Day Forty – Final Day of Lenten Devotionals 2010

Word of God: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

He Arose! The Shout that Changed the World

They gathered round the market square, in clusters great and small.

In vain they tried their very best to comprehend it all.

Some pointed back to Calvary’s hill, some lingered near the tomb,

While others cried to God above to lift this cloud of gloom.

The hours went by, some went on home, no answers for their grief.

Some felt deceived, some felt betrayed and drowned in unbelief.

That Saturday was worst of all, for they were sure He’d died.

Their friends had stopped their mocking now; they’d proved that Jesus lied.

By Sunday morning all had changed and shouting filled the air,

“Jesus arose just as He said, And He’s no longer there!”

The women ran from house to house and banged upon each door.

“He is not dead! Our Savior lives! Just like He was before!”

The gathered round the market square, they sang, they danced, they prayed,

They peered into the open tomb where Jesus once had laid.

To Thomas, Jesus showed His hands to help his unbelief.

Five hundred hovered near Him as He took away their grief.

The empty tomb, the risen Lord, the Cornerstone He laid;

Upon those words our faith depends, for us the price He paid.

All praises go to Jesus now and evermore shall be,

For He arose! He conquered death, for me eternally! - Mariane Holbrook

Prayer for today: Dear Lord, I thank today for the last day for forty days of Lent season. Thanks for helping me to discover deeper understanding of your words and your love. Help me to restart a new beginning with a new power of your love. Amen.

Day Thirty Nine – Lenten Devotionals 2010 (Good Friday Meditation)

Meditate on Scripture Texts: When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ^Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ^ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ^We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, ^for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ^Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:33-47)

Safely Home: Eric Barker, a missionary from Great Britain, spent over fifty years in Portugal preaching the Gospel, often under adverse conditions. At the beginning of World War II, the situation in Europe became so difficult that he was advised to send his wife and six children to England for safety. His sister and her three children were also evacuated on the same ship.

Although his family were forced to leave, Eric remained behind to carry on the work. The Sunday following their departure, Pastor Barker stood before his congregation and said, "I've just received word that all my family have arrived safely home!" He then proceeded with the service.

Later, the full meaning of his words became known to his congregation. He had been handed a wire just before the service informing him that a German submarine had torpedoed the ship with his family. Everyone on board had perished.

Eric Barker knew that because all his family were believers they had reached a more desired home." Although overwhelmed with grief, he managed by the grace of God to live above his circumstances and to give God the glory for bringing his family safely home. The knowledge that his family was with Jesus in Heaven comforted his heart.

This bit of history tells the importance of Jesus crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. Without a sinless sacrifice who willing took the punishment for each of the individual sins of each of Eric Bakers family members he would not have had the assurance that they had arrived safely home.

If the enemy sinks your ship where will you go to spend eternity? If you are safe in the ark of His covenant made possible by Jesus, the Lamb of God, you will ascend to heaven. - Harvey and June Schneider

Prayer for today: Today pray for confession of your sins, give thanks for salvation through Jesus’ death, surrender your life to Him, and dedicate your life for His Kingdom.

Go to Church for “Good Friday” Worship service to show you faith and love to the Lord.

Day Thirty Eight - Lenten Devotionals 2010

Three Crosses

Three crosses on a lonely hill,

A thief on either side,

And, in between, the Son of God …

How wide the gulf—how wide!

Yet one thief spanned it with the words,

“Oh Lord, remember me”;

The other scoffed and turned aside

To lost eternity.

Forsaken is the hilltop now,

And all the crosses gone,

But in believing hearts of men

The center cross lives on.

And still, as when these sentinels

First met earth’s wondering view,

The presence of the Lord divides—

Upon which side are you? —Helen Franzee Bower

Legend of the Cross Maker: A touching legend tells us that when Jesus was a boy at Nazareth He met a Roman lad by the name of Fidus, who confided this desire: “I am looking for Joseph, the carpenter. From him I want to learn the arts of his craft.”

“I can lead you to him,” answered Jesus, “for I am called the Son of Joseph.”

As Fidus watched and learned from Joseph, Jesus told him of a great King who would one day be raised upon a throne so high that all the world would see.

Fidus exclaimed:

“Would that I might build the exalted throne of the great King!” “Fidus,” said Jesus, “you will be the one to build the throne of the great King, the throne from which He shall rule the nations. I promise you.”

