The Ultimate Living Sacrifice

I read a quote today by an author named Harold Sala: "The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep trying to crawl off the alter."

It reminded me of a prayer that I heard last night that stuck with me: "Jesus, thank you for staying on the cross."

It had never occurred to me before to thank Jesus not only for being willing to go to the cross, but also for staying there. We know he could have come down if he chose, and we know he was faced with the temptation to do so (See Matthew 27:39-43). So how was it possible for him to do that? In the midst of those hours of never-ending agony, when he was absolutely alone for the first time in his life, how was he able to resist that temptation? Why did he stay on the cross?
Well, I asked him. And while I was waiting for the answer, I went through a couple options:
1. It could have been an outpouring of God's grace on him in that moment--the same grace that I rely on every day in order to do what God asks me to do. But there was a potential problem with that theory: did Jesus have access to God's grace at that time? When did God turn his face away from him? Was it right before Jesus' death, or was it earlier? We could debate the theology of this question all day, but ultimately there's no way to know for sure. But if Jesus didn't have God's grace to rely on, how was he able to stay on the cross?
2. He stayed of his own will. I think we're getting closer, but if I evaluate my own strength of will based on my track record, I know I couldn't stay on the cross if I had the power to leave it, no matter what motive I had and no matter who had asked me to. (I guess that's why it's a good thing that I wasn't entrusted with saving the world...)

This is about when I moved from asking how Jesus had stayed in the cross, and started asking why. I know that it was going to earn him a great reward, and that it was an act of obedience to God (See Philippians 2:8-9). I know he had submitted his will to God's (See Matthew 26:38-39). But personally, there's no sort of future glory that I could have found worth that cost, especially while I was in the midst of the suffering itself. And fulfilling someone else's vision wouldn't have been a strong enough motivator for me to stay on the cross if I had the power to leave it.
So I came to the conclusion that Jesus must have stayed because he wanted to.

But now here's the question: what did Jesus care for so much that he wanted to stay on the cross?
Consequently, this is also the question that God chose to answer. His answer: Joy. He was referring to Hebrews 12:2
"For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

If you've been around the church for any period of time, you've probably heard this verse quoted, and you've probably heard it followed with the "you were the joy set before him" speech. It's not that that isn't true, but personally I've heard it so often that it has begun to lose it's impact. But it's another matter entirely to hear God say it. After all that questioning and wondering what had kept Jesus on the cross, to hear that it was his desire for the very relationship that I now share with him, it hit me in a fresh, new way.

Jesus chose to be a living sacrifice, and he chose to stay on the alter, because he wanted his children so much.

Whenever I've read or heard the verse in Romans where it says to offer ourselves as living sacrifices (see Romans 12:1), it's never occurred to me that Jesus did it first. He not only took up his cross, but he also kept it. He surrendered himself not just to the death, but also to the suffering that would come beforehand.

Since that's what he did for us, that's what we ought to want to do for him. Offering our bodies as living sacrifices isn't an act of obligation, though Jesus has certainly earned such radical devotion. It's done "in view of God's mercy". When we look at Jesus's sacrifice for us long enough, we should long to offer him something in return. Just as Jesus longed for us.

So here's my heart's response: When God interrupts my day with some inconvenient task, or when he asks me to say something to a person without knowing how they'll react, I want to "fix [my] eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." I want to "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, do that [I] will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:2-3)

The Race

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So last night, I had a dream. Creepy way to start, right? Sheesh. Oh well, you’ll just have to deal with it. Anyway, back to the narrative:

My dream started on a racetrack. I had a racecar, and a terrible view. The track twisted, curled, crossed, and drove over  and around several small knolls, so it was impossible to see the whole thing, only one or two turns at a time. Since I often have doomsday dreams, the plot was that at the end of the race, God would determine which racers got into heaven and which didn’t. But I didn’t know that as the race was going. I didn’t know what the goal was.

So I did what I thought best: I raced. I got competitive, and started pushing other cars into the rail so I could get ahead. But on this curvy, twisted track, there was no way of knowing where the finish line was, or even if everyone was going in the right direction. After all, I had come in at the middle, and the rules were never explained to me. Yet despite not knowing where I was going, I did my best to beat the other drivers. Then the race ended, and I had not made it to the finish line

The judge of the race brought me in, and since it was a dream we didn’t speak, and I didn’t see him, but I suddenly understood that I had lost. I hadn’t followed the rules, and was therefore disqualified. I protested that that wasn’t fair because I didn’t know the rules. It turned out that the whole time, the judge was more interested in my behavior and my attitude on the track than he was about whether I succeeded or not. All the terrible things I’d done to cripple the other drivers in my attempts to get ahead were what the judge was concerned with.

When I protested that it wasn’t fair, the judge didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to explain himself. He simply showed me to a door. I spent the rest of the dream assuming that my protests had been heard and that I had been let into “heaven” after all. The rest of the people who were with me assumed the same thing. Yet somehow, the dream ended before we got to our destination.

You see, in this race, everyone was subject to the same rules, whether they knew them or not. The whole time, it was up to the drivers who knew the rules to tell the other drivers about the rules, as well as the ultimate goal of the race. After that, it was up to those who were told, whether or not they believed the other drivers, and started to obey the rules.

In the race of real life, most people just assume that the goal of the race is to get ahead of everyone else and cross the finish line successfully. But little do they know that the entire time they’re racing, there’s a judge who is going to measure them against his own standards. That’s why there was never a finish line in sight. To get to the end was never the goal. The real goal is to meet the standards of the judge of the race. He’s the one who organized it, so he determines the rules. That’s why it’s fair to disqualify people even if they never knew the standards he was measuring them by. In this race, not everyone wins. Those who lose are the ones who don’t play by the rules of the judge.

By now I hope my Christian friends at least have seen the real meaning behind this dream, and are reminded of the importance of their role in this race. I also hope they are seriously considering whether or not they are fulfilling that role well. I know I am.

For those of you who maybe don’t know what all this signifies, I’ll explain it.

Let’s start with the race. As you may have guessed, the race signifies our life. Sometimes, it feels like we were thrown in without anyone telling us what we were supposed to be doing. Sure, lots of people have opinions, and they’re more than willing to impress those opinions upon you. But have you ever stopped to consider the question, “Why am I here?” Could it be that what you believe is actually wrong?

Now let’s talk about the judge. The judge in this dream represents God. He’s the one who put this “race” together. He created the rules. When he started out, everything about the world met his standards. Everything he created, he called “good.” Except humans. When he created humans, he called them “Very good!”

Back then, his rules were simple. He only had one, actually. He told the first people, Adam and Eve, that they were to never eat the fruitof the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet, those people were deceived into thinking that if they did eat the fruit from that tree, they could determine their own rules for the race. But that’s not what happened. Instead, when they ate it, they disobeyed God. They had broken his one rule, which meant they fell short of his standards.

