March 29: Luke 22 31-34
Key Verse: Luke 22 34
Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Devotion:
Simon Peter was getting pulled up in front of the others because he had a job to do and prophecy to fulfil. Jesus was making sure he was in the right frame of mind and right place to do what he was going to do. Simon, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the fact he was going to play an important role in the field and even to deny Jesus in the way he did!
That is the thing about temptation and about the pressures of the world and our friends; we don’t see the problem until after we have already falling into the trap. If we were to listen to Christ and do everything He said, we may not have to go through half of the problems we do. God knows our strengths and our weaknesses, but they do not stop Him from loving us and for caring so much for us. He knows we are going to fall short of the mark but continues to try and get us to do what is required!
How good are you at continuing to love and support the people around you, even when they are breaking the rules and you can see how they are about to fall in a heap? Do you continue to love and support them, or do you turn you back on them and ignore them because they are not doing what you want them to do?
If we all ignored the people in need, we would have a terrible world to live in where those in need got no attention, no love, no support… and probably would sink into deeper problems and even more temptation than before. Yes, the world is going to continue on until God says so. Yes, there are going to be many things we do not like and agree with. Yes, trouble will continue to happen. No! We don’t have to ignore it. No! We don’t have to stop loving people.
Points to Ponder:
Do you give people 3 strikes before they are out?
What would happen if you continued to show them love and support?
March 28: Luke 22 1-6
Key Verse: Luke 22 4
And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus
Devotion:
I think it is significant that these words of how Judas was preparing to sell out his own master come before the preparations for the last supper. Judas had given in to the temptation of money, given in to the pressure of the crowd and was now looking for a chance to seal the deal. Although we know he went behind the disciples’ backs, Jesus already knew about this treachery and was going to say something.
Did Jesus exclude Judas from their last meal together? No! He made sure he was there and included in the meal and also included in the breaking of bread and drinking wine before He said there was a traitor amongst them. Notice how He never called out Judas by name and never drew attention to him either. His only words were to make sure Judas was going to make the deal, almost giving him permission to go and do his deed against Christ.
The other disciples were too focused on themselves to see Judas’ reaction to any statements – it takes a very hard man to not show any emotion when he has been called out in from of his friends! That is exactly what Jesus knew had to happen. He knew He had to go to the cross to pay for our debt and nothing on this world was going to stop God’s prophecy. All throughout the history in our bibles we have words telling us how the Messiah would come to save the world, and yet the disciples did not quite get the gravity of the situation.
Jesus knew what had to happen and He was willing to continue showing His love for the disciples despite it all. He knew the world was about to consume another man and yet His love still went out to that man to give him another chance.
There are enough disputes about whether Judas repented and whether he is in heaven or hell – That is not for us to judge! That is between Jesus and Judas alone. We need to follow Jesus’ example and continue to show the love to our friends even when we know that are about to do something silly. Show them Jesus always cares!
Points to Ponder:
Have you got friends who had betrayed you?
Have you always been in the right?
March 27: Luke 21 37-38
Key Verse: Luke 21 37
Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,
Devotion:
How much time do you set aside for God in your life? I know I am guilty about having my own life and not always including God in the things I do, but I do always come back to Him and I do always seek His Word. Each day as we move through our lives, we are going to face many trials and temptations. These are not all going to be the same for each of us but rather unique. But the overall picture is going to be quite similar – we do, after all, live on the same world!
Jesus would spend a lot of time teaching in the temple because He wanted to make sure people had answers for some of the things they would face. The problem being many of those people, just like us today, allowed the world and its ways to encroach on our lives with God. We allow things to corrupt the words God has given us. We allow the world to take control instead of making sure Jesus remains in control! Even He would go off and spend time with God – just as we should be.
Many people did want to come and listen to Jesus because they knew His teaching was most excellent! They wanted the truth, something we all want in our lives. But how much do we allow the world to cover up that truth? How much do we give in to on a day by day cycle, allowing the word of God to be covered and even diluted.
Jesus wanted to teach the truth back then. He wants us to know the truth right now. He wants us to give others the truth as we go forward. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; make sure He is lifted up into that position and kept there in our daily lives. I know it is easy to stand here and say these things, but much harder to go out and do these things in our mixed up world, but as we saw earlier, Christ will give us the answers as we need them!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you depend on in life?
How much do you depend on Christ?
March 26: Galatians 2 19
Key Verse: Galatians 2 19
For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.
Devotion:
No matter which way we look at it, we do seek some sort of justification from the law and that really is our own problem. We need to change our attitude towards the law and seek it for what it is and not for what we want it to be. If everyone was to look at the law as being exactly that, then we would have a whole lot less trouble in our world – but there are far too many who has a scant disregard for the law (be it God’s law or the law of the land).
If we were to treat law as more of a moral issue instead of a bunch of rules which we need to live by, we would be able to appreciate them more. In our families we are brought up to follow moral codes, yet in the open we are taught that laws are there to be broken. Society has turned the law on its head, not through dictating the law is wrong, but by openly giving examples of breaking the law, highlighting those examples and in some cases glorifying them. Is it any wonder then we accept breaking the law as part of our lives now?
Can you imagine what Christ saw as He walked around amongst us, seeing us for the law breakers and benders that we are instead of the ‘upright citizens’ we try to portray? I can almost imagine the hilarity of watching someone try to prove themselves when they have already shown themselves guilty… if only it was not such a serious issue.
We need to seek pardons, righteousness, acceptance, life and salvation through Christ and not through what we try to do according to the law. We need to give up our lives based in this worldly law which excludes Christ and accept the law that is Christ. Only through that acceptance will we be able to gain forgiveness for the things we do and think. He is already there, waiting for us. He is already there with His arms open wide to accept us. He has already paid the price; He just wants us to turn to Him instead of the world…
Points to Ponder:
Do you think that you follow the law?
Do you follow Christ?
March 25: Luke 21 14-15
Key Verse: Luke 21 15
For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
Devotion:
I would like to spend this week looking at things which happened around the time where Christ was crucified. We have set the scene over the past few days and now we are going to have a brief interlude where we take stock. I can imagine the followers of Christ taking stock after Christ was crucified and going over things to try and make sense of what happened; so let us start with a few words from Jesus as He prepared for that day…
His warnings about what was going to happen may have sounded cryptic at the time and they may even have sounded over-dramatic, but what Christ was trying to warn them about is something very real. He has made sure all of this is written down so we can stop and think about what has happened – to take stock and make our minds up. So, this week coming up to Easter, stop and take stock with me and see what is happening around you.
Just as Jesus was warning about the wars and terrible things which were to come, He also made sure they still had hope. He says here He is always going to be there, making sure we have the right words, the right paths and everything we actually need to survive in this mixed up world. We just have to depend on Him when the time comes. The truth will always be the truth and nobody can make it into a lie, not even the evil one! No matter what the world will throw at you, God always has an answer if we are willing to ask, listen and obey!
Yes, the road ahead may seem bleak, even terrible, but God has already seen the path and worked out the actions to lessen the consequences for what has already gone wrong. We do have to listen. Christ tried again and again to give this idea to the disciples – so they would learn and we could learn from them too!
Points to Ponder:
Does your life seem full of dread?
How much do you talk to God about it?