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04days2easter // Thursday E-Devotion

word for the day
STONED

verse for the day
Matthew 27:60, 28:2 (nlt) --- He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left...Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.

quote for the day
Peter Marshall --- The stone was rolled away from the door, not to permit Christ to come out, but to enable the disciples to go in.

thought for the day
What gets in our way? We could be talking about all kinds of things. What gets in our way of winning, of making money, of winning the lottery, of taking a nap, and the list goes on. But my thought is this: what gets in our way of going with Jesus? The answers cannot be held in a one page or a 50 page document.

At Easter time I am touched and asked to think about the big rock that was put in front of the place where Jesus was buried. That rock was huge. It took many people to move, and it was even sealed where nothing could get in or get out. But Jesus got out, and the disciples (and really us, too) got in.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to look inside the tomb and see that Jesus' body was gone? First thing you saw was that huge rock was moved away. This must be a God thing. Plan and simple. God showed up. Jesus walked out. We are dumbfounded and shocked to say the least.

The reason we don't go with Jesus is often the stones that are in our way. They are hard to move so we don't try. They are holding us back so we don't push forward. They keep us from being what God called us and made us to be. That stone didn't hold Jesus back, and no stone can hold us back if we really want to follow Jesus.

Our word today is stoned. It has nothing to do with having rocks thrown at you. It has everything to do with our outlook on life and what we allow to hold us back. One person said this week that getting 'stoned' on drugs or alcohol kept them from having to deal with life and the junk people go through. But wait. By not following Jesus and going with God we are just like that person that gets stoned. We don't want to deal with reality. So, we go another direction. Do our own thing and more.

What stone keeps us from following Jesus?

Pain didn't keep Him for suffering for me. Nails and a cross didn't keep Him from dieing for me. A grave and a huge stone didn't keep Him from living for me. What keeps me from living for Him. Are we stoned? Or, are we going with Jesus?

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