See, the thing about God is that he is holy. If anything enters his presence that is not also holy, his very holiness destroys it. Think of a fire: if there’s anything in its path that is flammable, it is lit on fire and consumed. That’s kind of like what God’s presence is like. If anything comes before him that is contaminated with sin, it is consumed, and it dies. That includes imperfect people.

But God is also merciful. He does not want anyone to die. So instead of killing Adam and Eve right off because they broke his only rule, he banished them from his presence.

So because all humans come from flawed people, all people are flawed. Suddenly, there are hundreds of rules to follow if we want to be holy enough to enter God’s presence and be “good” again. Those are the rules that the Law of Moses in the Old Testament lays out. You see, God didn’t just throw us into the race without telling us the rules. He gave us a rulebook: The Bible. We just have to read it.

There’s just one problem: in order to be let into the presence of God, we have to follow those rules perfectly. Otherwise, we’ll still “burn up” when we enter his presence. But following the Law perfectly is impossible, right? Of course it is! We’re broken. We’ll never accomplish anything without making mistakes. The Law is simply there to make that fact obvious. God tells us his standards (if we want to meet them ourselves), but all that does is show us all the places where we’re going wrong.

But here’s the key factor to this story: God loves us. He wants us to be in his presence. And he knows we can’t get there ourselves. So here’s what he did: He came on the racetrack himself. He had a human racecar, but put his son Jesus in the driver’s seat. Jesus had two objectives:

1.  MeetGod’s standards perfectly, to win the race and get to the winner’s circle. Jesus was human, and so was subject to every temptation that humans face. But as the Son of God, he was also divine, which meant that he perfectly resisted every temptation and lived a perfect, sinless, holy life.
2. Sincewe’re technically disqualified, he took the punishment of that disqualificationon himself. He paid the price to win tickets for us all, so we can join him in the winner’s circle. You see, back at the beginning of the world, God had told Adam and Eve that if they ate the “forbidden fruit” the punishment was death. When he banished them, that didn’t mean he was changing his mind. He was only delaying their punishment. Ever since that time, the punishment for every sin has always been death. It’s what we deserve: to be separated from God for eternity. That’s what makes hell so terrible. Everything good in our lives comes from God. Take that away, and it leaves only the bad. But I digress. The punishment for sin is death. But since Jesus never sinned, he was the only human being to ever live who did not deserve to die. But he did, so that his death would turn the wrath of God away from us. He took our punishment on himself. He served our sentence to win our freedom.

But that’s not the end of the story. Jesus didn’t just die. He came back to life. If his resurrection had been immediate, people would say he never died. But no, it happened three days later. You see, death never had power over Jesus. He let himself be killed, but he always had authority over death. So when he had fulfilled all the promises that God had given to people about him, he threw death off of himself and walked out of his own grave (well, technically, thegrave was borrowed). And since he had power over his own death, he proved that he has power over ours as well.

So what happens now? Now, we’re faced with a choice: accept a free ticket into the winner’s circle, or continue to race the way we think we should. Either we ask God to forgive our sins, and to count Jesus’ perfect life and sacrifice as our own, or we continue on our way, looking for the finish line around every corner. By now, you probably already know which choice you’re going to make, and I pray that it’s the right one.

If you want to make the choice to accept Jesus’s life and death as your own, first let me say, YAHOO! *Ahem.* Pardon. Next, we can get down to logistics. Here’s the basic principle: Tell God you are sorry for your sins, and that you believe that Jesus’ death paid the penalty for them. Ask God to accept Jesus’ death as your own, and ask him to enter your heart so that he can make your life look more like Jesus’ life: holy and perfect. Don’t get me wrong, Christians aren’t perfect. But we are being perfected.

If you want to know more about God’s rules and Jesus’ sacrifice, I can refer you to two places: the Bible (especially the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as Romans to start), and the Church (meaning, anyone who is a Christian—including me—and who believes that we’re “saved by grace.”). Once you’ve made the decision to ask Jesus into your heart, you need to get plugged in with a community so that you can learn more and grow under the guidance of someone who has been racing this way for a while. You need a crew and a coach. That’s why Christians attend churches.

Anywho, that’s all I’ve got to say! Except one last thing: if you did accept Jesus, I really, really, really want to know about it! So please tell me!

Love Everlasting

You have loved me with an everlasting love.
That fact comes to me again and again
Though all others leave me, you never have
And I know you never will

This love of yours is relentless
It pursues me to the ends of the earth
It keeps on, willing to forget my mistakes
It comforts my every hurt

Why should I be so petty? Ungrateful?
So forgetful, forgetting to trust?
Why should I think I know better than you?
When without you, I am dust?

This love of yours is extravagant
Heedless of all cost
You celebrate my every victory
You mourn my every loss

Yet who am I that you notice me?
What have I to offer?
Flaws and baggage is all I see
And for that you chose to suffer?

This love of yours is perfect
More than I could hope to be
You're God, and you give of yourself
When I just focus on me

My wounds don't go so very deep
They don't leave such dreadful scars
Yet even those you choose to heal?
And call a work of art?

This love of yours is majestic
Far above any others
It lifts me up when life gets hectic
And surrounds me with its borders

Why would I rely on any love than yours?
What could they possibly offer?
They crumble as soon as they have formed
But you're my only real lover

The Ultimate Church: If...Then and Opposites

Question: in your opinion, what is the ultimate church? What should be our goal as a fellowship of people?

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and one in purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"
Philippians 2:1-5 NIV

If...Then
The ultimate church: The picture here is a group of people who share their personal blessings with each other so that the group as a whole is blessed in the same way: If you have any comfort from Christ's love, then be like-minded by having the same love. If you have any fellowship with the Spirit, then be like-minded by being one in spirit. If you have any tenderness and compassion, then be like-minded by being one in purpose (once the Church is "one in spirit," the Holy Spirit can give everyone common "tenderness and compassion," in order lead them to work towards a common purpose).

So what gets in the way of that kind of unity? Selfish ambition and vain conceit. Those blessings we're supposed to share (encouragement, love, fellowship with the Spirit, and common purpose) are easily defeated by selfish ambition, vanity, and conceit. Just like you cannot have unity with God if you have sin, you cannot have unity with fellow believers if you have pride.

Opposites
So how do we accomplish this goal? How do we get the humility that leads to unity?We must do three things:
First, "Consider others as better than ourselves." That's the opposite of "vain conceit."
Second, "Look not only to [our] own interests, but also to the interests of others." That's the opposite of "selfish ambition."

Finally, we must look to the One who serves as our ultimate example (and teacher) in everything--Jesus Christ--to find the sort of humility that is needed for unity.

