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This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Savior!  (WATCH HERE)

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Wednesday of Holy Week fall silent amidst a week of activity.  Sunday Jesus rides into Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna!”  Monday, Jesus enters the temple and clears the money changers.  Tuesday Jesus spends time teaching about the end of the world and his second coming.  Wednesday…not much.

But in the silence of Wednesday, the plan of God was allowed to continue under the cover of “secrecy.”  Most commentators suggest that Wednesday is when Judas negotiated the betrayal of Jesus for the 30 silver coins.  

Matthew 26:14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

What is interesting about Judas’ response was not just the thirty pieces of silver, but the fact that Judas now thought he was in control of the fate of Jesus and “watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”  This was his agreed upon deliverable for the payment of silver.  What is also interesting is that this was the mindset of the leaders, Matthew 26:3 “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

The leaders did not think that the Passover celebration was the “opportune time.”  They sensed the loyalty of people toward Jesus would cause a rift and riot among the people.  They had to balance the need to get rid of Jesus with the need to have secrecy.

So I am sure when Judas met with them, they communicated three stipulations:  1) Help us get Jesus, 2) Find a secret time, and 3) not during the Passover.

The leaders felt they had their perfect partner for the deed, a follower of Jesus and one who had the inside scoop of his movements.  Judas thought he had an easy 30 pieces of silver and was on the look for the perfect time to hand Jesus over.

But neither the leaders or Judas was in control of what they thought.

Matthew 26:1-2 records (before the words quoted above), “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

Jesus was in charge of the timing and timeline.  On Thursday night he would call out Judas and invite him to do what he must do.  He knew that the Passover celebration was not a time to avoid, but the perfect timing for his crucifixion to fulfill the picture of the Passover lamb observed for centuries.  He was not the victim of a nefarious plot that caught him off guard, he was the Son of God deliberately carrying out his mission to save the world.

The secrecy of silent Wednesday is the reality of the subtlety of God to carry out his plan in spite of and with the help of sinful human beings for sinful human beings.

The plot of the Jewish leaders and the agreement of Judas led to events that put Jesus on the cross.  However, the actions of Judas and the Jewish leaders didn’t put Jesus on the cross, the sins of their heart did.

And for that reason, we can all relate with Judas and the Jewish leaders.  In the silent of our heart, we allow sin to brew that may or may not manifest itself, but it is equally the cause of Jesus’ death on the cross.  And his death on the cross is equally sufficient for the forgiveness of your sin and mine.  And for that reason, I am thankful for the silence of Wednesday to contemplate the profound sacrifice Jesus was willing to undertake for me.

 

Apply: What are the secret, silent sins of yours that Jesus took to the cross for you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for carrying out your plan in your way and in your time to bring me and all people full forgiveness for all our sin.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Savior!  (WATCH HERE)

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Zechariah 9:9-10 See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

It’s easy in our world to look at what is happening around us and what is happening to us and want to get away from it all. If you look at the headlines of any major news site, you see challenges in foreign affairs, you hear politicians bickering with one another, you see senseless tragedies and accidents.  It’s rare that the news chooses to report good news and one may think every aspect of the world is coming crashing down.

If God would just do something about it.

No one would argue that it would be nice to change the narrative of news organizations to not just spin stories to lead to fear and unrest, but rather to communicate the positive and uplifting too.  We want to believe, but don’t always see, that the world can be a better place.

I wonder what people thought when Jesus was done teaching the Tuesday of Holy Week?  Was their impression of the man who rode into Jerusalem on Sunday changing when they heard him teach on Tuesday?

What would you think of Jesus’ message and purpose when you heard him say:

Matthew 24:9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved

Or perhaps when you heard him say:

Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the distress of those days 

         “ ‘the sun will be darkened, 

         and the moon will not give its light; 

         the stars will fall from the sky, 

         and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

As Jesus taught about the end times and his second coming, it may not have been the battle plan some were wanting to hear.  But it was the message they needed.  Jesus was a king who would bring salvation, Zecharaiah said.  But the salvation Jesus brought would be the deliverance we all need, not from the problems of this world, but from the problems of personal sin.  His mission was to ensure as many people as possible will hear him say, Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

Jesus came to provide deliverance from sin. Even in his last teaching moments, he didn’t proclaim world peace or the end to every problem.  Instead he came to orchestrate and communicate the deliverance we really need…the forgiveness of our sins.  Only  with this gift of grace will we be ready for his return. Even though our earthly challenges may not disappear, our heavenly home will be ready because Jesus came to bring YOU salvation!

 

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for being the Savior I really need!  AMEN!

 

PS _ This may be a bit longer, but for all who prayed for our Easter event…here’s how God has and is answering those prayers…

 

To all our devotion readers,

THANK YOU to all who prayed for our Easter Eggstravaganza Event.  The prayers of God’s people are heard and answered by our gracious God.  After the dust has settled on a very busy week, let me share with you how the Lord chose to answer these prayers so that you too may give thanks! 

