Easter Devotions (Day 5) - A Humble Faith

  

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 8:5-13 

When we pray, we are calling on the greatest power in the cosmos. We are daring to speak to God, who flung the stars in the sky and who sculpted the mountains and oceans. When God speaks, the heavens and earth obey. 

The centurion in this story was a Roman officer who was in charge of one hundred men. He was used to having his orders followed. just by saying the words. Yet this powerful military officer humbly asked Jesus for help, even saying that he was not worthy to ask Jesus to enter his home. He recognized that this poor, traveling preacher commanded all of the heavens and earth. Once Jesus said the word, what He spoke would be fact. 

We are taught that Jesus is our friend, and He is. But Jesus is also the incarnate Son of God, who sits at God's right hand in heaven. No matter what our wealth, position or prominence, it is only through grace that we can even dare to speak to Him. How incredible that this is exactly what Jesus desires! The very ruler of the cosmos wants to hear our sorrows, our needs, and our desires. And if it is God's will, with a word, Jesus can cause all walls to fall and all wounds to be healed. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, how incredible that You are my friend! Never let me lose my awe and reverence of You. Help me to have faith, like the centurion, that You hear and You answer my prayers. But help me to approach you in humility and with an awareness of how truly awesome You are! In Your precious name I pray, Amen. 

** Devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Devotion (Day 4) - Relationship Challenges

  

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated apostles: Simon (whom He named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew Nathaniel, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas/Thaddeaus son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Luke 6:12-16 

Imagine you were choosing a team for the most important job in the history of the world. You would want well-educated people of influence who had complementary skills and could work well together. Yet look at the list of apostles whom Jesus chose.

There were small business owners, fishermen and family men. There were zealots, passionately dedicated to the overthrow of Rome, and a Jewish tax collector, a betrayer to his people and an employee of Rome. There was reputed nobility - tradition says that Bartholomew Nathaniel had royal blood. And there was Judas, who would give up Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. 

Certainly that mix was a recipe for disaster! Why would Jesus choose these people? Because He was guided and directed by God. It's easy to imagine Jesus objecting to these choices, yet Jesus was obedient to God's plan. After praying all night, Jesus named this contentious, ragtag group of men to His inner circle. By trusting God's direction, Jesus called the very people that God wanted to fulfill the story of salvation. 

Sometimes we may wonder why God put into our lives the mix of people that He did. Some may be easier to get along with while some may challenge us to our core. But God has His reasons and His plans.  Often times the most challenging children, spouse, family members, friends draw us closest to the Lord and help us to change in many powerful ways. 

The key is to keep our focus on Jesus, not on the faults and difficulties of those around us. Look at the disciples. God chose what the world would consider foolish to be the foundation of His Church. Surely He can work through each of us and those in our lives to accomplish His great purposes. 

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the people in my life. I have been blessed and impacted by each one of them. Please help me to be an encourager, intercessor, supporter and friend to each one. Thank you Jesus for the example you show us of relationship challenges in Your disciples. Help me to follow Your example in how I love those in my life. In Your name I pray, Amen. 

** Devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Devotion (Sunday) - Pray Continually

  

Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. 

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:13-18 

How can anyone pray continually? Our first thought is that this must be an exaggeration. Surely Paul just meant that we should pray a lot. The commands that frame the call to pray also seem impossible. How can one be always joyful and give thanks in all things? Life is hard and hurtful at times. This seems to be a highly unrealistic, sugarcoated view of Christian life.

But prayer is a state of mind when you are connected to your Creator and within God's will. It means praising God and looking and listening to God, not just actively telling God what you want or are thinking. To pray continually means to go through the day aware of God's presence and listening to God's guidance in all things. 

When God infuses every moment of life, every moment can be spent in His presence. In that case, thanks is an inevitable result of living. When we live connected to our Creator, we live in a deeper, more profound place than where minor annoyances or even difficult circumstances or life can shake us. 

It does not mean that life's tragedies will not touch us. What it does mean is that even stronger than any pain that life can deal us is the assurance and joy of God's love and salvation, the assurance we get from continuously opening our hearts to God. 

Prayer: Lord, may my life be infused with Your presence at all times. Help me, Holy Spirit, to live in constant awareness of You. May my spirit rest in You each and every day. In Your precious name Lord Jesus, Amen. 


** Devotion is taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Devotion Day 3 - Jesus Prayed

  

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.  Simon and his companions went to look for Him, and when they found Him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for You!”

Mark 1:35-37 

Crowds were forming wherever Jesus went, hoping to be healed. Imagine the joy on people's faces as Jesus freed them or their loved ones from blindness, crippling diseases, or mental torments. Yet when He awoke early each morning, He didn't hurry back to the crowds but went to a deserted place to pray. 

No doubt even more people had arrived during the night, seeking Jesus' help. But the most important thing to Jesus - even more important than healing the sick - was for Him to set aside time to talk to God. Jesus needed the strength and revitalization that comes from deep and heartfelt prayer. Even though the needs of others were heartbreakingly great, it was even more important to remain fully connected with the Lord.

There's a tension that speaks to our own spiritual life. Many times we feel torn as we decide where to focus our energies. Do we pray? Or study? Or care for others? Do we evangelize? Simon Peter didn't understand. He hunted Jesus down and demanded that He get back to healing the people. But without time spent in prayer, we are choosing how we spend our resources instead of following God's guidance. 

Jesus had only three precious years on this earth to tell the world and His disciples all that He wanted them to know. Yet in His incredibly busy and eternally important schedule, He took time every day to pray and commune with God. If He did this, surely we should set aside that time, each day, to pray to our Heavenly Father. 


Prayer: Lord, forgive me for thinking I am too busy to pray. Teach me the importance of constant prayer. Create an eagerness in me, Holy Spirit, to set aside time, throughout the day, to come into Your presence and gaze on Your beauty and power through prayer. In the name of my example, Jesus, Amen. 


** This devotion was taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink

Easter Devotion (Day 2) - Heavens Opened

  

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke 3:21-22

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus prayed after His baptism and the heavens opened. In ancient times, people believed that the sky was like an inverted bowl over the earth, which kept out the chaos of the cosmos, but also restricted one's access to the heavens. In this passage, while Jesus prayed, the sky cracked to let in the powerful presence of God.

Yet every heartfelt prayer can crack the sky. God is not closed off from us, but always hears our cries of anguish, our shouts of praise, and our quiet meditations. Our fears and our questions all find their way to God's ear. Psalm 34:15 reads, "The Lord's eyes watch the righteous, His ears listen to their cries for help." 

Through prayer we allow the powerful presence of God into our own lives. We think of prayer as talking to God, but true prayer is also focused listening. It is how we open the door to God's transformational power to teach us and to guide us. 

It's impossible to have a relationship without communication. When we don't pray, we are restricting our own access to God's blessings, power and grace. When we "crack the sky," we offer God His greatest desire: our devotion, our obedience and our love. Such an offering will be answered with blessing, "In you I am well pleased." 

Prayer: Lord, may my prayers "crack the sky" and bathe me in Your presence. Help me to realize what an awesome privilege it is to be able to come into Your presence anytime, anywhere, simply through prayer. In Your precious name Lord Jesus, Amen. 


** Devotion comes from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink