Lent Devotions
Easter, April 20: On the Third Day
Posted: 19 Apr 2014 02:36 PM PDT
Read: Matthew 28:1-10
He is not here. (v. 6 ESV)
We all know the story. Several of the women closest to Jesus head out to the garden tomb early Sunday morning to finish the job they had not had time to complete on Friday afternoon. As they reach the grave they see to their astonishment that the stone sealing the tomb has been rolled back. The women are even more startled by the angel’s incredible news: “Don’t be afraid. You seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here.”
The angel meant that literally. He wasn’t speaking the way we sometimes do in funeral homes. (“You know, Jimmy, Grandpa isn’t really here.”) The angel wasn’t speaking of Jesus’ soul; he was talking about his body.
This Easter announcement has never been contradicted. To the angel’s “He is not here,” no one has ever been able to respond, “Wait! He is over here. There’s his body.” Jesus’ resurrection was a physical event. The New Testament says as clearly as it can that Jesus rose bodily from the tomb. Skeptics who argue that the gospel accounts of the resurrection are really just a symbolic way of saying that Jesus’ influence lived on in his disciples’ lives simply haven’t got the story straight.
As Christians, we base our faith on the fact that Jesus rose. More than that, we are staking our whole future on it. –David Bast
Prayer: Jesus lives, and so shall I.
Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

April 19: Dead and Buried
Posted: 19 Apr 2014 07:59 AM PDT
Read: John 19:31-42
. . . since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (v. 42 ESV)
After Jesus died, he was buried. It’s the last item of business to be checked off for every human being.
Corpses must be disposed of. What makes death so repulsive is not just the fear or the pain; it’s the indignity of the thing. This is why Jesus’ burial is so comforting. It means he went all the way through the experience of death for us, to the bitter end. He even became a corpse that had to be prepared and then carried away and buried like every other dead body. His identification with our mortality is complete. “He knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust,” affirms the psalmist. And we may be sure of it, because he once was dust himself. If Jesus could do that much for me, I know that he will be with me when I too am one day a corpse.
The prayer of committal in the Reformed Church’s funeral liturgy says that “by his rest in the tomb, Christ has sanctified the graves of his saints.” No matter how dark the place, our Lord has been there before us. So death is not the end for us. Even burial isn’t the end. –David Bast
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for all you have done for me. Be near me now and in the hour of my death.
Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

Lent Devotions

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Good Friday, April 18: Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:09 AM PDT

Read: John 19:17-30

Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. (v. 24 ESV)

I know I’ve sung these words dozens of times; maybe you have too:
Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand–

The truth is that the cross of Jesus was not a nice place. None of us would really have wanted to stand beneath it. The only ones who were literally right there underneath Jesus’ cross were the soldiers. Having crucified him, these guards settled down to the more pleasant task of dividing Jesus’ possessions among themselves, while they waited for him to die.

I wonder which one of them won his seamless tunic and what he did with it. Did he sell it for a few coins? Did he trade it for a bottle to drink, or use it to hire a woman for the night? Or did he take it home, keep it for himself? What if he covered himself with that garment? In spiritual terms, that is exactly what we do when we trust in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. His death becomes our righteousness. He covers our shame with his perfect obedience and sacrificial blood.

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,
My beauty are, my glorious dress.
Midst flaming worlds, in these array’d,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
–David Bast

Prayer: Lord Jesus, may your blood cover my sin.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

Lent Devotions

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Maundy Thursday, April 17: The Way of Sorrows

Posted: 16 Apr 2014 05:28 AM PDT

Read: Luke 23:26-33

. . . they seized one Simon of Cyrene . . . and laid on him the cross. (v. 26 ESV)

There is a street in Jerusalem known as the “Via Dolorosa,” the “Way of Sorrows.” It is the route Christ is believed to have followed when he was led, carrying his cross, from the judgment hall of Pilate to the place of execution. Weakened by beatings, Jesus wasn’t strong enough to make it all the way to Golgotha. So the soldiers grabbed a man to help him–one Simon, from Cyrene in north Africa. The fact that Simon’s name is noted in the gospels, and that Mark even mentions the names of his two sons (Mark 15:21), indicates that he and his family were known in the early church. Apparently, Simon, who only met Jesus when he took up his cross, somehow came to know him in a deeper way later on.

