Easter is for Second Chances

Bible Reading: Mark 16Focus verse:

"But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." Mark 16:6-7

Do you need a second chance today? On the first Easter morning, Peter needed one. There in the Upper Room, he had insisted that he would never deny Christ. But just as Jesus had predicted, Peter not only denied the Lord, but he denied Him three times. The last glimpse Peter had of Jesus before His crucifixion was in the glow of the fire in the high priest's courtyard, where he actually made eye contact with Jesus. And then he went out and wept bitterly.What kind of look do you think Jesus gave Peter when their eyes met? Do you think it was one of those I-told-you-so looks? Do you think it was one of scorn, as if to say, "How could you betray Me?" I don't think it was either one. I think it was a look of love, a look of compassion that said, "I still love you, Peter." And I believe that is why Peter went out and wept bitterly. He had failed the Lord so miserably. He probably thought there was no hope for him.  But then a message went out from the empty tomb that Jesus had risen, followed by these instructions, "Go, tell His disciples—and Peter. . . ." It was not, "Go tell the disciples, including Peter, James, and John. . . ." It was just Peter, because Peter needed a special word of encouragement.

 

Do you need encouragement today?  Maybe you have fallen short. You didn't plan on it, but it happened. And like Peter, maybe you ended up with the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time, ultimately doing the wrong thing.God gave Peter a second chance. And He will give you one, too—because Easter is for the person who needs a second chance. 

 

By Greg Laurie

The Purpose of the Church

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 

Focus verses: "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." Hebrews 10: 24-25
 
What is the church?
The church, also known in scripture as “the body of Christ” (Colossians 1:24, Ephesians 5:23), it is not the building we gather in on Sunday morning, although that is what we often think of when we consider the church. The church is made up of the believers in Christ, those who believe that Jesus Christ came to earth and died for our sins, and trust Him as the way to receive forgiveness for the sins we have committed, so that we can have a relationship with God. Together we encourage one another as we go through life, build each other up as we seek to follow Christ. 

What is the purpose of the church?
Ultimately our purpose is to glorify God with our lives (1 Corinthians 10:23-33). As the church our role is to bring glory to God. As we see in our main reading that we are not each given the same role, we have different purposes within the body. The Lord has given each of us different personalities, skills, talents and spiritual gifts. When we compare ourselves to others we tend to get discouraged because we might get jealous of someone else’s gifts and not be happy with our own (v. 15-16). Instead we see that not everyone can be an eye (v. 17) we each have our own strengths to bring to the body of Christ. In the same way we should also be careful not to think of our gifts as better than the gifts of someone else (v. 22-23). What we as humans might consider as insignificant could be the most honorable. We need to make sure that we as the body of Christ are not divided (v. 25). There needs to be respect for one another, if there are any arguments we need to make sure we are not holding a grudge towards any believers. It is important that we remember that they are human too, they make mistakes just like you, we should be quick to forgive one another. If we are distracted with hatred towards one another this keeps us from fulfilling our purpose as the body of Christ. Our purpose is to suffer together and to rejoice together, we are the church so we don’t have to go through life alone, we need one another (v. 26). God has given each of us a different role so instead of getting jealous we need to learn what our gifts are and to use them to give God the glory. If you are unsure of what your spiritual gift is you can ask someone who knows you well that is a spiritual leader over you, maybe a parent, your youth pastor or a close friend. 

Pray:
God thank you for creating us differently and for a purpose. Help me to recognize the spiritual gifts you have given me. Show me how I can use these gifts to glorify you Lord. Help me to use the gifts to encourage other believers and in sharing the gospel with those who don’t have a relationship with you. Remind me that you have given me different gifts for a reason and that you would keep me from being jealous of others’ gifts. I love you Lord. Amen. 

written by Tamara Johnson

Expect Kindness

Expect Kindness [and give kindness]
~by David Jeremiah from Hope for Today

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:17-32
Focus verse: "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32

Counselors sometimes suggest that a sure way to avoid disappointment is to avoid expectations.  Married couples are sometimes told if they expect nothing from a spouse, they will not be disappointed if they receive nothing.  That is a sad way to approach life.