Years passed, Fidus went home to Jaffa and practiced his trade with honor. He happened to return to Jerusalem on a day when the Jewish capitol was in an uproar. He could hear cries of: “Crucify Him! He makes Himself a King.”

As he passed the gate of Pilate’s palace, a Roman soldier who knew the skill of Fidus greeted him: “You are especially welcome, Fidus. Three are to be crucified today, and only two crosses are prepared.”

Fidus was assigned the task. He put all his skill into its making, and viewed his finished product with pride. Later he followed the crowd outside the town and up a hill. He heard a voice, a voice he could never forget. Looking closely he saw a figure, a figure he could never forget. Yes, it was the Boy of Nazareth, now a Man, but writhing in agony on the “throne” Fidus had made. His eyes were opened. —Selected

Day Thirty Seven – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ^ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Pencil-In-The-Hand Illustration: One evening Lord Radstock was speaking at a meeting in Woolwich, and afterwards nearly missed his train home. He had just time to jump in as the guard blew his whistle. But a young army officer had followed him to the platform and, running up to the carriage window, said to Lord Radstock, “Sir, I heard you speak tonight, but tell me, how can a fellow keep straight?”

The train began to move. Lord Radstock pulled a pencil from his pocket and laid it on the palm of his hand. “Can that pencil stand upright?”

“No,” said the young officer.

Lord Radstock grasped the pencil in his hand, and held it up in an upright position. “Ah!” said the young fellow, moving beside the train, “but you are holding it now.”

“Yes,” said Lord Radstock,” and your life is like this pencil, helpless, but Christ is the hand that can hold you.” As the train rounded the curve and was lost to sight, the last thing the young officer saw was Lord Radstock’s outstretched hand holding that pencil upright.

Twenty-five years later the same officer met Lord Radstock in India, and told him that all those many years ago, on that railway platform, he had trusted his life to Christ, who had upheld him and kept him ever since. —Pioneer Camper

Quote: “I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the merits of Jesus Christ my Savior, to be made partaker of life everlasting.” —Shakespeare

Prayer: Dear Lord, today I give thanks to you for you are holding me to be able to stand strong, to walk straight, and live with confident. Amen.

Day Thirty Six - Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Paying the Price: In his book More Than a Carpenter, Josh McDowell uses a simple illustration to show what God was doing for us at the cross of Christ. He wrote: An incident that took place several years ago in California illuminates what Jesus did on the cross.… A young woman was picked up for speeding. She was ticketed and taken before the judge. The judge read off the citation and said, “Guilty or not guilty?” The woman replied, “Guilty.” The judge brought down the gavel and fined her $100 or ten days.

Then an amazing thing took place. The judge stood up, took off his robe, walked down around in front, took out his billfold, and paid the fine. What’s the explanation of this? The judge was her father. He loved his daughter, yet he was a just judge. His daughter had broken the law, and he couldn’t just say to her, “Because I love you so much, I forgive you. You may leave.” If he had done that, he wouldn’t have been a righteous judge.… But he loved his daughter so much he was willing to take off his judicial robe and come down in front and represent her as her father and pay the fine. ^- Josh McDowell

Famous Quote: Only one act of pure love, unsullied by any taint of ulterior motive, has ever been performed in the history of the world, namely the self-giving of God in Christ on the cross for undeserving sinners.—John Stott

Prayer: Thank you Lord for putting justice and love together in the life of Jesus Christ to save me from sinful nature. I praise you and honor you every steps of my life. Amen.

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 Netherlands’ New 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

Day Thirty Four - Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ^While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ^ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” (John 9:4-7)

Jesus wants Obedience: Why did Jesus send the blind man to the Pool of Siloam to wash his eyes? Jesus could have just said, “Be healed,” and the man’s sight would have come to him on the spot. But he wanted the man to do something, to exercise obedience, so he sent him to the Siloam Pool to wash his eyes. But there’s an interesting little detail to the story. Before sending him off, Jesus smeared mud on his eyelids.

The intriguing question is: Why? Have you ever seen anyone spit it into the dirt, twirl it around with his finger, then take the mud and smear it over someone’s eyes? How would you like it if someone did that to you?

It’s obvious. The mud made the man want to obey. It was a nudging, an additional motivation for the man to go to the pool of Siloam to wash his eyes. The mud provided the motivation for the obedience Christ required.

