I should have a little more faith in my Father, probably not little more but all my faith. He have answered my prayer everytime, making EVERYTHING and yes I'm serious when I said EVERYTHING possible for me. He laid down every single path for me SO SO WELL that I do not have to go through any pain. I'm starting to love this little relationship with my Father. He's so great. People who have experience him might know what I'm talking about. Just yesterday, I went for my body check up as my company requires me to, and I was super worried about having to take the blood test. I was worried that my anemia would affect my job too, but guess what, everything goes well. I don't even have to bear the pain of having the injection poke into my skin. The fear, the pain, whatever you can think of. You don't know how amazing it is till you experience all this yourself. Friends/family member that read my blog, I really do hope that you guys are willing to turn yourself to Christ. It's really a wonderful thing, trust me. You will have unlimited joy and you'll never have to be worried about anything, and it's true when I said ANYTHING. It's all in the hands of our God, the Almighty. He knows us well to know what we are afraid of, what kind of situation we are in. If you seek him, he will sure be there for you. There's so much He have done for me already, though I'm just a new Christian. He never leave me alone to fight my own battle, He's ALWAYS there. This kind of relationship is so so much better than anything else. If you think that your relationship with your parents/spouse is wonderful, this is even better. You know that He will never abandon you, will never let you down nor will He hurt you in any way. It's a great thing to me and I love it a lot. Thank You for everything my Father :)
Friday, March 26
Tuesday, March 23
Extracted from 'Our Daily Bread'
Think About It
Reading and Meditation
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:1-9)
According to one little boy, "Thinking is when your mouth stays shut and your head keeps talking to itself."
The way our head talks to itself tells a lot about how we are doing morally and spiritually. To guard our mid and to keep out the influences that will hinder our walk with God is to use our mind in the way He desires.
The Bible gives us clear guidelines - spelling out the kinds of things we should think about. For example, Psalm 1:2 and Psalm 119:97 tell us to meditate on God's Word day and night. That should be our first priority in the thinking department.
But we have a life to live, and we can't spend all of our waking moments meditating on Scripture. Yet even when we are thinking about the mundane aspects of life, we need guidance. Paul told us that we should think about things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). In our daily activities, those words should govern what is on our mind.
When our head "talks to itself," it needs to say, "Keep the impure and ungodly thoughts out of here!" When we're thinking that way, we'll know what to do, how to behave, where to go, and what to say. - Dave Branon
Let us think about what's good -
What's right and pure and true;
May God's Word control our thoughts
In everything we do. - Fitzhugh
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long. (Psalm 119:97)
Right thinking leads to right living.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes
Salvation in a sentence
Reading and Meditation
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden our hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.
That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways'
So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' "
See to it, brothers that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said:
"Today , if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion." (Hebrews 3:1-15)
'We will never be able to understand the gospel,' said a lecturer at the college where I trained for the ministry, 'until we can condense it into a single sentence.' When I first heard him make that statement I thought to myself, 'If the gospel can be condensed into a single sentence, then why do I need to spend these years training for the ministry?' Later I came to see what he meant: putting something into a single sentence is a way of showing how clearly we comprehend its essential features.
Whenever I am asked what are the essential features of salvation my mind immediately goes to the words of Jesus on the cross: 'Today you will be with me in paradise' (Luke 23:43). Take His first word: 'Today.' That suggests salvation is immediate and present. Notice there was no delay between the request from the thief - 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom' (Luke 23:42) - and the Master's reply. Christ did not say to him, 'I'm sorry, but you do not have enough time to prepare yourself for paradise. If you had come to Me earlier, when I could have instructed you and made you one of My disciples, I might have been able to help. Now, however, it's too late.'
Oh, the wonder of eternal salvation! It never asks us to make ourselves better before we come to God, never puts us on a period of moral probation, never postpones acceptance until some long or painful process of purification has been accomplished. The old hymn puts it beautifully when it says:
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
That moment!
O God, how can I sufficiently thank You for the immediacy of Your gospel? Other faiths would first send me away to work on improving my character; You receive me just as I am. And in that I rejoice. In Christ's name. Amen.
Think About It
Reading and Meditation
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:1-9)
According to one little boy, "Thinking is when your mouth stays shut and your head keeps talking to itself."
The way our head talks to itself tells a lot about how we are doing morally and spiritually. To guard our mid and to keep out the influences that will hinder our walk with God is to use our mind in the way He desires.
The Bible gives us clear guidelines - spelling out the kinds of things we should think about. For example, Psalm 1:2 and Psalm 119:97 tell us to meditate on God's Word day and night. That should be our first priority in the thinking department.
But we have a life to live, and we can't spend all of our waking moments meditating on Scripture. Yet even when we are thinking about the mundane aspects of life, we need guidance. Paul told us that we should think about things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). In our daily activities, those words should govern what is on our mind.
When our head "talks to itself," it needs to say, "Keep the impure and ungodly thoughts out of here!" When we're thinking that way, we'll know what to do, how to behave, where to go, and what to say. - Dave Branon
Let us think about what's good -
What's right and pure and true;
May God's Word control our thoughts
In everything we do. - Fitzhugh
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long. (Psalm 119:97)
Right thinking leads to right living.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes
Salvation in a sentence
Reading and Meditation
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden our hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.
That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways'
So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' "
See to it, brothers that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said:
"Today , if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion." (Hebrews 3:1-15)
'We will never be able to understand the gospel,' said a lecturer at the college where I trained for the ministry, 'until we can condense it into a single sentence.' When I first heard him make that statement I thought to myself, 'If the gospel can be condensed into a single sentence, then why do I need to spend these years training for the ministry?' Later I came to see what he meant: putting something into a single sentence is a way of showing how clearly we comprehend its essential features.
Whenever I am asked what are the essential features of salvation my mind immediately goes to the words of Jesus on the cross: 'Today you will be with me in paradise' (Luke 23:43). Take His first word: 'Today.' That suggests salvation is immediate and present. Notice there was no delay between the request from the thief - 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom' (Luke 23:42) - and the Master's reply. Christ did not say to him, 'I'm sorry, but you do not have enough time to prepare yourself for paradise. If you had come to Me earlier, when I could have instructed you and made you one of My disciples, I might have been able to help. Now, however, it's too late.'
