LOVE YOUR ENEMY

When your enemy falls, do not be glad, and when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice; lest Yahweh see it and it be evil in His eyes, and turn His anger away from him. Proverbs 24:17-18

In 1569, an Anabaptist named Dirk Willems was fleeing from a man who was seeking to arrest him. The authorities were after him in order to try him for the ‘crimes’ of being rebaptized, holding secret meetings in his home and overseeing baptisms of others. As Dirk was running away, he crossed a small pond that had a thin layer of ice. He was able to make it safely across, but his pursuer was not. That man fell into the ice and was crying for help. It would seem that Dirk was rescued by the thin ice; he was able to escape. But instead of continuing to run, he turned back and helped the drowning man out of the freezing water. Because of that decision he was arrested, unjustly tried, and burned to death at the stake. 

Dirk had a firm grasp on Proverbs 24:17 and Luke 6:35, “but love your enemies, and do good…” Our natural sinful response is to rejoice when our enemies fall, and be glad when they suffer defeat. But the heart that has been transformed by the Lord, doesn’t hate his enemy, even though his enemy hates him. Instead, he has compassion on his enemy, he loves his enemy; because he knows that but for the grace of God, he would be just like his enemy. I’ve wondered if the man Dirk rescued from the icy water, later repented. That detail is lost to history, but it seems very possible. May the Lord strengthen us to love our enemies, even when it doesn’t make logical sense. 

Joshua Steiner

IF YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT!

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom (God’s) and the man who obtains discernment (from God).  For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her produce better than fine gold. 

Proverbs 3:13-14

Many years ago, I found myself in a very unhappy and discontented state of mind.  I was not where I wanted to be and had no idea where I was going.  Have you ever been there?  In desperation and curiosity, I decided to search the Bible to find God’s conditions of happiness/blessedness.  The standard dictionary definition of “enjoying oneself, having pleasure, joy, contentment, good fortune, being merry, cheerful, in good humor, smiling” just did not cut it with me!  Here are a few of the verses dealing with blessedness or happiness that I found.

-     Psalm 1:1-2 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, BUT his delight is in the law of Yahweh, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

-     Psalm 32:1-2 “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh will not take into account.” 

-     Luke 11:28 “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”

-     John 20:29 “Blessed are those who did not see (Me, Jesus), and yet believed.”

-     1 Peter 4:14 “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed.” 

-     Revelation 19:9 “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

This study changed my entire outlook and attitude years ago and still does when I remember it!  God truly wants you to be happy but only on His terms.  It is not a hopeless pursuit!  If YOU are happy and YOU know it, say “Amen!”

Bob Kulp

WHOM DO YOU WANT TO PLEASE?

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Serve the Lord Christ. 

Colossians 3:23-24

I missed graduating from college with honors by .001 grade point average. If I had gotten one letter grade higher in any class I took in my four years I would have graduated with honors. That means my first semester if I had appreciated art just a bit more and gotten a C instead of a D I would have made it. As it turned out, missing honors never made a difference over the course of my life anyway.

After discovering Colossians 3:23-24, I have reflected on that shortcoming in my freshman year a number of times. I was not trying to walk in those days on the basis of those verses, and I wonder now how many blessings I missed. Concerning Art Appreciation 101 I was certainly capable of getting a much higher grade.

But honors from man are not the point. Pleasing Jesus is. The verbs in Colossians 3:23-24 are imperative, so doing them is not optional if you love Jesus (see John 14:15). Less than my best is not an option now, no matter what I am doing. 

How about it? Are you doing your best for Jesus in all things?

(By the way, I still don’t appreciate man’s art much, but I have developed a greater toleration for some of it.)

Jeffrey Eno

STOP SAYING “KARMA!”

…it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.  Hebrews 9:27

Often we see someone on Facebook employ the term “Karma!”—usually in response to someone getting their “just desserts.” A motorist carelessly splashes a pedestrian, and soon the offender himself slips on a banana peel—triggering the verdict of “KARMA!” 

