Easter

March 30, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 30

Matthew 26:6-13

The Precious Ointment

6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. 8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? 9 For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. 11 For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. 12 For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. 13 Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

 

Here they are in Bethany (meaning “house of the poor”), possibly where some of the poorest people were cared for. Jesus and some of His followers are sitting around waiting for a meal and this woman comes and pours ointment over Jesus’ head – this ointment was valued at a years’ wages! You could use that to help a lot of people. After being ridiculed, the woman turns to leave…But Jesus announces that she’s done a beautiful thing – she’s prepared Him for burial and what she’s done will always be remembered. Jesus knew He had to die to fulfill His Kingdom-mission.

Prayer: Lord, give me the wisdom to understand Your mission, and my role in it. Help me to proclaim Your Good News to those around me.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 29, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 29

Psalm 130

My Soul Waits for the Lord

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!

2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.

8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 28, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 28

Matthew 25:31-46

The Judgment

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jesus is not giving us rules to add to our list, He wants us to be the sort of people who have been so transformed that we care for the sick, feed the hungry and help those in need like it’s second nature. Being “others” focused allows the name of Jesus to stand out in our “selfie” culture. Jesus intends for His followers to be
different — to be compelling — people who live and love like Him… which is very different from the rest of the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, may I gladly serve You each day. Teach me to live and love like You.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 27, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 27

Matthew 25:14-30

Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Again, we see a parable about what happens in Jesus’ absence. God had given Israel the means to carry out His mission. Just as the wicked tenants in Chapter 21, the ungrateful guests in chapter 22 and the wicked slave in chapter 24, those who fail in the mission they’ve been given lose out on the privileges that come with the responsibility. We often relate this to our gifts. Each of us has been gifted to carry out God’s mission in our own unique way. These gifts are not to be hidden and remain untouched. They are to be used to bring glory to God. How are you using what God has entrusted to you to advance His Kingdom, to draw people to Him?

Prayer: Lord, help me to use my gifts for You, to allow You to use me uniquely to fulfill Your mission.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 26, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 26

Matthew 24:45-51

45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Have you ever had a job or been in a classroom where you only work your hardest while your boss, supervisor or teacher was present? Have you been that boss or teacher knowing that everyone gets to work when you walk through the door? God wants us to stay faithful to Him in His absence, even though we don’t know how long it will be. While we may get tired, impatient, and may want to do our own thing, Jesus is warning us that He could return at any time so stay the course. Do you live your life as though Jesus could show up at any moment? Have you gotten impatient or lazy in service to Him and living for Him?

Prayer: Lord, remind me that Your timing is perfect and that You are not slow in Your return.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 25, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 25

Matthew 22:1-14

Parable of the Marriage Feast

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

If the President of the United States sent a messenger to invite you to a wedding feast, would you decline and then go back to work, or even worse, would you kill his messenger? That is insanity. Yet that is the story Jesus tells. An invitation is sent out, it gets violently refused by those on the first guest list (Israel)…to which God reacts quite violently (burning a city would imply violence). Jesus sends a second invitation to the whole world knowing that He’ll get all kinds of guests from all walks of life. When His invitation is accepted, our old garments and way of life are removed and replaced with new garments and life that reflect Jesus. In short, our lives are transformed! I pray that no one tries to answer the invitation while neglecting the life change Jesus brings…that story doesn’t end well.

Have you accepted the invitation to join God’s Kingdom? Do you sometimes forget whose invitation you’ve accepted and carry on business as usual rather than clothing yourself in your new way of life in Jesus?

Prayer: Almighty God, help me to joyously accept Your invitation and give me the wisdom, strength and courage to put off my old clothes and put on Your righteousness.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 24, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 24

Matthew 21:33-45

Parable of the Landowner

33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35 The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

42 Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

No matter how you look at it, this is simply not a very nice story. Tenants kill the owner’s messengers…and finally his son in order to take over the land. This is a real estate edition of the story of God’s Kingdom, but I doubt it will show up on HGTV. God sets up this great place for everyone to live and lets the people use whatever they want. It doesn’t take long for them to decide they want to take over, and keep Him out. They beat and kill the messengers that God sends… and when He sends His Son… you know what happens. When we get caught up in sustaining our own kingdom it becomes all too easy to stop living for God’s Kingdom.

Are we a part of the group that doesn’t want the Owner, the Creator of the universe, to take control of His own vineyard? Would we rather keep it for ourselves and live isolated from the presence of the King?

Prayer: God, Creator and Owner of everything, give me the grace to produce the good fruits of Your Kingdom. Help me to celebrate Your Son.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 23, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 23

Matthew 21:1-17

The Triumphal Entry

21 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold your King is coming to you,
Gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

You’ll hear more about this passage on Sunday, but for now, just a few thoughts. Jesus has arrived at the holy city, Jerusalem. What Jesus sees at the temple is less than pleasing. His reaction shows us His love and zeal for His Father’s house of prayer. The state of the temple symbolizes that Israel was determined to do things on their own way. Sound familiar?

Jesus goes on to heal the lame and the blind. In Samuel we read that the lame and the blind were not welcome in the temple. Matthew tells us that Jesus is the new Temple – which is still free from the lame and the blind, but only because Jesus heals them. What a great picture of the difference between what the world has to offer as opposed to what Jesus offers…a temple that keeps people out as opposed to a Temple that accepts all and makes all people equally clean.

Prayer: Lord, as You dwell in me, challenge me when I distort Your plans and Your promises for me.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 22, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 22

Psalm 23

The LORD Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

March 21, 2015

Easter Devotional – March 21

Matthew 20:1-16

Laborers in the Vineyard

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ 7 They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ 9 When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10 When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

 

You’ve been out on the field most of the game. You’re considered a star player. You’ve been giving it your all. The score is tied despite all your effort. There’s only a few minutes left in the game and the coach replaces you, the star player, with someone who’s only played a couple of games. And, you guessed it, he scores the winning goal. He only played a few minutes, but he’s the one being celebrated. Jesus wants us to understand that no one has a “special place” ­— you can’t earn it, you can’t buy it, you can’t make deals for it. The Gospel is for everyone — equally.

While that means there are no “stars”, it also means that there are no passive spectators. Whether you’ve served God for 5 hours, 5 years or 5 decades…you’re a child of God participating in His Kingdom work.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be humble, to work whole-heartedly for You, and to play whatever position I am given.

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)