50 Forgotten Days: A Journey Into The Age To Come

Many people use a Lenten devotional to prepare for Easter, but what about the days beyond Easter? The 50 days between Easter and Pentecost were the foundations of the early church. Jesus was with his disciples for 40 days--what did he do? What did he teach? And what about the 10 days of waiting after he left and before the day of Pentecost. It was the beginning of a new age. Each daily devotional is short--you can read it in 5 minutes or less, but the ideas will stick with you throughout the day. Take a journey into the Age to Come. From the Introduction: We are big on Easter, and rightfully so—God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, putting an exclamation mark on the life of his Son. Some branches of the faith are big on Pentecost, celebrating the coronation of Jesus in heaven, and the overflow of the Spirit dripping down to the earth. Between the two there’s a span of 50 days. In the hubbub of Easter, we sometimes forget Jesus stuck around for another 40 days after resurrection. Apparently he had more to say and do. The very first verse in the book of Acts teaches us that the gospels were about “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” The rest of Acts teaches us that Jesus is still doing and teaching in the days, weeks, months and decades after the gospels. The work of the first century church was the work of Jesus. Isn’t that true today? It’s all too easy to substitute our work for his, to engage in ministry apart from his direction. What is Jesus is doing and teaching in our day? Are we still working with him or simply working for him?