The discipline of reading and meditating on the Word of God is just that – a discipline. It requires perseverance and determination. It is also a journey. The Word of God is living and powerful and able to change lives. I look ahead with hopeful expectations to be transformed little by little into the likeness of Christ.
Today we’re doing the SPACEPETS acronym on this section of Scripture. This passage is given in the context of the disciples obeying Christ’s command to cross the sea in a boat, trying to row across at night in stormy conditions. They undoubtedly wondered where Christ was and why He would have them do this without Him. Sometimes Christ seems so far away…
S – is there any sin to confess? no.
P – are any promises to claim? God is always with me. He holds me by my right hand (signifying where my power comes from).
A – is there an attitude to change? If I am grieving or in frustration, it always good to know God has not forsaken me. On the contrary, He is right there with me. He is the only one I need, the only one I should seek, the only place to gather strength.
C – is there a command to obey? no.
E – is there an example to follow? Follow David’s attitude.
P – is there a prayer to pray? The entire reflects a prayer – not a request, but an intimate talk with God. It reflects my hearts desire even though it may not reflect my true heart at the moment.
E – is there an error to avoid? Losing sight of the presence of God.
T – is there a truth to believe? Many! 1) He is always with me; 2) He holds my right hand; 3) He guides me with His counsel; 4) He will one day take me to glory; 5) There is no one else in heaven who can take care of me; 6) Though my heart and flesh fail me, God is the One who sustains me and provides for me forever.
S – is there something to praise God for? The God of heaven is always there to give me strength and guidance. Whom have I in heaven but You?
What a great Psalm! Lord, may my heart truly reflect the heart of David. May I be able to say, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire but You.” Lord, let that be a reflection of my heart.
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
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I can relate to the disciples here. If someone told me that my best friend that died a few days ago was now alive, I’m not sure I would immediately believe it. It’s just not the way things happen. It’s not completely clear if the women believe it either – they are simply telling the disciples of the experience, and the disciples have a hard time believing them. In fact, Peter has to check it out for himself, and when he leaves the tomb wondering rather than celebrating. I get it, though, because you don’t want to get your hopes up after such a disappointing weekend.
S – is there a sin to confess? While we don’t see it here in this passage, Jesus later rebukes the disciples for their unbelief. Once again it comes down to believing what we see versus what Jesus said. That comes through over and over again.
P – is there a promise to claim? Jesus is not among the dead! He has risen just as He said.
A – is there an attitude to change? The attitude of unbelief.
C- is there a command to obey? no.
E – is there an error to avoid? The disciples thought the women’s words were nonsense. One shouldn’t so easily dismiss something that was clearly true for the women.
P – is there a prayer to pray? no.
E – is there an example to follow? The women. Love that they were the first to come to the tomb to further prepare Jesus’ body. I can only imagine the stench they must have expected, and yet still went to pay proper homage to Jesus despite their probable disappointment.
T – is there a truth to believe? Absolutely! Jesus is alive!!
S – is there something to praise God for? Absolutely! Jesus is alive!!
Everything rests on the truth, on the praise that Jesus is alive! It validates everything He said. It validates everything in my life – that I’m not running in vain. I can understand early skepticism, but we know that Jesus is alive. We’re not left at the tomb. We know what they didn’t on that day. That ought to change my life forever.
Jesus’ death was so dramatic, so important that it affected nature – causing an earthquake, the sun to stop shining – it affected mankind – the temple veil torn in two. I am struck by something Lyanne noticed this morning: why were Jesus’ closest followers watching from a distance while the other people stood close and watched the spectacle? Those closest to Jesus stayed longer while the others “beat their breasts” and left. I have to think that those who witnessed Jesus’ death upclose came almost to be entertained. Almost like watching your least favorite team get slaughtered in a game. They were drawn into the drama of the day. They were caught in the excitement of the event. And when reality hit – and boy did it hit hard – they were struck with sorrow. How could they have done such a thing? Like the centurion, something happened on that day that hit everyone hard.
