Daily Devotion, May 5, 2020

Devotion:

Read Acts 5:33-42.

Peter and the apostles had been preaching the Gospel with great boldness and had gained respect wherever they went. However, they were not free from hatred and persecution. The religious leaders were jealous and had the apostles arrested, put in jail, and beaten with rods and whips. After an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the jail, the faithful apostles began preaching again. Once again they were arrested. After the Pharisee named Gamaliel persuaded the council not to kill them, the apostles were beaten and released. Instead of running away in fear for their lives, these men of God rejoiced that God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for his name. They felt blessed and considered the scars as marks that connected them to Jesus. Then they continued to teach and preach. Have you ever thought of persecution as a blessing? Do you consider it an honor to suffer for Christ? While most of us will not experience the kind of suffering the apostles did, our faith is tested when we have to make a stand based on Christian principles. Will you consider it a blessing to stand up for Christ?

Personal Worship Option:

Reflect on the lyrics to the song, “I’m Not Ashamed of the Gospel” as you commit to be bold in sharing God’s message of hope and faith.

We're an anchor for those who are hurting We're a harbor for those who are lost

Sometimes it's not always easy bearing Calvary's cross
We've been ridiculed by those who don't know Him
And mocked by those who don't believe
Still I love standing up for my Jesus
'Cause of all that He's done for me
That's why I am not ashamed of the Gospel
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
No, I am not afraid to be counted
And I'm willing to give my life
See I'm ready to be all He wants me to be
Give up the wrong for the right
No, I am not ashamed of the Gospel
No, I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Daily Devotion, May 4, 2020

Devotion:

Read Isaiah 53:3-5.

When Isaiah spoke and wrote these words, few if any of the Children of Israel would have associated the suffering servant described here with the promised Messiah. Other prophecies about the Messiah being the Prince of Peace, coming from the house of David to reign forever were much easier to hear and hold onto.

We sat with a kind gentleman at the mission dinner at our annual conference a few years ago. He introduced himself simply as Millard and asked us all about our short-term mission trips. He affirmed our work and was genuinely happy to meet and talk with us through dinner. Not once did he mention his own work but gently shifted the conversation to what others were doing when we asked. Later that evening, I was shocked to learn that our table partner was Millard Fuller, who with his wife Linda, founded Habitat for Humanity! I would never have guessed it, but looking back on our dinner conversation, it makes perfect sense that this humble Christian man had done such a great thing.

Looking back as Christians on today’s passage, Isaiah’s description of the suffering servant makes perfect sense to us. Christ bore our sins and died on a brutal cross so that we might be healed and receive the gift of eternal life.

Personal Worship Option:

Reflect on the gift Christ gave us, putting aside his glory to come into the world as a human being, only to be rejected by religious leaders and executed as a criminal. It hurts us to think of that, but it feels so good to know that the gift was given in love for us. Give thanks to God for this unspeakable gift.

Daily Devotion, May 3, 2020

Devotion:

Read Luke 24:44-48.

    Luke is the only one of the Gospel writers who tells us the Easter-day story of two followers of Jesus walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus.  Someone joins them on their journey and they do not realize it is Jesus….until they were at the table with him and he broke the bread, at which point he disappears.  They rush back to tell the eleven disciples, only to find out they already had heard about Jesus being alive. As these two began telling about their experience in Emmaus, suddenly Jesus appeared in their midst.

    These verses we have read today are part of what he says to them during that appearance.  He reminds them of what he had been telling them all along, that he would die and rise on the third day:  “You are witnesses of these things.” That’s the key for what was to follow. They had seen and heard it all, so he would now send them out to tell everybody they could.

    You and I follow in a long line of witnesses going all the way back to those first disciples.  He sends us out to share with others what we have experienced with him. Through this risen One, we know this is what God is like.  All he did and taught has been confirmed by the One who raised him from the dead. Tell everybody you can!

Personal Worship Option:

Offer a prayer of celebration and gratitude to Jesus for showing us most fully what God is like.  Ask for wisdom and courage to live so that others will come to know him through you.

Daily Devotion, May 2, 2020

Devotion:

Read Acts 13:26-33.

    In Acts 9 we read about Saul’s conversion to Christ.  Some time after that, he began to use the name Paul. We’re told of him teaching and preaching in various places, but this passage is part of the first sermon we have recorded by him in Acts.  While in Antioch (the first place the disciples were called “Christians” - Acts 11:26), the Holy Spirit directed the leaders there to “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (13:2).  After traveling to other places, they came to Pisidian Antioch. The leaders there asked them to speak to the people, and Paul did so. His message begins at verse 16, so we have picked up in the middle of it with today’s passage.

