24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 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! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
Luke 24:1-7 (NIV)
Our churches may be empty this weekend, but so was the tomb that first Easter morning. Today, my prayer is that like the early followers of Jesus we will eventually emerge with a new confidence and boldness that stems from the work of our Risen Lord in our lives, demonstrating our love for both God and neighbor. Somehow, out of death, may our Father once again bring life.
24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:24-25 (NIV)
Today, as we celebrate Jesus’ triumph over death in our own homes, may we all look forward to the time when we can once again celebrate together. May God transform each of our hearts with a deeper understanding of his radical love, a love that embraced death on a cross that we may live. May He gives us a vision of what lives look like that do not fear death, knowing that death has been defeated:
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
1 Corinthians 15:54-55
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
May we find hope in Jesus’ resurrection, that moment when God began to make all things new, bringing new hope, new life, and restoration.
Χριστός Ανέστη. Christ is risen.
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Life Beyond #Blessed 