The Resurrection

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Prophecy And Fulfillment Of The Resurrection

Prophecy

“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces
    but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that
we may live in his presence."
~Hosea 6:1-2

Fulfillment

You can find the fulfillment of this prophecy in all four of the gospels, but we will just look at it from Matthew’s perspective.

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down 
from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are 
looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as 
he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell 
his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into
 Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, 
and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he 
said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
~Mathew 28:1-10

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He Is Risen

What a morning it was for these ladies. They arrived at the tomb to mourn Jesus’ death. Upon their arrival, the ground shakes, and an angel comes down with an appearance of lighting. The angel rolls the stone away to reveal Jesus is gone, and the guards appear to be dead. I cannot imagine this is what they expected when they started their morning.

The angel tells Mary Magdelene and the other Mary where to find Jesus and asks them to let the disciples know what has occurred. I believe that even with all the events that have just happened, the next part is the most important part for us to hold on to, “They came to Him, clasped His feet, and worshipped Him.”

What A Beautiful Response… They Worshipped

I love that their first reaction was to worship Him, and I think this is such a picture of how we should respond when we meet with Him. We are not meeting with Him physically, but we are meeting with Him spiritually.

When we meet Him in prayer, we should worship. When we hear Him speak to us, we should worship Him. Any time we are aware of His presence, we should worship Him. Let’s quickly look at the Lord’s prayer at how Jesus taught us to pray.

The Lord’s Prayer

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 
your kingdom come, your will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, 
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."
~Matthew 6:9-13

It starts, “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name.” In more simplistic language, it acknowledges God and establishes Him as holy. It is a statement of worship. The definition of worship, according to google, is to show adoration towards a deity. Jesus teaches us to come to Him and worship Him first before we bring anything else to Him.

I know when I come before the Lord and worship Him first, whether that be in song or by sharing my thanks to Him, my entire prayer time is different. It’s as if it’s opening a door into His presence and having a reminder of who He is before I bring anything else to Him.

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Challenge

The challenge I have for you is to add more worship into your prayer time. Below, I have listed examples of what this can look like.

• Singing along with worship music, or sing to Him whatever comes to your mind.
• Praise and thank Him for who He is.
• Give thanks for what He has done in you.
• Speak out loud the different names of God. If you don’t know many of His names, seek to find more. Just saying His names or attributes out loud can be powerful. (Examples: Creator, Deliverer, Provider, and my favorite King of Kings and Lord of Lords.) There are so many names of God expressing who He is to you is beautiful worship to Him.
• There are other talents you may have that are also forms of worship like dancing and painting. When we do it to honor Him, it’s worship.

Most importantly, praise Him for dying on the cross for your sins, praise Him that He laid in the grave and went to hell on your behalf (1 Peter 3:19), praise Him for the resurrection. Most of all, praise Him that because of all ofthis,s if you believe it in your heart, you will have a place saved for you with Him for eternity.