Devos 365

Prayer :   In life no house, no home My Lord on earth might have; In death no friendly tomb But what a stranger gave. What may I say? Heav’n was His home But mine the tomb wherein He lay. Read : Matthew 28:1–10 http://esvbible.org/Matthew 28:1-10 Think about It : This devotional post goes up on Good Friday. If you have been tracking with this blog throughout the season, you have spent time thinking about many of the spiritual disciplines used by the faithful for the last 2,000 years. As we end this season of Lent for 2013, my heart is moved to pray for you. Dear Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thank You for this season of Lent. Thank You for the opportunity to recall the Passion of Jesus as He paid the price for my sin. Thank You for the beauty of Your plan as I am redeemed from sin’s power to control my life. Thank You for salvation. Please Lord, forgive the quickness with which I go my own way. Please forgive the power of my flesh t...

Prayer :   They rise and needs will have My dear Lord made away; A murderer they save, The Prince of Life they slay. Yet cheerful He to suff’ring goes That He His foes from thence might free Read : John 13:1–17 http://esvbible.org/John 13:1-17 Think about It : For 3 years the 12 disciples walked with their Rabbi, Jesus. In that time they saw Him do some remarkable things. He proved His sovereign power over sickness and disease, over the demonic, over the natural elements, and even over death. They heard Him preach magnificent messages about what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. They watched as He blessed children and ate with sinners. They listened as Jesus took on the Pharisees and religious leaders, consistently putting them in their place and pointing out their lack of love and true commitment to God. But nothing could have prepared them when just a few hours before His arrest Jesus removes His outer garment, drops to His knees and washes their fe...

Prayer :  Sometimes they strew His way And His sweet praises sing; Resounding all the day Hosannas to their King. Then “Crucify!” is all their breath, And for His death they thirst and cry Read : Psalm 105:1-9 http://esvbible.org/Psalm 105:1-9 Think about It : One of the downfalls of studying the little details of the Scriptures (as much fun as that is) is that sometimes we forget the big picture. The Bible is actually just one long story that hasn’t even been completed yet. While we have the Word of God in its entirety, the story certainly isn’t over. The Passion that we remember in detail this week is the pivot point of the entire Bible. All of the Old Testament points to the moment of Christ’s death for our sins and all of the history since that monumental day points back to it. Now we await the final act as we pray for the return of Christ to take us unto Himself for eternity. Our Psalm for this week reminds us that God’s plan stretches ...

Prayer : He came from His blest throne Salvation to bestow; But men made strange, and none The longed-for Christ would know. But, oh, my friend, my friend indeed, Who at my need His life did spend! Read : 1 Corinthians 15:1–8 http://esvbible.org/1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Think about It : 1 Corinthians 15 is known as the “resurrection” chapter. In these words of Paul we learn that not only did Jesus Christ rise from the dead, but so will we. Because Christ conquered death we too will rise again to spend eternity in His presence. That means on Easter morning as we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord we remember that our resurrection is assured as well. In verse 2, Paul says that we need to hold firmly to this truth: “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .” (1 Corinthians 15:2-4) The faith pivots around this central belief and ...

Prayer :   My song is love unknown, My Savior’s love to me, Love to the loveless shown That they might lovely be. Oh, who am I, that for my sake My Lord should take frail flesh and die? Read : Isaiah 53:1-11 http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+53/ Think about It : The prophetic words of Isaiah in today’s passage are so very difficult to read. They are grim and because we live on this side of the crucifixion, we know how very true these words became. But it is necessary that we read them and allow their importance to sink into our hearts and spirits for they describe the consequences of our sin. The punishment for our sin had to fall upon someone and that was the work of Jesus. If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of waiting in the emergency room of a hospital for medical assistance, you know that when people come in it isn’t necessarily first come, first served. No, if someone comes in whose life is in eminent danger they are whisked into t...

Prayer : Ride on, ride on in majesty! Hark! All the tribes hosanna cry.       O Savior meek, pursue Thy road,               With palms and scattered garments strowed.          Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die. O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin O’er captive death and conquered sin. Read : John 12:9–19 http://www.esvbible.org/John 12:9-19 Think about It : Palm Sunday conjures up the use of one word – Hosanna! The only time we find this word used in the entire Bible is in 3 of the four Gospels as the events of what we now call Palm Sunday are told. In fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the back of donkey colt for He is the true King. The people gather to greet Him, for by this point He is famous. He is the One who can provide food where there is none. He is the...

Prayer :    Immortal, invisible,   God only wise, In light inaccessible hid from our eyes, Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise. Read : 2 Samuel 6:1–19 http://www.esvbible.org/2 Samuel 6:1-19 Think about It : We’ve all seen those guys at the football games who have removed their shirts only to reveal chests painted with team symbols and colors. The camera seems to focus regularly throughout the game on these guys as they are rabidly cheering and letting the whole world know of their support for their favorite sports icon. Or think about those girls (and sometimes women) standing in line at a concert or outside of a movie theater screaming and crying over the latest heartthrob from Hollywood. For the sports fan or the star-struck the opinion of those around them doesn’t matter too much. Their admiration goes to the core. This is devotion. The picture we see of King David t...

Prayer : Before You, Lord, we bow, Our God who reigns above And rules the world below, Boundless in pow’r and love. Our thanks we bring In joy and praise, Our hearts we raise To You, our King! Read : Psalm 29 http://www.esvbible.org/Psalm 29:1-11 Think about It : Throughout the Old Testament, there is one “god” in particular who is mentioned over and over as a false idol and a sinful people bow down to worship him. That god is Baal. The Children of Israel are exposed to Baal worship already in the book of Exodus as they spend nearly 400 years as the slaves of the Egyptians. The worship of Baal was witnessed by them daily and when God freed them from the Egyptians, unfortunately they took those worship ideas with them into the wilderness. When Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai having received the Ten Commandments from God Himself, the people have decided they would rather worship Baal than the Living God.   Moses was so angry with them that he busted the stone...

Prayer : At the name of Jesus  Ev’ry knee shall bow, Ev’ry tongue confess Him  King of glory now. ’Tis the Father’s pleasure  We should call Him Lord, Who from the beginning  Was the mighty Word. In your hearts enthrone Him; There let Him subdue All that is not holy,  All that is not true: Crown Him as your captain In temptation’s hour; Let His will enfold you  In its light and pow’r. Read : Revelation 4:1-11 http://www.esvbible.org/Revelation 4:1-11 Think about It : There is no grander picture of what worship looks like than Revelation 4 & 5. Here described in vivid detail we witness the worship of the Living God by all of those in heaven. The entire Church – the 24 elders, representing the 12 Tribes of the Old Testament and the 12 Apostles of the New Testament – and all of the angels, fall down before the Creator of everything, declaring His glory and honor. In the next chapter (which is not a part of the...