Category: Devotions

Don’t be pigeonholed, learn to dance.

Luke 22: 66-71 “At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ⁶⁷ “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸ and if I asked you, you would not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” ⁷⁰ They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.” ⁷¹ Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”

 

Jesus was not letting the religious court of justice pigeonhole and categorise him. He turned their questions around. He didn’t deny who he was but he didn’t state it either, “You say that I am.”

To be pigeonholed is to have people stereotype you and summarise you in order to have an unfair advantage and opinion of you.

It is a lesson for us all.

The only person that truly knows you is your gracious, loving, forgiving and merciful God.

The enemy of your soul will want to categorise you in order to box you in, entrap you and lead you through the pathway of accusation to sentence you unfit for service. He wants you cornered.

Learn to dance. Don’t give away your identity, who you really are, to people you do not trust. It is the most precious thing you have.

Jesus does this expertly. Even in Mark’s gospel (14:60-62) the translation is probably the other way round, instead of ‘I am’ many think it reads ‘Am I?’ In all the gospels, Jesus is veiling his identity. Though he dances around, tantalising so.

“If I tell you ….”

“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” Leading them to ask if He was the Son of God, a title reserved as the adopted chosen son of God, the Messiah.

The world doesn’t need to know you. God knows you. This doesn’t mean you become a recluse. But it does mean you learn to dance. You become unpredictable. You mix it up a bit. You work at not being the label people give you.

God truly knows you.

Protect your identity. Share it with the trusted.

The denial

 

Luke 22:54-62

“Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

 

He followed at a distance. (Not too far that he couldn’t see Jesus but not too close to be associated with him and under threat himself. How close would you say you are?)

 

He sat down with them. (The temperature had dropped. He was feeling the cold. He sat with strangers and warmed himself by the fire. But something of their conversations began to trouble him. He was about to do something he said he would never do. What had they said? In your relationship with Jesus how warm are you? Be careful who you listen to as it may have an effect you wished it had never had.)

 

Two denials happen. (He was recognised firstly by a woman and then a man. It was a denial to both. It is easy to do something you would never do when you have done it before.)

 

One hour goes by. (What was he thinking during that time? Why didn’t he remember what Jesus had said about him denying 3 times and got out of there? We often find ourselves stuck in a moment that we can’t get out of. Glued to the spot.)

 

Another denial happens and at the same time the rooster crows as the Lord and Peter locks eyes on each other. (The look of love. The spotlight look. This is our prayer. Search my heart O God the Psalmist cries. The look is not condemnatory, it is a look of grace and a look that leads to repentance. May we lock eyes with Jesus today.)

 

He goes outside a broken man. (There is a brokenness that leads to death as Judas experienced. But there is a brokenness that leads to life. The tears of repentance.)

 

Let’s not chop off any more ears!

Luke 22: 49-53 “When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. ⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

John’s gospel reveals the servants name was Malchus and that it was Peter who chopped off his ear with his sword (a dagger).

The enemy comes in the darkness and the ‘Church’ rises in the chaos and the confusion. We don’t know what the enemy is doing but we are rattled. We didn’t expect this attack, it feels like an enemy within for this crowd are not the Gentile soldiers, but we are ready. Our daggers are at hand. We have Jesus to protect, our Messiah. We have to stand for true righteousness. The manipulative kiss was unbelievable. But here now comes the pressure of the enemy. So we swing out. We react. We push back.

We hurt because we are hurt.

But wait. Here comes Jesus.

In the darkness He heals the enemies of the kingdom. Jesus heals what the Church harmed.

And a voice shouts, “No more of this!” Surely Jesus is speaking to the enemy eh? “No more attacking, I will come with you!” Surely?

I mean, He wouldn’t be speaking to the Church would he? “No more reacting. Stop fighting back.”

Maybe the Church behaves more like the enemy than we should.

Spirit, make us more like Christ!

The manipulative kiss.

Luke 22: 47-49 “While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸ but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

The disciples believed Jesus was a different Messiah than he actually came to be. They had heard his words of love and sacrifice but actually were still expecting him to lead a rebellion and overthrow the Roman Gentile oppressors bringing victory to God’s people. They still believed this even after the resurrection in some form (Acts 1:6). They had swords they carried and were ready to use them.

Judas’ betrayal wasn’t trying to end the ministry of Jesus (though that is what Satan who had entered Judas wanted to do). It was to provoke it to move faster and become the revolutionary ministry that everyone wanted.

The kiss was Judas showing the same cultural respect and love for his leader. “I am with you, I am one of your team, look at who is here, they have come to arrest you so now let’s fight, let’s do this, let’s overcome the oppressors, let the revolution begin!” Later, realising that Jesus was actually going to go through with what he said and willingly die, he couldn’t cope with what he had done, he realised he had badly misunderstood his friend.

Are our kisses to Jesus true? Or are they loaded with what we want? If I kiss him then he will move in the way I want him to. He will do what I want.

