Monday, March 18, 2024
Easter Devotion (Day 28) - The Glory of God
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
John 17:24-26
Jesus' death and resurrection did not end His engagement in the world. The final verse of His prayer says that Jesus' mission to reveal the love of God to humanity stretches forward and backward throughout time. The Word, or Logos, introduced in the first chapter of John, is the ultimate plan of God for the salvation of all people. Jesus, as the incarnation of this salvation plan, has been and will always be engaged with humankind. After His resurrection, His impact will be felt most profoundly through those who love and serve Him in the world.
Just as Jesus came to the world to serve God, believers are called to live as Christ in service to the world. This is the nature of the glory that Jesus prays about. God glorified Jesus throughout His life on earth by entrusting Him to make God known. Now this job falls to Jesus' followers. They have the opportunity to experience the same glory that Christ experienced through service to God. Of course, that glory came with a heavy cost. But just as Jesus bore His cross for the sake of salvation, we, as followers of Jesus, are asked to carry our crosses for the sake of the Kingdom too. It is our honor and glory as servants of God.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me reflect Your glory in the world today. May I live as Christ in service to the world. Help me to carry my cross for the sake of Your Kingdom, just as Jesus did. In His name I pray, Amen
*This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Who Was St. Patrick?
This story was found at the website: http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/1Kids/StPatrick.html
After St. Patrick died, Ireland was used greatly by God to keep Christianity alive in Europe during the Middle/Dark Ages. At a time when there was much corruption in the Church in Europe and when very few people knew how to read so that it was difficult to spread the Gospel, the Irish/Celtic Church sent out many missionaries and helped preserve the Christian religion through its monasteries. This early Celtic Church flourished with many monks and priests leaving Ireland to begin missions in Europe. In the first two hundred and fifty years after Patrick's death, around five hundred Irish saints were recognized. These missionaries established monasteries in Scotland, England, Switzerland, France, Germany and as far south as Italy.
Easter Devotion (Sunday) - Prayer for Us
John 17:20-23
After praying for Himself and His disciples, Jesus expands His prayer to include all people who will come to know God through His story. Thus, we can read these verses as a direct personal intercession from the Son to the Father for you and for me!
Jesus' deepest request for us is unity. He prays not only for the unity of the Kingdom people of God on earth, but for our unity with Jesus and God the Father. Jesus asks that we stand as a united front against the sin of the world, perfectly in tune with the desires of God, just a Jesus was a perfect reflection of God.
If we look at the church in the world, it seems that this unity is yet to happen. Christianity is splintered into at least forty major divisions and as many as forty-two thousand denominations. Only when Jesus comes again in glory to claim His kingdom will this prayer of one church be fully answered. But, if we look past denominations and at the heart of the people, the church becomes united every time it stands against evil. Every time Christians come together united in prayer and action for the lost, the orphan, those caught in sex trafficking or the slave trade, those sick and dying or in prison for their faith...then Jesus' prayer is seen in action.
If we strive to be united with Jesus, then each of us will grow in His likeness. Our personal unity with Jesus Christ will expand to our community of believers. While theological divisions may continue to exist, if our hearts are all striving to be like Jesus, we will grow together into a powerful community for God.
Prayer: Jesus, teach us to grow together in faith, with You as our model. Help us to stand with our brothers and sisters in our communities and around the world as we speak up for the defenseless and as we fight tyranny and evil. May we be in You Lord Jesus so that the world may know that You love them. In Your name we pray, Amen.
* This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink
Easter Devotion (Day 27) - Prayers for His Friends
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
John 17: 6-19
Early in Jesus' ministry, God entrusted twelve disciples to Jesus; and in this passage, Jesus prayed for their spiritual strength and safety and also for the community that they had created together. Jesus taught them about God, and they listened. They learned that Jesus had been sent to them from God. They came to understand God's desire for them in the world and started to adopt a new vision for their lives. They became unique and were about to be deeply challenged by living without Jesus in a world that did not understand them. Just as Jesus was about to suffer as one who challenged a worldly system that was not based on the kingdom of God, He knew that His followers would struggle living as God's people among those who still followed the dictates of human sin.
