Countdown to Ressurection Day #18

"When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem."

The answer of the whole New Testament is this: the surprise about Jesus the Messiah is that he came to live a life of sacrificial, dying service before he comes a second time to reign in glory. And the surprise about discipleship is that it demands a life of sacrificial, dying service before we can reign with Christ in glory.

Jesus' journey to Jerusalem is our journey, and if he set his face to go there and die, we must set our face to die with him.

One might be tempted to reason in just the opposite way: that since Jesus suffered so much and died in our place, therefore, we are free to go straight to the head of the class, as it were, and skip all the exams. He suffered so we could have could have comfort...He bore abuse so we could be esteemed. He gave up the treasures of heaven so we could lay up treasures on earth...But this is NOT Biblical reasoning. It goes against the plain teaching in this very context.

Luke 9:23-24 reads: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

When Jesus set his face to walk the Calvary road, he was not merely taking our place; he was setting our pattern. If we seek to secure our life through returning evil for evil or surrounding ourselves with luxury in the face of human need, we will lose our life. We can save our life only if we follow Christ on the Calvary road.

Adapted from "He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem," sermon by John Piper, Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Countdown to Resurrection Day: #20

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:2-3

When tribulation and sickness assail you, think how slight these are compared to the thorns and the nails of Christ. If you are thwarted, remember how he was bound and dragged. If pride besets you, see how the Lord was mocked and with robbers despised. If unchastity incites your flesh, recall how his flesh was scourged, pierced, and smitten. If hate, envy, and vengeance tempt you, think how Christ for you and all his enemies interceded with tears, though he might rather have avenged himself. If you are afflicted and cannon have your way, take heart and say, "Why should I not suffer when my Lord sweat blood for very anguish?"

Astounding it is that the cross of Christ has so fallen into forgetfulness...you must personally experience suffering with Christ. He suffered for your sake, and should you not suffer for his sake, as well as your own?

True Contemplation of the Cross
Martin Luther

Praise God for Changed Lives!

I read this post today from a sweet friend I met at the Georgia Baptist Ministers' Wives retreat in January. I HAD NO IDEA!!! I had to post this today as I was sitting in shock watching the short testimony of Norma McCorvey..."Jane Roe" from Roe vs. Wade. What amazing things God can do in lives! Bless His Name today as you watch this truly miraculous video!

St. Patrick's Day

Today people all over will be wearing green and looking for pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. But, who was St. Patrick and how did this holiday actually start? I was doing some research and found this article from the History.com. It really sheds some wonderful light on the man behind the holiday. I thought I would include some of the information I found interesting:

Who Was St. Patrick?

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Taken Prisoner By Irish Raiders

It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate.

They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

Guided By Visions

After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.
To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish.

Bonfires and Crosses

Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. Although there were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth.

So, there is the story of the man behind the holiday filled with green clothing, pots of gold, leprechauns, and parades! I hope you enjoy your St. Patrick's day today!

Luke 2:44-45

"Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Today, I am finally back into some sort of routine! I was able to get up at my normal (too crazy early to mention) time and be with my Father for a nice long chat over His Word. Well, I must say that Simeon could have been talking right to me this morning!

This morning Jesus, through His Word, revealed the thoughts of my heart and pierced my soul with His Sword. He revealed areas of laziness over the past 2 weeks while I have been wildly off schedule. His Word revealed thoughts of my heart that were purely selfish and seeking comfort over obedience. He pierced my soul with words from Psalm 39: 4-7...and I want to share those with you:

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man's life is but a breath. Selah
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
"But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.

Lord knows I have been bustling about these past days but many times only in vain. I prayed with a pierced heart and revealed heart...Lord, let me know my life is fleeting! Help me to be a part of Your kind of worship! May my life not be a bunch of bustling about in vain!

Over the next few days I will also be sharing about the kind of worship and religion that God's Word tells us He finds worthy. I pray that today your heart's thoughts will be revealed through God's Word and that your soul will be pierced as mine was today. May God's Word continue to change us into the image of His Son...Jesus!

Luke 1:69-72

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant.

I'm not back 100% yet, but I missed sharing with you each day from the Word! Today as I meditated on this passage again (I am a little further along since I haven't been writing) it continues to comfort me that God remembers His Word. He knows each thing He has promised and said in His Word. Zechariah could rejoice in the coming fulfilment of Jesus as the Messiah, because he knew the promises of God.

Look in the parentheses...it says LONG AGO! It had been a VERY long time since the words of the prophets had spoken about Jesus, but Zechariah knew that God would not forget His Words!

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. " Romans 5:6

I love that God is always right on time! He's not always on MY time...but looking at the history of my own life and timing...THANK GOODNESS! Because God sees all of time, He knows when "just the right time" came for Christ to die for us. What a great God we serve!

What things in your life are you having trouble trusting the timing of God's answers? Have you given up thinking that God will answer? Do you feel discouraged that God isn't answering in your timing?

Try to memorize Romans 5:6, because God knew just the RIGHT time for Christ to die for our sins...and we can be sure His timing for everything else is right on time too. Surrender your timing today and allow Him to guide your calendar, day timer, schedule, to do list, and your life today. He keeps His Word to us in HIS time...let's trust that today and allow Him to be the guide.

The Flu...

Well, I wanted to let you know why I haven't posted in while...it's because my girls and I have the flu! We went to the doctors yesterday and were tested and found out the we were very positive for type A flu. The flu vaccines did not immunize against type A this year...so it's all over the place. I have NEVER had the flu in my life! I have to say that it is NOT fun.

What has been worse, is the fact that I am sick right along with the girls. We have been in our king size bed for 3 days now and I am praying today will be a better day. So, I haven't been writing lately due to a high fever, crazy cough, and overall feeling like death!

So, I pray that I will be back to the devotions this week sometime, but until then keep us in your prayers! We have the meds to slow the replication of the virus and thus help us to get better faster...if they work. Since the vaccine was wrong this year, the tamiflu that was made to stop the replication is only about 50% effective. I just pray that the girls feel better soon! They are so pitiful.

Thanks for your prayers for our family and I'll post soon!