I will worship Him for what I can get from Him. I want Him to bless what I am doing, to do what I think is the best action, “look Jesus here let me kiss you and show you my love, now move!”

Let’s make our kisses true and not manipulative.

Luke 22: 39-46

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. ⁴⁵ When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶ “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Exhausted from sorrow (NIV)

Drugged by grief (Message)

Worn out from being so sad. (CEV)

Luke has a shortened version of this account. He doesn’t include as Matthew and Mark do that Jesus could Peter, James and John with him away from the others nor that Jesus went back to the disciples 3 times and found them sleeping. Yet his account seems to reveal a greater intensity of the battle what was going on in that garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus knelt down and prayed. (We read this within Western eyes. This is shocking. He only knelt once and this is it. The battle for his will has begun and he demonstrates by choosing a posture of surrender.)

His prayer. (We can never understand the full weight of the burden he was carrying knowing that the next day he would not only endure an excruciating death but he would take the weight of the sin of the world. On top of this he brought to the surface what he wanted, his will in this ordeal, then he surrendered it, he said that’s not what is going to happen, there is no greater prayer than that! Above all in this painful prayer time he knew he would be separated from his Father which had never happened before.)

An angel appeared to strengthen him. (He was strengthened by angels after his wilderness temptations and he knew could call down a legion at any time. Maybe we don’t talk enough about angels because we don’t want to dishonour Jesus who seemed to benefit from them a lot, or maybe we just haven’t recognised them when they have arrived.)

He was in anguish. (On his face, in his gestures and in his words, he was in anxiety and agony. This was not just a struggle, this was a war. Accentuated by how he then prayed and what happened to his body.)

He prayed more earnestly and he started to sweat. (He began to sweat profusely and Luke records the sweating in terms of if someone is cut and the blood is running out and falling to the ground.)

This was not a pleasant sight. Watching someone suffering isn’t. When you cannot enter into their battle and fight for them it can cause emotional tiredness.

Even though they didn’t fully know what was going on they were ‘exhausted from sorrow’ for their friend and master.

And Jesus’ response? “This is not the time to drift off. Just as you have seen me battle to not fall into the temptation of not doing the will of the Father, so you too will have your own battle. You should be following me. You should be doing what I am doing.”

We all are in a battle for the will, our will. We want what we want. We are followers of Jesus but we come with an agenda. That agenda is us. Within all of this battle is the temptation to say No to the Father and Yes to us. The only way through is prayer. That is where we lay down what we want and our ideas and say we are not going to do it my way but YOUR way.

Watching someone battle with this is not easy. The grief can be overwhelming. It becomes like a sedative. We need to keep watch because the battle may move quickly into a new chapter and our involvement may increase. We must not fall away.

The Power of your Holy Communion

You will have taken part in this short ceremony many times in your Christian life. Whatever you call it, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper or Communion, you have the same elements before you, the plate of bread and the cup of wine or juice.

There are many instructions and declarations that you have heard during this time. Exhortations to look to Jesus who forgives all our sins; to surrender your life as he surrendered his; to be thankful for all Jesus has done in His finished work on the cross; to receive by faith your healing. There are many and all are good and helpful.

This morning I am taken in a direction I haven’t seen before. The direction of battle.

Jesus had been eager to eat this Passover for a long time. He was going to Jerusalem as the new Moses, the Redeemer Messiah in a final showdown with the powers of evil. Just as the angel of death would sweep over Egypt so the judgment of God was coming and Jesus’ blood would be the Lamb’s blood sprinkled on the doorposts saving and commencing the Exodus. His death would enable the great escape from the power of sin.

The Passover meal that Jesus had with the disciples is not only a dramatic re-telling of the Exodus; it is not only a prophetic display of future blessings; it is an indicator of the battle that all of us will travel in as we follow Jesus.

Here is the passage:

Luke 22: 16-38 “For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. ²¹ But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. ²⁴ A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸ You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  ³³ But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” ³⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. ³⁶ He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ³⁷ It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfilment.” ³⁸ The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That’s enough!” he replied.

The battle- lines are drawn:

The Kingdom has a King, the ruler of everything.

The sacrifice. The cup of blood, a sacrifice for a new covenant replacing the sacrificial system of the old covenant. A body given (broken).

The betrayal has a betrayer who came near in order to betray. The internal war within the camp.

The argument and the arrogance from people who had previously had their feet washed by a servant.

The trials that have already taken place and will lead to more before the weekend is over.

Satan and his purpose to sift which involves judging us for not being who we should be.

Failing faith that needs prayer.

Denials that replace the promises of commitment.

Swords for the fight.

Judged as a sinner.

 

This is our life’s battle. This is our Holy Communion life.

We will falter many times. But the One who made it, who perfected the Holy Communion, who battled and defeated Satan, will lead us home.