The concept has successfully penetrated our pop-culture, from the Beatles’ Abby Road album to the sitcom “My Name is Earl,” in which the protagonist engages in an episodic quest to “balance his Karma” through good deeds. 

To be sure, the Bible does speak of a Divinely superintended “cause-and-effect” principle of reciprocative justice (Hosea10:13; Gal.6:7-8), and Mosaic ("eye for an eye") jurisprudence endorses proportional retribution.

But karma is quite different, serving as a cornerstone of Hindu-Buddhist-Taoist spirituality that governs the concept of reincarnation—supposedly determining the quality/status of a person’s “next life.” Good karma results in rebirth to a higher caste, but bad karma results in future misery. A person who was cruel to animals in this life may be reincarnated as a lab rodent in the next.

In contrast, the Bible affords no post-mortem “second chances” (Heb.9:27). Jesus said the dying thief went to Paradise that very day (Luke 23:43); he was not reborn to another earthly existence.

Further, karmic law—unlike Biblical Justice—is an impersonal cause-and-effect principle. The pantheistic “god” of Hinduism is not a Person, but an impersonal “Force.” Thus, there can be neither clemency nor flexibility associated with karma, because there is no gracious Personality offering forgiveness.

Christianity affirms that sin is an attack upon a Personal God, requiring an appeasing propitiation (1John 4:10). Jesus’ blood satisfies God’s wrath, bringing forgiveness.

Christians should prayerfully labor for the salvation of billions of pantheists—and quit invoking “karma!”

Terry L. Reese

SURPRISED BY GRACE

Then Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Have you not heard, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my young women.’ Ruth 2:8

The relationship between Ruth and Boaz oozes with grace. Boaz is the gracious giver and Ruth the grateful recipient. Consider this…

Ruth was not entitled to any good treatment. She was an outsider, a foreigner, a former idolater, a destitute widow, and unable to contribute anything to the business of her new employer, Boaz. Despite this, he still graced her by allowing her to glean in his field. Grace offers a new and better future.

In this culture men and women were not permitted to speak to each other, and certainly speaking to a foreign woman would have been totally unacceptable. But after investigating who she was, it is Boaz who initiates the conversation with Ruth. Grace always takes the initiative by making the first move. “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

When shown grace, Ruth’s first word is “why” (v. 10). This is the natural response from a heart that is overwhelmed with gratitude. Grace surprises us with provision and protection.

Years later, grace was once again poured out on the hills near Bethlehem when Jesus laid down His life. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Have you accepted this free gift?

Philip Moeller

BUILDING A HOME

Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;

Unless Yahweh watches the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. 

Psalm 127:1

A lasting home is built by God (vs. 1); it is balanced (v. 2) and it is blessed (vs. 3-5). Solomon knew 2 things that you and I also need to understand. A lasting home is not made of material substances like wood or brick. God doesn’t pick up the hammer and start framing on the foundation… though we would like that! Secondly, to erect a structure and live in it without God will be an eternally fruitless endeavor. When Solomon builds the temple; or, the house of God, he says this in 1 Kings 8:27: But will God truly dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built! The only thing that sets this temple apart from all other religious structures is the God who manifests His presence in it.

The word for house in verse 1, בַ֗יִת, is a generic term. It can be translated, “household, prison house, temple” or “family” depending on the context. And, in the Hebrew text, there is no article. So, Solomon is not describing the temple or a material house; he is talking about any house, household or family. בַ֗יִת can also be translated “dwelling” or “habitation.”

In true Solomonic style, we are told straight up that to build a home or to guard a city is vain; it’s empty; it’s like a soap bubble; it’s like a balloon without its skin…UNLESS the Lord does it. The eternal living God who never changes, who is never affected by the 2nd law of thermodynamics, who builds for eternity; He must be the architect and building contractor. Is that true of your home?

