God's Plan for the Resurrection
The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying,‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?
20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
John 16:16-20 NIV"A little while, and you will no longer see Me." Jesus repeated these words to His disciples several times. But He could tell by the blank stares on their faces that they did not understand what He had said.
At one point, He even overheard them debating what He meant by "You will not see me" (John 16:19). These men had been with the Lord for three years. They had laughed with Him, cried with Him, eaten with Him, and were willing to die with Him, or so they thought.
They had just entered the city of Jerusalem. And instead of being met by an angry legion of guards and protestors, they were met by palm-waving supporters shouting: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Yet as soon as they had settled into the upper room, Jesus broached the subject of His forthcoming death. Immediately, the mood of His followers went from one of celebration to shock and sorrow.
Often in difficult times, we cannot see beyond that moment. The resurrection was a few days away, but they could not fathom its wondrous coming.
God always provides the encouragement we need to stay the course, and Jesus did this for His disciples when He told them, "Your sorrow will be turned to joy" (v. 20). This also is God's message of hope and love for us today. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
From Dr. Charles Stanley
TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL SPONSOR:
by Max Lucado
God’s grace! It has a wildness about it. A white-water, rip-tide, turn-you-upside-downess about it. Grace comes after you!
Some years ago I underwent a heart procedure. I asked the surgeon,
“You’re burning the interior of my heart, right?”
“Correct.”
“You intend to kill the misbehaving cells, yes?”
“That’s my plan.”
“As long as you’re in there, could you take your little blowtorch to some of my greed, selfishness, superiority, and guilt?”
He smiled, “Sorry, that’s out of my pay grade!”
But it’s not out of God’s! We’d be wrong to think this change happens overnight. We’d be equally wrong to assume change never happens at all. It may come in fits and spurts—but it comes!
Titus 2:11 says, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared.”
You just never know when grace will seep in. Could you use some?
From GRACE
HOMEMADE PECAN SANDIES
INGREDIENTS:
• 2 sticks butter, unsalted (1/2 lb., softened)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar, granulated
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar (sifted)
• 2 eggs (large)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups flour, all purpose (500 gr.)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups pecans (chopped)
• 1/2 cup sugar, granulated (for decoration)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, 1 cup white sugar and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
4. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the pecans.
5. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll each ball in remaining white sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto un~greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden.
6. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
DAILY SMILE:
Diet Plans
Misc Jokes
Submitted by D-Gellybean
I’ve decided I’ll never get down to my original weight and I’m okay with that...
After all, 6 lbs 3 oz is just not realistic.
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