Good morning, Lord Jesus. I wake up this morning still celebrating Resurrection Sunday of Holy Week! The season in the church calendar of Lent his over and we are now in the season of Eastertide. During these days of the remembrance and celebration of Easter, let my joy encourage me to come closer to You with excitement and expectancy to hear what You'll say and see what You'll do in my life through the power of Your resurrection. -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know you seek Jesus who crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said! Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that His is risen from the dead! ..." (Matthew 28:1-7)
God's not dead. He is alive!
Death and the devil didn't win. Hell couldn't hold You down. The grave couldn't keep You hidden away. The stone couldn't seal You up. You overcame it all in the victory of the cross and the power of the resurrection!
And because You overcame, we can overcome. Because You had victory, we can have victory. Because hope and faith won the day by the power of God in You, hope and faith by the same power of God in us will win the day for us! Because You live and are Holy, even after Holy Week all our days are Holy because your live in us!
"If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11).
Father, You sent Your Spirit to raise Jesus from the dead. And You send that same Spirit in that same power to raise us from the dead every day-- to give is the victory of life over death, of hope over despair, of faith over fear. By the power of Your grace at work in us, at work in our world, hope and faith will win the day! You are our Hope. You are our Faith. You are our Answer and only Hope for all we face, as we put all our faith in You alone.
For death is swallowed up in victory! ... Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:54)
We're not overcomers unless we've overcome something. We don't have a testimony unless we've been tested. We can't be more than conquerors unless we've had something to conquer. And the empty tomb is the eternal witness of the power of God to empower us to overcome whatever we're going through in our world today and in our world to come!
"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love" (Romans 5:3-5).
Let the same Power that raised Jesus from the dead stir up the hearts of God's people around the world to release Your power of hope and faith to overcome as never before! Let everything we're going through develop endurance and character and hope in us that can be held down or sealed off or shut up. Let Your resurrection life and power arise in us to shine in our world as we remember and celebrate what You have done!
Around the world, as we remember the victory of the cross and the empty tomb, let us receive and embrace Your promise and power of faith and hope: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!" (Romans 15:13) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, as we begin a new week after Easter may you be filled afresh with hope and faith in the One who overcome the grave and the devil so that we can overcome all that we face in the resurrection power of the risen Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share you reflections on this passage and your Easter experiences in the comment box below.
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