Oh, the wonder of eternal salvation! It never asks us to make ourselves better before we come to God, never puts us on a period of moral probation, never postpones acceptance until some long or painful process of purification has been accomplished. The old hymn puts it beautifully when it says:
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
That moment!
O God, how can I sufficiently thank You for the immediacy of Your gospel? Other faiths would first send me away to work on improving my character; You receive me just as I am. And in that I rejoice. In Christ's name. Amen.
Monday, March 22
Extracted from 'Our Daily Bread'
Our Children Are Watching
Reading and Meditation
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live be keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When the LORD your God brings you into the land he wore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you - a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant - then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you our of Egypt, our of the land of slavery.
Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said. (Deuteronomy 6:1-19)
It can be disturbing to realize that our children often mirror the way we speak and act. I remember being concerned about the way my son angrily lashed out at his sister when she was annoying him. My wife gently pointed out to me that his behavior was a reflection of mine.
A few weeks later, I caught myself lashing out at my son when I was frustrated. Through my wife's encouragement, I apologized to him for my behavior and told him I would learn to treat him with more respect. In the months that followed, I noticed that my son's attitude toward his sister also improved.
Children do not learn to love and obey God only by what we say. They also learn by watching what we do. We are to teach also learn by watching what we do. We are to teach them constantly about God and His Word as we "sit in [our] house, when [we] walk by the way. when [we] lie down, and when [we] rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Along with what we say to our children, we need to set an example by our love and obedience to the Lord.
We can't be perfect parents, but our children must see our desire to please the Lord. And when we fall short, they need to see our repentance. We teach them by both what we say and what we do. - Albert Lee
Our Children Are Watching
Reading and Meditation
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live be keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When the LORD your God brings you into the land he wore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you - a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant - then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you our of Egypt, our of the land of slavery.
Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said. (Deuteronomy 6:1-19)
It can be disturbing to realize that our children often mirror the way we speak and act. I remember being concerned about the way my son angrily lashed out at his sister when she was annoying him. My wife gently pointed out to me that his behavior was a reflection of mine.
A few weeks later, I caught myself lashing out at my son when I was frustrated. Through my wife's encouragement, I apologized to him for my behavior and told him I would learn to treat him with more respect. In the months that followed, I noticed that my son's attitude toward his sister also improved.
Children do not learn to love and obey God only by what we say. They also learn by watching what we do. We are to teach also learn by watching what we do. We are to teach them constantly about God and His Word as we "sit in [our] house, when [we] walk by the way. when [we] lie down, and when [we] rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Along with what we say to our children, we need to set an example by our love and obedience to the Lord.
We can't be perfect parents, but our children must see our desire to please the Lord. And when we fall short, they need to see our repentance. We teach them by both what we say and what we do. - Albert Lee
You're teaching a lesson each day that you live;
Your actions are blazing a trail
That children will follow for good or for ill;
You can help them or cause them to fail. - Bosch
Your actions are blazing a trail
That children will follow for good or for ill;
You can help them or cause them to fail. - Bosch
A godly parent is a child's best guide to God
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes
Today!
Reading and Meditation
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be execute. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of Jews, save yourself."
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
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." (Luke 23:32-43)
Now we move to our Lord's second cry from the cross: 'Today you will be with me in paradise' (v.43). How amazing is the thought that one of Christ's last acts before He died was to snatch a soul from eternal death and promise him a future with Him in heaven.
Picture the scene. At Calvary - the Place of the Skull - Jesus is hanging in agony on the cross with a thief on either side of Him. Since executions were popular with the masses, crowds of people are watching the. Among them, we can assume, and those who just a short time before cried, 'Crucify him!' (v.21). The noise of jeers fills the air. The soldiers, the chief priests and teachers of the law and the mob are hurling insults at Jesus. One of the thieves joins in. 'Aren't you the Christ?' he sneers. 'Save yourself and us! (v.39). The other thief stops this flow of abuse by saying, 'Don't you even fear God when you are dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done one thing wrong' (vv.40-41, TLB). Then he pleads, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom' (v.42).
This thief shows us just what is needed in order to be saved: the realisation of who Jesus is and an awareness that we have done wrong. That the dying thief should have recognised Jesus as God's Messiah in that situation of shame and humiliation is astonishing. Yet he did. Significantly, he declared his belief that he was guilty and deserved punishment and that Jesus was suffering as One who completely innocent. And this amazing faith in Jesus was awarded.
Over the next few days we shall think a little more about what the promise Jesus made to the thief teaches us about salvation, and rejoice in the wonder of it.
Lord Jesus, thank You that You give salvation to everyone who acknowledges their guilt and has faith in You, no matter what they have done in the past. Give me, I pray, the opportunity to share this good news with someone today. Amen.
Sunday, March 21
Extracted from 'Our Daily Bread'
Servants Of All
Reading and Meditation
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left in not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:20-28)
Robert K. Greenleaf, founder of the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership in Indianapolis, said, "The great leader is seen as a servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness."
Two thousand years ago, Jesus taught that truth to His disciples and lived it out. As the Son of God, He had been given "all authority . . . in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). Yet He did not force people to follow and obey Him. His leadership model was radically different from what we see in today's world. It was one of humility and unselfish service to others.
Christlike leadership means considering the needs of our neighbors before our own, seeking their good, encouraging their spiritual growth and intimacy with God. It means treating others the way God has treated us. Servant leaders employ gentle persuasion and reason rather than barking orders and ultimatums. They don't dictate or demand but recognize that before God they themselves are but servants who are only doing their duty (Luke 17:10)
Whatever our position of leadership, we will never lose if we lose ourselves for others. Service that cares for others is the basis of true greatness. - David Roper
Servants Of All
Reading and Meditation
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left in not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:20-28)
Robert K. Greenleaf, founder of the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership in Indianapolis, said, "The great leader is seen as a servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness."
Two thousand years ago, Jesus taught that truth to His disciples and lived it out. As the Son of God, He had been given "all authority . . . in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). Yet He did not force people to follow and obey Him. His leadership model was radically different from what we see in today's world. It was one of humility and unselfish service to others.