As you may remember, last Friday we were making final preparations for our annual outreach event, Easter Eggstravaganza.  The Lord blessed the event with 814 guests that registered…perhaps a few more that didn’t!  Below are the prayers you prayed for us last Friday with the ways God has chosen at this point to answer them…

• • Ask the Lord for his Spirit to work conversations and connections at the event for the advancement of the Gospel in the hearts of people.

• In ways we will have to wait on these conversation.  Personally I spoke with a woman from Iran of the Bahai faith and a person of the Seventh Day Adventist.  These gave opportunity to share the focus of grace we are privileged to preach.

• • Ask the Lord to move individuals to seek deeper connection with him through the Gospel ministry of Crosspoint.

• 44 families indicated a desire for more information about the ministry of Crosspoint.

• 23 families indicated they were actively looking for a church home.

• 37 families are interested in receiving a daily devotional email

• • Protect all participants from any harm or danger.

• While we had a brief scare when a parent couldn’t find her son, he was safely enjoying the bounce house without telling his mom.  God kept all safe.

• • Give strength and health to all who are volunteering.

• Everyone slept well Saturday night, but with one exception, all who volunteered were able to come and serve.

• • Curtail any evil or anyone wishing evil at or on the event.

• No one of evil intent was among the group.

• • That people would find more than eggs, but find a connection to their Savior.

• We had a booth where people could ask faith questions and post a prayer on a cross.  62 people posted a prayer.

• • That the hundreds of invitations to Easter would be received and individuals attend worship on Easter Sunday.

• Easter Sunday is a few days away, but we had three families visit yesterday as a result of the event and fliers the mission team distributed around us.  Please pray they will return on Easter!  We had 77 in worship for Palm Sunday – almost double our usual Sunday of around 40!

• • Gratitude for the many dollars that have been contributed

• I’m not sure the amount, but close to $2000 above regular offerings.

• • Gratefulness for dedicated volunteers and willingness to serve.

• We had 55 volunteers total serve on Saturday.  Each one was and is a gift from God!

• • Thankfulness for our four mission team members from Wisconsin who came to serve the Lord on their spring break.

• Ally, Ian, Josh & Dylan – a great team, strong in their faith and dedicated to their Lord.  They enjoyed a week of service, fun and lots of food!  They arrived back on campus early Monday morning, greeted by a snow storm after leaving 75 degrees here in Texas.

• • Ask the Lord to bless the event as he sees fit…opening doors he wants open and closing the ones he wants closed.

• We yet to see all the blessings God provided through this event.

• Any other prayer the Lord prompts you to pray!

 

Would you be so bold as to pray…

• Prayer of thanks for all the blessings listed above.
• For continued connection with the people who came on Easter and beyond.
• New guests on Easter to hear the glorious Easter message again or for the first time!

 

Lord, thank you for all your faithful people who prayed for our outreach efforts.  We thank you for blessing them in your way.  Hear our prayers as ones redeemed by Christ and purified by your Spirit.  We anticipate your blessing in many ways, ones maybe we expect and ones we didn’t.  For each, we are grateful! AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Savior!  (WATCH HERE)

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I may have had the wrong impression.

If I were part of the crowd that lined the street waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” I may have been thinking something very different than what Jesus was really doing.  Jesus was riding on a donkey into the city of Jerusalem…a perhaps odd way to enter, but the buzz was he was the Messiah.  But…

I may have thought, “This is the end to the plaguing occupation of the Romans!”

I may have thought, “This is the beginning of a rule greater than King David!”

I may have thought, “All my problems are going away because Jesus is making his entrance today.”

The prevailing thought in the nation of Israel at the time of Jesus was that the Messiah of which the Old Testament spoke of was going to be an earthly ruler and provide deliverance from earthly problems.  He would establish a political kingdom like King David.  He would bring healing to the sick and food for the hungry.  Even Jesus’ followers seem to have this idea.  

Perhaps we have the same, but wrong, impression too.

It’s easy to think that if we proclaim allegiance to Jesus, all our earthly difficulties will go away. We kind of want Jesus to be the earthly king that establishes a kingdom of peace and absence of problems.

I spoke to a gentleman a number of years ago who thought “God owed him” something positive in his life because he didn’t feel he deserved the life challenges he was going through.  In recent political cycles, it seems common among Christians to seek a political “savior” who would help legislate Christian morals into the law of the country.  It’s easy to want problems to disappear, illnesses to be completely cured, and broken relationships restored.  Perhaps none of these is completely a bad thought, they just are mistaken realities of what Jesus came to do.  .

Even today, it’s easy to have the wrong impression.

Jesus didn’t come to be an earthly king.  He made that very clear when on trial before Pilate when he said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”  He didn’t come to free us from every physical ailment, relational challenge, or financial worry. Rather he came to be the Savior we really need and solve the biggest problem we really have…the problem of sin.

