Holy Week: Pause. Ponder. Pray.Esimerkki

PAUSE. Christ is risen! Death could not hold Him! He is the Lord of Life! He has victory over the grave! Jesus rose from the dead!! He has risen! He has risen indeed! Take time to stop. Take time to listen. Take time to read God's Word quietly and prayerfully. PONDER. What does the resurrection mean? The resurrection means that Jesus is in fact the Son of God and Lord of all. The resurrection means that evil and death are overcome! God loosed the pangs of death! Death could not hold Him! The resurrection means that we have resurrection power to overcome sin in our lives! The resurrection means that all who are in Christ will be resurrected! If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, you will also live! He will give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. The resurrection means that when we bury loved ones the grave is not the end! The resurrection means that no matter how bad things are right now, there is hope in Christ! The resurrection means that we no longer live, but Christ now lives in us! If we have put our trust in Christ we have been crucified with Him! We no longer live, but Christ lives in us! And the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who LOVED us, and gave himself for us! Can you affirm these words with me?! Lord, because you loved me and died on the cross for me I want to take up my cross. I want to no longer live for myself. I want to live for you and you alone. Lord, have mercy. Make this true for me! PRAY. Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! I praise you, Lord Jesus, for your mighty resurrection! Forgive me for the times I take the glorious gift of the gospel and all that your resurrection means for granted. Please forgive me for not being deeply and profoundly grateful for all that you have done for me in and through your death, burial, and resurrection. Lord, help make the following words a prayer and grant me the grace to live them. I choose to count everything as loss because of the surpassing treasure of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord. Like Christ I want to fully suffer the loss of all things and count them as nothing, in order that I may have everything in Him. Not a righteousness of my own but one that which comes through faith in Christ and Him alone. May I know Christ and the power of His resurrection. I want to share His sufferings, and become like Him in his death, that by any and all means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Lord God, I want to live for you and you alone. Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, hear my prayer. Have mercy on me. Thank you for your mercy! Thank you for your grace! In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.