We all need to emulate Simon. Jesus said that those who would be his disciples must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow him (Luke 9:23). It doesn’t cost much to become a follower of Jesus; it costs everything. But if we are willing to join Jesus on the way of the cross, we discover another gospel paradox. The Way of Sorrows becomes the Way of Joy, the road to heaven. –David Bast

Prayer: Lord, help me deny myself, take up my cross, and follow you today.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

Lent Devotions

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April 16: The Crown of Thorns

Posted: 15 Apr 2014 06:23 AM PDT

Read: Mark 15:16-32

. . . twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. (v. 17 ESV)

It wasn’t enough for the soldiers in Jesus’ execution detail just to torture him. They also decided to make fun of him. Grabbing a branch from some nearby thornbush, the soldiers jammed a makeshift crown on Jesus’ head and bowed in mock worship, making a joke of his claim to be Israel’s king. It was soldiers’ humor, cops’ humor–tough, hardened men mocking a defenseless victim. Just hilarious.

Later, many in the crowd of onlookers at Golgotha joined in the fun, heaping scorn upon the figure hanging from the cross. Jesus not only endured a hideous death, but people even laughed at him while he died, taking gleeful pleasure in what they took to be his comeuppance.

Jesus simply endured it all–the taunting, the mockery, the laughter–as the prophet had foretold (cf. Isaiah 50:6). He silently bore the insults of the crowd, neither replying to them nor retaliating against them. In this, says the apostle, he left us an example to follow (1 Peter 2:21-23). Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame,” adds the writer to the Hebrews, “for the joy that was set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). The chief part of that joy was to see God glorified through our salvation.

Can we ever thank him enough? –David Bast

Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all you endured for me.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

Lent Devotions

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April 15: The Man Who Crucified Christ

Posted: 14 Apr 2014 08:24 AM PDT

Read: John 18:28–19:16

So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. (v. 16 ESV)

The Apostles’ Creed mentions three names among its 111 words. The first, of course, is Jesus; the second is Mary; the third is Pontius Pilate.

Pilate would have been totally forgotten, just another minor official of a long-dead empire, except for a trial over which he presided one day. But that was the trial at which Pilate condemned Jesus to death, and now his name lives in infamy forever. How would you like to be eternally remembered as the man who crucified Christ?

Pilate didn’t want to condemn Jesus. But like so many successful men, Pilate was in love with the world–with his status, his possessions, especially with his career. Set over against all of that was this one innocent man, Jesus Christ.

The balance was tipped at the decisive moment when someone in the crowd shouted that if Pilate released Jesus, he would be no friend of Caesar. So Pilate’s choice came down to this: He could either be Jesus’ friend or Caesar’s. He could have the world or he could have Christ, but not both. Though Pilate would like to have chosen Jesus, he just couldn’t bring himself to pay what that would cost him.

What about you? Which will you choose today: the world, or Jesus? –David Bast

Prayer: You may have all the rest; give me Jesus.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

Lent Devotions

April 14: The Rooster’s Crow

4/14/2014
Read: Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75

And immediately the rooster crowed. (v. 74 ESV)

Many of the people who welcomed Jesus with loud “Hosannas” on Palm Sunday must also have shouted, “Crucify him!” on Good Friday. It’s perilously easy to betray or deny Christ; all you have to do is fall in with the crowd.

Having done that in the high priest’s courtyard, Peter could have gone on with them, if not for one small thing. He heard a rooster’s crow. That was Peter’s wake-up call. His soul was pierced by the memory of Jesus’ warning (v. 34), and he went outside and wept bitter tears of repentance.

