Daily Devotional for April 18, 2014

Matthew 27:27-29; 31-40; 45-56

The governor’s soldiers led Jesus into the fortress and brought together the rest of the troops.  They stripped off Jesus' clothes and put a scarlet robe on him.  They made a crown out of thorn branches and placed it on his head, and they put a stick in his right hand. The soldiers knelt down and pretended to worship him. They made fun of him and shouted, “Hey, you king of the Jews!”  Then they spit on him. They took the stick from him and beat him on the head with it.

 

When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross.  On the way they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.
They came to a place named Golgotha, which means “Place of a Skull.” There they gave Jesus some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain. But when Jesus tasted what it was, he refused to drink it.

 

The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes.  Then they sat down to guard him.  Above his head they put a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.

 

People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and shouted, “So you’re the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days! If you are God’s Son, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

 

At noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until three o’clock. Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”  Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” One of them at once ran and grabbed a sponge. He soaked it in wine, then put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus.  Others said, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.” Once again Jesus shouted, and then he died.

 

At once the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart.  Graves opened, and many of God’s people were raised to life. Then after Jesus had risen to life, they came out of their graves and went into the holy city, where they were seen by many people. The officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus felt the earthquake and saw everything else that happened. They were frightened and said, “This man really was God’s Son!”

 

Many women had come with Jesus from Galilee to be of help to him, and they were there, looking on at a distance.  Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were some of these women.

 

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

 

I just watched a video of a kindergarten program in which the daughter of one of MY kindergarten students portrayed a “cloud”.  It was adorable, and amazingly, all of the “raindrops”, “clouds”, and other characters performed well.  No one had a meltdown or left the stage…and the children even sang on key for the most part in front of a packed house!

 

I’ve been to dance recitals and other events where one or more of the participants did not fare so well.  Children screamed and cried…teenagers and adults forgot their lines or “froze” on stage, as the crowd looked on…sometimes sympathetically, and other times with laughs, heckling, or ridicule.  Recently, someone even threw a shoe at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she gave a public speech!

 

I also heard lately that the reason public executions were outlawed in America is because they drew large crowds that were difficult to manage.  Apparently, we humans are natural-born gawkers…for anything and everything.  And sadly, sometimes the gorier the event, the better - in the eyes of many!

 

So it should come as no surprise that a crowd gathered to see Jesus persecuted and crucified… to witness His public humiliation and mutilation…to mock Him, taunt Him, and yes – to spit on Him.  In He Chose the Nails, pastor-author Max Lucado writes about how spitting on someone doesn’t physically hurt them… it is purely an act to “degrade the soul”.  And many apparently felt the need to degrade Jesus that day.

 

Imagine how it must have felt to be stripped and beaten before the masses, including your mother and your closest friends and family members – both male and female.  Imagine having to watch their anguish as you suffered.  It wasn’t bad enough to be flogged and tortured…some felt the need to try to trick Him with “water” that was a mix of wine and vinegar.  Imagine how that liquid must have stung as it touched Jesus’ open wounds.  I encourage you to read the account of the crucifixion in all four Gospels…Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19.  One of these reports indicates that the soldiers broke the legs of the criminals on either side to hasten their death.  But when they came to Jesus, He appeared to have already died…so they left his legs intact.  But they pierced his side with a spear and caused the blood and water to pour out of him. And I’m sure many in the crowd cheered at this sight.

 

All of this decimated our LORD’s body…and degraded His soul.  And those who taunted Him and suggested that He climb down and save Himself were right about one thing...Jesus could have chosen to do exactly that!  But He stayed… He suffered…He endured.  Because your name…and mine…and the names of millions of others were on His tongue and etched into His heart.  He loves us so much that He could not succumb to the devil’s final attempt to entice Him.

 

In the darkness of that horrific day…in the brutality and loneliness of this revolting, gruesome, ghastly, incomprehensibly inhuman abuse…Jesus stayed on that cross…for me…and for you.  No One else could have done what He did.  No One else will ever love you this much.  What have you done for Him lately?

 

©2014 Debbie Robus

 

http://www.amazon.com/He-Chose-The-Nails-Heart/dp/0849916550/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1397784343&sr=8-1

Daily Devotional for April 17, 2014

Matthew 26:36-48
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. When they got there, he told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Jesus took along Peter and the two brothers, James and John. He was very sad and troubled, and he said to them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”

Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup.  But do what you want, and not what I want.”

