RAISE UP THE STANDARD!
"To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious Presence without fault and with great joy - to the Only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 24)
Morning Devotion: Feasting in His Presence - Read John 15:13-17
Jesus is not just a man of words, He is a man of action. Everything He has ever spoken, He has backed up with what He has done. He didn't just tell people what to do, He demonstrated it for them. Our Lord does not make understanding His Word or following His will difficult, on the contrary, He has made it simple enough for a child to understand and obey (Matthew 18:3; Luke 10:21). Likewise, our love relationship with the Lord is not meant to be complex, He demonstrated its' simplicity in His own loving reverence to the Father with His daily devotion and dependence upon His Father in prayer and His obedience to following His Father's will. Jesus whittled down how our relationship with Him would work into three simple words: Remain in Me!
We make life far too complex when we try to figure things out on our own. As followers of Jesus Christ, our life is not our own. The life we live is a new life, it is the life of Jesus Christ. We cannot live this life apart from Him; His life is inside of us. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that we remain completely dependent upon Him to experience the fullness and fruitfulness of the life He has deposited within us. Jesus summed up all of His teachings in the upper room when He demonstrated for His disciples the fullness of His love in the humility of a servant as He washed their feet to make them clean: Depend on God, serve others with humility, and keep our lives free from the defilement of sin. In Christ we have been given the master key to a life of happiness and victory, if we will only obey what He has taught as we walk through the pollution and refuse of this world. Ultimately, the path we walk, and the footprints we leave behind, are meant to lead others to Christ.
"Greater love has no one than this,
that he lay down his life for his friends."
(John 15:13)
All that we've been asked to do is give up our life for His. Our sinful, decaying, temporal, fleshly human (can we really call it a life?) life, in exchange for His holy, regenerated, eternal, spiritual abundantly full and fruitful life (now that is a life, life!). We wonder why more aren't dying to lay down their deteriorating sinful rags for His glorious garment of salvation? When what we should be asking is why any of us would ever want to put those old rags on again after wearing such exquisite royal attire? There are many who are indeed dying without Christ, and, we, who bear His name and wear His garments, hold the key to their coming to Him. "You are My friends if you do what I command...for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you" (John 15:14,15b).
Jesus has opened the way for us to enter the throne room of heaven. We are not just privileged guests who have been invited to observe His majesty, we have been invited into an extraordinary relationship with the eternal King of heaven, who has confided in us His deepest secrets and entrusted us with the keys to His kingdom. "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends..." (v.15a). Just as wedding attendants are not given bridal attire to draw attention to themselves, but are meant to give their support to the bridal party, likewise, we, who believe, have been given the most important role as attendants to our King, to support His plans and do all that we have been commanded to help, not to hinder, His kingdom plans. Today, as we are reflect on the extraordinary sacrifice our Savior made for us, let us take time to consider what we have done and are doing to support Him and His Kingdom building program. Let us begin today by taking the steps that He did as He walked towards the cross singing the praises of God. Meditate on Psalm 116-118, and rejoice as He did knowing the joy that would follow such extraordinary suffering and death We have so much to be thankful for! May His praise continually be upon our lips, realizing, that no matter how difficult our trials in this life may get, we will never have to walk the path He had to walk!
"The bride belongs to the Bridegroom.
The friend who attends the Bridegroom waits and listens for Him,
and is full of joy when he hears the Bridegroom's voice.
That joy is mine, and it is now complete."
(John 3:29)
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REVOLUTIONIZE THE WORLD!
"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6)
Afternoon Devotion: Filled with His Power - Read Matthew 26:36-27:54
When the disciples left the upper room to walk with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He has been known to go and pray, they had no idea they were walking into a battlefield. Their feet had been washed, their stomachs were full, and now they would lay down to take a nap while their beloved Friend and Teacher went off to suffer alone. This would be just the beginning of His suffering, for within hours, Jesus would face betrayal, arrest, desertion, trials, denial, beatings, mockings, calvary and the cross; and His closest friends and companions would not be there to comfort Him, but would only contribute to His pain.
This afternoon, as we consider some of the greatest injustices in our world and question why the wicked seem to prosper and the innocent suffer, let us reflect on the greatest injustice of all history - the crucifixion of our Lord. He broke no law, committed no crime, and was perfectly sinless and blameless, yet He was betrayed by one of His followers, arrested as a common thief, falsely accused by those willing to break God's law to accomplish their own selfish purposes, denied by one of His closest companions who said he would die for His friend, suffered the flesh on His back being ripped off by metal and bone of the leather scourge, having survived this He was slapped in the face, spat upon, mocked and beaten by a rod, a crown of thorns pressed into His head, and a heavy cross placed upon His bloodied back, and forced to walk the road to calvary. Once there, He was made a spectacle as He was lifted up like a banner on a cross for all the crowds who had come to Jerusalem for Passover to look upon the Lamb that was slain, and instead of repenting they only mocked and ridiculed Him more. And if that were not enough, darkness settled upon the land, as if all of creation were in mourning, as Jesus bore the weight of all the sin of mankind and suffered the rejection and judgment of the Father. "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46b).
