26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
27 Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Matthew 26:6-26-30(TNIV)
Many refer to the discipline that Jesus discusses here as communion. I like to refer to it as a celebration! A celebration of life and a remembrance of the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made for everyone who makes a conscious decision to embrace Him. One day, as Jesus describes here, all of us who have dared to enter in to this amazing journey of life with Christ will unite in heaven and there will be drinking of wine and singing and a perfect community of believers that are bonded together by the holy and perfect love of our Creator and Friend. Oh what a day that will be. The small glimpses that we experience on earth today; the experiences that bring joyful tears; the ones that give you goose bumps all over will happen all the time since your brokenness that causes a temporary separation from God will be healed and you will be made whole and complete forever in Him! Don’t ever forget the price that Jesus paid for you and be sure to anticipate the grand celebration that we will all experience one day with our Savior when He looks at us with tears in His eyes as a result of His incredible love and says “well done”.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Effects of War
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me."
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"
23 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
Jesus answered, "You have said so."
Matthew 26:6-20-25(TNIV)
Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt? In the heat of the battle, about to suffer more than you and I could ever imagine for the sake of restoring all of us to Himself and knowing full well that it was one of His closest friends, one of His inner circle of supporters that would betray Him. Don’t ever forget that we live in a world at war! There will be people that betray you because of your faith in Christ. Some of your closest friends will become victims of defeat to the enemy. There will be people who befriend you that will never really be your friend. Please know when this happens to you that you have a friend who sticks closer than a brother, a friend who has experienced this same kind of hurt and came out on the other side to help comfort you when you endure similar blows due to the brokenness of this world and the battle that we face. Stay connected to your power source today, let His love give you strength to press on and let His grace and mercy soothe your pain and comfort you as you journey to know and love Him more.
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"
23 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
Jesus answered, "You have said so."
Matthew 26:6-20-25(TNIV)
Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt? In the heat of the battle, about to suffer more than you and I could ever imagine for the sake of restoring all of us to Himself and knowing full well that it was one of His closest friends, one of His inner circle of supporters that would betray Him. Don’t ever forget that we live in a world at war! There will be people that betray you because of your faith in Christ. Some of your closest friends will become victims of defeat to the enemy. There will be people who befriend you that will never really be your friend. Please know when this happens to you that you have a friend who sticks closer than a brother, a friend who has experienced this same kind of hurt and came out on the other side to help comfort you when you endure similar blows due to the brokenness of this world and the battle that we face. Stay connected to your power source today, let His love give you strength to press on and let His grace and mercy soothe your pain and comfort you as you journey to know and love Him more.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Appointed Time
18 He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.' " 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
Matthew 26:6-18-19(TNIV)
Can you picture this? It’s an ordinary day and you set out in the morning with all of your plans, things to get done, goals to be accomplished, work tasks to be completed and at the last minute a group of Jesus’ disciples show up and all of your grand plans for the day take a 180 degree turn as Jesus Christ, The Messiah, the One the whole city is talking about is coming to your house to celebrate Passover. It was this man’s appointed time to help assist in the single most important event in history as it relates to our restoration and relationship with God. I am sure at the time that he had no idea how important this dinner was and how millions of people would continue to read about it more than 2,000 years later. Great artists have created portraits, books and movies have been written and even controversies have arisen about who was present at the Passover dinner that happened just prior to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. You know, today is no different, there is still a plan in place, an epic battle for the control and restoration of human hearts is happening all around you. Today is your appointed time to play your part, to reflect the love of the amazing Savior who lives inside. The result of your choices and intentionality of living out your faith in Christ could reap eternal rewards today for you and even more for a lost soul who desperately needs to see Jesus living in and through your life. This is your time – be conscious of the moving of God’s Spirit, that still small voice in your ear and the prompting on your heart to take action. You do not want to miss the incredible joy that our Father has planned for you today. Prepare your heart for action today as you learn to love Him more!