Ike Graham

A FEW GOOD GODLY MEN

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11-13

Over 3000 years ago a Philistine giant named Goliath issued a threatening challenge to a fearful Israelite army shouting, “Give me a man!” (1 Samuel 17:10).  While not a challenge to fight, I believe that same cry is going out everywhere as the Lord is looking for men of godly faith, conviction and character who will stand up and stand out for Him in this sinful world.

What does such a man look like?  In Titus 2:2 Paul teaches that older men should have the stability of being temperate, dignified/reverent, sensible, sound in doctrine (teaching God’s Word – 2 Timothy 3:16-17), sound in faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and sound in love for God (1 John 4:19; John 14:15), for others (John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:16-18) and for their wives and families (Ephesians 5:25).  Intolerant, unsympathetic, hurtful, faultfinding, angry men don’t fit the bill! Finally the older men are sound in endurance, bearing up and under all hard situations, persevering and not quitting when the going gets tough (James 1:2-4, 12), looking to Jesus to find the strength to keep them running their race well (Hebrews 12:1-4).  These same qualifications apply today.

The older men are also to be good examples and exhort younger Christian men to have a sensible life-style, be positive role models, having sound doctrine showing integrity and honesty, reverence and respect for God, purity and sincerity.  Finally they are to have sound, healthy speech which is irreproachable (Titus 2:6-8).  Are you such a man?  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God is calling you to this standard.  You can be a good, godly man! 

Bob Kulp

THE BIG “DUH”

For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.    Romans 13:3-4

​When I was a chaplain for the sheriff’s department, I used to enjoy riding with the deputies during their shift. Almost every one of them asked me, “If I ever had to use my weapon, what would God say if I killed someone?” To which I would answer with the above verses, which I feel are self-explanatory: if you don’t want to have to fear law enforcement, then just don’t do anything stupid, and they will be your friends. But, if you go around breaking the law, then you’d better watch out for that pistol that the Lord gave him permission to carry and use! Like, duh, is that too complicated?

​How much better the world would be, if people would just read and abide by the simple truths of God’s Word. But, no, men have to go around in violent protests, even attempting to kill God’s ministers of law enforcement, and then they complain to high heaven (or somewhere else) when law enforcement does what it is supposed to do, and stops the lawbreakers.

​It is no surprise that the hallmark of the last days will be lawlessness (1 John 3:4), and that the antichrist is the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-10); he is well on his way to taking the world over.

Davy L. Troxel

TEMPUS FUGIT

A voice says, ‘Call out.’ Then he answered, ‘What shall I call out?’

All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of Yahweh blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:6-8

When my first grandchild was born I realized that he would never know my father since he died before my grandson was born. My father was a VIP to me. He not only loved me and cared for me, but most importantly he shared the gospel with me. But he would only be a picture and a story to my grandchildren and beyond. Likewise, if the Lord does not return, in a few generations I will only be a picture and a story. When and if future generations see my picture, what will that story be?

The reality of mortality in this life draws ever clearer. The urgency to emphasize to family the importance of being prepared for their own mortality presses harder, since not all bear witness of faith in Jesus. I want as many generations as possible to know how the Lord has blessed me. I want them to know that I have taken Him seriously and sought to walk in His ways. I want them to know that the Bible was important to me. I want them to know that I trusted Him in all circumstances. I want them to know I was a true Christian.

Will that story go with my picture? I have work to do on it.

What story will go with your picture?

Jeffrey Eno

GUARDING YOUR WORDS

A fool lets out all of his spirit, but a wise man holds it back. 

Proverbs 29:11

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” It would seem that President Lincoln had been reading his Bible. Proverbs 12:16 says, “An ignorant fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals disgrace.” In a similar way we read in Proverbs 19:11, “A man’s insight makes him slow to anger, and it is his honor to overlook a transgression.”

When someone says an unkind word toward us, or does something that is unloving, our knee-jerk reaction is to let them have it with our words. When we are driving down the road and someone pulls out in front of us, what comes out of our mouths? When our family member uses words that hit us the wrong way, what words are coming out of our mouths? 

