Devotionals

One of the things that I have discovered growing up is that life is full of mountains.  Another way of saying this is that life is full of giants.  There are financial giants, emotional giants, and even spiritual giants.  When people face giants, they have two different responses: either fight or flight.  It’s the nature of the beast.  Either we stand up to the giant and do our best to knock it down or we let the giant take over our wellbeing.  There was one young man in the Bible who was faced with a literal giant.  That young man was named David.  

In 1 Samuel 17, it speaks about how there was a giant named Goliath who was aligned with the nation known as Philistine.  This man was four cubits and a span tall (roughly 6 feet 9 inches).  However, there are other translations which say that he was six cubits and a span (roughly 9 feet 9 inches).  Basically, he was one tall dude.  For 40 days, he kept coming to the nation of Israel looking for a fight.  During that time, no one stepped up.  It wasn’t until David showed up and he said that he would fight this giant.  He stepped up and took that giant down.  It reminds me of how we ought to conquer our giants.  While it is important to knock our giants down, it is critical that we have the faith in God by our side.  Romans 8:31 says that If God is for us, then who can be against us?  

1 Samuel 17:19-32 NLT Translation 

19. David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.

20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. 21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.

24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”

28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”

29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

David Kills Goliath

32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I thank You for always being by our side throughout our lives.  Continue to remind us that You are always there for us.  While there are moments when the enemy tries his best to pull us away from You, we know that You are stronger than the enemy is.  Help us to be rooted and stand  on Your solid foundation.  When the world is trying to destroy us with all these winds and waves, we need to be placed on Your solid foundation.  Without Your foundation, we would all crumble.  Help us to not crumble.  Help us to stand solid.  

In Jesus name

Amen

If there is one thing that we are lacking in our lives, it is praising God.  There are people who only praise God for when things are good.  While it is good that we praise God for when things are going well for us, it is just as important to praise Him for when things are not necessarily going in our favor.  I remember seeing the movie “Facing The Giants.”  It was about a coach trying to get his team back to its winning ways.  One thing that the coach kept saying to his players is this: when we win, we praise Him.  When we lose, we praise Him.  Just hearing this alone, it makes me think about how we go through wins and loses.  It’s no doubt that we go through ups and downs throughout our lives.  I keep reminding myself that God is the one who is in control.  Romans 8:28 says that all things will work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose.  

In Psalm 150, it talks about the idea of praising God.  The praise team at Connect2Christ would sing this song on different occasions talking about praising God.  What we need to understand is that praising God is not something we do once a week and check it off of our lists.  It is a lifestyle that we ought to be living each and everyday.  No matter what happens in your life, good or bad, we need to be praising God.  

Psalm 150 NLT Translation

“1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heaven!

2 Praise him for his mighty works;
 praise his unequaled greatness!

3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
 praise him with the lyre and harp!

4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
 praise him with strings and flutes!

5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
 praise him with loud clanging cymbals.

6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I thank You that we can praise You for all You have done for us.  Help us to continue to praise You no matter what happens.  Remind us each and every day that You are in control.  I know that we have all been called by You.  Because we have been called by You, help us to pay attention for when You are communicating to us.  Let our eyes and ears be open to what You have for us.  Help us to be in tuned with You no matter what takes place in our lives.  

In Jesus name

Amen

This past Sunday, we celebrated Easter Sunday.  We didn’t celebrate the Easter bunny, but instead we celebrated the most miraculous moment in all of history: the resurrection of Jesus.  This was when Jesus had conquered the grave so that we can have eternal life with Him.  How amazing is that?  There is nothing like the resurrection of Christ.  The prophecies that were mentioned in the Old Testament have now been fulfilled by this moment.  Jesus not only spread His good news to all the people, but He also did what He said He was going to do.  He conquered death and came back from the dead.  Death didn’t win, but instead life won.  

While the gospel writing speak about the resurrection based on different viewpoints, Luke’s account gives a different perspective of the resurrection.  This chapter, much like Matthew, Mark, and John, explains the events that followed the resurrection of Jesus.  In Luke’s account, verse 1 uses the phrase “Sunday morning.”  It is interesting that the NLT translation uses this phrase while other translations use the phrase: “on the first day of the week, very early in the morning.”  

Luke 24:1-12 NLT Translation 

“1. But very early on Sunday morning[a] the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man[b] must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.”

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I thank You for Your Son Jesus who made the sacrifice for all of humanity.  Not only that, but I thank Jesus for conquering death and rising from the dead three days later.  It is because of Your Son that we can have life with You.  It is because of Your Son that we have a home.  Thank You God for Jesus Christ.  

In His name I pray, 

Amen

I believe that one of the things that we are lacking is the idea of giving thanks.  In today’s world, people would only give thanks once a year, which would be known as Thanksgiving.  Believe it or not, giving thanks is something that we should be doing all year round instead of once a year.  Sometimes, as believers, we would only thank God for when the big things happen in our lives.  The truth of the matter is that we need to thank God no matter what happens.  

In Psalm 118:1-2, the writer is acknowledging that we need to give thanks to the Lord because He is good.  As we go throughout our lives, we tend to forget that God is good.  When things are going south, we need to understand that He is still good because only He can lift us through.  During the rough moments in life, we still need to give thanks To God because He will never lead us astray.  

Psalm 118:1-2 

1 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.

2 

Let all Israel repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”

Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank You for Your love.  I thank You for Your everlasting love that is always with us no matter where we are at in our lives.  Continue to remind us of how wonderful Your love is.  Even when we are at our lowest moments, Your love is always there for us.  Help us to draw closer to Your love each and every day.  Help us to not cave into the pressures of the world.  Instead we need to be placed on Your solid foundation.  

In Jesus name, 

Amen

Yesterday, we celebrated a wonderful Easter service at church.  A time of reflection, remembrance, and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It’s important that we shall not forget what Jesus did for us so that we can have life with Him when He calls us home.  We need to remember that Jesus wants to have life with us.  The whole reason why He died and rose from the dead is so that we can have life with Him when we are called home by God.  

While we sit back and think about the wonderful miraculous event that He did for us, there are some people who love to boast and have brag about themselves.  The apostle Paul reminds us that boasting is not the right thing to do.  He even speaks about how we need to remove the old “yeast.”  Is he talking about baking?  No. While he is not talking about baking, he is talking about how we need to remove those who will drive us away from God.  I’m not saying that we need to stop talking to people.  What I am saying is that there are people who are trying to steer us away from God’s love.  It’s not the person, but rather Satan using the person to get to us.  This is where the spirit of discernment needs to come in.  In other words, we need to have the awareness of when Satan is trying to attack us.  

In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, it says 

6. Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 

7. Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.[g] 

8. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread[h] of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread[i] of sincerity and truth.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I pray that we would have that spirit of discernment throughout our lives.  Help us to pay attention to what is around us.  Make us aware of the potential attacks from Satan and help us to be strong so that we are able to resist him.  Continue to guide us each and every day with Your love and Your grace.  Help us to keep pressing forward rather than always looking backward.  Help us to take it, receive it, and learn it.  

In Jesus name, 

Amen

From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God.  Self cannot satisfy self.  We must hunger for God.

This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God.  Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.

“The more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it has established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.”
—-G.K. Chesterton

Day 40: Fasting Wrong Concern for a Righteous Journey
Do you ever get fixated on what is going on in someone else’s life rather than focus on how you are working on your own life? We can all fall into that trap especially with spiritual matters. For example, when the Spirit of God calls us to follow something new, we might start looking at other believers and expect them to get the same Word from God. That might happen occasionally, but not always.

We serve a God who is personally involved with every heart and the plans and instructions he extends to one may not be the same for all. There are those areas of righteousness we must obey and practice. However, there are those specific gifts God wants to reveal in individual hearts and how we receive that revelation may be quite a different journey. So, we need to concern ourselves with our hearts and be excited and grateful for our own special path toward God’s presence.

After Jesus died, his disciples mourned for three days. Then, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to different people. His disciples did not recognize him at first, but then one heard his voice, another saw his wounds, two watched him break bread, and a small group smelled cooking fish. Suddenly, Jesus met them.

We all must take the path that leads to humility before God, by fasting our flesh and the world. John the Baptist said it this way, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30). We have fasted many things these past forty days to help us increase in our love for Jesus through his gift of salvation. Be excited about your relationship with Jesus—the Living Lord—and follow where he leads you, because he will return for those who belong to him. Come Lord, Jesus!

John 21:20-25 NLT 20 Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”

22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” 23 So the rumor spread among the community of believers[a] that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.
25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

Prayer: Father, please continue to work within our hearts a sense of awe and gratitude for how you have orchestrated our redemption. Take this season—fasting our flesh and the world—and help us to grow closer to you. We desire to walk in your power and strength; the resurrection power that is available by faith and active in the lives of believers. Please continue to transform us in your beautiful image, Lord, and help us to become vessels that can be used for your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God.  Self cannot satisfy self.  We must hunger for God.

