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Today’s devotion is based on the Easter Message: Hope Revealed (Watch Here)

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Death is hard.  Hope is real.

Wednesday I went to see a gentleman who attended with his wife as they were able for the last years.  Recently God called his wife home to heaven.  As with any funeral, the business of the arrangements, family coming into town and decisions of next steps happen quickly and a bit overwhelmingly.  In addition to the change of losing his wife, his family decided due to his memory and the assistance he needs to move him to a care facility near one of his daughters.  When I found him in his new residence, he was listening to a talk on Big Bend National Park here in Texas.  While I had to interrupt him due to another appointment, we had a few minutes to sit on one of the patios and talk.  Two times, large tears came to his eyes.  First as he shared how much he misses his wife and second when we discussed the beauty of heaven and the joy of being able to experience the presence of Jesus and the reunion with the ones we love.

Death is hard.  Hope is real.

The ladies that made their way to the tomb that first Easter morning were heavy with sadness over the death of Jesus.  The least they could do was to follow up his burial with a proper applications of spices to anoint the body.

I would guess that if you encountered them on the road and asked where they were headed, a few tears would have made their way down their cheeks.

Death is hard.

For those of you who have experienced the death of someone close to you, you know the hole they leave in your heart and your life.

Death is hard.

Yet the reality of Easter morning is not simply affirmation that death is hard.

The angels had a message to share: “He is not here!  He has risen!”

Jesus himself as he stepped in front of Mary simply said her name, “Mary.”

Jesus walking with the Emmaus disciples took time to explain from the Scripture all that was prophesied about him and finally revealed himself to them in the breaking of bread.

Hope is real!

The women who saw and heard the angels ran back to tell the disciples.

Mary who saw Jesus alive herself ran to tell Jesus’ followers.

The Emmaus disciples ran the miles back to Jerusalem to the followers of Jesus.

All to relate one message:

Jesus is alive!

Hope is real.

The fact that Jesus was alive confirmed he really was the the Son of God.

The fact that Jesus was alive confirmed that the payment for sin was accepted.

The fact that Jesus was alive confirmed all the Word of God is true.

The fact that Jesus was alive confirmed death would not have the final say.

The fact that Jesus was alive confirms that we too will live.

The fact that Jesus is alive confirms that we will live with him forever.

And all this gives us hope…real hope!

Death is hard.

Jesus lives.

Hope is real!

 

Apply: What truth of the resurrection gives your heart the most hope?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your amazing resurrection that solidifies death is defeated and life is ours by your grace.  Lead us to live each day in the promise and hope of the resurrection.  Because you live…we too will live! AMEN.

Today’s devotion is based on the Easter Message: Hope Revealed (Watch Here)

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Recently we interacted with friends who received a diagnosis of cancer.  With this diagnosis there is great uncertainty for the first weeks as one waits for the tests, pathology and other reports to be taken, read and returned.  With the modern age of information at our fingertips, hours are spent reading up on the cancer, the possible treatments, the survivability rate, and much more.

Trying to digest all this new information disrupts emotions, work, time, and much more.  

Why is it natural to seek out these answers?

Confusion brings uncertainty.

Clarity brings hope.

Once the answers are given as to exactly what type of cancer it is, where it is located, if it has spread and what the treatment options are, finally a bit of peace can begin to settle in.  The information is distilled to the key components, the most of which is, “Can I survive this?”  (in our friend’s case, it seems very much a survivable situation).

But we want that affirmation.  We seek the confirmation.  We seek clarity…fo clarity brings hope.

The followers of Jesus faced a lot of uncertainty and confusion the days leading up to the crucifixion and the day of the resurrection.  Fear permeated the hearts of his followers as they fled when Jesus was arrested and huddled in a locked room the weekend that followed.  Reports came in from the women (who by the way in that culture were not treated as trustworthy witnesses) that Jesus’ body was missing and that angelic beings reported he was alive.  Peter and John went to the tomb to see for themselves.

But let’s focus on Mary.

John 20:11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Mary had a lot of confusion and sadness until the “Gardner” spoke her name.

It was Jesus.

In that moment, it was real.  Jesus was alive!
In that moment, it was personal. Jesus lives for her!

In that moment, it was certain. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Perhaps we’d love to have Jesus personally appear to us to answer all our questions of life, give clarity on our concerns, and give us an unwavering faith.

As he told Thomas the week after his resurrection, “(John 20:29) Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

We still may have some questions, some curiosities and maybe even some doubts, but what we do know is the certainty that Jesus lived, died and rose again to give you and me certainty. And with certainty, there is hope!

 

Apply: What questions of faith do the events of the resurrection answer for you? Maybe raise for you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for loving all of us so much that you go out of your way to ensure we have clarity as to who you are, what you came to do, and the impact it has on us.  We are certain we are loved, forgiven, and made your children.  This is what gives us certain hope! AMEN.

Today’s devotion is based on the Easter Message: Hope Revealed (Watch Here)

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Do you have the tradition of hiding and looking for Easter baskets?

Our family has hidden Easter baskets as far back as I can remember.  Somehow Dad always got them hidden before he had to go off to Easter sunrise service.  As a dad, over the years, I have found the big hard baskets harder to hide.  When we lived in Minnesota, we had soft small baskets which had many more opportunities to hide.

The trick to hiding an Easter basket is to hide it in such a way that the normal looking of things is not disturbed.  The greatest compliment to the hider is that a person looking for their basket looks right past it because they think there is no way it can be hidden in…

If you know the size and flexibility of your basket, you may be able to find it easier because you can look in places where one might expect it to be hidden.

Finding an Easter basket is a fun tradition of our culture.

The women of the first Easter weren’t looking for Easter eggs, a basket, or an Easter bunny.  They were looking for a body.

Of course there was only one logical place in that time to look for a dead body…in a tomb.  Why would one look anywhere else?  Especially since they had seen Jesus’ body laid in that very tomb before the Sabbath day began.

They were looking for Jesus, expecting to find his remains in the tomb.

Their perception and the reality of Easter morning were very different.

One can’t fault the women.  I probably would have done the same thing.

A dead body placed in the tomb tends to stay in the tomb.

But the challenge for the ladies (and the rest of Jesus’ followers) is that Jesus whom they were looking for was not dead!  He was alive!

Luke 24:5 In 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? 6 He is not here; he has risen! 

That morning they had the logical picture of Jesus as a dead person, but they forgot he had said he would rise again.  A living Jesus is very much different than a dead Jesus.

Can we do the same thing?

We aren’t looking to put spices and perfume on a body, but sometimes in our faith journey, we are looking for Jesus to show up in a certain way or at a certain time.  We craft the way he is to show up in our life based on the outcome we want.  We want healing…he should heal us.  We want relationship conflict to end…we want him to fix it now.  We want financial blessings…we want him to give it to us.

While these and many other situations invite us to seek the Lord Jesus for answers, we maybe have to allow him to show up as HE determines, not always how we dictate.

In our troubles, he may not choose to show up with the end to our trouble, but our strength, peace and comfort amidst the trouble.

In our lack, he may not show up to give us abundance, but he may show up with his faithfulness to provide each day what we need.

In our spiritual journey, he may not show up with great miracles and evidence of his presence, but in the still small voice of his Word settled in our heart.

The ladies weren’t wrong in going to the tomb, they just didn’t have the right picture of the Jesus they were looking for.  The angels reminded them of Jesus’ words and then they remembered (see yesterday’s devotion).  

Here’s what they realized.  When the living Jesus showed up in their lives it was far better and more glorious than the dead body they thought they were looking for!

 

Apply: What areas of your life have you been seeking God to show up in a certain way or at a certain time?  Is it possible he is showing up in a different and better way that you are missing?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for showing up in the glory of your promises and presence.  Help me to always be much more aware of how you choose to show up in my life instead of dictating how I want you to show up.  AMEN.

 

Today’s devotion is provided by an email from a friend of mine, Mike Westendorf (https://mikewestendorf.com/).  He is a great musician and leads worship at “The Bridge” in Milwaukee, WI (https://stpaulmuskego.org/thebridgemke/).  Enjoy his thoughts on the impact of the resurrection! (Here’s a sample of one of his songs – LISTEN HERE)

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T H E N . . .

