Today's Readings: New Testament -
John 11:17-37
Philippians 1:12-20
Old Testament -
Psalms 119:113-120
2 Kings 4-5
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: John 11:23-27
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
Insight:
In raising Lazarus from the dead, Christ demonstrated his power and authority over death. He came preaching that the kingdom of God was at hand, and his miracles over nature, sickness, demons, and death were a witness of the kingdom power he had.
This kingdom power is the promise and hope for our future, and the reason we can put our trust in Jesus today. The power of Jesus isn't just hope for some distant day; it's the hope for each and every day.
Response & Action:
I believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. I believe that he has the power to redeem, sustain, deliver, and rescue me. My trust is firmly placed in Jesus. I will seek him with my whole heart. I will give myself fully to pursuing him through the scriptures, prayer, devotion, worship, service, and Christian community. I trust Jesus to raise me on the final day. I trust him to raise me and sustain me today.
O God, I believe in Jesus, your Son, my Lord and Savior. I will look to him for the power and guidance I need for life today. I will live in the joy of know that he is greater than death, and he will raise me up. I will live by faith in the Son of Man, who loved me and gave himself for me. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Resources:
Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in an Everyday Life
by Eugene Peterson
