Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Monday, April 22, 2019
MARY MAGDALENE, FAITHFUL FRIEND
The name “Mary Magdalene” can evoke different images to various people.Many see her as a deranged woman suffering from being possessed by demons, while others view her as a fallen woman, even a prostitute. Although the biblical record is not silent on the matter, we are only given a few details about the life of Mary Magdalene in the Bible — and you may be surprised what Scripture does and doesn’t say!
While the facts of Mary’s life are sketchy, at best, one thing is perfectly clear: Mary Magdalene loved Jesus, and Jesus loved her. In fact, her story will forever remain entwined with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
HER NAME MEANS “TROUBLE AND SORROW”
The name “Mary” occurs 51 times in the New Testament and is taken from the Old Testaments names of Miriam and Mara, which mean “bitter.” The root of the name “Mary” is derived from the notion of trouble and sorrow. Being a common name during this time period, this Mary was distinguished from all others by being referred to as “The Magdalene,” which identifies her as being born in Magdala, a thriving city on the coast of Galilee about three miles from Capernaum. The city of Magdala was known for its primitive textile factories and dye works. While it is only speculation, it could be that Mary Magdalene was connected in some way with that industry, which would have enabled her to help support the ministry of Jesus, as she was known to have done.
There is nothing in the biblical record about Mary’s family life. The Bible does not list her parentage, any family members, her marital status, or her age. The gospel accounts of her life suggest that she had no family obligations, thus freeing her to follow Jesus in His traveling ministry.
FROM DEMON-POSSESSED TO DEVOTED DISCIPLE
While many equate Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman of Luke 7:37 or the woman caught in adultery in John 8:3, there is not the slightest evidence in the gospel narratives or in the writings of the early church fathers to support the claim that Mary Magdalene had ever been a woman of ill repute. What the Bible does tell us about her is that she had been possessed by seven demons, which probably caused her to have bouts of insanity, and that Jesus cast them out of her (Luke 8:2).
Being delivered from her tormenting captors, Mary became a disciple of Jesus, to whom she showed great love and devotion. Along with other women, Mary gave both personal and financial support to the ministry of Jesus, following Him from place to place in His missionary activities.
A LEADING WOMAN IN MINISTRY
Mary Magdalene is mentioned 14 times in the gospels and from that record we can compose a sketchy profile of her life. It is worth noting that in eight of the 14 instances that she is mentioned, Mary is named in connection with other women, of which she is always named first. This would lead us to believe that she occupied the place at the front in service rendered by godly women. In the five times she is mentioned alone, it is in connection with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Mark 16:9; John 20:1, 11, 16, 18).
Forever faithful to her Lord, Mary Magdalene was among the last at the cross to witness Christ’s death and, following Joseph of Arimathea to see where Jesus’ body would be laid, she was the last to leave His tomb after night had fallen. Intending to honor Christ by anointing His body with spices and perfumes, she was the first to visit the tomb on resurrection morning and the first to carry the news that Jesus had risen from the dead.
JESUS HONORED HER
What a great honor God bestowed upon Mary in permitting her to be the first witness of His resurrection! The gospel of John tells us best of what happened that day. Mary was at the tomb at first light that first Easter morning. How surprised she must have been to see the stone rolled away! Peering in the cave she saw that it was empty, which made her weep. After finding the grave empty Mary rushed to find Peter and John and blurted out, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!” (John 20:2). Peter and John went to the tomb with Mary and found that she told them the truth, and then they “went back to where they were staying”(John 20:10). But Mary stayed. It was then, after speaking to two angels, that Jesus revealed himself to Mary.
After comforting her, Jesus commissioned Mary to be the first messenger of His resurrection. He told her to tell the disciples Jesus’ words: “‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God’” (John 20:17). What an honor to be the first to herald the resurrection!
WHAT MARY CAN TEACH US
There is much we can learn from the life of Mary Magdalene.
- We can see just how much Christ can do for someone. He delivered her afflicted, tormented soul and healed her, leaving her a changed woman.
- We not only learn what Christ can do for us, but what we can do for Him. His great love and compassion toward her completely changed her life and led Mary to become a faithful, sacrificial follower. So grateful for her deliverance, Mary practiced her faith by following Jesus and ministering to Him and His disciples out of her financial means and taking care of their physical needs. Her gratitude and love manifested itself in her devotion to Christ.
- Christ’s work for Mary Magdalene and her loving ministry to Him constitute the type of elevation of woman to the rank of friendship with man. She was no longer to be considered a slave or servant, but his co-worker and equal, capable of accepting equal responsibilities and sharing equally in the results.
