Prayer and Devotionals Community

Jesus Among the Living

The resurrection of Christ is the joy and hope of Easter. It means Jesus specializes in bringing dead things and people back to life. For some people, however, it's just to good to be true...

"But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. Then they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.' Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him, 'Rabboni!' (which is to say, Teacher)." (John 20:11, 13-16 NKJV)

Mary wanted to salvage the body of her Lord. At least she could show some honor and dignity to her beloved Teacher, to try and make some sense of this tragedy. I'm sure a thousand questions must have raced through her mind, bewildered about the whereabouts of Jesus.

Mary saw Jesus standing there, but didn't know this Man as Jesus. Most of us could identify with Mary. "Where is Jesus?" Surely we have all asked that question in life's darkest times. Mary was arriving at a conclusion purely based upon circumstantial evidence. She may have been thinking something like this: "This must be the end. He is gone. Everything He promised must have been a mistake. The best thing for me to do is simply grieve what could have been and make the best of things." But Jesus intervened, asking her two important questions: "Why are you weeping?" and "Whom are you seeking?"

It seems that Mary was looking for the buried Jesus, weeping for what was. Everything He taught and imparted was now just fond memories. I wonder if Jesus' question was meant to imply that Mary was needlessly grieving? That she was looking in the wrong place? Just as the angel asked, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"

"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? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” (Luke 24:5‭-‬7 NKJV)

The angel reminded them of the promise of resurrection, and how Jesus had taught them this truth. This is the truth of the gospel message- death, burial, and resurrection.

We serve the living Jesus, our God Who is surely alive! He is no longer among the dead. His words are truth and life to those who seek Him. But if we are living our lives being daily confronted with the empirical and natural evidence of negative circumstances of life, and believing and trusting in only that which we can see, we will surely mistake Jesus for the gardener. If we are looking for Jesus and His promises among the ash heap of "been there, done that," we will absolutely not recognize His Divine Presence when He calls out to us with reassurance and comfort. Jesus redeems the ash heap, making all things new because He is among the living, and has risen from the dead.

How sweet it must have been for Mary to hear Jesus call her by name. Mary, in her brokenness and need, was able to distinguish that lovely voice from all other voices. She was able to make that step of faith from burial to resurrection. In doing so, her faith was renewed and her heart rejoiced, knowing that He was alive.

This is the Jesus we should be seeking - the Jesus Who is alive and forever interceding for us, and working on our behalf. I'm thankful for the message of the cross, but He is no longer suffering on the cross. He is risen and we are seated in heavenly places with Him.

Giving Thanks

It's a good and appropriate thing to give thanks to the Lord. It matters not whether life is happy and abundant, or difficult and painful. We can never go wrong by verbalizing our gratitude to our Savior...

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭92:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I'm so thankful to God for friends, family, and all that He has done in my family's life. We as Christians all have a unique life story that includes His grace and forgiveness. We all have a reason to sing praise and give thanks...

“I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30:1-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Where would we be without the Lord? I'm reminded of God's intervening power on our behalf in so many situations in life where, if it were not for God, we would all be in a much different place today.

He makes us overcomers and causes us to defeat those enemies who seek to come against us. He had healed us from disease, sin, and brokenness - restored us and reconciled us to Himself, delivering us from darkness. He brought our soul up from the grave - we have peace with God through resurrection power of the Holy Spirit who daily empowers us to live for Him.

He has kept us alive for a purpose far greater than we could imagine in our own strength.

It's so true that if it were not for God's intervening on our behalf, our lives would be much different...

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, When men rose up against us, Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us;”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭124:2-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We have good reason to give thanks and sing praise to God! If it were not for God, we would have been swallowed alive by the issues of life. I'm so grateful to Him today for His grace and mercy.