Beloved, Jesus Christ is the only One who has ever had to utter those words. He spoke them so we would never have to. He suffered all this humiliation, affliction and shame so we would never have to experience the extraordinary pain of being separated from the Father for all eternity. Today is Good Friday, and as we look back at the unimagineable pain and suffering our Savior went through on this day in history we wonder what in the world was good about it. But, to those of us who have come to believe, we know that the cross is where God defeated sin and death, and through the shed blood of Christ, who gave His life for ours, we have the victory, both now and for all eternity! On this day, our Lord achieved the greatest good for all humanity!!
"But thanks be to God!
He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
(1 Corinthians 15:57)
The story does not end here, praise God! We rejoice in God our Savior, that while it may be Friday, Sunday is coming! We are not left to wonder and wander in a Friday world. An even greater victory is just around the corner if we are willing to wait for it. As we weep over the pain and affliction that our Savior suffered on our behalf, let us rejoice in the work that He has accomplished (reference Psalm 30:5b), and be willing to share His victorious message with the world.
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
The man who loves his life will lose it,
while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves Me must follow Me;
and where I am, My servant will also be.
My Father will honor the one who serves Me.
Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say?
'Father, save Me from this hour'?
No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
Father, glorify Your name!"
(John 12:23-28)
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RESTORE PRAISE!
"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever, Amen!" (Revelation 7:12)
Evening Devotion: Focused on His Praise - Read Luke 1:46-55
Yesterday, we rejoiced with Hannah as she worshiped the Lord for His goodness in answering her prayer and giving her a son who would establish the kingship for Israel. Her song of praise is considered the Magnifcant of the Old Testament and foreshadowed the Magnificant of Mary who would later sing the praises of the eternal King, Jesus! We can only imagine the pain that Mary felt as she watched her Son die on that cross, seeing the promise that God presented to her as a teenager now being fulfilled in the most extraordinary, painful way.
We may never fully understand the ways of God this side of heaven, but we can trust that His ways are indeed supremely higher than ours and are intended for a greater, more glorious, purpose (reference Isaiah 55:8-9). It is often only through brokenness, painful trial, and sometimes death that God's brings restoration, healing, and new life. Today, as we take a step back in Scripture to rejoice with Mary, as she "glorifies" the Lord for the coming Savior of the world, let us move forward, through any pain we may be carrying, rejoicing in all that He has accomplished for us. Mary's song expresses it all for us:
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers."
(Luke 1:46-55)
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Heavenly Father,
"Because Christ suffered for [me],
leaving [me] and example,
[I] should follow in His steps.
'He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in His mouth.'
When they hurled their insults at Him,
He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats.
Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree,
so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
by His wounds [I] have been healed."
(1 Peter 2:21-24)
Forgive me when I question You when I am
faced with humiliation, betrayal, rejection, ridicule,
criticism, hostility, abuse, affliction, trial, pain,
sickness, suffering, injustice, difficulty, and death;
for by and through all these things You are accomplishing
Your greater kingdom plan. Give me Your strength to
endure, and Your Power and Presence within, to help
me in all things to follow the example You have set.
I don't want to do anything to bring more shame
upon Your name, I want my life to be to the world
a testimony to Your glory, Your goodness,
and Your powerful and gracious hand.
Thank You Lord for saving me from my sins
and giving me eternal life!
"Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength;
we will sing and praise Your might."
(Psalm 21:13)
In Jesus' Victorious and Mighty Name. Amen.
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The entire CRUCIFIED journey will be available
online in a few days. To access the first 10 days of this journey
go to www.trumpetandtorch.org and
click on the Year of Jubilee seal on the home page.
When the Jubilee page opens up simply go to the
calendar to your right and scroll down to
March/April and click on CRUCIFIED.
Click on the CRUCIFIED image in the center of
your screen to access the pdf and download
and print out the journey.
Additional prayer and fasting journeys are available
online at www.trumpetandtorch.org
under the "HOW TO FAST" button at the
top of the website home page.
If this is your first time participating in a 40-day fast
it is recommended that you begin with
"EAT at the Table of the King"
This journey can be downloaded and printed out
under the How To Fast button
or accessed online in the Temple at LOGIN.
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