Friday 23 Mar 2018

March 23: Luke 23:44-49

Key Verse: Luke 23:47
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”

Devotion:
Many people tell us all about what a horrible time this is for Christians. Easter, the time when Christ was crucified… Yes, you can look at it as a horrible time, but you have to look past that and try to see the whole picture. People will celebrate Easter, yet few may do it for the right reason. We are told of all the terrible things which happened to Christ and we dwell on them. We dwell on the human side, the suffering and the pain. What we need to be doing instead is simply realising that it was done for us. Christ went to that cross for me! Christ went to that cross for you! It is an individual thing, very personal, between Christ and you.

There were many witnesses to the facts, so we know exactly what happened to Christ on the cross; so much so that we are able to make films and documentaries about it to teach others. But I don’t see any of those films and documentaries giving the simple message… He did all of this so you will believe and trust in God!

Standing next to Him that day was a Roman Centurion, maybe the same one who showed Him faith... we don’t know. These are the hard guys, the marine captains or commanders if you will. These are the guys who don’t normally believe in anything apart from getting the job done. They have seen it all in battle and probably don’t care anymore… Yet this one had watched it all and simply by what Christ had said and done, He knew that Christ was who He said He was. He knew Christ had done nothing wrong. His experience with criminals left him in no doubt…

Why then can’t we see the light? Why then can’t we see the truth? Is it because we have too comfortable a life to worry about things like that? If that is true, should we be surprised at all when things go wrong so that we do think about God? God is. God will forever be. We just need to wake up to the fact!

Points to Ponder:
Do you have to get into trouble before you realise you have done wrong?

What more does God have to do before you recognise all you have done?