In his sermon entitled, "Risen, Ascended, and Coming Again," Pastor Graeme invited us to see Jesus not merely as a figure from the past, but as the risen, ascended, and returning Lord who gives victory over death, sends the Holy Spirit to empower his people, and offers hope that one day all things will be made new.
We invite you to spend the next five days reflecting and praying through this devotional based on that message.
We invite you to spend the next five days reflecting and praying through this devotional based on that message.
Day 1: The Defeat of Death
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Reflect: The resurrection of Jesus was not a resuscitation or a narrow escape. It was a decisive, head-on confrontation with death itself — and death lost. Paul declares in this passage that death has been swallowed up in victory, that its sting has been removed through Christ. Whatever you are carrying today — fear, grief, a situation that feels terminal — bring it before the Risen Jesus. Because he walked through death and came out the other side transformed, everything is on the table for him. His victory is not merely historical. It is personal, and it is yours.
What area of your life feels most hopeless right now? How does the reality of resurrection speak directly into that space? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Write down one thing you have been afraid to bring before God because it felt too broken or too far gone. Pray over it today with the confidence that the God who defeated death is not intimidated by your situation.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Reflect: The resurrection of Jesus was not a resuscitation or a narrow escape. It was a decisive, head-on confrontation with death itself — and death lost. Paul declares in this passage that death has been swallowed up in victory, that its sting has been removed through Christ. Whatever you are carrying today — fear, grief, a situation that feels terminal — bring it before the Risen Jesus. Because he walked through death and came out the other side transformed, everything is on the table for him. His victory is not merely historical. It is personal, and it is yours.
What area of your life feels most hopeless right now? How does the reality of resurrection speak directly into that space? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Write down one thing you have been afraid to bring before God because it felt too broken or too far gone. Pray over it today with the confidence that the God who defeated death is not intimidated by your situation.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 2: The Faithfulness of God
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Numbers 23:19 and Romans 4:18-25
Reflect: The Nicene Creed is careful to say that Jesus rose "in accordance with the Scriptures." That phrase is not a footnote — it is a declaration that resurrection was promised long before it happened. God said it, and God did it. Romans 4 holds up Abraham as a man who believed God would do what he said even when every natural circumstance pointed the other direction. The resurrection is the ultimate proof that God keeps his word. When you find yourself wondering whether God can be trusted with your future, look again at the empty tomb. It is the standing evidence of a God who does not fail.
Is there a promise from God — in Scripture or in prayer — that you have begun to doubt? What has made it hard to hold on? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Find one specific promise in Scripture that speaks to your current season. Write it down and return to it each day this week as an act of deliberate trust.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Numbers 23:19 and Romans 4:18-25
Reflect: The Nicene Creed is careful to say that Jesus rose "in accordance with the Scriptures." That phrase is not a footnote — it is a declaration that resurrection was promised long before it happened. God said it, and God did it. Romans 4 holds up Abraham as a man who believed God would do what he said even when every natural circumstance pointed the other direction. The resurrection is the ultimate proof that God keeps his word. When you find yourself wondering whether God can be trusted with your future, look again at the empty tomb. It is the standing evidence of a God who does not fail.
Is there a promise from God — in Scripture or in prayer — that you have begun to doubt? What has made it hard to hold on? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Find one specific promise in Scripture that speaks to your current season. Write it down and return to it each day this week as an act of deliberate trust.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 3: The Ascended King and the Gift of the Spirit
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: John 16:5-15
Reflect: Jesus told his closest friends that it was actually to their advantage that he go away. That is a startling claim. How could his physical absence be better than his physical presence? The answer is the Holy Spirit. The ascension of Jesus was not a retreat from the world — it was the moment Jesus moved from being present with one person at a time to being present within every person who receives him. The Spirit is not a consolation prize for those who missed the incarnation. He is the very presence of the ascended King, living in you, guiding you, and empowering you to do what you could never do alone.
