THE SON RETURNS

 April 16, 2026

Genesis 22:1-14

22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

 

Hebrews 11:17–19

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

 

That journey up Mount Moriah, we read about above, is one of the most emotionally significant passages in Scripture. Abraham walks step by step with Isaac, the son he waited for, the son through whom God promised to build a nation. Think of this situation that Genesis describes for us, every part of God’s covenant seemed to rest on this one life, this son, and now God asks for him back.

There is not any indication in the story that Abraham fully understands the situation. There is not any recorded argument, apparently there is no resistance by this Father, only a quiet obedience. Yet beneath that obedience lies more than mere acceptance. According to Hebrews, Abraham was not acting in blind faith, but in bold trust. He believed that even if Isaac were to die, God had the power to raise him.

That means Abraham climbed the mountain with hope.

When Isaac asks, “Where is the lamb?” Abraham answers, “God will provide.” 

At the last moment, God intervenes. A ram is provided. Isaac is spared. And in a profound sense, Hebrews tells us Abraham “received Isaac back from death”, not literally resurrected, but as good as lost and then restored.

I believe that this moment is more than a test. It is a preview.

It points forward to another Father and another Son. While Abraham was prevented from sacrificing Isaac, God the Father did not hold back. Isaac’s life was spared, but Jesus was not; the hill of Moriah hints at Calvary. Unlike Isaac, Jesus actually died, and unlike Isaac, He genuinely rose again.

Resurrection hope did not begin at the empty tomb, it was already shaping the faith of those who trusted God’s promises long before they saw their fulfillment.

And it still shapes ours too.

There are moments when God asks us to loosen our grip on what we hold most tightly, our plans, our security, even our deepest relationships. Not because He delights in taking, but because He desires our trust to rest fully in Him. Abraham’s story reminds us: what we place in God’s hands is never truly lost.

Reflect

Where is God asking you to trust Him beyond what you can see or control?

What are you holding onto so tightly that it’s difficult to place it in God’s hands?

Let’s Pray

God, Teach me to trust You even when the path is unclear and the cost feels high. Help me to place what I love into Your hands, believing that You are good and that nothing entrusted to You is ever truly lost. Amen.

 

CAN THESE BONES LIVE?

April 15, 2026

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This week's devotions have been focused on demonstrating that the theme of resurrection has a more promenent place in the Old Testament than many people realize. True, it doesn’t present the doctrine of resurrection with the clarity that the New Testament does, but the seeds are unmistakably there, in poetry, prophecy, narrative, and even in Israel’s national hope. What we discover is a rich vision that demonstrates that God brings life out of death.

_________________________

Ezekiel 37:1-14

37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

 

The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel is carried by the Spirit into a valley with a landscape marked not by life, but by death. The ground is covered with long abandoned bones. They are dry, scattered, and completely lifeless. Every possibility for life has been exhausted.

However, in the midst of such a valley, God asks a question, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

Ezekiel answers sincerely: “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” He recognizes what we often struggle to admit, that the limits of human perspective are not the limits of divine power.

As our reading continues, God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, but not to living people, rather to lifeless bones. What we encounter is that as the word of the God is spoken, there is a sound, a rattling. Bones come together. Sinews and flesh appear. Skin covers them. What was once ground covered with dry, scattered, lifeless, long abandoned bones, is now reassembled into human form. But notice, even in this reassembled form, there is still no life.

Then God speaks again, this time to the breath, the Spirit, the wind. As the breath enters, the bodies come alive. They stand on their feet, no longer a valley of death, but a vast and living army.

Ezekiel’s  vision is not merely about physical resurrection; it is a profound declaration of God’s power to restore what is completely lost. In the context of our passage today, the transformation of these bones was to speak to Israel in exile. They were a people who believed their story was over, that their identity erased, and understandably they had lost hope. God’s message to them is clear: “I will open your graves and bring you up from them… I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.”

The God who created life and raises the dead also meets us in difficult times. He doesn't just fix what's broken, He brings the dead to life and turns endings into new beginnings.

I am sure that we all have been through seasons in our lives when things felt beyond recovery, where faith had grown cold, where dreams withered. Ezekiel 37 reminds us that no situation is too far gone for the Spirit of God.

God still speaks.
The Spirit still moves.
And what is lifeless can live again.

 

Reflect

Is there an area of your life that feels like a “valley of dry bones”, beyond renewal or restoration?

Are you willing to trust God’s power in this area today, even when you cannot see a path forward?

