Devotions

GOOD FRIDAY

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“Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’”           John 13:37 NIV

 

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Most of us have done this. We’ve over-stated, or at least over-estimated our commitment, abilities or strength. Our intentions, at the time, were probably good. We just didn’t realize Satan’s power to combine circumstances, fear, doubt, disillusionment to tear us down and humiliate us. Peter tended to over-state everything in his early years as a disciple. However, once Peter experienced suffering through his personal embarrassments and failures, Jesus had a disciple fully prepared to lead powerfully while also walking humbly. Let us not allow our failures to keep us from following Christ and being used for His glory. In addition, let us not over-state our ability to handle temptations, trials, difficulties, challenges or problems. God’s strength is made perfect when we realize our weakness and vulnerability and then rely on His strength to sustain us! The God whom we serve offers love and grace even while knowing that we will stumble. Jesus says that Peter will follow after Him before he tells Peter that he is about to deny Jesus. Our God sees our sins coming, not just the ones in our past, and yet still acts to save us. He still loves, still promises and still assures us.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, thank You for assuring me even after I have failed.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, thank You for the assurance of Your forgiveness even when I’ve failed after I over-estimated my ability to handle a problem. I know that I cannot face the challenges of life and faith without your power and presence. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 23:26-49 The Crucifixion

 

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FAITHFULNESS IN HARDSHIP

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“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.       Psalm 126:5 NIV

 

This psalm is a powerful declaration of hope and faith in God’s provision and faithfulness, even during difficult and challenging circumstances. It reminds us of Jesus’ journey to the Cross as we enter what many call the “Easter Weekend”. The imagery of sowing in tears suggests that there may be seasons of hardship and sorrow in our lives. The psalmist encourages us to continue sowing seeds of faith even when it feels like we are doing so with tears in our eyes. It is a reminder that even in our darkest moments we can still choose to trust in God and plant seeds of hope and faith, just as Jesus did, as He shared in the Passover meal with His disciples before He was betrayed and arrested. When it feels like our efforts are in vain or our struggles are overwhelming, God promises to bring a harvest of joy and blessing if we continue to trust in Him and sow seeds of faith, just as Jesus did, when He committed Himself to His Father’s will. When we are in a place of pain and struggle, we can still make a difference in the world around us by sowing seeds of hope and love, just like Jesus did. The promise of joy and harvest reminds us that even in our darkest moments, God is at work bringing about transformation and restoration in our lives. We have a powerful reminder of the importance of perseverance and faith in difficult times. We are reminded of God’s faithfulness and provision, even during struggle and sorrow, as we see in Jesus’ faithfulness as He faced the Cross.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your faithfulness as You faced the Cross.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, in Your faithfulness in facing the Cross and fulfilling the Father’s will, You encourage us to be faithful in our own suffering. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 23:13-25

 

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REJOICE ALWAYS

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”      Philippians 4:4 NIV

 

Everyone wants joy in life. On the surface, Paul’s words, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” are some of the simplest in Scripture to read and understand. But when we scratch beneath the surface, they raise a host of questions: Is it possible to rejoice always? What does this mean? Am I supposed to go around with a perpetual smile on my face? Is it a sin to feel depressed or sad? Am I supposed to deny pain or sorrow? How can one command a feeling, anyway? Are these the words of a bubbly, incurable optimist, or what? Just reading this verse might get some people depressed, because they despair of ever being able to do this! We need to recognize that what Paul commands here is not just a cheerful disposition, which many people have by nature, but rather something that requires supernatural power. It is joy in the Lord. Paul repeats the command for emphasis, as if to say, “It is possible, so don’t shrug off what I am saying.” His emphatic words show us that abiding joy in the Lord should be the aim of every Christian. We must look at the totality of Scripture rather than taking a verse like this as if it were all that is written on the subject. It is interesting that the shortest verse in the Greek New Testament is, “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). The shortest verse in the English New Testament is, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). They are not contradictory! Our Saviour could weep and yet have the fullness of joy, even as He faced the cross. Scripture acknowledges that discipline and trials do not elicit feelings of joyfulness at the time, but afterward they yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness if we submit to God.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, may we have the fullness of joy even in the midst of our trials.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, You wept and yet had the fullness of joy, even as You faced the cross. May we have the same joy as we face our own trials and tribulations. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 23:8-12

 

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BECOME BETTER NOT BITTER

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“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”          Psalm 34:1 NIV

 

Psalm 34 is a testimony by David of all that he went through – physically worn out and fatigued, emotionally drained and spent, and mentally about to lose it all with legitimate worry and high anxiety for fear of his life, during this season in his life when everything seemed to be going from bad to worse. Trouble, adversity and heartache are realities no one can escape. Everyone will experience them in some form or shape. Some will have more than their fair share. What is it that makes some people better and some bitter? What is it that enables some to grow through their hardships and others to withdraw because of them? What is it that causes some to find strength in being positive and optimistic and others to become negative and pessimistic? When we consider the fullness of David’s life, it is a mixture of joy and pain, tragedy and triumph, seasons of tears and seasons when his life soared on eagles’ wings. What is it that enables some to become better through life’s hardships and others to become bitter because of them? David proclaims his intent to praise God. He tells us why he is so intent on always giving God the praise, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” Praise is not something we just do with our mouths, but it is also how we choose to live our lives in the face of adversity and negative circumstances. We get to choose whether to be better or bitter!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, we choose to praise You and to be better rather than bitter.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, Like David we choose to praise You, no matter our circumstances. It is not something we just do with our mouths, but also how we choose to live our lives in the face of adversity and negative circumstances. We choose to be better rather than bitter! AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 23:1-7

 

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WHAT IS OUR ONLY HOPE?

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“May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.”         Psalm 119:74 NIV

 

What is our only hope in life and death? The answer is a thoroughly biblical statement: “That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Saviour Jesus Christ.” We are not our own; rather, we belong to our faithful Saviour who suffered death upon the cross to reconcile us to God. What greater hope could ever be expressed to be held safely in the arms of the Good Shepherd? Yet, as with all of the Christian life, our steadfast hope in Christ has both a vertical and horizontal component which should not be surprising since Jesus placed all of God’s law upon the same axis. Fulfilling the law requires loving God supremely and loving our neighbour as we do ourselves. The vertical component – loving God –is certainly the primary component, but we also need to embrace the horizontal component – loving our neighbour. For how can we truly say that we love God if we do not also love those whom He loves? Similarly, the horizontal is unanchored without first being rooted in the vertical. For how can we truly know how to love without first knowing the One who is love? Unfortunately, we tend to only think of our hope in terms of the vertical axis. Christian hope sets our gaze firmly upon our Lord. But the psalmist describes his hope in God’s Word in terms of the horizontal axis. Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice. To see someone else fixing their hope firmly upon God through His Scriptures strengthens our resolve to do the same. We, who fear God, need to look at those who have hoped in God’s Word, often at great cost, that we might rejoice and do likewise.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, let our hope in You be expressed towards others.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as those who fear You, may we look to You and others who have hoped in Your Word, often at great cost, that we might rejoice and do the same. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 22:66-71

 

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PALM SUNDAY

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“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”        Zechariah 9:9 NIV

 

You have probably had the same experience that I have often had, where you are looking for something in the closet or garage, but you couldn’t find it because you had the wrong concept of what you were looking for. You thought that it was in a square brown box, but it really was in an oblong yellow box. You stared right at it, and perhaps even moved it out of the way, but you missed it because your mental picture of it was wrong. Most Jews in Jesus’ day missed Him as their Messiah and King because they were expecting a different kind of Saviour. They thought that the Messiah would be a mighty political deliverer who would lead Israel to military victory over Rome. They were not looking for a lowly Saviour riding on the foal of a donkey. They could not conceive of a suffering Saviour who offered Himself as the sacrifice for sinners. Tragically, they missed the coming of their King! Many people still miss Jesus because of wrong expectations. They’re looking for a Saviour like Aladdin’s Genie who will grant their every wish. They want a Saviour who will instantly solve all their problems. They expect to find a church where everyone loves one another. But a church member treated them unjustly and so they left the church in bitter disappointment. Verses 9 and 10 of Zechariah 9 describe this King and explain why His coming gives cause for great joy. If we understand who this King is and what His coming will mean for all the earth, we will rejoice greatly at the news of His coming. Are we rejoicing?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, You are the only true King and we rejoice at Your coming.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, we surrender all our false expectations of You and open our hearts to the real reason of Your coming as King of kings and Lord of lords into our lives, through the power and ministry of Your Holy Spirit. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 22:63-65

 

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DOXOLOGY

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“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”            Romans 11:33 NIV

 

Romans 11 verses 33-36 is what we call a doxology. A doxology is a short, condensed anthem of praise. It is theologically rich, it is emotionally charged, and it is filled with wonder and amazement that just comes pouring out of the heart of the apostle Paul. Paul is astonished at this truth and he wants us to be astonished too. Paul opens up his heart and lets his praise for God come gushing out, really, like a mighty current of wonder and worship for God. It is intended to cause our hearts to be ignited with a desire to worship God. Reading this doxology one feels like one is just dipping a small toe into the ocean of God’s amazing grace. In verses 33 and 34, we see “The Inscrutability of God”; in verse 35, we see “The Autonomy of God”; in verse 36a, “The Sovereignty of God” and then finally in 36b, “The Glory to God”. Paul is filled with enthusiasm for God. The word “enthusiasm” is derived from two Greek words “en theos”, “in God”, in all true excitement, at the highest level is “in God” and that’s exactly where Paul is here. He can scarcely contain himself as he bursts forth with praise for God. Paul’s soul wells up with deep emotion, concerning the depth of the grace of the gospel. He can’t even see the bottom of it. May our hearts be moved, filled with enthusiasm, just as Paul’s heart is, for the depth of God’s grace as we read today’s scripture.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, our hearts are moved with praise at the depth of Your grace.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Almighty God, we bring to You our praise and thanksgiving for the depth of Your amazing Grace in Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Saviour and Lord, through the power and ministry of Your Holy Spirit. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 22:54-62

 

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GOD’S PURPOSES

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“For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”              Romans 11:15 NIV

 

Here is a very important lesson to be learned. Frequently, we are called to achieve God’s purposes in ways which may seem contrary to His purposes. In biblical terms, we are called to walk by faith and not by sight, to walk in obedience to His Word, even when doing so seems contrary to God’s purposes. For example, how could one ever imagine that God’s promise to Abraham would be fulfilled by obeying God and putting his son to death as God commanded him (see Genesis 22)? Faith required Abraham to obey and to trust in God. God calls us to give up our lives to gain them, to take up our cross to serve Him. Obedience to God’s Word by faith may often seem inconsistent with what He has promised to accomplish, but God’s ways are often accomplished by the most unlikely means. The church has been commanded to “make disciples of every nation” (Matthew 28:18-20). This command necessitates evangelism, preaching the gospel (Romans 10:14-15). Often, there are those who place guilt on the believer by insisting that we obey the Lord’s command by doing what appears to be evangelistic. So, Christians are urged to do those things which on the surface seem to be evangelism. If Paul had done what appeared to be necessary to evangelize the Jews, he would have been aggressively pursuing Jewish evangelism. However, he did so by going to the synagogues and preaching Christ. He saw that his ministry to the Gentiles was playing a part in Jewish evangelism too even if it did not appear so. We must exercise our gifts and fulfil our ministry, even though it may not “look” spiritual or appear to be directly related to God’s purposes.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, help us to exercise our gifts in fulfilling Your purposes.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, help us to exercise our gifts and to fulfil the ministry You have called us to, even though it may not “look” spiritual or appear to be directly related to Your purposes. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 22:47-53

 

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THE SON OF GOD

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“The Jews who were there gathered around Him, saying, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’”          John 10:24 NIV

 

Not only does the scriptures testify that Jesus is the Son of God, but Jesus Himself also testifies to this fact. In the context of Jesus’ conversation with the Jews concerning His healing of the blind man, Jesus makes it very clear that He is the Son of God. The Jews come to Jesus with a question. They ask Him if He is truly the Christ, the Messiah. This is a question that every person must wrestle with at some point. When all is said and done and life on this earth is over, the only thing that matters is what we have done about Jesus. We must have an encounter with a crisis of decision. We must decide if we believe that Jesus is who He says He is. It is similar to a court of law. All the evidence is laid out. We have heard the arguments. We have seen the evidence. Now, we must decide. Have you encountered Jesus as the Messiah? Have you made the choice to believe? Jesus says that the works that He does bears witness that He is who He claims to be. Think about all the miracles that Jesus performed. Think about the power that He displayed. Think about all the good that He had done. All these things point to the reality of who He is. The same is true for us. We know that we are true believers by the fruit that we bear. Our works gives testimony of our faith. The scripture is very clear that those who know Jesus as Lord and Saviour will be changed. We are called to live a life of holiness. We are called to live a life of service. The way we live reveals what is in our hearts. What do our works say about us? What do our actions reveal about our hearts?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, let our lives reveal that You are the Son of God.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, You have called us to live lives of holiness. You have called us to live lives of service. Let the way we live reveal what is in our hearts and that our works would speak of You. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 22:39-46

 

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THE GOD WHO HEARS

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“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”          Psalm 5:3 NIV

 

David frequently experienced opposition from those who did not serve God as he did, and this is often evident from his writings in the psalms. Psalm 5 is one such psalm. As was so often the case, God-hating enemies opposed him. But what stands out in this psalm is David’s confidence that God would hear him. He expresses his confidence in verses 1-3, and then explains the reason for his confidence in verses 4-12. His goal is to give us, his readers, confidence that the God to whom we pray is the God who hears. David lifted his prayer to the Lord with anticipation. David asked the Lord to “hear” and to “listen” to his prayer. Sometimes, he prayed with clearly articulated “words”. Sometimes, his prayer was simply the “groaning” of his heart. Regardless, as he lifted his prayers to the Lord “in the morning”, he was confident that the Lord would “hear his voice”. He therefore laid his requests before the Lord in prayer, and then waited expectantly. Another translation uses the word “watch”. The word literally means “to lean forward” and carries the implication of peering into the distance. It is used several times in the Old Testament of a city watchman, deliberately scanned the horizon in expectation of something or someone arriving. David laid his requests before God and then sat watching expectantly for the answer to arrive. He was fully confident that God would answer, and so he waited, as it were, with bated breath for the answer to arrive. Do we pray with a sense of expectation that God will answer? How often do we pray but then fail to “wait expectantly” for the answer?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we repent of not waiting expectantly for You to answer.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as David laid his requests before You and then sat watching expectantly for the answer to arrive, fully confident that You would answer, we pray that we will have the same expectation. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 22:31-38

 

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