The Wednesday Word 4.12.2023

 

John 20:1-9

New Living Translation

 

The Resurrection

1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.

 

Our brains function in this physical world. This world follows the laws of nature established when it was created. Animals, vegetables and even minerals are formed, and eventually broken down into other elements. Even people. We are created, we live, and then we die. That is the reality of our physical existence. Our brains have more difficulty functioning in God’s spiritual world. But, that’s okay. That is where faith enters our reality. 

 

God is outside our physical world. After all, he made it. He can move within our physical world in ways that defy our understanding in order to serve his purpose. Our job is to learn what that purpose might be. He created us so that we would have to choose for ourselves. The Disciples who walked with Jesus Christ and witnessed the unimaginable chose to believe. Their lives and the lives of those with whom they came into contact were forever changed. God changed the course of the world by bringing his light and his love into our physical world. His love changed the world. His love has changed me. I do not need to comprehend how God’s miracles might have happened. I only need to know that we are loved. His love defies my ability to grasp the magnitude. You can choose for yourself…something to pray about.

 

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.


                                                                                                    photo by Bruno Van Der Kraan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Wednesday Word 8.17.2022

Image
  Titus 2:11-14 New Living Translation 11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. The Upper Room “New Every Morning” free devotional appears in my email box every day. I highly recommend subscribing (look for it at www.upperroom.org). There’s always a snippet from a meaningful book, then Scriptures and additional material for those who desire a deeper dive. The Holy Spirit has a way of dropping things in your lap when you least expect it. Our late friend, Judy Walker, called these “pearls.” This w...
Read more

The Wednesday Word 5.04.2022

  Psalms 51:1-2, 10-13 1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. 
 Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. 
     Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, 
     and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, 
     and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels, 
     and they will return to you.   This passage raises an interesting perspective. “…Make me willing to obey you.” King David, the author, doesn’t promise to obey. He asks for forgiveness, mercy, and grace not because he has changed his ways or even claims to have tried. David asks for another chance with a clean slate. He doesn’t claim to have had a renewed sense of loyalty or faithfulness to ...
Read more

Wednesday Word 9.08.2021

Image
  1 Samuel 8:10-18 10 So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. 12 Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. 13 The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. 14 He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. 16 He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be...
Read more