Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”
8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
Dear Jesus,
You are alive! You live in my heart. I have seen you in the face of a child. I have watched You live in the energy of a teenager. I have seen You in young adults, men and women, and senior saints. You are alive.
You are God. You are the very Son of God, eternal and co-equal with the Father. You existed from eternity past. There never was a time that You did not exist. You are Creator of the worlds. You will never cease to exist.
You are man. Incarnation. God made flesh. You were conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a Galilean virgin girl, Mary. You were born. You lived without sin. You died a sacrificial death upon the cross for the sins of the whole world. You are the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.
William Barclay wrote: "There are those who regard Jesus simply as a man whose life must be studied, his words examined, his teaching analysed. There is a tendency to think of Christianity and Christ merely in terms of something to be studied. The tendency may be seen in the quite simple fact of the extension of the study group and the extinction of the prayer meeting. Beyond doubt study is necessary but Jesus is not only someone to be studied; he is someone to be met and lived with every day. He is not only a figure in a book, even if that book be the greatest in the world; he is a living presence." (In The Gospel of Luke, 1953, p. 306).
William Barclay wrote: "There are those who regard Jesus simply as a man whose life must be studied, his words examined, his teaching analysed. There is a tendency to think of Christianity and Christ merely in terms of something to be studied. The tendency may be seen in the quite simple fact of the extension of the study group and the extinction of the prayer meeting. Beyond doubt study is necessary but Jesus is not only someone to be studied; he is someone to be met and lived with every day. He is not only a figure in a book, even if that book be the greatest in the world; he is a living presence." (In The Gospel of Luke, 1953, p. 306).
Bodily resurrection. You are alive. Not a ghost or an apparition. Flesh, bones, body. Alive. Before Your ascension to the Father in Heaven, You appeared in Your resurrected body. You ate. You drank. You laughed. You touched and were touched.
You are alive. Live in me today. And help me to live in You.
In the Name of my living Lord Jesus,
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment