Lead Me to the Cross: With Confidence
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 21, 2021
THIS WEEK: Lead Me to the Cross…Find the Ram…Find a Substitute!
Abraham didn’t delay. God told him to take his son Isaac and give him back to him through sacrifice. From a human perspective a heart-breaking request from God, one that we perhaps would want to take some time to think about.
Yet Abraham moved forward with confidence. Here are three unquestionable statements of Abraham’s confidence in the command of the Lord and the conviction to carry out the Lord’s request.
- Early the next morning…
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. (Genesis 22:3)
There was no delay. There was no time for Abraham to tell Isaac to say good bye to his mother or his friends. Abraham didn’t argue with God, question God, or wonder if the voice was God’s or not. He was convinced the Lord’s commands are always to be followed, so he moved forward with confidence.
- We will come back to you…
4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” (Genesis 22:4-5)
The servants were there to help, but were witnesses to a man of faith. Abraham knew the LORD had asked him to sacrifice Isaac. Simple math would say, “Two people go to the mountain to worship. One is killed via sacrifice on the altar during the time of worship. How many return from the mountain?” This first grade math problem would demand the answer of “One!” Yet, Abraham’s answer was “Two.”
Why would he…could he answer this way? The writer to the Hebrews gives us the inspired insight into Abraham’s heart:
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Simply put Abraham had learned to trust the LORD and his promises. God promised Abraham he would have a son with Sarah…he did. He promised that through that son, he would become a great nation…that promise still stood. God told him to sacrifice his son…somehow God would stay faithful to his promise. Abraham was confident just as Isaac came from two “dead” bodies (beyond normal child bearing years), God could bring him back to life after his life was taken in sacrifice.
- God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering…
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. (Genesis 22:6-8)
God will provide. Abraham wasn’t privy to all the details, but he knew God would provide as he acted according to his promises.
We can have confidence to walk through life when we walk according to the promises of God. What does that look like? Here’s just a couple of examples:
“How come you’re not afraid?” “Because here’s God’s promise, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;…” (Psalm 23:4)
“How do you stay so calm?” Matthew 6:25-27 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
So move forward with confidence in the presence and promises of the LORD!
Apply: What promise of God will help you move forward in your day with confidence?
PRAYER: Thank you Lord for your promises and faithfulness to them. Lead me to always move forward in life confident in you and your promises. AMEN.
Lead Me to the Cross: When I’m Tested
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 21, 2021
THIS WEEK: Lead Me to the Cross…Find the Ram…Find a Substitute!
I didn’t like tests much. Especially ones I didn’t know were coming. Unexpected tests challenged the preparation you had made prior to the test. If you had done the daily work, it was not a big deal. If you hadn’t, you struggled and perhaps failed.
This past week Central Texas was tested. Can we endure a Midwest week of sub-freezing temperatures in a climate used to less than 24 hours below freezing? It was a challenge to be sure. However, our seven years in Minnesota and how to winterize pipes, our experience with an ice storm in North Carolina which led to a generator purchase, a proactive wife who had bought new flashlights and filled our tubs with water and our family was overall very prepared and blessed to not have endured some of the longer power outages and water pipe breaking.
Like in academics, you often learn from the questions you got wrong. Those are the ones you remember the most. We had learned from tests we had failed in the past…no generator…no fresh batteries…broken water valve…and more.
Life is like school…tests in eighth grade are tougher than fourth grade. Tests to pass a doctorate exam tougher than the ones to graduate high school. One test prepares us for the next.
With God as our instructor, he can bring tests to our faith at any time and any way. This week we’ll look at the test he gave to Abraham.
God had given Abraham a number of tests. Leave your home land and travel to a land I will tell you (as you are traveling!). You will be a blessing to many nations (but you have no son). You will have a child in your old age (but my wife is old too). All these God was preparing for what I would think is the biggest test:
Genesis 22:1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
I don’t know about you, but my heart would have sunk. “Really God? The son you promised, miraculously gave to us, the son I dearly love…now you want me to give him back?”