Christlike leadership means considering the needs of our neighbors before our own, seeking their good, encouraging their spiritual growth and intimacy with God. It means treating others the way God has treated us. Servant leaders employ gentle persuasion and reason rather than barking orders and ultimatums. They don't dictate or demand but recognize that before God they themselves are but servants who are only doing their duty (Luke 17:10)
Whatever our position of leadership, we will never lose if we lose ourselves for others. Service that cares for others is the basis of true greatness. - David Roper
Controlling other people's lives
Is not a leader's trait;
It's serving other people's needs
That God considers great. - Sper
Is not a leader's trait;
It's serving other people's needs
That God considers great. - Sper
Only the one who has learned to serve is qualified to lead.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes
No absolution
Reading and Meditation
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him , though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone - an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. (Acts 17:22-34)
We continue focusing on one of the great theological questions: Did Christ's prayer of forgiveness which He spoke from the cross mean that His crucifiers were given full and complete absolution? Personally, I cannot believe this for, as I said yesterday, such an action would contradict the rest of Scripture's teaching. Also, a cheap or easy forgiveness would subvert the entire scheme of eternal justice.
This issue becomes even more complicated when we consider the words, '... for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). Surely the teaching of Scripture is that no one can excuse their sin on the grounds of ignorance? Paul teaches us in Romans that evil is our choice - we sin because we want to sin.
What, then. is the answer to this problem? I believe it to be this: the crucifixion of Christ was the darkest deed ever committed by human beings and as such deserved the highest penalty and judgment. The sin was of such magnitude that we could hardly blame God if He had said, 'I will never forgive it.' But horrifying though it was to crucify God's eternal Son, our Lord prayed that God would not allow the magnitude of the crime to prevent Him from offering forgiveness to those who crucified Him on the same basis that He offered it to everyone else. What He was praying for, so I believe, was not absolution, but that God would extend His mercy to include even those who were implicated in His death - should they repent. It is my belief that Jesus was saying, 'Father, My crucifixion is the vilest sin humankind has ever committed, but don't let even this prevent You from giving Your forgiveness to those who ask.'
My Father and my God, when I think of how Your Son could plead the case of those who caused His death, I am utterly overwhelmed. I ask myself: could I love like that? In my strength - no; in Your strength - yes. Help me to love as Jesus loved. Amen.
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him , though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone - an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. (Acts 17:22-34)
We continue focusing on one of the great theological questions: Did Christ's prayer of forgiveness which He spoke from the cross mean that His crucifiers were given full and complete absolution? Personally, I cannot believe this for, as I said yesterday, such an action would contradict the rest of Scripture's teaching. Also, a cheap or easy forgiveness would subvert the entire scheme of eternal justice.
This issue becomes even more complicated when we consider the words, '... for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). Surely the teaching of Scripture is that no one can excuse their sin on the grounds of ignorance? Paul teaches us in Romans that evil is our choice - we sin because we want to sin.
What, then. is the answer to this problem? I believe it to be this: the crucifixion of Christ was the darkest deed ever committed by human beings and as such deserved the highest penalty and judgment. The sin was of such magnitude that we could hardly blame God if He had said, 'I will never forgive it.' But horrifying though it was to crucify God's eternal Son, our Lord prayed that God would not allow the magnitude of the crime to prevent Him from offering forgiveness to those who crucified Him on the same basis that He offered it to everyone else. What He was praying for, so I believe, was not absolution, but that God would extend His mercy to include even those who were implicated in His death - should they repent. It is my belief that Jesus was saying, 'Father, My crucifixion is the vilest sin humankind has ever committed, but don't let even this prevent You from giving Your forgiveness to those who ask.'
My Father and my God, when I think of how Your Son could plead the case of those who caused His death, I am utterly overwhelmed. I ask myself: could I love like that? In my strength - no; in Your strength - yes. Help me to love as Jesus loved. Amen.
Friday, March 19
Extracted from 'Our Daily Bread'
True Satisfaction
Reading and Meditation
I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly -my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit tree in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone is Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well - the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after wind;
nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing - Ecclesiastes 1:8)
A man stopped at a travel agency and said he wanted to go on a cruise. "Where to?" he was asked. "I don't know," was his reply. So the travel agent suggested that he take a look at a large globe that was in the room. He studied it for some time, then with a look of frustration he exclaimed. "Is this all you have to offer?"
The world in which we live has many things that appeal to us. Apart from what is sinful, we can and should enjoy its pleasures. A delicious meal graced with the good fellowship of friends warms our hearts. The beauties of nature inspire and fill us with wonder. Good music refreshes our souls. And work itself can be fulfilling.
Even in a sin-cursed world we can find great enjoyment. And yet these pursuits do not bring full and lasting satisfaction. In fact, people who live only for self-gratification, no matter how lofty their achievements, will always long for more. It makes no difference how deeply they drink from the wells of this world's pleasures. their thirst is still not satisfied. They must agree with Solomon that "all is vanity and grasping for wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:17).
Only by living for Jesus Christ do we experience true satisfaction. - Richard De Haan
True Satisfaction
Reading and Meditation
I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly -my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit tree in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone is Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well - the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after wind;
nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing - Ecclesiastes 1:8)
A man stopped at a travel agency and said he wanted to go on a cruise. "Where to?" he was asked. "I don't know," was his reply. So the travel agent suggested that he take a look at a large globe that was in the room. He studied it for some time, then with a look of frustration he exclaimed. "Is this all you have to offer?"
The world in which we live has many things that appeal to us. Apart from what is sinful, we can and should enjoy its pleasures. A delicious meal graced with the good fellowship of friends warms our hearts. The beauties of nature inspire and fill us with wonder. Good music refreshes our souls. And work itself can be fulfilling.
Even in a sin-cursed world we can find great enjoyment. And yet these pursuits do not bring full and lasting satisfaction. In fact, people who live only for self-gratification, no matter how lofty their achievements, will always long for more. It makes no difference how deeply they drink from the wells of this world's pleasures. their thirst is still not satisfied. They must agree with Solomon that "all is vanity and grasping for wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:17).
Only by living for Jesus Christ do we experience true satisfaction. - Richard De Haan
The world is filled with so much good
That brings us joy and pleasures,
But true fulfillment only comes
When Christ we love and treasure. - Sper
That brings us joy and pleasures,
But true fulfillment only comes
When Christ we love and treasure. - Sper
Putting Christ first brings satisfaction that lasts.
Extract from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes
Cheap forgiveness?
