DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 3.30.24

 Asleepin Jesus “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not,even as others which have no hope.” (1Thessalonians 4:13) The hope of the Christian is the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of living believers at His second coming. This is the primary theme of this epistle—especially verses 4:13–5:10. In fact, it is significant that this book, possibly the firstof Paul’s epistles chronologically, is also the one with the largest number of specific references to Christ’s second coming. If it were not for this hope, we would have no hope for the future. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ,” Paul said, “we are of all men most miserable” (1Corinthians 15:19). When an unbeliever dies, he dies without hope. When a believer dies, he is simply “asleep,” as far as his body is concerned. At the same time, his soul and spirit go to be with the Lord until the resurrection day. Perhaps it is analogousto the state of dreaming, when the body is asleep in bed, while the person’s consciousness seems to be engaged in varied activities far from where the body is resting. The Bible uses the term “sleep” to describe death only in the case of Christians—never for non-Christians (see John 11:11; etc.). There is genuine sorrow, of course, when a believer dies, but that sorrow is softened and sublimated by the “blessed hope” of Christ’s return (Titus2:13). “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1Thessalonians 4:14). The souls of those whose bodies are asleep have gone to be with the Lord and will return with the Lord when He returns. “The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with themin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vv. 16-17). HMM ------------------------ WhenChrist Is Welcome “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.” (Psalm118:26) This is the climactic verse of Psalm 118, one of the great Messianic psalms. It was fulfilled, at least in a preliminary way, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a small donkey just one week before His resurrection, thereby acknowledging that He was fulfillingZechariah’s prophecy: “behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding...upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah9:9). As He rode into the city, many “took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (John12:13). Many Christians even today still commemorate that occasion on what they call Palm Sunday, one week before Easter. But most of the people—now as well as then—doubted and soon repudiated Him altogether, crying out for Him to be put to death. He knew, of course, that this is what would happen, and He had already said: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,...! Behold, your house is leftunto you desolate:...Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke13:34-35). The prophecy applied especially to the nation as a whole, but the principle certainly applies also to individuals. When anyone sees in his mind’s eye the Lord Jesus coming, if he will welcome Him gladly rather than turn Him away, then Christ will indeed comeinto his heart, “having salvation” and bringing “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1Peter 1:8), and he can say with deep thanks: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” HMM --------------------- Worshipand Praise “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: forthou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalm138:2) Praise and worship are widely taught in Scripture but are seldom used to describe the same actions. “Worship” describes an attitude of obeisance and reverence (usually by bowing or prostrating) during a formal act of sacrifice or some other structured observance. “Praise,” especially this word used in Psalm 138, emphasizes joyous thanksgiving, recognizing God’s specific blessing or God’s worthiness in character, power, deed, or authority. There are only two events recorded in Scripture where the people of God both “worshiped” and “praised” at the same time. The first was at the dedication of the great temple of Solomon. When the prayer of dedication was finished, the fire of God’s glory descendedon the temple and entered the Holy of Holies. That awesome event drove everyone to their knees “with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and [they] worshipped, and praised the LORD” (2Chronicles 7:3). The other occurred right after Ezra led a remnant back from Babylon. As the people heard the Word read to them for the first time in many decades, they became so convicted of their disobedience that they began to cry and confess their sin. They stood for aboutthree hours and “confessed [same word as ‘praise’], and worshipped the LORD their God” (Nehemiah9:3). In neither case did the people jump up and down, clap, or otherwise demonstrate exuberance. They were so overwhelmed at the presence of God that they fell down on their faces! Then they poured out their heart in intimate worship and praise for His lovingkindness,His truth, His name, His being, and His attributes, because God has magnified His Word above all His Name. HMM III --------------------------- TruthIncarnate - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Then the entire council took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor. �Luke 23:1 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/truth-incarnate/- Listen Pontius Pilate was accustomed to people lying. But he wasn�t used to someone being silent. As Jesus stood before him, He professed neither guilt nor innocence. Pilate said to Jesus, �Are you the king of the Jews?� (Luke 23:3 NLT). He might have even emphasized the word �you.� From his standpoint, here was another criminal, anotherproblem. But the reply Jesus gave surprised this hardened Roman governor: �You have said it� (verse 3 NLT). John�s Gospel tells us that Jesus also said, �Is this your own question,or did others tell you about me?