Focus

Let your soul take a moment of rest as you hear God’s word. Put your busy schedule, wandering mind, stressful thoughts, and burdened heart at the feet of the cross and open up to God’s voice as the Giver of Life tends your soul.

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Read

Isaiah 65:17-25 (NRSV)

For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD—
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the LORD.

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Reflect

Imagine something so incredibly new and so incredibly delightful that it wipes out all memory of what came before. Imagine a world where we don’t need boxes of tissues in the pews because there are no more tears. Imagine a world where hard work pays off, and the fruits of our labor bring us real joy. Imagine the wolf and the lamb sharing a meal: once mortal enemies, now the best of friends. Imagine a world where there is no more hurting or heartache, no more disappointment or disaster. Imagine life abundant: life without fear, life without worries, life with God.

It is Easter morning, and if ever there is a day to imagine all of that, today’s the day. The Easter miracle is one of gracious love beyond anything we can imagine. It’s the story of a love so powerful that nothing—not even the grave—can separate us from it. It’s a day to celebrate God’s good news, to dream God’s holy dreams, to rededicate ourselves to building God’s glorious kingdom here on earth…as it is in heaven.

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Because he is risen, we can face today and tomorrow with hope and joy and holy imagination.

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Pray

Holy God,
May the miracle of Easter morning be new for me again today. Replace my fear with love, my tears with laughter, my worries with joy, my selfish dreams with your selfless ones, my doom-and-gloom with your powerful hope. Rise in me, Lord Jesus, and let me share the good news with joy! Amen.

Go with God.