Nobody wants to be a fool, but God tells us that in those moments when we let the words fly, we are just that. King David understood the struggle, which is why he prayed, “Set a guard, O Yahweh, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” We must pray a similar prayer. 

It is only when we are walking in the Spirit and abiding in Christ that we will be able to guard our words and not respond with the first thoughts that come to our mind in a given situation. May the Lord help us to be wise men and women who guard our words, and glorify our Savior in all our responses today.  

Joshua Steiner

DO YOU GRUMBLE?

Do all things without complaining and grumbling.

Philippians 2:14

A lawyer, a doctor, and a preacher went deer hunting together when along came a big buck. The three of them all shot at the same time, and immediately the buck dropped to the ground. They all rushed up to examine the deer but couldn't determine whose shot had actually killed it. They were in the middle of a heated argument when a game warden came by and asked what the problem was. The doctor told him that they were debating who shot the buck. The warden took one look at the buck and immediately pronounced, “The preacher shot the buck!” They all wondered how he knew that so quickly. To which the warden said, “Easy. The bullet went in one ear and out the other.”

Now, before you start grumbling about beginning this devotional with a joke, read Exodus 16:1-21. What did you find? The heat, the dwindling supplies and most importantly, a lack of trust in the Lord lead them to grumbling. Why do people grumble? The bottom line is that it’s a form of ingratitude, and we’re saying God’s not taking care of His business well enough. It’s an assault on God. That’s clear from v. 8. Grumbling against God means that we do not trust Him; we do not have confidence in Him.

Now, let’s be clear that there is a huge difference between grumbling and groaning. Job groaned. Groaning is saying, “This is really difficult, Lord!” Grumbling is saying, “You are really difficult, Lord!” Groaning says, “I want something different, please!” Grumbling says, “I want someone else besides You!” Memorize Philippians 2:14 today.

Ike Graham

WHOSOEVER WILL

For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

 Romans 10:13

The year was 1869.  Evangelist Henry Moorhouse was in Chicago and had selected John 3:16 as the passage that he would preach on repeatedly for several weeks as he sought to emphasize the truths of this verse to the crowds that gathered to hear him.  The word “whosoever” was his emphasis:  God sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for the sins of whosoever (meaning “anyone at all”) would choose to believe in Him.   Philip P. Bliss, noted soloist and hymn writer, was also there serving as song leader for the revival services.  As he sat there night after night listening to the messages he gained a clearer perspective of God’s abundant grace causing him to leave the meeting one night and compose the hymn Whosoever Will May Come. 

John 3:16 is also one of my favorite verses.  I often share it like this:  “For God (the only true One) so loved the world (all mankind, you and I) that He gave (sacrificed to death on the cross) His only begotten (unique, one and only) Son (Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless, eternal Son of God, God in human flesh and blood, who died and rose again from the dead) that whoever (anyone and everyone, even you) believes in Him (trusts in Jesus Christ alone as the only way to have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven) shall not perish (be separated from God eternally in hell, the lake of fire) but (praise God!) have everlasting life (life here and now, and forever in heaven).”

 I trust that you, like Philip Bliss and myself, will believe and share this marvelous truth that whosoever will may come!  “Whosoever will, whosoever will!  Send the proclamation over vale and hill.

Tis a loving Father calls the wand’er home: Whosoever will may come.”

Bob Kulp

HOUSE OF ADVERSARIES

A man’s enemies will be the members of his household.  

Matthew 10:36

As inherently social creatures, there resides within us, by design, an intense psychological need for communal support; to experience love, solace, and acceptance from a caring inner circle of trustworthy intimates. By nature, we yearn for our families to occupy the very center of this circle of trust—and it is therefore profoundly heartbreaking and unnatural when they fail us in this sacred obligation. In his day, the Prophet Micah lamented the breakdown of intimate relational loyalty, as men were forced to emotionally isolate themselves in the face of domestic betrayal (Micah 7:1-7). As Solomon observes, in a treacherous world such as ours, having a true intimate is enormous blessing (Prov. 18:24)!!! 

