Scripture Verses
Luke 24:1-12 (NIV) See also Matthew 27:62-66; Psalm 16:9-10
The Resurrection
1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.
9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Devotion
I will never forget the disbelief I felt when the Trade Towers were destroyed by terrorists. And I will never forget a meeting the next day where I listened to the despair from Ralph (a co-worker from NYC) as me told me that two of his best friends were in the north tower, likely died in the collapse, and their 10-year-old daughter had not heard from either of her parents. This was one of our country’s darkest hours. It left me with thinking “why did this happen?” and “what will we do next?”. I imagine this feeling of loss and being lost was mild compared to what was going through Mary’s mind as she went back to Jesus’ tomb. Mary arrived at the tomb still in shock from witnessing the crucifixion, her head down, trying to figure what to do next. I can see Mary, still dazed, going through the motions of making sure the tomb was nice, only to find there was no body. I can almost hear her saying in frustration “Why this? Why now? What else can go wrong?” only to go from this deep despair to elation when she saw the messengers of God! Sometimes we get lost in the “why me” gloom and doom of this world and lose sight of the great glory we have coming to us. We need to remember Jesus died for us and someday we will be with Him in all God’s glory. After reading “90 Minutes In Heaven” I was reminded that Heaven is a place beyond our comprehension, beyond the senses we are accustomed to, and is available to us once we accept God’s gift. As we go through this Lenten season, we need to remember Jesus died for us, and that even in our darkest hours His light shines bright, and He is always with us no matter what.
Prayer
Our Heavenly Father, please remind us even in our darkest hours that Jesus died for us and that through His death we have victory over all things. As we go through our daily lives let your bright light shine through us. Amen.
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