John 20-10.06.22
SCRIPTURE: John 20:13 NIV
“They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
OBSERVATION:
Early on Sunday morning, Mary and several other women agree to go to the tomb where Jesus was buried so they can complete the burial preparations. Joseph and Nicodemus had been forced by circumstances to hastily prepare Jesus body, and the women wanted to finish the task.
They pondered one BIG problem on their way—which was how to roll the very large stone back which secured Jesus tomb. Maybe the Roman soldiers would take pity on them and lend a helping hand.
Yet, as Mary arrives first on the scene—she discovers that the very large STONE Is rolled back—there are NO Roman Soldiers to be found—AND Jesus Body is Gone! Mary is Greatly concerned as she concludes that Jesus body has been stolen.
UNDERSTANDING:
Jesus IS Alive!
It seems incredible that Jesus’s disciples didn’t expect Him to come out of the tomb ALIVE. After all, He had told them on numerous occasions throughout His ministry that THIS was The Reason WHY He came. (Also see Matt. 16:21; Matt. 20:19).
Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19 NKJV)
Mary, Peter and each of the disciples were given an opportunity to SEE Jesus after He had Risen. They had been broken, fearful, and crying after witnessing Jesus brutal death on the cross—then-Jesus Comes and appears to them!
They Witness the RISEN Christ!
Sorrow Turns to JOY!
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “PEACE be WITH you!” (John 20:19 NIV)
What a comforting and powerful WORD Jesus brought to them in that moment. And that same promise is for us today….PEACE be WITH You…
We may not be able to SEE Jesus the way the disciples did. BUT, we have The WORD—which IS Jesus—AND we have His Holy Spirit.
Pastor Levi shared something So Powerful in His teaching last Sunday-
We can’t SEE the wind. But we can SEE the EFFECT of the wind as it Blows THROUGH the Trees and rustles through the leaves. It is EXACTLY the SAME with the HOLY SPIRIT. We can’t SEE the Holy Spirit—But we can Certainly SEE the Effect of the Holy Spirit as we pray for others and SEE Healing and Wholeness come into their lives. We SEE answered prayer. We can WITNESS Jesus and SEE other’s lives Become TRANSFORMED because JESUS is working in their hearts and Moving them into repentance and relationship to be Born Again.
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I DO go away, then I will SEND him to you. And when he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (John 16:7-8 NLT)
Jesus IS ALIVE!
LIFE APPLICATION:
Jesus is ALIVE!
What an extraordinary assurance-
EVERYTHING Hinges on THIS “1” thing!
Jesus is not “missing”—no one “took” his body anywhere!
The Tomb is EMPTY—Because Jesus is RISEN!
AND—we serve a LIVING God!
Lord Jesus,
Thank you for submitting yourself on the cross for our sins and establishing a way for us to be forgiven AND to have restored relationship back to The Father. Thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to equip us with Power and Authority to be Your Witnesses AND to give us wisdom, counsel, and guidance throughout our lives here. You promised You would Never leave us or forsake us and Your Holy Spirit Fulfills that Promise. I pray I will draw NEAR to You—YOU Promise as we Draw NEAR to YOU—You will Draw NEAR to us. May I be an effective Witness for You—with All you have given me and continue to give me—for Your glory. In Jesus NAME I Pray. amen.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NLT)
Tina L Kudelka
John 19-10.5.22
Scripture
John 19:33-34; 36-37
33But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water……36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
Observation-What does it say?
This chapter is an account of Jesus’ sentencing, crucifixion, death, and burial.
Understanding-What does it mean?
The Bible doesn’t lie and that is proven through Biblical prophecy.
What stood out to me was the fulfillment of Scripture in the death of Jesus, from Zechariah 12:10.
Those soldiers were not trained in the Old Testament, and that’s what makes their actions of not breaking any of Jesus’ bones and instead piercing His side, completely of the Sovereignty of God!
Life Application
We can trust God’s Word. He doesn’t lie or change.
Because the account of Jesus’ death was a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy, we can trust New Testament prophecy as well! He is coming back for His bride, the Church! Everything prophesied in the book of Revelation; the visions that God gave John, will come to pass!
If the Lord doesn’t lie, shouldn’t we trust Him at His Word? Shouldn’t we desire to know Him, His character, His promises and His plans more intimately by being in His Word everyday?
-Michelle Gaddi
Ezra 3-10.4.22
SCRIPTURE:
Ezra 3:1
"In the first year of Cyrus King of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom..."The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah."
OBSERVATION:
Jeremiah had prophesied about the 70-year long Babylonian captivity, and it was God Who "put it into the mind" of the pagan king, Cyrus to cause Jeremiah's prophecy to be fulfilled.
Even though Cyrus worshipped various pagan gods, after he had an encounter with the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it was made very clear to him that the temple in Jerusalem was to be rebuilt, so... he, on his own free will made the decision to release the Jews from exile in Babylon, and allow God's people to go to Jerusalem in Judah to build the house of the Lord.
UNDERSTANDING:
Our God is sovereign and He is ultimately in total control of everything that happens on earth. He promised that His people would live in the promised land, and worship Him there, and He kept that promise.
God, in His sovereignty caused Cyrus to not only allow Ezra to go to Jerusalem, but he also gave him tons of silver and gold to furnish the temple!
The book of Ezra teaches us about God's sovereignty, and that God always fulfills His promises! He also teaches us about God's power to renew, and lastly Ezra reminds us that in order to carry out God's purposes in the world, we must keep our thoughts on Him and His eternal purposes, and make sure that our desires line up with His Word as we are led by His Spirit.
LIFE APPLICATION:
God's sovereign actions are always at work. I am so grateful for His gentle promptings. He goes before us, and leads us on the path of peace and joy as we submit to Him, and follow His ways, and even when it appears that there is no way out of certain situations, God is there to help us when we pray to Him. I praise our Sovereign God Who "puts it in our heart's" to do certain things...so that when we are alerted to opportunities, we can be used by Him to help accomplish His plans and purposes.
-Robin Orefice