Both in terms of world history and human relations, the first advent of Christ established a great line of division; disciples must therefore anticipate betrayal from within the bosom of their own households (Matt. 10:34-38; Mark 13:12-13). Regenerate Christian believers face the certain enmity of an unregenerate world-system that loathes God and despises His people (John 15:19). Sadly, even our own kinsmen are often a part of that system. 

As American civilization continues to putrefy in correspondence with its spiritual apostasy, it is unsurprising that we increasingly bear witness to the unnatural. Social media is rife with accounts of “Gen Zers” openly disavowing their parents (contra Eph. 6:1-3) and spurning the Thanksgiving table in the name of a neo-pagan far-left political ideology that colors itself in quasi-religious hues. Shakespeare would label this a time “out of joint.”

In such times, let us recall where our true and ultimate allegiance lies (Deut. 13:6-11). Christians cannot endorse sin and unbelief in the name of “love”—which is not true love at all (Prov. 13:24).

Terry L. Reese

EBENEZER

April 8

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer.

And he said, ‘Thus far Yahweh has helped us.’  

I Samuel 7:12

​Whenever I perform a funeral service, I always read this scripture at the gravesite, and then I explain to those attending:

​“When the Philistines attacked Israel, the Jews called on Samuel for prayers that they might be delivered. Samuel then sacrificed one lamb as an offering, and as the Philistines drew near, God sent a powerful thunder that confused the Philistines and allowed the Israelites to overwhelm them and win the victory. The Israelites then set up the stone called ‘Ebenezer’, meaning ‘Up to now God has helped us.’

​‘Someday you may come back to this grave. You will see a stone with _________’s name on it. What that stone will mean will depend entirely on your faith. If you don’t have Christ in your life and His salvation in your soul, then this stone will speak to you as a Philistine: it will be only a picture of death and loss of one you loved. It will be a source of fear and defeat in life.’

​‘But if you return here as a born-again Christian with Jesus in your heart and His Word as your guide, if you know that God sacrificed that one Lamb for you, and that that Lamb was the Jesus Christ Who died for your sins, then this stone will be an Ebenezer, a sign of victory and hope, left here to remind you how He helped your loved one through life and then into eternal glory.”

​In saying this at the grave, I have found how it leaves those who are left behind with a picture of the Gospel, a choice to make, and an encouraging invitation for the Christian to return some day to remember the victory.

Davy L. Troxel

SHARE YOUR HOPE

April 7

​My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And come to an end without hope. 

Job 7:6

RS was an acquaintance of mine from JHS days. I periodically invited him to church, which he never attended, and YFC meetings, which he attended a couple of times. He was regularly in trouble in school. There was the year you could walk in a classroom and know where RS sat by the collection of small paper airplanes stuck in the ceiling, tossed while the teacher’s back was turned. He even had a grouping in the gym ceiling! Then there was the day after Trick or Treat one year when he was confronted by a teacher whose four tire valves he had removed. RS had to pump up the tires using a bicycle pump. One night my senior year my family could hear the police chasing someone through the neighborhoods. The next day in school we discovered it was RS. After his encounter with the police he parked his car in his garage, ran a hose from the exhaust pipe to the cabin, and exited this life.

What makes a young person decide they have nothing left to live for? What makes anyone decide this life is not worth living anymore? We live among RSs whose lives are spinning out of control, and they do know how to change it; they do not have any hope of change. All they can see is Job 7:1-10. And it is not always obvious who they are. They need to know about forgiveness, fresh starts in Jesus, being born again—they need to see hope working in YOU.

