ALL OF ME
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Posted:Mar 1, 2017 4:50 am
Last Updated:May 4, 2024 3:15 pm 8343 Views
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Read: Matthew 27:45–54
Bible in a Year: Numbers 23–25; Mark 7:14–37
Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1
Young Isaac Watts found the music in his church sadly lacking, and his father challenged him to create something better. Isaac did. His hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” has been called the greatest in the English language and has been translated into many other languages.
Watts’s worshipful third verse ushers us into the presence of Christ at the crucifixion.
“Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.” —Isaac Watts
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
The crucifixion Watts describes so elegantly stands as history’s most awful moment. We do well to pause and stand with those around the cross. The of God strains for breath, held by crude spikes driven through His flesh. After tortured hours, a supernatural darkness descends. Finally, mercifully, the Lord of the universe dismisses His anguished spirit. An earthquake rattles the landscape. Back in the city the thick temple curtain rips in half. Graves open, and dead bodies resurrect, walking about the city (Matt. 27:51–53). These events compel the centurion who crucified Jesus to say, “Surely he was the of God!” (v. 54).
“The Cross reorders all values and cancels all vanities,” says the Poetry Foundation in commenting on Watts’s poem. The song could only conclude: “Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.”
It is our privilege to give everything we have
to the One who gave us everything on the cross.
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A CHUCKLE IN THE DARKNESS
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Posted:Feb 28, 2017 3:02 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:50 am 8409 Views
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Read: John 11:17–27
Bible in a Year: Numbers 20–22; Mark 7:1–13
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only , that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
In a Washington Post article titled “Tech Titans’ Latest Project: Defy Death,” Ariana Cha wrote about the efforts of Peter Thiele and other tech moguls to extend human life indefinitely. They’re prepared to spend billions on the project.
They are a little late. Death has already been defeated! Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26). Jesus assures us that those who put their trust in Him will never, ever, under any circumstances whatever, die.
Jesus, help me to live a life that is pleasing to You.
To be clear, our bodies will die—and there is nothing anyone can do to change that. But the thinking, reasoning, remembering, loving, adventuring part of us that we call “me, myself, and I” will never, ever die.
And here’s the best part: It’s a gift! All you have to do is receive the salvation Jesus offers. C. S. Lewis, musing on this notion, describes it as something like “a chuckle in the darkness”—the sense that something that simple is the answer.
Some say, “It’s too simple.” Well, I say, if God loved you even before you were born and wants you to live with Him forever, why would He make it hard?
Dear Jesus, I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I want to accept You as my Lord and Savior and follow You. Please forgive my sins and help me, from this moment on, to live a life that is pleasing to You.
Christ has replaced the dark door of death with the shining gate of life.
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RING OF INVISIBILITY
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Posted:Feb 27, 2017 3:33 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:51 am 10482 Views
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Read: John 3:16–21
Bible in a Year: Numbers 17–19; Mark 6:30–56
Everyone who does evil hates the light. John 3:20
The Greek philosopher Plato (c. 427–c. 348 bc) found an imaginative way of shining light on the dark side of the human heart. He told the story of a shepherd who innocently discovered a golden ring that had been hidden deep in the earth. One day a great earthquake opened up an ancient mountainside tomb and revealed the ring to the shepherd. By accident he also discovered that the ring had the magical ability to enable the wearer to become invisible at will. Thinking about invisibility, Plato raised this question: If people didn’t have to worry about being caught and punished, would they resist doing wrong?
In John’s gospel we find Jesus taking this idea in a different direction. There, Jesus, known as the Good Shepherd, speaks of hearts that stay in the cover of darkness to hide what they are doing (John 3:19–20). He isn’t calling attention to our desire for cover-up to condemn us, but to offer us salvation through Him (v. 17). As the Shepherd of our hearts, He brings the worst of our human nature to light to show us how much God loves us (v. 16).
God in His mercy calls us out of our darkness and invites us to follow Him in the light.
God in His mercy calls us out of our darkness and invites us to follow Him in the light.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the light of Your presence in my life. May I walk obediently in the light of Your truth in all that I do this day.
Sin’s darkness retreats when Christ’s light is revealed.
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THE LAND OF " WHAT IS "
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Posted:Feb 24, 2017 5:38 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:51 am 12383 Views
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Read: Psalm 46:1–7
Bible in a Year: Numbers 9–11; Mark 5:1–20
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13
Even all these years after losing our seventeen-year-old Melissa in a car accident in 2002, I sometimes find myself entering the world of “What If.” It’s easy, in grief, to reimagine the events of that tragic June evening and think of factors that—if rearranged—would have had Mell arriving safely home.
