{"id":2469,"date":"2020-10-24T10:14:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T18:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=2469"},"modified":"2020-10-24T10:14:54","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T18:14:54","slug":"devotion-john-2011-18-above-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=2469","title":{"rendered":"Devotion John 20:11-18 Above All"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 20:11-18\u00a0<\/b>\u201cNow Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup><\/b>and saw two angels in white,\u00a0seated where Jesus\u2019 body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>13\u00a0<\/sup><\/i><\/b>They asked her, \u201cWoman, why are you crying?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThey have taken my Lord away,\u201d she said, \u201cand I don\u2019t know where they have put him.\u201d\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup><\/b>At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,\u00a0but she did not realize that it was Jesus.\u00a0\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup><\/b>He asked her,\u00a0\u201cWoman, why are you crying?\u00a0Who is it you are looking for?\u201d\u00a0 Thinking he was the gardener, she said, \u201cSir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.\u201d\u00a0\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup><\/b>Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cMary.\u201d\u00a0 She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, \u201cRabboni!\u201d (which means \u201cTeacher\u201d).\u00a0\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup><\/b>Jesus said,\u00a0\u201cDo not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers\u00a0and tell them, \u2018I am ascending to my Father\u00a0and your Father, to my God and your God.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup><\/b>Mary Magdalene\u00a0went to the disciples\u00a0with the news: \u201cI have seen the Lord!\u201d And she told them that he had said these things to her.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

With a broken heart and weeping inconsolably Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where she had seen Jesus laid.\u00a0\u00a0Today many have known the feeling of going to a gravesite and crying with a broken heart for a loved one who has died.\u00a0\u00a0Mary was mourning because yes, she loved Jesus but He was much more than a person she loved, He was the Savior of her eternal soul, and now she didn\u2019t understand how He could be dead.\u00a0\u00a0How deeply she was broken!\u00a0\u00a0She felt irreparably broken.<\/p>\n

Some of us have felt, and some of us do, also know such grief.\u00a0\u00a0Some of us have felt circumstances changed, or are about to change, and that our world may never be the same again.\u00a0\u00a0And, we may be right in that the world may change seemingly become beyond repair, but the Lord knows how to deliver through the flood, through the sea, and though the fire.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut God!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0How glorious that phrase for those who know it, have trusted it, and have found it to be true!<\/p>\n

For all who are suffering, grieving and worrying, we need not hurt and fear, as we are prone to do.\u00a0\u00a0Of course some events in our lives will leave scars that remain tender for a lifetime.\u00a0\u00a0The outer flesh closes, but the wound beneath remains tender.\u00a0\u00a0The scars will remain but they are only a reminder, are not only a remembrance, but also a sign of healing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the loss of loved ones, we will, on this earth, hurt at the separation.\u00a0\u00a0But for those who love and serve the Lord our pain of separation may be eased.\u00a0\u00a0The ache to be reunited remains, but in the promises of our God the pain eases.\u00a0\u00a0We focus ever more intently on the One who is most dear to us.\u00a0\u00a0We focus on our God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0He is our hope, He is our joy and peace.\u00a0\u00a0He alone is the supreme Darling of our souls.<\/p>\n

Jesus came to comfort the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18<\/b>) and to give hope (Romans 15:13<\/b>) to all mankind who will look to Him and not the world as their greatest treasure (Matthew 13:52, 19:21<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0For all who love Jesus we know this hope.\u00a0\u00a0How hopeless did Mary feel as she saw Jesus suffer and die?\u00a0\u00a0But her sorrow turned to joy when she saw the risen Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Then she was filled again with the overwhelming peace and joy that she knew before her seeming separation from Him.\u00a0\u00a0After seeing Him her joy was not only returned, but she ran to bless others so that their joy may also return.\u00a0\u00a0Beloved Sisters and Brothers, whether it be the death of a loved one, or the fear of a tumultuous world, Jesus is always the answer to being restored to the peace and joy that only He gives. (John 14:27<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0We must turn our eyes from the gravestone, and from our thoughts of the seeming tidal wave that threatens to overwhelm, and look to our God for whom nothing is impossible. (Luke 1:37<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0As always, the answer is simple, look to Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0He is always the Answer.\u00a0\u00a0Thank you Jesus!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God<\/p>\n

Ephesians 6:23<\/b>\u00a0\u201cPeace to the brothers and sisters,\u00a0and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a024<\/a>\u00a0Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.<\/i>\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/p>\n

Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John 20:11-18\u00a0\u201cNow Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb\u00a012\u00a0and saw two angels in white,\u00a0seated where Jesus\u2019 body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.\u00a0\u00a013\u00a0They asked her, \u201cWoman, why are you crying?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThey have taken my Lord away,\u201d she said, \u201cand…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[1841,100,106,101,94,1874,17,10],"class_list":["post-2469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-ephesians","tag-john","tag-luke","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm","tag-romans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2470,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469\/revisions\/2470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}