Running to the Empty Tomb Finding the Joy in Easter

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are sacred and essential doctrines of the Christian faith, yet Easter baskets and the holiday’s annual reoccurrence dilutes its message. Christians sincerely want to appreciate Easter but need a fresh approach to wake their souls. Easter weekend passes, and Christians feel like they have missed something important.This devotional prepares believers to experience Christ’s death and resurrection in a way that renews them and applies to their daily lives. The meditations delve into the Scriptures and draws readers into an authentically close and adoring relationship with God, so that when Easter weekend arrives, they are running to the open grave in wonder and joy.Readers will read a meditation with Scripture five days per week. As they consider Jesus’ teachings from a fresh perspective, they will comprehend more intensely the destruction of sin but rest in the grace of God’s forgiveness as they understand more deeply His love for them. Readers will find themselves praying more frequently and applying Scripture practically to their lives. They will anticipate Easter with refreshing joy.The book consists of meditations with Scripture for each weekday from Ash Wednesday until Jesus’ last week of ministry on Earth (Holy Week), plus meditations for each day of Holy week, including Palm Sunday, the weekdays of Holy Week, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. There are 36 mediations in all.The book has two appendices, one with ideas for giving up or taking up an activity during the Easter preparation period, which is called Lent, the other lists the numbered meditations, descriptions of each meditation, Scriptures used for each day and the calendar date associated with each meditation.

Librarian, science and Bible study teacher, Suzanne Marshall, possesses unique insights into Scripture through God-given spiritual gifts. Ten year old Suzanne fidgeted on a pew, yawning and commiserating with her growling stomach, when out of nowhere, a thought pierced her mind like a shaft of light, “God loved me enough to send His son to die, but I don’t love Him back.” The congregation thumped the kneelers on the ground. As Suzanne sank onto her knees, she squeezed her hands together and eyes closed and prayed, “God, help me love you.”Two years later, Suzanne met a girl her age who talked about Jesus as if she had just finished a phone call with Him and couldn’t wait to call Him back. Suzanne pounced on her new friend, plying her with questions about how she could know God in Heaven and love Him so tangibly.That is how Suzanne’s lifelong quest to “see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly and follow Him more nearly” began. Insatiably hungry for Scripture, she immersed herself in the Bible and attended studies, reflecting on passages’ relevance to every-day life. Writing intimate prayers provided her a means of honest communication with God. God seemed to give Suzanne spiritual glasses that revealed His fingerprints all over creation. She walked in the woods and along the beach picking up feathers, leaves and shells, marveling at the patterns and brilliance in such functional yet beautiful treasures.Teaching sciences seemed the best avenue to inflame others with her passion for God and His creative works, so she earned a bachelors degree in secondary education from Texas A & M. When Suzanne was hired to teach sixth through ninth grade sciences, the school board recognized the Holy Spirit's gifts of Biblical wisdom and teaching in their young employee and assigned her to also teach the Bible classes. She was invited to present a workshop at the Association of Christian Schools International's annual conference in Dallas. Suzanne took her own curriculum which demonstrated Biblical truths married with practical applications. After each conference session, comment cards most frequently stated attendee’s amazement at the uncanny wisdom of someone so young.Suzanne later earned a Masters of Library and Information Science from Florida State University and used her degree as a reference librarian at the West Florida Public Library. An avid reader, Suzanne’s job broadened her reading genres and taught her to discern readers’ needs and quality writing. She expanded her writing from prayers to essays, and her article, “A Hidden Story,” won the front cover of Documents to the People, Winter Issue 2012, Vol 40, No. 4. Most of her essays aimed to make spiritual sense of difficult things in her life and the world and to infuse the reader with wonder at God's creative genius.For over thirty-five years, Suzanne continued leading and participating in Bible studies as well as absorbing expositional preaching. Reading literature by respected Christian theologians, such as R. C. Sproul, C. S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, Dorothy Sayers, Henri Louwen, Thomas Merton, John Piper, Philip Yancey, and many others accompanied her meditations of the Bible.She felt God’s strong pull to share her gifts of wisdom more broadly with the body of Christ, for whom they were intended. She now devotes her time to writing in answer to His call.