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Daily Devotional By A Word From The Lord with Archbishop Foley Beach
Episodes
Sunday Apr 24, 2022
Sunday Apr 24, 2022
Letting God Be Lord Over Your Finances, which Are His but He Entrusted to You, Will Liberate Your Life!
MESSAGE SUMMARY: We are so focused on earning money and other financially driven life activities so that it is easy for money and finances to become our god. Making finances “our god” violates the Second Commandment. If Jesus is Lord over all Creation, as we are told in Psalms 24:1, then: “The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”; therefore, everything that has been entrusted to you is God’s. In James 5:1-3, the author of the Book of James provides insight into someone who does NOT make God the Lord of their finances: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.”. Therefore, let God Be Lord over your finances, which really are His finances.
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, I now take a deep breath and stop. So often I miss your hand and gifts in my life because I am preoccupied and anxious. Grant me the power to pause each day and each week to simply rest in your arms of love. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 132). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:13
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Psalms 24:1-10; James 5:1-6; Psalms 25:1-22; Psalms 45:1-17.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Jesus Appears Again” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Saturday Apr 23, 2022
Saturday Apr 23, 2022
Agnostics, Atheists, Seekers, and Christians Watch Jesus Followers; Do They See Jesus or a Christian Hypocrite in You?
MESSAGE SUMMARY: In 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, Paul writes a complex statement that tells you, as a Jesus Follower, about the most important tool that God gives you for communicating the Gospel to others-- God lets others see Jesus in you through your life in Christ! Therefore, by living in Christ, your life becomes the most compelling argument for the Gospel – an argument that far surpasses the power for God’s Kingdom from written or spoken words. Paul’s 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 text reads: “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”. Do others, from your life, see Jesus in you?
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, in order to be with you, I need you to show me how to “create a desert” in the midst of my full, active life. Cleanse me from the pressures, illusions, and pretenses that confront me today so that my life may serve as a gift to those around me. amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 26). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because I am in Jesus Christ, I will seek God’s perspective on my situation. For I know that in all things God works together for good to those of us who love Him and are called according to His purpose. From Romans 8:28
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Isiah 35:1-9; John 1:14; Isaiah 11:1-2; Psalms 44b:14-26.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Friday Apr 22, 2022
Friday Apr 22, 2022
Jesus Followers’ Personal Relationship with Jesus Comes from Humility as Sinners Through Seeking God’s Mercy in Prayer
MESSAGE SUMMARY: We do not deserve it; but we able to come to God, in a Personal Relationship with Him, because of His Mercy. We are all sinners. As Paul tells us in Romans 9:18: “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.". With God’s Justice without His Mercy and His resulting Grace, you would face only eternal death as Justice for your sins. We can never enter God’s presence for prayer when we are in our pride with our focus on ourselves. Also, Paul reminds us, in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31, that, in your Salvation through God’s Grace, Jesus makes us “boast” only in the Grace provided us by God: “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”. We can only enter God’s presence when we humble ourselves in Jesus. Humility and penitence before God invite His presence – here I am, Lord; just as I am; have mercy on me a sinner.
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Inconsistencies. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Faithfulness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 18:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:29-31; Isaiah 19:22; Psalms 44a:1-13.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Jesus Follower’s Greatest Witness for the Gospel of Jesus, in a Hurting World, is for Others to See Jesus in Them
MESSAGE SUMMARY: You need to live the Christian life in whatever you do – at home; in your job; in the way that you drive; and in the way that you treat your friends. We live in a hurting world, but God wants more for you. To achieve God’s desire for your life, you must stay in fellowship and communion with God; and you must let Him work in your life. In Colossians 3:17, Paul challenges us: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”. If you live your life, in all places and situations, in the name of Jesus, you will live a better life in our hurting world. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.". Remember, the greatest witness for the Gospel, as a follower of Jesus, that you can give is for others to see Jesus in you.
TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Inadequacy. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Abundance. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Colossians 3:16-17; Matthew 21:21-22; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalms 43:1-5.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
“For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time . . . but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God’s} holiness" (Hebrews 12:10)
MESSAGE SUMMARY: The Lord disciplines his children; therefore, so should we. Our discipline can take many forms, for example: 1) teach children a lesson, even hard lessons; and 2) it is OK to take away children's privileges. The Lord's discipline is out of love; and our discipline, for our children, should, also, be out of our love. Nobody likes discipline -- we do not like it; our kids do not like it. However, discipline works to bring righteousness and peace, and discipline brings fruit to us and our children down the road. In Hebrews 12:7-10, the author of Hebrews succinctly describes the Biblical perspective regarding discipline: It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as {His} sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God’s} holiness.".
