Jesus' Death

Prayer Practice:

Spoken Prayer – Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.

Daily Reading: Luke 23:44-56

 
Devotional

Death Takes Center Stage

by Pastor Jeff Morlock

Today death takes center stage. Good Friday is always difficult. But this year it feels even more so, for death is the ultimate pandemic. No one escapes it, not even Jesus. On this day Emmanuel, God with us, takes on its deepest meaning. Jesus is never more identified with us than on the cross. He’s  never more present to us and our suffering than he is on Good Friday - not at his birth, nor in his teaching and preaching; not in the miracles he performs, nor even at his resurrection. It’s on the cross, in his suffering and dying, that Jesus is most like us. And it is in dying to self that we are most like him, fully loving God and neighbor as he commands.

Good Friday confronts us with our lack of control and our powerlessness over death. COVID-19 intensifies this, of course. Yet the reality of death doesn’t diminish or negate our lives, it intensifies them! Death is the frame around the picture of our day(s). It focuses our attention on what really matters. The fact life is fleeting but God is good means every moment is holy. In fact, this one right now is priceless. Jesus knew this, of course. It’s why he lived as he did. Our Lord took no person, no thing, and no day for granted. His life was intense. His love passionate. His presence palpable. But he lived as he did, not in spite of his coming death, but because of it.

What does it mean that, as Christians, we live in the shadow of the cross?  What does it mean for your relationships, your priorities, and the values you hold? What does it mean for the ways you love, forgive, and show up for others? For the places where you invest your time, money, and effort? Are you living in light of eternity, as though today is a precious gift from God? Good Friday says it is. And because of Jesus and the freedom he won for us--freedom from sin, death, and the devil; freedom from shame and fear--tomorrow will be, too.

Prayer:
God, as we remember what your Son, Jesus was willing to endure so that we could receive the gift of eternal life, let us not take this life in Christ for granted. Empower us to join you in the kingdom opportunities of this day, and to rejoice in the truth that you are making all things new, including us. Even now. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Great Friday

Mark 15:21-41

After listening to the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, those not familiar with Christianity would be tempted to ask why today is called “Good Friday.” It doesn’t seem good at all!

Hearing how Jesus was insulted and mocked when just days before he had been praised, would be difficult to comprehend. “Why did this happen?”

Christians know the answer from 1 Thessalonians 4:14 - For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

Jesus had to die. He died so we could live again in Him.

While we’d be callous to not feel agony over the way Jesus died and the pain He suffered, we know today is better than good, it’s great! Today is what everything in the Bible was leading up to.

And just wait until Sunday when he’s not in the tomb. You think today is great! Hallelujah!! He has risen, He has risen indeed!

But don’t let me jump ahead. Take time today to acknowledge Jesus’ sacrifice for us. A sacrifice that turned an awful Friday into a very very Good one.
 

February 14, 2018

Psalm 19:1-4

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2019%3A1-4&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Valentine’s Day is traditionally a day to show how much you love your spouse, your children, or your significant other. Children exchange Valentine’s Day cards at school. Couples go out for dinner. Gifts are given like flowers, candy or jewelry. But this year was different.

 

On February 14, 2018, at about 2:00pm a young man walked into a Florida high school and began shooting. By the time he was done, seventeen people were dead! Where is God in this? How is God revealed through something as senseless as this?

 

David endured much tragedy in his life. He first came on the scene by killing Goliath with his sling shot. He led the armies of the nation of Israel in battle and killed his “tens of thousands”. He became a legend which eventually lead to King Saul trying to kill him by sending his army chasing David around the countryside.

 

Yes, David knew what death and destruction was like. I’m sure he personally knew men who were killed in battle; whose families mourned the loss of their loved ones. After all, war is hell. Yet in Psalm 19 he wrote about the Glory of God and how God is revealed in our world.

 

¹ The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
² Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
³ They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard
⁴ Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.          NLT

 

So how do we respond after the Valentine’s Day massacre of 2018? Do we put our hands up in the air and cry “Woe is me”? Is it hopeless? Or, like David, do we turn to our Creator and look for how He is revealed in our world?

 

Besides this past Wednesday being Valentine’s Day, it was also Ash Wednesday; the beginning of Lent. Lent quickly takes us to Good Friday and Easter. God showed His love for you and for me by sending His one and only son to die for us. He revealed Himself to us through His son.

 

Death does not have the final word. God does.

 

 

 

Jesus purchased us with His blood

14 ApriL                  

Read Revelation 5 and reflect on the passage.

In revelation, God has given his church a “coloring” Book full of incredible imagery. Chapters 4 and 5 are a vision, (“I looked,” v. 4:1), which God gave the author John to show what is always going on in the center of the universe.

4:1-6 Prominent is a throne—symbol of God’s sovereignty, majesty, and kingly rule.

4:6-11 The worshipers are in two concentric circles focused on the throne.

They constantly proclaim the praise of our holy God.

5:1-7 There is a scroll of the book of history and what is to come. John weeps that nobody is fit to open it. An elder says the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David can open it (5:5). But astonishingly, what appears is a Lamb with its throat cut! He alone is declared worthy to open the scroll because He was slain (5:9).

5:8-14 The worship following is beyond description.

When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he said “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus came foremost to die. And by His cross He has suffered, conquered evil, and redeemed us for God. Let us always worship!

Questions

1. Going to a worship service, do you pray and ask God to help you bring the devotion of your whole mind, body, and spirit to glorifying Him?

2. After the service, do you ever thank God? Do you evaluate the time not by what you got out of it but how much He received?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, on this Good Friday, make me ever mindful of Your sacrifice. Help me reflect and worship You as the Lamb slain for me.

—Buff Delcamp

Friday - Good Friday

Luke 23:39-43 (NIV)
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. "Then he said,"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. "Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

I have wondered in years past, why was this day of Holy Week called Good Friday. I am probably not the only one to this question.

I had the privilege to read this passage at my younger brother's memorial service six years ago. After Mark died my sisters found his Bible, the one I had given him many years before, open to this passage. I am sure Mark, just as you and I often do, questioned if the past would keep him from Heaven.

The story of the two criminals who died alongside Jesus tells the story of Jesus' love and his amazing grace. Had both the men responded to Jesus in the way the contrite man did, they would have been gathered up with the Savior. This Good News hasn't changed any. If we confess and repent, we too will live.

One of the reasons Easter is such a special season for me is because of this truth. Every time a family member or close friend who was a believer, losses their battle for life in this world, I know it isn't the end. On Easter morning when we boldly sing of the truth of the cross I am reminded that I will see Mark again. As I was reading the scripture passage that day, the words, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." jumped off the page.

That's what's so good about Good Friday!

Luke 23:26-43