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God’s Story… For My Life – Friday, December 26, 2014

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He Is Risen!

Read Luke 24:1-11

As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”
(Luke 24:4-7)

Reflect

Christians can look very different from one another and hold widely varying beliefs about politics, lifestyle, and even theology. But one central belief unites and inspires all true Christians—Jesus Christ rose from the dead! On this fact, the church is built; without it, there would be no Christian church today. Jesus’ resurrection is unique. Other religions have strong ethical systems, concepts about paradise and afterlife, and scriptures. Only Christianity has a God who became human, died for his people, and was raised again in power and glory to rule his church forever.

Why is the Resurrection so important? (1) Because Jesus was raised from the dead, the Kingdom of Heaven has broken into earth’s history. Our world is now headed for redemption, not disaster. God’s mighty power is at work destroying sin, creating new lives, and preparing us for Jesus’ second coming. (2) Because of the Resurrection, we know that death has been conquered, and we too will be raised from the dead to live forever with Jesus. (3) The Resurrection gives authority to the church’s witness in the world. Look at the early evangelistic sermons in the book of Acts: The apostles’ most important message was the proclamation that Jesus had been raised from the dead! (4) The Resurrection gives meaning to the church’s regular feast, the Lord’s Supper. Like the disciples on the Emmaus Road, we break bread with our risen Lord, who comes in power to save us. (5) The Resurrection assures us that Christ is alive and ruling his Kingdom. He is not legend; he is alive and real. (6) The Resurrection helps us find meaning even in great tragedy. No matter what happens to us as we walk with the Lord, the Resurrection gives us hope for the future. (7) God’s power that brought Jesus back from the dead is available to us so that we can live for him in an evil world.

Respond

What do you believe about Jesus’ Resurrection? How has God’s provision of hope affected the way you think about the future?

God’s Story… For My Life – Thursday, December 25, 2014

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A Risk for the Right

Read Mark 15:42-47

This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.
(Mark 15:42-47)

Reflect

Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly, so he asked an officer to verify the report. Today, in an effort to deny the Resurrection, there are those who say that Jesus didn’t really die. His death, however, was confirmed by the officer, Pilate, the religious leaders, and the women who witnessed his burial. Jesus suffered actual physical death on the cross.

After Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea asked for his body and then sealed it in a new tomb. The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Saturday. Jesus died just a few hours before sundown on Friday. It was against Jewish law to do physical work or to travel on the Sabbath. It was also against Jewish law to let a dead body remain exposed overnight (Deuteronomy 21:23). Joseph came to bury Jesus’ body before the Sabbath began. If Jesus had died on the Sabbath when Joseph was unavailable, his body would have been taken down by the Romans. Had the Romans taken Jesus’ body, no Jews could have confirmed his death, and opponents could have disputed his resurrection.

Respond

Although an honored member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus. Joseph risked his reputation to give a proper burial to his Lord. Today he is remembered with admiration in the Christian church. It is frightening to risk one’s reputation even for what is right. What are you willing to risk for the sake of Jesus?

Streams in the Desert – December 25 Merry Christmas!

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“Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”—Matt 1:23

For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.—Isa 9:6

“There’s a song in the air!
There’s a star in the sky!
There’s a mother’s deep prayer,
And a baby’s low cry!
And the star rains its fire
While the beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King.”

A few years ago a striking Christmas card was published, with the title, “If Christ had not come.” It was founded upon our Saviors words, “If I had not come.” The card represented a clergyman falling into a short sleep in his study on Christmas morning and dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.

In his dream he found himself looking through his home, but there were no little stockings in the chimney corner, no Christmas bells or wreaths of holly, and no Christ to comfort, gladden and save. He walked out on the public street, but there was no church with its spire pointing to Heaven. He came back and sat down in his library, but every book about the Savior had disappeared.

A ring at the door-bell, and a messenger asked him to visit a poor dying mother. He hastened with, the weeping child and as he reached the home he sat down and said, “I have something here that will comfort you.” He opened his Bible to look for a familiar promise, but it ended at Malachi, and there was no gospel and no promise of hope and salvation, and he could only bow his head and weep with her in bitter despair.