Reading and Meditation
Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you ma eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ' We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' " (Luke 17:1-10)
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you ma eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ' We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' " (Luke 17:1-10)
Today we ask ourselves: What does our Lord's first cry from the cross - 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34) - really mean? Some take a casual approach to the words and say Jesus was well know for His forgiving spirit and for His teaching on the subject of forgiveness, so on the cross He put His teaching into effect. The German poet Heinrich Heine famously said, 'Of course God will forgive me. That's His business.' Does our Lord's prayer for forgiveness mean that those who crucified Him were forgiven even if they did not repent?
If that is the meaning behind these words then they present us with a huge problem, for they would contradict every other teaching of the Scriptures. Take for example, the last words Christ spoke before His cry from the cross. They were addressed to the women of Jerusalem who were openly weeping for Him as He made His way towards Golgotha: 'Do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children' (Luke23:28). Christ then went on to prophesy that a great punishment would fall upon the citizens of Jerusalem because of the injustice being one to Him, and predicted that the day would come when the women would say,' Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!" (Luke23:29)
Did He then change His mind and reverse that prophecy in His first cry from the cross? Was our Lord offering cheap forgiveness - forgiveness without repentance? If He was, then He was contradicting the whole tenor of Scripture. And God always speaks, not with two voices, but one.
Lord Jesus Christ, even though it is not yet apparent why You said what You did, help me to learn the valuable lesson that I should always interpret the unclear in the light of the clear. May I never forget that. For Your own dear name's sake. Amen.
If that is the meaning behind these words then they present us with a huge problem, for they would contradict every other teaching of the Scriptures. Take for example, the last words Christ spoke before His cry from the cross. They were addressed to the women of Jerusalem who were openly weeping for Him as He made His way towards Golgotha: 'Do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children' (Luke23:28). Christ then went on to prophesy that a great punishment would fall upon the citizens of Jerusalem because of the injustice being one to Him, and predicted that the day would come when the women would say,' Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!" (Luke23:29)
Did He then change His mind and reverse that prophecy in His first cry from the cross? Was our Lord offering cheap forgiveness - forgiveness without repentance? If He was, then He was contradicting the whole tenor of Scripture. And God always speaks, not with two voices, but one.
Lord Jesus Christ, even though it is not yet apparent why You said what You did, help me to learn the valuable lesson that I should always interpret the unclear in the light of the clear. May I never forget that. For Your own dear name's sake. Amen.
Thursday, March 18
Extracted from 'Our Daily Bread'
A Passion For The Word
Reading and Meditation
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statues. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. (Psalm 119:97-104)
The Bible - how much of it do you know and understand? Does it seem overwhelming? Do you feel it's too late in life to study it seriously? Consider Cyrus' story. Although his parents were Christians, he didn't have much use for the Bible. He was more interested in Shakespeare and history. By the time he was 12, he had charted the entire course of human civilization. But the Bible? He was not interested.
Cyrus grew up to be a respected lawyer. When he was 36, a friend came to his office and confronted him about why he was not a Christian. This conversation led him to faith in Jesus Christ.
Realizing that he knew almost nothing about the Bible, Cyrus determined to know God's Word better than anything else. Soon it became to him "sweeter than honey" (Psalm 119:103). Thirty years later, in 1909, The Scofield Reference Bible was published. The great work of Cyrus Ingerson Scofield was complete.
Do we all have to give up everything else in life to study Bible fulltime? Of course not. But we must recognize that a consistent study of God's Word is a vital part of our growth as Christians. It's the way we learn what God expects of us, and the way to know God Himself. - Dave Branon
A Passion For The Word
Reading and Meditation
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statues. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. (Psalm 119:97-104)
The Bible - how much of it do you know and understand? Does it seem overwhelming? Do you feel it's too late in life to study it seriously? Consider Cyrus' story. Although his parents were Christians, he didn't have much use for the Bible. He was more interested in Shakespeare and history. By the time he was 12, he had charted the entire course of human civilization. But the Bible? He was not interested.
Cyrus grew up to be a respected lawyer. When he was 36, a friend came to his office and confronted him about why he was not a Christian. This conversation led him to faith in Jesus Christ.
Realizing that he knew almost nothing about the Bible, Cyrus determined to know God's Word better than anything else. Soon it became to him "sweeter than honey" (Psalm 119:103). Thirty years later, in 1909, The Scofield Reference Bible was published. The great work of Cyrus Ingerson Scofield was complete.
Do we all have to give up everything else in life to study Bible fulltime? Of course not. But we must recognize that a consistent study of God's Word is a vital part of our growth as Christians. It's the way we learn what God expects of us, and the way to know God Himself. - Dave Branon
Gaining knowledge of God's Word
Can be a worthy goal
If it leads us to the Lord
And nourishes our soul - Sper
Can be a worthy goal
If it leads us to the Lord
And nourishes our soul - Sper
One of the marks of a well-fed soul is a well-read Bible.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes.
What can we do with a cross?
Reading and Meditation
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefits those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of Go with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25-32)
The thought occupying us at the moment is that Jesus said, 'If anyone would come after me, he must ... take up his cross daily and follow me' (Luke 9:23). Though our cross is a much lesser cross than that which Jesus experienced, it can still be painful. In a church I once pastored, there was a woman who had lost her husband in early life. From the moment of her husband's death she lived in bitterness. Though she came to church regularly, she admitted to me,' I can never forgive God for taking my husband from me.' Her life was not an easy one, but I sometimes trembled for her when I saw the extent to which bitterness had soured her life. She twisted the cross she was on, doubling its pain and, what is more, missing its ministry.
In the same church there was another woman who had also lost her husband while she was still young. Her sorrow was just as great as the other woman's but instead of going about with bitterness, she moved into the community with joy. At times there were tears and deep sadness, but she would wipe away the tears and get on with the task of involving herself in the lives of others who, she said, 'are less blessed than I am.'
Two women with the same cross: one made it a cross of rebellion, the other a cross of redemption. Sooner or later we all reach some kind of Calvary. Perhaps you are there right now. The experience may have come because of some cruelty or neglect by others or because of your own choices of ignorance. The question you have to face now is: What shall I make of my Cavalry? What can I do with my cross? Don't, I beg you, turn it into a cross of rebellion, twisting the cross and doubling the pain. Do what Jesus did with His cross - turn in into redemption.
O God my Father, I long to be rid of all that corrodes my soul. I know that any attitude of bitterness eats like acid into my moral nature. Take from my heart all resentment, and help me to love as You love. In Jesus' name. Amen.
What can we do with a cross?
Reading and Meditation
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefits those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of Go with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25-32)
The thought occupying us at the moment is that Jesus said, 'If anyone would come after me, he must ... take up his cross daily and follow me' (Luke 9:23). Though our cross is a much lesser cross than that which Jesus experienced, it can still be painful. In a church I once pastored, there was a woman who had lost her husband in early life. From the moment of her husband's death she lived in bitterness. Though she came to church regularly, she admitted to me,' I can never forgive God for taking my husband from me.' Her life was not an easy one, but I sometimes trembled for her when I saw the extent to which bitterness had soured her life. She twisted the cross she was on, doubling its pain and, what is more, missing its ministry.
In the same church there was another woman who had also lost her husband while she was still young. Her sorrow was just as great as the other woman's but instead of going about with bitterness, she moved into the community with joy. At times there were tears and deep sadness, but she would wipe away the tears and get on with the task of involving herself in the lives of others who, she said, 'are less blessed than I am.'
Two women with the same cross: one made it a cross of rebellion, the other a cross of redemption. Sooner or later we all reach some kind of Calvary. Perhaps you are there right now. The experience may have come because of some cruelty or neglect by others or because of your own choices of ignorance. The question you have to face now is: What shall I make of my Cavalry? What can I do with my cross? Don't, I beg you, turn it into a cross of rebellion, twisting the cross and doubling the pain. Do what Jesus did with His cross - turn in into redemption.
O God my Father, I long to be rid of all that corrodes my soul. I know that any attitude of bitterness eats like acid into my moral nature. Take from my heart all resentment, and help me to love as You love. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Wednesday, March 17
Extracting from 'Our Daily Bread'
Good News or Bad?
Reading and Meditation
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come to an hour when you do not expect him." (Luke 12:35-40)
A teacher tells her young students, "Class, I'm going down the hall to the school office for a few minutes. I don't expect to be away long. I'm sure there won't be trouble. I'm trusting you to work on your assignments while I'm gone."
Fifteen minutes pass, then 20, then 40. Suddenly the teacher returns. Dennis has just thrown an eraser at Carol, who is doing her math. Steven is standing on the teacher's desk making faces. The students carrying out the teacher's instructions are delighted at the teacher's return, but Dennis and Steven wish she hadn't come back at all.
Jesus is coming back! That stands as both a warning and a promise throughout the New Testament, as in today's reading from Luke 12. It's good news or bad, depending on who hears it.
In church we sing songs like "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus." When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we "proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). On Sunday morning, the second coming of Christ sounds like great news. But during the rest of the week, are we as ready for His return?
Jesus is coming back! It may be soon. It will be sudden. Is that good news or bad? It's up to you - Haddon Robinson
Extract from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes
Resignation or abandonment?
Reading and Meditation
Christ's sacrifice once for all
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, all would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
Then I said, 'Here I am- it is written about me in the scroll- I have come to do your will, O God.' "
First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by the will we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Today we continue meditating on the fact that when our Lord was crucified, His first words were not a protest but a prayer: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). I find it interesting, indeed astonishing, that in the midst of such unutterable agony His thoughts should not focus on Himself but on His Father and on the spiritual needs of those who were crucifying Him. He was not self-centred but other-centred.
Depending on where we live in the world, we may or may not be called upon to die for our faith. But even if we do not suffer physical persecution and martyrdom, Jesus has made it plain that 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me' (Luke 9:23). Perhaps for you this cross is taking the form of rejection, misunderstanding, or even mental oppression. It is a far lesser cross than Jesus experienced, but it is painful, all the same. How are you responding? With self-pity or with love? It's not easy to love. I find it difficult at times to go on loving in the face of hurt and pain but, as I am sure you do, I long to be able to make every cross a cross of redemption and not of rebellion.
How can we do this? We must do what Jesus did and accept the fact that we should not just resign ourselves to the will of God, but welcome it. You see, resignation not a Christian grace, for beneath resignation rebellion festers, The mature Christian is not merely resigned to the will of God, acquiescent to it, or conformed to it, but is abandoned to it. Not only what God does, but what God allows wins our willing acceptance.
O God, help me never to forget that no matter what happens, You are my Father. And, as my Father, You are working all things to my good. Help me not just to resign myself to that fact but abandon myself to it. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Good News or Bad?
Reading and Meditation
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come to an hour when you do not expect him." (Luke 12:35-40)
A teacher tells her young students, "Class, I'm going down the hall to the school office for a few minutes. I don't expect to be away long. I'm sure there won't be trouble. I'm trusting you to work on your assignments while I'm gone."
Fifteen minutes pass, then 20, then 40. Suddenly the teacher returns. Dennis has just thrown an eraser at Carol, who is doing her math. Steven is standing on the teacher's desk making faces. The students carrying out the teacher's instructions are delighted at the teacher's return, but Dennis and Steven wish she hadn't come back at all.
Jesus is coming back! That stands as both a warning and a promise throughout the New Testament, as in today's reading from Luke 12. It's good news or bad, depending on who hears it.
In church we sing songs like "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus." When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we "proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). On Sunday morning, the second coming of Christ sounds like great news. But during the rest of the week, are we as ready for His return?
Jesus is coming back! It may be soon. It will be sudden. Is that good news or bad? It's up to you - Haddon Robinson
When Jesus comes to reward His servants,
Whether it be noon or night,
Faithful to Him will He find us watching,
With our lamps all trimmed and bright? - Crosby
Whether it be noon or night,
Faithful to Him will He find us watching,
With our lamps all trimmed and bright? - Crosby
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. - Matthew 24:42
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. - Matthew 24:42
Resignation or abandonment?
Reading and Meditation
Christ's sacrifice once for all
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, all would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
Then I said, 'Here I am- it is written about me in the scroll- I have come to do your will, O God.' "
First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by the will we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Today we continue meditating on the fact that when our Lord was crucified, His first words were not a protest but a prayer: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). I find it interesting, indeed astonishing, that in the midst of such unutterable agony His thoughts should not focus on Himself but on His Father and on the spiritual needs of those who were crucifying Him. He was not self-centred but other-centred.
Depending on where we live in the world, we may or may not be called upon to die for our faith. But even if we do not suffer physical persecution and martyrdom, Jesus has made it plain that 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me' (Luke 9:23). Perhaps for you this cross is taking the form of rejection, misunderstanding, or even mental oppression. It is a far lesser cross than Jesus experienced, but it is painful, all the same. How are you responding? With self-pity or with love? It's not easy to love. I find it difficult at times to go on loving in the face of hurt and pain but, as I am sure you do, I long to be able to make every cross a cross of redemption and not of rebellion.