Sin is like that. It is so compelling, so exciting, so attractive. It seems life doesn’t get enough drama so we run to it when it something happens. One only needs to watch the news to see how everything seems to get so blown up in order to attract viewers. That is our nature I suppose, to be taken away from what we see as a mundane life. But when reality hits, and we see sin for what it is, sometimes the heart is pierced with sorrow. In the case of the centurion, it not only led to sorrow, it led to praise.
As I think and write about this, I wonder how the Centurion could leave with praise and the others leave in sorrow. This is a difficult question. I can understand the people leaving in sadness, but worship? How could one worship after seeing an innocent man crucified? To be honest, this stumps me. This is something I’ll need to dwell on more…
I must say though, at some point after we have recognized our sin we must come to a point of worship, don’t we? I think of tomorrow night when we participate in the Good Friday service, and I wonder, how would we worship Jesus if we didn’t know the end of the story? But it is precisely because we know the end of the story that we can worship God after we have sinned. His forgiveness should bring us to our knees. If I know nothing about how the centurion could worship God after a tragic event, I can at least know that I can worship because the tragedy leads ultimately to victory and the forgiveness of sins.
33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
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I love how the humble criminal saw Jesus. I love that despite Jesus nailed to the cross – His death almost certain, the criminal saw something that perhaps most others did not. He recognized that Jesus would still come into His kingdom even after He died. I presuming that the thief knew Jesus would die, of course. But still, if he didn’t think Jesus would die after everything He just went through and if He could come off the cross, that would require a great deal of faith regardless.
S – is there a sin to confess? There’s a lot of sin here. The total lack of respect by some people, by the soldiers, one of the thieves. They simply could not believe this was the Messiah, the King of the Jews hanging on the cross. Can you blame them? But Jesus said He was their Messiah, He was their bread of life, their Living Water…would they believe His profession, or would they believe their veiled eyes?
P- is there a promise to claim? Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
A – is there an attitude to change? The second thief said, “Don’t you fear God?!”
C – is there a command to obey? none.
E – is there an error to avoid?Yes – see S above.
P – is there a prayer to pray? It may not be a prayer as we see prayer, but it is a request to Jesus: “Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” That is truly a prayer of humility.
E – is there an example to follow? The second thief.
T – is there a truth to believe? Jesus forgave the people of their ignorant treatment of Him. The greater truth is that Jesus forgave us our sins.
S – is there something to praise God for? Yes! Jesus died for the worst of sinners. He died for the ones who treated him as a criminal of the worst kind. And yet, he was completely innocent – even to the profession of the Roman leaders. Despite that, Jesus forgave them. What mercy!
There is much to consider personally in this passage. From the disrespectful attitudes, to the moral failure, to the lack of belief. But I am more inspired by the second thief, who despite everything his eyes could see, he believed Jesus was innocent; he believed Jesus would be the king of a great kingdom; he believed Jesus could show mercy. I am challenged to consider whether I am willing to believe what my eyes contradict?
1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
3So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,”Jesus replied.
4Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
5But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
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I have always been amazed by Jesus’ not defending his innocence. Though He was King of the Jews, Messiah – that is true — He was much more than that. They claimed he taught not paying taxes – no such thing. I suppose He was taking the 5th, so to speak (or not to speak).
To be rejected, however, by those He cared for…to have such hurtful words said of Him – that would make me overwhelmingly sad. It would be the worst form of rejection one could receive. Why wouldn’t Jesus defend Himself? For me, if I were to defend myself, it would be due to my insecurities. It would be because I would want people to like me. It would be for selfish reasons. But Jesus, He was bigger than that. He was able to rise above human insecurities and know that there was a greater reason for the injustice He was suffering. And of course, that greater reason was love. Makes me wonder if I could rise above my own insecurities.
In the case of Pilate, he saw Jesus’ innocence. He saw through the frustration and disappointment of the people. He called for His release, but the people refused. But instead of doing the right thing, Pilate deflected the issue and handed Jesus over to Herod. Instead of confronting the issue head on, Pilate found a way to avoid the issue. If I am honest, I can find myself doing that sometimes. In fact, I love it when there is a way to pawn off the problem to someone else rather than address it myself. When it comes to doing the right thing, though, it is never good to give the problem to someone else when I have the ability to do something about it.