True Christians always have hope because we have an anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19) that is sure. Show them Romans 15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

Jeffrey Eno

FIGHTING FOR THE FAMILY

April 6

And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” John 2:14-16

The word “zeal” (John 2:17) has the basic idea of excitement; to be hot about something. Jesus became riled when the temple was misused and God was dishonored. Do you become upset when God is dishonored? Does it upset you when someone uses the name of the Lord as a curse word? Does it cause you to be hot when people criticize God or blaspheme Him? Isn’t it extremely instructive that Jesus was zealous, excited, and hot over those things that touched the honor and glory of God, but not Himself personally?  Even as believers, we tend to get upset over the things that non-believers do. Did Jesus do that?  Did he say things like, “The Romans are terrible because they expose babies?”  No.  On the contrary, He addressed the external religion of the people of Israel.  He was kind to the Samaritan woman; even to the Syro-Phoenician woman.  But he was hot when it came to the external religion of the Pharisees and scribes. 

Take time right now to ask the Lord to sensitize your heart to things that dishonor God or fellow believers. We should be ready to stand up for fellow believers, not criticize them readily. Our zeal must be for the Lord’s church and His honor within the church.  

Ike Graham

And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” John 2:14-16

The word “zeal” (John 2:17) has the basic idea of excitement; to be hot about something. Jesus became riled when the temple was misused and God was dishonored. Do you become upset when God is dishonored? Does it upset you when someone uses the name of the Lord as a curse word? Does it cause you to be hot when people criticize God or blaspheme Him? Isn’t it extremely instructive that Jesus was zealous, excited, and hot over those things that touched the honor and glory of God, but not Himself personally?  Even as believers, we tend to get upset over the things that non-believers do. Did Jesus do that?  Did he say things like, “The Romans are terrible because they expose babies?”  No.  On the contrary, He addressed the external religion of the people of Israel.  He was kind to the Samaritan woman; even to the Syro-Phoenician woman.  But he was hot when it came to the external religion of the Pharisees and scribes. 

Take time right now to ask the Lord to sensitize your heart to things that dishonor God or fellow believers. We should be ready to stand up for fellow believers, not criticize them readily. Our zeal must be for the Lord’s church and His honor within the church.  

Ike Graham

NEVER TO DIE AGAIN

April 5

For they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 

Luke 20:36

Death is a terrible reality of the world we currently inhabit. As believers we understand that death is simply a transition from this world into the very presence of Jesus (2 Cor. 5:8). From that perspective, we do not need to fear death. Even in that transition, God promises to never leave us (Heb. 13:5). As we are reminded in Psalm 23:3, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” In addition, God will send his angels to escort us to our eternal home (Luke 16:22). 

And yet, there is something terrible about death. The suffering. The separation. Thus, when Jesus promises that those who attain to the resurrection from the dead cannot even die anymore, we rejoice! In addition to the great blessing of being in the presence of our God forever and ever, we will never have to fear or experience death. John reminds us, “…and there will no longer be any death…” (Rev. 20:4). No more suffering, no more separation, no more grief. As sons and daughters of the resurrection to life we are guaranteed the privilege of never having to die again. 

The Apostle Paul refers to death as the ‘last enemy’ that will be abolished for good (1 Cor. 15:26); which causes him to celebrate, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” Meditate on the truth that death will soon be defeated for good! 

Joshua Steiner

ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF COMMITTED TO DUTY

April 4

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief... Isaiah 53:3                 

Our Lord knew the tremendous depths of disappointment and sorrows. Certainly, the loss of loved ones, but also the thousands of ways that people can let you down. He wept over the utter coldness of Jerusalem spiritually. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones them who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and you were unwilling" (Matt. 23:38). Judas betrayed Him with a kiss, and Peter denied His name three times. Furthermore, He was railroaded through the courts and forsaken by His own people. Cruelly mocked and beaten, He, through all His sorrow, completed the task before Him.        

Pastors get a front row seat to grief and sorrow. It was something of which I was unaware when I answered the call of God on my life, but after nearly 50 years of pastoring and 150 funerals, coupled with the ups and downs of the ministry, I have become to a small degree more aware of the meaning of "acquainted with grief." Also, I had a sense of burden that settled in on me. This is not to say that ministering to God's people didn't have its joys. I count myself as incredibly blessed in many, many ways.         

