Sat 5.6 – Easter Eve

Today’s Readings: John 18-20

Hey guys, let’s take a little different approach to the devotional this morning. We you go through your day today, remember what today is as we celebrate this season. We know he rose on the first day of the week, Sunday. We know he was crucified on the fifth day of the week, Thursday. But have you ever stopped to think about those days in between? Have you ever considered the sorrow and distress that would have been on the hearts of the people? Have you ever thought of the brokenness and defeat that would have overcome Jesus followers during these three days? These would have been hard times for the disciples!

I selected a familiar passage from scripture that recounts the whole Easter story for us. Take a minute and think about some of the people involved with this story and try to see all of these events through their eyes as you read these chapters today…

Jesus – He knew why he was here, he knew the future, he knew the weight he was to bear. He also knew that the disciples didn’t fully understand all that was going on. He knew Peter, though full of passion, was about to stumble. He knew John, the beloved, would be left alone without his mentor. He knew his mother was about to enter the darkest days of her life. He knew he was leaving behind a group of people who needed him…(see John 14-17 as he so beautifully explains how they are to live in his absence) Yet, “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame”.

Peter – Having just promised the Lord his companionship to the end, has defected and ran away ashamed, even denying him publically three times. The last glimpse he had of Christ was during his final screaming denial of their friendship. Peter would soon return to fishing (the life he knew before Christ called him to be a disciple). Imagine his heart of regret. Having the opportunity to make a difference and yet, failing to do so. His Master and Lord, Teacher and Leader, now crucified and there’s no going back.

Mary – Think of all the years she spent as a social outcast. Nobody wanting to come within 30 yards of her (unless they too were of poor reputation). When all the townspeople mocked, when all her family abandoned her, when nobody seemed to care if she live or die, there was One man…Jesus…who not only cared, but he gave her a purpose to live. He showed compassion when none of the others would. He would give her those loving pats on the shoulder that so many were afraid to be seen doing, He didn’t care about her past, only her future. And now, the Hope giver, the life redeemer, the compassionate One, gone. Dead. Buried. And hope, with him.

John – having grown so close to the Lord as to be called the “beloved disciple”, he knew the heartbeat of Christ because he’d heard it with his own ears, he knew the desires of the Lord because he was inside Christ’s life, Christ’s inner circle, and after all those years of growing together, becoming friends, learning at his feet, and molding to fit the Master’s will…now…his beloved Leader, Master, Teacher, Friend…gone. The WAY the TRUTH the LIFE, all gone away. Surely loneliness would have plagued him, solidarity would seem bitter to him…but he must go on somehow.

Now take those eyes and look through the pages of scripture…imagine the morning Mary arrives at that tomb. Imagine the fervor with which Peter and John would have run to that tomb. Imagine the hope that would have flooded their eyes when they heard of this glorious news… RESURRECTION… HOPE … CHRIST!

May you have a wonderful Easter…and may this weekend be a time for you to reflect on how you look at these events, and may we never let them become a Sunday school story, but rather a world changing truth of the hope we have in our Lord!

Fri 5.5 – Jesus taught us how to deal with it…

Today’s Readings: Colossians 1.16-22, 2.12-14, 3.1-7;

As you know, Sunday is the Christian celebration of “Easter”. Although Christ actually died at the Passover, because of pagan celebrations and worldly influences through history, Christians adopted the name to compete with festivals for false God’s. (I don’t even know why I put that out there…guess I just thought you’d want to know?) Anyway, since Easter is coming in two days, I wanted to take a new approach to the thoughts we’ve been looking at in Colossians by looking at them through the window of the MORTIFICATION OF CHRIST. While we have talked about MORTIFYING our FLESH, and making that a spiritual principal, Christ ACUTALLY mortified His flesh. However, many of the same principals applied. That FLESH (the human body of Christ) had to be mortified before the SPIRIT (the Holy Spirit of God) could reign in life (by indwelling the believer, see John 16.7 ).

So, here’s how today is going to work…get our your Bible, get out a pad of paper, click here, and here, for some awesome background music, and prayerfully consider these passages. We know how our FLESH lusteth against the SPIRIT (Gal 5.17), so let’s consider the ultimate battle between ALL FLESH and the SPIRIT HIMSELF as Christ was suffering on that cross…as he bled…as he groaned (Rom 8.23)…as he was mortified… and consider these verses…

Philippians 2.5-8

• Imagine the power it took for CHRIST JESUS the LORD to be on that CROSS!
• How should that invade and influence our MINDS?
• What did the cross signify in Christ’s life? (specifically v.

Hebrews 12.2-4

• Consider the HUGE statement that Jesus Christ is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of OUR faith!
• What made Him mortify that flesh?
• How are we to gain strength from meditating upon His death for us, and how far He was willing to go?

