Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the LORD is not in vain. —1 Corinthians 15:58 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The Stock Market can be fickle. Friends can disappoint us. Nothing is truly sure except one thing, or better yet, our very special ONE person — Jesus! If we build our lives on his work, love, grace, power, and plan, we can hang in, persevere, and even triumph because what we do for the LORD and with the help of the LORD matters eternally. It will not be work done in vain. Why? Because the LORD is raised from the dead and at work in our lives! My Prayer… Please, Father, bless me with courage and strength. Empower me, O God, to not budge from my hope and confidence in your Son to bring me to your glory, make the work I’ve done on earth endure, and bless those who come after me. In Jesus’ name, I pray confidently. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
22 Apr 2025
May our focus be on the Lord and His purpose for us. May we depend on His grace for laser focus that will help us avoid distraction. He has promised to fill us with hope that will not die off. Proverbs 23:17-18.
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 15:57 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Life is ours! Death no longer holds us captive! God has given us victory through Jesus Christ our Savior and LORD. What else needs to be said? “Praise God!” “Hallelujah!” “Thank you, Jesus!” My Prayer… Thank you, Father, for sending Jesus. Thank you, Almighty God, for raising him from the dead. Thank you for the assurance that his life is alive in me as I serve in you. Thank you that my life will not be lived in vain. Thank you for the assurance that I am going home to you in victory, forever! In Jesus’ name, I praise you. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Resurrection 2.0: The Empty Tomb
They stood there, stunned and perplexed. Very early that Sunday morning, the women made their way to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. Among them were Mary Magdalene; Joanna; and Mary, Jesus’ mother. Arriving at the tomb they discovered that the huge stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside, so they went in to look. But the tomb was empty. The body of Jesus was gone! They stood there, stunned and perplexed. Suddenly two men in dazzling white robes shining like lightning appeared above them. Terrified, the women fell to the ground on their faces. The men in white said to them, “Why would you look for the living One in a tomb? He is not here, for he has risen! Have you forgotten what he said to you while he was still in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man is destined to be handed over to sinful men to be nailed to a cross, and on the third day he will rise again’?” All at once they remembered his words. Leaving the tomb, they went to break the news to the Eleven and to all the others of what they had seen and heard. When the disciples heard the testimony of the women, it made no sense, and they were unable to believe what they heard. But Peter jumped up and ran the entire distance to the tomb to see for himself. Stooping down, he looked inside and discovered it was empty! There was only the linen sheet lying there. Staggered by this, he walked away, wondering what it meant. (Luke 24:1-12 TPT) No mortal was present when the Spirit of the living God reanimated the lifeless body of Jesus of Nazareth and validated him as Christ, the Son of God, and our Lord (Romans 1:3-4). We sometimes wrongly talk about the early disciples seeing Jesus raised from the dead. The reality of the resurrection leaves us all a bit “stunned and perplexed” because no human personally witnessed how this incredible miracle occurred when GOD was accomplishing it. The exact how of the resurrection remains shrouded in divine mystery. The exact who — Jesus of Nazareth — and the truth that God raised Jesus’ lifeless body from death, however, is not so much a mystery. We can be thankful that the truth of Jesus’ resurrection doesn’t depend upon rumors from self-deluded weirdos. While critics may try to raise questions about the resurrection of Jesus or explain it away, the truth of the early believers’ good news depended upon it being true: And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). If we label the exact moment of Jesus’ resurrection as Resurrection 1.0, then we can rejoice that those who knew Jesus ensure resurrection 2.0 and 2.1, 2.2, 2.3… 2.500+ (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). The changes in those people, the power behind their message and their fearlessness of faith in Jesus when they had first doubted, all testify that GOD made sure Resurrection 1.0 truly happened in our human history. The empty tomb of Resurrection 1.0 didn’t ensure that Jesus was raised from the dead. Only the physical presence of the resurrected Jesus with people who were devastated and terrified