How can we do this? We must do what Jesus did and accept the fact that we should not just resign ourselves to the will of God, but welcome it. You see, resignation not a Christian grace, for beneath resignation rebellion festers, The mature Christian is not merely resigned to the will of God, acquiescent to it, or conformed to it, but is abandoned to it. Not only what God does, but what God allows wins our willing acceptance.
O God, help me never to forget that no matter what happens, You are my Father. And, as my Father, You are working all things to my good. Help me not just to resign myself to that fact but abandon myself to it. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Tuesday, March 16
Extracted from 'Our Daily Bread'
Prayer Malfunction
Reading and Meditation
Dear Friends, if our heart do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:21-24)
In a box of my father's old tools I found a hand drill that was at least 60 years old. I could barely get the wheel to turn. The gears were clogged with dirt, and the pieces that hold the drill bit in place were missing. But I wanted to see if I could get it to work.
I began by wiping the accumulated dirt and sawdust off the gears. Then I oiled them. At first they turned hard and slow, but I kept working them. Soon the gears were turning smoothly. Then I saw a cap at the top of the handle. Unscrewing it, I discovered the missing parts that would hold the bit in place. I placed them in the drill, inserted a bit, and easily bored a neat hole in a piece of wood.
Working with that old drill taught me something about prayer. Jesus said we will receive from God what we ask of Him (Matthew 7:7-8). But there are conditions. For example, John said we must obey God and do what pleases Him (1 John3:22). This includes believing in His Son and loving one another (v23). If we don't meet God's conditions, our prayers will be ineffective - just like that old drill.
If your prayer-life is malfunctioning, make sure you're meeting the conditions. When you do, you can be confident that your prayers will be effective. - Dave Egner
Forgive us, Lord, our selfish asking,
All that's petty in Your sight;
Oh, help us pray with godly motives
And to seek what's good and right! - D. De Haan
Prayer Malfunction
Reading and Meditation
Dear Friends, if our heart do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:21-24)
In a box of my father's old tools I found a hand drill that was at least 60 years old. I could barely get the wheel to turn. The gears were clogged with dirt, and the pieces that hold the drill bit in place were missing. But I wanted to see if I could get it to work.
I began by wiping the accumulated dirt and sawdust off the gears. Then I oiled them. At first they turned hard and slow, but I kept working them. Soon the gears were turning smoothly. Then I saw a cap at the top of the handle. Unscrewing it, I discovered the missing parts that would hold the bit in place. I placed them in the drill, inserted a bit, and easily bored a neat hole in a piece of wood.
Working with that old drill taught me something about prayer. Jesus said we will receive from God what we ask of Him (Matthew 7:7-8). But there are conditions. For example, John said we must obey God and do what pleases Him (1 John3:22). This includes believing in His Son and loving one another (v23). If we don't meet God's conditions, our prayers will be ineffective - just like that old drill.
If your prayer-life is malfunctioning, make sure you're meeting the conditions. When you do, you can be confident that your prayers will be effective. - Dave Egner
Forgive us, Lord, our selfish asking,
All that's petty in Your sight;
Oh, help us pray with godly motives
And to seek what's good and right! - D. De Haan
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8)
Faith and love are vital to effective prayer.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus
Not a protest - a prayer
Reading and Meditation
The Crucifixion
As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and out the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children. For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then
"they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!"
and to the hills, "Cover us!" '
For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Luke 23:26-34)
Now we start to focus on the first of Jesus' seven cries from the cross: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (v.34). This cry, we should remember, fell from His lips as He was being crucified, possibly while the Roman soldiers were nailing Him to the cross.
Crucifixion was one of the most horrifying forms of torture ever devised by the human mind. Though Roman slaves were crucified, no Roman citizen ever was because it was such a shameful punishment. The Latin word for cross is crux and, as some of you reading this may be aware, it is from this word that the word 'excruciating' is derived. Nothing I say can describe the intolerable pain that went though our Lord's body as the Roman soldiers hammered Him to the cross. Josephus, the Jewish historian, said, 'It was customary for those being crucified, when the nails were being driven into their hands and feet, to curse their crucifiers and to rail down every evil thought upon them.'
But how did our Lord react as He was being crucified? Not with protest - but with a prayer: 'Father, forgive...' How astonishing that in the midst of such distressing circumstances our Lord's first thought should be directed towards His Father. Most people caught up in a moment like this would want to disown God or vent their anger on Him and shout, 'Why are You allowing this to happen to me?' But not Christ. His confidence in God remained intact. Men could hammer the life out of Him, but they could not hammer the love out of Him. He loved and believed in His Father still - even though hell was breaking loose about Him.
O Father, help me to trust Your love so deeply that no matter what situation I find myself in I shall respond to it in the way Jesus did - not with a protest but with a prayer. In His dear name I pray. Amen.
Faith and love are vital to effective prayer.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus
Not a protest - a prayer
Reading and Meditation
The Crucifixion
As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and out the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children. For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then
"they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!"
and to the hills, "Cover us!" '
For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Luke 23:26-34)
Now we start to focus on the first of Jesus' seven cries from the cross: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (v.34). This cry, we should remember, fell from His lips as He was being crucified, possibly while the Roman soldiers were nailing Him to the cross.
Crucifixion was one of the most horrifying forms of torture ever devised by the human mind. Though Roman slaves were crucified, no Roman citizen ever was because it was such a shameful punishment. The Latin word for cross is crux and, as some of you reading this may be aware, it is from this word that the word 'excruciating' is derived. Nothing I say can describe the intolerable pain that went though our Lord's body as the Roman soldiers hammered Him to the cross. Josephus, the Jewish historian, said, 'It was customary for those being crucified, when the nails were being driven into their hands and feet, to curse their crucifiers and to rail down every evil thought upon them.'
But how did our Lord react as He was being crucified? Not with protest - but with a prayer: 'Father, forgive...' How astonishing that in the midst of such distressing circumstances our Lord's first thought should be directed towards His Father. Most people caught up in a moment like this would want to disown God or vent their anger on Him and shout, 'Why are You allowing this to happen to me?' But not Christ. His confidence in God remained intact. Men could hammer the life out of Him, but they could not hammer the love out of Him. He loved and believed in His Father still - even though hell was breaking loose about Him.