� (18:34 NLT). No one spoke to Pilate that way. But Jesus exhibited calm in the midst of this storm, and Pilate had never seen anything like it. Then Jesus said, �You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true� (verse37 NLT). Pilate asked, �What is truth?� (verse 38 NLT). Maybe he even thought, �This prisoner who is going to die shortly has the audacity to speak to me about truth?� He was a pagan. He had no core beliefs except self-preservation. Today, he would be a moral relativist or postmodernist, holding to the belief that truth is a matter of subjectiveopinion. In fact, more than 60 percent of Americans don�t believe there is such a thing as absolute truth. Yet standing before Pontius Pilate that day was truth incarnate. Jesus Himself said, �I am the way, the truth, and the life� (John 14:6 NLT). Truth became a man, and thereHe stood. Yet Pilate asked, �What is truth?� If Pilate had pressed the matter, he could have found the answers to all his questions. He had a private audience with Jesus Himself. But what did Pilate do? He left the room. That is the case with a lot of people when you confront them with the gospel. They don�t want to talk about it. They�ll change the subject. They�ll leave the room. Or, maybethey�ll barrage you with tough questions. They will do anything but listen carefully to what you�re saying because they�re under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We can allow indecision to rule our lives as Pilate did. A while back, I was talking with someone after a church service who indicated to me that she wasn�t yet a believer.I asked her what was holding her back. �Well, I�m afraid,� she said. But she couldn�t tell me what exactly she was afraid of. �Quite frankly, you should be afraid of life outside of Christ, not life in Christ,� I told her. �Jesus offers you safety and security and fulfillment and protection. It islife apart from Him that you should be afraid of.� Many times, we can be undecided. However, there�s an element of faith required to believe in Jesus. You won�t necessarily have it all worked out in your mind. But if you willsay, �Lord, I choose to believe,� then God will help you in that step you take. ------------------------------- Contendfor the Faith �Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me towrite unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.� (Jude1:3) Jude long ago addressed a problem in his day that is still very real in our day among Christians. It is easier and more comfortable just to teach and preach about the blessings of our common salvation than it is to contend for the faith, but the latter is more �needful.� The word conveys the idea that he was so constrained, evidently by the Holy Spirit, as actually to be in distress about this compelling need. Similarly, his exhortation to �earnestly contend� does not mean to �be argumentative� but rather to �agonizewith intense determination.� It is one word in the Greek, epagonizomai (literally, �agonize over�). Defending and contending for the faith is serious, urgent business. That which we are to defend is �the faith��the whole body of Christian truth�wherever it is under attack. It would, of course, be especially important to contend for the doctrine of special creation, which is the foundation of all others and is the doctrineperpetually under the most concerted and persistent attack by the adversary. That faith has been, long ago, �once delivered� to the saints. The sense of these words is �once for all turned over for safekeeping.� The Lord has entrusted us with His Word, completed and inscripturated, and we must keep it, uncorrupted and intact, for everygeneration until He returns, preaching and teaching all of it to every creature, to the greatest extent we possibly can. Finally, note that the safeguarding of the faith was not entrusted merely to specially trained theologians or other professionals, but also to �the saints.� Every Christian believer is commanded to �earnestly contend for the faith.� HMM --------------------------- Learningto Trust �Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand againstthe wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.� (Psalm 138:7) David makes three simple points in his final admonition to those who struggle with trusting in God�s lovingkindness and truth. First, God loves His saints, but those with a pride problem are not going to gain His attention (Psalm 138:6). This is somewhat basic to Christian doctrine.Pride is one of the seven things that God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19). God responds to the desire of the humble person (Psalm10:17), and He stays near to those who have a broken heart or a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:17). Second, God will revive us when we are in trouble (our text). The promise is about the reviving and the saving. That is, we may gain God�s sufficient grace to endure (as in the case of Paul�s �thorn in the flesh,� 2 Corinthians 12:7) rather than a physical cure. We may receive the ability to be victorious in the face of opposition (as during Paul�s ministry to Ephesus, 1 Corinthians 16:8-9) rather than relief from the circumstances. We may, indeed, be delivered from the pressure of the enemies or have God�s miracle performed in our lives, but whatever the circumstantial occasion, God will respond for our good. Third, God will bring about our perfection (Psalm 138:8). That term, both in the Old and the New Testaments, relates to completing God�s work or purpose.Here, it is specifically related to that which concerns the saints of God. The sovereign Lord will see to it that His chosen will make it (1 Peter 2:9).There is no question about this. God�s mercy is always refreshed. There is no limit to His forgiveness. Nothing about who we are will defeat God�s plan for us (Philippians2:13). HMM III ------------------------- Accordingto Plan - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But