Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Day Thirty Five - Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16-17)

Peace Child: In Don Richardson’s best-selling book, Peace Child, he tells of going, accompanied by his wife Carol and seventeen-month-old child, to the Sawi, a headhunting tribe in NetherlandsNew Guinea. There savagery was a way of life. The tribesmen considered headhunting, cannibalism, and treachery as virtues. As these savages heard the story of the Gospel, they considered Judas—not Jesus—the hero, and Don almost despaired of ever reaching them.

At last, the warfare and barbarism between the Sawi and their neighbor tribes grew so intense that the Richardsons decided to pack their bags and leave. But when the Sawi heard of it, they were deeply disturbed. They had come to love and trust the Richardsons. To prevent their leaving, the Sawi met in a special session and decided to make peace.

The next day as Don watched with mounting curiosity, the peace ritual began. Young children from the warring villages were to be exchanged, and as long as any of those children were alive, the peace would continue.

It was an anguishing ritual, for every mother feared her child would be taken. But after a period of emotional indecision, the chief himself grabbed his only son and rushed toward the enemy tribe, literally giving the tribe to his enemies. In return, he received a son from the other side. Peace descended across the mountains.

As Don pondered the significance of the ceremony, he realized there was a powerful Redemptive Analogy. Shortly afterward, gathering the elders together, he told them how God the Heavenly Father sent Jesus to earth as His Peace Child to make peace between God and man.

It was a lesson they understood and embraced at last. - Don Richardson

Quote: No other God have I but Thee; born in a manger, died on a tree.—Martin Luther

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