Ephesians 2.14-17

• What has been removed between God and us?
• We were at ENMITY (absolutely against) God, what did Christ do to remove that from us?
• What was the instrument Christ used to RECONCILE us (or bring us back) to God? And what did that tool do to the ENMITY?
• Because of Christ’s work, now we no longer have ENMITY between God and us, but rather we have something amazing, undeserved, and unreachable without Christ…what is it?

Before you leave your time with God today, spend time thanking Him…because He mortified, we can mortify…because He died, we can die…because He suffered, we can have peace…it is truly, NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD, and I pray we will YEARN for Him more today because we realize that more and more!

5.4 – Overcoming Blindness

Today’s Readings: Colossians 3.1-7; Acts 9.1-9; 22.1-11; Revelation 3.14-22

Do you ever sit in church and wonder why some people are there? I do. Sometimes when I look at the faces of some of the people, and ask myself, “Why?” If I disliked something as much as they appear to, I would stop it. Yet, there are people who come to church each week and (judging by the looks on their faces) are not enjoying one minute of it.

There is another group of people in our churches/youth groups. These are the people who THINK they are doing God a favor, or service, by being there to attend the church service. These are the ones who will likely complain all day about things they don’t like, but never do anything to fix them.

Today, I want to build off something I saw last night. In our youth group, we have some students who truly want to get this! They really DO want to HEAR from the GOD of HEAVEN. However, there are also students who are basically hoping that service will end as soon as possible so they can get out. I saw that on faces last night. Now, HERE IS MY FEAR – I am scared that we are used to God, the Word of God, the Worship of God, and the people of God.

Why can’t we see that we are messed up sometimes? Why is it so difficult to overcome? Imagine the situation with Paul in Acts 9, and read Acts 22, for his own version of the events. If you had walked up to Paul and asked him what he was doing headed to Damascus, he would have replied “I’m going to serve my God because I have such a passion for his name. I want to take a stand for him against those false cult-following Christians…” Now, in his mind (as we see in Acts 22) he was full of the ZEAL of God and wanted to SERVE God. However, he was wrong in the way he did, because Christ was the TRUE AND LIVING GOD.

Convincing Paul that he was wrong for persecuting those who followed the Way of Christ would be almost impossible. He TRULY BELIEVED that he was doing right! He was BLIND guys! He thought he was doing what was right, he THOUGHT he was good before God, but he was on a path that was sending him straight to HELL. Please get this! He was blind and did not know it, so if someone told him that he was blind, he would have never believed them. He had ZEAL! He was SERVING! He was PASSIONATE about God’s GLORY! And yet, he was BLIND to the truth.

Now for us today, I hope you have already drawn the connection with REVELATION 3 and the letter to LAODICEA. God says that while we Laodiceans think we are RICH, we are POOR, while we think we have NEED OF NOTHING, but we are WRETCHED, DESTITUTE, NAKED, and BLIND!!!

So then, how do we fix that? God says if any man will HEAR his voice (the Word of God) and OPEN the door to him, he will come in and show us the way. Notice, in Revelation 3.21 God says there will be come that OVERCOME…will you be one of the few in this generation that OVERCOMES being BLIND and DESTITUTE and thinking that you are RICH and have NEED OF NOTHING??? Remember, the only way to OVERCOME it is by the voice of God – Let’s get in the Word this morning.

Wed 5.3 – A very old bag of tricks

Today’s Readings: Colossians 3.1-7; I John 2.16; Joshua 7.21; Gen 3.6

Alright, today I want to step back from where we’ve been focusing in Colossians 3 and look at a little bigger picture of the scripture as a whole. Let’s talk about some of the facts first as we prepare our hearts for the message tonight. I am going to make some simple points for us to consider then at the end of that list, I will challenge us to do something with what this list teaches us…

1 – The Devil is NOT omnipresent(always everywhere), omnipotent(all powerful), or omniscient(all knowing) – those are things that ONLY belong to GOD!

2 – however, the devil sure has been around for a long time! When a human, that only lives for 70-80 years looks at the devil, he may appear to be these things because of his age and the knowledge of humans he would have gained over that time. Who would know more about ants…a 3^rd grader who burns them with a magnifying glass in his driveway, or a 60 year old scientist who dedicated his life to the study of ants? The same is true of the Devil…he has had 6000 years to learn human weaknesses and frailties, and he knows how to use them to his advantage.