Tests are tough. The push us to the limit of life and often to faith.
Will Abraham pass or fail? Will he trust or doubt?
We’ll see tomorrow. But one indication of his heart is his response to God. “Here I am.” Abraham and the Lord had built a relationship over the years of trust. Abraham didn’t question and ask, “Who are you?” He knew the voice of the Lord. There was no question as to who was speaking.
While we don’t hear the voice of God directly, the pages of the Scripture give us the clear sounding of his voice. Times of testing challenge us to draw closer to the voice of God. For when God tests, he is one of those amazing teachers who, if you are listening carefully, give you the answers to the tests.
Apply: Whatever your test is this week that is challenging you, perhaps before trying to figure it out, go to the voice of God for in the one who gives the test, he also provides the answer for you.
PRAYER: Lord, as you allow tests to come into my heart, lead me back to you and your Words of hope and promise. AMEN.
PS: Don’t forget a daily Lenten devotion today from my brother, Prof. Steve Geiger: CLICK HERE
Season of Lent…A Season of Reflection and Repentance
This past Wednesday began the season of Lent with a day we know as Ash Wednesday. Admittedly I missed posting a reminder to our email audience on Wednesday, but didn’t want the week to finish without sharing a few thoughts on the beginning of Lent.
Lent is a period of 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. The Sundays are not counted in these 40 days, but are meant to be “little Easter’s” that keep the reality and hope of the resurrection in front of us even as we journey with Jesus to the cross.
Lent is not a season mandated in Scripture, but one that Christians for many centuries have found benefit as a season of reflection and repentance. It is a time to review all that Jesus has done for us and a season to reflect on the reality that each of our sins necessitated Jesus’ suffering and death. However, it is not a season of depression, but deep appreciation that “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of this season and named such for the tradition of making the sign of the cross on the foreheads of believers who recognize their sin and need for their Savior as well as recognize their mortality and need for a solution for death, both physical and spiritual.
As ashes are imposed on the forehead in the shape of a cross the Scripture from Genesis 3:19 is shared, reminding the consequence of sin is death: “…for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
So we begin the season of Lent with a sobering reminder of the seriousness and consequences of our sin, and are encouraged: 1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So we begin the season of Lent with a humbling show of love of a Savior who willingly took the burden and guilt of our sin on his own shoulders and faced the wrath of God and the punishment they deserved for each of us. May God truly bless our Lenten journey.
For devotional help and reflection during the season of Lent, here are a few resources:
- A 40 day devotional series entitled: “Moments of Decision” https://forwardinchrist.net/40-days-of-lent/ This devotional series follows the history of Jesus’ final hours from a combination of the four Gospel accounts.
- A brief video explaining the season of Lent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkqHQGdPwMo
- Since we weren’t able to have an Ash Wednesday service, I invite you to watch from a sister congregation in Lakeville, MN. They are using the same series, “Hands of the Passion,” we are using at Cross & Crown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4FNAAcHbQg
Apply: Enjoy the season of Lent with intentional time to reflect on your need for a Savior and a realization of the great Savior we have.
Prayer: Jesus thank you for carrying our sin to the cross. Lead me to always show sincere repentance and deep appreciation for all you did for me. AMEN.
Mission-Minded: Have Confidence in the Present
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 14, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Has Certainty!
It’s been a challenging week for those of us that live in Texas. Record cold combined with rolling blackouts in homes not built for arctic temps leaves us weary and ready for warmth.
It’s hard when life is disrupted, the things we take for granted are missing, and the norm of our routine is non-existent. We will make it through (I know my friends in the North are rolling their eyes at this, but it’s different when this isn’t the February norm!)
We know this will past. This won’t last forever. By Tuesday of next week, it will seem like a normal early spring day in the mid-60s.
So when life is challenged in the present, what keeps you going?
We rely on our experience of the past. We anticipate the better future. And do what we need to do to get through the day. Really, the only day that matters is TODAY.