We don’t always understand why mud gets in our eyes, but sometimes if it weren’t there, we would never bring critical areas of our lives into obedience to Jesus Christ. And without obedience, the work of God can never be displayed in us. God, in his infinite grace and wisdom, sometimes uses mud to restore our sight. ^- Morgan

Inspirational Quote: If Joseph had not been Egypt’s prisoner, he would have never been Egypt’s governor. The iron chains about his feet ushered in the golden chains about his neck.—William Secker

Prayer for today: Dear Lord, help me to see your purpose while facing suffering and trials in my life so that I can face them with confidence. In your name, Amen.

Day Thirty Three – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

(Hebrews 12:2)

Turn your eyes to Jesus: Bible teacher A. T. Pierson tells about a new convert to Christ who had a strange dream in which he was trapped down in a very deep well in the night. He looked up and saw a single star shining far above him, and it seemed to let down lines of silver light that took hold upon him and lifted him up. Then he looked down, and he began to go down. He looked up, and he began to go up; he looked down, and he began to go down again. He found that by simply keeping his eye on that star, he rose out of the well until his foot stood on the firm ground.

The dream was a parable, said Dr. Pierson. “Get your eyes off yourself and on your Savior, get them off your disease and on your physician.… Now and here, turn your eyes to the Lord Jesus."

“Satan, the Hinderer, may build a barrier about us,” Hudson Taylor once said, “but he can never roof us in so that we cannot look up.” Arthur T. Pierson

Quote: He stands absolutely alone in history; in teaching, in example, in character, an exception, a marvel, and He is Himself the evidence of Christianity.—A. T. Pierson

Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you today for your presence in my entire life. Help me to remember each day so that I can fix my eyes on You amidst life storms. Amen.

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Day Thirty Two – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

Inspirational Story: Behind Hugh Latimer (1485–1555), the “Preacher of the English Reformation,” was his mentor Thomas Bilney.

Bilney, a quiet scholar at Cambridge University, acquired a Greek New Testament from the famous Erasmus. As he pored over it, one verse of Scripture seemed to be written in letters of light, and it led to his conversion: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!

Bilney wanted to share his experience with others, but this was Reformation truth, and the Reformation had not yet reached England. Teachers such as Luther were being fiercely attacked by English churchmen like Hugh Latimer.

But as Bilney listened to young Latimer rail against the Reformation, he prayed this unusual prayer: “O God, I am but ‘little Bilney,’ and shall never do any great thing for Thee. But give me the soul of that man, Hugh Latimer, and what wonders he shall do in Thy most holy name.”

One day Bilney pulled Latimer aside. Using his own conversion verse—1 Timothy 1:15—he led the great Latimer to simple faith in Christ, and the English Reformation was born. - Morgan, R. J.

Quote: The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian—especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the kingdom of God.—Dallas Willard

Prayer: Dear Lord, grant me today a passion to share the grace experience that you have given to me. Help me to remember how you have suffered for me in order to have this sanctification through the shedding of your own blood. Amen.

Day Thirty One – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: “Who, being in very nature^ God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature^ of a servant, being made in human likeness.^ And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8)

Jesus Christ: Pastor D. James Kennedy said in a sermon, “I remember years ago talking to a man in his home about Christ and asking him who he thought Jesus was. He said, ‘Oh, He’s a wonderful man. He was the greatest man who ever lived, the most loving and gracious person who ever walked upon this earth.’

“I said, ‘Let me tell you something I believe will startle you. According to the Scriptures, and the historic Christian faith, Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter of Galilee was and is the eternal Creator of the universe, the omnipotent, omniscient, and Almighty God.’

“Instantly, his eyes filled with tears and this man of about fifty-five or sixty said, ‘I have been in church all of my life and I never heard that before. But I have always thought that is the way it ought to be—that God ought to be like Jesus.’ D. James Kennedy

Quote: Jesus Christ: the meeting place of eternity and time, the blending of deity and humanity, the junction of heaven and earth.—Anonymous

Prayer: Dear Lord, today I offer my life for your glory to be shine and open the eyes of multitude of people including Christless Christians. In your name, Amen.

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Day Thirty – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ^Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ^and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:22-24)

To obey is better than sacrifice: Aretta Loving, Wycliffe missionary, was washing her breakfast dishes when she saw Jimmy, the five-year-old neighbor, headed straight toward the back porch. She had just finished painting the back-porch handrails, and she was proud of her work.

“Come around to the front door, Jimmy,” she shouted. “There’s wet paint on the porch rails.”

“I’ll be careful,” Jimmy replied, not turning from his path.