In reality, though, the land of “What If” is not a good place to be for any of us. It is a place of regret, second-guessing, and hopelessness. While the grief is real and the sadness endures, life is better and God is honored if we dwell in the world of “What Is.”
When we do face hard times, our greatest help comes from trusting God.
In that world, we can find hope, encouragement, and comfort. We have the sure hope (1 Thess. 4:13)—the assurance—that because Melissa loved Jesus she is in a place that is “better by far” (Phil. 1:23). We have the helpful presence of the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). We have God’s “ever-present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). And we often have the encouragement of fellow believers.
We all wish to avoid the tragedies of life. But when we do face hard times, our greatest help comes from trusting God, our sure hope in the land of What Is.
Father God, You know my broken heart. You know the pain of loss because You suffered through the death of Your . In the midst of ongoing sorrow, help me to dwell in the comfort of Your hope, encouragement, and comfort.
Our greatest hope comes from trusting God.
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PRESS ON
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Posted:Feb 23, 2017 4:22 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:52 am 12059 Views
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Read: Philippians 3:12–21
Bible in a Year: Numbers 7–8; Mark 4:21–41
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
One of my favorite television programs is The Amazing Race. In this reality show, ten couples are sent to a foreign country where they must race, via trains, buses, cabs, bikes, and feet, from one point to another to get their instructions for the next challenge. The goal is for one couple to get to a designated finishing point before everyone else, and the prize is a million dollars.
The apostle Paul compared the Christian life to a race and admitted that he had not yet arrived at the finish line. “Brothers and sisters,” he said, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize”
(Phil. 3:13–14). Paul did not look back and allow his past failures to weigh him down with guilt, nor did he let his present successes make him complacent. He pressed on toward the goal of becoming more and more like Jesus.
Let us keep pressing on toward the ultimate goal of becoming more like Jesus.
We are running this race too. Despite our past failures or successes, let us keep pressing on toward the ultimate goal of becoming more like Jesus. We are not racing for an earthly prize, but for the ultimate reward of enjoying Him forever.
Read Philippians 4:11–13. How are we able to press on toward our future hope? Read Hebrews 12:1–2. What are some practical things we must do to continue to press on and persevere?
Never call it quits in pursuing Jesus.
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PERFECT GRACE
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Posted:Feb 22, 2017 4:36 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:52 am 12627 Views
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Read: Matthew 5:43–48, John 8:9–11
Bible in a Year: Numbers 4–6; Mark 4:1–20
“Neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. John 8.11
Jesus’s teaching about absolute ideals and absolute grace seem contradictory.
Jesus never lowered God’s perfect ideal. In His response to the rich young ruler, He said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” Matt. 5:48. He told an expert in the law who inquired as to the greatest commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (22:37). No one has completely fulfilled those commands.
Father, may we live as people who enjoy Your forgiveness and a restored relationship with You.
Yet the same Jesus tenderly offered absolute grace. He forgave an adulteress, a thief on the cross, a disciple who had denied ever knowing Him, and a man named Saul, who had made his mark persecuting Christians. Grace is absolute and all-encompassing, extending even to those who nailed Jesus to the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” were among the last words He spoke on earth (Luke 23:34).
For years I felt so unworthy when considering Jesus’s absolute ideals that I missed any notion of His grace. Once I understood this dual message, however, I went back and found that the message of grace gusts through Jesus’s life and teachings.
Grace is for the desperate, the needy, the broken, those who cannot make it on their own. Grace is for all of us.
Father, Your all-encompassing grace washes over us and astonishes us. May we live today as people who enjoy Your complete forgiveness and a restored relationship with You.
Jesus fulfilled the perfect requirements of the law so that we may enjoy the perfect peace of His grace.
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THE VIRAL GOSPEL
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Posted:Feb 21, 2017 4:52 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:52 am 13209 Views
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Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
Bible in a Year: Numbers 1–3; Mark 3
The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. 1 Thessalonians 1.8
The Viral Texts project at Northeastern University in Boston is studying how printed content in the 1800s spread through newspapers—the social media network of that day. If an article was reprinted 50 times or more, they considered that “viral” for the Industrial Age. Writing in Smithsonian magazine, Britt Peterson noted that a nineteenth-century news article describing which followers of Jesus were executed for their faith appeared in at least 110 different publications.
When the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica, he commended them for their bold and joyful witness to Jesus. “The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere” 1 Thess. 1:8. The message of the gospel went viral through these people whose lives had been transformed by Jesus Christ. In spite of difficulties and persecution, they could not remain silent.
Lord Jesus, help us to live boldly and tell others about You today.
We convey the story of forgiveness and eternal life in Christ through kind hearts, helping hands, and honest words from all of us who know the Lord. The gospel transforms us and the lives of those we meet.
May the message ring out from us for all to hear today!
Lord Jesus, help us to live boldly and tell others about You today.
There’s no better news than the gospel—spread the word!
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RIVER TREE
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Posted:Feb 20, 2017 4:47 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:52 am 14920 Views
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Read: Jeremiah 17:5–10
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 26–27; Mark 2
They will be like a tree planted by the water. Jeremiah 17.8
This was a tree to be envied. Growing on riverfront property, it didn’t have to worry about weather reports, withering temperatures, or an uncertain future. Nourished and cooled by the river, it spent its days lifting its branches to the sun, holding the earth with its roots, cleaning the air with its leaves, and offering shade to all who needed refuge from the sun.
By contrast, the prophet Jeremiah pointed to a shrub (Jer. 17:6). When the rains stopped and the summer sun turned the ground to dust, the bush shriveled into itself, offering no shade or fruit to anyone.
God, you alone can be trusted—even when it seems like You are nowhere to be seen.
Why would the prophet compare a flourishing tree to a withering bush? He wanted his people to recall what had happened since their miraculous rescue from the slave yards of Egypt. For forty years in a wilderness, they lived like a tree planted by a river (2:4–6). Yet in the prosperity of their promised land they had forgotten their own story; they were relying on themselves and on gods of their own making
(vv. 7–8 even to the point of going back to Egypt looking for help (42:14).
So God, through Jeremiah, lovingly urged the forgetful of Israel, and He urges us, to hope and trust in the Lord and to be like the tree—not the bush.
Father, in so many ways You have taught us that You alone can be trusted—even when it seems like You are nowhere to be seen. Please help us to recall today what You have already shown us along the way.
Let’s remember in good times what we have learned in days of trouble.
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SEEING TO TOMORROW
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Posted:Feb 17, 2017 5:14 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:53 am 17475 Views
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Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1–9
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21–22; Matthew 28
We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5.7
I enjoy gazing up at a cloudless blue sky. The sky is a beautiful part of our great Creator’s masterpiece, given for us to enjoy. Imagine how much pilots must love the view. They use several aeronautical terms to describe a perfect sky for flying, but my favorite is, “You can see to tomorrow.”
“Seeing to tomorrow” is beyond our view. Sometimes we even struggle to see or understand what life is throwing at us today. The Bible tells us, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5.7
But our limited visibility is not cause for despair. Just the opposite. We trust in the God who sees all of our tomorrows perfectly—and who knows what we need as we face the challenges ahead. The apostle Paul knew this. That’s why Paul encourages us with hopeful words, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5.7).
When we trust God with our day as well as our unseen tomorrows, we don’t need to worry about anything life throws at us. We walk with Him and He knows what is ahead; He is strong enough and wise enough to handle it.
Lord, I know I can trust You for today and tomorrow because You are kind, good, loving, wise, and powerful. Teach me not to worry.
God sees the beginning to the end.
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THE JUNKYARD GENIUS
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Posted:Feb 16, 2017 3:46 am
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2017 4:54 am 18197 Views
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Read: John 9:1–11
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 19–20; Matthew 27:51–66
One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! John 9:25
Noah Purifoy began his work as an “assemblage” artist with three tons of rubble salvaged from the 1965 riots in the Watts area of Los Angeles. From broken bicycle wheels and bowling balls to discarded tires and damaged TV sets—things no longer usable—he and a colleague created sculptures that conveyed a powerful message about people being treated as “throw-aways” in modern society. One journalist referred to Mr. Purifoy as “the junkyard genius.”
In Jesus’s time, many people considered those with diseases and physical problems as sinners being punished by God. They were shunned and ignored. But when Jesus and His disciples encountered a man born blind, the Lord said his condition was not the result of sin, but an occasion to see the power of God. “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). When the blind man followed Jesus’s instructions, he was able to see.
God takes our broken lives and shapes us into His new creations.
When the religious authorities questioned the man, he replied simply, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (v. 25).
Jesus is still the greatest “junkyard genius” in our world. We are all damaged by sin, but He takes our broken lives and shapes us into His new creations.
Lord, I thank You today for Your amazing grace!
Jesus is the restorer of life.
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