Resting in Easter Hope
Over the Advent season, we ended each week of our study with a simple devotional filled with passages of Scripture, songs, and a prayer that all fit into the theme we had been studying. Though we aren’t doing an Easter devotional, I would like to do something similar today as we begin to walk through Holy Week.
In our April newsletter, I mentioned my desire to grow in the practice of Christian meditation. It is a beautiful practice that disciplines our hearts and our minds to dwell on the infinite glory of our God. The message of Easter is an absolutely stunning picture of God’s glory. His promises were fulfilled. Our debt was paid. Our hope was secure. Our souls were rescued. And our Savior reigns.
So let us begin this week drawing our focus back to him. Read the passages of Scripture below over and over and over again. Let the words cement themselves in your heart. Think about their implications. What do they say about God? What attributes do they reveal of your Savior? What hope do they hold? Listen to the songs and let the words refresh your weary soul. Pray along with me in the prayer provided and then commune with your heavenly Father more.
This week purposefully builds up our anticipations for the joint celebration we will hold with our church families on Sunday. Set your sights on calvary. Look upon the punishment you deserved and rejoice that your Savior paid the price instead. The work of our salvation is finished. Once and for all. Praise God for his amazing work on the cross.
Rest in His Word
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Hebrews 12:1-3
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5
Music to Reflect On
Christ, Our Hope in Life and Death
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery
Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me
A Prayer To Encourage
Father, how great you are! The story of your gospel is too wonderful to behold. At the cross, you meet my rebellion with rescue. You save sinners and redeem wayward hearts. Jesus Christ bore the entirety of your wrath upon the cross. He was beaten, bruised, and tortured because of my sin. His death was the perfect sacrifice, the payment for the debt my transgressions required. In his resurrection, he defeated the bonds of sin and death once and for all.
This gospel boasts of your power. It displays your perfect love. It proves your faithfulness. It offers peace between sinners and their God. It brings unshakeable hope. It promises a future in paradise. It satisfies my deepest longings and justifies my wayward souls.
May my heart be revived this week as we grow in anticipation of the Easter celebration. May my sights be fixated on you and all you have done. Help me to live a life worthy of the calling I have received through this gift of salvation. Worthy are you, O God, of all my praise, all my desires, all my worship.
Amen