“No, Jimmy! Don’t come up the steps,” Aretta shouted, knowing of Jimmy’s tendency to mess things up.

“I’ll be careful,” he said again, by now dangerously close to the steps.

“Jimmy, stop!” Aretta shouted. “I don’t want carefulness. I want obedience!” As the words burst from her mouth, she suddenly remembered Samuel’s response to King Saul: To obey is better than sacrifice.

How would Jimmy respond, Aretta wondered. To her relief, he shouted back, “All right, Loving, I’ll go around to the front door.” He was the only one who called her by her last name like that, and it had endeared him to her from the beginning. As he turned around the house, Aretta thought to herself, “How often am I like Saul or like Jimmy, wanting to go my own way? I rationalize, ‘I’ll be careful, Lord’ as I proceed with my own plans.”

But He doesn’t want carefulness. He wants obedience. Morgan, R. J.

Quote: You have not really learned a commandment until you have obeyed it.… The church suffers today from Christians who know volumes more than they practice.—Vance Havner

Day Twenty Nine – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: " But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:8-10)

Precious Blood: Several years ago in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, George and Vera Bajenksi’s lives were changed forever. February 16, 1989. A very normal Thursday morning. The phone rang at 9:15 a.m. "There’s been an accident..." It involved their son Ben. As they approached the intersection of Adelaide and Simcoe Streets near the high school, they could see the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance units. Vera noticed a photographer and followed the direction of his camera lens to the largest pool of blood she had ever seen. All she could say was, "George, Ben went home--home to be with his Heavenly Father!" Her first reaction was to jump out of the car, somehow collect the blood and put it back into her son. "That blood, for me, at that moment, became the most precious thing in the world because it was life.

It was life-giving blood and it belonged in my son, my only son, the one I loved so much." The road was dirty and the blood just didn’t belong there. George noticed that cars were driving right through the intersection--right through the blood. His heart was smitten. He wanted to cover the blood with his coat and cry, "You will not drive over the blood of my son!" Then Vera understood for the first time in her life, one of God’s greatest and most beautiful truths...why blood? Because it was the strongest language God could have used. It was the most precious thing He could give-- the highest price He could pay. Through God’s amazing love we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). May we never treat lightly nor trample underfoot the blood of God’s Son (Hebrews 10:29). "Amazing love! How can it be? That though, My God, shouldst die for me!" (Charles Wesley).

Meditation: The Bible is a book of blood … wholly distinct from all other books for just one reason, namely, that it contains blood circulating through every page and in every verse. From Genesis to Revelation we see the stream of blood.—M. R. DeHaan

Day Twenty Eight – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. "You are My friends if you do what I command you. "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (John 15:13-15)

Inspirational Story: When someone dies, we remember—we remember all the stories that filled their life. Last week a man named Joseph Bau died. It’s a name you probably don’t know, but a story worth hearing.

Joseph Bau was born on June 18, 1920, in Krakow, Poland. He became a young man just in time to experience the German invasion of Poland. He was one of three boys in a prosperous middle-class family that lived in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods. Joseph had always been good at art, and at the age of 18, he enrolled in the University of Plastic Arts at Krakow.
But the war interrupted his studies. His family was forced to move to the Jewish Ghetto, and then later to the Plaschow concentration camp. Because of Joseph’s partial education in Art before the war, and because of his talent for Gothic lettering, the Nazis employed him in producing maps and signs for the camp.

Joseph’s job also enabled him to save more than 400 Jews by forging false documents and identity papers that secured their release from the camp. When asked after the war, why he did not forge documents for himself, he replied, “Then who would have done it for the other Jews?”
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, we hear a similar question, “He saved others; He cannot save himself?” And Jesus answers, “What shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” With the death of Joseph Bau, we remember a story that saved hundreds of Jews from death.

With the bread and this cup at communion, we remember the sacrifice of Jesus—a story that saves every one who believes from spiritual death.

Meditation: Even in the best of health we should have death always before our eyes. We will not expect to remain on this earth forever, but will have one foot in the air, so to speak.—Martin Luther

Day Twenty Seven – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: " Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:6-7)

The Unseen Hand: There was once a famous German artist named Herkomer, born in the Black Forest, whose father was a simple woodchopper. Herkomer was a gifted artist, and as his reputation grew, he moved to London and built a studio there. He sent for his aged father, and the dad came, full of pride for his son, and lived with him.

