Repentance

The reality of the ugliness, damage and offense of 

personal sin can be challenging to face. Sin is

easy to spot in others but painful to recognize in 

ourselves. We can resent Adam for his rebellion that

infected humanity, yet fail to personally admit the 

cost of our own failings. And while our sins are many,

the reality that our greatest offense is against God Himself does not always bear the weight it should

(Psalm 51:4). God loves sinners enough to allow the cost and consequences of personal sin to accomplish 

their intended purpose. God is being kind when He makes us face our sin so that we will seek

our Savior (Romans 2:4).

Jacob’s sons, (Genesis 42-45) found themselves in a series of events designed by God to unravel their

false security and expose their sin. The sins of their past and their suppressed guilt surfaced. God’s intent 

in revealing their sin was not to shackle them in hopelessness, but to set them free (2 Peter 3:9). In the 

same way, God lovingly reveals our sin. His Holy Spirit convicts us not just of our sinful nature, but of 

specific sin. We feel sorrow for the damage our sin has caused (2 Corinthians 7:10). In faith, we can 

honestly and openly confess our sin to God, who already knows everything about us. We believe that 

Jesus carried that sin on our behalf. God will forgive and deliver us from being held captive by sin. This 

process, known as repentance, is a healthy and wonderful ongoing posture in the life of a Christian.

We sometimes delay repentance until the pain of our sin becomes unbearable. To fail to repent

and to ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit and God’s tender call to forsake sin is costly.

Sometimes we think that we can muster up strength to clean up the mess before we bring it to God.

To fail to repent from sin means we carry the guilt ourselves, when Jesus died to carry it for us. Daily life,

God’s Word and the Holy Spirit regularly surface specific sin we need to face. To fail to immediately turn

from sin prevents us from experiencing the deliverance Jesus won for us. Jesus rose from the grave,

victorious over sin and death, so we do not have to stay stuck in sin’s trap.

To regularly experience God’s cleansing and power to forsake sin creates a stream of joy and

gratitude to God. Though the believer will continue to struggle with sin until we die or Jesus returns,

we can see growth over time. Repentance is essential to spiritual growth. God lovingly reveals sin

and extends grace when we confess and turn from our sin. God hates sin, but He loves repentance, an

expression of His kindness. Do you recognize repentance as the wonderful grace of God? Run as fast

and often as you can into the healing arms of Jesus.

Living Sacrifice

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2

The Lord's general will involves the development of our character and the ways in which we relate to Him and to our fellow man. Much of this is the same for every believer. But each of us is unique, and each has a potential life vision unlike any other. God has an individual will for every soul that belongs to Him, an individually shaped destiny which varies according to our gifting and calling and purpose in His Body.

Not every believer knows or even desires to walk fully in that vision, calling, or destiny. At times we may try to think about or shape a vision for our lives, but the scripture says that we ought to be able to test and approve what is God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. How do we do this?

First, Paul urges that we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. What does this mean? It means that we make a conscious decision to devote our entire lives to the Lord, holding nothing back, to give ourselves to Him without reservation. The Old Testament sacrifices were animals which were totally offered to God and usually were burned on the altar in fire. Their aroma was pleasing to Him, as their flesh was consumed by the fire.

As living sacrifices, we remain alive... but given over, as though we were burning on His altar. Our life is not our own, but is devoted to His purpose and pleasure. This is a conscious decision, a choice which every believer is urged to make. The Lord is then free to shape our lives, our experiences, our discipline, according to His perfect will and purposes for the best possible result.

Paul expands on this decisive act of devotion, saying we must not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. So the act of devoting our life to Him involves a decisive renunciation of the ways of thinking and the values of this present world. (Much could be said about this.) And it also involves a process of renewing our thoughts and values according to the thoughts and values of our Lord. These, then, are the conditions which the apostle gives that we may be able to test and approve what is God's good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives.

It's often said that "God has a wonderful plan for your life." It involves the profound realities of my unique individuality; things that He has placed in me and no one else, such that He can beautifully express Himself through my life, my personality, my gifts, relationships, and unique position in the world. Indeed, it is a "wonderful plan". But in order for Him to shape this destiny, He requires my unreserved consent, my offering... of MY BODY, a LIVING SACRIFICE.

