Welcome to week 13 of Weekly Word!
We pray that these weekly readings continue to stir your heart as you abide in Christ! Below, you’ll find your readings for this week, along with a short devotional, a reflection question, and this week: a prayer to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection!
Readings:
- Acts 25
- Luke 24
Devotional:
Readings: Acts 25 | Luke 24
As Paul stands before Festus, the governor is at a loss. He sees no legal crime, yet he is gripped by the sheer strangeness of Paul’s central claim: that a man named Jesus, though crucified, is actually ALIVE. The Resurrection is more than a mystery; it is a profound disruption to a world that relies on its own logic and limits. It suggests that the final word on life and power doesn’t belong to the governors or the courts, but to God.
This mirrors the disciples in Luke 24, who were “troubled” and had doubts rising in their hearts when the risen Jesus appeared to them. We often think that doubt or feeling “troubled” means we lack faith. But Jesus doesn’t rebuke the disciples; He shows them His hands and feet. He meets their troubled hearts.
If you are feeling “troubled” by life’s circumstances or by big questions of faith, take heart! Jesus isn’t afraid of your questions. He invites you to see and touch. The next step in our faith begins by acknowledging our trouble and letting the risen Christ speak peace into it.
Discussion Question:
- As we prepare to celebrate Easter, what area of your life needs the truth of Christ’s Resurrection power?
Prayer:
Jesus, what a privilege that I get to share in this victory over the grave with you. What a great gift it is that I can walk daily in your resurrection power, no longer bound, but free and alive in you! I praise you, Lord. It’s in Your mighty and matchless name, I pray, Amen!
Dig Deeper
As we near the end of our reading in Acts, let’s camp out on this message from Antioch’s 2020 sermon series, “Unstoppable,” as Pastor Stephen Castleberry examines the end of the book of Acts.
Have you ever considered how Acts ends? What if the end of Acts is less about wrapping up the story of the early church and more about what our responsibility is today?
We are praying for you as you dig into God’s Word this week!