So what kind of humility did Jesus have? That is outlined in the next passage of Philippians 2 (verses 6-11). Ultimately, it says this: Jesus put God above everybody, and everybody above himself. That's the ultimate goal for us in our attitude. That's the picture of the ultimate church.

The Grace of the Humble

In my life lately, I have been struggling to discipline my sinful nature and live by the Spirit, especially in my free time. For some reason, in the moment, it feels like my free time doesn't matter. Not to me, and not to God. But God has been convicting me about it, and ever since he did I've been struggling to change my attitude, as well as my actions. It's been hard. For some unknown reason, I have had trouble surrendering my free time every day, and using it to do what God wants me to do instead of simply entertaining myself until the next commitment comes.

Then I ran into something while I was reading James 4 the other day. There was a note from my past self written in the margin of my Bible pointing me to 1 Peter 5.

"But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
James 4:6‭-‬10 NIV

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."
1 Peter 5:5‭-‬10 NIV

The language and themes in these two passages are so similar that I had to do a double-take to make sure they weren't written by the same author. But no, they aren't. At least, they aren't written by the same human author. That makes me really pay attention to what is being said, because apparently it's important enough that God decided to say it twice.

I'd like to examine each point in detail:
1. Humble yourself before God
2. Submit to God, and he will lift you up
3. If we humble ourselves, we will receive God's grace (Proverbs 3:34)
4. Resist the devil

1. Humble Yourself Before God
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand"
1 Peter 5:6 NIV

"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord"
James 4:8‭-‬10 NIV

I know I'm starting with the unpleasant subject first: the command to renounce our self-love and surrender our hearts, our minds, our lives, our strength, and our very souls to God's authority. That does not always feel very fun.
Look at the language James used: grieve, mourn, wail, gloom. This process involves comparing our pitiful, puny, sinful nature to God's all-powerful, all-worthy, perfect nature. When we do this, we realize how unapproachable God's holiness is, and our souls long for him. This process of humbling ourselves may not be fun, but it is necessary!

This is how we humble ourselves: by doing as James said. Grieve, wail, and mourn. But what are we mourning? What causes our grief? What prompts us to wail?
We grieve because we've caused God's heart to grieve. We mourn because we've caused God's heart to mourn. Humbling ourselves involves acknowledging and repenting for what we've done in rebellion against him.

So what are some things that cause God's heart to grieve (that we need to repent of)?
a) Foolishness
"A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the mother who bore him."
Proverbs 17:25 NIV

God is our Father. He created us, and he loves us, and so that is how he identifies himself to us. 

Keep in mind that in Proverbs, the fool is the one who is morally deficient. He has forsaken wisdom and instead follows whatever way he desires. He is completely taken by earthly pleasures, with no care to contemplate the consequences of tomorrow. 

How our sinful nature longs to play the fool! Even if it's only for a little while. We think it will be restful to forget consequences for a time, in order to do as we wish. We willingly choose to forget that the only place to find true rest is in God. This is the kind of foolishness that grieves the Father's heart. It is something we acknowledge and mourn as we humble ourselves before him.

b) Rebellion
"He said, “Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me”; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.  

Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them."
Isaiah 63:8‭-‬10 NIV
Do you think God wanted to be Israel's enemy in this story? Don't you think he would have preferred to cherish and nurture forever this nation that he had set apart as his very own?

In the same way, our rebellion grieves his Spirit. Because of our adoption, we are now the chosen people. We have been saved from our sins, grafted into Israel, and given the Holy Spirit! An unprecedented act of mercy! Yet in our rebellion, we reject his Holy Spirit in order to indulge our worldly flesh. If it weren't for the saving power of Jesus' blood, we would never escape the wrath that should follow! We should be ashamed of ourselves, for we know better! After everything he has done for us to save us, guide us, and teach us, what Father wouldn't be grieved when his children turn away? 

This also is something we should acknowledge and mourn as we humble ourselves before him. And as we repent and humble ourselves, let us also remember to thank him for turning his wrath aside from us!

Wow, that was a lot of negativity! Yet, just as James said, humbling ourselves can involve "Changing our laughter to mourning and our joy to gloom". So what's the point of all of this?

This is why we humble ourselves: 

a) To put our lives in the proper perspective. When we compare ourselves to other people, it can be easy to focus on what we are doing "better" than they are. I'm reminded of the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee was sure of getting God's favor because he was more "righteous" than the other petitioner who had approached. Yet the tax collector went home justified, because he had compared himself to God's righteousness and found himself wanting. When we are humble before God, we will be humble before our fellow man as well.

b) To approach the throne to make our requests in the correct attitude. The context of James 4 is all about why the recipients of the letter were not getting what they wanted because they were either not asking for it or they weren't asking correctly. So the passage we're looking at is the explanation of how to properly present our requests to God. It can be easy to slip into pride, and take advantage of God's grace by scornfully demanding the things we want. How can we hope to be granted requests that way? Instead, humility grants us the extension of the scepter, so that we may approach the unapproachable, holy King and make our requests. Just like Esther humbled herself by fasting for three days (Esther 4:16), and then clothed herself to please the king (Esther 5:1-2), we clothe ourselves with humility (1 Peter 5:5) to please our King before we present our requests. How can we ask that he utilize his authority and power in our lives if we don't first place our lives under his authority and power?

Fortunately, there is not just a command and a necessity involved with humbling ourselves, but there are also promises! A couple of those can be found in the main passages we're looking at in James 4 and 1 Peter 5.

2. Submit to God, and He Will Lift You Up

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

James 4:10

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

1 Peter 5:6-7

This is the first promise we find that's associated with humbling ourselves. I have discovered two possible ways to think of this promise for God to "lift us up."
1) Luke 18:14b "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Just like Jesus was "exalted to the highest place" for his obedience to God (Philippians 2:8-9), we will be exalted as well, if we humble ourselves and place our lives under God's authority to do with as he pleases. This hope is not without a foundation, but is firmly based on multiple promises throughout the Bible, including James 4, 1 Peter 5, and Luke 18, as we just saw.

2) When I read these sections of our main passages, I picture a petitioner kneeling before God's throne. I then picture God taking that petitioner by the elbows and lifting him up to a standing position. In my mind, this signifies that the petitioner has been granted favor, and God will hear their request in a way that reflects the petitioner's status. This reminds me of the instructions Jesus gave in Luke 14:7-11 about where to sit at a feast:
"When you are invited to a feast, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests." (verse 10)
When we approach God's throne of grace, we can do so with confidence. However, if we also humble ourselves before him, he will lift us up, reminding us of our favored status in his sight.
Fun fact: do you know what Luke 14:11 says? "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Which is the same promise we just saw in Luke 18. I just thought that was kind of cool. Moving on.


