverbs 9.10 – 18, ESV)

Our reading program begins Jeremiah today. Jeremiah is the second of the “Major Prophets” so-called because Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, especially, are way longer than the “Minor Prophets:” Hosea – Malachi. Major Prophets also include Lamentations, a short book by Jeremiah, and Daniel. Here’s a short introduction to Jeremiah from the English Standard Version (ESV):

Jeremiah, often called the “weeping prophet” because of his sorrow over the persistent message of God’s judgment, prophesied to the nation of Judah from the reign of King Josiah in 627 B.C. until sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586. He dictated his prophecies to a scribe named Baruch (36:4, 32). Jeremiah’s task as a prophet was to declare the coming judgment of God. However, throughout the book we also see God’s concern for repentance and righteousness in individuals as well as nations. This dual focus is seen in God’s instructions to Jeremiah: he was “to pluck up and to break down” but also “to build and to plant” (1:10). Jeremiah sees a future day when God will write his law on human hearts, and “they shall all know me,” and “I will remember their sin no more” (31:33–34).

His call is right in the beginning:

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”

But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 1.4 – 8, ESV)

Moses said the same thing, except he wasn’t a youth!

But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” (Exodus 4.10, ESV)

When I was a youth (a very long time ago), I memorized verses 7 and 8: “You shall go wherever I send you and speak whatever I tell you to. And don’t be afraid of them…”

Good thing Jeremiah has God’s protection – he’ll need it! And he starts right off with a message of judgment:

For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them…They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you. (Jeremiah 1.15 – 19, ESV)

And off we go. Isaiah prophesied pre-exile. Jeremiah starts off pre-exile and continues preaching into the exile. Hang on.

Closing out our week-long theme of “Unexpected,” and wrapping up Holy Week, there was nothing more unexpected than the resurrection. I’ve written before that the best evidence for the truth of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is that they exist. If there had been no resurrection, there wouldn’t have been anyone to write the story!

Here’s an example, the two on the Road to Emmaus. Jesus comes up to them and asks them why they are so down in the mouth:

Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?”

And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” (Luke 24.18 – 24, ESV)

One of the sad verses in the Bible: “We had hoped that he was the one…”

Yes, the death of Jesus was unexpected, as was his resurrection. But it shouldn’t have been according to Jesus:

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24.25 – 27, ESV)

Most of us wish we had the transcript of “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” That would have been quite a sermon! Why don’t we have a record of it? Maybe because God is saying, “You have the same scripture they had, translated into your language, look it up for yourself!”

I’ve written before how Isaiah 53 captures the gospel: “Christ died for our sins…” And last week, we would have read Isaiah 61 which Jesus used in the Nazareth synagogue to define his ministry:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn… (Isaiah 61.1 – 2, ESV)

Luke tells the story, including Jesus’ leaving out the last part of verse 2 “…the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus’ ministry was one of good news to the poor…the year of the LORD’s favor. Vengeance comes later.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4.16 – 21, ESV)

Anyway, it’s all there. No need for all these events to be “unexpected.” I wonder how much of what we expect is Biblical?

Finally! The unexpected resurrection! The best “unexpected” of all.

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. (John 20.1 – 18, ESV)

He appears first to Mary Magdalene “out of whom he cast seven demons” (Luke 8.1 – 3). Another “unexpected”! Why would Jesus appear first to a woman? And to such a woman as Mary? It’s a subtle validation of the resurrection accounts. If the Gospel writers were making up a story, Mary wouldn’t have been in it.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!!

Silent Saturday (Holy Saturday) fits well with this week’s theme of “unexpected.” The disciples certainly did not expect to feel the way they did on that Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. They were blindsided by Good Friday (because they didn’t pay attention!), and Easter, of course, hadn’t happened yet.

A friend, strong Christian, whom I love and respect, wrote this one Lenten season:

Celebrating our Lenten journey to the empty cross and tomb of our Risen Lord and Savior! 

I appreciate his faith and enthusiasm, but I think he’s rushing things. We probably ought to give a bit more thought to a cross and tomb that were NOT empty. Jesus hung on the cross for hours and died. The tomb was occupied. “He descended into hell. The third day he rose…”

But this isn’t the third day, it’s the second day.

It’s hard to find a picture of Jesus in the tomb as I have posted below. Most tomb pictures are empty. We want to jump straight to the resurrection. But there was a period of time when Jesus was dead. His followers knew he was dead. No one expected the resurrection. They had no thought of his coming back. It was over.

I just found this painting: The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbein the Younger. It’s said that Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky saw the whole story of redemption in Holbein’s painting of the dead Jesus. See this article by Hardin Crowder.

How were the disciples feeling? Afraid?

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. (John 16.31, ESV, emphasis mine)

Despondent?

They said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. (Luke 24.19 – 21, ESV, emphasis mine)

Sit with it a little while today.

PS An article in Christianity Today, Before Christ Rose, He Was Dead, reminds us of this truth while analyzing its theological and liturgical aspects. Here’s a sample from the introduction to the article:

The question of God’s presence in mortality is central to a significant, but seldom recognized, day in the church’s yearly calendar. Holy Saturday is that odd day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday during which Jesus Christ—life himself!—lay dead in a tomb…The church has had little difficulty fixing its attention on the dying of Christ, and even less difficulty on the rising of Christ, but the being dead of Christ has found relatively little expression in its theology and liturgy. Holy Saturday, however, has an integrity of its own. If the church can attune its ear to its frequency, so easily drowned out by the dominant tones of Good Friday and Easter, it may be able to hear a profound word about human living and dying between the Cross and the Resurrection.

A really unexpected day. Despite the Isaiah 53 prophecy, which the disciples should have been familiar with, and all of Jesus’ forecasts, the disciples weren’t ready.

Then all the disciples left him and fled. (Matthew 26.56, ESV)

Some even argue that Judas’ betrayal was a misguided attempt to force Jesus into behaving like a conquering king and overthrowing the Romans. But of course that wasn’t Jesus’ plan.

That didn’t stop Peter from swinging into action:

And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” (Matthew 26.51 – 54, ESV)

After a mock trial, interviews with the Roman governor Pilate, it happened, as we all know:

And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” (Matthew 27.33 – 37, ESV)

I can’t do better than a B.C. comic by Johnny Hart:

• Cave man #1: I hate the term “Good Friday.”
• Cave man #2: Why?
• Cave man #1: My Lord was hanged on a tree that day.
• Cave man #2: If YOU were going to be hanged on that day, and he volunteered to take your place, how would you feel?
• Cave man #1: Good
• Cave man #2: Have a nice day.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2.24, ESV)

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8, ESV)