LENT 2020 Day 39 “Amazed or Afraid?”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2031:9-16;%20Lamentations%203:55-66;%20Mark%2010:32-34

Mark 10:32-34  (NIV)

³² They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ³³ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

Amazed or Afraid

Walking into unknown territory can be overwhelming. There are some days and weeks when we have reasonable assurance that we will need the fullness of our awareness to successfully navigate the path. When the odds we face are unfavorable and there are no guarantees we live through it we must choose a response. Very much like soldiers going into a battle knowing the opponent has a larger army, more weapons, and maybe even more skilled warriors, the soldier has to choose. Will I walk in fear of a fatal outcome or active anticipation of deliverance. Will we be amazed and actively seek the presence of YHWH or will we be afraid?

Our text from Mark’s gospel is drawn from Jesus’ declaration to the disciples and others following him that the week ahead was going to be rough. Jesus is preparing the disciples for his betrayal, condemnation, and death. That is as you can imagine hard to hear. It’s hard to know that someone you love may have to suffer. It is troubling to hear someone who you have seen do miracles and a multitude of marvelous deeds say I am about to go through the crucible of the crucifixion and there’s nothing YOU can do. Even worse is this devastating outcome is going to be led by his own people. It will be the chief priests and teachers of the law. The people who should know better will not behave better. How disappointing. Yet this is not all that’s in the text. Jesus does not just prepare them for the disaster he also prepares them for the delight. Jesus says its gonna be rough and then its gonna be better. Jesus speaks of the third day. Jesus says I will be down but I will not be out. I will be betrayed but I will not betray. I will be hated on but I will not hate. I will be condemned but I will rise above it. Three days later I’ll rise. There is pain ahead but in the end, we win.

This is the last day of Lent and tomorrow begins Passion week. We have walked daily and I will write through Holy Week ahead. I realize there are challenging days ahead and I also remind you, they will not last forever. It may get rough and loved ones may die, still to be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD. Be encouraged, Death could not hold Jesus down, he is the Risen King.

Point to Ponder: The days ahead may be filled with uncertainty. Will you be amazed and look for life in the midst of death or will you be afraid? The scientist say for some places the coronavirus will surge ahead this week and many lives will be lost. Can YOU see YHWH in our midst? Be alert.

Maundy Thursday 2019 “Love In Action”

 

 

 

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

What do you like most about your feet? If you are like many people, the least favorite part of their body is their feet. In some ways it stands to reason. (no pun intended). We walk on them all day everyday. We often enclose them in shoes, and generally unless they are causing a problem, we neglect them. This modern perception is also an ancient one. We find even in this Biblical text a sense of how body perception can drive behavior. Maundy Thursday and the history of foot washing established by Jesus tells us a lot about our roles as followers of Jesus. We never stand so high as when we stoop so low as to wash anothers feet.

In our text we find Jesus, sensing the magnitude of the life he has been called to live. It’s a couple days after his “flash mob” parade into Jerusalem, and a day or so before his public execution. A lot is weighing heavy in his spirit. One thing we see about Jesus is although his life is in the balance, he never stops teaching. Jesus is the ultimate example of how to live until you die. Instead of running and hiding, or over indulging in creature comforts, Jesus in our text is found on his knees, washing the feet of his disciples. That almost doesn’t sound right. The Master, the Lion of Judah, the Prince of Peace, the Son of GOD, on his knees, washing the feet of a group of followers whose faith wobbled, and actions were erratic to say the least. Not only that but Jesus washes the feet of the very man who will betray him in less than a day, and of another who will deny even knowing him. I don’t know about you, but that blows my mind. I can think of the times I have to challenge myself not to think of myself as other. When I say that I mean there are times it takes work to find the connection between myself and the people who are least like me. I can assure you, kneeling and washing the feet of someone I couldn’t trust would be the last thing on my mind. And that why I love Jesus so. Jesus is showing me that no matter how high I fly I am never better than anybody. Jesus is showing me that if I have been blessed abundantly it is to share and not to show off. Jesus by kneeling helps me to stand up to the worst parts of myself and become a better person.

Now Jesus stooping to bless did not thrill everybody. In fact Simon Peter said, “You shall never wash my feet”. I like Peter. Still Jesus’ response to Peter gives us our marching orders. Jesus says, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Wow! Jesus does not take the easy way out. I might have said, shoot I didn’t want to wash your stinky feet anyway. You’ve been walking through the unpaved roads of the country side, stepping on GOD knows what, with open toed sandals and no socks, Yeah Pete you can have your stink feet. But Jesus, responds in a way that reminds every believer, you are never too good to serve. Secondly our service is not based on the merit of the people we are serving. Peter was on the verge of denying Jesus and yet Jesus washes his feet. Love is an action word. Love is a verb.

Point to Ponder: Today on Maundy Thursday I encourage you to bless somebody. Leave and extra tip. Ask the question of a stranger, “How may I bless you today?” You might get stared at, but you will never know the impact it could have. If that is too daring, offer to wash the feet of a family member, or even to wash their hands for them. The main point is humble yourself and serve. #livebig #maundythursday

Palm Sunday 2019 “Needed By Jesus”

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29        John 12:12-16      Luke 19:28-40          Matthew 21:1-17
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+21%3A1-17&version=NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+118%3A1-2%2C+19-29%2C+John+12%3A12-16%2C+Luke+19%3A28-40&version=NIV

Its Palm Sunday. We have arrived at the end of our 40 Days of Lenten Devotions. I am grateful for all who have followed or read these devotions over the last 40 days. I will continue to post up to Resurrection Sunday and then as the spirit leads.

Have you ever recognized the gap between where you are and where you want to be? Have you examined yourself honestly and recognized your blemishes and flaws. IN short have you ever in the presence of GOD felt, awkward, unworthy, even ugly? After forty days of reflecting and drawing closer to GOD, repenting of my past wrongs, I now see how much further I have to go. Whenever we draw closer to the light, we are able to see more details. We have a tendency to only see the gaps but miss the glimpses of grace and glory. What I am driving at is even though we may not yet be all we can be, after forty days of discipline we are better than we would have been. The triumphal entry of Jesus on a donkey is an example of how GOD can use the ordinary to fulfill an extraordinary purpose.

In our text we have the Master preparing to enter Jerusalem for what would be the last time. He prepares by asking two disciples to run ahead and get a donkey and a colt to ride on. There is no indication that Jesus was anticipating the crowds gathering yet they did. As Jesus rides in on the donkey, a beast of burden, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan in THE LAST WEEK, indicate there was another procession on the other side of town. The sense is Pilate was also arriving around the same time. The contrast between these two arrivals is stark. Pilate would have arrived with military guards on Stallions with pomp and circumstance and the show of power and authority was intentional, for all to see. On the other side of town, arriving through an olive grove on what would have been a side street, Jesus arrives, with a crowd that seems to gather and they start a commotion, shouting Hosanna. Now Hosanna literally means save us. As we say Hosanna today we will be saying save us. The question is, save us from what? From the oppression of external pressures? From sexism, racism, ageism, or any other ism? Or save us from what we have learned about ourselves over the last 40 days. How we can be cranky or prone to acting out on our worst desires? What are we asking to be saved from and saved to?

As Jesus arrives a few things come to my mind. First he chooses a donkey. Donkeys are low to the ground, they are generally, beasts of burden, and rarely have you ever heard that’s a fine looking donkey you have there. They may resemble horses but they aren’t admired of adored like horses. I believe Jesus chooses to enter like this and even say the LORD has need of the donkey to remind us, no matter how scarred we may be, no matter how ignored we may be, no matter what our past may be, The LORD still has need of us. GOD can use us no matter what we look like. GOD can use us despite the gaps in our life or the gaps in our teeth. The LORD has need of you.

Today and as we continue into this Holy Week, be encouraged. GOD can use you to do a mighty work for the kingdom. The challenge is for us not to simply get caught up in crowd celebrations because as we follow the story throughout the week, crowds can be fickle. One moment they cheer and the next they jeer. One moment they can say Hosanna and the next they say hang him up and kill him. Beyond the crowd check the core of your heart. Save us from us and from others. Live In Victory Everyday, Believing In GOD. LIVEBIG.