3. If We Humble Ourselves, We Will Receive God's Grace
"But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:6

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
1 Peter 5:5

Both of these passages quote the same Proverb:
"He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed"
Proverbs 3:34

This is the second promise we find in these passages that's associated with humbling ourselves to God. Submitting ourselves to God in the manner that we discussed in section 1 involves a lot of repentance. And as we all know,
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and juts and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

God's grace is granted to those who acknowledge their need for it. That is the benefit of humbling ourselves before him! We can approach God in humility, and come away knowing that we have been forgiven of everything. After all, Jesus said
"If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and come back to you saying 'I repent,' you must forgive them." (Luke 17:3-4)
If that is the kind of forgiveness that God expects us to offer--the kind that forgives the seventh offense with the same willingness and attitude as it did the first--how much more will God offer us the same kind of forgiveness! Therefore, we can be confident as we humble ourselves before him that he will give us the grace we need. And it is not only the grace of forgiveness that we obtain in this way. We receive another kind of grace as well...


4. Resist the Devil
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
James 4:7

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast."
1 Peter 5:8-10

Since both of these passages mentioned resisting the devil directly after instructing us to humble ourselves before God, I have to think the two are related.

I love how James states it: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Direct as always, James! However, if I had not also read 1 Peter 5, I may have had a few questions left over. Like, um, how? Seriously, it does not seem so easy. It is simple, yes, but not easy.

Thankfully, Peter goes into a few more details. Here's what I catch:
1) "Stand firm in the faith." The only way to resist something is by standing on firm ground. Our faith is grounded on something immovable: The Truth. God's Word is truth (John 17:17), and Jesus is The Truth (John 14:6). Our faith can help us combat the lies of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16). Is he trying to tell you that God isn't faithful? Stand on your faith, reminding yourself what God has done in the past to be faithful to you, and to the people in the Bible.

2) We are not alone in the struggle. "You know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." One of the most common and most discouraging lies that get launched our way is that we are alone. We may look at everyone around us and think that they have their lives all put together. "Nobody else will understand," "nobody will care," and "if you admit to this struggle, it will change how people see you" are some of the thoughts we may have during a difficult time. However, God created a community in the Church, with the purpose of having us help one another and spur each other on in the faith. And if that is God's will for us, then of course God's Enemy--like a prowling lion--wishes to disrupt it by forcing the most vulnerable people to the edge of the herd to be picked off one by one. That is why it is so important to go to a trusted friend or mentor with what you're going through. "You know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." You may be surprised at how well they relate to you. They may even be going through something similar, and you can help each other get through. Sin is not an original invention. There's no reason to struggle with it alone, especially when that's not how God intended for it to be handled. Even Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, requested that Peter, James, and John pray for him in the garden (Matthew 26:37-38). So don't be afraid to turn to someone you trust with what you struggle with.

3) The struggle will not last forever. "After you have struggled for a while..." If we have given our lives to God, our sin has been defeated and our salvation is sure (2 Corinthians 7:10). We will inherit eternal life (John 10:28). The devil's punishment is certain (Revelation 20:14). And if we stand firm in the faith, we will receive our reward from God that he has promised. Hope is a strong motivator in the midst of a struggle. If a drowning mouse is rescued once, the next time it is drowning it will hold out all the longer, looking forward to when it is rescued again. We have a certainty of being rescued in the end, and therefore we can cling to hope while we struggle against the schemes of the devil and with our sinful nature. Even if our lives feel like one long string of struggles, that does not mean God has abandoned us. Our hope does not have any basis on this life or on our circumstances. It is based in what the Bible says that God has promised for the next life.

4) God will use the struggle and give you grace "The God of all grace... himself will restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast." If we stand firm, God will make us firm. The traits we acquire in order to get through tough times is often the reward we receive at the end. It is the fruit of our struggle. If we need more faith, our faith will be tested. If our faith is being tested, God will use the test to make our faith stronger. At the end of the test, we get to keep the stronger faith and use it again. It's like in a video game. Sometimes you get sent on quests to fetch something, like a honeycomb or a collection of sticks and worms. When you've retrieved it, some quest-givers reward you by giving you the completed product, like a jar of honey or a fishing pole. In those kind of games, often the only way to get those items is by completing the quest. It's the same way with us. When we are going through something tough, it's like we're collecting character traits. When we give them to God, he then puts them together and rewards us with the completed product. 

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4

God also blessed us with grace in the trial: "The God of all grace... himself will restore you..." We cannot struggle with sin--resist the devil--by ourselves and hope to win. We cannot resist the sinful nature unless we live by the Spirit. We need grace from God. Fortunately, he's the God of all grace, and is willing to give us what we need when we submit to him. 

So how do we resist the devil? Stand firm in the faith, be encouraged by others, cling to hope, and ask God for grace.

And how do we win our struggle with sin? Humble ourselves before God, and resist the devil. We cannot win our fight with sin if we don't reject it and acknowledge its harm to us and to our relationship with God. We will not get what we ask for unless we ask with right motives. But if we do ask in humility, God will lift is up and give us the grace of forgiveness as well as the grace to resist the devil. And finally, if we resist the devil, he will flee from us!

Footnote: Keep in mind that this is a process. When Satan was tempting Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11), and Jesus resisted, Satan didn't leave right away. Jesus had to be patient and persistent. So do we. The promise is there: the devil will flee. But don't be surprised if he sticks around just long enough for us to learn something in the process. That is how God often works things for our good (Romans 8:28): by using the trial to teach us something new and help us grow in our walk with him.

Holy Week Day Eight: He is Risen!

Holy Week Day Eight: He is Risen!
Passage: Mark 16
(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+16&version=NIV)

It's not over yet! Now that Jesus has defeated sin through his death, it is time for him to defeat death with his resurrection!

If Jesus's story had stopped at death, than we would have no hope of life.
As Paul puts it,
"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man."
1 Corinthians 15:16-17, 19-21

Why would our faith be futile, and why would we be the most to be pitied, if Jesus had not been raised from the dead?

Jesus' resurrection is our promise of resurrection. We are working towards eternal life, where we have victory over death. In this life, we face all sorts of trials, persecutions, mockeries, and opposition because we believe in Jesus. If that were the only things that faith earned us, nobody would choose it!

But now, since Jesus was resurrected from the dead, we have the hope--the sure expectation to be raised from the dead as well! We celebrate not only what he did, but what it eventually means for us! Jesus sacrifice is what made us citizens of heaven, and his resurrection is our promise to actually get there.

Plus, it's just amazing, isn't it? Jesus had the power to raise himself from the dead. Boom! Just like that. And then he flew up into heaven in the full view of his followers, and sent his Holy Spirit to live in their hearts until he returns.