 

Let’s Pray

Spirit of the living God, You breathe life into places where none exists, speaking to the dry and weary parts within me. Where hope has faded, bring it back to life.Where faith feels lifeless, breathe new life. Help me to trust not in what I see, but in who You are, the God who raises the dead.  Amen.

 

Up from the Deep

April 14, 2026

Jonah 1

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Jonah’s Prayer

17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

Jonah 2

1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.

7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

 

The account of Jonah is far more than a story of a prophet and a great fish. It is a profound testimony of a downward spiral, of compassion and grace , and of restoration and renewal. In today’s reading we notice that Jonah’s journey is marked by a  movement downward.

He goes down to Joppa,

down into the ship,

down into a deep sleep,

and ultimately down into the sea.

In each step described we not only witness Jonah’s physical descent, but also his spiritual withdrawal, a turning away from the presence and calling of God.

This downward plunge reflects a pattern often seen in human experience.  Resisting God’s guidance leads to separation from purpose, peace, and life, not freedom. Jonah’s descent illustrates how isolation results from such disconnection from God.

Yet the story does not end in the depths of the sea or in the belly of a whale.

In the most unbelievable place, the belly of the great fish, Jonah encounters the presence of God. What appears, initially to be a place of judgment becomes, in reality, a place of preservation. From within that darkness, Jonah prays. His words echo the language of one who has reached the end: “From the belly of Sheol I cried.” It is the voice of desperation, but also of awakening. For even there, in the depths, God hears.

Here we observe the turning point of the story. God does not abandon Jonah to the consequences of his flight. Instead, He meets him in the depths and brings him up. The same God who appoints the storm also appoints the fish, as a vessel of rescue. (salvation) Yes it is true that Jonah’s deliverance is not immediate, nor is it easy, but it is certain. God speaks, and Jonah is brought back to dry land.

Long before the resurrection hope was fully revealed in Christ, Jonah’s story offers a glimpse of that same divine pattern: descent followed by restoration, death-like darkness followed by new life. It reminds us that no depth is beyond the reach of God’s mercy.

Perhaps you recall how Jesus clearly connects Jonah’s experience to His own death and resurrection. In the Gospel of Matthew 12:40 (see also the Gospel of Luke 11:29–30), He says that just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.

In doing so, Jesus presents Jonah as a sign, a foreshadowing of His burial and resurrection, pointing to the ultimate act of God bringing life out of death.For those of us who find ourselves in seasons of spiritual uncertainty, failure, or despair, Jonah’s story clearly speaks with hope. There is no place so far, no depth so dark, that God cannot hear, respond, and restore. What feels like an ending may, in the hands of God, become the beginning of renewal.

Reflect

Have you experienced a season that felt like a downward spiral, emotionally, spiritually, or relationally? What did that season reveal about your need for God

Is there an area of your life where you are resisting God’s direction? What might it look like to turn toward Him today?

Let's Pray

God of mercy and compassion, meet me in those hidden and hard-to-face moments.  Lift me up, not by my own strength, but through Your grace. Restore what’s been lost, and guide me once more in Your plans. Amen.

 

Creation — Life from Dust

April 13, 2026

Genesis 2:7

⁷ Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

 Genesis 3:19

. . . .for dust you are   and to dust you will return.

 

From the opening chapters of Genesis, we are introduced to a foundational pattern in God’s work: He brings life out of what appears lifeless. In Genesis 2:7, God forms humanity from the dust of the ground, an image that emphasizes both our humility and our dependence. Dust is not impressive or enduring; it is ordinary, fragile, and easily scattered. Yet this is precisely the material God chooses.

The significance lies in what follows. God breathes into the dust that he has shaped, and it becomes a living being. Human life is therefore  the result of God’s intentional, life-giving presence. Our life is sustained not by our own strength, but by God's very breath.

In Genesis 3:19, after the fall, we encounter a sobering reality: “for dust you are and to dust you will return.” This reveals the consequences of sin, such as mortality, brokenness, and the undoing of a relationship of what was once whole. It reminds us that apart from God’s sustaining power, "life returns to its most basic and lifeless form."

However, this is not the end of the biblical story.

The same God who created life from dust at the start stays true to His ways. God keeps bringing renewal, restoration, and life to places of emptiness or decay. What may seem like an ending to us is often exactly where God begins His renewing work.

I believe, this truth encourages us to rethink how we see our own times of weakness or exhaustion. Reminding us that moments of dryness, limitation, or loss don’t put us out of God’s reach. Instead, they often prepare us for His work of renewal. God does not turn away from brokenness; He enters into it and restores life.

In the opening chapters of Genesis, we see that the theme of resurrection is not confined to the New Testament alone, it is embedded within the act of creation itself. The God who breathes life into dust continues to do so, sustaining and restoring His people according to His purposes.

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Refect

• Where in your life do you currently experience a sense of emptiness, weariness, or limitation?
• How might your perspective change if you trusted that God is able to bring life into that very place?

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Let’s Pray

Lord, You know how easily I feel worn down and empty. Thank You for not turning away from dust, but choosing to work with it. You formed me, and You know me completely. Breathe life again into the parts of my life that feel dry or lifeless. Help me trust that You’re not finished with me yet. Amen.

  

RESURRECTION LOVE

 April 10, 2026

1 John 4:7–12

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

 

Let's end the week thinking about "Resurrection Love."

We are people who have seen Love walk out of a tomb. We are people who believe that death does not get the last word. We are Resurrection People!!

In our reading above, John reminds us that love is not something we manufacture. It begins with God. It flows from God. It is sustained by God. And when we participate in that love, something astonishing happens: the invisible God becomes visible through us.

Let's briefly consider these three points that John points to.

1. Love begins with God

“We love because He first loved us.” Before we ever reached for God, God reached for us. Resurrection love is initiating, God moves toward us. It is pursuing, God does not give up. It is sacrificial, God gives Himself fully.

Therefore, our expression of love is guided not by the merit system of the world but by the generosity demonstrated by God.

2. Love reveals God

John also says that when we love one another, God’s love is made complete in us. In a fractured world such as ours presently, people are desperate to see something real, something healing, something hopeful. Every act of love, every kindness, every sacrifice, every moment of compassion, becomes a window through which others glimpse the heart of God.

Something we have noticed this week in our devotions is that as followers of Jesus, we don’t just talk about resurrection. We represent it. We embody it.

3. Love is action

Biblical love is not sentiment. It is not warm feelings or good intentions. It is an expressed care, love with hands, feet, time, energy, and cost.

We Resurrection people bring the same love that changed our lives into the broken places of the world.

Today’s Action Step

Perform one intentional act of love for someone who cannot repay you. No spotlight. No applause. Just quiet, resurrection-shaped generosity.

Let's Pray

God, make Your love complete in me, so that others may see You through the way I love. Amen.

Resurrection Joy

 April 9, 2026

Philippians 4:4–9

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. 

And the God of peace will be with you.

Resurrection people are those shaped by a story more powerful than death, disappointment, or despair. We live in a fractured world, divided, anxious, and often steeped in cynicism. Into that world, Paul’s words ring out with surprising boldness:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

You may recall that Paul writes this letter from prison. Paul's joy isn’t based on circumstances; it’s shaped by the resurrection. It’s the unwavering belief that Christ’s victory is true, even when life feels limited. Resurrection people don’t celebrate because everything has perfectly fallen into place, they celebrate because Jesus is alive. 

Paul continues, Joy becomes visible in gentleness.  “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” In a world like ours, gentleness is countercultural. Our gentleness becomes a witness that another kingdom is breaking in.

Paul ends with a list of what to dwell on: what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable. Resurrection people train their attention to notice and cultivate God’s goodness. 

To be God's people in a fractured world is to practice resurrection joy. It is to believe that Christ’s life is more powerful than the world’s fractures and more enduring than our skepticism and doubts.

Today's Action Step

Start a “resurrection gratitude list.” Name one place where you see signs of life, hope, or God’s quiet work.

Let's Pray

Jesus, lift our eyes to Your resurrection joy. Make our hearts gentle, our minds steady, and our thoughts anchored in what is true. Let Your nearness quiet our fears and Your life reshape our hope. Grow in us a joy that resists despair and reflects Your risen light. Amen.

PROTECTING UNITY

 April 8, 2026

Ephesians 4:1–6

4 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: 4 there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

The Apostle Paul urges us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” In a fractured world, that calling looks like choosing unity when division feels easier.

Paul suggests four postures that make unity possible: humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love. I want to suggest to us today that these postures are not natural responses, but they are resurrection responses. They demonstrate that Christ’s life is at work in us.

Let's remember that unity does not mean we all think the same or feel the same. It means we let the Spirit shape how we treat one another. Paul says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Unity is a gift from God, but I believe, we should also recognize that unity is also a responsibility we guard carefully as Jesus' Followers.

The foundation of our unity is not preference or personality, it is Christ Himself. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. What we share in Him is stronger than anything that could divide us.