This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God.  Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:2-4).

Day 39: Fasting the Shame of Guarding Dead Tombs

Pilate secured the tomb of Jesus with a seal and with soldiers to separate the living from the dead. Just about the time guarding the tomb seemed uneventful, there was another earthquake and an angel showed up to roll the stone away from the tomb. This wasn’t to let Jesus out of the tomb—he was already gone—it was to allow the women to enter and witness the miracle affirmed by the angel, “He is risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him!” (Mat 28:6-7).

Sometimes when we feel alone and defeated as we visit the dead [spiritually lifeless] tombs of our past and even the present, Jesus has simply gone ahead of us. He waits patiently for us to leave graceless perspectives, passions, and positions, behind and move forward. Jesus unsettles us in order to arrange our lives according to God’s will. Usually, we do not see this unsettling of the Master as a good or even helpful change, but what we do not see is the miraculous and how Jesus uses even our weaknesses to bring the necessary transformation to our lives.

Peter has to let go of the past in order to receive the commission of Christ for his future. He has to leave the dead tombs filled with human reliance and embrace the strength and love of Christ. Three times Peter denied he knew Jesus. Now, three times he will affirm his love. All of this terribly unsettles Peter, but Jesus knows unless he pushes Peter to this crossroad he will not be able to renew his mind in the Truth that no failure on his part changes the love of God.

Today, we fast the shame of guarding dead tombs. Like soldiers, we tend to guard them because if they were opened up to the Truth, it would be obvious God is not in them. They were the craft of the enemy to destroy us. We can and must celebrate the empty tomb. Jesus knows all things and nothing is hidden from him. When all things are confessed, all things are forgiven and we can rejoice in resurrected living.

John 21:15-19 NLT 15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the many ways you seek to rid us of our wrong perspectives, weaknesses, and wrecked emotions. The enemy is always busy trying to rob, kill, and destroy the God-centered life, but Jesus opened a way for victory. We refused to bow to the work of evil, so we reach for your righteous right hand today and we declare our love for you. Holy Spirit, help us serve our Lord. In Jesus’ name.



From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God.  Self cannot satisfy self.  We must hunger for God.

This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God.  Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.

“Could it be that a legitimate state of hope is hopelessness?”
—Dr. A.J. Swoboda

Day 38: Fasting Shattered Dreams

Shattered dreams are a part of life; every person experiences them at some level in relationships. Maybe it is because our expectations are too high for ourselves or others; maybe it is simply because we want something Jesus has not designed or planned for us, our loved ones, or our vocational aspirations. Or, maybe God is still working his miraculous redemption and the whole picture hasn’t been revealed. However, we can always find Jesus in the midst of our most difficult experiences and losses. He is eternally good and unfailingly loving; his grace never diminishes and always seeks to restore our sense of well-being—shalom.

If it were possible to question every disciple of Jesus throughout the ages, I am sure each one of them would confirm having buried a dream or two. Actually, I am positive the remaining disciples in Jerusalem who witnessed the capture, trial, scourging, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus would describe the entire event as shattered dreams. No one expected things to go the way they did.

Momentarily, their dreams for abundant and victorious life with God were buried with Jesus. How do they pick up the pieces of losing this loved One? Certainly, denying it happened is not an option. So, the disciples choose to stay together which is a wise thing as when we are hurting deeply we need other believers ministering to us.

Today, we will fast our dreams and losses, because our faith in God must be planted even in the painful times; maybe especially in those moments. God knows how to resurrect a dream; better yet, God knows how to impart a bigger dream than we had originally. God knows how to heal a heart that is broken by loss. God knows how to bless us and satisfy our greatest needs.

In our passage today, after the burial of Jesus, the disciples go back to doing what is comfortable; they go fishing. Yet, the resurrected Jesus is there waiting for them on the shore with breakfast. Can you imagine how that moment with Jesus changed everything that had happened days before? The mighty power of Jesus brought the disciples more than they could ask or think (Eph 3:20). If you are hurting, don’t just try to escape your feelings through busyness. God is not dead; he is present and we must remain present for his help, too.

John 21:10-14 NLT 10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being present in our lives through the good times and in the mosts difficult times for our souls. Instead of trying to escape the difficulties, disappointments, or shattered dreams, please help us to be still and press in for more of you and your grace and strength. Help us plant the seeds of faith and look for healing and wholeness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God.  Self cannot satisfy self.  We must hunger for God.

This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God.  Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.