Where is Jesus now? He is sitting at God's right hand, exalted above all. The King preparing his kingdom for his rule. And now our lives are joined with his, so that in spirit we are with him even now.
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
Colossians 3:1-4

There in God's presence, he is also our High Priest. He is constantly interceding on our behalf as one who is able to sympathize with our weakness, but who has also overcome it.
"Such a high priest truly meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever."
Hebrews 7:26-28

Right Response
So what do we do now? We wait, in hope, for our resurrection. We wait for the day when Jesus comes back to bring us home to he place he is preparing for us. And in the meantime, we tell as many people as we can that He is Risen!

Here's your challenge for today:

• Just like we began this week with worship, it is only fitting that we end it with worship as well! On Palm Sunday, we were focusing on welcoming the King into our hearts. Now we praise the High Priest who has been made perfect forever, and who is now working on our behalf to help us overcome as well.
• I also want us to be encouraged by reflecting on all that Jesus did in obedience to God. Everything he endured earned him that place that is above all. In the same way, there is a reward in store for those of us who persevere to the end. 
• (It is Jesus saying all this:)"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God
• He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
• To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
• To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-- 'He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' (Psalm 2:9)--just as I have received authority from my Father.
• I will also give him the morning star
• He who overcomes will...be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge hi name before my Father and his angels.
• Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it.
• I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God
• And I will also write on him my new name.
• To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
• Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21
• "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 5:10

Now that we have finished our Holy Week devotional, and have re-committed our hearts to God for the year, I would like to leave with this encouragement:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (Clear the temple! Give God everything!). 

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

For the joy set before him he endured the cross (which was not easy!), scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Hebrews 12:1-3

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, and consider everything he endured successfully, and let that encourage us in our walk with God:

May we pursue God's heart, and obey him through the power of his Spirit, just as Jesus did. 

May we give God everything, and submit our will to his, while never forgetting to turn to him when we are in distress.

May we never forget the power and authority that God wields, and the authority that we have through the Holy Spirit.

May we pursue God faithfully, and let his Spirit flow in our hearts so that he may produce good fruit in our lives, yielding a harvest when Jesus comes looking for it.

May we submit our hearts to Jesus' scrutiny, so that he can drive out everything that is taking his place, and so that his Spirit may be hosted in a true house of prayer

May we walk forward with the full assurance that through Jesus' sacrifice we have been made a part of God's family

May we be full of the hope and joy that comes from knowing that our eternity is secure, and our Heavenly Father is ever approachable.

Have a blessed Easter everyone! And a very good year with God!

Holy Week Day Seven: The Curtain is Torn!

Holy Week Day Seven: The Curtain is Torn!
Passage: Mark 15:33-38

"Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place."
Exodus 26:31-33

"The Lord said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover."
Leviticus 16:2

"With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
Mark 15:37-38

Only one man could enter the Most Holy Place: the high priest. He was only allowed on one day every year: the tenth day of the seventh month, or the Day of Atonement. And he had to bring blood of an atonement sacrifice for himself and for the people of Israel, as well as a burnt offering, to enter even then (see Leviticus 16).

The penalty for entering God's presence without blood is death. This curtain separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple in order to protect the people from that death. This is the same curtain that was torn in two from top to bottom at the exact moment that Jesus died on the cross.

I love picturing what might have happened to tear the curtain like that. It's not like someone sneaked in with a pair of scissors and cut a little bit off the bottom, and then ripped it up from there. If it had been done by a human, they would have died. I like to picture a huge angel (invisible to people) stepping up to the curtain from behind, grasping the middle, and then rrrriiiiiiiiiiip! Imagine the shock on the faces of the people who saw the curtain being torn by itself! The stark fear they felt at the realization that God's holy presence was not contained any longer!

So what does this mean? What does it signify? Why was the curtain in the temple torn?

1. Jesus' death caused a shift in God's relationship with people. Humanity no longer needed the protection of the old covenant, because through Jesus' sacrifice God had made a new and better one. Jesus' blood offered better protection from sin than the blood of bulls and goats. So the curtain was no longer needed. Jesus' blood protects us once and for all, and perfectly. As long as we are under its protection, there is no longer the risk of being killed by entering God's presence.
2. God was establishing a new dwelling place for his presence, and was leaving the old one behind. "Look, your house is left to you desolate." (Jesus speaking to Jerusalem in Matthew 23:38). Just like we spoke about on Day Two (clearing the temple), God's Holy Spirit--his presence--has entered our hearts, making them his new temple. Through the Holy Spirit, God now dwells in our hearts (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Jesus' death cleared the way for this to be possible. And once God had established his new covenant with his new perfect sacrifice, the old temple became obsolete.

So you see, even though it was not easy for Jesus to give his life, the fruit that his sacrifice bore was all the reward he could have asked for!

"For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:2

Jesus' great love is what drove him to make a way for us to dwell with him forever. His reward--his joy--was his success in that endeavor. He so longs for a deep, intimate relationship with every person on earth. Including you! 

Right Response

Take a look at this parable found in Matthew 13:44-46:

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."

You are the treasure God found. You are the fine pearl. He sold everything he had just so he could have you. And just like the parable says, selling everything to purchase you was a joy!

The curtain is torn! Jesus got all the technical details out of the way of having this relationship, and so now everything else is left up to you. 

So here is your challenge for today:

• Are you going to choose to have a relationship with him? Can you feel the longing he has to spend time with you, and live with you forever?
• How deep and intimate are you willing to go? You are not ever going to reach a point where God is the one satisfied! There is always a deeper level he longs to take you to.
• That parable about the treasure and the pearl can go both ways. God's love is the most precious treasure you will ever find! Just like we spoke about on Day Five, it is worth giving up everything for. It may not always be convenient, and it may not always be easy, but it can still be a joy! Jesus was willing to do whatever it took to make this amazing relationship happen. Are you?

Holy Week Day Six: Getting Us To Heaven Is Not Easy

Introduction

Main Passage: Mark 14:12-36

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+14%3A12-36&version=NIV)

Mark 14:12-16. Sometimes we know what Jesus wants to do, and he waits to do it until we present ourselves for his service.

Mark 14:17-21. In this section, Jesus knows which of his followers will betray him. He knew from the beginning that Judas would take advantage of his trust by bringing his enemies to his secret meeting place. But that doesn’t mean he treated Judas any differently the whole time he was following him. The natural thing for Jesus to do would have been to close off his heart to his betrayer, and steel himself so that the betrayal wouldn’t hurt so much when it happened. But no, Judas was brought into Jesus' inner circle anyway. Jesus would have loved him no less than any of the others. His love is not dependent on someone’s actions. Love always trusts, no matter how certain the future betrayal is.

This is the first demonstration we see today of how much love Jesus truly showed. He chose to open his heart to Judas for three years of ministry and friendship, knowing the whole time what it would ultimately lead to. If Jesus had not loved Judas so much, his betrayal would not have been so significant.

Mark 14:33-36. Here we reach my main focus for the day: this wasn’t easy. In Matthew, Jesus is quoted as saying, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) This prayer is a powerful combination of supplication and surrender.

Supplication: Jesus knew to that to the end God would still be approachable. From “Father, may this hour pass from me” to “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus' desperation for his Father's comfort and strength never wavered. If he had ever tried to perform this act of ultimate obedience alone, he would have surely been crushed under its weight before all was accomplished.

Jesus' prayer here, and the way he described what he was going through to his disciples (“overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”), gives us a glimpse of what it felt like to face such a responsibility: to willingly submit himself to be handed over by his Father to be sacrificed for the sins of all of mankind. If you have ever been faced with obeying something God has told you to do, and the task will make you uncomfortable or nervous, you know that when you reach the brink of surrender your earthly flesh rears up in protest. When Jesus was faced with that same temptation here, he immediately turned to God.

Surrender: No matter how much temptation Jesus faced to indulge in self-pity--or even self-preservation—he was still fully submitted to God the whole time. His surrender to his Father’s will while he was in such distress is honestly one of the most incredible things Jesus did in his life on earth.

There's obviously nothing in our lives that can be adequately compared to what Jesus had to do, but it can be helpful to picture one of our personal experiences so that we can more easily grasp what he did for us. So as you consider this scene in Jesus life, recall a time in your life when you threw a good tantrum. You may be able to remember your early childhood tantrums, or if you’re like me you may have thrown a few as an adult when you’re in prayer sometimes.

Now before we go on, I want to clarify that Jesus was not throwing a tantrum here. There was absolutely no rebellion in his appeal, just overwhelming emotion. But when we, as sinful humans, get overwhelmed by emotions, our tendency is more toward getting caught up in them to the point where we throw up our hands and express our frustration with a good complaining wail of a whine. 

I want you to deliberately recall the moment before you vent your frustration: perhaps you’re frustrated at something that has happened to you that is unfair, unpleasant, uncalled-for, and that you don’t understand and don’t have any control over. You’re being bombarded by emotions such as anger, frustration, and hurt that all feed off of each other until they come to the brink of boiling over.

That's the moment where we find Jesus here. He knew he didn’t deserve anything that was going to be done to him that very night. He knew it would be unfair, unpleasant, and uncalled-for. His emotions boiled over within him until they affected his physical body (sweating drops of blood). How amazing to think that in the midst of all of that, he still

1) Had the presence of mind to turn to God and pour out his request to him

2) Had the self-discipline to submit his will to God's

I wanted to touch on that prayer as a way to introduce my focus for Good Friday:

Holy Week Day Six: Getting Us to Heaven Is Not Easy

It occurs to me a lot that the majority of people (in the USA at least) who believe in heaven also believe that that’s where they'll end up. It seems that the classic mindset is that our default destination is heaven, and that most people go there unless they do something to deserve going to hell (if they believe in hell at all).

This theory sure takes the pressure off, doesn’t it? It’s almost too bad that it isn’t true. The truth is that we aren’t the ones who decide our final destination. If we did, then every person would go to heaven, regardless of what they’ve done. After all, “All a person's ways seem right to him” (Proverbs 16:2). 

Everyone who does something wrong thinks it is excusable for one reason or another. People are very clever in how they form their thoughts about themselves. We are experts at making excuses to avoid feeling guilty. 

But what if guilt is good? In general, I mean. After all, the base function of pain is helpful. It tells you that harm is coming to your body so you can make it stop. What if guilt is the same way? What if the purpose of guilt is to let you know that harms is being done to your character or spirit? (In this paragraph, I'm lumping conviction and discipline and guilt together in one term). Feeling pain is a healthy thing to do. If you don’t feel pain when you are supposed to, your body is not considered healthy. If you do something that’s wrong and don’t feel guilty, should that not be a sign of an unhealthy conscience?

But who, then, determines what is right and what is wrong, if even murderers and slavers think they deserve to go to heaven? In answer, here is the second half of Proverbs 16:2 “All a person's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs motives.” God is the perfect judge for mankind. Not just because he himself is perfect, but also because he can be consistent with his rulings without showing favoritism.

The default destination for us is not heaven. We don’t automatically go there, and then go to hell if we do something to deserve it. No, in reality our default destination is hell until we meet God's standards of perfection. Only then do we deserve to go to heaven.

So how do we know how to get God to let us in heaven? That is the perfect question!

God has graciously given us everything we need: First, he gave us a copy of his standards--that he will be judging us against--in the Bible. All of his judgments will be measured against it. Second, he gave us examples of people who were good in their own way, but who still did not meet those standards (Such as David, Abraham, Noah, Moses, etc). Finally, he gave us a substitute who was able to meet his standards perfectly. That was Jesus.

Everything Jesus did that we celebrate on Good Friday and Easter was solely to make a way for us to get into heaven. Imagine if God didn’t love people, at least not as much as he does. If that were the case, then he wouldn’t have to care about humanity’s eternity and our eternal destination. He wouldn’t have to give us the Bible to tell us how to get to him. And he certainly wouldn’t have had to send his only Son to earth to be scorned, tortured, and killed by tiny humans, as a way to punish him for humanity’s wrongdoings, all for the sole purpose of making a way to heaven where there was none before.

However, fortunately for us, God does love us enough to do all of those things.

But that still doesn't mean it was easy.

"If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me". This prayer prompts a radical thought: since Jesus was God's beloved Son, with whom he was well pleased, it must be significant that this request from him was not granted. There was no other way. It was not possible for God to accomplish his will in any other fashion or through anybody else.

When this first occurred to me, I wanted to make sure I was right. So I looked up that verse in the Matthew Henry Commentary to see what he had to say. He agreed. This is how he sums up Jesus' request:

"If God may be glorified, man saved, and the ends of his undertaking answered, without his drinking of this bitter cup, he desires to be excused, otherwise not."

-Matthew Henry's Commentary

Therefore let it sink in that there was no other way for God's will to be accomplished, and for humanity to be brought into heaven. Though making this way cost Jesus so much, God now offers it to us for free. That is why this holiday is called Good Friday. It is the celebration of the Good News that we can accept Jesus' monumental sacrifice, and be accepted into heaven. 

Jesus met God's standards, and he died for our wrongdoings. Therefore when we accept his sacrifice for us, putting our faith in him, our lives are exchanged for his. He can be our substitute, so that when God is judging our lives to determine our final destination, Jesus' death for us can clear our record, and his blameless life is seen as ours.

Right Response

We're almost done, I promise! 