As people of the resurrection, we show the world a new way to live, one where love overcomes fear, hope outshines cynicism, and Christ is greater than every brokenness around us.

Today's Action Step

Where is God inviting you to choose unity this week?

Which posture, humility, gentleness, patience, or love, needs fresh resurrection life in you?

Let's Pray

Risen Lord, help us to protect the unity You’ve given us. Teach us to grow in humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Hold us together by Your Spirit so our life reflects the hope of Your resurrection. Amen.

A GIFT. A PRESENCE. A PROMISE.

 April 7, 2026

John 20:19–21

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

The disciples are hiding behind locked doors, and honestly, it’s not hard to relate to, is it?

When life feels uncertain, overwhelming, or just plain exhausting, we tend to do the same thing, lock things down. We shut people out. We brace ourselves. We try to manage our anxiety by controlling whatever we can.

In our reading today we witness that it is in this kind of anxious, worrisome and fearful space that Jesus shows up.

He doesn’t knock. He doesn’t wait for them to calm down. He doesn’t say, “Get it together first.”

He simply stands among them and says, “Peace be with you.”

It’s not a slogan. It’s a gift. A presence. A promise.

Jesus brings peace into the room, not after the anxiety is gone, but while it’s still swirling in the air. And then He breathes on them, literally breathes resurrection life into their fear, and sends them out with purpose.

Maybe that’s the reminder we need after Easter: Resurrection isn’t just about an empty tomb. It’s about a Savior who walks through our locked doors and speaks peace into the places we’ve been holding tight.

Today's Action Step 

Notice one place where anxiety has been shaping your reactions.

Let's Pray

“Jesus, breathe Your peace into the places I’ve been holding tight.”

HOPE OVER FEAR

 April 6, 2026

Matthew 28:1–10

28 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.

I wonder if some days you wake up and feel like the women at the tomb? You are doing the faithful thing, yet carrying a knot of fear in your stomach. The women were not expecting a miracle that day. They were expecting to manage their grief, not be the witnesses to resurrection.

In truth, many of us begin our days this way, present in body, yet guarded and bracing for what lies ahead.

But then God does what God always does: He changes the course, God alters the script.

An earthquake. An angel. A stone rolled away. It’s as if heaven says, “Fear doesn’t get the final word today.” And when the angel says, “Do not be afraid,” it’s not a rebuke. It’s an invitation. Almost like: “You’re seeing things as they were. Let Me show you how they are now.”

The women came expecting death. They left carrying hope. They came trembling. They left running. They came as mourners. They left as messengers.

That is resurrection at work, fear doesn’t miraculously disappear, but it loses its authority, its grip. Hope rises in the places where fear once ruled. 

And maybe that is the invitation for us today: Don’t wait until we feel brave and courageous. But to lean in and continue to walk toward Jesus even while you are afraid. 

Matthew 28:9-10 ends this account with these words: "Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  

Do you hear that? Jesus meets us on the way as we are doing the faithful thing!

Today's Action Step

Name one fear that’s been shaping your decisions lately.

Let's Pray

“Risen Jesus, help me walk toward You even when I feel afraid.” Amen.

WAITING in the SILENCE

 April 4, 2026

Matthew 27:62-66

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." 65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

This passage is the only text that speaks of the Saturday between Crucifixion (Good Friday) and Jesus' Resurrection (Easter Sunday).

Today is often called Holy Saturday—but honestly, I think of it as the “in-between day.”

Yesterday was Good Friday. Maybe you were in a service, read something meaningful, or just paused to remember what Jesus went through. And naturally, our minds tend to jump ahead to Easter—the celebration, the hope, the joy.

But in the days of Holy Week, I find that it’s Saturday that feels real. 

It’s the quiet day. The numb day. The day where nothing seems to be happening and no one knows what comes next. I imagine the disciples sitting in that space, confused, afraid, maybe not even sure how to comfort each other. Everything they thought was certain had just fallen apart.

And honestly… that feels familiar.

We all know “in-between” days like that. After loss. After disappointment. After life doesn’t go the way we hoped. The days after the funeral. The weeks after everything changes. The waiting between diagnosis, treatment, and answers. Those are often the hardest moments—when nothing is fixed yet, and hope feels far away.

That’s where Holy Saturday meets us.

It reminds us that even when it feels like nothing is happening, God is still at work. On that first Holy Saturday, no one could see it, but God was already preparing resurrection. Already writing a new future.

And maybe that’s the quiet promise for us too:

Even in the waiting…
Even in the grief…
Even in the unknown…

God isn’t done yet.