The Beauty of Artistry

God has placed a bit of the creative artist in each of us. If you have ever created, designed, crafted, drawn, sketched, built or put together something of beauty, you have functioned as an artist. If you have ever had a melody pop into your mind, written a poem, or put to paper (or computer) a creative concept or idea, this is true artistry at work.

Artists are musicians, painters, architects, craftsmen, writers, photographers,videographer, dancers - really, anyone that sees beauty before its created. My wife is actually an amazing abstract artist (see her work below!). The works she creates are born from a gifting that sees elegance and grace long before it’s painted on to the canvas.

There were two men in the book of Exodus were true artists - gifted and empowered by God to create objects of beauty straight from heaven. Let's look at Bezalel and Aholiab...

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle— the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base— the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.” (Exodus 31:1-11 NKJV)

Are you a “gifted artisan”? Do you have creativity to design or create images or concepts no one else sees? This is a gift from God - a holy endowment of unique wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to bring to life representations of artistry.

Artistry is a God thing. These two men took a God-breathed vision and fleshed it out in the tabernacle. This is the beauty of an artist- to take a God-idea and give it representation here in the physical world. Remember, Moses was commanded to make the tabernacle according to the heavenly pattern revealed to him...

“And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus 25:40 NKJV)

So godly artistry is about bringing heaven to earth. These two men did just that. And I bet they were a bit different, too, like many artists - maybe Bezalel had an earring or a tattoo. Maybe Aholiab's hair might have looked different than everyone else's. I'm joking, of course, but artists are different. They don't fit in with the status quo.

But that's okay. God has made them with amazing wisdom and giftedness to see the world through the eyes of our Creator - to see the beauty in the unloveable and undesirable - just like God did in us.

If you are an artist, I pray that you fulfill your mission of beauty in this life. Do what you were born to do. Don't allow the enemy to stain the purity of your gift. Use it for God in the midst of a carnal culture.

Our lives are richer today because of these creative people. I see the beauty of artistry and the glory of God in His handiwork expressed through mere men and women who have a holy calling to see and create beauty, and give the glory to God.

Ruth: The Redemption of Loss

Boaz was the nearest family to Ruth and Naomi - their nearest “kin.” He truly is the “Kinsman Redeemer.” And Boaz has a plan in mind for Ruth and Naomi of securing their future, and this scripture was his basis for doing so:

‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. (Leviticus 25:25 NKJV)

Maybe you have heard of the phrase, “keep it in the family.” This law mentioned above in Leviticus allows for a family member to buy back a possession which had previously been sold by another family member, and thus, keep it in the family. In this way, precious household items, jewelry, and even land, would not be lost forever. Even today, good people have to sell things when times are tight. Pawn shops are filled with such items - precious mementos from families who once had to make a sacrifice. Thank God for the family member who could exercise this “right of redemption.”

When poverty sets in, there’s a lack of resources, and loss becomes a reality. And loss can come in many ways - a loved one, a precious and close relationship, a career, and even a sense of "wasted years" that we will never get back. We lose money, integrity, homes, and other valuable parts of life. Naomi lost her land, her husband, her sons, and ultimately her legacy.

But Boaz is the family member uniquely qualified to act on Naomi’s behalf. He can help her by buying back and restoring the land that Naomi previously had to sell. He's going to go out and get back that which was lost...

“Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, ‘Come aside, friend, sit down here.’ So he came aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, ‘Sit down here.’ So they sat down. Then he said to the close relative, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it. ” (Ruth 4:1-4 NKJV)

Boaz “closed the deal.” He saw the need, listened to the cries of his extended family, and advocated for their well-being. This is a picture of our God, who is at work in our lives in ways we don't see. He speaks to people, and arranges situations and events so that His purpose comes to pass - all with a view towards restoration, redemption, spiritual growth, and creating a legacy for your future generations to come.

You are part of God’s family. He is the Great Redeemer. God is going to restore to you not just what you have lost, but so much better than what you previously had, and in greater measure. He is at work right now bringing about your restoration and legacy.