Mary Magdalene owed much, gave much, loved much, and served much. She is a wonderful example of a woman whose life was poured out in response to God’s extravagant grace.
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Washed Clean
Nobody likes to be dirty, except for maybe kids playing in the mud. That feeling of being washed clean is one of the best in the world. Our souls are the same way with our sin. When there is unforgiven sin in our heart, we have that dirty feeling. When our sins are forgiven the feeling of being washed clean is much deeper than any shower can provide. Jesus washes us clean with the blood he shed on the cross.
1 Corinthians 6:11
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Complete Package
Before Christ, we were sinners only getting worse. After we came to Christ, we were washed, sanctified, and justified. Think about these three attributes for just a second. Sin dirties our life. Jesus’ blood washes it clean. Before Christ we were on a slow path to death. After Christ, we are cleaned up and the process begins to transform us.
Sanctified
After Christ, we are now growing and being transformed into the image of Christ, that process is called sanctification. It’s an important word because it shows us that God isn’t finished with us when he washes us clean. He continues to work on us, changing us. He cares about our growth and is there to make it happen.
Justified
We were also condemned to an eternity of pain and sorrow before Christ. Now with Christ, we are justified. Justification is another word that is important. We are justified in the eyes of God because the wrath of sin has been removed. Think of justification this way: “Just as if I have never sinned.” When we receive the forgiveness that Christ offers, it’s just as if I had never sinned. Salvation is a powerful work that radically changes us. When we are washed clean, some powerful changes take place in us.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Being Changed by God’s Glory
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Paul has just introduced a contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, between the letter of the Mosaic law and the leadership of the dynamic Spirit of God.
“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant “� not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (3:6)
Now Paul continues this contrast in 3:7-18 by showing the basis of the Old Covenant as the work of the Spirit through Moses, the Spirit that “� under the New Covenant “� works through all believers.
But why is Paul explaining such things to an overwhelmingly Gentile church? Probably because his opponents in Corinth had Jewish connections and were trying to “out-Hebrew” Paul himself. Later in this letter, Paul argues against these false apostles:
“Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I.” (11:22)
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul offers a similar defense, for the same reason “� to counteract the Jewish or Jewish-Christian opponents there:
“… Circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee….” (Philippians 3:5)
The Greater Glory of the Spirit (3:7-11)
Paul, the trained Pharisee, corrects these Jewish-Christian opponents with a typical Rabbinic argument from the lesser to the greater.
- Ministry of Spirit is more splendid than ministry of death (3:7-8)
- Ministry of righteousness is more splendid than the ministry of condemnation (3:9-10)
- Permanent ministry is more splendid than that which passes away (3:11).[93]
You’ll see these themes in the text:
“7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily[94] at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading[95] though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing[96] glory. 11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts![97]” (3:7-11)
The Glory of God on Moses’ Face (Exodus 34)
Paul agrees that the Old Covenant, characterized by the Ten Commandments (“engraved with letters on stone”�) was glorious. He refers to Moses’ experience of encountering God on Mount Sinai and his practice of talking to God in his tent of meeting and then emerging with the glow of God’s glory on his face.
“29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiantbecause he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him….
“33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.” (Exodus 34:29-30, 33-35)
I envy Moses! He had prayed, “Show me your glory,” and God had answered in this unique expression of God’s glory on Moses’ face. That’s how the law was given. That’s how Israel was led through the desert “� by a man who sought God and spoke with him face to face.
But, Paul argues, that however glorious its origins, the law didn’t bring life to God’s people as the Spirit does. In Paul’s analogy, the glory of the law fades or passes away, while the Spirit of God continues with us to this day.
Q1. (2 Corinthians 3:7-11) Why did Moses’ face glow? Why did he cover it when he was out with the people? Why didn’t more people’s face glow in Moses’ time? What’s the difference between the spread of God’s glory in Moses’ time when compared to our own time?
Friday, April 19, 2019
The Tearing of the Veil
From: first15.org
Devotional
Matthew 27:45-54 says,
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
At the death of Jesus, God turned what was the world’s greatest tragedy into our greatest triumph. With every crack of the whip, the bonds that entangled you and me to the sin and darkness of this world became a little looser. And with Jesus’ final breath the earth shook and the rocks split under the magnitude of the power of Christ’s sacrifice. Only God could take the greatest injustice and turn it into the world’s greatest good. Only God could take death and produce abundant life for all.
