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April 4: Mark 16:1-8
Key Verse: Mark 16:6
‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
Devotion:
Around Easter I often try to think how the people in the stories felt about what was going on. This was a time of great sadness because they probably thought they had somehow lost the battle, but this was the moment when they would see just how much God loves us and how much Jesus had done for us! The ladies came prepared to dress up the body with the spices, probably dressed appropriately for mourning...
When they approached the tomb and finally looked up to see how they were going to try and roll the stone away from the entrance, it was already moved aside! The first thing Christ had done at the break of dawn was to complete His promise to the world, to defeat evil once and for all; just not in the way we think of defeating evil.
When we think of coming up against evil, we think of big battles, fights, superheroes and all manner of earthly things. What Christ did was to defeat death, or debt for the evil in the world. Christ paved the way for us to be able to avoid eternal death by rising up from death and showing the world He can and will do everything for us!
The ladies must have been in shock when they saw the tomb was empty. They must have been very afraid by the young man dressed in white sitting there as if everything was ok. And then to be told Jesus was no longer dead after they had seen Him die on the cross... weel, we can only imagine what they thought. They fled! They said nothing at first because they were too scared to say anything. We only know this now because this is all history and they figured things out.
Points to Ponder:
Jesus is our Saviour! Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!
Hallelujah!
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April 3: Matthew 27:57-61
Key Verse: Matthew 27:58
Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.
Devotion:
After the terrifying ordeal of Easter Friday when Jesus was crucified, people would have been divided as to what to do with the body; should they leave it there because it was such a position of shame, or should they do the right thing and take it away for burial? Joseph or Arimathea stepped forward and asked for the body of Jesus to be given to him for proper burial.
Not only this, but Joseph turned over His personal tomb (which he had no doubt paid a lot of money for) to Jesus’ burial. There was no doubt in his mind what should be done – the right thing! Joseph was willing to give everything he had stored up for Christ because of what Christ had just done for Him!
Too often in our lives we look at the things we have and we give a portion to God; a portion we can do without for a bit... This is not what God calls us to do. God calls us to be willing to give Him everything in our lives. If you remember when the rich man approached Jesus and asked how to get to heaven, Jesus said he had to sell everything – something he was not willing to do because he was so wealthy.
God is not going to demand we all sell everything and give it all away – what he is asking is that we are willing to do this if He asks. What He has lined up in Heaven for us is far and beyond anything we can comprehend on earth. He is not asking us to turn what we have so we can gain more in the end either... He is asking us to be willing to give everything should He ask. Joseph was willing and able – he did!
Points to Ponder:
Are you willing to give everything to God?
What will you hold back next time He asks?
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April 2: John 19:16-22
Key Verse: John 19:19
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.
Devotion:
Sometimes it is not nice to be the person in charge when things go terribly wrong. Sometimes the outcome is way out of your reach and the only thing you can feasibly do is to go with the flow – or at least that is how we see things. God does not see things like that, instead standing up for what is right and always telling the truth!
I’m pretty sure Pilate saw what the Chief Priests were up to but he was not in a position to argue against them. If he did, they would have revolted in some way and there would have been a time of unrest which is not what he would have wanted! So he did the human thing and gave ground to the crowd. We do things like that when the going gets tough because we see it as an easier way out that having to put up with an angry crowd.
Jesus knew He was going to get blamed for many things and He knew He would have to go to the cross and give up His life. I wonder what was going through His mind as He saw the Chief Priests doing what they were doing out of ignorance, pride and greed rather than out of wisdom! Jesus wept over the people when He saw they had turned toward sin instead of following Him. Now the priests themselves were turning away from Him.
Pilate’s words he had written on the sign which was fastened to the cross explained his personal feelings in a way. He saw Jesus as the example the others should have been looking up to and following. Instead, to keep the peace, he was having to give in to the ignorance, pride and greed of the people in charge of the Jews, so he wrote these words! And he stood by them when the Chief Priests came to complain about them...
Points to Ponder:
Do you give in to peer pressure a lot?
Have you tried to ask Christ which way you should be going lately?
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April 1: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 11:26
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Devotion:
Jesus tried to remind the disciples about the poor and needy whenever He could, and on this occasion, He wanted them to think about what it means when they sit down to a meal in remembrance of God. When we do ask for God’s blessing on the meal, are we doing it out of habit, or are we really remembering what it all means.
As we come up to Easter we remember all Christ did for us and all the history which lead to this – I think modern Christians have got pretty good at setting up reminders of all things which have happened – but some of us may not be thinking about the right stuff in our hearts!
When we remember how Jesus’ body was broken for us and how He shed blood for us, we also need to remember who He did this for and why. How can we sit at a nice big family table and enjoy a great meal, saying all the right things about how Jesus died for us when we are not doing what we can to show love and support for the people Jesus wanted to show love and support for?
Jesus showed His love, mercy, support, forgiveness and so much more for every one of us, from the richest to the poorest, from the healthiest to the sick and infirm. Jesus wants us to remember these same people when we sit at the table to remember Him. Jesus wants us to know what was going through Jesus’ heart by remembering these same people as He did all those years ago. Jesus reached out to us, sinners. We should be reaching out to others – not just because they are part of our family circle, but because they are loved by God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you thank God for your food and drink?
How often do you share your food and drink?
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March 31: John 13:21-30
Key Verse: John 13:21
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
Devotion:
We all like to think we will never let God down, how we will always listen to Him and obey when He asks or directs, but the truth is we all fall short of the mark and we all let Him down every day! Every day? Yes, every day! No matter how small the infraction, we all do something wrong against God’s will every day just because we have free choice and are surrounded by temptation all the time.
God knew this and knew not matter how much His chosen people said they would follow Him, they, and us, would falter at some stage. This has been shown to us time and time again in the Old Testament as the people went after their own beliefs when they grew tired of waiting for God or when they got side-tracked by things and people around them.
We live in similar times nowadays too; we get side-tracked by all manner of things and people. We let God down because we are weak and we fall for the many temptations which surround us. But God still loves us! That is the key thing here! The love of God goes far beyond our failing and our strengths. God’s love went all the way to the cross and beyond. Jesus knew what he had to do and He even understood how one of His disciples would betray Him in the final days – just because they wanted a bit of money!
Even though we face temptations, trials and sinful ways, we do still have a choice as to what we do before the case, during the case and after the case! We have the choice to try and avoid bad situations. We have the choice to leave bad places. We have the choice to ask for forgiveness when we know we have done wrong. This is why Christ went through this all – so we have that final choice, the one which can save us!
Points to Ponder:
How many things have you done wrong already today?
Will you ask Christ to forgive you?
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March 30: John 12:20-26
Key Verse: John 12:24
Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Devotion:
I love the way Jesus told the disciples the truth no matter how bad things seemed to be; but He always made sure they still had hope – a hope for a future with Him in Heaven for eternity! The passage starts out by telling us how other people wanted to come and worship at the temple, not just the Jews.
Jesus came to open the doors for everyone to be able to come to join Him, not just the Israelites but the Greeks as well. Jesus opens the door for us all which was seen by the kinds of people He met with and even socialised with. Just because we are not of the tribe of Judah, or any other Israeli tribe, does not mean we will be excluded. We are all included as God’s children, part of His family.
What Jesus wanted people to start seeing here is how we all have to sacrifice something in our lives to do the right thing. We may have a wonderful life, home, car, whatever, but if we are not willing to open our lives and homes to others, we are excluding God’s people! Jesus highlights this by reminding us of the simplicity of nature – unless a seed is planted and allowed to change, it will not grow into another plant.
Christ wants us all to know we do have to change in order to grow in our lives with Him; turning our backs on the ways of the world and embracing God’s ways. This does not mean we have to turn our backs on the people of the world – far from it. God wants us to embrace the people and be the example of a seed being planted, dying and coming back to life as something new and special.
Points to Ponder:
How comfortable are you in your life?
Will you try to share your life with someone else (as we start to come out of lockdown)
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March 29: Isaiah 42:1-4
Key Verse: Isaiah 42:1
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
Devotion:
This was God’s promise to the people, given through Isaiah so many years before Christ came to earth in human form. This is the promise we read about in history books and revel in through our bibles. This is the promise we know which shows us the mercy and love God has for all of His people – that's you and I!
God still looks for willing servants to step forward and to be ambassadors for His Word in this modern world; a world which seems hell bent on living in sin and shame. We don’t have to look too far to see just how many people still break God’s laws, and the best place to start is by looking in the mirror! We cannot hope be to able to judge others because we are guilty to start with...
But, because Jesus stepped forward almost 2000 years ago, we have a firm way of being able to join God in heaven for our eternal life. The choice remains ours. We can choose whether we want to join Christ in Heaven or whether we want to spend eternity floundering in a place whose description of is beyond words in our bibles.
God calls us to step forward, not as judges willing to blame everyone for doing things wrong, but as ambassadors, willing to lift up the truth, admit we are the same as other people, but still encourage them to do what we can do – look to Christ for forgiveness and for redemption. This most Holy Week, think about what you can do for God, not what others are doing wrong, but what you can do right!
Points to Ponder:
Do you see many people doing wrong around you?
Are you really trying to do your best for God?
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March 27: John 11:45-53
Key Verse: John 11:51
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation
Devotion:
Here we go again – more people being put out by the fact Jesus was doing many wonders when they could not. Jesus was being open about it and encouraging people to seek the truth first of all. The chief priests and Pharisees were trying to keep order through fear and through sacrifices and keeping of the ancient laws (as well as the new laws they had added to the raft of laws)
Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, knew God was going to allow a Messiah to come a die for the nation so they could be set free. Quite how it should happen seemed to confuse him somewhat as he encouraged the people to seek out this Jesus and to take His life so the prophesy would come true for them.
When we start doing our own things to try and hasten what Jesus has already promised, we will fall short of the mark and we may find out life becomes more difficult than it should. Our task is not to invent the work God should do, but to follow His instruction and do what He has said should happen and to allow it to happen according to God’s timing and not ours!
If we stand up for what God says we should, things will go a lot better than if we stand up and do what we think God wants. Following instruction can be difficult sometimes when we want things to happen quickly. We should not be put off by what others are saying and how others are saying it should happen – trust God and obey God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you make things happen when it looks like they are taking too long?
Are you ready to wait on God and trust Him fully?
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March 26: Jeremiah 20:7-9
Key Verse: Jeremiah 20:9
But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Devotion:
Sometimes, as a Christian, we are called to do something which will upset others – not because God wants us to upset others, but because we have to do what is right! When Jeremiah was called to prophesy things about the future and the land, the priests got very upset when they heard things would not go their way. They were upset things would not longer be in their control but in the hands of someone else!
After he was beaten up and clamped in stocks for the night, the priest called Jeremiah to hear him again – expecting that Jeremiah would have changed his story to be more amenable. Instead, Jeremiah told how all of Judah would fall to the Babylonians and they would be taken off into exile to Babylon. Not what they wanted to hear at all!
Jeremiah complained to God saying it was not nice to have to tell the people they would be over-run, exiled and be in a horrible place for a while. But even though the words were difficult to say to the priests, Jeremiah said he would not be able to keep them in – he would have to tell the people the truth!
God wants us to tell people the truth so they can be prepared for what is ahead and also give them time to think about their lives and hopefully turn to God instead. When we have God’s Word in our hearts, it will burn like a fire and want to expand and be free. It is hard to hold a fire back when there is so much fuel around it. This is the picture Jeremiah is painting for us. Allow God’s word to be spread as quickly as it can be, no matter how much it may cost.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared when you are called to tell someone about God?
Imagine it like a fire and them the fuel – simply give it to them and God will do the rest!
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March 25: Hebrews 10:1-4
Key Verse: Hebrews 10:3
But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
Devotion:
Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do in our churches? Most of the things we do, we do because it is traditional or habitual to do so. The church and religious organisations have imposed many things onto us and you may object to some... so why do we do them?
I have been to quite a few places of worship where I have wondered where they have got the idea for doing what they do and almost always get the answer of something like “they have always done it this way.” Let’s face it, people do not like change because they become comfortable in the habitual ways because they know what is coming and they can cope with that better than the unknown.
When God was preparing for Jesus to come and be amongst us, it was not going to be the same old thing – it was going to be something entirely new and unheard of. People were going to be upset and object and all sorts of things – just because it was different. God imposed strict ways on the Israelites so they would get used to the idea of living their lives for God instead of for themselves. Over time, they grew comfortable with the way things were and imposed stricter laws to prevent people from rocking the boat.
This is not what God was interested in. He wanted people to focus on Him and not on habits or traditions. He wanted to free the people from their own entrapment! We get trapped in the ways we invent – we become obsessed with those ways and we lose focus on what is real – on whom we should be worshipping. There is nothing new here because mankind has done this over and over again throughout history! But it is not God’s ways – they may well be ways in which we can remember God or draw closer to Him, so some of them we look at as being good or even righteous. But God is doing new things...
Points to Ponder:
Do you like traditional church?
Will you embrace what God asks of you instead of what tradition asks of you?