LET'S PRAY

God,

In these in-between moments—when we feel the weight of waiting, the ache of loss, and the uncertainty of what comes next—help us to trust that You are still at work.

When hope feels distant, remind us that You are near.
When we cannot see the way forward, remind us that You are already there.
When our hearts are heavy, hold us in Your peace.

Teach us to rest in You, even in the silence, believing that You are not finished yet.

Amen.

TO THE END

 April 3, 2026

John 13:1

“Having loved his own who were in the world, 

he loved them to the end.”  

That phrase, “to the end” I believe, is the heartbeat of Good Friday. Jesus doesn’t love halfway. He doesn’t love conditionally. He doesn’t love until it becomes inconvenient. He loves to the very end of Himself.

Good Friday is not about God punishing Jesus. It’s God in Christ taking upon himself the worst of humanity; violence, betrayal, pride, and fear, and choosing not to respond in the same way.

Jesus doesn’t save us from suffering by avoiding it. He saves us through suffering by entering it. Because He carried the cross, we don’t carry ours alone.

Good Friday invites us to sit in the silence, not to rush to Easter, not to skip the ache, but to let the weight of love settle on us.

LET'S PRAY

Lord Jesus, On this holy day,
we remember Your love that went all the way to the end.
Teach us to love with courage, to forgive with generosity, and to walk in the way of the cross, the way that leads to life. Amen.

THURSDAY: ARE YOU GOING TO WASH MY FEET?

 April 2. 2026

John 13:1-15

13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 

Today is Maundy Thursday, a day of Holy Week that Jesus' followers remember the last evening Jesus shared with his disciples in the upper room before his arrest and crucifixion. Maundy Thursday marks three key events in Jesus’ last week: his washing of his disciples’ feet, his institution of the Lord’s Supper, and his new commandment to love one another. The name “Maundy Thursday” comes from the Latin “mandatum novum”, referring to the “new commandment” Jesus taught his disciples (John 13:34). In other words, this is “new commandment Thursday.”

 

We read in Verse 1 above, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” On the night before the cross, Jesus does something unexpected.

He kneels at the feet of each of the disciples.

The One who has all authority over heaven and earth, wraps a towel around His waist and begins washing His disciples’ feet,  even the ones who will fail Him, deny Him, and betray Him. Let that sink in.

This is the heart of Jesus:
love that serves, even when it knows the cost.

Peter resists at first, like many of us, uncomfortable with being served. But Jesus makes it clear to Peter and to you and me, that we cannot follow Him unless we first let Him wash us.

That’s where this Maundy Thursday begins:
not with what we do for Jesus, but with what He does for us.

Then Jesus gives a command:
“Do as I have done for you.”

Simply put Jesus is saying:

Love like this.
Serve like this.
Humble yourself like this.

Today, we are invited to receive His grace…
and then to give it away.

LET'S PRAY

Jesus,
You knelt to serve and showed us what love looks like.
Wash us with Your grace,
and teach us to love others the same way.
Amen.

THE PLOT THICKENS

 APRIL 1, 2026

Matthew 26:1-5

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”


Matthew 26:14-25

14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

It is to be noted that even as the cross was drawing closer, Jesus stayed  calm and in control. He talked about his arrest and crucifixion before the religious leaders had even met to plan it. He knew Judas, one of his own friends, was going to betray him. Imagine how unsettling that must have been for Judas, realizing Jesus could see right through him. People can scheme all they want, but God’s plan always wins out. Nothing can get in the way of what he intends to do. And at the center of that plan was Jesus, the Son of Man, being handed over to be crucified.

His last meal, the Passover, wasn’t just a tradition, it pointed to the whole reason he came. Passover celebrated Israel’s escape from slavery in Egypt. Jesus’ death became a new kind of Passover. Anyone who trusts him experiences a true Exodus, freedom from the hold of sin. With that freedom comes the joy of living in his love forever.

I believe the message for us today is that when life feels chaotic or when it feels like  everything is falling apart, it helps to remember what Jesus went through at the end of his life. People plotted against him and carried out their plans, but they still couldn’t stop God’s bigger purpose. It’s comforting to know that nothing can disrupt the plan of the One who’s truly in control, and that He’s working out every detail for good. When we look to Jesus, especially His sacrifice for us, we see that God ultimately desires for us to have life, freedom, and love.

LET'S PRAY

God, keep our focus on Jesus, the center of your plan. Since you’ve forgiven us, help us walk each day in that freedom, living fully devoted to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.