As for the people, they are a crowd of disappointed people. Their expectations were like those of Judas – they wanted a physical king. They wanted someone to throw off the burden of the ruling authorities. But Jesus wanted more. They couldn’t see that. How could they? They were blinded by their own expectations. (I don’t blame them. How could they have forseen spiritual salvation in Jesus’ death?)
In all of these people, I can obviously relate to Pilate and the people. Jesus rises above my human tendency for self-justice, and that is an area that would be difficult for me to allow. Would I/should I defend injustices against me? Not sure. But as for Pilate and the people, I definitely can learn from them not to avoid conflict when I can do the right thing; not to allow my own disappointments to cause me such anger that I would want to inflict pain on others. Not easy to do…
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
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There was a time as a young Christian with the question, “Would you die for Christ?” I knew what the answer should be. We all did. And despite that, deep inside I wonder if I had the courage to die for Him. But before I say that I am ready to die for Him now as an older, more mature follower, well, that might be as foolish as Peter. There’s nothing like being placed into a situation where that decision must be made, and until that day arrives, I won’t be so prideful to think that I would. I certainly hope I would. And I certainly would need all the strength of the Holy Spirit to carry out a marty’s death.
But denial of Christ isn’t limited to death. Every day presents opportunities to stand by Him or stand away from a distance. That gets harder as our culture drifts further and further from God’s values. Making a stand for Christ is shown in how I react to things like gay marriage, even Obamacare on some level. It happens in encounters with others – talking about my faith (or not). How others see Christ in me (or not). But perhaps the greatest denial of Christ in my life would be when I think I can do it on my own without Him. I deny my need for Him. My quiet times or lack of them reflects a dependence or a denial of Him. And with that, I can certainly say I have denied Christ more than three times!
So my prayer today is that I might lean on Christ more. That I might make Him such a huge part of my life that talking about Him comes as naturally as talking about baseball. Help me, Lord, to lift you up.
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 33But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
S – is there a sin to confess? A failure of faith. A denial of Christ. The ascertion that Peter would die for Jesus – just talk.
P – is there a promise to claim? Jesus prays for people that their faith may not fail.
A – is there an attitude to change? Have faith no matter how bad things look, no matter how poor my expectations are being met.
C – is there a command to obey? When we turn back, use it as an opportunity to strengthen others.
E – is there an example to follow? Opposite – don’t follow Peter!
P – is there a prayer to pray? Pray that our faith may not fail.
E – is there an error to avoid? Impulsive speech
T – is there a truth to believe? Satan wants us to fall. That is his goal for us. Jesus is gracious and in the case of Peter, he knows that Peter is going to fall and yet encourages him to strengthen the brothers when he turns back. Jesus doesn’t condemn Peter, but gently teaches him to move ahead as he repents.
S – is there something to praise God for? It would have to be in the truth above, that Jesus is condemning when we fail him, but wants us to learn and strengthen others through the experience.
As I pray about this reading, I am struck on a couple of levels. First, I am probably as impulsive as Peter. I say a lot of things but struggle to follow through. Second, I love the fact that Jesus actually knows Peter is going to deny him, but he also knows that Peter is going to repent and get through it. Jesus knows I’m going to fail him at times, and it is comforting to know that He isn’t standing over me with a whip, but he lovingly chides me to learn from my failures and strengthen others through it. He even prays for me. That means I need to see my failures as not something to hide, but something to help others with. I don’t need to hide behind a mask of success. It is in our failures and subsequent repentance that we can sometimes strengthen others.
All that said, I don’t want to be one to fail Jesus. But when I do, I pray that I might strengthen others through it.
1 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
Be the Religious Leaders: What are you afraid of?
Because the Passover was coming, the city would be filled with Jews coming from all over the country. Jerusalem would have its largest audience for Jesus ever. I can see why the religious leaders would want to get rid of Jesus… they were afraid the people might actually be swayed by His teaching. They didn’t want a “revolution” on their hands, and they certainly didn’t want the people to “stray”. As a pastor, I can feel for the religious leaders. If someone came into our midst who was highly influential and began teaching things that seemed contrary to our beliefs, I would do what I could to minimize the influence and even ask the person to leave. Of course, I wouldn’t plot to kill that person! But the extent to which the religious leaders would go to get rid of Jesus shows how zealous they were, but also how prideful they were.
