December 30: The Resurrection and the Life / Way, Truth, and Life
♫ Music:
Day 31 - Tuesday, December 30
Title: The Resurrection & the Life / Way, Truth, & Life
Scripture #1: John 11:25–27 (NKJV)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Scripture #2: John 14:6 (NKJV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Scripture #3: John 5:24–29 (NKJV)
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
Poetry & Poet:
“Resurrection”
by Alice Gustava Smith (Sister Maris Stella)
from the deep sea wrack
from the green light under the sea
from the coral caves men will come back
on mountain tops where
dropped from the air
or hurled
against the world
their bones grow cold
among the old
rock-frost above the tree-line
they will rise up with the divine
breath breathed into them again
as on the first of men
Adam, newly conceived of clay
on the sixth day
God breathed even somewhere Adam will rise
opening again his eyes
on the world to find
nothing much changed but of a mind
that he was blind before
Abel, first-slain
having lain
longer in earth than any other man
and Eve with the look of the new Eve
upon her but still Eve
they will rise up having known
the terrible trumpets blown
would cry: this is the doom
this is the crack of doom
who will record the innumerable horde
in hope to see
what publican will mount into a tree
what wind what weather what bird
will shout unheard
against the sound
of whole tribes and families growing up out of the ground
what earth does every spring
is only a hint of the thing
The Resurrection and the Way, Truth, and Life
Around this time each December, news outlets list names of the notable who passed away in 2025: musicians, politicians, journalists, actors, authors, athletes, among others.
At Biola University, two sudden deaths in recent months hit us hard. One was Avarie, a beautiful 20-year-old student who died from an allergic reaction while studying abroad in Italy. Another was John, our beloved 54-year-old campus safety chief, among the nation’s most sought-after college law enforcement professionals. Maybe you, too, experienced one of those deaths that seemed so untimely, so unjust, so senseless.
In John 11, we find Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary, who Jesus loved deeply. Despite his love for them, Lazarus still died. Martha was beside herself. She asked Jesus, “Why? Why didn’t you come sooner? Why didn’t you heal him? Why now? Why him? Why, God?”
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
I’ve been posing that question over these two, precious members of Biola University, asking like Martha, “God, if you only had done this or that, Avarie and John would be among the living.”
Though Jesus knew the resurrection would have the final say, he still wept tears of deep sorrow. He wept because of these sisters’ heartache. He wept because of his profound compassion on those at a loss for why this man died, who were so broken and despairing. Even though Jesus knew that in a matter of minutes Lazarus would come back to life, he felt the pain, the loss, the despair, the devastation, the questions, the heaving agony that came over this family like clouds of deep darkness, unutterable sorrow. Jesus knew. And Jesus wept.
Jesus’ tears give us permission for our tears.
Martha’s “why” questions give us permission for our “whys.”
Yet that’s not the end of the story. Wiping the tears from his own eyes, Jesus walked up to that crypt entombing Lazarus’ body, and after he prayed, he said these words, “Lazarus, come out!” And the Gospel says Lazarus came out of that grave, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a death cloth around his face. Then Jesus said to those around, “Take off the grave clothes, and let him go.”
I remember as a boy hearing a preacher tell that story of Christ’s summoning Lazarus from the dead, saying these words, “Had not Jesus called Lazarus by name, every grave would have opened to resurrected life.”
One day, we will see clearly that the sting of death will be eclipsed by the power and glory of Jesus. Until then, despite our sorrows, despite our questions, despite our doubts, Jesus will have the final word, even as we Kleenex the tears from our own eyes.
Maja Lisa Engelhardt the Danish artist who so vividly depicts the Resurrection in this stunning relief on Biola’s Calvary Chapel, is living in hope having earlier this year lost her husband and my friend, artist Peter Brandes. For Peter, for Avarie, for John and for those you name, remember, as Sister Maris Stella says in her poem “Resurrection,” They will rise up with the divine, breath breathed into them again.
Sister Maris helps us soak in the indescribable day of Resurrection, its scope and its glory, even as we are all battling foes that seem to be far bigger than our mortal selves can defeat.