Here's the challenge for today:

• Let Jesus' love for you permeate your heart. He loved you enough to do everything necessary to spend eternity with you, whatever the personal cost. This is the only challenge for today, because I want you focusing on it and only it. Whatever is happening in your life, it does not change what he has done for you. He deserves full glory for that!

Holy Week Day Four: They Are All Wrong - Except One

We'll spend today and tomorrow looking at some other Day 3 events, because there's a lot that happens in Mark on Day 3 of Jesus' Holy Week. There also is not very much mentioned between Day 3 and Day 6. Likewise, there isn't anything mentioned chronologically between Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, so we'll continue with similar themes from Day 6 on Day 7.

Day Four: They Are All Wrong - Except One
Passages:
Skim Mark 12:1-27 (for context)
Read Mark 12:28-34 (main focus)

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A1-27%3B+Mark+12%3A28-34&version=NIV)

This chapter continues the debate that started with the questioning of Jesus' authority. Everybody takes a turn trying to trap him: Elders, priests, Herodians, Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law. Every man among them is trying to trap Jesus in his answers, instead of paying attention to what his answers are.

Except one.

Let's go in-depth into that main passage.

The set-up: "Noticing that Jesus has given them a good answer..." (verse 28b)

This is the first thing that sets this teacher of the law apart from the others. He noticed Jesus. He did not automatically reach for a defensive or offensive stance, hiding behind his own righteousness. He saw a good answer to what might have been a tricky question (Whose wife will she be?). He also witnessed true wisdom: getting straight to the point behind the question (is there a resurrection or not?). He noticed these things, and decided to pose his own test for Jesus. Notice that I said test, not trap. That's another thing that set this teacher apart from others: His question had a different motive than those of the elders, priests, Pharisees, and other teachers. He truly wanted to hear how Jesus would answer. It was a test of Jesus' knowledge, of his wisdom, and of his character.

The test: "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" (verse 28c)

This truly is a good test for one teacher to give to another. It cuts straight to the point: What do you believe about the Law? What do you believe about God? The answer to this question reveals both of those things. If Jesus had said something like "Keep the Sabbath holy" or "Do not murder" or "Sacrifice a pure animal", an astute observer such as this could have written him off easily. This teacher was basically saying, "When you read the law, what do you see?" Does Jesus see rules, or a God to be followed?

The answer:  "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor a yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (verses 29-31)

Here, Jesus proves that he sees the Law correctly: It all hangs on loving God and loving people. If you aren't doing that, you aren't fulfilling the Law no matter how many regulations you keep. Then the teacher agrees with Jesus, and Jesus tells him that he is not far from the kingdom of God. Both men are satisfied with the other's answer.

Right response:

We cannot go through this passage--with the goal of this Bible study being to re-dedicate our hearts to God--without addressing the Greatest Commandment.

Have you noticed how specific this commandment is? It does not simply say to love God, but it goes into all the different parts of our being, and tells us to give all of it in love to God. Do you have a heart? Give it to God. Do you have a soul? Give that too. Do you have a mind? Yeah, he wants even that. Do you have strength? Great or small, it's his.

I wonder what our answer would be if someone asked us this same question: "What is the greatest commandment in the Bible?" Some might say "The Golden Rule" or "The Great Commission" or "The Roman Road". It can be easy to get caught up in all the different directions that are given in the New Testament. I know that I have often fallen into the trap of focusing too much on whether or not I'm fulfilling one commandment or another. But even now, it all boils down to these two: Love God, and love people. There is no commandment greater than these.

So today's challenge is:

• Examine the object of your focus. What commandment in the Bible have you been treating as the most important?
• Examine the quality of your focus. Is your gaze straying to the worries of this life, or are you seeking the kingdom first? There is no renewal of faith until we fix our eyes on Jesus. And if we are truly seeking Jesus, there is no way we do not come away with renewed faith.
• This is also a good time to start evaluating if God has all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. However, we will go more in depth to giving everything to God in the study tomorrow about the Widow's Offering and Jesus' Anointing at Bethany.

Holy Week Day Five: Giving God Everything

Day Five: Giving Jesus Everything
Passages:
Mark 12:41-44 The Widow's Offering
Mark 14:1-9 Jesus Anointed at Bethany
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A41-44%2C+Mark+14%3A1-9&version=NIV

I believe that it is no accident that both of these stories are about women. Jesus was all about turning the traditions of society on its head. He cared for those who were seen as cursed. He associated with those who were seen as tainted by sin. And he exalted those who were seen as lowly.

The Poor Widow: In Jesus' day, you did not get much lower than being a poor widow. You were a woman, and you were not valuable to have around. You could not remarry and so contribute to society. Instead, you relied on others for your well-being. Some widows were wealthy enough to live on their own income and savings, but not this one. Imagine being immersed in that mindset from childhood, and then being there when Jesus says that out of all the offerings he's seen that day, he values her gift the most.

The Woman with the Perfume: By the same token, the woman with the perfume was not seen in very high esteem by the other people at the table. She was wasting her resource of income on one thing. But what others called foolish and wasteful, Jesus called beautiful. She recognized Jesus' value as being more than the value of her perfume. And in return for her sacrificial service, she receives one of my favorite blessings in the New Testament: "Wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." (Mark 14:9)

Not only do I like the fact that Jesus saw and valued these offerings for their true worth, but I also like how well he cut through the pride of those who were promoting--flaunting--their own righteousness.

The Rich Givers: These people threw in large amounts of money to the treasury in order to boast. They were showing off how much money they gave, and how much they had in the first place. And yet when Jesus saw them, he said "Your offering is not as valuable to me." The literal worth of their gift was less than that of the Widow's. There was absolutely no self-promotion in her action. She was doing everything she could to love God with the resources she had.

The Scoffers: I'm not a fan of people who look at an offering to God and say "What a waste!" Apparently, neither is Jesus. After he tells them to leave the woman alone, he tries to give them a taste of her perspective. They were taking him for granted. Can you imagine his hurt when they proved that they loved money more than him? During his last week of life on earth?

Right Response
God expects everything from us. It is not the amount that he is concerned with, it is the percentage. Do you have two copper coins? Put them both in the basket. Do you have the most expensive perfume in the most beautiful jar? Pour out it all.
No amount is "good enough" until every last bit is given.

There's another part of the sentence "the poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me" that I want to touch on briefly. Doing good, like giving to the poor, only has value if it is done as an offering to Jesus. We never use righteous acts to earn favor or salvation. God cannot be bribed, and we cannot be perfect! We cannot even be good. Such acts are only done to earn favor with people. If we are being good for the sake of being good, it's no good! We're doing it out of order:
First, we love God.

Then we love our neighbors.