He came back and found his disciples sleeping. So he said to Peter, “Can’t any of you stay awake with me for just one hour? Stay awake and pray that you won’t be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak.”

Again Jesus went to pray and said, “My Father, if there is no other way, and I must suffer, I will still do what you want.”

Jesus came back and found them sleeping again. They simply could not keep their eyes open. He left them and prayed the same prayer once more.

Finally, Jesus returned to his disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners. Get up! Let’s go. The one who will betray me is already here.”

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

When I read this passage today about the disciples falling asleep in the garden, I totally got it. I’m terrible about falling asleep while watching television or a movie…especially after a big meal. Greg says he thinks it is funny…but it’s embarrassing to me that I cannot stay awake.  I suppose I see it as a sign of weakness.

But I also understood how Jesus felt.  It used to be a running game in my family to guess who would fall asleep the fastest after a big dinner…and I have several pictures of relatives “laid out” in recliners and sleeping on couches as evidence that we are pretty good at this!  I understand that feeling of looking around in a group and realizing that virtually everyone else is asleep.  It’s not the end of the world…but it IS something of an odd feeling - a sense of loneliness, and sometimes even a perception of insignificance or unimportance to those who could not stay awake in your company!

There were a lot of disappointments for Jesus on “Maundy Thursday”.  The word “Maundy” is thought to derive from the Latin word “mandatum”…as in “A new commandment I give to you...” -the “mandate” spoken by Jesus that we are to love one another.  Others think it comes from the English word “maund”, which is a derivative of the Latin word “mendicare” or the French word “mendier”...meaning “to beg”.  Jesus did plead with His disciples to stay awake.  He pled with God to take the cup of torture and crucifixion from Him.  And when He realized that the disciples could not even stay awake and pray with Him - knowing how anguished and concerned He was - He must have felt terribly sad and lonely.  Worse yet, when Jesus realized that God was not going to remove this suffering - that He would indeed have to endure the cross - He had to have experienced incredible despair.

So as we think about “Maundy Thursday” and Jesus’ journey to the cross, let’s stay awake and alert.  Let’s join together in prayer today and ask God to give us the strength and courage we need for whatever He has in store for us.  More importantly, let’s ask God to protect us from the devil’s temptations…to give us the fortitude to resist the persuasion to deny Jesus and conform to the world’s ways…to take the easy way out.  Let’s thank God for the indescribable sacrifice of Jesus…and for the assurance that He has never left us for even one minute.

Take some time today to consider the significance of the Last Supper, as well.  Recognize the significance of Jesus’ words…“This is my body…this is my blood.”  When you eat the bread of Holy Communion, think about Jesus’ body – beaten, brutalized and mutilated…for YOU.  Remember that this tiny bite of bread signifies your sins…taken from you by Jesus.  His flesh was broken and demolished so that we could be whole and complete…perfectly without blemish before God.

The juice or wine in which you dip your bread – or drink from a cup – signifies Jesus’ blood pouring out and literally washing away every one of your sins.  By His grace, we will never know that level of suffering…because of His amazing love, we never have to face such indignation. Because of the cross, we don’t ever have to face the darkness of hell.

At times, it may seem like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders…that your body has been bruised and battered – even mutilated…that your friends or loved ones have “fallen asleep”, denied your existence, or literally betrayed you in some manner.  You may even feel like God has turned His back on you.  When these feelings arise, think of the cross.  Think of “the bread and the cup” and what they represent.  Remind yourself how much Jesus loves you…how much He sacrificed and took upon Himself – for YOU.  Hear His plea to stay awake… to stick by Him.  It’s the least we can do for the One who did EVERYTHING for us.

We’re getting closer to "Black Friday"…and these are dark, desperate days.  But hang on…Easter is coming!  It is important to remember how we get there, for today.  But rest assured that this is not the end of the “story” – it’s only the beginning.  May you feel Jesus’ presence – and His amazing love on this day…and may you stay awake and alert as our journey takes us even nearer to the cross.

