Zoe NOW!
Picture the scene. Peter, Apostle Peter, Saint Peter, is broken. He’s physically, emotionally, spiritually crushed. He’s invested over 2 years of his life with Jesus. He even left his business. At times it was been baffling – but never dull. But then it came to nothing. He – Jesus – was supposed to have marched into Jerusalem Instead, He was arrested, beaten, and then crucified. Surely he could have saved himself. Aren’t you God? Call down your angels. But no. He died. He was killed, murdered. CRUCIFIED. You don’t come back from that. 
And then there had been that servant girl. When Peter was trying to follow Jesus, but from a distance, so no one would know (maybe you’ve tried that too?), a servant child spotted him. Called him out, as a follower of Jesus. How do you feel, when you can’t even stand up to a young child? What do you do after the crucifixion? When it’s all over?
Then, fast-forward, 7 weeks, 50 days, to Pentecost (which comes from the Greek word for “Fiftieth”, Passover being the 50th day after Passover.)
Same Peter, and yet totally different Peter.
•	The Peter that had tried to hide from the crowds was now standing up in front of the crowds
•	The Peter that had tried to keep his distance from Peter, now wanted the whole world to know he was with Jesus.
•	The Peter that struggled to admit to a young child, was now declaring to thousands.
What had happened? The Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, had come. For Peter, Jesus was no longer just a good teacher, a nice story, or a habit or tradition. Now Peter knew that Jesus was alive for ever more and that, whatever Jesus had, was at his disposal too.
Nothing could ever be the same again. That’s perfect logic.
There either ISN’T God or there IS God. There can’t be both.
There either is NO higher purpose (it’s all random, meaningless) or there IS a higher purpose that brings order, meaning,  hope to our existence)
For Peter, either Jesus was dead or he was alive. There was no in-between, no fudge…
We all like a good fairy tale: Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland…  We like the tales. On occasion they play with our emotions, but they don’t change us. The world does not seem different because of these fables, nice stories. We carry on regardless, unchanged by them. 
Watching Jesus Crucified and then three days later actually/ physically sitting down to have breakfast with him, that can only change you - forever.
Likewise, you can carry on regardless about someone that USED to live. Someone famous from history, like Henry VI, Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill. A few history enthusiasts may occasionally pop-up and remind us about their legacy but, for the rest of us, we don’t go through each day thinking about/ chatting with them. They’re dead, gone, finished.
And yet, that’s what Peter was doing with Jesus. Either Peter was faking it, he was deluded, or Jesus was/ IS risen.
In fact, he was so convinced, even when years later he was tried and sentenced to death for believing in Risen Jesus, he still wouldn’t deny what he had seen. How could he un-no what he knew to be so true.
(I’m lingering here a moment because Peter’s experience might be your experience too.)
If there is God, then the only logical thing to do is to go all-in. To live your life, every part of it, every day, in knowledge and reality of God.
So, a few days after Pentecost, when Jerusalem had been so rocked by Jesus’ death, resurrection and then the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John had been walking up to the Temple. They met a beggar, who asked them for money. He had been disabled since birth, unable to walk or work. With no Welfare System, he was carried to the Temple to beg. Peter responded:
“Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, walk”
The beggar was able to stand up, walk, and then start jumping around. Now trying to imagine that beggar being half-hearted. His life would never be the same again. How did this happen? If there is NO God, then this wouldn’t, couldn’t, have happened. It could only happen if there IS God. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
To be honest, it spooked people. They were used to dead religion, fairy tale religion, great-way-to-meet-people-like-us religion. They hadn’t encountered Risen Jesus.
Again, Peter who previously couldn’t say boo to a little girl, stood up:
“Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. (It’s because of Jesus).  YOU handed him over to be killed, and YOU disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. YOU disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 
YOU killed the Author of Life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”  Ouch!
What changed Peter? It was Zoe. Zoe, being the Greek world for LIFE, pure, original, the source, the Author of LIFE. Encountering the risen source of all life – Jesus.
That Zoe life is for you, now. If it was just about the past, what happened to Peter and others then, it would no longer be Zoe life. It would have lost its Zoe’ness. Remember, “I have come that YOU may have life – Zoe life – in all its abundance, colour…” The life God always intended for you.
Maybe what you’ve known so far feels more like dead religion, fairy tale religion, a-great-way-to-meet-people-like-us religion. Open yourself to Zoe and the life God wants for you – walking with Jesus. It’s time to go all-in as a Christ-Follower. It’s time to allow Zoe into your life. It’ll mess with your plans, what you do with your time, money, your career path.. You might lose a few so-called friends, as you go against the flow. But there ISN’T God or there IS God.
Maybe you already identify as a Christian. But somehow the energy, enthusiasm, belief you once knew, has waned. In your head you know there IS God but that truth is not shaping how you live. It’s time to get back in with Zoe. Follow Peter’s example, stretch yourself, and pray with someone for their healing, speak a word of boldness about Jesus…
Maybe you’re living as a Christ-follower but things are really tough at the moment. We’ve all heard of Paramedics having to wait in their ambulance with a Covid-19 patient for hours on end; Carers going from house to house, coming into contact with some many vulnerable and potentially infectious people; those that have been following the social-distancing rules for 10+ months now, you’ve not seen your family/ grandkids, and all the time the clock is ticking, you know you’re not getting any younger… Whatever, your situation will be different.
Know that the promise of abundant Zoe, life to the full, is for YOU, right here, right now. Receive again the Gift of Life from the Source of all Zoe, the Author of Life.
Paul went on to say, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” Romans 5:17
God wants abundant life for you as you reign in life. If you want that Zoe, it’s only available through Jesus – the Source of all Zoe, the Author of Life.
.                  DannyBrierley@ChesterRoadBaptist.org.uk