Easter Devotion (Day 37) - The Comfort of God and Others

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 

To fully live as Christ in the world is very often an act of rebellion. The Corinthians, who were religious minorities, felt this keenly and suffered for it, as many Christians living in hostile regions do today. Christians are also not immune from common suffering that is a very real part of everyone's life. However, we serve a God of deliverance. From the Exodus to the Resurrection to Christ's promised return, we are blessed with a God who knows our struggles, feels our pain, and offers comfort when we are distressed. 

How does God comfort us? One way is through the promises of Scripture, which assure us that the Creator of the universe is also our loving Father and Protector. Another way is through prayer. Just opening ourselves to God can be a tremendous source of peace. Paul speaks of yet another way that God sends comfort: through other believers. Paul challenges those who have experienced the comfort of God to then console others. Just as Paul was comforted by Titus when he was distressed (For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. (2 Corinthians 7:5-7), we are challenged to be conduits of the love and comfort of God to those who are in need.

Prayer: Blessed Father, may I always come to you when I am hurting. Teach me to comfort others as You comfort me. Thank you for the comfort of Your Word, prayer and other believers in my life. In Jesus name, Amen

*This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Devotion (Day 36) - Total Forgiveness

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, 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 23:32-34

We've all struggled with forgiveness when we've been wronged. We know that God tells us to forgive, and we also know that forgiving others allows us to move forward and heal. But often our forgiveness is simply turning over the matter to God, trusting that God will hold them accountable for their sins. Even if we forgive, we sometimes take comfort believing that those who have hurt us will have to answer to God and be held accountable for what they have done.

But as Jesus hung on the cross in agony, He not only forgave those responsible for His execution, but asked that God forgive them too. His death on the cross was to be an atonement for all people, even those who had placed Him there to die. His forgiveness was not only personal, but cosmic. In the throes of excruciating death, Jesus asked that the biggest affront humanity had ever made to God be forgiven. 

This is the only reason we can dare to ask God for forgiveness for our sins. Forgiveness from God is a total cleansing, enabling us to stand as new creations, no longer accountable. Instead, our challenge is to live a new life of righteousness, dedicating ourselves to being true servants of Jesus Christ, the Savior who died for us. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me forgive others completely, as You have forgiven me. Help me to live a new life of righteousness, dedicating myself to being a true servant of Yours, Lord Jesus. Thank you for being my Savior. In Your Name I pray, Amen.

*This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Devotion (Day 35) - The Pathway to Eternity

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20-21 

In the first chapter of Genesis, God created the heavens, the earth, the animals, and, finally, human beings. As He rested, He pronounced all that He had made as supremely good. At that moment, before sin had entered the world, humanity made God happy.

We all know what happened next. After people chose to disobey God, both God and God's people have struggled to reach the peace and joy of Eden again. This was the reason that Jesus Christ came to earth - to guide humanity back to the joy of a full relationship with God. We're not there yet, but Jesus has shown us the pathway to the lives that we were created to live. 

What can we do to make God happy? Hebrews 11:6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith. The faith described in Hebrews is gutsy, demanding mercy, courage, and the risks that come from loving others and truly serving God. This intercessory prayers asks that God would use the power of Jesus Christ to bless the readers with exactly that kind of faith. With that blessing, both God and humanity will come a little closer to entering Eden again. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, equip me and my fellow believers with a courageous faith so that we may be pleasing to God. Thank you that You are leading me back to the joy of a full relationship with You. Help me Holy Spirit to follow the pathway that has been set out for my life. In Your Name Lord Jesus, Amen.

*This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Devotion - Happy Palm Sunday!

 

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, 
"Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 
"Blessed is the King of Israel!"
Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." 
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.  John 12:12-16

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  
Zechariah 9:9

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. 
They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
And they cried out in a loud voice: 
"Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: 
"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!"  Revelation 7:9-12

As we celebrate Palm Sunday today, we should not only look back into the past, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem; but we should look forward to a day, in the future, when all those who have believed in Jesus as their Savior, throughout all of history, will stand around His throne and worship Him. But this time, there will be no Gethsemane or trials before Pilate or whippings or a cross waiting for Jesus. Instead, there will be year after year, century after century of enjoying life with our Lord and God. And praise God that there will be people in Heaven from every nation, tribe, language and people! What a joyous day that will be. May it come quickly!