Prayer:
Jesus. Giver of life,
Help us to believe amidst our doubts.
To see life amidst our sorrows.
To truly and deeply believe you are the Resurrection and the Life.
And from our belief, give us the courage to move forward in unbridled obedience.
How life-giving you are, even in our doubts, questions and fears.
How we love you.
Amen
Dr. Barry H. Corey
President of Biola University
About the Artwork #1:
The Resurrection of Christ
Maja Lisa Engelhardt
2018
Gilded wall relief
31 x 18 ft.
Plaster gilded with gold
Calvary Chapel
Biola University
La Mirada, California
Biola University’s Calvary Chapel underwent a major artistic renovation during the summer of 2018 by adding a new dimension of sacred space, reverence, and beauty to the interior space. World-renowned Danish liturgical artists Peter Brandes and Maja Lisa Engelhardt transformed the chapel with contemporary art in the form of thirty-two exquisite stained glass windows, a stunning gilded wall relief, a gold cross, innovative lighting, and other redesigned architectural elements all created around the central theme of the resurrection. The interior is divided into four spaces, like the edges of a cross. Each features stained glass windows that were carefully created by Brandes to depict key passages of Scripture. Engelhardt produced two sculptures, a cross over the entrance to the chapel, and a stunning golden relief wall which symbolically represents Jesus’ resurrection. Collectively, the renovations and new artwork testify powerfully to the redemptive work of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection—and inspire a vision of the glory to come. The changes to the chapel have not only enriched the experience of worship, but boldly stand as a visual testimony to Biola’s continued commitment as an institution of Christian faith and its core values of truth, transformation, and testimony.
To further explore the redesign of Biola University’s Calvary Chapel, click the following link:
https://www.biola.edu/calvary-chapel.
One of the most striking features in Calvary Chapel is the thirty-one-by-eighteen-foot gold relief sculptural wall that depicts the resurrected Christ emerging from the tomb, radiant with glory. The work is designed to draw you into the space, attracting you to the light and color. This impressive sculpture was hand-carved from five tons of clay, and then cast in plaster. Once cast, the plaster was gilded with different karats of gold. This creates the changes in color, with the purest, 24-karat gold shining in the middle.
About the Art #2:
Jesus on the Shore
Maja Lisa Engelhardt
Oil on canvas
Altarpiece from Turup Church
Denmark
About the Artist for #1 & #2:
Maja Lisa Engelhardt (b. 1956) is one of the most sought-after Christian artists today. She graduated from the Funen Art Academy in central Odense, Denmark, and has lived much of her life in Denmark and France. Her faith is expressed in believing that the divine is omnipresent and manifests itself in and with nature. Engelhardt often uses light and landscape elements such as a field road, thornbush, or bird wing as symbols of God's appearance. In her liturgical art, Engelhardt has worked on what artist Paul Klee calls "making visible what has been secretly revealed." Her works in various Danish churches are infused with an aspiration to make the divine presence felt—not only in the actual embellishments, but also in the entire body of the church. For the past twenty-five years, both she and her late husband, artist Peter Brandes, have been largely responsible for a renaissance in Danish church interiors. They have redesigned over twenty churches, creating stained glass, painted altarpieces, floor coverings, mosaics, vestments, and metal work.
https://www.ehgallery.com/maja-lisa-engelhardt
About the Music: “I Am the Resurrection and the Life” from the album Songs of Eternity
Lyrics: (Sung in English and Hebrew)
Believe in me you will not die.
Believe in me you will not die.
Believe in me you will not die.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will not die.
Take away the stone,
Loose him and let him go.