When you think about the Holy Spirit, what words come to mind? Comfort? Power? Uncertainty? What might it look like to be more genuinely dependent on him today? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Before you begin your day tomorrow, pause and ask the Holy Spirit specifically to lead you. Pay attention throughout the day to moments that feel like his prompting, and choose to respond with obedience rather than hesitation.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: John 16:5-15
Reflect: Jesus told his closest friends that it was actually to their advantage that he go away. That is a startling claim. How could his physical absence be better than his physical presence? The answer is the Holy Spirit. The ascension of Jesus was not a retreat from the world — it was the moment Jesus moved from being present with one person at a time to being present within every person who receives him. The Spirit is not a consolation prize for those who missed the incarnation. He is the very presence of the ascended King, living in you, guiding you, and empowering you to do what you could never do alone.
When you think about the Holy Spirit, what words come to mind? Comfort? Power? Uncertainty? What might it look like to be more genuinely dependent on him today? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Before you begin your day tomorrow, pause and ask the Holy Spirit specifically to lead you. Pay attention throughout the day to moments that feel like his prompting, and choose to respond with obedience rather than hesitation.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 4: Living in the Tension
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Romans 8:18-27
Reflect: The Christian life is not a life free from pain — it is a life that holds pain within a larger story. Paul writes in Romans 8 that all of creation groans, longing for what is not yet. And remarkably, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. This means God is not distant from your suffering. He is inside it with you, praying on your behalf when you do not have the words. The Christian has permission to say "it should not be this way" — and also "it will not always be this way." Both things are true. Both things are holy.
Is there something in your life or in the world around you that fills you with grief or anger because it simply should not be this way? Have you given yourself permission to bring that honestly before God? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Spend time today in honest, unfiltered prayer. Do not clean it up. Bring the grief, the confusion, or the anger — and then ask the Spirit to intercede where your words fall short.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Romans 8:18-27
Reflect: The Christian life is not a life free from pain — it is a life that holds pain within a larger story. Paul writes in Romans 8 that all of creation groans, longing for what is not yet. And remarkably, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. This means God is not distant from your suffering. He is inside it with you, praying on your behalf when you do not have the words. The Christian has permission to say "it should not be this way" — and also "it will not always be this way." Both things are true. Both things are holy.
Is there something in your life or in the world around you that fills you with grief or anger because it simply should not be this way? Have you given yourself permission to bring that honestly before God? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Spend time today in honest, unfiltered prayer. Do not clean it up. Bring the grief, the confusion, or the anger — and then ask the Spirit to intercede where your words fall short.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 5: All Will Be Well
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Revelation 21:1-7
Reflect: he return of Jesus is not a revenge tour. It is a restoration. Revelation 21 does not describe God abandoning creation for something entirely different — it describes God making all things new. Every tear wiped away. Death itself undone. The voice from the throne does not say "I am making all new things" but "I am making all things new." Your story, your pain, your broken relationships, your body, your city — none of it is beyond the reach of that promise. As Julian of Norwich heard in her time of prayer, "all will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well."
What does genuine hope — not wishful thinking, but confidence rooted in the character of God — feel like for you right now? What makes it difficult to hold? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Share the phrase "it will not always be this way" with someone in your life who is struggling. You do not need to have all the answers. Simply be present, and let the hope of the coming King speak through your willingness to stand with them in the waiting.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Revelation 21:1-7
Reflect: he return of Jesus is not a revenge tour. It is a restoration. Revelation 21 does not describe God abandoning creation for something entirely different — it describes God making all things new. Every tear wiped away. Death itself undone. The voice from the throne does not say "I am making all new things" but "I am making all things new." Your story, your pain, your broken relationships, your body, your city — none of it is beyond the reach of that promise. As Julian of Norwich heard in her time of prayer, "all will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well."
What does genuine hope — not wishful thinking, but confidence rooted in the character of God — feel like for you right now? What makes it difficult to hold? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Make it Tangible: Share the phrase "it will not always be this way" with someone in your life who is struggling. You do not need to have all the answers. Simply be present, and let the hope of the coming King speak through your willingness to stand with them in the waiting.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".