Make Him King; Thank Him for His sacrifice; Pursue integrity; Serve don’t strive with others; Hang on in the trials; Fight not flesh and blood but with the evil powers; Keep the faith; Don’t give up, back off, walk away; Choose the right sword; align with the sinner.

That is your Holy Communion. Take it today.

For Simon …

Luke 22: 7-13 “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” ⁹ “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. ¹⁰ He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹ and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.” ¹³ They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

 

Go and make preparations …

Where do you want us to prepare for it?

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. (“I’ve prepared everything for your preparations”)

They prepared the Passover.

This involved the selection of a lamb, searching for any dropped and hidden leaven which needed sweeping out of the house, getting the basins of water ready for the foot-washing, wine, candles for the table, vegetables, herbs etc. All these have their own significant meanings even for us today.

Jesus was eager to celebrate the Passover, to take the journey of the Exodus and to demonstrate that he is the Lamb of God.

As followers of Jesus this is the central message that we are trying to communicate. The God of the Exodus, the power of the blood of the lamb to deliver and redeem from the power of sin and how it all culminates in the life of Jesus who gave his life as a ransom for us.

Every day we go into the ‘city’ of our world, we do life, but we do it preparing the way for the Lord, living our life as an example, laying our life down for others, living unselfish lives so that people may see Jesus the Lamb.

We do it knowing that if we hold on, even in the difficult seasons, we will soon be at another table with the Lamb. v28-30 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And of course we do it knowing what Jesus had already told the disciples previously, (John 14: 2) “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

Simon, my friend, a member of my team, an energetic leader and enthusiastic Pastor of a Christ-centred Church finished the preparations yesterday.

He demonstrated in his life and especially in his trials what it was to demonstrate and honour Jesus.

He finished the race yesterday, earlier than normal. He prepared the way for the Lord. His preparations sat in the hands of a God who prepares everything.

Today he sits around a prepared table in a prepared place.

Today I speak the Passover Psalm (118) for him:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.

I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my defence^; he has become my salvation.

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
He has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

And so it happened …

 

Luke 22 v7 “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.”

 

It was the day of Passover and the lamb had to die.

By the end of the week the day would come for the Son and the Lamb HAD to lay his life down.

The day came and what had to happen then happened.

It still does.

Let it be.

Amen.

 

Whatever is approaching does not need to be feared.

Luke 22: 1-7

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, ² and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. ³ Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. ⁴ And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. ⁵ They were delighted and agreed to give him money. ⁶ He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

 

The Passover was approaching. Jesus is the new Moses. Etched in the memory of everyone was the judgment and the rescue of the Passover. The angel of death passed over the homes sprinkled with the lamb’s blood. This is what was in the minds of all the pilgrims, the Jerusalem citizens and the religious leaders. They didn’t know what they celebrated was a shadow of what was to come. This Passover is the real event. Judgment would be known in their generation. At the same time a new Exodus would commence.

Judgment and deliverance were approaching hand in hand.

 

The allies were approaching. When you have found a cause it is amazing how even people who don’t like each other come together. The chief priests served for 1 year on rotation in the Temple and they increase their wealth through fraudulent money-changing and selling of animal sacrifices. The teachers of the law were either Pharisees or Sadducees responsible for the correct understanding of the Law of God. Officers of the Temple guard are Levites who prevent unauthorised people entering the Temple lest they make it unclean.

Leaders of Worship, the Word and Holiness were approaching.

 

Judas approached the allied forces. Many have speculated the reasons why Judas betrayed Jesus. Clearly we are told that he received money. But the money he did receive wasn’t a great deal so maybe greed wasn’t the real motivation. No one really knows why someone who had been chosen to be so close to Jesus would try and hand him over to the allies and finish him off. But the betrayal sat in the hands of God who used it to advance Jesus forward in the plan of salvation.

Major disappointment was approaching.

 

Satan approached Judas. He had managed to sow a destructive idea into his mind. He brought manipulative temptation and Judas was hooked. The early Church believers knew full well of the works of evil. That behind the stories of our lives lies an evil one seeking to exploit opportunities. Apostle Paul wrote, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Spiritual forces were approaching.

 

Jesus at the centre of a cosmic battle. The coming together of spiritual forces, a major disappointment, a gathering of leaders of worship, the law and holiness was approaching the Son of God. But we know how the story ends. We know the closing chapter. We know of the judgment and the deliverance.

If this was the battle of all battles then whatever is approaching you today, whatever you are facing you can know:

It sits in the palm of God who is in control of everything and is with you.

 

 

Work/Life balance

Luke 21: 37-38 “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.”
The last week of Jesus’ life was spent in a pattern of behaviour. Work and rest.
Every day, he would wake up early and begin to work.
At the end of the day, he would walk away from his work to rest for the night.
There is a lot of talk about the need to rest. But you can only rest after you have worked. Otherwise it isn’t rest.
Work/life balance is often talked about, but the first word is important because otherwise there wouldn’t be a need for balance.
Today get your balance.