If you only believe then
You will see the glory of the Lord
I am the resurrection and the life
He who believes in me will not die
Take away the stone
Loose him and let him go
If you only believe then
You will see the glory of the Lord
I am the resurrection and the life
He who believes in me will not die
Take away the stone
Loose him and let him go
If you only believe then
You will see the glory of the Lord
The glory of the Lord is risen
The glory of the Lord is come
The glory of the Lord
The glory of the Lord
The glory of the Lord is risen
He who believes in me will not die
He who believes in me will not die
The glory of the Lord is risen
The glory of the Lord is risen
He who believes in me will not die
He who believes in me will not die
He who believes
He who believes in me will not die
I am the resurrection and the life
I am the resurrection and the life
He will inherit eternal life
Tag:
HA-MA’AMIN BI LO YAMUT….ELA YINCHAL CHAYEI OLAM
(He who believes in Me will not die…but will inherit eternal life)
ANI HA-TCHIYA V’HA-CHAIM
(I am the Resurrection and the Life)
https://news.kehila.org/lyric-video-i-am-the-resurrection-and-the-life/
About the Composers/Performers: Karen Davis and Steve Carpenter, music arranged by Gabriel Alonso
Karen Davis is the worship director and co-founder of Carmel Congregation (“Kehilat HaCarmel”), a Messianic congregation located on the top of Mount Carmel, Israel, where her late husband, David, served as founding pastor for twenty-five years. Karen is also a songwriter, well-known internationally for her Messianic praise and worship music. She has recorded numerous solo albums of original music in Hebrew and English. Her latest recording is “Songs of Eternity.” Karen and her late husband, David, also ministered for many years internationally as a team with a strong emphasis on the prophetic and the “one new man.” Since her husband’s passing, Karen continues to speak and lead worship internationally, with a passion to see the “warrior bride” of Messiah arise in the nations.
https://www.youtube.com/@KarenDavisWorship
https://karendavisworship.com/
Steve Carpenter is a singer, songwriter, Christian musician, and worshiper of God. Carpenter aims to bring heaven to earth in engaging ways, by exploring the heart of God through worship music. His original music and covers of worship songs are all created with the goal of encouraging the Christian community to pursue the heart of God in a relevant way.
Gabriel Alonso is an English arranger, producer, musician, conference speaker, and author located in Pontefract, England.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-alonso-82518729/?originalSubdomain=uk
About the Poetry & Poet:
Alice Gustava Smith (1899–1987), better known by her students and readers as Sister Maris Stella, taught English at the College of St. Catherine (now St. Catherine University) in St. Paul, Minnesota, for nearly fifty years. During that time, she also published books of verse that built her reputation as a skilled and spiritual poet. Sister Maris Stella’s career took off when she sailed to England and earned her master’s degree in English at the University of Oxford. Soon after returning from Europe, she became a star in the English Department at St. Catherine’s. She loved teaching and became a popular creative writing teacher as well as a poet-in-residence.
https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/smith-alice-gustava-sister-maris-stella-1899-1987
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Barry H. Corey
President of Biola University
Dr. Barry H. Corey is the eighth president of Biola University. Since assuming the role in 2007, Corey has led Biola into its second century with the launch of an ambitious ten‐year university plan, completing the largest fundraising campaign in Biola’s history by exceeding its $180 million goal, creating four new academic schools and embarking on a major university transformation journey to position Biola to flourish for decades to come. He has done this while honoring the mission of the university and its unique contribution to the landscape of higher education. A native of New England, Corey previously served as dean of the faculty and vice president for education at Gordon‐Conwell Theological Seminary as well as its vice president for development. He received his B.A. in English and biblical studies from Evangel University and his M.A. in American studies and Ph.D. in education from Boston College. As a Fulbright scholar, Barry lived in Bangladesh, where he researched educational programs for children of the landless poor. Corey is the author of the books The Treasurer: A Biography of Herbert Stewart Gray (Westbow, 2025), Make the Most of It: A Guide to Loving Your College Years (Tyndale, 2020), and Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue (Tyndale, 2016), and his writing has been featured in publications like The Washington Post, The National Review, Relevant, and Converge, among others. He currently serves or has recently served on governing boards such as that of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the Museum of the Bible, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Christianbook International Outreach, and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He and his wife, Paula, have three children: Anders—who is married to Ashley—Ella, and Samuel.