From Worthy Brief

Walk like Joshua and Caleb

as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.  1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 

When the twelve spies were sent into Canaan to spy out the land, ten returned with a bad report. Their assessment was that it was impossible to conquer the land that God had promised them. Forgetting how God had led them with a pillar of fire by night, and fed them manna from heaven during the day, brought forth water out of a rock, and parted the Red Sea, they saw the situation with only their natural eyes, failed to walk by faith, and succumbed to fear.

Joshua and Caleb however, returned with a good report. Refusing to be discouraged by what they saw, they fully trusted that their supernatural God was not going to break His promise to His people, Israel.

We are living in days where the world looks bleak, and the evils seem to grow more threatening and dangerous. How will we react? Will we be devastated and terrorized like the 10 spies with a bad report? Or will we do something extraordinary -- will we walk by faith like Joshua and Caleb, trust in the love and power of our God, and seize the opportunities that are at hand?

May we walk by faith and stand firm in it, facing every challenge, and laying hold of every opportunity that awaits us. May Joshua and Caleb be our examples of faith and courage in these days. With our God going before us, we also, can take the land, glorifying Him in every battle.

From Worthy Brief 

Suffering

The Doctrine of Suffering

Suffering and pain are a natural part of life. The human body experiences pain as a signal that something is not right. In a broader sense, human suffering reveals something not right with our world. And what is not right? Sin shattered God’s perfect world and complicated our lives with brokenness and pain (Genesis 3; Revelation 21). By nature, suffering is difficult. As humans, we like to avoid the difficult. So how do you process a life and world so filled with suffering? Even when you accept the good purposes of God in what feels bad, what if no relief is in sight? What if there are never answers for your hard questions in this life?

Joseph (Genesis 37-50) suffered very deep pain for a very long time. He lived in dark places with little hope of the light of deliverance. Perhaps you are waiting for deliverance from suffering. Maybe you have become weary bearing burdens that feel too heavy to bear. God did not leave Joseph in his suffering without His tender daily provisions. While he waited for deliverance, Joseph carried on in God’s strength. What helps you keep going when everything in you wants to quit?

Bad things in the world or in your life do not change the goodness of God. God will deliver His people from sin and suffering. Our timetable for deliverance is not synchronized with God’s. The challenge is that believers must wait for full deliverance – the final defeat of sin, suffering and death. But while we wait, we gain the opportunity to trust God and find Him faithful. We should expect trouble in this life. We should expect bodies that age, people who fail us and constant hard work among the thorns. The suffering here makes us long for the deliverance there – when God brings his eternal plan to its glorious completion. When our burdens are more than we can bear, our blessed Savior provides what we cannot provide in our own strength. We learn to trust God because we need to trust God. God is worth trusting.

Suffering can make us feel abandoned or alone. However, believers are never alone. Your God will neither leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). To suffer long and not seek God’s higher purposes can distort your understanding of God’s permeating and proactive goodness. To focus only on the suffering leaves you to only endure pain and miss how God is “with you.” To interpret your suffering by only what you understand is to miss the benefit of trusting God for the greater things He seeks to accomplish. Suffering can be profitable, but we can fail to reap its benefits and waste the pain when we focus only on ourselves.

God is with you in suffering and uses it to tenderize your heart and draw you to Himself. To understand that God loves you enough to allow suffering in your life, even the long and hard kind, brings perspective on the roughest days. God’s ultimate purpose is not in the pain, but in what it produces. Romans 5:3-5 says: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” God’s purposes for your life are never thwarted by suffering or loss.

Disappointment and Waiting on God

Temporary disappointments do not define your ultimate destiny. For God’s child, His unseen realities are truer than the pain you may feel. Flawed people, fleeting pleasure and fading hopes should propel you toward God, the only One who can satisfy your deepest longings. Disappointment, pain and even lingering suffering are profitable when yielded to God, who knows and loves you best. Injustice in this world makes you long for His perfect justice. Pain in this world makes you long for eternity, where pain and tears will be abolished. When disappointments break you of spiritually debilitating self-will and pride, will you trust that God is doing something good? When people fail you, remember God cannot. How is your current suffering stripping you of every option but trusting God? How are you experiencing His daily measure of sustaining grace? How does a bigger and higher view of God give you help and hope? 