PRAYER: LORD you have revealed yourself in so many ways. Unfortunately our vision has been obscured and we have not noticed you. Open our eyes that we may see your royalty on a donkey. Guide our footsteps on the pathways that our praises are sincere and we resist the pull of the crowd.  Grant us courage and compassion. AMEN

Point To Ponder: How many times have we missed the presence of GOD in our midst because he didn’t meet our expectations? How will you look in the unfamiliar places for the faces of Yeshua in our midst?

Ash Wednesday 2019

Day 1

Today begins the Holy Season of Lent. Many will choose to “give up” something. I invite you to look beyond simply giving up something and focus on adding the capacity to maximize your spiritual gifts and Live In Victory Every Day.  Make room for something life-changing.

Today’s scripture is Psalm 51

Psalm 51^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is^[b] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

 

In this text, the writer David expresses deep sorrow for his past transgressions. I am reminded of my car this Midwest winter. After all the salt has been poured to clear the roadways, my car has taken a beating. It has accumulated a layer of dirt and grime. Underneath the dirt, the shine remains, but what people see is the dirt. So it is with sin. We can still be moving and living life but sin leaves a film on us. The world begins to see all the dirt. David recognizes he needs cleansing.

The season of Lent is like a car wash. Many of us live through the year and have accumulated some dirt. Lent gives us an opportunity to go through a cleansing process so the shine within can come out. Join me on this journey of consecration and in 40 days I pray we will all shine brighter than ever before. Be Blessed

Point to Ponder: How open am I to changes in my life? Am I open to doing a time of consecration that may be uncomfortable? If living your best life requires leaving our comfort zone, am I ready and is it worth it?

Palm Sunday 2018 “You Are Needed”

 

Matthew 21:1-17 (NIV)

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a] ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c] “Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!” ¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” ¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  ¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]” ¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of  David,” they were indignant. ¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[g]?” ¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Its Palm Sunday. Have you ever recognized the gap between where you are and where you want to be? Have you examined yourself honestly and recognized your blemishes and flaws. In short have you ever in the presence of GOD felt, awkward, unworthy, even ugly? After forty days of reflecting and drawing closer to GOD, repenting of my past wrongs, I now see how much further I have to go. Whenever we draw closer to the light, we are able to see more details. We have a tendency to only see the gaps but miss the glimpses of grace and glory. What I am driving at is even though we may not yet be all we can be, after forty days of discipline we are better than we would have been. The triumphal entry of Jesus on a donkey is an example of how GOD can use the ordinary to fulfill an extraordinary purpose.

In our text we have the Master preparing to enter Jerusalem for what would be the last time. He prepares by asking two disciples to run ahead and get a donkey and a colt to ride on. There is no indication that Jesus was anticipating the crowds gathering yet they did. As Jesus rides in on the donkey, a beast of burden, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan in THE LAST WEEK, indicate there was another procession on the other side of town. The sense is Pilate was also arriving around the same time. The contrast between these two arrivals is stark. Pilate would have arrived with military guards on Stallions with pomp and circumstance and the show of power and authority was intentional, for all to see. On the other side of town, arriving through an olive grove on what would have been a side street, Jesus arrives, with a crowd that seems to gather and they start a commotion, shouting Hosanna. Now Hosanna literally means save us. As we say Hosanna today we will be saying save us. The question is, save us from what? From the oppression of external pressures? From sexism, racism, ageism, or any other ism? Or save us from what we have learned about ourselves over the last 40 days. How we can be cranky or prone to acting out on our worst desires? What are we asking to be saved from and saved to?

As Jesus arrives a few things come to my mind. First, he chooses a donkey. Donkeys are low to the ground, they are generally, beasts of burden, and rarely have you ever heard that’s a fine looking donkey you have there. They may resemble horses but they aren’t admired of adored like horses. I believe Jesus chooses to enter like this and even say the LORD has need of the donkey to remind us, no matter how scared we may be, no matter how ignored we may be, no matter what our past may be, The LORD still has need of us. GOD can use us no matter what we look like. GOD can use us despite the gaps in our life or the gaps in our teeth. The LORD has need of you.

Today and as we continue into this Holy Week, be encouraged. GOD can use you to do a mighty work for the kingdom. The challenge is for us not to simply get caught up in crowd celebrations because as we follow the story throughout the week, crowds can be fickle. One moment they cheer and the next they jeer. One moment they can say Hosanna and the next they say hang him up and kill him. Beyond the crowd check the core of your heart. Save us from us and from others. Live In Victory Everyday, Believing In GOD. LIVEBIG.

PRAYER: LORD you have revealed yourself in so many ways. Unfortunately, our vision has been obscured and we have not noticed you. Open our eyes that we may see your royalty on a donkey. Guide our footsteps on the pathways that our praises are sincere and we resist the pull of the crowd.  Grant us courage and compassion. AMEN

Point To Ponder: How many times have we missed the presence of GOD in our midst because he didn’t meet our expectations? How will you look in the unfamiliar places for the faces of Yeshua in our midst?

Lent 2018 Day Twelve Get To Stepping Satan

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.”
17:3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,
17:4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
17:5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
17:15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
17:16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
Psalm 22:23-31
22:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
22:24 For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
22:25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
22:26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever! 22:27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
22:28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
22:29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
22:30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
22:31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

Romans 4:13-25
4:13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
4:14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
4:15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
4:16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
4:17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) –in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
4:18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.”
4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.
4:20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
4:21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
4:22 Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
4:23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone,
4:24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
4:25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Mark 8:31-38
8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
8:32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
8:33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
8:34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
8:35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
8:36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
8:37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
8:38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Mark 9:2-9
9:2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
9:3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.
9:4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
9:5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
9:6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
9:7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
9:8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
9:9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Get To Steppin’ Satan

It is day twelve of Lent and you have been faithful to your task. No cookies, candies, mixed with more study and prayer has you feeling a little more refreshed and revived. Maybe you have had some revelations about how to live better and love GOD better. I am not sure what your expectations were regarding your Lenten journey, but I can be sure a possible detachment from Jesus and GOD was not one of them.

The idea of Jesus suffering and being killed greatly troubled Peter. The Mark 8 text tells how Jesus began to let the disciples and others know that his physical closeness was going to be compromised. Jesus lets them know he will suffer and be rejected and killed. I can imagine Peter, hearing all this and being deeply concerned. His friend, his confidant, his Christ should not ever have to suffer. I am sure Peter was thinking about Jesus, and I am also sure he was thinking about himslef. What will I do without you close by? After all we have been through, how you have enhanced my life seeing strength in me when I was saw weakness, this idea of you suffering is just too much to bear. So Peter takes Jesus aside and shows great zeal and rebukes Jesus. WOW. What a move, rebuking Jesus. One would think this may not end well. Sometimes the best of our intentions gets lost in our executions. Without knowing it Peter has let his emotions cloud his judgement. How many times have we been like Peter. Having an image of GOD and Jesus that is static? How many times have we looked at a situation and wanted to say and do the right thing but something getsin the way?

Jesus looks at Peter and says ” Get to steppin’ Satan, you are focused on the flesh and missing the SPIRIT. Without judging Peter I can relate. Being in the world and not of the world sounds good, but it does not relieve us of the pain, and hurt of this world. Jesus teaches us through this that we could gain the whole world and still lose our soul. All the money in the world won’t buy a clean conscious. What good is cash flow when your soul has no where to go?

Connecting with Jesus in this text is also helpful to us. It lets us know, the power of focus and discernment. When you know what GOD is telling you, you can detect when a foreign voice is speaking. Like Abraham hoping against hope that what he doesn’t see through his eyesight will still come to happen through his insight. Although he is old and his wife is past normal child bearing years, he still believes GOD. Let us also believe GOD. Not only will Jesus suffer, he will also strengthen and spring up new. Jesus will resurrect, yet there can be no resurrection if there is no suffering. Peter could only see and hear part of the story. Jesus saw it all and remained faithful throughout. Like Jesus we must say get to steppin’ satan and he/she will flee.

Points To Ponder: How would you handle being referred to as Satan? What are your expectations from Lent? What have you pursued that may compromise your soul? If GOD reveals GODSELF in an unfamiliar way, would you recognize GOD?

Daily Scripture Readings Lent 2017

March 1 to April 8, 2017

These readings are adapted from The Book of Common Prayer, Daily Readings for Year One.

Date	Psalm	OT	Epistle	Gospel
Wed Mar 1	am: 95, 32, 143 pm: 102, 130	Jon 3:1-4:11	Heb 12:1-14	Luke 18:9-14
Thur Mar 2	am: 37:1-18 pm: 37:19-42	Deut 7:6-11	Titus 1:1-16	John 1:29-34
Fri Mar 3	am: 95, 31 pm: 35	Deut 7:12-16	Titus 2:1-15	John 1:35-42
Sat Mar 4	am: 30, 32 pm: 42, 43	Deut 7:17-26	Titus 3:1-15	John 1:43-51
Sun 1 Mar 5	am: 63, 98 pm: 103	Deut 8:1-10	1 Cor 1:17-31	Mark 2:18-22
Mon Mar 6	am: 41, 52 pm: 44	Deut 8:11-18	Heb 2:11-18	John 2:1-12
Tues Mar 7	am: 45 pm: 47, 48	Deut 9:4-12	Heb 3:1-11	John 2:13-22
Wed Mar 8	am: 119:49-72 pm: 49, 53	Deut 9:13-21	Heb 3:12-19	John 2:23-3:15
Thur Mar 8	am:  50, 59, 60 pm:  19, 46	Deut 9:23-10:5	Heb 4:1-10	John 3:16-21
Fri Mar 10	am: 40, 54 pm: 51	Deut 10:12-22	Heb 4:11-16	John 3:22-36
Sat Mar 11	am: 55 pm: 138, 139	Deut 11:18-28	Heb 5:1-10	John 4:1-26
Sun 2 Mar 12	am: 24, 29 pm: 8, 84	Jere 1:1-10	1 Cor 3:11-23	Mark 3:31-4:9
Mon Mar 13	am: 56, 57, 58 pm: 64, 65	Jere 1:11-19	Rom 1:1-15	John 4:27-42
Tues Mar 14	am: 61, 62 pm: 68	Jere 2:1-13	Rom 1:16-25	John 4:43-54
Wed Mar 15	am: 72 pm: 119:73-96	Jere 3:6-18	Rom 1:28-2:11	John 5:1-18
Thur Mar 16	am: 70, 71 pm: 74	Jere 4:9-10, 19-28	Rom 2:12-24	John 5:19-29
Fri Mar 17	am: 69 pm: 73	Jere 5:1-9	Rom 2:25-3:18	John 5:30-47
Sat Mar 18	am: 75, 76 pm: 23, 27	Jere 5:20-31	Rom 3:19-31	John 7:1-13
Sun 3 Mar 19	am: 93, 96 pm: 34	Jere 6:9-15	1 Cor 6:12-20	Mark 5:1-20
Mon Mar 20	am: 80 pm: 77, 79	Jere 7:1-15	Rom 4:1-12	John 7:14-36
Tue Mar 21	am: 78:1-39 pm: 78:40-72	Jere 7:21-34	Rom 4:13-25	John 7:37-52
Wed Mar 22	am: 119:97-120 pm: 81, 82	Jere 8:18-9:6	Rom 5:1-11	John 8:12-20
Thur Mar 23	am: 42, 43 pm: 85, 86	Jere 10:11-24	Rom 5:12-21	John 8:21-32
Fri Mar 24	am: 88 pm: 91, 92	Jere 11:1-8, 14-20	Rom 6:1-11	John 8:33-47
Sat Mar 25	am: 87, 90 pm: 136	Jere 13:1-11	Rom 6:12-23	John 8:47-59
Sun 4 Mar 26	am: 66, 67 pm: 19, 46	Jere 14:1-9, 17-22	Gal 4:21-5:1	Mark 8:11-21
Mon Mar 27	am: 89:1-18 pm: 89:19-52	Jere 16:10-21	Rom 7:1-12	John 6:1-15
Tue Mar 28	am: 97, 99, 100 pm: 94, 95	Jere 17:19-27	Rom 7:13-25	John 6:16-27
Wed Mar 29	am: 101, 109 pm: 119:121-144	Jere 18:1-11	Rom 8:1-11	John 6:27-40
Thur Mar 30	am: 69 pm: 73	Jere 22:13-23	Rom 8:12-27	John 6:41-51
Fri Mar 31	am: 107:1-32 pm: 107:33-43	Jere 23:1-8	Rom 8:28-39	John 6:52-59
Sat Aor 1	am:  102, 108 pm: 33	Jere 23:9-15	Rom 9:1-18	John 6:60-71
Sun 5 Apr 2	am: 118 pm: 145	Jere 23:16-32	1 Cor 9:19-27	Mark 8:31-9:1
Mon Apr 3	am: 31 pm: 35	Jere 24:1-10	Rom 9:19-33	John 9:1-17
Tues Apr 4	am:121,122,123 pm: 124, 125, 126	Jere 25:8-17	Rom 10:1-13	John 9:18-41
Wed Apr 5	am:119:145-176 pm: 128, 129, 130	Jere 25:30-38	Rom 10:14-21	John 10:1-18
Thur Apr 6	am: 131, 132, 133 pm: 140, 142	Jere 26:1-16	Rom 11:1-12	John 10:19-42
Fri Apr 7	am: 22 pm: 141, 143	Jere 29:1, 4-13	Rom 11:13-24	John 11:1-27 or 12:1-10
Sat Apr 8	am: 137, 144 pm: 42, 43	Jere 31:27-34	Rom 11:25-36	John 11:28-44 or 12:37-50