Matthew 26:6-18-19(TNIV)
Can you picture this? It’s an ordinary day and you set out in the morning with all of your plans, things to get done, goals to be accomplished, work tasks to be completed and at the last minute a group of Jesus’ disciples show up and all of your grand plans for the day take a 180 degree turn as Jesus Christ, The Messiah, the One the whole city is talking about is coming to your house to celebrate Passover. It was this man’s appointed time to help assist in the single most important event in history as it relates to our restoration and relationship with God. I am sure at the time that he had no idea how important this dinner was and how millions of people would continue to read about it more than 2,000 years later. Great artists have created portraits, books and movies have been written and even controversies have arisen about who was present at the Passover dinner that happened just prior to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. You know, today is no different, there is still a plan in place, an epic battle for the control and restoration of human hearts is happening all around you. Today is your appointed time to play your part, to reflect the love of the amazing Savior who lives inside. The result of your choices and intentionality of living out your faith in Christ could reap eternal rewards today for you and even more for a lost soul who desperately needs to see Jesus living in and through your life. This is your time – be conscious of the moving of God’s Spirit, that still small voice in your ear and the prompting on your heart to take action. You do not want to miss the incredible joy that our Father has planned for you today. Prepare your heart for action today as you learn to love Him more!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
A Much Higher Calling
6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9 "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
Matthew 26:6-13(TNIV)
I love this story as it confirms the idea that man’s ways are not always God’s way and that sometimes the most disturbing and ridiculous and illogical things that occur throughout the day can never be understood by us because God’s vision and perspective is so much greater than our limited view of the world. The perfume that this lady poured on Jesus could have paid all the expenses for a family for a year and yet it served a much higher calling and more divine purpose as it was being sacrificed in order that our beautiful Savior could be properly anointed prior to giving His very life over to humiliation and suffering on our behalf. Who at that table could have known what was about to occur? Who could have known that the events that were about to transpire in the coming days would live on in the lives of millions of people more than 2000 years later? Who could have foretold that the anointing of perfume in that alabaster jar would be the beginning of an event that would transform literally millions upon millions of people’s hearts and lives back into authentic relationship with their Creator? You never know what your Heavenly Father may be up to or how the small acts of kindness that you perform today may be used for such a high calling as to transform a person’s life or maybe many people’s lives back to the joy and perfect unity that happen in a relationship with Jesus Christ. So today, continue to respond to the Spirit’s prompting on your heart as there is a purpose for every little thing that you do and you may never know how far your kindness will reach as you faithfully reflect God’s love in the smallest of ways to the world around you. Pour your alabaster jar of God’s love onto another person today as you learn to love Him more!
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9 "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
Matthew 26:6-13(TNIV)
I love this story as it confirms the idea that man’s ways are not always God’s way and that sometimes the most disturbing and ridiculous and illogical things that occur throughout the day can never be understood by us because God’s vision and perspective is so much greater than our limited view of the world. The perfume that this lady poured on Jesus could have paid all the expenses for a family for a year and yet it served a much higher calling and more divine purpose as it was being sacrificed in order that our beautiful Savior could be properly anointed prior to giving His very life over to humiliation and suffering on our behalf. Who at that table could have known what was about to occur? Who could have known that the events that were about to transpire in the coming days would live on in the lives of millions of people more than 2000 years later? Who could have foretold that the anointing of perfume in that alabaster jar would be the beginning of an event that would transform literally millions upon millions of people’s hearts and lives back into authentic relationship with their Creator? You never know what your Heavenly Father may be up to or how the small acts of kindness that you perform today may be used for such a high calling as to transform a person’s life or maybe many people’s lives back to the joy and perfect unity that happen in a relationship with Jesus Christ. So today, continue to respond to the Spirit’s prompting on your heart as there is a purpose for every little thing that you do and you may never know how far your kindness will reach as you faithfully reflect God’s love in the smallest of ways to the world around you. Pour your alabaster jar of God’s love onto another person today as you learn to love Him more!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Not So Bad
1 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."
Matthew 26:1-2(TNIV)
Just when you think that life has really dealt you a crappy hand to play and right at the same time that you are wallowing in your sorrows and shaking your fist at God with a notion to scream at the top of your lungs the question why – right then, in that moment, try to remember the cross and all that Jesus endured in order that He could help to ease your pain and heal your brokenness and comfort you with His amazing love. Jesus suffered betrayal by His closest friends and He endured the worst case of humiliation that anyone has ever endured on this earth. He was beaten with razor sharp flogs to the point of death, made to carry His cross through the cheering crowd to Calvary Hill, spit on, mocked and treated worse than the scum of the earth. The crazy thing is that He knew ahead of time that all of this was going to happen and yet He, with the help of His Father, pressed on in order that His sacrifice could repair your broken relationship with God in such a way that you could be comforted and restored, even in the midst of whatever crises you find yourself facing today. Jesus loves you more than you could ever imagine. He has suffered much more than you, and today He is patiently waiting for you to reach out and take His gentle hand of love that will guide you through this time in your life, and when viewed through the lens of the cross, this turns out to be not so bad. Fall in love with Jesus today and let Him guide you and comfort you as you learn to love Him more.
Matthew 26:1-2(TNIV)
Just when you think that life has really dealt you a crappy hand to play and right at the same time that you are wallowing in your sorrows and shaking your fist at God with a notion to scream at the top of your lungs the question why – right then, in that moment, try to remember the cross and all that Jesus endured in order that He could help to ease your pain and heal your brokenness and comfort you with His amazing love. Jesus suffered betrayal by His closest friends and He endured the worst case of humiliation that anyone has ever endured on this earth. He was beaten with razor sharp flogs to the point of death, made to carry His cross through the cheering crowd to Calvary Hill, spit on, mocked and treated worse than the scum of the earth. The crazy thing is that He knew ahead of time that all of this was going to happen and yet He, with the help of His Father, pressed on in order that His sacrifice could repair your broken relationship with God in such a way that you could be comforted and restored, even in the midst of whatever crises you find yourself facing today. Jesus loves you more than you could ever imagine. He has suffered much more than you, and today He is patiently waiting for you to reach out and take His gentle hand of love that will guide you through this time in your life, and when viewed through the lens of the cross, this turns out to be not so bad. Fall in love with Jesus today and let Him guide you and comfort you as you learn to love Him more.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Sheep or Goat
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
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. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46(TNIV)
Are you a sheep or a goat? If you were to die today and before you know it be placed in front of this glorious throne with Jesus Christ in the judgment seat, His body still scarred and bruised from the incredible price that He paid for you, where would He put you, on the right or on the left? Truly if you have genuinely accepted His free gift of salvation into your heart of hearts then you will not be able to help but to act like the sheep in this story and in some small way be looking to give of yourself and to give of your resources to others as the acts of kindness that are evident in your life are not of your own doing but have everything to do with the one who lives inside of your soul. Maybe, you are a goat today but have ambitions to be a sheep at some time in your life when you have more time or when it is more convenient or when you are successful at cleaning up your act in preparation to live a Godly life. Listen, you will never be able to clean up your act without Jesus and no one knows how much longer they have on this earth. The truth of the matter is that you may not be here tomorrow and today may be your only opportunity to be Jesus to the world and to make a difference. Which side will you choose? Choose today and start living a life that abounds in love and adoration for the one who died to make you whole!
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. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46(TNIV)
Are you a sheep or a goat? If you were to die today and before you know it be placed in front of this glorious throne with Jesus Christ in the judgment seat, His body still scarred and bruised from the incredible price that He paid for you, where would He put you, on the right or on the left? Truly if you have genuinely accepted His free gift of salvation into your heart of hearts then you will not be able to help but to act like the sheep in this story and in some small way be looking to give of yourself and to give of your resources to others as the acts of kindness that are evident in your life are not of your own doing but have everything to do with the one who lives inside of your soul. Maybe, you are a goat today but have ambitions to be a sheep at some time in your life when you have more time or when it is more convenient or when you are successful at cleaning up your act in preparation to live a Godly life. Listen, you will never be able to clean up your act without Jesus and no one knows how much longer they have on this earth. The truth of the matter is that you may not be here tomorrow and today may be your only opportunity to be Jesus to the world and to make a difference. Which side will you choose? Choose today and start living a life that abounds in love and adoration for the one who died to make you whole!
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