Category Archives: Bible

November 7

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Mark 15:6-21; Luke 23:13-32; John 18:39-19:17a; Matthew 27:27-32

What they did to Jesus that day is unimaginable. The taunts, the beatings, the humiliation are magnified in the light of his complete innocence.

He could have called 10,000 angels or turned his tormenters into vapor. But he stood there and took every blow because he loved me and knew I would accept his forgiveness 2,000 years later.

I hope you read these passages today in God’s word. Nothing I can say can bring justice to what is written there already. Jesus suffered for me. He suffered for you.

How can I help but love him when he loved me so?

Jesus, as I read these words this morning I am reminded what it cost you to provide salvation for all people everywhere. You paid what we cannot so that we can stand before the Father, faultless, cleansed, pure and holy as you are. I am sorry for every drop of blood you had to shed because of my sin. Forgive me for selfishness, jealousy, laziness, an unrepentant heart, disobedience, unbelief. Cleanse me today,Lord. I don’t want what you went through for me to have been in vain.

November 6

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Matthew 27:1-14; Luke 23:1-12; Mark 15:1-5; John 18:28-38

Years ago my dad bought a CB radio for his truck. I was a teenager at the time and thought it was great fun to hear him talk to other drivers with their funny language. Dad’s “handle” was PlumBob. He was a plumber. And his name was Bob.

We were on a divided highway going north when I saw a white panel truck with the words “TRUTH” painted in big black letters going south. In those days there was a Christian musical group by that name and I figured it was their equipment truck. Pretty soon we heard, “Breaker” on the CB and then, “Does anyone see that truck? What is the truth?” No one answered. Again we heard the question repeated and still no reply. To this day I wish I had told that seeker about Jesus.

At Jesus’ trial Pilate asked, “What is truth?” People have been asking that question for centuries. Some even deny the existence of truth.

Do you believe that 2+2=4 every time? It does. Do you believe the earth rotates so that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west? It did this morning and it will again tomorrow. 

Herod was excited about seeing Jesus. He was looking forward to seeing Jesus pull a rabbit out of a hat. He believed Jesus could do miracles but he didn’t believe Jesus was the Truth.

Do you? Whether or not you believe that truth exists, or that the Bible is God’s infallible word or that Jesus is God and the only way to the Father doesn’t change the Truth.

But knowing the Truth will change your life.

Dear God, I want to pray for that man who asked “What is truth” over the CB that day. I pray that if he didn’t know you then, that your Holy Spirit will find a place in his heart. May he know Jesus, the Truth. I pray the same for everyone reading this blog today. Reveal yourself to each of us, may we recognize that what we read in the Bible is True, and that Jesus died so that we might live. May the Truth take up residence in our lives and pour out into the lives of everyone we meet.

November 5

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Mark 14:43-72; Matthew 26:47-75; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:1-27

I like Peter. I guess maybe I see myself in him in some ways. Peter often speaks without thinking and acts before considering the consequences and I’ve been known to do the same. Peter and I are both pretty emotional people. 

Peter, on the Mount of Transfiguration, was ready to build a shrine on the spot where Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah. He was so excited about what he had seen. But Jesus just kinda said, ‘calm down, Peter’.

When Jesus told them he was going to die Peter spoke up and said, ‘No way!!!’. Jesus said, ‘Way’.

When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet Peter first refused. When Jesus explained the importance Peter said, ‘not just my feet then. Wash my all of me, too’. Jesus said, ‘no Peter. I’m washing feet.’

So it comes as no surprise that it was Peter who grabbed a sword and chopped off an ear of one who came to arrest Jesus when Jesus could have called 10,000 angels to protect him. Jesus put the ear back on the man.

It was Peter who boldly proclaimed, “I will never deny you, Jesus!”, then only a few hours later denied Jesus three times. And this is what breaks my heart every time I read it: after denying he even knew Jesus, the rooster crowed and Peter caught Jesus’ eye. Did he see condemnation there? Was Jesus saying, ‘I told you so’?

I think what he saw in Jesus’ eyes that morning was unconditional love. Peter, faced with his sin, was overcome with God’s love. And he wept bitterly. I can only imagine the depth of his shame and the intensity of his tears. I think he cried from a place so deep within himself he had never known existed before.