The first recipient is more important--more valuable than the next. If we "waste" all our love on God, it's no waste at all. If we have some left over, it overflows naturally to our neighbors.
And as we pour out that love to those two sources, the love we receive back for ourselves has the same ranking for it's value: God's love for us is more important than people's.

This point is very close to what I said on Tuesday (Day 3): Do not try to do the work of God without him!
Instead, wait to be properly equipped before setting out on the job. 

And not only do we need to be properly equipped, but we need to have the right heart behind the actions. It's a heart we get from God, because we've given our hearts to God. A beautiful exchange!

Here's my challenge for you for today:

• Evaluate what God's value is to you. Are you taking him for granted? Has he not earned the obedience, love, respect, and physical resources he expects from you?
• Evaluate your priorities. Are you giving God the first and the best? Are you saving some for yourself, in an effort to maintain control? Are you trying to keep alive a "safety net"?
• Evaluate your motives. Is your righteousness a matter of showing off? Are you settling for giving 50% because it is technically more than what other people are giving?
• Pray, and ask God what it is that he wants you to give him, that you've been reluctant to bring up to this point. Then hand it over already!

It's amazing how simple, and how hard a lot of things are in God's kingdom. Giving everything to God is one of them. Does it need ceremony? No. Does it need a big speech? Uh uh. Is it a complicated process that requires days of fasting followed by the most articulate prayer ever uttered? Of course not. It is so simple, and yet it can feel huge. It can feel big enough to require speeches and ceremonies and special prayers.

It feels that big because you can't do it on your own. No offering is complete without the Holy Spirit being poured out on top.

(Unbelievable! That picture is perfectly represented by the drink offering in the law! At Passover and other festivals, each sacrifice consists of a burnt offering, a grain offering, and a drink offering. Perhaps it can be seen as this: an atonement offering for sin, a thanksgiving offering for blessings, and a fellowship offering for communion. Or it's an offering of all the different kinds of resources God blesses us with: from the herd, from the field, and from the vineyard. That's pretty cool, if not relevant. I did not see that coming!). 

Basically, a sacrifice (or any other gift!) is not just for meeting certain demands, but also to give thanks, and to enjoy fellowship. And what better fellowship do we have with the Father than through the pouring out of his Holy Spirit and through the sacrifice of his Son? That is why we need all three to be involved when we give things to God or do things for him. So keep that in mind as you evaluate yourself today, and as you prepare your heart to receive God's great gift to you tomorrow (Good Friday).

Holy Week Day One: Welcome the King!

Introduction to Holy Week Bible Study

As preparation for Easter, it has been a dream of mine to write a devotional Bible study for each day of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday. It carries us through Mark chapters 11 through 16, and follows Jesus' final steps leading up to his death, day by day. 

I want to make it a journey of our hearts as well, clearing the way to let his sacrifice on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter to make the best impact. I do not want to be deadened to this story just because I have heard it and read it so many times in the past. I want the observance of this holiday to renew and re-ignite a passionate love for God in my heart. Even more so, I wish to experience--as if it were the first time--the unfathomable love that God has for me.

As I share this Bible study with you, I pray you also share in that experience. As we re-dedicate our lives to Jesus, placing him in first place in our hearts and making him our greatest focus this week, I pray that God responds to each of you in a personal way.

So get out your Bibles, and let's get started!

Day One: Palm Sunday

Bible Passage: Mark 11:1-10

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+11%3A1-10&version=NIV)

The words that this passage makes me think of are Obedience and Worship:

Obedience: Imagine this day as a disciple of Jesus. You are travelling to Jerusalem like a normal Hebrew approaching Passover. You have walked most of the way there already. Yet as you approach, Jesus suddenly decides he wants a ride. So he asks you to get one, in a way that makes you look like you are stealing it. You are supposed to walk up to a random (yet somehow very specific) donkey's colt, and untie it like you own it. When you are confronted about your behavior, your instructions about your reply are not "Ask for permission to borrow this donkey so that Jesus can fulfill a prophecy". It is simply "The Lord needs it, and will send it back shortly." And, somehow, it works.

Jesus was not borrowing a donkey from a person. He was borrowing it from his Father, who had placed it in the care of a steward until it was needed. However, his disciples would not have known that. Yet they obeyed Jesus' instructions to the letter and without hesitation. Wow!

Because of their obedience, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey's colt, fulfilling the words of Zechariah 9:9

"Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

God was weaving such a bigger story than the disciples could hope to see. They were simply gathering the final piece to the puzzle that God had been assembling for hundreds of years.

Worship: Hosanna! Save!

"Lord, Save us!

Lord, grant us success!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

From the house of the Lord we bless you.

The Lord is God,

and he has made his light shine on us.

With boughs in hand, join the festal procession

up to the horns of the alter."

~Psalm 118:25-27

Yet again, we find humans unknowingly playing along to a script that God had written hundreds of years earlier. They used worship to welcome their King into his city, and their High Priest into his temple. Most people jump straight ahead to just a few days later when the crowds of Jerusalem shout a different message. But I don't want to cheapen this moment; this day. 

I can imagine it so well: The press of the crowd. The unified, deafening noise punctuated by individual shouts of praise. The smell of freshly-cut green leaves being broken open as the donkey steps on them. The feeling that this moment is significant. This Man is something more. Something important is happening, and it is a good thing!

Such an overwhelming feeling longs to be expressed. Sometimes words are not enough, but we still have a burning desire to try.

Right Response:

As was stated in the introduction, one of our goals this week is to put God in his rightful place in our hearts again. That is what worship is! We praise him for who he his, for what he has done, and for what he will do.

Another way to put God in his rightful place is through obedience. When we obey God, it is an acknowledgement of his authority over us. 

What better way is there to start this week than with Worship and Obedience? 

I saw a church sign that read "Lent is Spring Training for Christians". I think that is a pretty accurate description of what I'm trying to do here. I want to use Holy Week as a way to take some time to prepare my heart to follow Jesus this year.

This is what I encourage you to do today:

• Welcome Jesus into your heart with worship. Just like Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem with worship, you can welcome him into your heart as well. One of the best ways to defeat the temptations and desires of our sinful nature is to glorify God. The sinful nature wants nothing to do with that! Worship is a powerful heart opener. So set aside some time today to meet privately with God and give him glory in your life. Whether that means making music, listening to music, writing music, or just saying out loud how much he means to you and how deserving he is. Your soul knows how to glorify its Creator it your own personal way. It does not matter what is going on in your life right now, God is still worthy of your worship. He does not have to earn it, because he already has. So give him the glory he deserves, as a way to welcome him into your heart this week and for the coming year.
•  As far as obedience goes, there is not much preparatory work to that. When God tells you to do something, you do it. But you can reflect on our story today, and use it as a reminder that God needs to be obeyed even when we don't know what on earth he's doing.