Two days afterward he stood beside her coffin and conducted the funeral service, but there was no message of consolation, no word of a glorious resurrection, no open Heaven, but only “dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” and one long eternal farewell. He realized at length that “He had not come,” and burst into tears and bitter weeping in his sorrowful dream.

Suddenly he woke with a start, and a great shout of joy and praise burst from his lips as he heard his choir singing in his church close by:

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels,
O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”

Let us be glad and rejoice today, because “He has come.” And let us remember the annunciation of the angel, “Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10, 11).

“He comes to make His blessing flow, Far as the curse is found.”

May our hearts go out to the people in heathen lands who have no blessed Christmas day. “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and SEND PORTIONS TO THEM FOR WHOM NOTHING IS PREPARED.” (Neh. 8:10).

God’s Story… For My Life – Wednesday, December 24, 2014

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Amazing Grace

Read Mark 15:33-41

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!”

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph), and Salome. They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there.
(Mark 15:33-41)
Reflect

Jesus did not ask this question (“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Mark 15:34) in surprise or despair. He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22. The whole psalm is a prophecy expressing the deep agony of the Messiah’s death for the world’s sin. Jesus knew that he would be temporarily separated from God the moment he took upon himself the sins of the world. This separation was what he had dreaded as he prayed in Gethsemane. The physical agony was horrible, but the spiritual alienation from God was the ultimate torture.

A heavy curtain hung in front of the Temple room called the Most Holy Place, a place reserved by God for himself. Symbolically, the curtain separated the holy God from sinful people. The room was entered only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, by the high priest as he made a sacrifice to gain forgiveness for the sins of all the people. When Jesus died, the curtain was torn in two, showing that his death for our sins had opened up the way for us to approach our holy God. And it was torn from top to bottom, showing that God had opened the way.
Respond

If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, nothing separates you from God. But sometimes we allow doubt or worry to separate us. On a piece of paper, jot down your worries or fears. Pray about them, then tear the paper in two, as the curtain was torn.

Streams in the Desert – December 23

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The Lord’s angelic messenger came back again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, for otherwise you won’t be able to make the journey.”—1 Kings 19:7

 

And what did God do with His tired servant? Gave him something good to eat, and put him to sleep. Elijah had done splendid work, and had run alongside of the chariot in his excitement, and it had been too much for his physical strength, and the reaction had come on, and he was depressed. The physical needed to be cared for. What many people want is sleep, and the physical ailment attended to. There are grand men and women who get where Elijah was—under the juniper tree! and it comes very soothingly to such to hear the words of the Master: “The journey is too great for thee, and I am going to refresh you.” Let us not confound physical weariness with spiritual weakness.

 

“I’m too tired to trust and too tired to pray, 

Said one, as the over-taxed strength gave way. 

The one conscious thought by my mind possessed, 

Is, oh, could I just drop it all and rest.

 

“Will God forgive me, do you suppose, 

If I go right to sleep as a baby goes, 

Without an asking if I may, 

Without ever trying to trust and pray?

 

“Will God forgive you? why think, dear heart, 

When language to you was an unknown art, 

Did a mother deny you needed rest, 

Or refuse to pillow your head on her breast?

 

“Did she let you want when you could not ask? 

Did she set her child an unequal task? 

Or did she cradle you in her arms, 

And then guard your slumber against alarms?

 

“Ah, how quick was her mother love to see, 

The unconscious yearnings of infancy. 

When you’ve grown too tired to trust and pray, 

When over-wrought nature has quite given way:

 

“Then just drop it all, and give up to rest, 

As you used to do on a mother’s breast, 

He knows all about it—the dear Lord knows, 

So just go to sleep as a baby goes;

 

“Without even asking if you may, 

God knows when His child is too tired to pray. 

He judges not solely by uttered prayer, 

He knows when the yearnings of love are there.

 

“He knows you do pray, He knows you do trust, 

And He knows, too, the limits’ of poor weak dust. 