at his execution on the cross ensures Resurrection 2.0. For those of us who believe two-thousand-years later, their testimony becomes our hope and our future. Their energized faith, their bold testimony, and their willing sacrifice of their lives to tell others about what they had seen and heard (Acts 4:19) provides the foundation for our faith. Even their most ardent opponents had to acknowledge that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). These witnesses let everyone know that Jesus was not only their message, but he was also the one who had inaugurated their new movement on Pentecost by pouring out the same powerful Spirit that had given him victory over sin, hell, and death in the resurrection (Acts 2:33-36). Over the next several weeks — as the Lord gives us time — we will look at Resurrection 2.0. We will look at what the earliest believers relied on about the resurrection. My prayer is that this short journey will motivate us to expect in our personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus in ways that he has promised to show himself to us in our day. (The Immanuel Project will be a series of thoughts that will follow our series on Resurrection 2.0.) Today, however, let’s be thankful for the mystery that is the bedrock of our faith. Let’s rejoice that sin, hell, and death could not hold the body of the one who walked as God among us. Let’s be joyful! No grave can hold those whom GOD Almighty loves because it could not keep his beloved Son in death. We choose to find our hope in him! Several decades after Jesus’ resurrection, the impetuous Peter and his beloved churches in Asia minor faced persecution. The faithful apostle shared the following words of hope to forge their commitment to faith for the trials ahead: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:55
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? —1 Corinthians 15:55 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Death has the power to end our physical, human lives in this world. Death has the power to separate our loved ones from us in this world. Death has the power to discourage and defeat us. But we know the truth: Jesus lives victoriously over death! Because he lives, we know we will live with him. We believe that his victory over death is our victory over death. So, like Jesus, we mock death and its power ultimately to destroy us. Jesus has destroyed death and brought immortality to life in us through the Gospel. So we join the angels of heaven at Jesus’ resurrection and mock death: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?” We’ve triumphed over death in Jesus’ resurrection power! My Prayer… Father, I confess that the death of those I love still hurts me. I thank you that my separation from them will be only for a short time. I thank you, however, that death doesn’t separate me for long from those I love and who love you. Thank you for giving me this victory, this assurance, in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for defeating death. I pray in your precious and triumphant name, Jesus Christ, my Savior and LORD. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Cruciformed #7: He Knew
He knew that people were fickle. They could cry out, “Hosanna!” one day, then cry out, “Crucify him!” a week later. He knew. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” (Mark 11:7-10). He knew. Jesus knew not to place his trust in people because he understood what was inside of people (John 2:24). He knew that people were fickle. They could cry out, “Hosanna!” one day, then cry out, “Crucify him!” a week later. He knew. He knew that as he entered into Jerusalem with cries of adulation by an overjoyed crowd that those shouts of praise were short-lived. He had warned all along his journey to Jerusalem that the religious leaders would reject him, the people who gathered at the cross would ridicule him while he died, and his Father would resurrect him on the third day to the surprise of everyone, even his closest friends who had forsaken him (Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-31; 10:32-34). He knew that his closest disciples would fall asleep on him as he prayed. He knew that his band of apostles would all abandon him and run away when the soldiers arrested him. He knew Judas would betray him. He knew that he would face the torture of his trials alone. He knew that he would endure the humiliation and ridicule of the cross all by himself. He knew. What’s more, he had the power to prevent it. He had the might to stop it. He had the strength to avoid it. He knew, yet he chose the cross. He chose that cross so we would realize that his love could reach us no matter how we had abandoned him. He accepted that cross so we could receive his grace no matter how badly we had fallen. He knew and willed himself to go to that cross to buy our freedom from sin, death, and hell as he served and saved us (Mark 10:45). He knew. And now, so do we. We know that God loved us so much that he would not have eternity without us. We know that Jesus loved us so much he entered the world just as we do, born of a woman so that when our life is over, we could share an immortal body like his and share in his victory. He knew so we could comprehend: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” Where, O death, is your victory?Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-57). He knew, yet Jesus chose the cross for us. Over the last few days and journeying through Resurrection Sunday, we have traveled with Jesus to and through his Passion. We remember his journey from his triumphal entry to his conflicts in the Temple and his private moments of prayer in the garden. We walk with Jesus through his betrayal by Judas, onto his denial by Peter, and then to his abandonment by his apostles. We walk with Jesus through his illegal trials before Jewish and Roman leaders and we ultimately arrived at the cross where Jesus was murdered before a bloodthirsty and mocking mob. As Jesus makes this journey, let’s remember that he knew! Jesus knew, yet chose it all, for you and for me! He knew. Special thanks for the use of the Jesus images in Phil’s posts, “The Jesus Window,” to Free Bible Images and The Lumo Project. About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:54
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” —1 Corinthians 15:54 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… As Christians, even if our body dies, we don’t! Our physical death just means that we will be given immortal bodies. Christ will raise us up and clothe us with immortality. Death will not have a hold on us because we are God’s children. We will be like the glorious LORD Jesus and see him as he truly is. Victory will be ours. Death does not have the final word. Jesus does. And one day he will say to us, “Arise!” My Prayer… Father, I know that my physical earthly body is fragile. Dear Father, I know that no matter how good a shape I stay in or how careful I am about my health, I cannot stop the process of physical death in my body. But I am excited to know that even though my physical body will fail, you won’t fail. Even though my human body is fragile, I know you are powerful and triumphant. Father, I look forward to the day of victory when death is swallowed up by the glory and power of Jesus’ return for me and transformation of me. Until that day, dear God, I serve you with joy as I look forward to seeing you face to face. In Jesus’ mighty name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Cruciformed #6: The Gamble
As Jesus journeyed into Jerusalem that last time, he had reached the point where he was going to gamble everything on the cross. And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take (Mark 15:21-24). Officially, the Roman government executed Jesus on a cross. The Jewish religious leaders had requested his execution after having arranged for his betrayal and arrest with Judas, one of Jesus’ apostles. The crowds who gathered before the Roman governor, Pilate, called for Jesus’ crucifixion and the release of a terrorist named Barabbas. The soldiers beat, mocked, and scourged Jesus. A stranger, Simon of Cyrene, was forced to carry Jesus’ cross because the Lord’s friends had all forsaken him. Soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross to let him suffer before a gawking and mocking mob. These soldiers then callously gambled (casting lots) over Jesus’ clothes while his naked and battered body hung before the mob as he gasped for breath and as his body was slowly drained of life by the torturous ordeal. The soldiers at the cross, however, were not the only ones who gambled at Golgotha. Pilate fearfully bet that Jesus was not whom his followers claimed him to be. He hoped to pacify the Jewish leaders and their mob with Jesus’ crucifixion. The religious leaders risked that they were going to get rid of Jesus once-and-for-all by having him crucified. The crowds gambled that their lust for blood had landed on the right scoundrel. Each of these gambles was wrong: dead wrong. Except, Jesus was the one who was, for a time, dead. The biggest gamble, however, was the one made by Jesus. The Lord knew the swirl of events around the cross was a gamble. Yes, I believe that Jesus is God come in human flesh. Yes, I believe that Jesus has the power to know all things. Somehow, however, Jesus willingly gave up some of those privileges, those powers, to be mortal like us (Philippians 2:5-9). He surrendered those, along with his desire for physical life, in obedience to the Father’s will. He had repeatedly made that choice — first, when he chose to be God-in-human-flesh who was born of woman, born under the Law given to Israel in a world broken by sin, death, and hell (Galatians 4:4). As Jesus journeyed into Jerusalem that last time, he had reached the point where he was going to gamble