Out of everything that resulted from Jesus’ final breath, none was more important than God’s tearing of the veil. The veil that signified the necessary separation between God and man was ripped in two from top to bottom, from God down to us. The great chasm over which no man could cross was now covered by a bridge created by God’s wrath poured out on Jesus. The tearing of the veil represents the very purpose for Jesus’ death: that God could now once again have restored communion with his people. No matter how many or how horrendous our sins might be, Jesus’ death gained victory over it all.
Just as the saints who had fallen asleep were raised at Jesus’ death, you and I have been raised to newness of life. We are caught up in the glory of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. God has made unveiled, face-to-face relationship with him available to us once again.
If God would pay the price of Jesus’ death to have restored relationship with us, encountering him face-to-face must be the absolute best way for us to live. If God considers restored relationship with you worth the death of his only and blameless Son, he must place his highest value on total communion with you.
Maybe the concept of having real, tangible encounters with your heavenly Father is new to you. Maybe he feels distant. Maybe you come in and out of his presence day-to-day. Wherever you are in relation to God, know that nothing can separate you from him any longer. The death of Jesus was more powerful than any sin, lie, or belief. His death paid the entirety of your debt. There is nothing left to pay. Seek out a revelation of what it looks like to encounter your heavenly Father unveiled in prayer. May the Holy Spirit guide you into a lifestyle of continual, face-to-face, unveiled encounters with the living God.
Prayer
1. Meditate on the chasm that separated you from God as the result of sin. Reflecting on your status prior to salvation will give you a greater appreciation for what Jesus has done for you.
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Romans 5:12
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2
2. Now meditate on the power of Jesus’ sacrifice. With his death on the cross, Jesus carried you across the great chasm that separated you from your heavenly Father.
“He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” Matthew 27:51
3. Worship Jesus for the newness of life available to you through him. Give him thanks and praise for his love. Allow your affections to be stirred up towards him by the truth of Scripture.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Four ways to ‘always be ready’
From: Fervr.net
Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. But answer them in a gentle way with respect. (1 Peter 3:15-16)
1. Be ready through prayer
Pray specifically that God would cause someone to ask you a question. If you are praying everyday to your heavenly father for someone to ask you a question, you should never be taken by surprise. My kids usually tell me exactly what they want for their birthday, they’re always delighted when they get what they’d asked for, but they are never surprised.
Never stop praying. Be ready for anything by praying and being thankful. Also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. (Colossians 4:2-3)
Asking specifically and believing wholeheartedly can help us to always be ready! You could pray something like this:
Dear Lord, I pray that today you would give me an opportunity to share my hope in Jesus with [insert name/s]. Help me be ready to spot the opportunity and be ready to give a good answer.
2. Be ready to share
One of the best ways of sharing what you believe is by sharing the story of how you became a Christian. You won’t know all the answers to the questions you are asked, but you will always know your story.
In John 9, a blind man who had been healed by Jesus was asked many questions by the Pharisees. His answer was brilliant! Though he didn’t know the answers to all their questions he told them the one thing he did know – his story. He said,
One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see. (John 9:25 NIV)
Why not write down your story and practice retelling it in less than 2 minutes?
3. Be ready to learn
It’s OK to say ‘I don’t know’ to tough questions. When the disciples asked Jesus about the precise time of his second coming, what did he say? ‘I don’t know!’ (Mark 13:32)
When it comes to the questions people ask you, don’t be afraid to say ‘I don’t know’ but don’t just stop at ‘I don’t know’. Go and find out the answer. One thing I’ve discovered is that there are lots of hard questions, but there are few new questions to answer. Here’s one of the classic questions: ‘If God is so good, then why is there so much bad stuff in the world?’ It’s a good question for which there is a good answer. There are Christians who have put loads of thought and time into how to best answer questions like these.
Why not get your youth leaders to take you through some of the BIG questions and how best to answer them? Or get a Christian book written for non-Christians and see how the author goes about answering their questions (e.g. Answers to tough questions by Josh McDowell).
Don’t forget that 1 Peter 3:16 also says that we should answer with ‘with gentleness and respect’. Remember, your learning is not so that you can win the argument but so that you can win people for Jesus.
4. Be an inviter
In John chapter 1, when Philip told his friend Nathanael about Jesus, his friend was deeply sceptical (had doubts). Philip’s response was just three words but brilliant. ‘Come and see’. He invited Nathanael to see for himself. There are some great answers to life’s big questions, but what our friends need more than a great answer is to meet a great saviour.
There are many ways we can invite people to hear more about the hope that we have in Jesus and one of them is through an exciting new course called ‘The Changing Lanes Course’. It’s a 7 episode course which aims to take teenagers on a journey of discovery in search of the meaning to life and the truth about God. It includes video clips, discussion questions and bible studies.
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