Devastated, alone, and looking for comfort. The one they turned to for support was gone. Dead. In the women’s search for solace, they gathered to talk and pray. Isn’t this what we do? We search for something to fill our feelings of emptiness, which is often a confusing, unacceptable reality. But these women wanted to do something; they had to do something. There was just one thing that could be done. The women prepared spices to place on His still, wrapped body, knowing that they could not remove the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. [Luke 24: 1-4]

As the women approached the tomb and resting place of their Messiah, they saw that the entrance stone was already rolled aside. Who might have done this? Rushing to inspect the now empty slab where Jesus once lay, the women were even more confused. However, before they could utter a word, two men in lightning brilliance stood beside them with a haunting question. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here.” Luke 24: 5-6. Jesus had risen and moved on.

Are you looking for a living Christ among empty pews in a lifeless building where Jesus once was an inspiration? Do Followers share testimonies of miraculous transformations or insights from the Lord in your congregation? Or is your place of fellowship and worship simply a man-made structure? Has the risen Christ moved on?

The women did not stay at the tomb to await Christ’s return. They left that dead, empty tomb to find the risen Christ. In the first century, a death sentence was often carried out by tying a corpse to the guilty party — face to face, mouth to mouth. Over time, the dead body corrupted the living until it too became a corpse. Morbid? Yes. In the book of Romans, Paul proclaimed his own condition regarding this very subject and begged for deliverance:

Romans 7:24 Amplified Bible (AMP)24 Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]?

Are you worshiping our amazing Lord and Savior among the dead? Don’t settle for the mundane or the “comfortable” when it comes to the Lord. Find where our risen Christ is ministering to the living for spirit-filled, spirit-lead worship and THRIVE in His love!