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, help me to be still and to wait patiently for you in silence. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 125). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I want to know Him better. (Philippians 3:10). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Samuel. 7.13-15; 1 Corinthians. 11:32; Ephesians. 6.1-4; Psalms 42:1-11.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
Jesus Followers Can Influence and Lead a Return to God by Our People, Churches, and Nation Through the “Five Exhortations”
MESSAGE SUMMARY: In the Bible, you can find five exhortations, from the God, that are right on point for our times of uncertainty in America: 1) Do not fear; 2) Continue to tithe; 3) Get out of debt; 4) Help our brothers and sisters in need; and 5) Pray. The people in Malachi’s day were withholding what was God’s, and they were paying a price. But even in those conditions of the nation’s sin and faithlessness, God said to the nation, in Malachi 3:7, “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’.”. God does not change – God today is the same faithful Creator of the Universe as He was in the time of Malachi. Return to God, both as individuals and as a nation; and see how God will bless us!
TODAY’S PRAYER: Forgive me, Father, for at times treating you as if you were my personal assistant or secretary. Your ways are unsearchable and beyond understanding. Help me to put my trust in you and not in my circumstances. In your presence, I am silenced. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 87). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Anxiety. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Peace. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Malachi 2:1-17; Malachi 3:7; Malachi 3:16-18; Psalms 41:1-13.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Monday Apr 18, 2022
Monday Apr 18, 2022
Jesus Followers Maintain a Constant Presence of Jesus in Their Lives Through Prayer and a Focus on Their Personal Relationship with God
MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, you must maintain a constant conversation, through prayer, with Jesus; and you must look to see how God is involved in the events surrounding your daily life. If the Lord is in your life, then your life’s circumstances will relate to Him. The Psalmist tells us, in Psalms 100:2-5, that God is with you because He made you to: “Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to generations.". Therefore, practicing the presence of Jesus in your life helps you to stay in tune with Jesus’ influence in your life. Being in tune with Jesus’ presence, in your life, is like listening to an FM radio station – you must tune into the right station and then listen. Tuning into the right station, for the presence of Jesus, requires that you maintain an awareness of your circumstances and their relationship to Jesus.
TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Loneliness. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Presence. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Corinthians 4:13-15; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18; 1 John 1:5-10; Psalms 104a:1-13.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
Jesus Followers’ Righteousness Will Flow, with the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, from Their Heart Through Their Personal Relationship with Jesus
MESSAGE SUMMARY: You are called, as a Christian, to live a life that is deeply righteous and not shallow, superficial, or hypocritical. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.". Your righteousness, as a Jesus Follower, should flow from your heart and from being in communion with the Holy Spirit. You should allow the Holy Spirit to create a clean heart and a pure heart within you. The righteousness of a clean heart is the righteousness that Jesus wants of His followers, as the Psalmist tells us in Psalms 51:10-12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.".
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, help me to grab hold of you today. I need you. Set me free to begin reorienting my life around you, and you alone. Help me to pay attention to and honor how you have uniquely made me. Thank you for the gift of rest. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 122). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 5:6; Matthew 5:10; Psalms 112:1-6; Psalms 39:1-13.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!” at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Saturday Apr 16, 2022
Saturday Apr 16, 2022
Jesus Was Crucified and Died Yesterday; Today, We Wait For His Resurrection Tomorrow - Easter
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
As we wait on this Holy Saturday, what does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?
While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. It is through Jesus’ death and Resurrection that we are able realize God’s Grace of Salvation from our sins and to gain our Eternal Life. Holy Week is all about God’s Grace; Jesus’ death on the cross; Jesus Resurrection; and our Salvation. All sinners need what Jesus did on the cross for us.
Jesus was dead. He was crucified on the cross because He claimed to be the Messiah, and the Jewish leaders wanted Him dead. The Roman leaders wanted Jesus dead because he claimed to be a king. After Jesus was crucified, He was buried and sealed in a tomb under watch by Roman guard unit.
On the Sunday of Holy Week, some of the women go to Jesus’ tomb; but they find the seal broken; the stone rolled away; and the tomb empty. An Angel in the tomb tells the women that Jesus is no longer dead; He has risen. The women tell Peter and John, and Peter and John run to the tomb to find it empty. After Peter and John leave, the women return to the tomb and find two Angels in the tomb; and then Jesus appears to Mary who, initially, does not recognize Jesus. Jesus tells Mary to go tell the other Apostles that He is alive. Jesus appears to two people traveling the road on Sunday; and then Jesus appears again, after the Resurrection, to the Apostles in a closed room. The Apostle Thomas is not present, but Jesus reappears to the Apostles with Thomas present; Thomas proclaims to Jesus after doubting Jesus’ Resurrection: “my Lord and my God!”.
Over next forty days, Jesus appears to hundreds of people. Lastly, Jesus appears to the Apostles, on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gave them the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus appearances to people, after His death and Resurrection, proved to these people that He was who He said He was – the Son of God and the Messiah. With Jesus’ Resurrection, He arises from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”.
Sometime later and after His Ascension into Heaven, Jesus appears to Saul on the Road to Damascus where Saul was going to continue his retribution against followers of Jesus. Saul is converted to a follower of Jesus and Saul the persecutor becomes the great Apostle Paul, and Paul had several encounters with Jesus over the years. Jesus is alive!
While people did not expect Jesus’ Resurrection, whenever He spoke of His impending death, Jesus always mentioned His Resurrection (Matthew 16:21). Even after Jesus’ three predictions of His death and Resurrection, the Apostles did not understand or accept Jesus predictions – the Resurrection was unexpected. The Resurrection did occur because Jesus was alive, and His life after His Resurrection is well documented. However, if there were no Resurrection of Jesus, there would be no Christianity, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.". What is the point in following Jesus without His Resurrection? However, there was a Resurrection of Jesus, and His Resurrection is the point!
Fast forwarding two thousand years to today, what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean to us? The primary implications of the Resurrection on us and humanity today is the forgiveness of our sins – we can be forgiven only because of God’s Grace and the Resurrection, which made Jesus’ death matter and provide us a path to a continuing personal relationship with God.
Jesus is alive on this Easter and since His Resurrection. Jesus has been alive for us through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit who permits our personal and eternal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe. However, these incredible gifts necessitate our sin confessions and our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus was Resurrected from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”, as the Apostle John tells us in John 1:29-30: “The next day he {John the Baptizer} saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’".
TODAY’S PRAYER Lord, I praise you because your love seeks my good in any and every situation. Forgive me for the seeds that I have squandered. Soften my heart to surrender to your will in and through me. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 120). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Fear. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Faithfulness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22; Matthew 20:18; Acts 4:2; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:14-19
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Friday Apr 15, 2022
Friday Apr 15, 2022
JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB – Jesus Walking in the Way of the Cross (VIDEO)
LYRICS TO MUSIC:
Go on brothers lay him down Go on brothers lay him down
Wrap his body with a clean white shroud Roll that stone leave him in the ground Go on brothers lay him down
Go on sisters cry for him Go on sisters cry for him
But wipe your eyes and dry your skin
The crying will be done in three mornings Go on sisters cry for him
Hold on children wait and see Hold on children wait and see
The death that’s come is a death too weak Can’t take my Jesus cannot take my King So hold on children wait and see
Oh glory glory won’t you come for me Glory glory won’t you come for me
I know your slumber is a momentary sleep I feel you rising up from the deep
Oh glory glory you will come for me
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Some of the most expensive, elaborate, and impressive structures in history are tombs. Throughout humanity great energy has been spent constructing a final resting place for the prestigious and powerful. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, the pyramids of Egypt, and the terra cotta army in Xi’an, China are some of the most notorious. They stand as feats of architecture, design, and craftsmanship - each fueled by countless hours of work by a vast number of humans. Some of these structures are still visited today by hundreds of thousands each year.
Jesus too was laid in a tomb. And though purchased by a wealthy disciple, it seems to have been no more than a small, man-made cave. When Joseph of Arimethea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body, his request was surprisingly granted. After being wrapped in linen, Jesus was placed into a room ‘cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid’ (Luke 23:53).
Today, there remains uncertainty as to which specific site held the body of Jesus. Notwithstanding this fact, many travelers still seek out Christ’s tomb. Unlike many of the famous burial monuments however, those who make this journey do not come to be amazed by the architecture or awed by the craftsmanship. The spectacle itself is rather unimpressive - no more than a small hole cut into the side of a hill, void of any adornment.
Despite Jesus’ position, despite his seat ‘at the right hand of God’ (Mark 16:19), he was buried in a common tomb. Despite the ‘riches’ of his glory and grace (Colossians 1:27, Ephesians 2:7), Jesus’ body was laid to rest in a cave. How he continually clothed himself in humility!
So why then do countless Christians travel across the world each year to see where Jesus walked? Why spend the time and effort to visit a hole in the ground, that quite possibly Jesus’ body never actually entered? People come because of who Jesus was, not any place where he may have laid. They come to gain perspective. They come to refresh their spirits. They come because Jesus was real, and most critically, that three days after his death, the tomb stood empty.
Hallelujah! Death was beaten as God’s perfect plan for his Messiah was fulfilled. The tomb could not hold him. “He has risen, just as he said,” (Matthew 28:6), and he is alive now and forever!
Written by Jesse Braswell Roberts / Poor Bishop Hooper golgothamusic.com // poorbishophooper.com // Second edition ©2022 Jesse Braswell Roberts / Poor Bishop Hooper
TODAY’S PRAYER: Praise Jesus for his death and resurrection.
Ask Jesus for a fresh revelation of what the empty tomb means for you today.
Thank him for how he has saved you.
Pray for those who do not yet know the One who has conquered death, and do not understand what Jesus’ resurrection means for their lives. Give thanks that God’s perfect plan was fulfilled in
Jesus Christ, and that his love for you is unfailing and everlasting
Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Mark 15:42-47: “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.”. Further Reading: Matthew 27:57-61; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Isaiah 53:9-12.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Contemplating the Mighty Acts – Palm Sunday and Holy Week”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB