Daily Devotionals Jesus Calling and Dr. Charles Stanley

In Me you have everything. In Me you are complete. Your capacity to experience Me is increasing through My removal of debris and clutter from your heart. As your yearning for Me increases, other desires are gradually lessening. Since I am infinite and abundantly accessible to you, desiring Me above all else is the best way to live.

It is impossible for you to have a need that I cannot meet. After all, I created you and everything that is. The world is still at My beck and call, though it often appears otherwise. Do not be fooled by appearances. 'Things that are visible are brief and fleeting, while things that are invisible are everlasting.

Ephesians 3:20 "...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:18 "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

April 3, 2010

Comfort From an Empty Tomb
Matthew 28:1-8

A sad group of women walked to Jesus' tomb on the Sunday morning after His death. Their Savior—the Lord of Lords and King of Kings—had been brutally beaten and then crucified. The women's hearts must have been heavy with disappointment and grief. Yet in an instant, mourning was turned to joy. An angel greeted them to offer this comfort: "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said" (Matt. 28:6).

So many of the confusing things the Lord had said now suddenly made sense. Not only had He prophesied about His own death and resurrection (Matt. 16:21), but He had also explained His relationship with God as a "oneness" (John 10:30). The grave cannot hold the Almighty. The resurrection put to rest any doubt Christ's followers may have harbored about who He was.

God kept every one of His promises and prophesies regarding the Messiah. For example, Jesus died on the cross before the soldiers decided the break the legs of those being crucified (Ex. 12:46; Ps. 34:20). But they pierced His side with a spear to be certain of His death (Isa. 53:5). At what seemed to be the end, Christ was buried in a rich man's tomb (Isa. 53:9); however, He did not stay in the grave.

Jesus conquered death and is now seated at the Father's right hand, interceding for believers. He knows your name, where you are, and what you need and desire. The comfort of the empty tomb is that our Savior is alive and watching over us—just as He said (Heb. 7:25; 12:2).