everything on the cross. His closest followers had just finished their third of three times giving an astoundingly insensitive and ignorant response to Jesus’ statements about his impending death. To their three foolish replies, Jesus captured his mission in a short, clear, summary statement: Jesus called them together and said,… “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Somewhere along his way into Jericho (Mark 10:46), Jesus knew that the walls that blocked his disciples understanding were not going to fall. They were not going to “get it” — with the “it” being the purpose of his mission, the necessity of his death, the certainty of his rejection by his people, his humiliation at the hands of Roman soldiers, and his ultimate triumph over sin, death, and hell in his resurrection. On the journey to Jerusalem to his cross, Jesus recognized that he was going to die alone. He was fully aware that he was going to be tortured and murdered with no other human who understood what he had to do and what it would cost him. Now despite what folks say today, Jesus believed that the Father would never abandon him in the ordeal of the cross: “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me” (John 16:31-32). He trusted that the Father would not abandon him to death (Acts 2:25-29) but would lead him in triumphant procession over the powers of demons, death, and hell (Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 4:8-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22). Despite Jesus’ resolute faith going into his Passion, he later felt desperately alone on the cross. He cried out to God using a Psalm of both desperation and confidence (Psalm 22:1-31 — We must remember Rabbinic practice to recite the first verse of a Psalm to stand for the whole Psalm!). Despite feeling desperately alone when he cried out in his overwhelming feelings of abandonment, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34; cf. Psalm 22:1), Jesus’ faith held on to the promise that victory would ultimately be his — that God would deliver him and his work to bring salvation that would be proclaimed to those not yet born: For he has not despised or scornedthe suffering of the afflicted one;he has not hidden his face from himbut has listened to his cry for help. … All the ends of the earthwill remember and turn to the Lord,and all the families of the nationswill bow down before him,for dominion belongs to the Lordand he rules over the nations. … Posterity will serve him;future generations will be told about the Lord.They will proclaim his righteousness,declaring to a people yet unborn:“He has done it!”(Psalm 22:24, 27-28, 30-31) Jesus felt abandoned, but his trust in God triumphed over his feelings. His faith won out over his fear. He believed God would intervene and bring him victory out of apparent abandonment, torture, and impending death. You and I, dear friend, are
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. —1 Corinthians 15:51-53 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We’re going to be changed! I’m going to be changed. You’re going to be changed! We’re not talking about a new wardrobe or haircut. We’re not talking about a new car or place to live. We are not talking about a new weight loss plan or cosmetic surgery. We are talking about an ultimate, transformational, heavy-duty, complete overhaul! We’re going to be made immortal. We are going to become indestructible. We will no longer be “perishable goods”! We are bound for glory and will be like Jesus in his glorified body (Philippians 3:21), for we will see him as he is (1 John 3:2-3). Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Inspire my faith, dear LORD, to trust your timing and to lean upon your grace. I believe that you know all the mysteries and hold all triumphs in your hand. Please make me victorious, O LORD Almighty, through the mighty work of your Son. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Cruciformed #5: The Power of Small
Jesus’ disciples were clueless. Even worse, they were unwilling to accept that the role of exaltation for Jesus and his followers involved the cross of Golgotha! Jesus’ closest disciples should have already known this particular truth. They had held the proof of it in their hands. Their Lord, the one we love and call Jesus, already had shown great power in small things, small ones, and small faith. Do you remember the small boy with the small picnic lunch of five loaves and two small fish? Do you remember how each of the apostles held the miracle of leftovers in their hands? The feeding of the five thousand had demonstrated the power of small when placed in the hands of Jesus (Mark 6:35-44; cf. Matthew 15:34). Do you recall Jesus’ parables of growth and the mysterious power of seeds? Do you remember Jesus’ parable about the mustard seed, that very tiny seed that grows into something substantial? A little faith, a faith as small as a mustard seed, had incredible power when that faith was directed toward Jesus (Mark 4:30-31; cf. Matthew 17:20). Jesus’ followers should have known him best, but they did not understand him. They had refused to see Jesus’ principle hidden in the mustard seed. They couldn’t grasp that a few loaves and fishes, when shared with Jesus, could feed a multitude. They wouldn’t believe that twelve disciples who had surrendered their will to the Lord could do great things if they were willing to follow him on his way to the cross. They could not understand. Maybe… they chose not to understand. When we read the central discipleship section of Mark’s gospel (Mark 8:22-10:52), Jesus’ disciples were clueless. Even worse, they were unwilling to accept that the role of exaltation for Jesus and his followers involved the cross of Golgotha! You can call them idiots, hard-hearted, ignorant, clueless, or whatever adjective you want. Bottom line, these apostles were loose lug nuts.[NOTE] They were not only noisy, but they were also dangerous. Jesus had known that his apostles soon would be painfully extruded through the battering stress of his crucifixion and their faithlessness to him. The Lord had seen that their confusion would tear them apart and that they would have shattered their faith on their deep disappointment — disappointment in his cross, at their failure, and with the seeming senselessness of it all. Jesus had called these men to a dangerous essential mission. To prepare them, he had chosen to endure the heartbreak of their faithlessness and his agony of the cross. He was determined to awaken them to the power of small! In Mark’s central discipleship section, Jesus had warned his disciples three times that he was going to Jerusalem where he would be rejected, ridiculed, and resurrected. Each of these three times Jesus opened his heart to describe his hard journey, his apostles said something stupid. They displayed their ignorance. They acted insensitively. Peter confessed Jesus as Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said he must suffer, be rejected, killed, and then be raised on the third day. Then, Peter rebuked the Lord for saying that he would die! Jesus was not gentle with his response. He called Peter, Satan, and forcefully told Peter that he had his heart set on the things of mortals and not the will and plan of God (Mark 8:27-8:33). Next, Jesus had withdrawn from the crowds to teach his disciples. He told them that he must go to Jerusalem to be betrayed and killed, then God would raise him three days later. As his disciples had followed him, they had argued about which of them was the greatest among them (Mark 9:30-34). Finally, on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus’ apostles had followed their Master. He had told them that soon, he would be betrayed, tortured, killed, and raised from the dead. James and John, then, cluelessly had asked Jesus to grant them any wish they wanted because they wanted to share in his glory (Mark 10:32-44). Jesus told his closest friends that he was going to be rejected, reviled, and then resurrected in Jerusalem. Three times he had told his disciples that he would be humiliated, beaten, and killed. Astonishingly, these closest friends were little more than loose lug nuts all three times. They had been worried about their importance and wanted to share in Jesus’ glory while he is facing the humiliation, rejection, torture, and death of the cross. Jesus had to go to the cross knowing that those he invested three years of his life to equipping were clueless — even worse than clueless; they were still jockeying for power, position, and prestige. They were clueless about the power of small! Tucked into all of these heart-wrenching misunderstandings, the Lord pointed to his small ones to demonstrate his power in them, through them, and for them: Jesus had healed a boy whom they couldn’t heal. He had demonstrated the power of faith and prayer. He had exercised his power to drive out a terrorizing spirit that controlled this boy. Why? Because small ones matter to the Lord of all things, all powers, and all places. Jesus believed in the power of small (Mark 9:17-29). Jesus had taken a child into his arms. Then, he had told everyone listening that anyone who wanted to share in his kingdom, his all-powerful rule, must welcome people of little or no status, like the child he held (Mark 9:33-37). After a rich man with great resources turned away from following Jesus because of the cost of discipleship, the Lord’s disciples were astounded when he turned and walked away from Jesus. If the rich and powerful wouldn’t follow Jesus, who would?… who could? (Mark 10:35-41). What was Jesus trying to do with his disciples? What was he yearning for them to learn? What should we extract from their experience and the Lord’s words? The power of small! Our future as Jesus’ followers doesn’t depend on our worldly power, position, prestige,