Category - Devotionals

4/26 Luke 21:7-15
“Teacher,” they asked, “when will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time?” 8 He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you. For many will come in my name, claiming to be the Messiah and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them. 9 And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won’t follow immediately.” 10 Then he added, “Nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and epidemics in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs in the heavens. 12 “But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will be accused before kings and governors of being my followers. 13 This will be your opportunity to tell them about me. 14 So don’t worry about how to answer the charges against you, 15 for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply!
HARD
When the end will come is not our responsibility. We are responsible for the life that we lead. We will be persecuted. We will be challenged. Serve the Lord. Proclaim the Gospel. Be faithful.

04/25 Luke 21:5-6
Some of his disciples began talking about the beautiful stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said, 6 “The time is coming when all these things will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another.”
KNOWS
The Lord knows everything. He will tell us what we need to know to grow in wisdom and grace. He will not hide from us the wisdom that we need. Ask Jesus and He will answer you.

04/24 Luke 21:1-4
While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people putting their gifts into the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies. 3 “I assure you,” he said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
GIVE
When Jesus has control of our hearts He has control of our wealth. A life focused on Jesus, filled with the Spirit of God, is a generous life. Review your life. Are you generous?

04/23 Luke 20:41-47
Then Jesus presented them with a question. “Why is it,” he asked, “that the Messiah is said to be the son of David? 42 For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in honor at my right hand 43 until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.’ 44 Since David called him Lord, how can he be his son at the same time?” 45 Then, with the crowds listening, he turned to his disciples and said, 46 “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they love to parade in flowing robes and to have everyone bow to them as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. 47 But they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people they really are, they make long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”
RESPONSIBILITY
Lord as a leader and teacher I know that my responsibility is great. Help me to grow in Christ likeness. Call me to your side, not for my glory but for Your glory. I want to be usable and useful. Help me Lord to be a good servant.

04/22 Luke 20:27-40
Then some Sadducees stepped forward — a group of Jews who say there is no resurrection after death. 28 They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother’s heir. 29 Well, there were seven brothers. The oldest married and then died without children. 30 His brother married the widow, but he also died. Still no children. 31 And so it went, one after the other, until each of the seven had married her and died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died, too. 33 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!” 34 Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. 35 But that is not the way it will be in the age to come. For those worthy of being raised from the dead won’t be married then. 36 And they will never die again. In these respects they are like angels. They are children of God raised up to new life. 37 But now, as to whether the dead will be raised — even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. They are all alive to him.” 39 “Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there. 40 And that ended their questions; no one dared to ask any more.
QUESTIONS
We have questions. The Lord gives us some answers. He can’t answer some of our questions because we wouldn’t understand the answer. The Lord loves you. He will take care of you from your birth in the family of God until forever. He will walk with you, talk with you and guide you in the way you should go. He cannot be manipulated and He has given us rules to live by. We choose how we will live. Choose to live close to Jesus.

04/21 Luke 20:20-26
Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent secret agents pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. 21 They said, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You sincerely teach the ways of God. 22 Now tell us — is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?” 23 He saw through their trickery and said, 24 “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 25 “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God.” 26 So they failed to trap him in the presence of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they were silenced.
WISDOM
Jesus exercised Godly wisdom in everything He said and did. As you face daily trials in your life call upon Him to give you the wisdom you need. The Lord will not leave you at the mercy of the world. Call upon Him and He will help you.

04/20 Luke 24:1-31
1 But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. 3 So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. 5 The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead! Don’t you remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?” 8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back to tell his eleven disciples — and everyone else — what had happened. 10 The women who went to the tomb were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others. They told the apostles what had happened, 11 but the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened. 13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles out of Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. 16 But they didn’t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him. 17 “You seem to be in a deep discussion about something,” he said. “What are you so concerned about?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” 19 “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did wonderful miracles. He was a mighty teacher, highly regarded by both God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had thought he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. That all happened three days ago. 22 Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, Jesus’ body was gone, just as the women had said.” 25 Then Jesus said to them, “You are such foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory?” 27 Then Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself. 28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus would have gone on, 29 but they begged him to stay the night with them, since it was getting late. So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat, he took a small loaf of bread, asked God’s blessing on it, broke it, then gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
JESUS
Jesus is Lord and there is no other.

04/19 Luke 23:49-56
But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching. 50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, 51 but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he had been waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. 54 This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation for the Sabbath. 55 As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where they placed his body. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to embalm him. But by the time they were finished it was the Sabbath, so they rested all that day as required by the law.
LATE
I suspect that Joseph wished he had said something sooner about his faith and maybe rallied support among those others that kept quiet about the railroading of Jesus to the Cross. I know that everything that happened the Lord knew and that what happened worked out for our benefit but I still think Joseph felt some level of guilt about what happened to Jesus. I encourage you to be vocal about your faith and consistent with the way you live. Jesus is alive and we are to proclaim Him until we die and go to be with Him.

04/18 Luke 23:21-48
But they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him! 22 For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. I will therefore flog him and let him go.” 23 But the crowd shouted louder and louder for Jesus’ death, and their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. 25 As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he delivered Jesus over to them to do as they wished. 26 As they led Jesus away, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country just then, was forced to follow Jesus and carry his cross. 27 Great crowds trailed along behind, including many grief-stricken women. 28 But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’ 30 People will beg the mountains to fall on them and the hills to bury them. 31 For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? ” 32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 Finally, they came to a place called The Skull. All three were crucified there — Jesus on the center cross, and the two criminals on either side. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. 35 The crowd watched, and the leaders laughed and scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Chosen One, the Messiah.” 36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine 37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 A signboard was nailed to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews. 39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself — and us, too, while you’re at it!” 40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you are dying? 41 We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 44 By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the thick veil hanging in the Temple was torn apart. 46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. 47 When the captain of the Roman soldiers handling the executions saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Surely this man was innocent. ” 48 And when the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw all that had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.
WE
As we read this first Easter story let’s be clear- we put the nails in His hands and feet. We were there standing with evil letting the Romans kill an innocent man. All of us have sinned and not one of us is innocent. He gave His life and ransomed us from sin and separation offering us His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Praise the Lord Jesus lives.

04/17 Luke 23:12-20
Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day. 13 Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other religious leaders, along with the people, 14 and he announced his verdict. “You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent 15 Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us. Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. 16 So I will have him flogged, but then I will release him.” 17 18 Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison for murder and for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government. 20 Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus.
KILL HIM
The people aren’t always right. A group decision can be manipulated. Notice that the religious leaders handpicked this crowd. Jesus had done many miracles and had an extensive following by the masses. In this case the religious leaders were forcing the weak willed Pilate to murder an innocent man. There will be enough blood to taint all of us at the crucifixion. Jesus had surrendered to them and He knew what the end result would be. It was His time to save us from our sin.