Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
(Matthew 28:6 (NIV))
We don't have the luxury of seeing firsthand where Jesus was buried, but due to what we just celebrated, we don't need to visit a grave!
If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, there are a few things that you understand as truth even without seeing them firsthand.
You understand them because you have faith.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))
You don't need to see things for yourself. You don't need to be convinced by a body of physical evidence that is no longer available. You don't need to speak to the witnesses who were there. You have read the accounts and you have experienced the overwhelming power of His presence and love.
Have you ever stopped to truly realize why we don't know where Jesus was laid?
I realize that at that time it was not common to commemorate burials like we do now. I also realize that Jesus was crucified and His disciples were afraid for their lives. When His body was no longer there, the powers of this earth wanted to cover it up. They did not want to give any credibility to the claim that Jesus had risen from the grave. I also firmly believe that God didn't want us to know. He knows the human heart and the human mind. He knew that people would begin to worship the location of the resurrection and not the truth of the resurrection. He wanted people to worship in Spirit and in truth!
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
(John 4:23 (NIV))
How do you worship?
Do you need a shrine, or do you worship in Spirit and in truth?
Think about that in this context.
We worship a risen Savior who is not confined to physical locations. We worship the Father who is the Creator of everything and He is everywhere. We follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit who is that still, small voice. All of this is made possible because of the empty tomb!
He's alive!
Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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