For those of you who didn’t get to watch it or want to see it again here it is:

http://www.intouch.org/site/c.cnKBIPNuEoG/b.5301095/

Testimony
by
Angela Royse Pelleman

Dear God, I heard your voice this week.
You said it’s time for me to speak.
You said, “You shall not be afraid.
Think of the new life I’ve made.

Tell what my son’s done for you.
Tell them what you know is true,
That you’ve been changed from the inside;
It’s something that you shouldn’t hide.

I’ve saved you from your sinful past.
The pain and suffering doesn’t last.
I gave my son to set you free.
I’ve given you the best of me.

In the past there was abuse,
But I was always your good news.
You tried to cope another way,
And get through yet another day.

The choices that you made were wrong,
And in the end you still weren’t strong.
That’s why my Son did carry you.
The ‘Footprints in the Sand’, is true.

Satan pulled you down so deep,
That all you wanted was to sleep.
Then there was nothing left to do,
So you said, ‘God, I’ll follow you.’

You let me pull you from the pit,
And you got better bit by bit.
I gave you strength, so you could fight,
And you began to see my light.

The road was long, the going rough.
It seemed that life was just too tough.
My wisdom often went unheeded,
But I gave you the man you needed.

When you were sad, I gave you joys,
Not one, but two, amazing boys.
They kept you going through your pain,
And now I show you love again.

I’ve given you a baby girl,
A sweet surprise to light your world.
So give me praise, and wipe your tears.
I’ve just restored your wasted years.”

On the video the soldiers talked about being there. This experimental bomb was detonated 8000 feet in the air 20 miles away. They were instructed to wear sunglasses and cover their eyes with their hands.

And then the explosion. It happened.

A flash of light so bright even covering your eyes with your hands couldn’t keep it out. The soldiers said they could see the bones in their hands as the light came right through the flesh.

That’s bright!

We know that the stuff of this earth is just a reflection of the glory of the God who created it all. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised then, that some of the angels in God’s presence have wings to cover their faces.[2]

Remember Moses on the mountain? He would talk with God, and his face would glow for days. Just a residual glow from being in the presence of such glory.[3]

Can you imagine?  A light so bright it shows right through your hands?

The most amazing experiences of this earth should just remind us of a God who is even more great, more glorious, brighter and more brilliant.

[2] Isaiah 6:1-3

[3] Exodus 34:29-35.

This week we will explore a few of the many events that took place during the week prior to Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead on the first day of the week, the day we call Easter. Let us walk with Jesus as he walked those last steps of his life on the road to Calvary.

EASTER SUNDAY, April 12

Reading: John 20:1-9

The Empty Tomb

1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Can you imagine hiding in fear for your very life? Grieving over the loss of the only hope you have ever known? Gone. How can you go on? What will you do? His love, truth, authority, power, protection, hope. All gone. This was Christ’s disciples. A shadow had fallen on their lives. Yet, we are no different than they. Our condition is dark. Despair, our master. The disciples did not know Jesus was alive. And even though we walk with Christ, we, too, sometimes live like we don’t know that Jesus is alive.

Into the dark tomb came the explosive power of Life, and death was banished forever. It no longer exists. That which held sin’s answer now holds God’s life. There is no fear. There is no sting. He, Jesus, is Alive! He destroyed the power of Death. He walked out of the grave into our lives to liberate us from that which held us in bondage. He is now Lord of all, and all things are under His feet! He is alive!

I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. ~ Revelation 1:18

Prayer: Jesus, help me live in you as you live in me. Please let the power of your resurrection transform me even as it did your body. Amen.

Devotional: Silence Hidden

Jesus was executed.
Travelers prepared to go home.
Hope was low.
The High Priest was smug.
The devil thought that he had won.
The Romans had squelched another potential rebellion.
The world, the flesh and the devil were in control.

In the ground lay the broken and dead seed, hidden from the sight of man, waiting for the power of God to conquer the sting of death and grant new life to His creation. In silence it lay hidden, and the world would never be the same again.

Our hope is not in what we see, but in what is promised.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
~ Colossians 3:3-4

Prayer: Jesus, create within me an excited expectation for the power of God to regenerate new life in me where death once reigned. Amen.

This week we will explore a few of the many events that took place during the week prior to Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead on the first day of the week, the day we call Easter. Let us walk with Jesus as he walked those last steps of his life on the road to Calvary.

Devotional: Jesus Walks Ahead Alone

Earlier, Jesus told his disciples he was going where they could not go. The crowds had left him. Even Peter denied him. Yet, Jesus knew this was the plan. There was to be only one perfect sacrifice, the second Adam.

Jesus was completely aware of the history of sin in mankind and its devastation and effect for thousands of years yet to come. His road was to be traveled alone. His earthly destiny would be led by men who had no understanding of who he was or his role in their redemption. God gave his son Jesus the Creator into the hands of the created, those now fallen, corrupted and full of death.

Arrested, mocked, beaten beyond recognition, humiliated, abandoned, falsely condemned, and nailed to a rough cruel cross, Jesus submitted himself to his Father’s plan. Then God placed the sin of all mankind on his only son, from the first sin of the first man Adam to the last sin to be committed by the last man on earth. The burden was so great that only a perfect sacrifice could bear it. And when, at the perfect time, Jesus gave up his spirit and died, Joseph of Arimathea laid his body in a tomb. And there he lay guarded.

Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, … Where I go, you cannot come.” ~ John 8:21

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for loving me so much that you did for me what I could not do, die for my sin. I love you, Jesus. Amen.

This week we will explore a few of the many events that took place during the week prior to Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead on the first day of the week, the day we call Easter. Let us walk with Jesus as he walked those last steps of his life on the road to Calvary.

Devotional: Father Knows Best

When we walk with Jesus we sometimes have needs that we believe God should meet in a certain way – uh, our way. We spend time in prayer boldly asking, and in some cases, demanding God to change this or do that. We forget that God has a plan. A perfect plan. He knows our needs, physically, spiritually and emotionally, long before we are even aware of them. We get afraid or impatient and get lost in our own answers.

Peter was just like us. Jesus was ministering to the disciples just as they needed. He was teaching them just what they needed to know. Peter resisted it and demanded more, even something different.

Jesus wants us to know that the Father has established the path for our life. He knows what we need and when we need it. Indeed, our Father knows best! The question is, can we see and receive his leading?

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ~ John 13:7

Prayer: Jesus, help me trust you with my life. Enable me to see the wisdom in your plan for me. Amen.

This week we will explore a few of the many events that took place during the week prior to Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead on the first day of the week, the day we call Easter. Let us walk with Jesus as he walked those last steps of his life on the road to Calvary.

Devotional: Our Intended Purpose

As a child, did you ever go exploring at your grandparents’ house and discover an interesting object and you did not know what it was? Maybe you’ve been shopping at a yard sale or antique shop and saw an item for which you had to ask the owner, “What exactly is this and what was it used for?” As adults, we may even possess objects that our own children or grandchildren have to ask us about. And if we do not pass on this information to them, its use may be lost at our death.

In today’s scripture passage, this is what happened with the temple. It angered Jesus and he drove out the money changers. He then re-established the temple’s intended purpose as “A House of Prayer”. He called it “His House”.

When we give our life to Jesus, we are then “His House of the Holy Spirit”. Let us ask our Maker, “What was my original intended purpose? What did You create me to do?” God alone knows, and if we ask him to re-establish that purpose, he will drive out everything that hinders and even blocks us from becoming all that he wants us to be.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. ~ Proverbs 19:21

Prayer: Jesus, please help me let you re-establish your original intended purpose in my life. I confess sometimes I don’t even know what that is. Thank you that you are waiting and willing to drive out all that hinders my development in you. Amen.

This week we will explore a few of the many events that took place during the week prior to Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead on the first day of the week, the day we call Easter. Let us walk with Jesus as he walked those last steps of his life on the road to Calvary.

The Day and Hour Unknown
32″No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35″Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.

Devotional: Watching in Expectation

Jesus. Won’t it be great to see him? To bow before him and kiss his feet in worship? To thank him for all his love and forgiveness and provision? To praise him for how he has changed you and your family?

In his last days here on earth, Jesus made it clear that he will come back to get us. There are times it is so hard to live here without him in physical form to encourage us. That is why we must watch for his coming. There are two things that are true here. First, Jesus is coming. We don’t know when, but he will come back anytime, any day. I personally can’t wait. Second, we are easily distracted. Every day is filled with our needs, pain, fear, unforgiveness, anger, and yes, even rebellion.

We need to ask Jesus to teach us to watch for him. We really don’t know how to wait in expectation for his return. An application is found in our daily reliance on Jesus. See, when a need appears we ask for his intervention, then we look for him to come and meet us in that need. We rely on him and we expect him to care for us. Likewise, we can watch for his coming and wait expectantly, knowing it will come to pass. God’s Word is true. Jesus is coming again!

“… This same Jesus … will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” – Acts 1:11

Prayer: Father, teach me how to look for Jesus to come to me in my everyday needs. Then, teach me to watch for Him ‘til he comes for us all. Amen.

This week we will explore a few of the many events that took place during the week prior to Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead on the first day of the week, the day we call Easter. Let us walk with Jesus as he walked those last steps of his life on the road to Calvary.

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MONDAY, April 6

Reading: John 11:1-44

The Death of Lazarus

¹Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

⁷Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. ¹⁰It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”

¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹²His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

²⁸And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” ²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

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Devotional: Walk in Hope

Mary and Martha send a messenger to Jesus to inform him of the illness of their brother and his friend, Lazarus. Jesus does not hurry to his side, but waits two days before beginning his journey. He knows that Lazarus is now dead and tells his disciples he is going to awaken him. By the time they arrive, Lazarus has been dead four days. The house once filled with times of joy and comfort is now filled with grief. Lazarus’ sisters are alone. When Martha hears that Jesus is coming, she goes out to meet him. She tells him that if he had been there her brother would not have died.

Even though we walk with Jesus, we still walk in our own understanding. In this case, Mary and Martha walked in grief. That was all they knew. They did not understand what they needed, but Jesus did. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Mary and Martha needed hope.

We live in a world that is very limited in hope. But, take heart! Jesus is our Hope and his resources are limitless! This week as you walk with Jesus on the Road to Calvary, do not walk in your own understanding. Ask God to help you walk in Christ’s unlimited hope.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

– John 11:44b

Prayer: Father, help me live with Jesus as my Hope and not in this world’s hope. Amen.