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.” I will bet you’ve heard this one when you were a kid from a parent. “I’ve told you this a hundred times!” As a kid we were quite confident that they never said such a thing. If God blesses you with, or has blessed you with little kids under your care, you will absolutely attest to the fact that you HAVE said it at LEAST a hundred times. So we ask in exasperation, “what will it take for them to remember??” As I’ve gotten older it has become evident to me that what I focus on, is what I pursue and remember. The other things happening around me… I tend to forget. When I’m building my resume, my house, my family, I tend to forget anything that isn’t important to those outcomes I’m pursuing. How about you? What we focus on, we remember. It’s interesting to read this resurrection account as the women come to the tomb. Their focus is on honoring Jesus by perfuming his dead body. They went out early Sunday to buy spices, went to the tomb and realized they likely couldn’t get in. Their wondering and focus was on how to make their plans come to fruition. Get to the tomb. Move the stone. Add spices to his body. Close the tomb. Go back home and mourn. That was their focus and so they forgot what Jesus said. It was the angels that jabbed at them to shake them out of their all consuming plans to anoint his body with the sarcastic jibe “Do you look for the living among the dead?” The angels straightforward follow up was direct and to the point “He is not here. He is risen!” In an instant, the angel changed their focus and then connected the dots for them. “REMEMBER how he told you…” and THEN they remembered Jesus words. THEN their plans to embalm the dead, changed to going and telling. THEN their sorrow turned to wonder and joy. THEN their vision aligned with God’s vision as they remembered the words of Jesus and lived like they were true! So what about you and me? When we long for peace… when we are afraid of being alone… when the relationship isn’t working out… when everything is going GREAT… for now… What will it take to remember Jesus? May we learn the discipline of reading the Bible. May we commit to making time for Christian community and worship. May we trade in our little kingdoms for building God’s kingdom, by sharing this hope of life from the dead, forgiveness for sins, no fear or shame for those who find their identity in Jesus. When we focus on Jesus, THEN… we will find the peace we long for. He’s only been telling us a hundred times 😉 Happy Easter friend! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Mike [Westendorf]

Today’s devotion is based on the Easter Message: Hope Revealed (Watch Here)

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Sorry that this morning’s devotion is a little late.

I have to admit, I was tired yesterday and didn’t do much of anything after worship and cleaning up from Easter breakfast.

I wonder what the Monday after the resurrection of Jesus was like for his followers.

I bet they were physically and emotionally tired.

An early morning visit to the tomb, which may have taken a few hours to finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial, turned into an all day discussion and interaction about seeing the risen Jesus alive!

A race to the tomb by Peter and John, led to curiosity about the report of the women and whether it was true if Jesus was alive.

Two Emmaus disciples walking home after being in Jerusalem, encounter an Old Testament history lesson concerning the Messiah, only to realize it was Jesus himself.  A swift walk or run back to Jerusalem left them a bit out of breath as they reported to the others,

Luke 24:33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. “36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

At what point did they fall asleep of exhaustion?

We don’t know what they did the Monday after Easter, but my guess is they didn’t move on to normal “Monday” activities.  The events of the crucifixion and resurrection were still very much real and raw in their minds. 

If it were me, I would be tired. Afraid, yet filled with joy.  In belief and disbelief at the same time.  Wanting to see Jesus today, just to confirm that last night was not a hallucination or imagination.  Conversations would want to figure out the connections between what we remember Jesus saying and all the things that happened in Jerusalem that weekend.

What about the future?  Would we see Jesus again?  Was it safe to head home?  Where was home after following Jesus for three years.  He didn’t have a place to lay his head, we kind of gave that up too.

We are 2000 years or so from the event, but I pray that the Monday after Easter isn’t just a “return to normal” after a busy Easter weekend.  I pray that questions and thoughts percolate in your heart and mind today.  Perhaps even some of the questions that the followers of Jesus may have thought.

What’s next, if it is true that Jesus lives?

What questions have been answered?  What questions do I still have?

What impact does his resurrection have on my spiritual journey?

Does it change what I believe or how I live?

Does it give me hope amidst the challenges I face today?

The fact that we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus yesterday is credibility that his rising from the dead still has a profound impact in the hearts and minds of people.

I pray it does for you today…even if you are starting off a little tired.

 

Apply: Take time today to contemplate the significance of Christ’s resurrection in your life today and the impact it has and will have moving forward.

Prayer: Lord, Jesus into our fears, our questions, our doubts, our weariness you come to show yourself alive to quiet our fears, answer our questions, clear our doubts, and renew our spirits.  We ask that you would do that for us today as you did for your followers the days after your resurrection.  AMEN.