Devos 365

Matthew 26:30-35 30  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31  Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32  But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33  Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34  Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35  Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. Have you ever made a promise and genuinely meant to keep that promise, but didn't? We all have. The promises can range from the incredibly simple like, "I'll be there to pick you up in 10 minutes," only to arrive 30 minutes later to the profound and life changing like, "I will love you until death parts us," only...

Matthew 26:26-29 26  Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body." 27  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29  I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” The Father has left us many gifts that grow our faith, strengthen our commitment to Him, and grant us amazing life here. First we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, which is utterly amazing and makes us unique among the faiths of the world. The Holy Spirit has given us gifts (prophecy, teaching, mercy, helping . . . ) and fruit (love, joy, peace . . . .). And we have been given the sacraments that bring faith, forgiveness, and power into our lives. These Sacra...

Matthew 26:17-30 17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He s...

Matthew 26:14-16 14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. One of the names you don’t see make the top ten list for babies is Judas. I did a search of the name Judas with the Social Security office and it never even makes an appearance during the last 134 years. Good things are not associated with the name Judas. And there’s a reason – Judas is known as the betrayer. The Apostle John quotes Jesus calling him “the son of destruction” in John 17:12 and Paul uses the same exact phrase to describe Satan in 1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 . 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-cal...

Matthew 26:6-13 6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” As the end of life draws near it is natural to want to spend that precious remaining time with your beloved friends and family. Last weekend my father-in-law was placed into Hosp...

Matthew 26:1-5 1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” The drama of Jesus’ Passion is now about to play out for us to see. Because Matthew writes by the power of the Holy Spirit we are allowed to know what is going on with Jesus and with the His enemies. The plots that go on behind closed doors are revealed to us the readers. The Pharisees are done with talking to Jesus. They have turned their attentions toward killing Him, ridding themselves finally of the problems that this Messiah brought into their lives. They were not going to allow th...