My dear wife of 52 years passed on a Thursday night. That Saturday I already was scheduled to do a funeral for a dear man of God. He was counting on me to preach the Gospel to his family which I promised him I would do. Then that Sunday I preached as well. "Oh, Pastor, no one expected you to preach this Sunday" many exclaimed. While that was true, as I saw it, if the farmer loses his loved one, the next day the livestock still need to be fed. Also, a young mother must care for children despite the tragedy at hand. Our Lord while despising the shame, still endured the cross. His personal grief and shame were set aside. We likewise are ..."fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..."(Heb. 12:2) Friends, we just need to feed the livestock, keeping at our task while remembering our Lord's example.      

Russ Simpson

IT IS FINISHED!

April 3

I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. John 17:4

Imagine yourself at Calvary.  God the Son has been hanging on a Roman cross for almost six hours, the last three in total darkness.  God the Father turned His back on His Son for the first and only time in history prompting Jesus to cry out loudly in horror at 12 noon, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).  Around 3 pm Jesus utters, “I am thirsty!”  The soldiers quickly lift a sponge soaked with cheap sour wine on a hyssop branch to His mouth.  This helps Him to cry out loudly a one-word announcement in Greek “tetelestai” or “It is finished!” (John 19:28-30).  It is a word of glorious triumph and not of utter defeat.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “It is finished!”?  It meant that His death totally paid for mankind’s debt of sin against God (Hebrews 9:12, 26-28).  He completed His Father’s business here on earth and fulfilled all His will including drinking to the very last drop that dreaded cup of suffering He recoiled at in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:38-44).  Jesus took all the punishment for our sin so we don’t have to (2 Corinthians 5:21).  All He needed to do now was to rise from the dead to prove that He was indeed God and that His death was sufficient to redeem us (Romans 4:25).  Satan was soundly defeated (John 16:11).  Hebrews 2:13 states that Christ took on flesh and blood “that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”  There was absolutely no more work to be done for us to be saved and forgiven of our sins.  We simply need to believe and trust Him alone, turn from our sins and receive His gift of eternal life (John 1:12-13; 3:16; Romans 6:23).  It is finished!

Bob Kulp

BARABBAS AND THE TIMING OF THE EXODUS

April 2

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.
Matthew 27:20

On the same occasion that the Jews brought Jesus before Pilate, Pilate released to them Barabbas, an act based on the Jewish custom to free one prisoner “at the Feast” (Matt. 27:16-26; Mark 15:7-15; Luke 23:18-40; John 18:39-40). This happened “during the Feast” while it was in progress, which was daytime of Passover (Abib 14). Such release was a symbolic gesture of Israel being freed from their bondage as they were in the process of leaving Egypt. Therefore, John 18:39 labels it a custom of the Jews, “But you have a custom, that I should release someone for you at the Passover.”

The timing of Pilate releasing Barabbas significantly plays into the chronological calculation of the Passion Week, since it parallels with the original Passover. Hendriksen leans toward this interpretation although he is not sure it pointed only to the Passover festival: “...the idea of setting a prisoner free would seem to be (emphasis mine) most appropriate in connection with Passover, the commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from the house of bondage.”

The Passover meal had been eaten the night prior to the prisoner’s release, just as Israel ate the Passover the night of Abib 14 and were in the process of being released from their bondage the next day (Preparation Day for leaving Egypt), Passover daytime. If the Passover during Passion Week had not yet been eaten (according to some scholars who hold that Jesus and His disciples ate Passover a day early, but the regular Passover had not yet commenced) the release of Barabbas was out of synchronicity; it was too early. Such a scheme is actually in reverse than what happened in the Exodus. God’s timing is perfect. Events in history are controlled by God and can only happen one way.

DeLane Miller