©2014 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for April 16, 2014

Isaiah 53
Has anyone believed us
or seen the mighty power
    of the Lord in action?
2 Like a young plant or a root
    that sprouts in dry ground,
the servant grew up
    obeying the Lord.
He wasn’t some handsome king.
Nothing about the way he looked
    made him attractive to us.
3 He was hated and rejected;
his life was filled with sorrow
    and terrible suffering.
No one wanted to look at him.
We despised him and said,
    “He is a nobody!”
4 He suffered and endured
    great pain for us,
but we thought his suffering
    was punishment from God.
5 He was wounded and crushed
    because of our sins;
by taking our punishment,
    he made us completely well.
6 All of us were like sheep
    that had wandered off.
We had each gone our own way,
but the Lord gave him
    the punishment we deserved.
7 He was painfully abused,
    but he did not complain.
He was silent like a lamb
    being led to the butcher,
as quiet as a sheep
    having its wool cut off.
8 He was condemned to death
    without a fair trial.
Who could have imagined
    what would happen to him?
His life was taken away
because of the sinful things
    my people had done.
9 He wasn’t dishonest or violent,
but he was buried in a tomb
    of cruel and rich people.
10 The Lord decided his servant
    would suffer as a sacrifice
to take away the sin
    and guilt of others.
Now the servant will live
    to see his own descendants.
He did everything
    the Lord had planned.
11 By suffering, the servant
will learn the true meaning
    of obeying the Lord.
Although he is innocent,
he will take the punishment
    for the sins of others,
so that many of them
    will no longer be guilty.
12 The Lord will reward him
with honor and power
    for sacrificing his life.
Others thought he was a sinner,
but he suffered for our sins
    and asked God to forgive us.
 
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
 
A post appeared on Facebook with a link to a story about a company who set up online job interviews for the “World’s Toughest Job”.  The “interviewers” spoke via the Internet with dozens of applicants.  Some of the criteria for the job included: working up to 135 hours per week (at least one person was told, “Basically, this is a 24/7 position.)…no scheduled breaks…you must be able to stand most of the time, bend and stretch – and lift approximately 75 pounds…a psychology degree was preferred, but a pleasant disposition and the ability to solve problems and act as a mediator were a necessity.  You had to be able to work in a chaotic environment…possess a valid driver’s license and be able to drive a mini-van…and be proficient in coordinating schedules, multi-tasking, and handling surprises.
 
Applicants had to have a good grasp of finance…and medicine.  At least one candidate was told, “It would be nice if you had degrees in medicine, finance, culinary arts, and psychology.” Most importantly…there was NO PAY for this position!  The majority of the applicants folded pretty quickly.  But a few asked questions and stuck around to hear more.  At the end of the “interview”, the applicant was told that there really was no job vacancy. I’m sure some of you have already guessed that this was the position of being a mom…and the interviewers suggested to each applicant that he/she might want to give Mom a call and thank her!
 
There are conflicting views about who is referenced in Isaiah 53, but I believe that this is a prophecy of Jesus and His crucifixion.  Scriptures in the Gospels that reference this passage seem to confirm this.  And as I read the verses and thought of Jesus, I thought of this mock interview by comparison.  What if these were among the criteria on the interview:
 

• You must appear simple and ordinary…no flashy clothes or jewelry…you cannot drive a nice car or live in a fancy home.
• You must walk everywhere (and there is a lot of walking!)…or occasionally ride a donkey.
• You must be willing to share meals and lodging with perfect strangers…even the poor, prostitutes, drunkards and lepers.
• You must be able to accept ridicule and persecution without flinching.
• You must heal the sick, raise the dead to new life, and feed the masses…even when there is no food available.
• You must resolve conflicts without violence or showing your temper.
• You must be able to endure physical, mental and emotional abuse of the most wretched kind.
• You must be willing to be beaten to a pulp, flogged in public, crowned with thorns, stripped naked and nailed to a cross.
• You must be able to carry a wooden cross weighing between 80 and 110 pounds for about 1/3 of a mile – after you have been beaten and mutilated.
• You must be willing to take the blame for the sins of the world at large, even though you are totally innocent.
• You must be willing to be put to death for any and all accusations…even though every one of them will be false.
• You must remain loving, compassionate, merciful and forgiving of all who have mistreated or betrayed you…and you must encourage others to do the same.
• You must do everything your boss (our Heavenly Father) tells you…without question.

 
Who among us could handle these criteria?  We might make it past the first two…maybe even the third and fourth items.  But it wouldn’t take long for us to fall by the wayside.  We are not up to this!  In the “mock interview”, the person in charge told those who applied that millions of people were already doing the “World’s Toughest Job”.  But I can assure you, not even a dozen people would line up to try to fill Jesus’ shoes!  And any who say they could are liars…or delusional…or both!
 
None of us could ever for even one minute consider coming close to Jesus.  And yet, everything He did was for us. Every supernatural act of stamina, love, mercy, grace, compassion, forgiveness, endurance, tolerance, healing, and nurture was for you…and for me…and for everyone else.  As we inch closer to the cross, think of all that Jesus did for you…all that He DOES for you each and every day.  Because you see, Jesus is still with you.  He left His Holy Spirit to be your companion and comforter.  Some of us don’t recognize the Holy Spirit, but He is available...He desires to help you with every single aspect of your life.
 
Yes, Mom’s have one of the world’s toughest jobs.  But Jesus holds the title of World’s Only Savior.  He is the only One who could have done such things.  He is the only One who will ever love us to this extent.  It turns out that the whole gimmick with the “World’s Toughest Job” was created by a card company… http://cardstore.com.  Mother’s Day is coming, and this was a fairly effective way to get people thinking about their moms!  Several in the video publicly thanked their mothers, while others said they were going to call “Mom” right away.
 
What will it take to get you to think about Jesus and the cross?  Will this criteria and scripture passage be enough to make you think of Him and the sacrifices He made on your behalf?  Will it be sufficient to make you fall to your knees and thank Him…to ask, “What can I do for YOU in return?”  Don’t you think it should?  Jesus was the ONLY One who could have done what He did.  Now what will you do for Him?
 
©2014 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for April 15, 2014

Matthew 16:21-28
Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!”
 
But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”
 
Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
 
“Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift. This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you standing here are going to see it take place, see the Son of Man in kingdom glory.”
 
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.
 
Two months ago, a high school sophomore in our community named Cody was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  He subsequently underwent surgery to remove the tumor, and for days and weeks afterward, things looked very bleak.  His mother reflected on this journey in a post on Facebook:

I vowed that in this, the second greatest storm of my life, I would not make the same mistake as the first...I would not turn away from our Creator. This time, I would stand…no matter where this road took us. I am now in total understanding that the Holy Spirit was responsible for that firm resolution. He knew [that] Cody would die without it, so a measure of faith was poured out to me.
 
Through some of the darkest days when I couldn't see, all I could do was pray and post. I'd scroll through your responses, and in them I would find strength. People who didn't have to came up beside me and walked with me. Together, we watched as my son walked through the valley of Death, as doctors gave us severe news after severe news…as nurses looked at me with empathy that would make me cringe, because I'd given those looks to patient families when my medical brain knew their future. As I leaned over my very intubated, very much unstable child, I recited "strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord."

 “You have no idea how God works.” As we move one day closer to Good Friday, the day when we remember Jesus’ suffering on the cross for the sins of the world, we don’t understand what is happening.  We are like Peter…we want Jesus to hold up His hands and say, “Whoa, wait a minute!  This isn’t happening!”  But we don’t understand that this is yet one more temptation by the devil.  If Satan can get us to doubt…if he can persuade us to cry out to God and tell Him that “I give in…this is too much to manage!”…he has won – and we have handed him the victory.
 
Don’t misunderstand me…there is no shame in calling on God for help and/or deliverance.  God WANTS us to petition Him for these things.  But He also wants us to trust His answers…to operate in the confidence that He will carry us through even the “valley of Death”.  God wants us to understand that suffering for Him builds strength and character…and demonstrates our commitment to serving as a disciple of Christ.  God doesn’t relish our suffering.  It anguishes Him just as surely as He was tormented over the atrocities that befell Jesus on Calvary.
 
Cody is due to be released from the hospital very soon.  He has lost his hearing…for now.  His mother says the damage is at the brain stem, and they are waiting – and hoping – for “the good LORD to reconnect and re-fire neurons.” She explains that the issue is in processing sound within the brain itself. In the meantime they are learning basic sign language and lip reading.  Cody’s mother also noted that “What a horrible, terrifying, beautiful ride it has been and continues to be. He grows stronger every, EVERY day. We have [seen]... YOU have seen the hand of God.”
 
Are you allowing God to work in and through your “sufferings”?  Have you truly seen His hand at work in your life and in the lives of others?  What could you ever trade your soul for?  Are you willing to follow Jesus to the cross and embrace His suffering on your behalf?  Are you ready to follow Him and find your true self?  Will Holy Week be just another holiday to you… or will this be the year that you “embrace the suffering of Jesus” and claim your seat at His table? Will you be one who sees the Son of Man in kingdom glory?
 
