AWAKEN

10 Day Devotional

When you think of Easter, what comes to mind? For most people, it’s pastel-colored eggs, bright flowers, colorful shirts and dresses, and chocolate candy. Winter is finally exiting the building, and there’s a collective sense of shaking off the cold and welcoming the warmth. In today’s world, Easter is pretty, sweet, clean, and nice. But is that what Easter is really about? Honestly, this is a far cry from the actual reason we celebrate the holiday. Even that word “celebrate” can seem strange. Of course, Easter Sunday should be one of the most joyous celebrations humanity has ever known, but our celebration can sometimes feel disconnected from reality. As believers, we do a great job of rejoicing in the resurrection, but sometimes, we leave off the part where we find out what Jesus was resurrected from. It’s easy to never talk about the pain, the suffering, the horror, or the deep truth of HOW we get to Easter Sunday. We just go through the motions. We put on some nice clothes, show up to church, and then go home and have some ham. (Now, no one here is complaining about the ham.) It’s almost as if we’re asleep, and if we could just wake up, we could rejoice more fully in what Jesus has done for us.

BUT WHAT IF WE COULD WAKE UP?

WHAT IF WE COULD UNDERSTAND THE FULL STORY, THE

HOW AND WHY, OF JESUS’ JOURNEY FROM THE MANGER

TO THE CROSS?

Instead of just pastel-colored eggs, we’d see the bread and wine. Instead of just fancy hats, we’d see a crown of thorns. Instead of Easter baskets, we’d see a heavy cross. Instead of being asleep, our souls would be awakened to the love of God. That’s our prayer for you this Easter. That you would be awakened to the reality and truth of all that Jesus has done for you.


(Click on the "DAY #" for that day's full devotion.)

  • Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18; Matthew 25:31-46

    Today’s reading is hard to wrap our minds around. When you read this passage, it’s easy to see why some people harbor anger with God. There is a real hell; it’s eternal, and if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, Scripture says that hell is where you will go when you die.

  • Isaiah 55:6-11; Matthew 6:7-15, 26:36-46

    Prayer can be frustrating. It’s easy to think, “What’s the point anyway? God knows everything about me. Will prayer change His mind?” When you think about it this way, prayer can seem silly and, frankly, boring.

  • Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26

    Are you noticing a trend as we walk through the daily readings? Jesus is walking us through repentance, through the dangers of sin, and how to pray, and now here we are at anger. It’s all purposeful. The Easter season takes us on a journey through the hard parts of being human because we have to face these struggles if we’re to see the true grace of Jesus dying on the cross.

  • Luke 5:16, 6:12, 9:18

    One of the most difficult things in this modern world is learning to be silent and alone. Today’s Scripture readings are examples, however, of Jesus unplugging from the noise and distraction of crowds. When we pay attention to the life of Christ, we see examples to follow, and this is no exception. But being quiet is hard.

  • John 16:33; Romans 5:3-5, 8:25

    In 2016, the Chicago Cubs did what no one thought was possible. For the first time since 1908, they were the World Series champions. Think about that: 108 years worth of Cubs fans had been waiting for the W. After the Cubs clinched their long-awaited victory, stories began

    popping up about how current fans were “sharing” the title with those who were no longer alive to see it. One man was spotted in a cemetery with a radio and a lawn chair, listening to the game with his father, who had died years earlier. 

  • Genesis 50:17-21; Matthew 18:21–35

    Many years ago, in the city of Medellín, Colombia, a young boy named Didier witnessed the murder of his mother. He was just 11. This traumatic event caused Didier to go down a path of drugs, alcohol, and crime in search of something that would fill the hole that was left in his life. Didier eventually found out who killed his mother and became fixated on vengeance.

  • Isaiah 42:1-9; Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11

    Have you ever been a part of a Palm Sunday service? It’s a surreal experience. Everyone in the congregation receives a palm branch, sings, and “welcomes” Jesus into Jerusalem. But by the end of the service, it’s not a joyous occasion. The palm branches that symbolize victory are gone, and the people are now yelling, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” just as the people in Jerusalem did thousands of years ago.

  • Exodus 12:1-14; John 13:1-35; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

    There’s a famous story about Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper. He spent years working on the piece, along with other commissioned works that would live on the monastery walls where he painted them. One of the monastery’s priests rudely asked da Vinci why it was taking him so long to complete the painting. He responded that he could not find the perfect face for Judas, but it had just become clear to him. He painted the priest’s features onto Judas’s face, memorializing him as the traitorous disciple for the rest of time. The moral here is don’t mess with an artist!

  • Isaiah 52:13-15; Matthew 27:45-53; John 19:16-30; Hebrews 9:11-15

    On Good Friday, some churches have a special service called “Tenebrae,” which is a Latin word that means “darkness.” During the service, the flames of fifteen candles are slowly extinguished, and the entire congregation is plunged into pitch black. It’s meant to evoke the advancing darkness that is coming – the death of Jesus.

  • Ezekiel 37:1-14; Jeremiah 31:1-14; John 20:1-18

    Easter Sunday is the celebration of the death of death, the culmination of the story of Jesus making all things new. Today, we revel in mercy, we weep with gratitude, and we tell our own story of redemption.