That rooster’s crow was a sound of grace. You know how it goes when we get caught up in sin. We stifle our conscience until it finally falls silent. We become deadened–to guilt, to truth, even to God. But then somewhere, somehow, a rooster crows. Maybe it’s in a sermon, or through a friend’s word, or a remembered verse of Scripture, or a line from an old hymn. Whatever it is, something quickens our conscience again, and we realize what we have done.

If you hear the sound of a rooster’s crow in your life, recognize in that moment the Lord’s voice, calling you to repent. It could be a very small sound. But through such things souls are saved–or lost. –David Bast

Prayer: Lord, help me to hear your voice in the small things.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

April 12: In the Garden

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Palm Sunday, April 13: He Really Was a King
4/12/2014
Read: Luke 19:29-44

As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully . . . . (v. 37 NRSV)

All the hoopla that greeted Jesus the day he rode a donkey into Jerusalem quickly turned to demands for his death. He was declared a king on Sunday and a fraud on Friday. His enemies would kill him, but he would live again. There would be no end to this King’s kingdom.

Jesus and his followers carried no weapons of war when they entered the city. But his death on a cross outside the walls would start a revolution that would encircle the earth. His enemies thought they could get rid of him. How foolish! They were dealing with a King whose authority had no limits.

The city welcomed Christ with shouts of passion. Knowing the needs of the people there, he wept. Christ loved the city. Willingly he died for the cities of the world. His death was not for his sin-he had none-but for the sins of us all. Since he has all the necessary power and authority as King, there is nothing he cannot do. He broke the grip of sin and death for all who trust him. –Ron Geschwendt

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we acknowledge your power and authority. Truly you are King. Capture our mind and hearts. Amen.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

Lent Devotions
April 12: In the Garden
Posted: 11 Apr 2014 05:51 AM PDT
Read: Matthew 26:36-56
My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. (v. 39 NRSV)
Here is a sight: Jesus sorrowing, sweating, crying out to be delivered from the terrible prospect before him. Jesus was human. When faced with death, he looked for a way out. When the dark hours of suffering descended, he asked his friends to watch with him. And when they failed him, he was disappointed.
But it wasn’t just the physical or emotional pain that troubled Jesus. What weighed so upon him was something he called “this cup”–God’s holy judgment upon sin. For Jesus, accepting the cup meant experiencing the dreadful curse of separation from his Father.
Jesus neither deserved nor desired that. Humanly, he hoped there could be some other way: “My Father, if it is possible . . .” Don’t you think that if he could, God would have granted that prayer? But some things are not possible even for God. It was not possible for God to forgive sins in any other way than for Jesus to accept sin’s punishment upon himself.
And if it was not possible for Jesus to save us in any other way than by dying in our place, do you suppose it is possible for you and me to be saved in any other way than by trusting in him? –David Bast
Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me to pray, “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.

April 11: The Traitor

4/10/2014
Read: Matthew 26:20-25

Is it I, Lord? (v. 22 ESV)

J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion sets Matthew’s text of the passion story to dramatic music. When the soloist singing Jesus’ words announces to the disciples that one of them will betray him, an agitated chorus immediately breaks in with the disciples’ question, “Lord, is it I?” The choir sings that phrase exactly eleven times. One disciple didn’t have to ask Jesus who the traitor was.

What can Judas teach us? For one thing, he shows us the danger of what John Bunyan described in the character he called Formalist. Formalist is outwardly religious but inwardly unconverted. Formalism is having the appearance of faith without the reality.

It is sobering to remember that Judas was one of the Twelve, a member in good standing of Jesus’ inner circle. He had all the advantages of his position: he had heard Jesus’ teaching, seen his miracles, even served in his mission. To all appearances he was just as committed as all the others. When Jesus announced there was a traitor in their midst, no one asked, “Lord, is it Judas?” But all this time Judas’s heart was unchanged.

Church attendance, Bible reading, charitable giving, works of service–these are all good things. But if your heart hasn’t been changed, none of them matter. –David Bast

Prayer: Lord, deliver me from every competing love, and make me wholehearted in my devotion to you.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.