Be Judas: Why would you want to betray Jesus? Have you ever “betrayed” Jesus when “no crowd was present”?
Judas’ betrayal of Jesus showed just how far off he was in his thinking. It’s hard to say, but I suspect Judas followed Jesus for several years because he believed Jesus would actually overthrow the Romans and begin a new rule in Israel. I suspect Judas really believed Jesus was the Messiah, but unfortunately, when things began to look bad for Jesus (I mean Jesus started talking about being killed and all), and when Judas’ picture of Jesus began to conflict with who Jesus really was, Judas gave up. He wanted no part of Jesus anymore. He wasted three years of his life for Jesus, and it got him nowhere. He had to get something out of the deal, but as it was, he would be associated with Jesus, and he might suffer the same fate as Jesus. So I can see why Judas would take advantage of the opportunity to make some money, while also allying himself with the religious leaders. Judas was only interested in protecting himself while making a buck.
I can understand Judas’ disapppointment. I can’t relate to it, but I can understand it. In his mind, he wasted precious years of his life thinking he was going to be a prominent figure in Israel’s new kingdom. Things weren’t working out as he had hoped and planned. I can think of some people who have experienced similar disappointments. In their minds, God has failed them. He didn’t meed their expectations. Why is it that this story makes me sad? People walk away from Jesus because He offered them something different than they expected.
Have I ever betrayed Jesus out of disappointment? Out of unfulfilled expectations? Probably I have. To be honest, though, I don’t often get mad at God. I really do believe He has my best interest in mind. But I have had a relatively easy life. Really I have. God has blessed me with so much – how could I ask for more? I think after today’s passage, I feel very thankful for God’s blessings, but also very sad with a little bit of compassion for those who aren’t experiencing the joy of the Lord.
Luke 21: 37-38
37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.
This week, I wrote devotional questions for the church, and on this day I asked the question: Why does Jesus go out to pray at the end of a long day? And the funny thing (and Lyanne pointed this out), it doesn’t say he goes out to pray. I just made that leap I suppose because I know that he wen to the Mount of Olives often to pray and teach the disciples. So really the better question is, why does Jesus go to the mountain at the end of the day. And the answer it seems to me now is more than perhaps prayer. Jesus needed to simply just get away from everything and slow down and quiet his surroundings to rest. Really, I think He just needed to rest after a good day of teaching and ministering.
That’s probably something I need to do myself. Sometimes it’s difficult to put work away and just rest. Yes, there are home responsibilities, and there is Maili – who is a joy, so that’s not so tiring. But to be able to come home and rest my mind is a good thing. Or maybe it’s not every night, but at least some time during the week to rest. Listen, if Jesus needed it, how much more do I need it?! (This is something I’d like to think about further when it comes to people’s live in general. Everyone is so busy these days, and it’s just can’t be good.)
Secondly, there are the people getting up to hear Jesus. They wanted to be first in line. Wow, I want that to be my attitude every morning – to get up early to hear Jesus!
These two thing go hand-in-hand in my mind. At restful evening followed by an early morning listening to Jesus. My prayer is that I might be able to incorporate these ideas into my regular daily life. Put away the distractions of the day when I come home, and get up early and listen to Jesus speak.
Psalm 1, (in my own words)
I’m going to personalize this one at the same time…
I am blessed if rather than living as a rebellious and prideful person toward God, I choose to spend time meditating on the Scriptures, finding pleasure in doing so. When I do this, it makes me strong; it feeds my life; it bears fruit in my life.
But not so for those who walk in rebellion. Their lives are shells of what real life is, and they will be held to account at the judgment…and it won’t be good. Their paths will lead to destruction. As for the righteous, God watches over them and leads them to prosper.
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I once again am reminded of the truth that the Scriptures are able to feed my soul and not only sustain my life, but bring great blessing. By that I don’t read that as saying that my life will prosper physically, but that my soul will find great blessing in the things that God provides along the path of righteousness. Man, I want to be able to have the Word so in my heart that whatever happens in my life, the Word of God will supply peace, wisdom, direction, and joy. Help me, Lord, to love Your Word!