We all have known distractions to our day. They get us off task and minimize our productivity. So it is with our life with Christ too. Each day we have an opportunity to live for and follow Jesus. It’s a daily opportunity and challenge. So what keeps us encouraged and energized today?
First – Keep your focus on the future. (See Tuesday’s devotion) Jesus gives us a glimpse of his glory and what is to come.
Second – Remember, you are part of a movement that has existed for millennium (See Wednesday’s Devotion). Others have been through and the Lord has sustained them through the challenges of life and faith.
Finally, third – perhaps remember similar words that the Father spoke for Jesus and the three disciples to hear on the mountain of transfiguration.
At the mountain of transfiguration, Jesus heard the voice of his father say, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7)
Jesus was going to go through dark days with his suffering and death. Peter, James and John were going to go through challenges of watching and following Jesus. They could be encouraged by these words too.
- You are a child of God, adopted into God’s family by faith at your baptism. Jesus was THE Son of God. Each of us is a child of God.
Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
2. You are loved. The Father loved his Son Jesus.
John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
3. We have trusted words to follow. The Father encouraged the disciples to listen to Jesus. We have these same words to guide us each and every day.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Following Jesus is a challenge each day. Knowing we are LOVED, CHILDREN of God with is WORD to listen to each day is what sustains and gives confidence to follow Jesus each and every day.
Apply: What words of Jesus give you hope today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for affirming us as your loved, children. Sustain us each day with your words to guide us and give us encouragement for each day of following you.
Mission Minded: Certainty from Our Connection to the Past!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 14, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Has Certainty!
Where did you come up with that idea?
I remember hearing someone say, “If you come up with one completely new idea in your lifetime, you are a genius.”
Not sure I qualify…yet! J
New ideas are often met with skepticism, until we understand their history and background.
Christianity can sometimes fall into this category. Individuals like to dismiss the message of Jesus as something “made up” by his disciples or fabricated in the first century. Some like to say it only had relevance for a period of time long ago and is outdated and irrelevant in the present.
So, how can we have any confidence in the faith we have in Jesus as Savior?
Perhaps we can in the same way that Jesus built confidence in Peter, James and John. He drew the connection between his life, ministry and person back to the ministry and message of Moses and the prophets.
Jesus seemed like “something new and different,” but really he was merely a fulfillment of the old and the same thread of history and promises that God had made from the very beginning the Garden of Eden.
Flanked by Moses and Elijah, Jesus discussed with them his upcoming death.
Mark 9:4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
Moses represented all that was written in the first five books of the Old Testament. From Creation, to the promises to Abraham, to the family of Israel to the exodus from Egypt, to the worship habits, and the design and function of the tabernacle – all had a purpose fulfilled in the life, ministry and person of Jesus Christ.
Elijah represented all that the prophets wrote about the coming Messiah. God used these men to call people to repentance, away from false gods, and to faithful following of the Lord and his commands. They would tell of impending punishment, but also promise of restoration to come. Again, all of these messages of the prophets find their fulfillment in Christ.
Jesus wanted Peter, James and John to understand that he was intimately connected to all that Moses and the prophets had written about him. In fact, the purpose of these Scriptures were to testify about him.
Luke 24:44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
The promises and prophesies connected to Jesus have been around for centuries. Jesus wasn’t a fly-by-night rabbi that made a big splash in Jerusalem, he is the Son of God who is and was the one Moses and all the prophets spoke of. This connection to the past gives our faith credibility and certainty in the present.
Some may challenge it is too old to be relevant today. To which I would say, the fact that it has withstood the test of time, persecution and attempts to cancel, gives even greater certainty that what I believe is more credible and certain than ever.
Apply: As you think about the history you know of the Lord and his people, what is one consistent theme or promise you live by that people for centuries have found the same comfort and encouragement?
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the consistency and connection to the history of the past. We realize it is your story you have unraveled and now connected us to as well. Thank you! AMEN.