Resurrection is a Person

key Scripture: Luke 23:46

Thought for Today: The Resurrection is not an event, it is a person.

When Jesus spoke His very last words in Luke 23:46, His life on Earth ended. But His eternal reign in our lives was just beginning.

Likewise, the end of this study is meant to be a new beginning in your relationship with Christ.

The seven sayings that Jesus cried out on the cross, when paralleled with the way Jesus appeared to His disciples on the road to Emmaus after His death, are designed to be a Seven-Mile Miracle. By focusing on the significance of each of Jesus' final words, you may gain unique perspective on who Jesus is, what He has done for you, and how He wants to reveal Himself to you every day.

Interestingly enough, the very people that knew Jesus the best-the disciples that followed Jesus over the course of His life-did not recognize Him as they walked with Him to Emmaus in Luke 24.

Still in shock from the events that unfolded just days earlier, the disciples likely saw the Passover meal they shared with Jesus in Luke 22 as their last meaningful time with Him.

However, Jesus wanted to break bread one final time with His disciples to share one more parting lesson.

Jesus wanted His disciples to see that His life and death were more than a series of events. In His resurrection, Jesus wanted to be remembered at a deeper level.

When Jesus broke bread with His disciples after He rose from the grave, they realized the Resurrection is not an event, it is a person.

The way Jesus revealed this to His disciples is indicative of the way Jesus wants to show Himself to you today.

When He sat down for the only meal He'd share with the disciples after His death, Jesus took the bread, blessed the bread, broke the bread, and gave the bread to His disciples.

Every step of this process parallels the way Jesus works in and through you.

Just as He took the bread in His hands, He takes you from a place of uncertainty and brings you into a life of faith, hope, and certainty.

Just as He blessed the bread, He blesses you and favors you with a new life found only in Him.

Just as He broke the bread, He breaks you not to discourage you, but to increase your dependency on Him.

And finally, just as He gave the bread to His disciples, He gives you to the world for the sake of His glory.

These stages can be painful, but remember that God doesn't want to hurt you; He wants to reunite with you.

When Jesus broke bread with His disciples, the bread never left His hands. And when He finally stretched forward to give the bread to His disciples, they saw His nail-scarred hands and their eyes were opened to see Jesus as the risen Lord.

Jesus wants to reunite with you today. Open your eyes to see Him as the resurrected Son of God.

PRAY:

Jesus, you are powerful, loving, and faithful. I surrender my life to the daily process of following your purposes. Take me from my old ways, bless me with your grace, break me of anything holding me back from you, and give me to the world so that I may glorify your name. You are the Resurrection, Jesus, and I am forever grateful for the life you have given me. I love you, Jesus. In your name, Amen.

APPLY:

As you reach the end of this study, we pray that God has changed your heart and your perspective to bring you closer to Him. If God has stretched your faith and changed your heart in any way during this series, we want to celebrate with you. Share what God has done in your life through this study by sharing this Reading Plan on Twitter or Facebook. Also, tweet what has impacted you the most on Twitter with the hashtag #7MileMiracle. We can't wait to celebrate God's work in your life!

Reprint from seven mile miracle Easter devotional

Parental Empathy

Galatians 6:1-2 NIV
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

DISCIPLINE WITH EMPATHY
Empathy is harder for some of us than for others. Learning to be more empathetic with our children may require taking some time to remember what it was like when we were their age. Walking in their little shoes can help us understand why they do what they do. Sometimes we forget we were children once, too.

Interestingly we may find the things we struggled with at their age cause us the most anxiety in parenting. We may be frustrated when the same issues reappear in our children. This remembrance can have two outcomes — we can anxiously step in to fix the problem, which usually results in an overblown response that makes the situation worse. Or we can remember our experiences and use them to relate to our kids. God may be using your child's struggles to sanctify both of you.

When your child's struggle causes you extraordinary anxiety, be alert — God may be teaching both of you.

Parental Focus on Heaven

Parental Focus on Heaven

Counselor Parent

Ephesians 4:15 NIV
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

EMPATHY "Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love." -- John Stott. The essence of empathy is balancing truth and love. A rescuing parent leans heavily on love, but shies away from truth. A dictating parent leans heavily on truth, but mixes in little love. A counselor parent is able to express his love for the child no matter what they say or do, yet is strong enough to deliver appropriate consequences and to allow his child to struggle so that real learning takes place. It is a difficult balance, and our anxiety or anger often reveals where we fall on the continuum between rescuer and dictator. Is your love too soft, or your truth too hard? Striking a balance between truth and love models our heavenly Father's relationship with us.

Impossible...

Jeremiah 32:17 NIV
"Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."

Thank you Lord for all that you do in my life. May the words of my mouth and the deeds of my hands bring glory and honor to you.

Hold Firmly...

Hebrews 3:6 NIV
"But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory."

Christ is declared as the faithful Son of God over God's house, the church. Faithful; being obedient to God, being available for us, being our leader and our mentor, being all that we need. And all I need to do to recieve all that Christ offers me is to hold firmly; to be steady and true, in my confidence in Christ and His glory; in His radiance in this earth, His victory over death and sin, and in His ability to make me a new man. My hope is in Christ and Him alone. To you my Lord and my God be the glory. Amen.

Hold Firmly...

Titus 1:9 NIV
"He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it."

I must know scripture so that when the time is right I may use it to encourage and to refute. Lord help me to continue in my Bible readings and journaling and my prayer life. As Oswald said today "Prayer does not equip us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work." Lord to You be the glory.

His Firstfruits...

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 NIV
"But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We are called God's "firstfruits"; just as our tithe to God is our firstfruit. How important we are to God, to be His firstfruit offering, to be set apart, to share in Gods glory. And this wil only happen through "our" Gospel of Truth, through the word of God as it appears in the Bible. This is why I need to continually be in the Word, so I may hear His calling for me, to know His will for my life.

Lord help me to live my life to make You proud, to honor Your choosing of me as Your firstfruits. To You my Lord and my Savior be the Glory.

Revealed to Others...

1 Thessalonians 4:10-12, 18 NIV
"And in fact, you do love all of God's family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. Therefore encourage one another with these words."

Love people more and more, live a quiet life, encourage each other; these are some awesome points of wisdom. If I live this way, God says I will win the respect of others; and this might be the very thing that brings them into Gods kingdom. And my encouragement to other people, other believers and friends could possibly lift them up in their time of need, making a small difference in their outlook and attitude.

Lord, that I may be your servant, showing your love, being your encourager, and living an honorable, quiet life. Lord that you may revealed to others in my daily life. To you my Lord and my King be the glory.

Reassurance of God...

The Lord is faithful and will establish me and guard me from satan. The Lord will direct me toward His love and the patience of Christ. He will give me peace and His grace will be with me.  2 Thessalonians 3:3,5,16,18