Good Friday: Finished

Our Scripture today is John 18:1-19:42
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+18%3A1-19%3A42&version=NIV

Reflect on a time when you have done all you could do and you know your work is finished. When you reflect on this time, ask yourself, did you really do all you could do, Or all you had to do? There is a difference. Often times we do just enough to get by. We do just enough to get a job done emphasizing the product more than the process. Jesus, has given it all, and when he says, “It is Finished”, his entire being can be at peace, without wondering could he have done more.

In our text, we see the lengths people will go through to maintain their false sense of power and superiority. We see how humanity can stoop to its darkest level in the presence of its brightest light. In our text we find, betrayal, denial, deception, and depravity. Judas, a disciple and follower of Jesus, for what ever reason, betrays Jesus into the hands of those who sought to harm him. Once Jesus is taken into custody, Peter who is lingering to see how things turned out, denies three times that he too was one of the disciples. We find the Chief Priests, the religious Jewish leaders deceive the Roman government bringing Jesus in on trumped up charges, and finally we see the depravity of humanity in the method of ending another humans life called crucifixion. This all plays out in less than 24 hours. Humans can be cruel, and far too often we shrink in the presence of fear and uncertainty. We often are willing to only go as far as we can see, and when we are up against the unknown, we can allow fear to overtake our faith. Humanity can choose to let a killer go in Barabbas and have an innocent man executed. Barabbas was a known entity, yet the implications of allowing Jesus to continue was far more frightening. If Jesus were to continue, people would no longer be able to be comfortable in their mess. People could no longer deceive without conscious. Liars would be confronted with their lying, and a whole way of being would have to be learned. A way that called humans to love each other unconditionally. A way that changed governments and economies, and legal structures, and religion. A way that highlighted relationship with GOD without having to go through middle men. We humans chose Barabbas. Barabbas makes us feel good about ourselves because we can at least say, “well I am better than him”. But we are not better.

It is finished. I don’t know what you will do today, but one thing i suggest is commit to doing the best you can, all the time, every time. When you do this, like Jesus you will be able to say, “It is Finished” and know you have given your all. #livebig

PRAYER: Divine Creator, today we recognize your extreme sacrifice and expression of love. It is through your pain and shame that we receive eternal gain. Thank you for giving your all. Thank you for choosing to stand up for humanity by laying down your life. May we forever give you the glory and honor you deserve.

Point To Ponder: What will be the legacy you leave? What are you willing to sacrifice to leave it? What did Jeshua save you from and save you to?