God is telling me today that coming to know him is an emotional thing for many of us. When we are faced with our own sin, Peter’s reaction doesn’t seem that far wrong. Our helpless estate, our total depravity, our sin is met with grace. Jesus forgives us. We look into his eyes and see acceptance and forgiveness and more love than we have ever experienced in this lifetime. A natural reaction is to cry out, weep bitterly as we lay it all at his feet and realize how much he has done for us.

But if we remain there, if we expect our relationship with Christ to be based on that emotion, we will look like Peter looked in the Gospels. We will say and do things that are not necessarily wrong, but perhaps a bit misguided. As we read on in the New Testament we’ll find that this emotional Peter grew up in the Lord. He became the pillar of the church just like Jesus predicted. 

May we, like Peter, learn to balance the emotional and the practical sides of our relationship with Jesus. May we serve him, thoughtfully and purposefully. And may we love him passionately. 

 

November 4

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John 15:18-17:26; Luke 22:39-46; Mark 14:32-42; Matthew 26:36-46

Jesus prayed for me the night he was betrayed. I am one who has believed in Jesus through the disciples’ message. Jesus prayed that I would be one with him, he in me so that the world will recognize Jesus through me. He prayed that I would be one with fellow believers to let the world know that God sent Jesus and loves us like he loves his own Son. Jesus prayed for me. And he prayed for you, too.

Then he went to Gethsemane and prayed some more. He was deeply distressed and troubled, overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He was in anguish and his sweat poured out like drops of blood. Exhausted, feverish, with no strength left he prayed, Father let this hour pass. Don’t let me die here. Give me the strength to get through the next few hours so I can go to the cross and save these people I love so much. But that’s what I want, Father If you want me to die here so be it. Not my will but Thine.

Are you a parent? When you held your son or daughter in your arms for the first time, did the realization hit you that you would absolutely die for that precious one? Have you knelt at the bedside of your critically ill child and begged God to let you change places? Would you have gladly taken the cancer that is killing your child into your own body so that your child could live?

I believe that is what we are witnessing here as Jesus is praying to the Father in Gethsemane. I don’t believe Jesus was having second thoughts about going to the cross or getting anxious about what was in store for him. I don’t believe he was talking about the cross at all. I think he was praying for himself in that moment, right there in the garden. If we, as imperfect parents would willingly trade places with our dying children, how much more Jesus. He knew that if he didn’t go to the cross to pay for our sins, we would have to pay for them ourselves. And he wanted to spare us the pain. He loved us that much.

God answered Jesus’ prayer that night and sent an angel to strengthen him for what lay ahead. Jesus rose from his place of prayer, woke his disciples, and faced his betrayer.

Dearest Jesus, words cannot express what is in my heart right now. Thank you doesn’t come close to saying what I want to say about what you did for me that night so long ago. And to think that as you were facing unspeakable cruelty at the hands of those who wanted you dead, you stopped and prayed for me. I love you for taking my place, for paying what I could not pay, for loving me all the way to the cross. I praise you. I adore you. I gladly accept you into my heart. And, Jesus, I look forward to telling you that face to face some day.

November 3

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Mark 14:22-31; Matthew 26:26-35; Luke 22:15-20, 31-38; John 13:31-35, 14:1-15:17

Reading about Jesus’ last hours on earth with his disciples is so precious. How he loved them! I can hear the tenderness in his voice even as he told Peter he would deny Jesus three times before morning. I can imagine him looking into the eyes of each of them as he told them he had to go, but that he was going to prepare a place for them to come to him.

Jesus kept repeating the phrase: I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Then he promised the Counselor would come, the Holy Spirit would live in them and cause them to do even greater things than they had seen Jesus do. What could be greater than healing lepers, calming stormy seas, feeding thousands, or raising the dead?

Jesus tells one more parable. The Vine and the Branches paint a picture about soul-winning. He tells us the bearing of fruit is that which is so much greater than any of his miracles. And he says if we ask, he will answer and hearts will change, lives will be saved.

Have you witnessed the transformation knowing Jesus makes in a life? There is something about forgiveness, about realizing how much you are loved, about recognizing the God of the Universe lives in you that changes how we look at life, other people, and sin. Now that is a miracle above all miracles.

When you are a healthy branch attached to the Vine you can’t help but bear fruit. May it be so in me.

My Dear Vine, I thank you for attaching me to you. I thank you for the day I recognized my sinfulness and accepted you as my Savior. I pray that I will allow you to nourish me, to dwell within me, and to produce fruit for your kingdom. Others need you, Lord. I would like the privilege of leading them to where they will find life and love and forgiveness.

November 2

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Mark 14:12-21; Matthew 26:17-25; Luke 22:7-14, 21-30; John 13:1-30

Jesus served. He didn’t come into this world to observe, he came to seek and save the lost. He didn’t come to hear the crowds cheer for him, he came to get in our faces and reveal our helpless estate. He had a job to do and he gave it 100% – even though it cost him his life.

I started reading “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman yesterday and it is challenging me to look at my service to my Lord. If I call myself a Christian I cannot be a bystander. I cannot be a fan of Jesus. I have to be a servant.

Jesus washed his disciples feet. Then he told them they needed to do the same for each other. When those same disciples started arguing who was more important, Jesus told them to serve, to be like him who was among them as one who serves.

I am asking myself what my service looks like and why I serve. I challenge you to do the same. Whether you are a pastor of a mega-church or a brand new believer wondering where you fit in, I pray we will all serve our King not for what we get out of it, but because our hearts are broken and we are at that place where serving him is a grateful response to who he is, as natural and as vital as breathing.

Dear Jesus, I thank you for your humble example of what it is to be a Christian. I pray for us who know you. Help us to serve you, to lay aside selfish ambition, to forget we even exist apart from you. May we serve you with every word, with every deed, with every breath. Even in that, we could never do enough to show you how much we love you for who you are… Jesus… God… Savior. At your service, Lord.

November 1

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Matthew 25:31-46, 26:1-16; John 12:20-50, 1-11; Mark 14:1-11; Luke 22:1-6

Now we are seeing the true colors of Judas Iscariot. When Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus and used her hair to dry him, Judas was indignant. He sounded very caring when he said that the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. But John tells us old Judas’ intentions weren’t so pure. John calls him a thief and said Judas would have stolen the money and suggests the poor wouldn’t have seen a dime of it.

Now here is where Judas lost it. Jesus is telling them once again that he is going to die. He told them Mary’s act was to prepare him for burial. Remember the Jews were looking for a flesh and blood king in the Messiah. I can imagine Judas’ daydreams about the power and riches he thought he’d enjoy as a member of the inner circle of the new government. But now it’s becoming increasingly clear that those dreams aren’t coming true like he thought and one of two things happened:

One, he was mad and wanted to get even. If Jesus wasn’t going to give him what he wanted he’d see him dead.

Or two, (and I tend to think this is the case) Judas thought, ‘Ok, Jesus. If you aren’t ready to overturn the government I’m going to force your hand. Let’s see you take care of them when they arrest you. You’ll do something then and I’ll get to watch Rome crumble and be on the winning side!’

Purely an opinion because Scripture doesn’t tells us what he was thinking. It does say Satan entered Judas and we read the result of that.

Dear one, that’s what can happen when people follow Jesus for the wrong reasons. They get disappointed, their dreams don’t come true, their loved one dies. They might walk away from what belief that had and spend the rest of their lives angry at God or they might try to manipulate him into giving them what they want.

Jesus did not come to make us rich or healthy or powerful. He came to forgive us. His kingdom is not material, it’s spiritual.

Are you a follower of Jesus? I hope so. And I hope you are in it for the right reasons. I hope you serve him because you just can’t do anything else in response to his love and grace. I hope your prayers aren’t, “Lord, what can you do for me?” but rather, “Lord, how can I serve you today?”

Dear God, once again I ask that you help us check our motivation for following you. Forgive us if we concern ourselves with what’s in it for us. May we be people who willingly serve you out of grateful hearts, knowing that what you have already given us in redemption is so much more than anything this world affords. May we obey you today with every word, thought and deed and all for Jesus’ sake.