Holy week is the culmination of his work on our behalf.  Zechariah prophesied this way in chapter 9:9-10

         9      Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! 

         Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! 

         See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, 

         gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

         10      I will take away the chariots from Ephraim 

         and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. 

         He will proclaim peace to the nations. 

         His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Perhaps at quick read, Zechariah seems to be speaking of an earthly king and reign…but when you read him slowly, you realize no earthly king or earthly kingdom can be or bring what Jesus brings.  The Savior we need is righteous, gentle, brings salvation and peace.  Nothing any earthly king can bring, but is exactly what Jesus does.

Jesus is the Savior we really need…and we’ll unpack that this week!

 

Apply: What misguided impressions have you held about Jesus?  What helped to clarify them?

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for riding into Jerusalem to be the Savior I really need, not the Savior in my mind I really want.  Clear out the misconceptions and replace them with the truth of who you really are and what you came to do.  AMEN.

To all our devotion readers,

May I ask a favor to spend your devotion time in prayer for our Easter outreach ministry, Easter Eggstravaganza happening tomorrow, March 23?  Last year we had over 900 people and this year we are planning for over 1000, including 600 kids.  While the event is a bridge building event to connect our community to our ministry, we are fervently praying that the Lord would use the event to bring further Gospel ministry opportunities to our congregation and the expansion of the kingdom.  We also have been blessed with dedicated volunteers from our small congregation, kids from the local high school and four college students from our WELS college ministry at the University of Eau Claire in Wisconsin.  Together we are serving to bring this event to our community.

So will you pray with us?

• Ask the Lord for his Spirit to work conversations and connections at the event for the advancement of the Gospel in the hearts of people.
• Ask the Lord to move individuals to seek deeper connection with him through the Gospel ministry of Crosspoint.
• Protect all participants from any harm or danger.
• Give strength and health to all who are volunteering.
• Curtail any evil or anyone wishing evil at or on the event.
• That people would find more than eggs, but find a connection to their Savior.
• That the hundreds of invitations to Easter would be received and individuals attend worship on Easter Sunday.
• Gratitude for the many dollars that have been contributed
• Gratefulness for dedicated volunteers and willingness to serve.
• Thankfulness for our four mission team members from Wisconsin who came to serve the Lord on their spring break.
• Ask the Lord to bless the event as he sees fit…opening doors he wants open and closing the ones he wants closed.
• Any other prayer the Lord prompts you to pray!

Lord, thank you for all your faithful people who are praying today.  Hear their prayers as ones redeemed by Christ and purified by your Spirit.  We anticipate your blessing in many ways, ones maybe we expect and ones we didn’t.  For each, we are grateful! AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Scapegoat!  (WATCH HERE)

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Remember Monday’s reflection on Leviticus?

God is perfect…we are not…yet God wants us to be.

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

It’s easy to think that God can’t be serious and want us to be holy.  Afterall, we are human. How can we be holy.  It’s easy to think that all God is encouraging is our best effort to live as good as we can.  It’s easy to think…rationale that God doesn’t say.

The standard is not removed.  The Lord wants us to be perfect and to live as perfect people.

Might as well give up, right?

Sure, if it was left up to our own effort.  But remember the power of Jesus as our Scapegoat.

Our sin is placed on him and he removes our sin from us…forever.

Last time I checked is that a person without sin is holy.  So if sin is transferred to Jesus and removed by Jesus, I am left without sin and therefore as holy.

The Apostle Paul affirms this line of thinking in 2 Corinthians 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

The moral perfection that God demanded is GIVEN to us by Jesus Christ.  How can he do this? Because he was perfect he is able completely remove our sin and call us holy.

But holy is not just moral perfection or the lack of sin.  “Holy” is also the reality of living a life that is reflective of the Lord and separate from the world of sin.  Jesus said it this way, “John 17:13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 

The word “sanctify” is really the same as “make holy.”  These words carry the idea of being “set apart.” So the Lord wants us live as HIS children which is different than the world around us.  The tool?  The Word of God.  

When you think about it, what guides us in our ability to live “separate and holy lives.”?  The Word of God.  When we are guided by the Word of God, our lives and voices and thoughts will be different.  We will take our direction from the truth of God’s word, not the popular opinion of the people.  We will not seek to blend in and be like the world around us, but rather we will experience the joy of being in the world but living for the Lord.  The Apostle Peter put it this way:

1 Peter 2:9-12 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.  

With Jesus as our Scapegoat, we can very much be holy because of the perfection Jesus gave to us and the power that the Spirit gives to live for him.

 

Apply: What makes it difficult for you to live as holy, set apart, distinct in the world around us?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of holiness.  Enable me by the power of your Spirit to live as one who is holy, set apart for you!  AMEN.