2020 Daily Devotion - Day 19

-
Easter Sunday

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

These words, and the fact that He actually did conquer the grave, change everything. This is what happened to the first followers of Jesus:

Before Easter, they were a group of people who were confused and afraid. They never understood what Jesus was trying to do. And then when He died on the cross, they “ran for the hills”. They were in hiding. Peter denied Jesus three times. But then, after the Resurrection they became different people. They were bold and afraid of absolutely nothing…. not even persecution and death could stop them. What happened?

The Reality of the Resurrection of Jesus is what happened. When they saw Jesus dead, and then three days later saw Him alive again, Absolutely Everything Changed. When they could touch Him and eat with Him, after being dead, nothing would ever be the same. This is one of the reasons we know the Resurrection of Jesus is true – what it did to these men and women…it is a historical fact!

· It didn’t matter what people thought about them. Who cares? The opinions of others just no longer matter.
· What was the worst that could happen? Death? Well, that was destroyed. And they did die for what they preached and believed, but now it didn’t matter.
· God’s love and presence were now very real to them – very real and powerful. It filled their souls, so who needs to impress anyone when you have God’s unconditional love flowing through your veins? This was no longer about religion, but now, was about this Almighty God infusing His presence and power into their souls and inner being. The Resurrection of Jesus – God in the Flesh, did all of this and more, and can do the same for us.

What happened to the first followers of Jesus on that first Easter can be summarized in the words of the playwright, George Bernard Shaw: “The reasonable person adapts themselves to the world; the unreasonable person persists in trying to adapt the world to themselves. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable person.”

The Disciples of Jesus became Unreasonable People, and literally made the world adapt to them and their mission in the world. They were irrepressible. Jesus used them to change the world. They had tremendous courage because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. You can too…look at this verse:

Romans 12:2 NRSV
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Having courage means your mind has to be changed. The filters of the world need to be removed, and the only one who can do this is Jesus and His Resurrection. Allow His Resurrection to change your thinking, attitude and outlook from fear to courage.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, we are so grateful on this day for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It means there is hope. We don’t have to live in fear, because You have been victorious. Neither the Coronavirus nor death can destroy us, for Easter means You are victorious over all things. Give us the courage Easter brings. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
Tags:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Daily Devotion - Day 369

-
Palm Sunday Matthew 21:1-11NRSV When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes i...
More »

2020 Daily Devotion - Day 81

-
John 15:15 NRS I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. From an article on some of the great hymns of the church, we learn about the hymn, “What a Friend we have in Jesus”:   In 1844 a young Irishman, Joseph Scriven, had completed his college education and returned home to marry his sweetheart. As he was traveling to meet her on the day before the planned wedding, he came upon a horrible scene—his beautiful fiancée tragically lying under the water in a creek bed after falling off her horse. Later, Scriven moved to Canada and eventually fell in love again, only to experience devastation once more when she became ill and died just weeks before their marriage. For the second time, this humble Christian felt the loss of the woman he loved. The following year, he wrote a poem to his mother in Ireland that desc...
More »

2020 Daily Devotion - Day 120

-
"An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?" Many people often look at the negative side of life. President Reagan used to say that when people do this, it’s as if when you “give them a silver lining, they will find a cloud”. Of course, he was using the old saying “in every cloud, there is a silver lining” and reversing it to make a point. It is very important to be a “glass half full” kind of person. Looking for and expecting good things helps us to stay hope-filled. So, on this new day, be a positive person. Look for the good in everything. Look for hope in everything. Refuse to let yourselves dwell on the negative. Speak to others in inspirational ways, and you will find that your days will be better. Ephesians 4:29 ESV Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Pray with Me: Heavenly Father, so many peop...
More »