As humans, we long for resolution. We enjoy movies and entertainment that solve all the suspense and tension in the allotted time. Some of us enjoy googling our questions to receive instant information. We like to see things resolved, and preferably fast. We do not like waiting. Waiting implies dependence on someone or something else to bring an answer or solution you lack and long for. You wait for the doctor because you need the expertise that a professional brings. You wait for needed rain because you are powerless to produce it yourself. You wait in a long queue because doing so is your only hope to board the bus or receive the needed service. Waiting for God to bring resolution to suffering is perhaps hardest of all. Joseph had to wait. What are you waiting on God to resolve, or at least help you understand? His plans and purposes far exceed your limited vision and understanding. Can you trust God, even when the answers are few, the pain is deep and the solutions invisible? Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” God is worth waiting for. 

Even for believers, faith falters. In this life, our trust in God is neither complete nor perfect. Sometimes we face the day with bold, decisive faith. Other days, we struggle to believe what we know is true. Do you ever genuinely want to trust God but find a constant pull to focus on the obstacles? God is not shocked by our faltering faith. Joseph offers a stellar example, but the hard days of his challenging life required active surrender to God. Faith is not denying the hardship, but trusting God in the midst of it. How is God calling you to stronger faith? What do you do on that hard day when your faith falters and the visible challenges loom large? God Himself stokes the fire of our faith with His strength and power. He calls out faith when we struggle. God will teach you how to trust Him. That may require unplugging you from earthly sources of security so you can experience God as the unshakeable bedrock of faith. God lets it be hard here so we will discover He offers more than this fallen world can offer. How is God revealing Himself and growing your faith this week, even if that growth is hard?

John 20 - A Race to the Tomb

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.

So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.

Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)  John 20:1-9

The fact that John and Peter raced to the tomb, shows that in their hearts they still held out hope that all was not lost after Jesus' death, even though they did not understand His statements that He would rise from the dead. Peter, ever the leader and eager follower, pushes past John and enters the tomb. What do you think his thoughts were after he had, just two days before, denied ever knowing Jesus? Graciously, God allows Peter and John to see, with their own eyes, the empty, neat and orderly tomb. They believe even when they do not understand. We can learn a lesson from Peter and John. We may not always understand how or why God is doing something, but we can believe Him, have faith in Him and eagerly await the day when our faith will become sight.

In order to understand the significance that "The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.", you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, “I’m finished.” But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because the folded napkin meant, “I’m coming back!”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for rising from the dead! Thank you for giving us the Bible so that we can know this truth. Help us to have faith in You, even when we don't understand everything that is happening around us or to us. We celebrate your resurrection every day! In Your name, Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen. 

Easter Devotion - Resurrection Sunday!

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" 
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.  John 20:10-18


We can only imagine what Mary's thoughts were that Sunday morning upon seeing her Lord alive! She had watched Him be killed and seen His dead body placed in the tomb. While all but one of the disciples (John) didn't dare show their faces at the cross out of fear, she stayed there, supporting Jesus' mother Mary, and showing her love and dedication to Jesus up to the bitter end. And for Mary, even His death was not the end of her devotion. She risked her life to return to the tomb that Sunday morning. Jesus rewarded her faithfulness by choosing Mary, a woman who had been possessed by seven demons (we can only imagine the horror she experienced), to be the first one to see Him after He rose. Oh praise You sweet Jesus! You reveal Yourself to children and women...the ones who society so often abuses and persecutes. What a wonderful Savior we serve!

Prayer:
Sweet Jesus...how precious You are! We can't wait to see you face to face the way Mary did in the Garden. Some day, we know, You will return and take us to live with You forever. Until that day, may we live our lives with all the devotion and love of Mary Magdalene. Thank You Jesus!

Song: Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Christ the Lord is ris'n today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav'ns, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened Paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Dying once He all doth save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Foll'wing our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Easter Devotion (Good Friday) - God Forsaken for Us

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
Matthew 27:45-50 

What a horrible cry for the Father to hear from His Son!!! How it must have torn the very heart out of God! Yet during His time on the cross, Jesus was the only person who ever was or ever will be truly God-forsaken. Jesus took on all of humanity's sins and suffered execution at the hands of human beings in order to break the power of evil in the world. Because God is the very antithesis of sin, at that moment, God had to turn from the heartrending cry of His only Son.  

Yet this cry is also the first line of Psalm 22. Take a moment to read through the psalm. It is an encapsulation of Jesus' execution, resurrection, and salvation of all of humanity (written hundreds of years before these events actually took place). Although God had turned away at the moment of Christ's cry, by calling out the beginning of the psalm, Jesus was letting all who would hear know that He knew the end of the psalm too. God would rescue Him from death itself!!! 

Through the cross, the world would undergo a radical transformation. Every human being, Jew and Gentile, born and unborn, would recognize the power and the grace of God. Hidden in Jesus' heartbreaking cry from the cross was the hope of all humanity. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me to trust in the Father, even in the depths of despair. Father God, thank you for the incredible love that You have for us that would cause You to be willing to watch Your Son suffer and die for each of us. I praise You, thank You and love You with all my heart! In Your Son's name, Amen. 

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

Easter Devotion - Prayer of Agony

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Luke 22:39-46 

Jesus' time in the garden is the most anguished description of prayer in all of Scripture. He was facing humiliation and an agonizing death, but there have been martyrs who have confidently gone to their executions, secure in God's love for them and in their eternity with Him in Heaven. Why then did Jesus suffer so much in Gethsemane? 

Jesus asked for "this cup" to be removed. Throughout Scripture, a cup has been the symbol of God's righteous anger against sin and rebellion. Because Jesus was about to take on the sins of all the world, He would feel the full force of God's wrath falling on Him. The one person who was the closest and most attuned to the will of God and who could feel God's wrath the most acutely would face it with more force and power than anyone had experienced or would ever experience it. The pain that Jesus feared was not physical, as horrible as that would be. It was not about what humans could do to Him, but about the intense pain of anger and alienation from the Father. 

This is the horror of Gethsemane that night. It is what Jesus suffered for you and me. We never will be forsaken by God, no matter what, because Jesus drank the cup of God's wrath for us. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I cannot even comprehend what You have done for me. Thank You for taking on God's wrath for my salvation. What I could never do, You did because You love me so much. I love you too, with all my heart! In Your Precious Name Lord Jesus, Amen. 

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

Easter Devotion (Maundy Thursday) - Come to the Table

When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me."

They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

"It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me.

The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them.

"I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  Mark 14:17-26

"The wine and the matzot, or unleavened bread, were a very important part of the Passover celebration. Passover was the celebration of God's deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. When Jesus identified Himself with the bread and the wine, He was telling His disciples, and us, that it would be by His death that we would be delivered from sin." Ann Hibbard from Family Celebrations at Easter.

Prayer: 

Lord Jesus, thank you for the sacrifice you made on the cross for my sins. Whenever I take communion, may I be reminded of how much You love me and may I commit my life to You. I love You Jesus. In Your name I pray, Amen. 

Song: Come to the Table by Michael Card

Come to the table

And savor the sight,

The wine and the bread that was broken.

And all have been welcome to come

If they might

Accept as their own these two tokens.

The bread is his body,

The wine is the blood

And the one who provides them is true.

He freely offers

We freely receive.

To accept and believe him is all we must do.

Come to the table

And taste of the glory

And savor the sorrow

He's dying tomorrow.

The hand that is breaking the bread

Soon will be broken.

And here at the table

Sit those who have loved him,

One is a traitor and one will deny,

Though he's lived his life for them all

And for all be crucified.

Come to the table and see in his eyes

The love that the Father has spoken.

And know you are welcome

Whatever your crime,

Though every commandment you've broken.

For he's come to love you

And not to condemn.

And he offers a pardon of peace.

If you'll come to the table

You'll feel in your heart

The greatest forgiveness,

The greatest release