O Father, help me to trust Your love so deeply that no matter what situation I find myself in I shall respond to it in the way Jesus did - not with a protest but with a prayer. In His dear name I pray. Amen.
Monday, March 15
Extracted from 'Our Daily Bread'
Hard Sayings
Read and meditate
Love for Enemies
Hard Sayings
Read and meditate
Love for Enemies
But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you. what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:27-35)
Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy tells a story of an old cobbler named Martin. After the death of his wife and child, he cried out in despair to a godly old friend, "What now is a man to live for?" His friend replied, "For God, Marin. For God." And how much one live for God?" Martin asked. "Christ has shown us the way," said the believer. "Buy the Gospels and read. There you'll find our how to live for God. There everything is explained," he said.
So that same day Martin bought a New Testament and began to read. The more he read, the more clearly he understood what God wanted of him and what it meant to live for God. And his heart grew lighter and lighter.
Then one day Marine read Luke 6:27-35, and it suddenly hit him that Jesus' words were hard sayings. He pondered the command in verse 29, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also." As he began to see how his life didn't measure up to Jesus' words, he cried out, "O Lord, help me!"
We also may feel that obedience to Jesus' words is too difficult for us. His hard sayings seem impossible to obey. Like Marin, we must cry out, "O Lord, help me!" Without Him we can do nothing. - David Roper
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you. what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:27-35)
Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy tells a story of an old cobbler named Martin. After the death of his wife and child, he cried out in despair to a godly old friend, "What now is a man to live for?" His friend replied, "For God, Marin. For God." And how much one live for God?" Martin asked. "Christ has shown us the way," said the believer. "Buy the Gospels and read. There you'll find our how to live for God. There everything is explained," he said.
So that same day Martin bought a New Testament and began to read. The more he read, the more clearly he understood what God wanted of him and what it meant to live for God. And his heart grew lighter and lighter.
Then one day Marine read Luke 6:27-35, and it suddenly hit him that Jesus' words were hard sayings. He pondered the command in verse 29, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also." As he began to see how his life didn't measure up to Jesus' words, he cried out, "O Lord, help me!"
We also may feel that obedience to Jesus' words is too difficult for us. His hard sayings seem impossible to obey. Like Marin, we must cry out, "O Lord, help me!" Without Him we can do nothing. - David Roper
Obeying Christ can seem too hard,
But we must come to see
That all He asks is for our good
To make life full and free. - D. De Haan
The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes
We hear not just what is said
Read and Meditate
Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
I am stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands.
Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statues.
Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.
Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. (Psalm 119:17-24)
We continue with the point we made yesterday, namely that although the cross and the power that flows from it never change, we do. Dr Bruce Theileman makes this point: 'We hear things not just the way they are said, but the way we are.' What he means is this: we evaluate the things we hear in ways that are very personal to us. Two people sit side by side in church listening to a message and, although they both hear what is being said and understand it, because of who they are and where they are in their lives, they will interpret the sermon quite differently.
One of the things that has amazed me over the many years I have been writing Every Day with Jesus is that when as sometimes happens, I receive letters expressing appreciation of something I have said on a particular day, the letters reveal that the readers have interpreted the point differently. In the early days I would think to myself, 'But I didn't say that!' and it took me a long time to realise what was happening: 'We hear things not just the way they are said, but the way we are.'
Is it any wonder that the Bible holds such fascination for the millions of Christ's followers who read and study it day after day? We may see a text differently today from the way we saw it yesterday, not because the truth has changed, but because we have changed. The text does not change its meaning from one day to another - truth never changes. However, we are likely to discover a different application. It is the same with the cross. Its meaning never changes, but throughout this Easter season it may well be that you will hear its message differently.
Yes, Father - grant that this may happen. Let the old, old story come home to me with a freshness such as I have never known before. Take me day by day from clarity to clarity, and from one new unfolding to another. In Jesus' name. Amen.
But we must come to see
That all He asks is for our good
To make life full and free. - D. De Haan
The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes
We hear not just what is said
Read and Meditate
Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
I am stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands.
Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statues.
Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.
Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. (Psalm 119:17-24)
We continue with the point we made yesterday, namely that although the cross and the power that flows from it never change, we do. Dr Bruce Theileman makes this point: 'We hear things not just the way they are said, but the way we are.' What he means is this: we evaluate the things we hear in ways that are very personal to us. Two people sit side by side in church listening to a message and, although they both hear what is being said and understand it, because of who they are and where they are in their lives, they will interpret the sermon quite differently.
One of the things that has amazed me over the many years I have been writing Every Day with Jesus is that when as sometimes happens, I receive letters expressing appreciation of something I have said on a particular day, the letters reveal that the readers have interpreted the point differently. In the early days I would think to myself, 'But I didn't say that!' and it took me a long time to realise what was happening: 'We hear things not just the way they are said, but the way we are.'
Is it any wonder that the Bible holds such fascination for the millions of Christ's followers who read and study it day after day? We may see a text differently today from the way we saw it yesterday, not because the truth has changed, but because we have changed. The text does not change its meaning from one day to another - truth never changes. However, we are likely to discover a different application. It is the same with the cross. Its meaning never changes, but throughout this Easter season it may well be that you will hear its message differently.
Yes, Father - grant that this may happen. Let the old, old story come home to me with a freshness such as I have never known before. Take me day by day from clarity to clarity, and from one new unfolding to another. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Sunday, March 14
My follower must be thinking why I always take so long to update my blog. I think they probably gave up bugging me to update. xD
Oh well there are a few reasons to why I always take so long to update.
- lazy
- too busy with my own stuff to even bother logging on to update my daily activities.
- assuming that she doesn't have much follower so doesn't bother. *cough*
Well I think rather then me cracking my brain thinking of what should I blog each day, I come up with the idea of posting what I've read each day here. It's some how a kind of sharing. xD Though it's kinda religious, I hope you guys still carry on reading. I think there's no harm reading it xD This post would be a long one as I'm gonna post what I've already read.