it was the LORD�S good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. �Isaiah 53:10 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/according-to-plan/- Listen It seems like every time we turn around, another high-profile trial is underway. But, the most important trial in human history took place in the first century. It was thegreatest travesty of justice this world has ever seen, and its impact continues to this very day. It was when God went on trial. As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, a large military force led by Judas Iscariot came to arrest Him. Peter, in a last-minute effort, tried to save the Lord. He pulledout a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest�s servant, whom Jesus promptly healed. That, by the way, was the last miracle Jesus performed before His death and resurrection. The soldiers first took Jesus to Annas, the former high priest. He also was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at the time. But Annas was a shadowy, godfather-likefigure, and he was the one in control. Annas had a score to settle with Jesus. Earlier, Jesus had gone into the temple and overturned the merchants� tables, saying, �The Scriptures declare, �My Temple will be calleda house of prayer for all nations,� but you have turned it into a den of thieves� (Mark 11:17 NLT). Jesus did this not once but twice. Annas controlled those tables. In fact, they were known as the booths of Annas. He was ripping off God�s people, and Jesus was bad for his business. Thus, Annas bound Jesus and sent Him to Caiaphas, the ruling high priest who ultimately condemned Jesus to death and sent Him to Pilate for execution. In the midst of allthis, they beat Jesus and put Him in chains. Within twelve hours of His arrest, Christ was beaten and bloodied beyond human recognition and hanging on a crude Roman cross. But there was more happening behind the scenes that day. It wasn�t simply a story about Annas or Caiaphas or Pilate or even Judas Iscariot. It was the story of good and evilat work. Satan wanted Jesus dead, so he marshaled his forces and played his wicked hand. In contrast, God wanted the sin of the world to be dealt with. And that only would happen throughthe death of His Son. Unbeknownst to them, they were playing into the perfect plan and purpose of God. God the Father declared that the Messiah would not only die for the sins of the world butalso die by crucifixion. Psalm 22 has our Lord saying, �They have pierced my hands and feet� (verse 16 NLT). And Isaiah 53, written hundreds of years before Jesus died, gives a vivid description ofwhat happened when Christ suffered and died. That was the plan of God all along. Jesus Himself pointed out to His own disciples that He would be betrayed and sentenced to die. They would mock and whip, and crucify Him, but on the third day, He would risefrom the dead. It all was going according to plan�God�s plan. ------------------------- Gamblingat Calvary �They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.� (Psalm22:18) The 22nd Psalm is justly famous as a remarkable prophetic preview of the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, written by David approximately 1,000 years before it was fulfilled. It describes in accurate detail the sufferings of the Lord andthe actions of the sneering spectators as they watched Him die. One of the most heartless acts of the Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion was the indignity of stripping Him of the garments He was wearing and then dividing them among themselves, even gambling to determine who would get His seamless vesture. The significanceof this cruel scene is indicated by the fact that it is one of the very few specific events in the life of Christ recorded in all four gospels. We must not forget that the Lord Jesus Christ once had been arrayed, as it were, in beautiful garments that �smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces� (Psalm45:8). But He who was �equal with God� chose to be �made in the likeness of men� that He might eventually suffer �even the death of the cross� (Philippians2:6-8) in order to save our unworthy souls. �For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich� (2Corinthians 8:9). He who had created the heavens, when He came to Earth, had to say that �the Son of man hath not where to lay his head� (Matthew8:20). And His few remaining possessions were scavenged by His executioners as He died. Yet through His great sacrifice, He has provided �everlasting habitations� for us (Luke16:9) and �all spiritual blessings in heavenly places� (Ephesians1:3). Indeed, we do know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! HMM -------------------------- The Easy Thing? Or the One Thing? - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. �Isaiah 53:5 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-easy-thing-or-the-one-thing/- Listen The people wanted a crucifixion, and Pontius Pilate went along with it. He sent Jesus away to be crucified. Pilate gave up everything for power and prestige. And how did it work out for him? According to history, he ultimately suffered banishment from high office to a place calledGaul. There, he was left broken and destitute, unwanted by Caesar, and all alone. And one night, under the cover of darkness, Pontius Pilate, the great Roman governor who could have received forgiveness from the Son of God, went out and hung himself. Aworkman found his body. His craving for popularity cost him everything. Had he chosen to, he could have believed in Jesus on the spot, and Jesus would have forgiven him. Like Pilate, some people will choose a career over Jesus. It isn�t that you can�t have both. But some, in the pursuit of success, are willing to sacrifice whatever it takesto succeed. Have you ever seen a book about how to be a failure? Yet there are plenty of books about how to be a success. Everyone wants to be successful. Now, I�m not advocating failure. But you are not a success if you sacrifice greater things in your pursuit of it. For instance, if you sacrifice your integrity, your standards,your friends, your family, or even your faith to get ahead, then you are not successful. Alfred Einstein said, �Try not to become a man of success. Rather, try to become a man of value.