Easter Devotion Seven: Prove It

Photo Courtesy of Fabio Slave

"Don't touch the pan. It's hot. It will burn you."

Parents often repeat these words to their small children. Some children believe their parents without needing to touch the hot pot. Others need to experience the pain of a burn before they will believe the words of truth their parents proclaimed.

Thomas was very much like these children. Doubtful. Questioning. Unsure. Unbelieving.

The disciples saw Jesus after Mary Magdelene proclaimed she'd seen Him risen and alive. But Thomas wasn't with them. When they told him "We have seen the Lord," he replied, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." (John 20:25)

Thomas refused to believe Jesus had risen from the dead unless he saw it with his own eyes.
Thomas required experience in order to believe the truth. 

Throughout the gospels, we read of people who didn't require proof in order to believe in faith that Jesus came to save them and set them free. 

Several men heard Jesus arrived in their town. Their paralytic friend couldn't bring himself to the Healer, so they carried him to the house He visited. Not able to gain entrance via the doorway, they took to the roof. Lowering their friend before Him, Jesus recognized their faith. "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." (Matt. 9:1-2)

The woman with the issue of blood recognized that if she could simply touch the hem of His garment, Jesus had the power to heal her disease. The disease that no doctor or medicinal solution could touch. The disease that plagued her every day of her life. Jesus' response? "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." (Matt. 9:22)

These people weren't those who spent every day with the Master. They weren't the disciples who followed His footsteps daily. They were everyday people who understood the power of belief. They lived by faith.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
- Hebrews 11:1

These people didn't need to see it to believe it. They believed in Jesus and His authority and power before they ever laid eyes on Him.

Do we live like Thomas, doubting until we have proof? Or do we live by faith, believing Him and awaiting the day our eyes are opened to the fullness of His truth?

"Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'
 Jesus said to Him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.'" 
 - John 20:27,29

We don't have the blessing of physically walking with Jesus through this life. He has conquered the grave and the sting of death, risen and sits at the right hand of the Father. It's easy to doubt His existence. It's easy to say, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Walking by faith and not by sight takes courage and endurance. It requires hope. We need to remember Jesus did not leave us blind and deaf. When we remember to use our spiritual eyes, we can see Him clearly.

Lord, give us eyes to see You clearly. Help our unbelief. We don't want to live as doubting Thomas'. We want to live by faith. Lord, allow us to dwell in Your presence this Resurrection Sunday, to know we have a hope that will not fail. We love You, Jesus and praise You this holy day! Amen.    

Easter Devotion Six: We Interrupt Today...

... to bring you a reminder...

...and hopefully to make you think, reflect and realize.

Easter Devotion Five: Woe Is Me

Photo Courtesy of SSPivak

None of us enjoy grieving. Losing a loved one draws out emotions we prefer to keep at bay. We don't care to celebrate death. Instead, we mourn. We don our sackcloth and shed our tears.

It's in our human nature to wish our loved ones remained in their physical form with us rather than pass on into eternity. And frankly, it's quite selfish of us to desire they stay here full of pain and agony. Especially if we know they have accepted Jesus as their Savior and could spend eternity in heaven, free of pain, suffering and tears.

Just as the disciples gathered after the crucifixion of Jesus, we gather together to say goodbye at the funeral home.

Just as the disciples did after Jesus' death, we mourn and weep.

"Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene...
 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.
 And then they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe." ~ Mark 16:9-11

The disciples forgot what Jesus had told them before He endured the cross. They forgot that He promised them this was not the end. They forgot He promised them He would rebuild the temple. They forgot He told them He'd send them a Helper.

They suffered in their pain, rather than rejoicing in the abundance of life.

Jesus reminds us in John 16 that the pain and sorrow of labor is but a fleeting thing. The joy of new life replaces the anguish, and the anguish is quickly forgotten. (See verse 21.)

"Therefore now you have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." - John 16:22 

God promises us that our sorrows will be turned into joy. A joy which no one can ever remove.

As a mother of four, some mornings feel like joy suckers woke up in the place of my children. The bickering and antagonizing begins with the opening of eye lids. It's not the way I'd choose to start my day. I could quickly lose my God-given joy.

But instead, I turn to Jesus. I pray. I read the Word. I fill myself with God's thoughts and ways before the break of dawn. I remember the promises of life He provides for me. 

"You will show me the path of life;
 In Your presence is fullness of joy;
 At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
 - Psalm 16:11

When I remember this, I refuse to allow another's attitude to steal the joy from my heart and my day. I don't have to. God promises it belongs to me. 

How do we receive this everlasting joy? Jesus tells us in John 16:24 it's as simple as asking:

"Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

When we seek the Father's will for our lives, when we ask these things in Jesus' name, our joy will be made full. God will provide what we need to fulfill His purposes for our lives. And when we walk in that, we find our hearts flooded with His presence and the joy that comes from an abundant life and fulfillment.

Lord, help us to put off a spirit of sorrow and replace it with Your abundance of life. Help us to find joy and to celebrate life, rather than wallow in our tears and sackcloth. Help us to believe in Your Truth, receiving the blessings You've promised us in this life. We ask that Your will be done in our lives, in Jesus' name. Amen.       

Easter Devotion Four: The Darkest Hour

Photo Courtesy of Sias van Schalkwyk

"Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
- Matthew 27:45-46

I've often wondered what Jesus felt in that moment. Did He wonder if He could complete His Father's will when the world went dark? Did He wonder if His Father's love had failed? Or did He know with all of His broken being that God loved Him as His Son and would not really leave Him alone to face His darkest hour?

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." - Deuteronomy 31:6

As a step-parent, I thought the days of bitterness and distrust would never end. My first five years of marriage weren't full of honeymoon bliss and waves of lovely feelings. They read more like driving through a dark tunnel without headlights to guide the way. And the end of the tunnel sat invisible around the bend.

My husband's and my relationship hadn't experienced conflict until we said, "I do." At that point, however, I walked on eggshells, wondering when the next explosion of anger and frustration would erupt from within the man whose relationship with Christ had so impressed me for the past four years. The difference was like night and day. This season filled with night.

I placed my hope and my trust in Jesus during that season of our marriage. I knew I could not always please the man I married, but I could sure as heck put my best effort forth to please the One who held my heart for eternity. I knew I could trust Jesus to never leave me nor forsake me, regardless of how many times my husband brought up the "D" word or told me I hated his son. I could lean into my Father's arms when my husband turned his back on me and slept on the couch in his anger. I knew Jesus would come through for me when man would not.

I knew Jesus understood the darkness I endured, because He endured it too, when the world went black.

What are you facing today? Does it feel like the tunnel is never-ending? Does it feel like you are alone in your circumstance? Remember:

"Seeing then that we have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
 - Heb. 4:15-16

Lord, as we face dark hours on this earth, may we find our comfort in knowing that You, too, faced loneliness, temptations and the like. May we focus on You and Your perfect love, knowing in our hearts that You will never leave our sides. May we find the hope and courage we need to endure the trials and tribulations of life, looking to the ends of the tunnels we travel through, where Your light shines brightest. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Easter Devotion Three: Don't Crucify Me

Photo Courtesy of Adam Ciesielski

As a teenager, I had my fair share of boyfriends. Although I didn't start dating until I entered my sophomore year of high school, I went out with at least ten guys before I graduated. My mother didn't approve of several of my choices, and I knew deep down she was probably right about all of them. However, I wasn't willing to give up the pleasure of feeling loved to be obedient to the truth.

In Matthew 27:11-25, we read of Pilate and the chief priests and elders. A decision must be made. Pilate must release someone to the crowd, according to custom. A well-known prisoner named Barabbas is in custody, as well as Jesus.

Pilate, like my mother, tried to persuade the multitude to hear the truth of the matter and pleaded with them to allow him to release Jesus.

"But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus." (v. 22)

Jesus faced false accusations, lies, envy and hatred, to name a few things. 

Because He revealed truth to the hearts of men. And men followed Him, turning their backs on sin. The chief priests, Pilate discovered, envied Jesus' popularity. So they decided to take Him down.

"When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, 'I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.'

 And all the people answered and said, 'His blood be on us and on our children.'"

 - Matthew 27:24-25

Pilate, in his wisdom, chose to turn from the wickedness he faced and said he would not participate in the crucifixion of the Christ.

But the multitude didn't want to acknowledge their sinfulness and requested a generational curse.

They believed the lie. They followed the crowd. They continued in their wicked way. They remained prisoner to their sin.

"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." - John 3:19-20

No one wanted to stand out, lest they be exposed. They loved evil and would pass that down to their children. 

Photo Courtesy of Vivek Chugh

It took me a few years to discover Jesus' truth and begin applying it to my life. It took me another year after that to come to a decision to expose my sinful deeds in the light.

Rather than yelling, "Crucify Him!" with the chief priests and the crowd, we need to crucify our own flesh and its desires to live under the influences of the darkness of this age. It's only then we can do as Pilate did and wash our hands of this world, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Lord, help us to live in You today. Help us to crucify our evil desires so we may rise again with new life in You. Let us stand out from the crowd, basking in Your glorious light today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Easter Devotion Two: Cock-a-Doodle-Doo

Photo Courtesy of aljabak

Have you ever been asked by God to step out of your comfort zone and do something for Him?

Maybe He wants you to forgive your arch nemesis and give her a call. Every vein in your body pops to the surface whenever you think of it. So you hold your anger and avoid the phone call.

Maybe He wants you to volunteer at the homeless shelter twice a week, but your favorite shows are on those nights. So you neglect His call and sit in front of your television, enjoying the luxuries of life others cannot afford.

Maybe He wants you to forgo that morning cup of coffee for a year so you can save for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Rather than filling the land with paper cups, you'll be filling a church with new converts next year...

Peter can relate. In John 13:27, Peter wants to follow Jesus with all of his heart. "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake."

Jesus knows Peter too well. "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly I say to you, the rooster shall not crow til you have denied Me three times." (John 13:28)

Oftentimes, we tell God we want to serve Him. We tell Jesus we desire to follow hard after Him. We cry out, "I'm bored. Give me something meaningful to do with my life."

Yet, the minute God calls us out of our comfort zone, we deny Him. Usually more than once. Our excuses are petty. "I'm too busy." "My family needs me." "I don't have enough money." "I don't have the time." "I don't really want to do that." "Someone else will do it."

A few years ago, I sat in my kitchen, the early morning darkness broken only by the light over the sink, cup of coffee in hand, Word of God open on the table. I'd been praying over the same thing multiple weeks in a row. I couldn't shake the task God had placed on my heart. But, I didn't want to accept I had to do it, either. I wished the cup could pass from me. I wished someone else would say the words He'd called me to say. "Lord, let someone else be this trumpet."

When I couldn't get past the urgency in my heart, I broke down and cried over it. I pleaded with God to give me just the right words. Just the right strategy to broach the subject. Just the right tone to let the recipient know it came from a deep place within me that only the Holy Spirit could go.

I knew God wanted me to be His mouthpiece and tell someone I love dearly that their lifestyle choice went against His design for man, His word and His will. Not an easy or comfortable task, I promise you.

So I wrote. I wrote my heart out on paper. I knew it lined up with God's heart for him. I knew it lined up with God's word, because that's basically what I said. This is God, not me. This is His word, not mine. I love you. I care for you. I want to see you set free in the Truth. Please know you mean the world to me.

I found myself unfriended on Facebook the following day. But I felt it with all my being that God smiled on me for standing on His truth. And I am okay with that.

I still pray for that friend who is like a brother to me. I still pray that God will use that seed I planted in faith to grow into a relationship with Jesus. I still love that friend, BUT I LOVE GOD MORE.

And I have that peace that passes all understanding knowing that I did what God asked me to do. Even though I denied Him more than three times first.

"Then he began to curse and swear, saying, 'I do not know the Man!' Immediately, a rooster crowed.
 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, 'Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' So he went out and wept bitterly."
 - Matthew 26:74-75

What will you do when God asks you to step out of your comfort zone. Will you deny Him the opportunity to bless you? Or will you step out in faith that He has it all under control?

Lord, help us today to trust You and to have faith that You know what needs to be done for Your kingdom here on earth. Please help us to step out of our comfort zones, denying our selfish will and stepping into Your plan and purpose for our lives. Let us not be like Peter, who wept and cried after denying You. Let us be like Jesus, who proclaimed, "Not My will, but Yours be done."   

Easter Devotion One - Your Feet Stink

Try living with three boys and one grown man at the end of the day. They come in, take their shoes off and toss their dirty socks in the middle of the floor. The short version? Their feet stink!

Photo Courtesy of James Eberlein

Who would want to wash them? I don't. Let them bathe themselves!

Imagine living in biblical times. Shoes were a luxury. And they weren't even real shoes. They wore sandals. The dirt they trudged through every day stuck to their feet. They didn't have socks or leather uppers to protect them from the outer elements. They didn't have barn boots for milking or mucking. Nope. Just good ol' feet and thin sandals.

Who would want to wash their feet?

Yet, the supper being ended, Jesus rose from the table and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. He poured water into a basin and began washing the disciples' feet. Twelve sets of them, including the feet of the man His arch enemy would use to betray Him. Once He'd washed them, He wiped them with the towel He wore.

I don't know about you, but I would find it quite unsettling to have to wash my enemy's feet. I would also find it difficult to use the only covering I have to wipe them dry. After all, this is feet we're talking about. Some people have foot fetishes. Others of us find them quite disgusting.

Simon Peter gets that it's beneath someone to wash another's feet. He pipes up. "Lord, are you washing my feet? You shall never wash my feet!"

Jesus calmly explains to him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." (John 13:8)

Photo Courtesy of Janusz Gawron

Ah! He gets it. "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" (John 13:9) In other words, if you're going to clean my feet, don't forget the important parts of me as well. Clean me from head to toe, Lord!

But Jesus responds, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." (John 13:10)

See, when we're covered in the blood of Jesus and He has washed all our sins away, we are completely clean. Our minds, hearts and hands are free from the curse of sin, because they remain covered by His death on the cross.

So why does Jesus leave us with, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet?" (John 13:14)

Because we daily walk through this life on earth. Earth is not our home. Heaven is. But as we sojourn here, we pick up the dust as we kick it up. Just as the soles of our feet cover with the filth we walk through, our souls pick up the filth of this world. We need to take a daily bath.

Ephesians 6:15 instructs us to "...shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace." We are to remember to bring the gospel everywhere we travel (with our feet).

Now envision that wash basin as the Word of God. In Ephesians 5:25-26, husbands are instructed to love their wives as Christ loved the church. They are told to give themselves for her. Why? "That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word." Jesus, in washing the disciples' feet (His church) was sanctifying (setting them apart) and cleansing them, using the water of His word.

We are to wash one another's feet as an example of cleansing one another with God's word. Just as we partake of communion in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross, so should we continue to encourage one another in the things of God.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV, emphasis mine)

Lord, help me to remember to rinse myself in Your refreshing Word today. As I do, quicken to my spirit an encouraging word of edification for my brothers and sisters in Christ. May my words lead them to You as my feet take Your gospel with me in my daily walk of life.

 

Join Me for an Easter Celebration

Photo Courtesy of Patrizio Martorana

Easter Sunday is on April 8th, one week away. In honor of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I will be posting daily this week. I will share my thoughts on the events leading up to His crucifixion.

I hope you will join me in celebrating abundant life over the next week! The first post will be up tomorrow, April 1st, at 3:00 PM EST.

And Happy Resurrection Day! To life!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." - John 3:16-17

But It Hurts

Image Courtesy of Julien Tromeur

I have a confession to make: I don't like juicing. Nor do I like exercising. 

I can't stand cutting veggies and fruit into bits and pieces that will fit through my juicer. 

I don't like straining raspberry seeds through my teeth as I drink my morning smoothie. 

Nor do I like trying to keep up with exercise instructors who've been shaking their Zumba hips long enough to look cool while I flounce around, realizing I'm too stiff and look rather foolish.


No. I don't like any of these at all. 




What I do like is the results of being obedient in pursuing the results I hope for:
1. My weight is producing smaller numbers each time I step on the scale.
2. My waistline is trimming down. (I may be able to buy smaller shorts and capris this summer.)
3. I can feel my stomach muscles underneath my muffin top. And my legs are killing me, but I can walk taller knowing Zumba is tightening my flab.
4. About that muffin top...it's decreasing in size, as well. Faster than I expected.
5. I feel better, have more energy, and am not as groggy and down in the dumps as I was last month.

It's a season of Lent and most people I know are giving up something they hold onto all year. In biblical terms, they're fasting. Denying themselves something in order to honor God as King of their hearts (and minds). It takes self-control, dedication and determination. And it hurts.

Another word associated with fasting is sacrifice. We don't like to make sacrifices. We don't like to feel the pain of letting go of something or someone in order to show God who is boss in our lives. We don't like to have to forgo meat or cookies or a bad relationship we think is bringing us love in order to place God first in our hearts. The pain resembles having a tooth pulled without Novocane or a bandage pulled off super-slow from a hairy part of our anatomy. It hurts.

But we don't serve a God who can't understand the pain of sacrifice, of letting go, of proving our love for Him. Because He did the same for us.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
 ~ John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

He understands perfectly well. 

So when we face the pain of sacrifice in our lives, we should remember the outcome we strive toward. Whether it's the inheritance of the kingdom of God, security in His love or the pounds of fat falling from a pear-shaped form, the gain is worth all the pain it took to get there. Obedience to the call is the only requirement.

Do You Know Him?

Happy Easter, Everybody!

PS ~ Regular Proverbs Posts will resume Monday. Special Guests Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles of www.ChristianDevotions.us will be joining us for Proverbs 22!