Oh, the wonderful sympathy of Christ, 

For His chosen ones in that midnight tryst,

 

“When He bade them sleep and take their rest, 

While on Him the guilt of the whole world pressed—

You’ve given your life up to Him to keep, 

Then don’t be afraid to go right to sleep.”

Streams in the Desert – December 22

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Lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him (Gen. 15:12).

The sun at last went down, and the swift, eastern night cast its heavy veil over the scene. Worn out with the mental conflict, the watchings, and the exertions of the day, Abraham fell into a deep sleep, and in that sleep is soul was oppressed with a dense and dreadful darkness, such as almost stifled him, and lay like a nightmare upon his heart.

Do you understand something of the horror of that darkness? When some terrible sorrow which seems so hard to reconcile with perfect love, crushes down upon the soul, wringing from it all its peaceful rest in the pitifulness of God, and launching it on a sea unlit by a ray of hope; when unkindness, and cruelty maltreat the trusting heart, till it begins to doubt whether there be a God overhead who can see and still permit–these know something of the “horror of great darkness.”

It is thus that human life is made up; rightness and gloom; shadow and sun; long tracks of cloud, succeeded by brilliant glints of light, and amid all Divine justice is working out its own schemes, affecting others equally with the individual soul which seems the subject of special discipline.

O ye who are filled with the horror of great darkness because of God’s dealings with mankind, learn to trust that infallible wisdom, which is co-assessor with immutable justice; and know that He who passed through the horror of the darkness of Calvary, with the cry of forsaken, is ready to bear you company through the valley of the shadow of death till you see the sun shining upon its further side.

Let us, by our Forerunner, send forward our anchor, Hope, within the veil that parts us from the unseen; where it will grapple in ground and will not yield, but hold until the day dawns, and we follow it into the haven guaranteed to us by God’s immutable counsel.
–F. B. Meyer

The disciples thought that that angry sea separated them from Jesus. Nay, some of them thought worse than that; they thought that the trouble that had come upon them was a sign that Jesus had forgotten all about them, and did not care for them.

Oh, dear friend, that is when troubles have a sting, when the devil whispers, “God has forgotten you; God has forsaken you”; when your unbelieving heart cries as Gideon cried, “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” The evil has come upon you to bring the Lord nearer to you. The evil has not come upon you to separate you from Jesus, but to make you cling to Him more faithfully, more tenaciously, more simply.
–F. S. Webster, M.A.

Never should we so abandon ourselves to God as when He seems to have abandoned us. Let us enjoy light and consolation when it is His pleasure to give it to us, but let us not attach ourselves to His gifts, but to Himself; and when He plunges us into the night of pure faith, let us still press on through the agonizing darkness.

Oh, for faith that brings the triumph
When defeat seems strangely near!
Oh, for faith that brings the triumph
Into victory’s ringing cheer–
Faith triumphant; knowing not defeat or fear.
–Herbert Booth

An Encouraging Word – Max Lucado – A Next Door Savior

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A Next Door Savior

There was something wrong with the picture.

We used to look at such scenes in elementary school. To keep us occupied, the teacher would pass out drawings with the question at the bottom, “What’s wrong with this picture?” Remember them? We’d look closely for something that didn’t fit. A farmyard scene with a piano near the water trough. A classroom with a pirate seated on the back row. An astronaut on the moon with a pay phone in the background. We’d ponder the picture and point to the piano or pirate or pay phone and say, “This doesn’t fit.” Something is out of place. Something is absurd. Pianos don’t belong in farmyards. Pirates don’t sit in classrooms. Pay phones aren’t found on the moon, and God doesn’t chum with the common folk or snooze in fishing boats.

But according to the Bible he did. “For in Christ there is all of God in a human body” (Col. 2:9 TLB). Jesus was not a godlike man, nor a manlike God. He was God-man.

Midwifed by a carpenter. Bathed by a peasant girl. The maker of the world with a belly button. The author of the Torah being taught the Torah.

Heaven’s human. And because he was, we are left with scratch-your-head, double-blink, what’s-wrong-with-this-picture? moments like these:

Bordeaux instead of H2O. A cripple sponsoring the town dance. A sack lunch satisfying five thousand tummies. And, most of all, a grave: guarded by soldiers, sealed by a rock, yet vacated by a three-days-dead man.

What do we do with such moments?

What do we do with such a person? We applaud men for doing good things. We enshrine God for doing great things. But when a man does God things?

One thing is certain, we can’t ignore him. Why would we want to? If these moments are factual, if the claim of Christ is actual, then he was, at once, man and God.

There he was, the single most significant person who ever lived. Forget MVP; he is the entire league. The head of the parade? Hardly. No one else shares the street. Who comes close? Humanity’s best and brightest fade like dime-store rubies next to him.

Dismiss him? We can’t.

Resist him? Equally difficult. Don’t we need a God-man Savior? A just-God Jesus could make us but not understand us. A just-man Jesus could love us but never save us. But a God-man Jesus? Near enough to touch. Strong enough to trust. A next door Savior.

God’s Story… For My Life – Monday, December 22, 2014

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Who Is Really on Trial?

Read John 18:38–19:16

Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”

When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”

The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”

When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”

Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
(John 19:4-11)

Reflect

The truth finally came out—the religious leaders had not brought Jesus to Pilate because he was causing rebellion against Rome, but because they thought he had broken their religious laws. Blasphemy, one of the most serious crimes in Jewish law, deserved the death penalty. Accusing Jesus of blasphemy would give credibility to their case in the eyes of Jews; accusing Jesus of treason would give credibility to their case in the eyes of the Romans. They didn’t care which accusation Pilate listened to, as long as he would cooperate with them in killing Jesus.

Throughout the trial we see that Jesus was in control, not Pilate or the religious leaders. Pilate vacillated, the Jewish leaders reacted out of hatred and anger, but Jesus remained composed. He knew the truth, he knew God’s plan, and he knew the reason for his trial. Despite the pressure and persecution, Jesus remained unmoved. It was really Pilate and the religious leaders who were on trial, not Jesus.

Respond

How do you usually respond when unjustly criticized? When you are questioned or ridiculed because of your faith, remember that while you may be on trial before your accusers, they are on trial before God.

Streams in the Desert – December 19

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This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses.—Luke 21:13

 

Life is a steep climb, and it does the heart good to have somebody “call back” and cheerily beckon us on up the high hill. We are all climbers together, and we must help one another. This mountain climbing is serious business, but glorious. It takes strength and steady step to find the summits. The outlook widens with the altitude. If anyone among us has found anything worth while, we ought to “call back.”

 

If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back—

’Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track; 

And if, perchance, Faith’s light is dim, because the oil is low, 

Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.

 

Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;

Call back, and say He kept you when the forest’s roots were torn;

That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill,

He bore you up and held you where the very air was still.

 

Oh, friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your your face,

They say it glows with triumph, and your feet bound in the race;

But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,

And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

 

But if you’ll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,

And if you’ll say He saw you through the night’s sin-darkened sky

If you have gone a little way ahead, oh, friend, call back—

’Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track. 

—Selected

God’s Story… For My Life – Friday, December 19, 2014

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He Prays for You

Read John 17:20-26

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
(John 17:20-26)

Reflect

Jesus prayed for all who would follow him, including you and others you know who were born long after his death and resurrection. He prayed for unity (John 17:11), protection from the evil one (John 17:15), and holiness (John 17:17). Knowing that Jesus prayed for us can give us confidence as we work for his Kingdom.

Jesus’ greatest desire for his disciples was that they would become one—a unified body. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God’s love. Jesus prayed for unity among the believers based on the believers’ union with him and the Father. Christians can know unity among themselves if they are living in union with God. For example, each branch living in union with the vine is united with all other branches doing the same (see John 15).

Respond

How are you helping to unify the body of Christ? Some actions can include praying for other Christians, building others up through affirmation, working together in humility, giving your time and money, and refusing to get sidetracked arguing over divisive matters. The best way to promote unity is to keep connected to the vine. The Holy Spirit works through you, and keeps your heart softened.