Prayer:We love you Jesus. Today, in our hearts, may we lift up palm branches and say to You:
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"

God Works in Messed-Up Families

What a comfort to know that we don't need to be a part of a perfect family for God to work in us and through us. God showed that time and time again in His Word. Two good examples of this are Joseph and Jesus Christ, our Savior. 

Joseph shows the triumph of faith. Joseph never complained and he never compromised.

i. “He was loved and hated, favored and abused, tempted and trusted, exalted and abased. Yet at no point in the one-hundred-and-ten-year life of Joseph did he ever seem to get his eyes off God or cease to trust him. Adversity did not harden his character. Prosperity did not ruin him. He was the same in private as in public. He was a truly great man.” (Boice)

ii. Best of all, Joseph is also a remarkably powerful picture of Jesus Christ.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children: Jacob (Israel) was father over a troubled family. With sons from four different mothers, all living and working together, there was much rivalry and competition. Yet Jacob had a clear favorite – Joseph, who was the son of his old age.

i. We all have ideas and dreams about what a perfect family should be. By anyone’s measure, Joseph’s family had a lot of problems.

· As a young man, his father Jacob tried to trick his grandfather Isaac into giving him the family fortune instead of his older twin brother.

· It all fell apart and Joseph’s father Jacob had to run for his life when his twin brother vowed to murder him.

· Jacob went away, more than 200 miles on foot. He did not see his father Isaac for more than twenty years, when Isaac was almost dead. There is no record that he ever saw his mother again.

· Jacob found a place with his mother’s relatives, but his uncle cheated him and treated him like a slave.

· Jacob married two of his cousins, and took two more concubines (legal mistresses).

· Between them all, they had twelve sons and one daughter.

· There was constant competition and conflict among all the children and all the mothers.

· It was one great big messed-up family; still, it brought forth Joseph, and furthered God’s great plan of the ages.

It can be helpful to remember that Jesus Himself came from difficult family circumstances.

·Unexpectedly and under strange circumstances, His mom became pregnant well before the wedding.

· His mom and dad were quickly married, far ahead of their announced wedding date.

· Things didn’t seem right with His dad’s side of the family down in Bethlehem.

· When Jesus was just a young child, they had to escape as refugees, fleeing for their lives.

· They made a home back in Nazareth, where everyone knew about the strange pregnancy and the shotgun wedding.

· Jesus never got married – unusual and maybe even scandalous for a 30-year-old rabbi.

· We don’t know what happened to Joseph, and His mom seemed a little pushy.

· His own brothers didn’t believe in Him and called Him crazy.

· Jesus said that being in God’s family was more important to Him than His biological family.

· Jesus put His mom into the care of one of His disciples, not one of His brothers.

God’s word to everyone is this: Your messed-up family – past, present, or future – does not mean God has forsaken you or that some cloud has come over you that will never pass. God works in and through difficult and messed-up families.

(from Enduring Word commentary)

Jesus came to bestow on them a crown of beauty

    instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

    instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

    instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

    a planting of the Lord

    for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:3

Easter Devotion (Day 30) - Faithful Friends

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:3-8 

A friend writes "Phil 1:3" on the envelope of every letter she sends me. We have both grown in Christ as a result of our relationship. What a wonderful gift to know that I am being prayed for with thanksgiving! 

If Christians are the hands and feet of Christ, then those who help us grow in our faith are ambassadors that Christ Himself has sent to us. Think back to those people who have helped you understand the love and grace of Jesus Christ. How has God changed your life through their Christian actions? Paul's prayer is a reminder to not only thank those who have been significant in our spiritual growth, but to thank God for putting these people in our lives. So often when we pray for others, we petition God to fulfill specific needs for them. Paul's joyful prayer is one of gratitude for the deep blessings of Christian community. 

Because Christians are a community of believers, we have the chance to be blessings for others too. If we follow the will of God by encouraging others in faith, we are truly gifts from Jesus Christ to others on their own faith journeys. How wonderful to think that others may thank God for your impact in their lives! 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for those who have encouraged and strengthened my faith in You, whom I name before You now... In Jesus' name, Amen. 

*This devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Symbols and Their Meanings (part 3)

 

In today's devotion we will take one last look at the symbols of Easter and their meanings.