©2014 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for April 14, 2014

John 12:23-28
Jesus said: The time has come for the Son of Man to be given his glory. I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat.  If you love your life, you will lose it. If you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life.  If you serve me, you must go with me. My servants will be with me wherever I am. If you serve me, my Father will honor you.
 
Now I am deeply troubled, and I don’t know what to say. But I must not ask my Father to keep me from this time of suffering. In fact, I came into the world to suffer. So Father, bring glory to yourself.
 
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
 
One of my all-time favorite hymns is “All Glory Laud and Honor”. When our congregation sang this as our “first hymn” on Palm Sunday, I was filled with joy.  The little children of our church paraded up and down the aisles waving palm fronds as we sang,

“All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.” 

This was a moment filled with reverence, jubilation, and mixed emotions.  We all know how the “Holy Week story” ends…but we also know what had to happen to get to Easter Sunday.  We celebrate Jesus as our Redeemer King… we sing sweet hosannas…but we know what’s coming.  They don’t call it “The Sunday of Passion” for nothing!
 
As our pastor reminded us that the same people who heralded Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday - and celebrated Him as their King - were the same ones who just a few days later cried out for His crucifixion.  He also noted that you cannot get from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday without considering the cross.
 
So we will consider the cross for a few days.  We will look at Jesus…God’s Son in human form who knew every single lash of the whip that would befall Him.  He knew every person who would betray or deny Him…every agonizing thrust of the hammer as steel spikes were driven into His hands and feet.  He knew each second of agony that lay ahead of Him…and He openly admitted that He was “deeply troubled”.  Who wouldn’t be?  Who among us could bear this?  If someone described this suffering to you today and told you that this was in store for you this week, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to prevent it?  Wouldn’t you beg, plead and bargain with God…promise ANYTHING to avoid such torture?
 
Now let me ask you this…suppose you could save your child by sacrificing your life in this manner. What if it boiled down to you…or that child?  What if your agony and brutalization could save countless generations and offer them Eternal Life?  Many of us would say, “Sure…for this reason, we would do it!”  But if we are honest, I bet when the beatings started…when our backs were torn open and our heads were pierced with a crown of thorns…when we were handed an incredibly heavy wooden cross and told to carry it up a steep hill after our body had been mutilated…we would say, “Hold on…I can’t do this.”  A few of us might even make it to Calvary.  But when the spikes were placed on our wrists…when someone pulled our feet together, held a metal spear above them and raised the hammer, we would surely say, “Wait!  Stop!”
 
If we possessed the supernatural powers of Jesus, surely we would command these people to halt such atrocities…to loosen the ropes, put away the whips and spears, remove our naked body from the cross and cover us in soft robes. But we’re not Jesus.  We do not have His capacity for love and perseverance.  We want to spend Eternity with Him…but few among us would be willing to suffer even a small portion of what He endured - regardless of the purpose.  We want the happy, joy-filled, palm-frond-saluted Jesus who rode into Jerusalem to the applause and cheers of an adoring crowd.  We do not want to consider the mutilated Savior who hung from a cross.  But we must.
 
Somewhere in between the palm fronds and the Easter bunny, chocolate eggs and new outfits, we must stop to remember what happened in the days from that joy-filled Sunday to Resurrection Day.  If we focus only on the “pretty” parts…we miss the message.  Jesus came into the world to suffer…for you, for me – for all who would believe in Him.  Don’t rush this Holy week!  Study every facet…the good, bad and the ugly.  Before we can celebrate the resurrection, we must consider the cross.

Father, today we thank You for Jesus.  We thank You for loving us in our sinful, unlovable state…loving us enough to be willing to suffer at the hands of mere mortals who did not know You – did not understand Your love, grace, mercy, compassion and forgiveness.  They did not understand about Eternal Life…and most certainly they could not comprehend the love of one Man for all mankind.  Help us to focus on the cross this week…to remind ourselves just how profoundly Jesus loves each one of us.  Make us uncomfortable as we ponder His suffering on our behalf.  Humble us as we reflect on His passion and steadfast devotion.  Forgive us for our weaknesses…and our ungratefulness.  Make this a week when we renew our commitment…a time when we consider the cross and fully embrace Christ’s amazing love for each of us.  Amen.

©2014 Debbie Robus