Daily Devotional for March 22, 2016

Acts 1:14-22
The apostles often met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind. The women and Mary the mother of Jesus would meet with them, and so would his brothers. One day there were about one hundred twenty of the Lord’s followers meeting together, and Peter stood up to speak to them. He said:

My friends, long ago by the power of the Holy Spirit, David said something about Judas, and what he said has now happened. Judas was one of us and had worked with us, but he brought the mob to arrest Jesus. Then Judas bought some land with the money he was given for doing that evil thing. He fell headfirst into the field. His body burst open, and all his insides came out. When the people of Jerusalem found out about this, they called the place Akeldama, which in the local language means “Field of Blood.”

In the book of Psalms it says, “Leave his house empty, and don’t let anyone live there.”

It also says, “Let someone else have his job.”

So we need someone else to help us tell others that Jesus has been raised from death. He must also be one of the men who was with us from the very beginning. He must have been with us from the time the Lord Jesus was baptized by John until the day he was taken to heaven.

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

There is much about the story of “Holy Week” that is sad and horrific.  But for me, one of the most hopeless parts is the story of Judas Iscariot.  Jesus knew that Judas would betray him…and yet, He washed his feet in the Upper Room alongside the other disciples.  Jesus shared the bread and the cup with Judas.  And Judas took a bribe of 30 silver pieces in exchange for kissing Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to “make” Him for Roman soldiers.

Many are shocked to read this account in the Book of Acts about how Judas died.  In Matthew 27:3-10, we are told that Judas threw the money at the high priests and then went out and hanged himself.  The silver was used to buy a “Potter’s Field” for burying the poor and homeless, and it was given the name of “Murderer’s Meadow.”

There is much argument about which account is more accurate…but the bottom line is that Judas Iscariot realized that he had done a terrible thing.  He committed a truly egregious sin…he denied His Lord and Savior.  But Judas was not the only person who did this.  Peter denied his own association with Jesus THREE TIMES before the night was out.  Yet he did not take his own life. And the difference in the choice these two men made had eternal consequences.

What does this mean for us?  I truly believe that had Judas come to Jesus and humbled himself, Jesus would have forgiven him, just as he did for Peter and the thief on the cross.  Jesus forgives each of us when we ask Him to do so.  And that is the primary message of this passage from Acts 1.  There is NOTHING that can separate us from Jesus when we humbly admit our sins and failures and ask for His forgiveness.  We are human…we will all sin and fall short.  But Jesus stands ready, willing, and more than able to redeem us.  This promise turns a devastatingly dismal passage of scripture into one of hope and promise!

I also find the last verses to be interesting.  The Disciples are told to choose a replacement for Judas…someone who knew and loved Jesus and could speak of His teachings to others.  It seems to me that there is a message for us there, as well.  We can sit and wring our hands over all that is wrong in our world.  We can gripe and complain about those who speak and act in a manner that is detrimental to the work of Jesus and furthering God’s Kingdom.  But we are instructed to get up and get going…to move forward with the work of our discipleship…to select and encourage those who are involved in this mission with us – and to nurture their efforts alongside our own.

Two messages of hope vs. a choice mired in despair.  We can opt to wallow in our sin and self-pity…and maybe even completely turn our backs on Jesus.  Or we can learn from Judas’ critical mistakes and renew our efforts to serve in Christ’s army…to seek His forgiveness and follow Him for all of our earthly lives – and into Eternity. The choice may not be an easy one…but the path of Hope and Promise seems pretty clear to me.  What about you?

©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for April 21, 2015

Psalms 122:1-2
When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,”
    my heart leaped for joy.
And now we’re here, O Jerusalem,
    inside Jerusalem’s walls!

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.

When we picked the children up from Sunday school, Timothy met us at the door, excitedly saying over and over…“We had a special guest today - his name was PAUL!”  Another child’s dad had portrayed the Apostle Paul and “visited” the K-1 class.  As we drove home, Timothy told us all about Paul…how he had been tossed into the sea…then he wandered the desert…soldiers “punched him” and threw him in jail…and he wrote letters to another boy named Timothy!  OUR Timothy was so impressed and excited…and he has since told his mom and others about the “special guest” who came to visit on Sunday.

I have no doubt that this little guy will be eager to return to the house of God.  He will be anxious to learn more about Paul and his friends.  This dad and the Sunday school teacher made the Bible come alive for these children…and this makes MY heart leap for joy!

It seems like we often forget just how interesting and exciting God’s word can be.  We fail to fully grasp the inspiration of the stories of faith and courage as demonstrated by people like Moses, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel, and Paul. We overlook the “human” examples of how others struggled – and sinned – and experienced the grace, mercy, forgiveness and blessings of God…people like David, Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Peter.  We fail to recognize the lessons in patience and hope that were demonstrated by people like Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth, Abraham, and John the Baptist.

I promise you…there is nothing new under the sun.  If you will only open your Bible and start looking, you will discover this for yourself.  And you will also see how God has cared for His people all along…how He cares about YOU and me…and how we can tap into His strength and power to overcome anything and everything.

We get so bogged down in things that really don’t matter.  We wallow in self-pity and fumble through life wondering about “the answers”.  And all the while, they are right in front of us.  We don’t know about Paul and Jeremiah and Queen Esther, because we are not focused on God’s word and seeking His truth.  We lack the eagerness of an almost-six-year-old to find out more about God and what He offers.  And the end result is that we simply “lack” in general – in every area of our lives.

It’s time for a “spiritual makeover”.  God has equipped us with everything we need to serve Him, to serve others, and to do this thing we call “life”.  He beckons us to “come home”…to seek Him and discover the joy of dwelling “in His house”…to invite Jesus into our hearts and minds and make a place for Him there. We can experience the eagerness of kindergartners and first-graders as we build our faith.

A “special guest” may not appear in our office, classroom – or even the living room!  But if we genuinely seek God, He will show up and make our hearts leap.  Let us go into the house of the LORD…are you coming with me?

©2015 Debbie Robus