April 2, 2016
Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem. As he traveled from Galilee, he sought to take the direct route through Samaria, but they would not “receive” him. Their rejection was a foreshadowing of the rejection he would face in Jerusalem. Yet, he “set his face” to go there. It was time. The reason for his coming was at hand. The betrayal, the rejection, the cross, the death and the burial… all these stood between him and his ascension back to the Father. He “set his face” to endure all these, looking past them to the time when he would be “taken up,” having completed his mission. Like a mother giving birth, who sets her face to endure the labor, Jesus “set his face” to endure the cross in order to experience the joy that was set before him (Heb. 12:2). Looking past the dark shadow of the cross, Jesus “set his face” to the bright glory that awaited him with the Father. Those who follow Jesus have a similar way of facing life, setting their face on being with Him, they order their lives accordingly.
April 1, 2016
Jesus took his inner circle of disciples up on a mountain to pray. As usual, they fell asleep, but they awoke suddenly to discover a change. The veil separating this world from the next had been pulled back. They saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus about his soon approaching exodus from this world. Even more, Christ’s true majestic glory was revealed as they glimpsed His person with unveiled faces. Peter’s sleepy mumblings were silenced by the Father saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
So, looking and listening, what is observed? Here are two observations: 1) Moses and Elijah are alive and identifiable, giving evidence of the afterlife with God. 2) The Divinity of Christ is supported both by the visible revelation of His person and the audible testimony of His Father. How do these two observations encourage you today?
March 31, 2016
Jesus predicted his own death, burial and resurrection. No one took His life. He gave it willingly. The disciples didn’t really understand Christ’s claims until after His resurrection. When the disciples became eye witnesses of the risen Lord and were filled with the Holy Spirit, they went from frightened, unschooled followers to courageous, emboldened proclaimers of the gospel. And so Christ-followers greet one another even until this day saying, “He is risen!” He is risen indeed!
March 30, 2016
Hope is the strong desire for a favorable future. Yet, experiences of past and present failures often dash our hopes, making us less hopeful for tomorrow. But the Psalmist found that his hope in the Lord was trustworthy and true since his youth. Anchoring his hope in the Lord, his hope for the future soared. We can make Christ our hope. He will never disappoint. Our hope in Jesus is anchored in his resurrection, trusts in his reliability and focuses on his soon return. Christ is our hope for our past, present and future.
March 29, 2016
Teaching the commandments of God to our children is to be a way of life. When we compartmentalize the teaching of God’s Word, so that we only mention it on Sundays and holidays, our children don’t see how to apply it to their everyday lives. It becomes an academic knowledge rather than an applied wisdom. However, when we teach and talk about God’s Word at the breakfast table, when traveling to school, at bedtime and all through the day, we show them how God’s Word is to affect their lifestyle. The responsibility to teach children to obey God’s Word is not to be assigned or delegated to the school or even the church. It is the responsibility of the parents to train up a child in the way of the Word.
March 28, 2016
Of the four soils that Jesus described in his parable about receptivity to God’s Word, the thorny soil probably best resembles modern hearts. There has never been a generation so blessed with access to the Bible and the gospel message. Yet, today’s believers have a stunted spiritual maturity. They spend their days distracted by so many things that they fail to focus on the important. Are you cultivating the seed of God’s Word or is your spiritual life getting lost in the weeds?
March 27, 2016
David wrote this psalm, but it finds its true fulfillment in Christ. The disciples of Jesus recalled the first part of this psalm when he zealously cleared the temple of the moneychangers on the Monday of Passion Week (John 2:17). Yet on Good Friday, he fulfilled the latter part of the verse as all the world’s “reproach” fell on him. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sin, and not only that, but on the first day of the following week, he arose, overcoming sin, death and the grave. He has therefore become not only our perfect sin sacrifice, but also our Great High Priest, “able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). He is risen!
March 26, 2016
Jesus is a funeral crasher. When he encountered the crying widow of Nain marching behind her only son’s coffin in a funeral procession, he interrupted their progress (Who does that?). He was moved with compassion for the widow whose only link to a hopeful future lay in the casket. The rights and possessions of her husband belonged to her now dead son. She would be left destitute and alone. But Jesus crashed the funeral and told the widow, “Don’t cry!” How offensive this would be if he were only telling her to deny her feelings. After all, what else could she do? She had no power to overcome death. She had every right to those tears! Who is this that he would stop a funeral along with its tears? He is Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. And when death meets Life, Life wins. So, Jesus touched the bier and told the young man to arise. And the dead boy arose and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Because Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the grave, He is able to turn our mourning into laughter.
March 25, 2016
What does it mean to say that “Jesus is Lord?”Jesus challenged his followers by asking why their walk didn’t match their talk. It’s one thing to go around saying that “Jesus is Lord,” but it’s another thing to actually give Him control of every area of your life, obeying His commands. Is there a place in your life that you have yet to submit to Christ? On this Good Friday, when we remember that Jesus willingly gave His life for us, will we willingly surrender our lives to Him? Ask the Spirit to help you take inventory today. In what area of your life are you still retaining control? For if you have not made Christ Lord of all, then He still isn’t really your Lord at all.
March 24, 2016
This is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, describing the new economy of the kingdom of heaven. Instead of reciprocal response, the believer is to respond out of a new spiritual character, as God does. God’s kingdom people are to “love, do good, bless and pray” because this is what is in them to do regardless of how others treat them. God’s people are revealing His character to the world by this. Jesus’ sermon is subversive to the world’s economy which says to respond in kind. Jesus says that we are to “love, do good, bless and pray” no matter how we are treated. The Jesus’ Way turns the world upside down.