Category: Resurrection

In just three days

Ruth Kirk

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19; NLT).

In just three days I’ll rise again,
And you will see my joyful face.
You’ll touch my wounds,
And hear my voice again,
And know my grace.

In just three days I will rebuild
My temple in your flesh and blood.
I’ll heal your heart,
And mend your broken spirit
With my love.

In just three days you’ll see again
My way, my truth, my shining light.
Then we’ll be one
For evermore –
And you will share my life.

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Philippians 3:8-11; NLT).

Rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory (1Peter 4:13; CSB).

Reading: John 20:24-9; NLT.

Easter Monday 2026

Ruth Kirk

In prayer on Easter Day, I suddenly saw that since Christ’s death on the cross he is resurrected in our bodies, minds, hearts and souls. All we need to do is to recognise  him.

Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him (Luke 24:31; NLT; my emphasis).

My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings (Philippians 3:10; CSB).

Your resurrection, Lord,
Is in each soul –
You are the God who died
To make us whole.

Living within our hearts and minds
You weep –
Sharing our sorrows
When the way is steep.

Here, in our flesh and blood
You make us One –
One with each other,
And with you, God’s Son.

You are the King of kings
Whose love is sweet –
You are the One
Who makes our lives complete.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Ephesians 3:19; NLT).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

References

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).

Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering” (Mark 10:39; NLT).

Rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory (1Peter 4:13; CSB).

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Philippians 3:8-11; NLT).

Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body? (1 Corinthians 6:15; CSB).

We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; NLT).

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations (Ezekiel 36:26-7; NLT).

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).

The way of the cross

Ruth Kirk

He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44; NLT).

Praying; grieving;
Sweating; pleading;

Slipping; sliding;
Stumbling; falling;

Stripping; nailing;
Lifting; reeling;

Bleeding; dying;
Rising; healing.

For you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture (Malachi 4:2; NLT).

Faith (for J.G.)

Ruth Kirk

A night prayer of longing to be finally and fully one with Christ.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1; NLT).

I kiss your feet,
Your hands, your face,

Then all I know
Is your embrace.

I hear you say:
Your work is done.

At last, forever,
We are one.

Well done, good and faithful servant! …Come and share your master’s happiness! (Matthew 25:21; NIV).

References

She knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet (Luke 7:38; NLT).

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands” (John 20:27; NLT).

They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look – I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave (Revelation 1:17-18; NLT).

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him (Luke 15:20; NLT).

And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over” (Mark 5:34; NLT).

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance (1 Corinthians 13:7; NLT).

He loves us with unfailing love; the LORD’S faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

A reading: Philippians 3:8-11; NLT.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

A bag of bones

Ruth Kirk

Recent circumstances have raised a major issue for me: I may be autistic. My doctor has referred me for an assessment, which I hope to arrange very soon. This possibility is making me think about my life in a completely new way, and I’m finding the uncertainty disturbing, and very difficult to live with. All these things are reflected in today’s blog.

We have become old, dry bones – all hope is gone (Ezekiel 37:11; NLT).

Lord, I’m just a bag of bones,
A stranger to myself;
This life is far too hard –
I can’t be helped.

Lord, I’m just the odd one out,
With nowhere to belong,
For life is very hard –
I’m made all wrong!

Lord, I’m just unloveable;
A failure – take my soul!
My life is much too hard
To be made whole.

Yet you made me as I am,
And know me through and through;
Though life is hard, I trust
You’ll make me new.

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age (Ruth 4:15; NIV).

Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31; NIV).

Like You

Ruth Kirk

The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him (Mark 14:1; NLT).

Like You,
When we’re feeling alone,
And in trouble:
We’re still one with God.

Like You,
When we’re grieving, alone,
And in anguish:
We’re still one with God.

Like You,
When we’re dying, alone,
And in torment:
We’re still one with God.

Like You,
When we rise, Lord,
In heaven, forever:
We’re still one with God!

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-3; NIV).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

References

He began to be deeply distressed and troubled (Mark 14:33; NIV).

He was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44; NLT).

Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).

Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face (John 19:1-3; NLT).

The soldiers nailed him to the cross (Mark 15:24; NLT).

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Mark 15:34; NLT).

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last (Luke 23:46; NIV).

The life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being (Job 12:10; NLT).

Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38; NLT).

Be sure of this: I am with you always (Matthew 28:20; NLT).

He loves us with unfailing love; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

Easter Monday

Ruth Kirk

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:31-2; NIV).

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13; NIV).

None greater,
Or finer;
More loving,
Or kinder;

None humbler,
Or higher;
More selfless,
Or wiser;

None brighter,
Or nearer;
More truthful,
Or dearer;

None gentler,
Or braver –
Than Jesus,
Our Saviour.

You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen (2 Peter 3:18; NLT).

 

Easter Sunday

Ruth Kirk

Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew. Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants (Deuteronomy 32:2; NLT).

God’s love is a dew,
And a rain,
And a powerful storm.

God’s love is a spark,
And a flame,
And a wild, raging fire.

God’s love is a light,
And a truth,
And a wilderness way.

God’s love is a Word,
And a cross,
And a new hope each day.

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:3-4; NIV).

References

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

The Lord your God is a raging fire (Deuteronomy 4:24; GW).

I am the light of the world (John 8:12; NLT).

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; NLT).

His name is the Word of God (Revelation 19:13; NIV).

You have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God (1 Peter 1:23; NLT).

 

When we die

Ruth Kirk

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

When we die, we all return
To you: the God who gives us life.

We confess our sins and faults –
You forgive, and set us free.

You redeem us, heal, restore,
And crown us with your tender love.

Then we live in paradise
With you, forever – even me!

Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43; NLT).

 

Not the same

Ruth Kirk

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage…

Life’s not the same without the cross;
Without the gift and loss
Of Christ; his resurrection, and
Our journey to his promised land.

Life’s not the same without his love;
Without his closeness, and the Dove,
His Holy Ghost, who shows the way,
Whilst helping us to serve, and pray.

Life’s not the same without his care;
Without his Word to give and share,
As we lead others back to God,
Who comforts us with staff and rod.

Life’s not the same without our faith;
Without the mercy, strength, and grace
Of God, our Father, and his Son,
And Holy Ghost – for we are one.

…so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

References

I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me (John 17:21; NLT).

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you (Romans 8:11; NLT).

A reading from Ephesians 3:14-19; JB.

I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name: Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.