“If the enemy forces us to give up our quietness, we must not listen to him. For nothing is like quietness and abstinence from food. They combine to fight together against him. For they give keen insight to the inner eyes.” —-Abba Doulas

Day 37: Fasting Chatter
Jesus was tried, convicted, crucified and buried on the Day of Preparation; the day before the Sabbath. This preparation is a time of urgency, because there is so much to do before entering into a time of rest when the sun goes down. Friends, it really mirrors the urgency of repentance.

There is an ever-present race against time, isn’t there? We race to get one thing done only to find another urgent thing waiting to be done. When we race to get things done hoping to find rest waiting for us; it is a bit of a foretaste of how we race in the world in order to one day enjoy the rest of Christ’s Kingdom.

The Jewish calendar—which is based on the cycle of the moon for 354 days—is different from our Gregorian calendar for 365—which is based on the cycle of the sun. Yet, neither of these calendars totally match their perspective cycles; therefore, an extra month (Adar II) is added every two to three years to the Jewish calendar and an extra day (February 29) is added every four years to the Gregorian calendar.

Think about it, in the culture in which Jesus lived, a day was counted as sunrise to sunset. In our present culture, we start a day at midnight. Many theologians and scholars move Preparation Day up by a day declaring Passion Week had two Sabbaths due to Passover [the Great Shabbat] landing that year in proximity to the regular weekly Shabbat. Most faith communities remember or honor Jesus’ death on Good Friday. They spend the next days contemplating what the crucifixion of Jesus meant to individual hearts—much like I’m sure Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary, and the rest of the disciples were doing.

Today, we will fast chatter, because it is time to focus on increasing disciples for Christ’s Kingdom. Chatter can come in the form of talking, texting, typing, web-surfing, or mental gymnastics [fear, torment, anxiety]. Be deliberate about setting aside time to just rest your whole being in Messiah and gain guidance for his work. Time will one day be an unlimited resource, but for now, let’s protect our time for the necessary preparation of our hearts, for the good deeds of Christ, and the witness this world requires for a miraculous harvest of believers.

John 21:1-9 NLT Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
21 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for promising to use us as a Kingdom of priests for your work of redemption. Today, we fast our voice of chatter in order to focus on your work of salvation. We ask you to use us in powerful ways to proclaim the Good News and give you our time in order to prepare us for your glorious harvest. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied.

6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

Prayer:   Lord, thank you for promising to use us as a Kingdom of priests for your work of redemption.  Today, we fast our voice of chatter in order to focus on your work of salvation.  We ask you to use us in powerful ways to proclaim the Good News and give you our time in order to prepare us for your glorious harvest.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God.  Self cannot satisfy self.  We must hunger for God.

This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God.  Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.

“When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!” —Mark 15:39 NLT

The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. —Mark 15:45 NLT
Day 36: Fasting Suppression

Joseph is a beautiful name and it means “Increaser.” Two men both named Joseph held the human body of Jesus: Joseph of Nazareth [Heb. branch] held Jesus’ new life at birth and Joseph of Arimathea [Heb. high place] a member of the Jewish Council held Jesus’ lifeless body at his death. Much like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea was a “private” disciple of Jesus, but neither of these religious leaders agreed with the decision to condemn Jesus to crucifixion. Following the confirmation of Jesus’ death, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus in order to prepare it and bury him. Nicodemus accompanied Joseph and participated in this process.

For these two men, this was a VERY bold move; they could also be labeled enemies and blasphemers, but they were done suppressing their commitment to Messiah. So, they wrapped the body of Jesus with linen and 75 pounds of spices and placed Jesus in a new tomb owned by Joseph. Whatever was necessary to honor Jesus, Joseph and Nicodemus were now ready to do.

Today, we will fast suppression—stop hiding our commitment to Jesus by acting boldly and loving him deeply. We all need a change of heart when it comes to our present level of commitment. God’s love for us and our reciprocal love for God will always take us deeper and help us grow in our devotion and boldness. Whatever holds us back from wholehearted commitment, we must face it and begin to believe.

John 20:24-31 NLT Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[a] was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Purpose of the Book
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for this lesson from Joseph and Nicodemus. We know they loved you, but they needed to grow in their commitment as disciples of our Christ. Fear cannot stop a genuine disciple. Thomas had to begin to believe by letting go of his doubts. We need to grow, too. So, Holy Spirit, help us as we seek to fast suppression and help us stop hiding or spiritually compartmentalizing our devotion to the Truth. Make us bold! We know our love for Jesus must be obvious every single day, or we have not stepped into wholehearted commitment. Jesus please take leadership of every aspect of our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.