Devotions
This is Holy Week. All over the world, believers will gather together to contemplate the events that unfolded many centuries ago, in Jerusalem. In our Sunday services, we can get so caught up in the drama of dancing and singing “Hosanna” while waving our palm branches as we try to recreate the atmosphere that unfolded that day….
Loneliness. If you have ever experienced it, you know. Jesus felt it too on that night in Gethsemane. Throughout his life he had enjoyed the crowds in the temple, and he had experienced the closeness of those who followed him day and night listening to his teachings and experiencing his miraculous power. For three years he had savored the constant friendship of the twelve disciples, his closest chosen companions. Yet on the night that he needed them the most, in those final few hours of his life, they fell asleep. They abandoned him. They failed him in his hour of need.
The feeding of the 5,000 is a story we know well. We are inspired by this miracle when we are caught in worries of scarcity. This miracle reminds us that Jesus will provide. Yet, while we focus on his impactful teaching and miraculous feeding of the crowd, it is easy to gloss over the thing that makes it possible: rest.
In reading this story, what do you notice?
As a young girl growing up, I often heard the adults in my life say the phrase, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. At the time, I did not understand the full meaning of that phrase, but as I got older it made a whole lot more sense. I noticed how destructive idle time can be. The devil likes to slip into the idle and empty spaces of our lives. He loves to wreak havoc when he finds an opening, however tiny it might be.
The beginning of a new year is often filled with hope, promise and potential. We wish each other a joyous “Happy New Year!” because we really desire a happy future; a future different from all the complications and struggles of the past year. In reality, life does not turn on a dime. Life is life, and it is filled with moments of darkness and light.
I was listening to a documentary regarding the terrible tsunami that hit Thailand in 2004. One of the people that experienced the tsunami firsthand, described how the people on the beach looked out across the water to a white line in the horizon with lazy curiosity. The white line was the signal that an ominous danger was approaching, but those present had no idea.
In her book, titled “The One and Only” Beth Moore, an American evangelist and author tells the story of her attempt to minister to people living in a leper colony. Something inside of her drove her to want to serve lepers, who had been ostracized from the community. She wanted to serve this group of people who had no family, no friends, no future and no hope.
This is Thanksgiving week. It is a time to pause and give thanks for all that God has done for us. There are two ways to do this, we can approach Thanksgiving Day as a matter of routine, tick the box at the end of the day, and wait to do it all over again in 2024, or we can approach Thanksgiving Day more consciously than ever before. We truly are blessed!
Many years ago, I decided to travel to my village to visit my mother. The bus I was traveling in arrived at the junction to my home, at 3:00AM. Instead of waiting till daylight before beginning the one-mile trek to my home, I decided to tempt fate and began the lonely walk home with only the echoing sound of my footsteps for company. About halfway home, fear gripped my throat, my heart began to thump loudly, and I felt an ominous presence watching me in the dark.
Recently, I was listening to family remembrances at a memorial service for a phenomenal Christian couple that recently went home to be with the Lord. As I listened to each speaker share testimony after testimony, I was blown away by their practical example of what it means to be a Christian who has been raised from the grave of sin with a sovereign regeneration.
When the Pharisees decide to test Jesus by asking him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responds in verse 37 stating, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind…. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Our whole Christian testimony rests on these two commandments.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Pride comes before a fall”? Pride is the greatest stumbling block humanity has ever faced. Pride is that attitude that says, “I did it all by myself.” It is one of the most dangerous sins because it renders us so blind that we are unable to see it in ourselves. The only indication that something may be amiss is when our “WHAT” begins to unravel.
Have you noticed that the world’s economy is constructed entirely on winning? From an early age we are encouraged to be number one, to be the best, to win. When we become Christians, it is important to understand that God’s economy is not like the world’s economy. God’s economy operates according to his divine precepts. In God’s economy believer’s gain by losing.
In Exodus, chapter 16, the Israelites had been wandering in the desert for a little over a month when they began to complain against Moses and Aaron, the leaders that God had chosen to oversee the Exodus from Egypt. They longed for the “pots of meat” they had left back in Egypt. But wait a minute, are these not the same people that had cried out to God for deliverance from Egypt?
Around the world, many people perform joyless jobs that serve no purpose other than earning a paycheck. After all, man must eat to stay alive. It can be tempting in these circumstances to view work as drudgery; something that must be endured rather than enjoyed. Scripture reminds us that work is a gift; it gives the believer a sense of purpose and fulfilment. The writer of Proverbs notes that, “Those who work their land will have abundant food, …. Proverbs 12:11).” My grandmother rephrased this idea thus: “Man must work to eat.”
When Jesus reveals that he will be handed to the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he will be killed, and on the third day be raised to life. Peter rebukes Jesus saying, “Never, Lord!” …This shall never happen to you!” How often do we think like Peter? How often do we protest at the trials of life like Peter does? How often do we behave as though being a Christian entitles us to an easy, get more, get more, get more, life?
Where do you first turn when you face storms that threaten you? To whom do you run for comfort, solace, advice? Some run to their best friend; someone that they can commiserate with; someone who will take up their cause and uphold their grievance. For instance, a married woman whose marriage is failing may turn to another woman, and together they can rage against that “horrible man” or vice versa. This strategy may ease the aching sense of aloneness for the short term, but it is no solution to the real problem.
