Today is Monday, April 13th, 2009; Karen's Korner #1546

I don't normally get devotional emails from Shirley Choat on Sunday, but I got an EASTER MESSAGE from her yesterday:
 
"Early on the first day of the week, while it was dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.....They have taken the LORD out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put Him." ~John 20
 
  There is a special beauty about today.This is day about life. Today Christian churches throughout the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This is an event that stirs our hearts, but the empty tomb caught the early followers of the LORD off guard. While it was still dark Mary Magdalene went to tomb with her embalming spices. She noticed that the stone had been rolled away and rushed back to give Peter and John the news; "They have taken the LORD out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put Him."
 
  'Mary,' we feel like shouting, 'you looked at the empty grave but didn't see its message. Instead of seeing the LORD raised by God's love and rejoicing in the eternal life He offers you, in your fear, saw only death.'
 
  Let's not repeat Mary's mistake, she ran from the empty tomb, we want to run to it daily as we need the answers that the tomb shouts out to us: "He is not here, He is risen, He's alive.  Yes 'Death is defeated!' it shouts out to us.
 
  There are two doors to our graves, one marked "entrance" by sin's wage and the other marked "exit" by the Savior's resurrection. When our day comes, that empty Easter tomb reinforces the Savior's promise, "Because I live, you also will live." John 14:19 
 
Christ is the life,
the empty tomb proclaims His conquering arm;
and those who put their trust in Him.
not death nor hell shall harm.
 
 Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
Gladness fills the world today;
From the tomb that could not hold Him,
see the stone is rolled away.
 
 PRAY - O risen LORD, accept my praise for Your victory over death. Cheer me each day with the news that You are my Savior and that through faith in You, I am a child of God. Amen. 
 
CHRIST IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED. AMEN.

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