    After starting with some of Israel’s story from Old Testament days, he tells of the recent experience of God’s people with Jesus. The leaders did not recognize that he was the Messiah, so they asked Pilate to execute him.  “But God raised him from the dead….” He then builds on that: “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.” 

    The resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate proof for those first disciples that Jesus was who he said he was:  the Messiah, the Son of God. It still is. By raising Jesus from the dead, God affirmed all that Jesus did and taught during his time on earth.  Hallelujah! Christ is alive! Believe in him; listen to him; follow him.

Personal Worship Option:

Who do you know who is experiencing struggles with life right now?  How might you be a life-giving presence for them, so that you can lead them to Jesus?

Daily Devotion, May 1, 2020

Devotion:

Read John 1:1.

It’s just one verse, but it states our focus for this week rather clearly.  As he begins his description of Jesus, the writer says “...the Word was God.”   Not only does this scripture declare the eternal nature of Christ, but it is God’s communication to us.  When we “use our words” we communicate our hearts and minds. So, Jesus is God’s Word to reveal his heart and mind to us. Jesus is the culmination of divine revelation - nothing else is needed.  Through Christ we know who God is and how God sees us. If people want to know what God is like, they can look at Jesus. If they want to know what Jesus is like, they should be able to look at his followers.

Personal Worship Option:

Can people see Christ in you?

Daily Devotion, April 30, 2020

Devotion:

Read John 14:8-10.

How many times have you heard somebody say “he looks and acts just like his father” or “she is the spitting image of her mother with her expressions”?  This can also mean what they say and how they think about things. So what is God the Father like? His Son, Jesus Christ, “is the exact representation of His being.” Jesus said in today’s scripture, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” When Jesus came into this world as a human baby born of a human mother, he was called Immanuel, meaning “God with us”.

If we want to know more about God or want to become more godly in our character, we need to look to Jesus and be like Him.  Jesus not only shapes our character but also tells us how we are to live godly lives. We sometimes say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  God placed his heart and thoughts on public display through Jesus. In Jesus, we see God’s words and deeds, character and attitudes lived out in the joys, sorrows, and difficult moments of life. How should we respond to betrayal, loss, temptation, and suffering? What should our attitude be toward our neighbors, friends, and enemies? How can we know our heavenly Father’s will in real life situations? Look to and be like Jesus.

Personal Worship Option:

Lord Jesus, thank you for truly revealing your Father in your words and deeds. Help us to be more like you (and our Father) every day in all that we do and say. In your name we pray. Amen.

Daily Devotion, April 29, 2020

Devotion:

Read John 4:19-26, 39-42.

Without a photo ID, how would you explain your identity to another person?  John’s gospel focuses on the identity of Jesus the Christ and the meaning of discipleship. Eleven titles of Jesus are mentioned in John 1!

As current readers we have the advantage of knowing the identities of the two main characters of this passage:  Jesus, the Messiah, (meaning the Anointed One) and the woman-at-the-well. But this woman-at-the-well had no idea who was asking her for a drink of water. She explains her identity by not telling the truth about the man she is with. Yet, Jesus did know her life story and all its truth!

As Jesus tells the truth about her life’s story, she realizes that Jesus is a prophet.  Their conversation continues. Then she says, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Jesus’ response is, “I who speak to you am he.”  This declaration that he is the Messiah, must have held a moment of awe for this woman. (The words to Moses from the burning bush. “Tell them it is ‘I Am’ who is sending you.” are echoed here.)

Now the disciples are confused because their understanding of the identity of a true Messiah is he would not talk to a woman he didn’t know and certainly not a Samaritan woman! Their eyes were to be continually opened to who Christ was and came to be for all people.

This one who encountered the Messiah has been given a NEW IDENTITY!  Her new identity is a witness forever of the boundlessness of God’s grace in Christ! “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did!” she proclaims!  “And what is not said here, but is implicit in her action is, ‘and loved me anyway!’’ writes the Rev. Anna Carter Florence.

The Living Christ, the Messiah, knows, understands and loves you. When we encounter the Living Christ, who knows the truth about us and loves us anyway, we can’t help but be changed and given new identities as well!

Personal Worship Option:

Dear God, lead me to encounter the living Christ in such a way today, that I’m transformed toward the new identity you want to accomplish in my life.