3 – In Colossians 3, we are NOT to SEEK or SET our AFFECTION on the things of where?…EARTH! And what were those things? We said they were things that are motivated by this WORLD, and things motivated by our BODIES. Another fair way of saying “things of earth” would be to say “things of the WORLD” wouldn’t you say? Ok, not carry that into the next question…

4 – In 1 John 2.16 how does God describe the WORLDLY things??? He says “ALL that is IN the WORLD is …” and then gives three categories the THINGS OF THE WORLD can be categorized into, which are –

• Lusts of the flesh
• Lusts of the eyes
• Pride of life

5 – We can go to Genesis 3.6 and see that SATAN obviously knew that when he tempted Eve with the THINGS OF THE EARTH/WORLD in the garden. Notice the progression of Eve’s sin:

• She “SAW that the tree was GOOD FOR FOOD” (lusts of the flesh)
• She decided “it was PLEASANT to the EYES” (lust of the eyes)
• She even thought it was “a tree to be DESIRED to make one WISE” (pride of life)

Eve fell BECAUSE SHE WAS SEEKING AND SETTING HER AFFECTION ON THE THINGS OF EARTH (WORLD) AND NOT ABOVE!!!!! WOW!

6 – Now, we go to Joshua 7.21 and see the same patter is what caused the fall of Achan:

• He “SAW among the SPOILS” of a worldly city that was the enemy of God things that even after he is busted he still considers “goodly” (lust of the eyes)
• He “coveted” those things (lust of the flesh) [Hey! Right here, remember what we talked about last Wednesday about Colossians 3.5 – "covetousness, which is idolatry"!!!]
• He “took” those things God had specifically claimed for Himself! [see Joshua 6.18] (pride of life)

Ending our time with God today, let’s re-read Colossians 3.1-7 and ask God to keep our hearts and minds SET on HIM and the THINGS ABOVE where HE is and where WE are IN Christ. May we not be caught up in the sin that Satan IS going to tempt us by, the same sin he’s always tempted man by, because he knows it WORKS! Even in Colossians 3.5 God warns about the outcome of the lust of the flesh – “fornication”; the lust of the eyes – “inordinate affection, evil concupiscence”; and the pride of life – “covetousness, which is idolatry” !!!

I love you guys! Today, maybe more than ever I am praying for you to STAY AWAY from the SINS Satan uses to snare so many people. I see SIN everywhere I look today, from our media, to our music, to our attitudes, to our character, to our faithlessness, to our apathy and laziness, and I want it to change! I want a generation of CHANGERS. Today, as we prepare to come to the FRIDGE for service tonight, let’s focus our minds NOT on GOING TO CHURCH, but rather on BEING THE CHURCH! Maybe if we thought more like that we wouldn’t struggle as much elsewhere…

Tue 5.2 – DOGPILE!

Today’s Readings: Colossians 2.20, 3.3-4,7; Romans 6.2, 7, 11; Galatians 2.20, 5.24; I Peter 2.24

It’s the bottom of the 9^th, your team is up by 3, there are 2 outs and the count is 0-2. Last pitch. Swing and a miss. YOU WIN! Then you hear those dreaded words “DOG-PILE!” and before you know it, you’re buried underneath a mound of sweaty, stinky, ball players.

Well, there is some spiritual truth to this idea that I want you to see. Sunday morning, during the 8.15 service, I was talking to the congregation about many of the same principals that we have been talking about here on the devotions. I received an encouraging e-mail the next morning from one of our members. Through our exchange, a very important truth was brought to life and I want to make sure we do not go on without making it clear for you all.

In the list of verses above, you will find some critical teachings about the death of our flesh. Now, obviously it is not literally dead because you and I are still breathing. However, because of the working and power of Christ, it’s ways and methods are. Don’t forget the truth of Romans 8 when we learned about the DEATH SENTENCE that is already passed on our BODY. What tends to happen in our lives is that after salvation we receive (via the new man) the right DESIRES and WAYS that can rule our lives. Then as time goes on, we allow little bits of that old BODY to creep in, and before you know it we still have that NEW man inside to give us the VICTORY in CHRIST, but he is buried under a DOGPILE of sinful lusts, pride, and so many more.

Students, I cannot express strongly enough to you what YOU ALREADY HAVE IN JESUS CHRIST if you are a born again believer. HE is the one who GIVES US THE VICTORY (I Corinthains 15.57). Do NOT miss that! Our victory over this fleshy state is going to be THROUGH CHRIST JESUS and no other means. The only way for us to mortify, the only way for us to LIVE life as DEAD people, is to allow CHRIST to be our VICTORY over sin and flesh.

Never lose sight of Galatians 5.17 – There will ALWAYS be a battle between the FLESH and the SPIRIT. They are fierce enemies at the very best, and if we think for one second that they can co-exist, we are sadly mistaken. Do not allow yourself to enter this war with your MIND. Do not yield to the CARNAL or FLESHY mentality that the world floods you with. Remember I Corinthians 2.16, we HAVE, currently, the MIND of CHRIST.

My prayer for you today is that you would realize your identity in Him. I pray the MIND of Christ would have freedom in your life to rule and to reign over you. I pray the DOGPILE of the worldly, earthly, fleshy things would cover the Spiritual things. Rather, I pray that TODAY as you spend time with God in prayer and opening the doors of your heart to the VOICE of God through His Word, that you would say with Paul, “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us!”