Date of Easter:
Unlike Christmas, Easter is not celebrated on the same day every year. Like Christmas, which many agree is not celebrated on the actual birth of Jesus, Easter is not celebrated on the exact date of Jesus’ death or resurrection. It is, however, celebrated at the same time of year that Jesus Christ died, the time of the Jewish Passover. The Bible states that Christ celebrated Passover with his disciples. After they ate the Passover feast they went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested. He was tried, condemned, and executed that same day. Three days later He rose from the dead.
Early Christians commemorated this event. The earliest recorded date of the celebration of Easter appears in the second century, but we can assume they were celebrating Easter in the church earlier than that. But even then Easter was celebrated on two different days. Jewish Christians kept Passover with a new meaning because Christ died and rose again during the Passover period. Gentile Christians, however, celebrated Easter on the Sunday after Passover because Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week.
As time went on the confusion surrounding the date to celebrate Easter grew. In A.D. 325 a group of church leaders met in Nicea. The group, called the Council of Nicea, discussed many things including the creation of the Nicene Creed and the date to celebrate Easter. That’s why Easter is now celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox. Because of this Easter falls between the dates of March 22 and April 25.

Palm Sunday:

On Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, Christians celebrate what is known as Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey surrounded by his disciples and crowds of people who covered the road with articles of clothing and palm branches and waved palm branches while singing and praising God.
Christians traditionally go to church on Palm Sunday where palm branches are given out during the service, remembering the palm branches that were waved when Jesus entered Jerusalem.
In some parts of the world Palm Sunday is known by other names. In parts of Wales Palm Sunday is called Flowering Sunday. On this day flowers are strewn on graves and churchyards. Also in parts of England, Palm Sunday is called Spanish Sunday. This name probably comes from a sweet drink made by children consisting of Spanish licorice shaken up in a bottle of water. Another name for Palm Sunday is Fig Sunday. Those who celebrate Fig Sunday eat figs or fig pudding in remembrance of Christ’s cursing of the fig tree, an event that occurred during Passion Week.

Maundy Thursday:
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday of Holy Week. It represents the day that the Jewish Passover was celebrated.
On that day, Jesus had his last meal with his friends and followers before he was killed. This meal is now know as 'The Last Supper'. At the meal, Jesus and his friends would have followed the Jewish Passover custom of eating roast lamb and bread and drinking red wine. However, Jesus gave the bread and wine a special meaning. When they got to the part of the meal when the bread was eaten and the wine drunk, Jesus said that these would be a symbol of his body and blood to his followers to help them remember that through his death, our sins are forgiven.
Maundy comes from Latin and is the word for 'Command', this is because Jesus commanded his followers to think of him when they ate bread and drank wine. This is very important to Christians and is now remembered in the Christian service known as Communion, Mass or Eucharist. It is practiced on Maundy Thursday.

Good Friday
Good Friday is the day thought by many to be the day that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world.
This death of this innocent man, the Son of God, is considered so horrendous that many superstitions have arisen over the years concerning things done on Good Friday. On Good Friday miners would refuse to work fearing that a disaster would occur during the following year. Blacksmiths would not work with nails because of the nails that pierced Christ’s hands and feet. Fishermen considered it an ill-omen to put out to sea on Good Friday. Clothes would not be washed on Good Friday lest they be stained with blood and lest misfortune come upon the wearers. Not all Good Friday superstitions were bad, however. Gardeners would plant their crops on Good Friday to ensure a good harvest. They believed that the soil is redeemed from Satan’s power on Good Friday only so anything planted on that day is blessed.
At one time, in Portugal and in parts of England and Europe as well, people created a straw or wooden effigy of Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus, and paraded it through town kicking it, cursing it, and deriding it. They would finally burn the effigy to show their contempt for the man who sent the Son of God to his death.
In Spain people participate in Semana Santa processions. These nightly processions begin on Palm Sunday and end on Good Friday. Representations of Christ, Mary, and the saints are paraded through the streets accompanied by barefooted penitents called Nazarenos wearing pointed black or white hoods with eye holes cut out of them. The procession ends with saetas, mournful songs, lamenting the death of Christ and the grief of His mother.

Attending Church
Because Easter is a celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians all over the world attend church on Easter Sunday. For Catholics, many attend an after-midnight Mass on Easter Sunday. Other Christians will attend an Easter Sunrise service as the Bible states "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance," John 20:1 Still others attend church later in the morning.

Much of the above information came from Customs of Easter