Often, we confuse expectations with rights, especially in marriage.  Some claim "It is my right to be loved and understood by my spouse."  Demanding rights can be problematic.  But are expectations in marriage wrong?  When we follow Paul's lead, comparing marriage to Christ and His Church, it would seem not (Ephesians 5: 22-33)  Do we as the Bride of Christ have expectations of Christ?  Yes, and He is always faithful.  Does Christ have expectations of us, His Bride - expectations of love, loyalty, obedience, service, and more?  Yes, and whyle we sometimes disappoint Him, expectations remain.

As the Bride of Christ, we should be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving toward one another as Christ is toward us (Ephesians 4:32).  Don't disappoint Him.  Be kind to each other - He expects it.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; Colossians 3:12

More on marriage:
^{Ephesians 5:22} Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. ³⁰ For we are members of His body,^[a] of His flesh and of His bones. ³¹ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”^{[b] 32} This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. ³³ Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Awake and Sober

Awake and Sober
Bible Reading 1 Thessalonians 5
Focus Verse: "But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Jesus is coming back.  It's what believers long for and what makes those without Christ to tremble.  Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of the great Evangelist Billy Graham, recently made a pledge at her father's funeral.  She explained that on the date of her father's death, the Jews' scripture for that day was about how Moses led the people of Israel out of bondage. Her father led millions out of the bondage of sin to the very edge of Heaven.  She said, "Could it be that God is going to bring Joshua to lead us into the Promised Land, lead us to Heaven and – you know what the New Testament name for Joshua is? It's Jesus. And I believe this is a shot across the bow from Heaven. And I believe God is saying: 'Wake up church! Wake up world! Jesus is coming!" she declared. "I pledge to you, Daddy, that in view of His appearing, and in front of all these witnesses, I will preach the Word! I will do the work of an evangelist and I will share the Gospel and I will run my race and live my life so that five minutes before I see Jesus I have no regrets. I will live my life to glorify and exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," she concluded.

What do we do as we wait for this glorious day, of which we have no knowlege of the day?  See verses 12-27 of 1 Thessalonians 5 for the long list that includes things like:
Acknowledge those who work hard among you and those who care for you.
Live in peace with each other.
Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
Rejoice, pray and give thanks.
Test the spirits and hold onto good, while rejecting every kind of evil.
Let God sanctify (purify and cleanse) you.

We are also to go into all the land and preach the Gospel, starting with the neighbors. There is no time to be idle, disruptive, drunk or playing with the edge of evil.  We must be awake and sober to be doing our Heavenly Father's business.

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

My Body, My Slave

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 9: 19-27
Focus Verse: "But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside." Job 23: 10-11

Paul knew what it was like to make adjustments in his life.  After he had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, his life was totally different.  He was writing here about some of those things that he was doing in order to encourage people to be saved.  He takes into consideration who he is with in order to be in step with the culture that he is with.  He is willing to discipline himself in such a way that will be beneficial to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He concludes by saying that it wasn’t an easy thing to be disciplined, but that he beat his body or disciplined his body so that he was in control of all of his actions.

I remember when I was 15 years old, I had knee surgery.  The doctor came to visit me at the bed of the hospital after the surgery.  He asked me to lift my leg up.  I tried to lift my leg and nothing happened.  I couldn’t understand.  The doctor repeated the command.  I said, “I can’t.  It won’t go.”  No matter how much I tried, my leg just wouldn’t go up.  It seemed strange to not be in control of my body.  The doctor was noticeably disturbed and after a moment he took hold of my heel and lifted my leg for me.  He asked me to try to hold it in that “up” position.  It worked and I was able to keep it there.  Then, I could put my foot down and lift it again.  I couldn’t understand why my leg began working, when it refused to before.  The doctor said that my leg “forgot” how to respond but when he moved it, it remembered.  I was relieved.  The more I exercised it, however, the more control I recovered.

Did you ever hear that, “The Devil made me do it.” or “I just couldn’t help myself” or maybe “Well, that’s just the way I am.”  These are just some of the excuses that we use when we are not disciplined.  Do you feel trapped or helpless?  If you failed and forgot how to respond to God, just ask for him to help you.  Then keep exercising and you will get stronger.  We exercise our discipline with daily devotions.  We need to consider others and how they will perceive our actions and words.  Even though I have the right to do something, doesn’t mean I should do it.  1 Corinthians 8:9 "But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak."  If it could cause someone to reject the message of Christ, then... is it worth it?

Where is God leading you to be more disciplined?

What steps will you take to exercise and discipline your body for Christ?

Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries