Sunday

Imagine Mary’s eyes, how they must have burned and stung with tears of frustration. Watch as she wipes at them softly at first and then furiously, emotionally wrung out and yet seething with something beyond pain. They had taken him, they had murdered him, and now his body was just past this stone they had rolled into place to keep her away from him. How quickly must her eyes have widened and then squinted almost completely shut as she shielded them against the bright light before her. Listen for the sound of Roman armor slamming into the soil, the dust kicking up as the men collapsed at the sight. Then a pause, and then…

“I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Come and see.

Come and see the empty tomb, Mary who breathlessly cries out to Him, “Rabboni!”

Come and see, Mary, mother of James, who collapses at His feet in worship.

Come and see, Cleopas, whose heart burns in the presence of the resurrected Christ.

Come and see, Simon, whom Jesus renames Peter, and who insists on a death worthy of his Savior.

Come and see the holes in his hands and his side, Thomas, so you know the price paid for you.

Come and see that your brother is Lord, James.

Come and see, 500 others who look upon Him and believe.

Come and see, Saul, killer of Christians, and be transformed into Paul, the great Church Father.

Come and see, teachers, that He was the law you so love.

Come and see, preachers, that He is the Word made flesh.

Come and see, history, that the flow of time is bent around Him in a triumphant arc.

Come and see, death, that your sting is final no more.

Come and see, believer, that you were purchased for a price will be welcomed home.

Come and see, skeptic, the pierced hand still reaching out toward you today.

Come and see the place where he lay. Let your eyes rest where he once did, but don’t linger. He didn’t.

Go quickly and spread the news. Tell them the truth of His word that you’ve read and the miracles you’ve seen in your life and the lives of others. Wherever you walk, wherever you work, invite them, with your kindness and generosity, and with the honesty in your eyes that shines amidst any circumstance, to come and see.

He is risen.

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HOLY SATURDAY

“Take a guard,” he said, “make the tomb as secure as you know how.”

Imagine thinking it would make a difference. Of course, Pilate didn’t know what we know now. Even in his wildest imagination, this executor of Roman authority could never have seen all of this coming. Why? Because Pilate’s concern was protecting the tomb from the outside, while all along Heaven and Hell were colliding within it.

Of course, some of us are still stacking guards outside of the tomb, aren’t we? In spite of our faith, we hide things away from the resurrection power of God. We cram our little caves full of regrets, secrets we believe to be too difficult for God to redeem or shame so dark as to blot out His resurrecting light. We offer everything to Him except what we keep for ourselves.

And we shake our heads at Pontius Pilate.

What a beautiful invitation Holy Saturday is, and yet how seldom do we accept it? In our earnest eagerness to celebrate the empty tomb, we fly so swiftly by this opportunity to stop and reflect on the meaning of an inhabited one. There his body lay, broken for you. Today need not be a day of great sorrow, for unlike the Apostles, we know how the story ends, but it can be a day of great surrender. What remains in you that needs to be handed over? What needs to die in order for you to live?

It was our sin and God’s plan that led Christ to the Cross. It was his power and his authority that ruptured the darkness and resurrected Him to everlasting life. But on this Holy day, we must ask ourselves the question: “How am I still working to secure the tomb and keep the power of resurrection inside?”

Sunday’s coming. Will you experience the fullness of that freedom when it does?

Call back your guards. Take a deep breath, He shall soon do the same.

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Day 19 Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. You would think it'd be called dark Friday or bad Friday or sad Friday. What makes this a Good Friday? Here's why: Because according to Hebrews 9:22, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. The Temple on the Mount is where they used to offer sacrifices, lambs, goats, bulls on the altar for the forgiveness of sins. But it was only a temporary solution to the sin problem. And Jesus comes onto the scene and offers Himself as a greater sacrifice, an eternal solution to our sin.

He brought total forgiveness on the cross. He also demonstrated a life of forgiveness on the cross by forgiving those who were crucifying him. Think about this: when did Jesus decide to forgive? It wasn’t when he got out of the grave appeared as resurrected, healed Jesus. Jesus forgave them, WHILE he was being hurt. Don’t wait to forgive, do as Jesus did and forgive immediately.

He became the once and final sacrifice for our sins. The Bible says in John 19:30, when he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” Those are three of the most powerful words in the Bible. Your sins are finished, your bondage is finished, the purposelessness in your life is finished. You can have freedom because of Jesus.

So today is a good Friday because, whatever you're struggling with, Jesus brought the solution on the cross for you. His suffering was significant. His punishment was for a purpose. He took the punishment we deserved so that we can now live the life He deserved.

This is Grace. Take a moment right now and reflect on the body and blood of Jesus. His body that was whole became broken, so that we who are very broken can be made whole. His blood, that was sinless, was sacrificed and poured out, so that we who are sinful can be seen as forgiven in God's eyes.

Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice on the cross! We will always remember what you have done for us on this Good Friday.

Today as you pray: take a moment to just sit in silence with the Lord and reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

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Day 19- Thursday 

Read: Matthew 26:17-30

If you knew that you only had a few hours of freedom left, who would you eat a meal with and what would you eat? Jesus spent His last few hours with His best friends (the disciples) eating bread and drinking wine. That might seem like a strange last meal, but the bread and wine symbolized what Jesus was about to do. The bread represented His body, which was about to be broken; the wine represented His blood, which would be spilled as payment for the sins of the world. When followers of Jesus gather to eat bread and drink wine (or juice) to honor Jesus’ sacrifice, it’s called taking communion – something many of you are familiar with.

