7-Weeks in Heaven Bible Challenge
We are celebrating the resurrection of Christ this weekend. I’ve been a Christian all my life and have been celebrating Easter for that long, but it wasn’t until this year that I began to look beyond the stone being rolled away. It seems that we go through the motions of Resurrection Sunday and then go back to business as usual the following Monday. Thankful for the sacrifice, we pack up our pastels and start looking forward to Christmas.
Have you ever stopped to think about what the Twelve were going through after they saw their leader, teacher, and friend brutally murdered, only to show up alive and well, showing off his scars to prove that the traumatic events of the last few days were not a horrible dream? I can only liken it to being in a relationship for three and a half years and suddenly finding yourself abandoned after an unexpected, dramatic breakup. I’ve been in that situation before and remember combing through every memory, conversation, and interaction looking for signs that things were off. A comment here or a look there, serious discussions about the future that I misunderstood, or a misinterpreted touch or lack thereof had to have been there to warn me of what was to come.
The Disciples had to have similar thought processes which we see in Thomas’ response in John 20:25. The blessing for them is that after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to them for 40 days between His rising from the grave and His rising into Heaven. During these times, Acts 1: 3 says,”… He shewed himself alive… and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” I can just feel the urgency of every question they had, not knowing how much time they had left with the resurrected Lord or if this time would be the last time they saw him.
As I was thinking about this, it dawned on me that the disciples had the closest thing to being in Heaven that will ever be until the 2nd coming. They were able to listen to the Jesus who had defeated the devil and conquered death, re-learning all the things He tried to tell them while they walked and talked with him before his death, this time with enlightened eyes and ears and hearts that understood. Memorizing Jesus’ face and his movements as His expressions changed throughout His speaking would be the most important thing for me if I were a disciple.
Well, Loves, we are disciples, and although not in person (yet), we do have the opportunity to re-familiarize ourselves with the words of Jesus after his resurrection. This is why I created the 7-Weeks in Heaven Bible Challenge. We have the Bible to shine as much light on Jesus, His words, and works as possible through the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We can sit at His feet and revisit his earthly ministry over 40 days, just like the disciples did. Then we can go through the book of Acts for the last 10 days in which the disciples were waiting in Jerusalem for the “promise of the Father” and study what the first days with the Holy Spirit looked like.
I invite you to join me in reading the first five books of the New Testament to get reacquainted with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Beginning Monday, April 21, 2025, we will read and pray through these books, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal a deeper view of who Jesus was and why His life, death, and resurrection are important to us. I will be documenting my thoughts here, but you can also join me on TikTok to discuss on Thursdays at 7:00 pm. I look forward to discovering more of Jesus with you!
I love you,