Day 1
Extracted from the book 'Our Daily Bread'
A Life-And-Death Matter
For reading and meditation
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not the sinful nature, to living according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you have to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:12-18)
Nature is violent. Life and death are the law of field, stream, and jungle. A lion stalks a gazelle. A heron stands motionless at the edge of a pond, its sharp beak poised and ready to kill. High overhead a red-tailed hawk holds its deadly talons close to its body, watching for movement in the grass below. A leopard family exists at a zebra's expense. Each survives on another's demise. This sounds natural enough but it's more graphic than most of us care to watch. The principle that nothing lives unless something else dies extends beyond nature to our daily walk with God. Interests of the flesh must succumb to the interests of the Spirit, or else the interests of the Spirit will succumb to the interests of the flesh (Romans 8:13 - the words in bold on top). In the jungles and fields and streams of our own heart, something must always die so that something else can live.
We can't be committed to Christ and to the world at the same time. We can't be filled with His Spirit if we are protecting the life of selfish interests. That's why our Lord said so pointedly that we will need to die daily to ourselves if we are going to walk with Him (Luke9:23-24). We must continually choose what will have to die so that Christ can live freely in us - Mart De Haan
Oh well there are a few reasons to why I always take so long to update.
- lazy
- too busy with my own stuff to even bother logging on to update my daily activities.
- assuming that she doesn't have much follower so doesn't bother. *cough*
Well I think rather then me cracking my brain thinking of what should I blog each day, I come up with the idea of posting what I've read each day here. It's some how a kind of sharing. xD Though it's kinda religious, I hope you guys still carry on reading. I think there's no harm reading it xD This post would be a long one as I'm gonna post what I've already read.
Day 1
Extracted from the book 'Our Daily Bread'
A Life-And-Death Matter
For reading and meditation
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not the sinful nature, to living according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you have to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:12-18)
Nature is violent. Life and death are the law of field, stream, and jungle. A lion stalks a gazelle. A heron stands motionless at the edge of a pond, its sharp beak poised and ready to kill. High overhead a red-tailed hawk holds its deadly talons close to its body, watching for movement in the grass below. A leopard family exists at a zebra's expense. Each survives on another's demise. This sounds natural enough but it's more graphic than most of us care to watch. The principle that nothing lives unless something else dies extends beyond nature to our daily walk with God. Interests of the flesh must succumb to the interests of the Spirit, or else the interests of the Spirit will succumb to the interests of the flesh (Romans 8:13 - the words in bold on top). In the jungles and fields and streams of our own heart, something must always die so that something else can live.
We can't be committed to Christ and to the world at the same time. We can't be filled with His Spirit if we are protecting the life of selfish interests. That's why our Lord said so pointedly that we will need to die daily to ourselves if we are going to walk with Him (Luke9:23-24). We must continually choose what will have to die so that Christ can live freely in us - Mart De Haan
Is there any life so blessed
As one lived for Christ alone.
When the heart from self is emptied, And instead becomes His throne? - Anon
As one lived for Christ alone.
When the heart from self is emptied, And instead becomes His throne? - Anon
Then he said to them all: " If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke9:23-24)
To live to Christ, we must die to self.
Extracted from Every Day with Jesus written by Selwyn Hughes.
A new look at Calvary
For reading and meditation
The Crucifixion
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others." they said "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said 'I am the Son of God.' " In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Matthew 27:32-44)
Once again we come to the season of the year when we focus in particular and special way on the fact of our Lord's death and resurrection. This year our theme is The Cries from the Cross - the seven separate utterances which fell from the lips of Christ during His grim six-hour ordeal on Calvary.
Although you may have meditated upon the cross many times since you became a Christian, you will approach Christ's crucifixion differently this year from any other year of your life. This is because , although the power and the meaning of the cross never change, we do. One of the great questions of history is this : How can we know anything with certainty when everything changing? A famous philosopher expressed the matter in this way: 'If you were to step into a river, step our, and then step back in again, it would not be the same river, for the river into which you stepped, even moments before, has flowed on. Nothing is the same - everything changes.'
In relation to the earthly realm, that philosopher has a point. You and I, because of the changes that have taken place in us over the past days, weeks and months, cannot come to the cross in exactly the same manner as we did before. Life has opened us up to new things and affected us in many different ways, and because of this our spiritual apprehension is perhaps more heightened and more sensitive. Maybe our defences have come down and we are less self-reliant and self-centred. The cross and the power that flows from it have not changed, but we have changed. The old will become new - not in the sense of being a new revelation, but we will discover a new application.
O Father, over these next few weeks, as I sit in quiet contemplation before the cross, grant that the changes that have taken place in me will make me more open to seeing the changeless love that flows from Calvary. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
A new look at Calvary
For reading and meditation
The Crucifixion
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others." they said "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said 'I am the Son of God.' " In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Matthew 27:32-44)
Once again we come to the season of the year when we focus in particular and special way on the fact of our Lord's death and resurrection. This year our theme is The Cries from the Cross - the seven separate utterances which fell from the lips of Christ during His grim six-hour ordeal on Calvary.
Although you may have meditated upon the cross many times since you became a Christian, you will approach Christ's crucifixion differently this year from any other year of your life. This is because , although the power and the meaning of the cross never change, we do. One of the great questions of history is this : How can we know anything with certainty when everything changing? A famous philosopher expressed the matter in this way: 'If you were to step into a river, step our, and then step back in again, it would not be the same river, for the river into which you stepped, even moments before, has flowed on. Nothing is the same - everything changes.'
In relation to the earthly realm, that philosopher has a point. You and I, because of the changes that have taken place in us over the past days, weeks and months, cannot come to the cross in exactly the same manner as we did before. Life has opened us up to new things and affected us in many different ways, and because of this our spiritual apprehension is perhaps more heightened and more sensitive. Maybe our defences have come down and we are less self-reliant and self-centred. The cross and the power that flows from it have not changed, but we have changed. The old will become new - not in the sense of being a new revelation, but we will discover a new application.
O Father, over these next few weeks, as I sit in quiet contemplation before the cross, grant that the changes that have taken place in me will make me more open to seeing the changeless love that flows from Calvary. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Thursday, March 4
going interview after interview.
wonder which job should I choose.
what is really best for me?
which is the path that I should go?
signing off
baby\ting
o4 March 2o1o - o126am
wonder which job should I choose.
what is really best for me?
which is the path that I should go?
signing off
baby\ting
o4 March 2o1o - o126am
Nica is my name ♥
I'm a November baby ♥
Caleb is who I love ♥
No one is precious as you are in my heart. Don't want anyone but you. Your sweet and tender kisses, Your unconditional loves. It's all so great to me. I'm so blessed to be love by you ♥
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