40 Days of Easter Devotional April 24

40 Days of Easter - April 24, 2011

Written by: Lynn Sharenberger

Can You Hear Me Now?
Matthew 28:9-10

"And behold Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him." (Matthew 28:9)

Matthew's gospel does not share many details about Jesus 'first encounter with these sad ladies as they leave the empty tomb on Easter morning. John' gospel reveals that as Mary was turning to leave, she nearly bumped into a man she thought to be the gardener. This man asked Mary why she was crying. Still not recognizing the man as Jesus, Mary asked Him where they had taken her Lord. Then it happened! Jesus spoke her name, "Mary."It was at this moment the women threw themselves at the feet of Jesus and began to worship Him.

As a parent, have you ever been separated from your child in a crowd? There may be twenty moms in the room, but if your child calls, ?Mom!? across the room, you recognize her voice and respond to her needs. John 10 tells us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He calls His own sheep by name, and they follow Him for they know His voice.

When Jesus calls your name, can you hear Him? Do you recognize His voice? In order to know His voice, we must spend time with Him. He speaks through His Holy Word, the Bible, and also through our time spent with Him in prayer. I encourage you to take a favorite passage of scripture this week and commit it to memory, then pray for an opportunity for God to allow you to use that particular passage to encourage someone else.

Lord, help us to be still and know that You are God. Help us to hide Your Word in our hearts and spend time on our knees, listening to Your voice, so that when You speak our names, we not only hear You, but we fall on our faces at Your feet and worship You, our risen Lord. Amen