Why do you think Jesus chose to have His followers remember His sacrifice with food and drink?

Why do you think communion is something we do in the presence of other followers of Jesus and not by ourselves?

Spend some time thinking about what it would have been like to be at the dinner table with Jesus that night. What are some things you would say to Him? Pray those things to Him.

What do you need today? What are you grateful for today? Is there anything you need to get off your chest? Tell Jesus about it.

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DAY 18- HOLY WEDNESDAY

The greatest stories have the greatest stakes, and the stakes have never been higher than they were as Jesus’ earthly ministry drew to a close. While Scripture doesn’t record what our Savior did on the Wednesday before the Cross, we can imagine that He and the Disciples would have been preparing for what came next, the celebration of the Passover. In one of the most intimate scenes of the week, we find that what was on the table for the followers of Jesus thousands of years ago is what is still on the table for us today.

Here, believer and wonderer are on even ground, for neither needs the power of the gospel more than the other, both are confronted with the same issue. Each one of us has a sin problem. For some, this may be an easy thing to admit. Your flaws and shortcomings are as obvious to you as the clothes you wear. Others might find this admission difficult; after all, it can be challenging to acknowledge when the call is coming from inside the house. But, admit it or not, each of us, as a result of the fall of man, has been separated from God’s holiness by necessity. His perfection cannot stand proximity to imperfection. The result of our separation is death, both spiritual and physical.

But God.

God delivered us good news in the form of Jesus. This man who we have been following, who the crowds cried out to with shouts of, “Hosanna!” This Son of Man was the Son of God, and although he would be betrayed, and although He would be beaten, and although He would have to die an excruciating death, He willingly did all of this because it was the only way to close the gap sin had created. This is why those who have placed their faith in Jesus are said to be born again, and those who turn away from him have not.

Our prayer is that this journey continues to serve as a reminder for the believer, to arrest your attention and remind you of what your Savior went through to purchase your salvation.

Our prayer is also that God would use this journey for you who are investigating the things of faith. That by seeing this week not as stories in a book but scenes from history, the full weight of Jesus’ love and willingness to die for you would sink in, and you would, for the first time, feel the embrace of Heaven’s “welcome home.”

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Day 17

Read: Matthew 22:34-40

For the Pharisees, worshiping God meant following every law perfectly. But over time, their intentions became twisted, and following the rules became more about status than worship. On the outside, the Pharisees were perfect, but their hearts weren’t in it. Sometimes we go through the motions of following Jesus – going to church, singing worship songs, reading our Bible – because it’s what we’re supposed to do, but our hearts aren’t in it. Why do you think Jesus cares more about your heart than your actions?

Take a few minutes to reflect: What does it mean to love Jesus with all your heart? All you soul? All your strength?

Spend a few minutes talking to Jesus. Tell Him about your answers to the questions above, and ask Him to help you in areas where you might need it.

What do you need today? What are you grateful for today? Is there anything you need to get off your chest? Tell Jesus about it.

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Day 16

Anger can be scary because of its destructive nature. People can use their anger to dominate or hurt others. But in Jesus’ case, His anger was holy and righteous. Jesus was not angry very often in the Gospels, but when He is, His anger arises out of a loving protection of the vulnerable. It’s like the anger you would feel if you are a parent and found out your child was being abused or mistreated. Jesus’ anger and love are actually two sides of the same coin.

On Monday, Jesus entered the Temple to demonstrate holy anger at how His house was being defiled. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’” (Matthew 21:13).

During the Passover, people traveled to Jerusalem from all over Israel to offer sacrifices at the Temple. The Temple in Jerusalem represented the dwelling place of God on earth: a place of holiness, where the Presence of God lived among His people. God intended it to be a place where all could come, so it angered the heart of God when certain obstacles made it harder for some people to worship.

The whole sacrificial system rested on buying and selling animals, and that practice had become mercenary, profiting some and marginalizing others. The money changers and animal sellers reaped a hefty profit at the expense of those coming to worship in the Temple, a practice that threatened to exclude the poor. Further they set up shop in the outer court, disrupting the women and Gentiles, who were only allowed to pray and worship in that part of the Temple.

Jesus’ desire was for the Temple to be a house of prayer for all, including those on the margins. Ultimately, Jesus came to earth so that all people could have access to God through Him. In John 2, when the Jews asked Jesus for a sign to prove His authority to cleanse the Temple, Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). Jesus was referring to His body as the Temple and pointing to His death and resurrection as the sign. The destruction of Jesus’ own body would allow all people to have full and equal access to God!

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Salvation is for everyone who believes. We are all children of God through faith in Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Prayer: God, thank you that you invite all people to become your children through faith in your Son. You look out for the vulnerable and marginalized. Please help us to do the same. We want to worship you not only by our words, but also by our deeds and how we treat the least of these. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Day 14

Easter is a story of hope - Hope in the promise that we have eternal life through Jesus! 

If you’ve been in church for any length of time, you’re probably nodding your head. But when’s the last time you stopped to think about the significance of that?

Today, I’d like to share with you a passage & poem that will stop you in your tracks with the beauty of the Gospel. Read John 1:1-18 & then watch this video from Seacoast Church.

Praying that you rest in the hope of Jesus today. Can't wait to worship together!