The old man enjoyed creating things out of clay, and he learned to make very beautiful bowls and vases, items of which he was very proud. So the father and son were in business together as artisans. But as the years passed, the old man’s abilities deteriorated, and at the end of the day, as he went upstairs, he would seem sad because he felt that his work was now inferior.

Herkomer’s sharp eye detected this, and when his father was safely upstairs and asleep for the night, Herkomer would come downstairs and take in hand the pieces of clay that his old father had left. He would gently correct the defects and the faults, and mold them a little one way or the other. And when the old man would come down in the mornings, he would hold up the pieces in the morning light, smile, and say, “I can still do it as well as I ever did.”

That’s just what our Father does with us. We try to do for Him what we can. We visit the sick, teach the children, sing and usher and invite and take food to the bereaved. We send our missionaries and pray for them. But we’re all frail and flawed, and our work for the Lord isn’t as perfect and pure as we would like. Yet the Lord places His omnipotent hand on it, and shapes it, and uses it in ways far greater than we know. - F. B. Meyer

Quote: Charles Spurgeon once said, Don’t hold back because you cannot preach in St. Paul’s; be content to talk to one or two in a cottage; very good wheat grows in little fields. You may cook in small pots as well as in big ones. Little pigeons can carry great messages. Even a little dog can bark at a thief, and wake up the master and save the house. A spark is fire. A sentence of truth has heaven in it. Do what you do right, thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God.

Meditation: First, that all and every one who believes, being members of Christ, are in common partakers of Him and of all his riches and gifts; secondly, that every one must know it to be his duty readily and cheerfully to employ his gifts for the advantage and salvation of other members.—Heidelberg Catechism

Day Twenty Six – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:25-26)

The Supreme Weapon: Joseph Tson, the evangelical dissident in Communist Romania, was often summoned before government officers who used every tactic to break his faith in Christ. Once, being interrogated at Ploiesti, an officer threatened to kill him.

“Sir,” replied Tson, “let me explain how I see this issue. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying.

“Here is how it works. You know that my sermons on tape have spread all over the country. If you kill me, those sermons will be sprinkled with my blood. Everyone will know I died for my preaching. And everyone who has a tape will pick it up and say, ‘I’d better listen again to what this man preached, because he really meant it; he sealed it with his life.’

“So, sir, my sermons will speak ten times louder than before. I will actually rejoice in this supreme victory if you kill me.” The officer sent Tson home. ^- Morgan

Quote: There came a day when George Mueller died, utterly died! No longer did his own desires, preferences, and tastes come first. He know that from then on Christ must be all in all.—George Mueller, when asked the secret of his victorious Christian life.

“And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” (Revelation 14:13)

Day Twenty Five – Lenten Devotionals 2010

God’s Word: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Prodigal: One of the most powerful personal evangelists of the nineteenth century was “Uncle” John Vassar, who grew up in his family’s brewery in Poughkeepsie, New York. Following his conversion to Christ, he abandoned beer-making for soul-winning, and on May 15, 1850, he was commissioned as an agent for the American Tract Society of New York. Vassar took off across the country, never resting in his mission of selling Christian literature and asking everyone he met about their relationship with Christ.

On one occasion, traveling in the West, he visited the home of a praying wife whose husband was an infidel. She begged for a Bible, and Vassar, giving her one, went his way. He had no sooner left when the husband, coming home, saw the book and was enraged. Seizing the Bible with one hand and the ax with the other, he hurried to the wood-pile where he placed it on the chopping block and hacked it crosswise in two. Returning to the house, he threw half of the destroyed Bible at his wife, saying, “As you claim a part of all the property around here, there is your share of this.”

The other half he tossed into his tool shed. Months later on a wet winter’s day, the man, wanting to get away from his Christian wife, retreated to his shed. The time passed slowly, and in boredom he looked around for something to read. Thumbing through the mutilated Bible, his attention was caught by the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. He became absorbed in the parable only to discover that its ending belonged to his wife’s section. He crept into the house and secretly searched for the bottom half of the book, but was unable to find where his wife had hidden it.

Finally he broke down, asked her for it, and read the story again and again. In the process he came to the Heavenly Father like a penitent prodigal returning home. T. E. Vassar

Quote: The ark was a great ark, which held all kinds of creatures; and our Christ is a great Refuge, who saves all kinds of sinners.—Charles Spurgeon

Prayer for today: Father, thank you for your word, powerful and living word. Help me to fill with your word in me to demonstrate your power and love to needy people of your grace. Amen.