DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
THIS IS IT! | DAY 40 OF 40 (LENT)
photo (source)
THIS IS IT!
Easter Eve!
Last day of Lent.
Pre-Super-Party!
Didn’t these 40 days fly? Well, some days flew.
Kudos for leaning into the Lord during this season. He is faithful, right?! We received praise after praise report of His faithfulness.
And everything leads up to tomorrow: Easter! Resurrection Sunday!
This is it!
Some may wonder, “What’s the big deal? Why do followers of Christ get so hyped over Easter?”
Why?
Because our hope, our very faith, springs from the truth that Jesus did what He said He would do! He said He would go to Jerusalem, he would be killed, and in 3 days, He would rise again. And that is exactly what happened.
There is an empty tomb.
He is risen!
Day 39:
READ: JOHN 20
The Empty Tomb
SPECIAL APPEARANCES
Jesus first reveals Himself in His risen body to Mary Magdalene (or Mary of Magdala, a town by the Sea of Galilee). How precious is that moment! Then she runs to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.”
When is the last time we ran and told somebody of our encounter with Jesus? Usually, when we first connect with the living God, the risen Savior, our response is, “I’ve got to tell somebody!” Let’s revisit that instinct this Easter. Let’s tell somebody who He is and what He’s done for us!
After appearing to Mary, Jesus visits His disciples. They have locked themselves away, fearing for their own lives against the Jewish religious leaders that orchestrated Jesus’ death.
“Peace be with you!” Jesus greets His disciples.
Never mind that Jesus is passing through locked doors now. He extends so much grace to His disciples. He could’ve said, “Why are you hiding, scared for your lives? Didn’t I tell you I would rise again? Where’s your faith?” But Jesus doesn’t say that. He says, “Peace be with you!” and then He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Wow! What a foretelling of what’s coming at Pentecost. Jesus lays the foundation for what His disciples will need when He ascends to the heavens.
Lastly in this passage, we see Jesus interaction with His disciple Thomas, who has said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
So, Jesus shows up and says, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” After Thomas believes, Jesus says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That’s us! We are the ones who have not seen, yet we believe. Jesus says that we are blessed!
Believing without seeing is faith.
Artists believe without seeing all the time. There is no shortage of faith in Hollywood. Believe me! Faith runs rampant. Today, let’s sure up our faith in the One who left the tomb empty.
Jesus goes on to make several appearances to hundreds of people before ascending into the heavenlies to go back to His Father. Paul later recounts that Jesus appears “to Cephas (Peter), and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time… Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles…” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
What a nightmare this has to be for the religious leaders who had Jesus crucified. A whole nation watched this famous Teacher die on a cross, and now a whole nation sees Him alive.
Think about that: You watch a person beaten, nailed and crucified one week. Then you see Him walking around and greeting people the next. We’d probably think He was a ghost. But people see the nail scars in His hands. He is truly resurrected and alive.
I could shout. I’m trying to wait until tomorrow. But excuse me if I get excited here.
All of our hope, our faith can be summed up in 3 words:
He. Is. Risen.
We do not serve a dead God. Our God is alive and He conquered death. He rose from that grave and returned to heaven, just like He said He would. The fact that He conquered death and rose from the grave and returned to His Father, gives us assurance that we will do the same. We will have imperishable, immortal, heavenly bodies just as Jesus did – no more sickness, disease, heartache, headache, no more death. Death is swallowed up. It has no more sting or victory. We have the victory through Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
Rejoice, Fam.
If there is no other day in the year that we do somersaults, THIS IS IT!
We have a hope and a future. We know that this world and its problems and its death is only temporary.
Nothing, NOTHING, that we face today is insurmountable. If we can face death, knowing that it has no victory over us, can we not face whatever life throws at us?
And when we have finished our assignment and exhausted all that we came to accomplish on this side of heaven, we have confidence that we don’t just die and cease to exist. We follow Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, who laid down His life that we could have eternal life with Him. And He got up. That tomb is empty.
He is Risen!
Risen indeed!
Naima
P.S. If you’re in LA, we’re having a party tomorrow for Easter: DRAMA, FOOD, FELLOWSHIP. You are more than welcome. To all the rest of our fam, much love to you.
THANK YOU for the privilege of walking with you through this Lent season with this Daily Dose of Hope. Many have said that you would like to continue, that you use this as your daily devotional. Some have said they’d prefer it in a weekly format. We’ll weigh all the options and get back to you by Tuesday. Monday, most likely, will be a day of recuperation. Thanks again. It’s been an
honor.