October 31

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Mark 13:24-37; Matthew 24:29-51, 25:1-20; Luke 21:25-38, 19:11-27

I was ready to buy a new car. I had driven mine for about five years and was shopping for another when my brother-in-law, Ron, said he’d like to buy my old one. We agreed on a price and I turned over the keys. He got into the car and immediately adjusted the steering wheel. I said, “I didn’t know that did that.” Five years I drove my car with the steering wheel on my lap and never pressed the button that would raise it. Needless to say, my brother-in-law loved teasing me about that.

About five years later I was ready for a new car and once again Ron wanted to buy my old one. And once again, after agreeing on a price I gave him the keys. He got in and sat in the driver’s seat and started playing with the buttons. He asked, “Do you use the fog lights much?” I looked at him and sheepishly said, “I didn’t know I had fog lights.” Let’s just say he will never let me forget that one.

How foolish am I?

Our Creator God has give us so much. Are we using his gifts to the fullest? As Christians. he has given us life and love, grace, forgiveness, hope. What are we doing with those precious things? Do we use what we have for the purpose they were given – to lead lost souls to Jesus?

All that we have materially and spiritually we have for one reason only. To. Use. Them.

Jesus tells us in the parable of the talents that we who have been given much will be given even more if we are faithful with what we have. And what we have will be taken away if we refuse to use it for God’s glory. How foolish would that be?

Father, I pray that you will find us faithful. May we be grateful for the many blessings you shower upon us. And may we use each one to reach out to lost souls and draw them to you. May we use what you have given us and produce a crop that is pleasing to you.

October 30

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Matthew 23:37-39, 24:1-28; Mark 12:41-44, 13:1-23; Luke 21:1-24

When people talk like the “last days” are something in the future I wonder. As I read what Jesus said about the end of the age I recognize things that happened in the first century and in every day since then. Ask the Christians in Egypt today what they think about a Great Tribulation.

There have always been wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, and liars claiming to be God. The first century Christians were tortured for their faith. They fled for their lives. Christians founded the Untied States of America because of persecution.

Are things going to get worse than they’e been? It undoubtedly will for us who live in the US. But there are brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who fear for their lives today because they love the Lord.

Here’s what I get out of the passages we read here. Matthew 24:27 promises us Jesus is coming again! He didn’t abandon us when he went to the Father.  “As lightening that comes for the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

He tells us life as a Christian on the earth won’t be easy. Bad things happen. But God wants to use even the bad to enable us to be witnesses of his great love and grace. He is all about winning the last willing soul.

But take heart. Jesus is going to come out of the heavens on that glorious day. We who know him will forever be with him. The cares and trials of this world will be behind us and we will experience God in his fullness for the very first time. Face to face. 

Now that’s a future to get excited about!

October 29

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Mark 12:18-40; Matthew 22:23-46, 23:1-36; Luke 20:27-47, 10:25-37

What word would your family and friends say describes you best? Would it be ‘religious’ or ‘giving’, ‘athletic’ or ‘musical’, ‘parent’ or ‘grandparent’? Would they name your occupation? ‘Teacher’, ‘accountant’, ‘preacher’, ‘mechanic’? I hope it wouldn’t be things like ‘mean’ or ‘selfish’ or ‘gossip’. But I wonder what they would say.

After reading this Scripture today I realize I want the word ‘love’ to describe me. First of all, love for God. I want the people closest to me to know without a doubt that I am totally, passionately in love with my Lord. I want that love to be evident in my face, in the words I speak, and the things I do. I want to talk about him, share him, and please him so that everyone knows I love God with my heart, my soul, and my mind.

Then I want my family and friends to know I love them unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I’ll always agree with them or even approve of some of their choices. But I want them to know I love them no matter what so that they will understand God loves them, too.

And I want people I meet in all walks of life, in all skin colors, in all beliefs to feel God’s love through me. I want to see them through Jesus’ eyes.

Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your minds and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

May it be true in me.

Father, I love you. But I want to love you more. I love my family and friends. I want to love them better. I see people for whom you died. May I love them because you do. I pray that your love will flow in and through me today. And may I love you with all my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength. You are worthy of all my love.