Easter Devotion (Maundy Thursday) - The Cry of His Son

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
Matthew 27:45-50 

What a horrible cry for the Father to hear from His Son!!! How it must have torn the very heart out of God! Yet during His time on the cross, Jesus was the only person who ever was or ever will be truly God-forsaken. Jesus took on all of humanity's sins and suffered execution at the hands of human beings in order to break the power of evil in the world. Because God is the very antithesis of sin, at that moment, God had to turn from the heartrending cry of His only Son.  

Yet this cry is also the first line of Psalm 22. Take a moment to read through the psalm. It is an encapsulation of Jesus' execution, resurrection, and salvation of all of humanity (written hundreds of years before these events actually took place). Although God had turned away at the moment of Christ's cry, by calling out the beginning of the psalm, Jesus was letting all who would hear know that He knew the end of the psalm too. God would rescue Him from death itself!!! 

Through the cross, the world would undergo a radical transformation. Every human being, Jew and Gentile, born and unborn, would recognize the power and the grace of God. Hidden in Jesus' heartbreaking cry from the cross was the hope of all humanity. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me to trust in the Father, even in the depths of despair. Father God, thank you for the incredible love that You have for us that would cause You to be willing to watch Your Son suffer and die for each of us. I praise You, thank You and love You with all my heart! In Your Son's name, Amen. 

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

Easter Devotion (Day 36) - Total Forgiveness

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Luke 23:32-34

We've all struggled with forgiveness when we've been wronged. We know that God tells us to forgive, and we also know that forgiving others allows us to move forward and heal. But often our forgiveness is simply turning over the matter to God, trusting that God will hold them accountable for their sins. Even if we forgive, we sometimes take comfort believing that those who have hurt us will have to answer to God and be held accountable for what they have done.

But as Jesus hung on the cross in agony, He not only forgave those responsible for His execution, but asked that God forgive them too. His death on the cross was to be an atonement for all people, even those who had placed Him there to die. His forgiveness was not only personal, but cosmic. In the throes of excruciating death, Jesus asked that the biggest affront humanity had ever made to God be forgiven. 

This is the only reason we can dare to ask God for forgiveness for our sins. Forgiveness from God is a total cleansing, enabling us to stand as new creations, no longer accountable. Instead, our challenge is to live a new life of righteousness, dedicating ourselves to being true servants of Jesus Christ, the Savior who died for us. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me forgive others completely, as You have forgiven me. Help me to live a new life of righteousness, dedicating myself to being a true servant of Yours, Lord Jesus. Thank you for being my Savior. In Your Name I pray, Amen.

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

Easter Devotion (Day 35) - The Horror of Gethsemane

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Luke 22:39-46 

Jesus' time in the garden is the most anguished description of prayer in all of Scripture. He was facing humiliation and an agonizing death, but there have been martyrs who have confidently gone to their executions, secure in God's love for them and in their eternity with Him in Heaven. Why then did Jesus suffer so much in Gethsemane? 

Jesus asked for "this cup" to be removed. Throughout Scripture, a cup has been the symbol of God's righteous anger against sin and rebellion. Because Jesus was about to take on the sins of all the world, He would feel the full force of God's wrath falling on Him. The one person who was the closest and most attuned to the will of God and who could feel God's wrath the most acutely would face it with more force and power than anyone had experienced or would ever experience it. The pain that Jesus feared was not physical, as horrible as that would be. It was not about what humans could do to Him, but about the intense pain of anger and alienation from the Father. 

This is the horror of Gethsemane that night. It is what Jesus suffered for you and me. We never will be forsaken by God, no matter what, because Jesus drank the cup of God's wrath for us. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I cannot even comprehend what You have done for me. Thank You for taking on God's wrath for my salvation. What I could never do, You did because You love me so much. I love you too, with all my heart! In Your Precious Name Lord Jesus, Amen. 

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

Easter Devotion (Day 34) - Live By Grace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 

Don't worry and be anxious. That sounds easy enough, but anxiety disorder is practically a natural addiction, affecting nearly one in eight adults in the United States. Anxiety is defined as worry about an unknown future event. When Paul wrote this passage, he was in prison facing a possible death sentence. While it would be natural to read about Paul's concerns over his own future, instead, his letters were full of concern for his fledgling churches. While he felt responsibility for them and cared deeply about them, he was positive and supportive, instead of allowing anxiety about them and about his own situation to cripple him. 

How did he do this? Simply put, Paul lived by grace. He turned all those things that could have worried him into a prayer list to bring before God, then he rested in the knowledge that the loving Creator of the universe knew his needs. He let go of unnecessary drama and petty difficulties that can consume people, instead, looking for opportunities to forgive and bless others. He didn't worry about pleasing other people, but focused on pleasing God. He recognized that God is the one in control of all future events and trusted in that knowledge. In so doing, he found that living by grace is living in a state of peace and joy, even in the most stressful situations. 

Prayer: Lord, calm me and teach me to live by grace. Help me to remember that You are in control of all future events and I can trust in that knowledge. May I have Your peace which passes all understanding. Thank You for being my God. In Jesus name, Amen

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

Easter Devotion (Palm Sunday) - Spirit Prayer

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27 

The world can be an agonizing place. Sometimes we deal with pain so crushing we can't even articulate it. How to explain the grief of a broken heart, a dying friend, a stunning loss? And how can anyone put into words the horrors of war, the injustice of starving children or those forced into slavery or trafficking, or the revulsion of cruelty in the world? One feels helpless in the midst of such heartrending pain, both pain we know personally and the pain of a sin-sick world. 

Yet the Spirit is there with us. We don't have to find the words. Our hearts are open. God hears what we really need through the Spirit ambassador. Our prayers don't have to be crafted with specific requests and solutions. We don't need to explain anything to God. All we need to do is to place our sorrow before God and rest in His care. Therefore, we have no excuse not to turn to God. Every thought of ours, even those we are too embarrassed or hurt to speak aloud, can be recrafted by the Spirit into a plea for help and healing. Our struggles, when they are in the presence of God, are true prayers. 

Prayer: Holy Spirit, hear the longings of my heart that are too deep even for words. Bring them before the Father, so that I may rest in His healing. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

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