On Earth, Christ is Risen
Design by Blessed Ong
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.'” ~ Luke 24:1-7, ESV
Holy Saturday – The Significance
Design by Wong Ee Yuing
Holy Saturday is the name given to the day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. In today’s #SaturdayGoodRead, we have picked out two blogposts related to the significance of Holy Saturday.
In the first blog titled What is Holy Saturday?, it clarifies what actually happened that day – how after the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the body was laid in a new tomb. If Jesus had not resurrected at all, our faith in Him would have been in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). That first Holy Saturday was also the day where Jesus had “rested” from His work of salvation on the cross where he had proclaimed, “It is finished!” Scripture told us of that first Resurrection Sunday when Jesus arose from his physical death. Holy Saturday is therefore seen as a day of quiet contemplation as God’s people silently anticipate and await the celebration of the Risen King on Resurrection Sunday.
The season of Lent is upon us
The season of Lent is upon us, starting from 17 February 2021, which is Ash Wednesday. Lent is a 40-day period where believers take time to reflect upon Christ’s journey to the cross, death, burial and resurrection leading to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. This weekend, as preparation toward the start of Lent, here is an article published for last year’s Ash Wednesday but still remains relevant today.
Cru Singapore has produced a 2021 Lent devotional entitled, “Ashes to Resurrection,” which you can subscribed to here. They have also produced a series of downloadable wallpapers for smartphones with the Lenten theme here.
Celebrate Resurrection!
He [the angel] said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6, NIV)
“And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.” (1 Corinthians 6:14, ESV)
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, ESV)
The tomb is empty!
Our Savior has conquered death.
Blessed Resurrection Sunday!
HALLELUJAH!
How the Virus Stole Easter–Or Not
Ms Kristi Bothur composed the poem, “How the Virus Stole Easter” (with a nod to Dr Seuss, she noted), and published it on her blog site, This Side of Heaven. Here is an excerpt:
Twas late in ‘19 when the virus began
Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.
People were sick, hospitals full,
Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.
As winter gave way to the promise of spring,
The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.
People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen.
They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.
April approached and churches were closed.
“There won’t be an Easter,” the world supposed.
“There won’t be church services, and egg hunts are out.
No reason for new dresses when we can’t go about.”
Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest.
The world was focused on masks and on tests.
“Easter can’t happen this year,” they proclaimed.
“Online and at home, it just won’t be the same.”
Or is it? For the amazing ending, read the rest of the poem here.
Source: This Side of Heaven blog, 5 April 2020.
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