Jesus prayed both for their protection and for their sanctification. He was deeply concerned that they remain "set aside" from corrupting influences while still remaining in the world to do God's work. He did not depend on the community that He built but trusted God to guard their future. Still today, the work of Jesus' community on earth depends on God's care, not on what we say or do. We exist today as the church because of the never-ending grace of God.
Prayer: O Lord, strengthen and uphold Your kingdom people! Help us to adopt Your vision for our lives. Keep us set aside from corrupting influences while we do Your work in this world. We know that our future depends on you Lord God. In the name of Your Son Jesus, Amen
*This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink
Friday, March 15, 2024
Easter Devotion (Day 26) - The Glory of the Son
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
God tasked Jesus with nothing less than showing humanity the purpose of their creation. Jesus was incarnated to turn people's eyes back to God and to teach them how to live within the blessings of their Creator. At the evening of His betrayal, Jesus takes the cup that God had poured for Him - a cup full of bitterness and pain, but even more so, a cup of glory and salvation for the world.
Prayer - Lord Jesus, thank You for the work You did on earth to glorify the Father, so that we may all know the one true God. Thank You that You showed us the purpose for our creation and how to live within God's blessings. You are amazing and I am so eager for Your return. I love you Jesus! Come Lord Jesus! In Your name, Amen
*Devotions taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Easter Devotion (Day 25) - Putting Others First in Prayer
2 Corinthians 13:5-9
What a terrible thing to be proven wrong. When one has made a strong public statement and that statement is refuted, it can weaken one's credibility and can destroy reputations. Yet that is exactly what Paul is praying for in this passage. Paul had chastised the Corinthians for poor behavior, and they accused Paul of not being a true mouthpiece for Jesus Christ. In response, Paul prayed that the Corinthians examine themselves and find the spark of Christ that is within them. If they were to do that, then they would be approved by God, and Paul would have been wrong in threatening to discipline them. Paul is much more concerned with the spiritual health of the fledgling Corinthian church than in saving face.
Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies, but here, Paul tells us how to pray for them. Our concern in praying for others is for their own benefit. Although Paul would look foolish if the Corinthians proved him wrong, that is exactly what he prayed would happen. Everything that he did was to build them up and bring them to faith. It was never for his vindication, glory, or even ease in dealing with them. He would rather be seen as weak and wrong than see those who attacked him, and who he cared about, fall prey to sin.
Prayer: O Lord, may my prayers always build others up. Help me to be more concerned for others than myself, entrusting myself to Your care. May I pray for others according to what will benefit them. In Jesus' name, Amen
* This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Where is Jesus in Alzheimers and Dementia?
Before my mom went to be with Jesus, she suffered from Dementia and Alzheimer’s for a number of years. We watched her slowly lose interest in how she looked, in politics, and playing games with her family… Driving, a clean house. She lost interest and the memory of so many of the things that were important to her throughout her life.
But the one thing she never lost interest in or love for, is the Lord Jesus Christ! Even when her mind couldn’t hold onto other things, Jesus was holding onto her! Her last words before she went to meet him in heaven were the words of the song "Jesus loves me".
As I thought about this truth, I realize that those last few years were a picture of the assurance that each of us has that it’s not about us holding onto Jesus Christ, but it’s about Him holding onto us. “ For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him, (my faith in Him), until that day!” 2 Timothy 1:12
So, where is Jesus in Alzheimers and Dementia? He's right beside your loved one! If they put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, even if they don't remember your name at times, they will not forget Jesus. In fact, these terrible diseases seem to bring a person back to the only thing that truly matters in this world and in the world to come...knowing Jesus. Be encouraged and trust Him for your eternity!