� There must come a point in our lives when we start thinking about things that are more important than simply being successful. There must come a point when we start thinkingabout significance over success, when we start thinking about the purpose of our lives. Why did God put me on this earth to begin with? Why am I here? These are important questions. The Bible tells us that we�ve been placed on this earth to glorify God with ourlives and to produce spiritual fruit. Of course, we have vocations, and whatever we do, we should work hard at it. We should do the best that we can. But we should never sacrifice our principles. A lot of people are trying to figure out the one thing they should be chasing after in life. Meanwhile, we can find the answer to that question in the Bible. Writing to the believers in Philippi, the apostle Paul said, �I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ� (Philippians 3:7�8 NLT). Pontius Pilate chose the easy thing over the one thing. He chose success over significance. He chose popularity over Jesus Christ. It was the trap of compromise. And compromisealways will lead to ruin. ----------------------- Carrying the Cross - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Then Jesus said to his disciples, �If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.� �Matthew 16:24 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/carrying-the-cross/- Listen Pilate had done his dirty work. A garrison of soldiers gathered around Jesus and began to mock Him. They called Him a king and put a robe around His shoulders. And then theytook a crown of thorns and pressed it into His head. They also gave Him a reed for a scepter and then struck Him with it. Little did these soldiers know how easily Jesus could have gotten out of that situation. His armies were on standby. Angels were there, no doubt, with swords drawn, just waitingfor the word from Jesus. Remember, when Simon Peter tried to defend Jesus with a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told him to put it away. He said, �Don�t you realize that I could ask my Fatherfor thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?� (Matthew 26:53 NLT). In case you�re wondering how powerful an angel is, the Old Testament tells us that one angel killed 185,000 of Israel�s enemies (see 2 Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36). Therefore,thousands of angels could no doubt do some serious damage. Jesus, however, took the beating. He took the abuse. He took the mockery. This is why He had come. It�s why He was born in Bethlehem. The wise men insightfully recognizedthis by offering Him the gift of myrrh, which was an embalming element. He was born to die. The soldiers led Jesus away and forced Him to carry His own cross, which would have weighed three or four hundred pounds. So much for the anemic version of Christ that weoften see depicted in religious art. Jesus wasn�t doing this as God; He was doing it as a man�a man who bled, suffered, and was in pain. Understandably, He fell under its weight. So, the soldiers forced a man named Simon, a Cyrenian, to carry the cross for Jesus. And for a few steps, we don�t know how manyexactly, Simon was able to relieve some of Jesus� suffering by carrying His cross. Now, perhaps Simon wasn�t all that thrilled about doing this. But, some passages in Scripture suggest that Simon and his family became believers as a result. If I could travelback in time, I would go to this moment in history and carry the cross for Jesus, even for a few feet. Of course, we can�t literally carry the cross like Simon did. But Jesus said, �If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, andfollow me� (Matthew 16:24 NLT). This means placing God�s will above our own. It means taking our plans, our aspirations, and offering them to God. It means obeying God�s Word and standing up for Jesus whenit isn�t popular. And it means loving God more than anyone or anything else. To take up the cross and follow Jesus is a willingness to make any sacrifice He asks. Are you taking up your cross? You can, and you should carry the cross today. ------------------------------ HeShall Prolong His Days �Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offeringfor sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.� (Isaiah53:10) In this one verse, found in the wonderful 53rd chapter of Isaiah, there is an amazing prophecy of the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins, His resurrection from the dead, and the resulting salvation of many lost sinners. This Old Testament chapter, written 600 years before Christ, contains probably the most complete and cogent exposition of the saving work of Christ on the cross to be found in the entire Bible. How could it �please� the Lord to bruise His only begotten Son? It could only be because of the great work this would accomplish. Then, indeed, �the pleasure of the LORD� would be realized. As to the Son, �he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied� (Isaiah53:11). After the Father has allowed the enemies of His Son to �bruise him� to death, it would be soon known that this was actually �an offering for sin� and that, having satisfied the requirements of God�s holiness, the Son �shall prolong his days.� Though He diedand actually �made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death� (v. 9), death could not hold Him and �he shall prolong his days.� As He would later proclaim: �I am alive for evermore� (Revelation1:18). And because He has done this, He �shall see his seed.� �For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings� (Hebrews2:10). What a wonderful Savior! HMM -------------------------