Monthly Archives: April 2015

2015 Day 100 – Acts 4

10 Friday Apr 2015

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Welcome to the 100th day of the year! I hope and pray God’s will is accomplished greatly through each of you.

In today’s reading we find Peter and John facing the religious leaders because they healed the crippled man in yesterday’s reading. The religious leaders, the same men who had Jesus crucified, are once again intimidated by the power of God through these faithful servants. The beauty of today’s reading comes from their obedience and learning from Jesus’ example of choosing to follow the Father versus “religion”. In Acts 4:19 we read, But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” In the end, obeying God may not be the most popular of choices, but Jesus does not want to be “popular”, He wants to be the individual choice in a personal and loving relationship with with each of us.

2015 Day 99 – Acts 3

09 Thursday Apr 2015

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Jesus does not ask us to do what we are incapable of doing. However, He does asks us to give what we have, even when all we have is His power through us. In today’s reading Peter and John come across a man who had been crippled from birth and wanted nothing more than to be healed. Peter’s response in Acts 3:6, Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Peter literally had nothing to give this man other than the healing power God. When we face tough situations we can approach it in one of two ways: 1) we can say we do not have the necessary skills or resources, or 2) we can realize the creator of the universe has the ability to do anything, including working on our behalf and even through us.

2015 Day 98 – Acts 2

08 Wednesday Apr 2015

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One of the most powerful verses in today’s reading is Acts 2:36, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Regardless of who believes Jesus Christ is who He said He was makes no difference to the truth. Too often we allow people to have an opinion that somehow makes a difference in what is actual truth. Opinions do not matter. Truth is there for us to believe or deny, but the consequences of that belief or denial are eternal.

2015 Day 97 – Acts 1

07 Tuesday Apr 2015

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Today we begin the book of Acts, which was written by Luke. It is written as an account of the beginning’s of the Christian church. In this first chapter we see the ending of Jesus’ time with His apostles and the election of a new apostle, Matthias, to replace Judas. When Jesus died on the cross it left many to wonder if He really was the Messiah because their expectations were very different from what He accomplished with His time on earth. One of the final conversations we see with Jesus and the apostles was their asking when He would return. Jesus’ answer was simple in Acts 1:7, He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. Ultimately, for us, it is not important when Jesus comes back because our mission remains the same until His return; to love and serve others just as He would have done had He remained with us.

2015 Day 96 – John 21

06 Monday Apr 2015

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Today, the day after Easter celebration of our risen Lord, we read the final chapter in the Gospels of Jesus Christ. In this chapter we read about Jesus’ final appearance to His disciples. Over the course of these last 3 months we have witnessed many things through the eyes of the authors of these four gospels. One of the things I noticed about John’s account is the intimacy with which it was written. John is the self-proclaimed “one who Jesus loved”, and while this seems arrogant at times because Jesus loved all His disciples equally, John takes His relationship with Jesus very personally, which should be an example for us all. When we talk about a personal relationship with Jesus, we should really mean it to be personal. While it should be a relationship where we recognized Christ’s authority and how much he deserves our respect as our savior and God, we should also see Him in the personal and intimate way we would see someone we truly love and loves us.

2015 Day 95 – Happy Easter!

05 Sunday Apr 2015

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When we say “Happy Easter”, we should be over-joyed by what this day represents. The picture below was taken this morning from my backyard. Every time I see a sunrise I want to be reminded of what Jesus did for me and that He is alive; He rose from the dead for me and now I have eternal life because of Him. Jesus endured a tremendous amount of suffering for each of us so we could experience eternal life. Earlier this week we talked about the beginning of Luke 24:6 where the angel of the Lord says to the women who went to Jesus’ tomb, “He is not here; He is risen!” Imagine the emotions of going from “all is lost” to “He is alive!!”.

HeIsRisen

 

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2015 Day 94 – John 20

04 Saturday Apr 2015

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Tomorrow is Easter! It is my favorite day of the year. When I think of all the suffering Jesus endured for me and then realize He conquered it all, there is nothing but joy and peace I feel for knowing I serve the God who stands over everything, including death. Though I sometimes feel like “doubting” Thomas, most of the time and especially on Easter I feel like the Thomas in John 20:28, Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus is Lord over all and He is my God because He created me, loves me, died for me, and saved me. What else is there? What else could He possibly do to prove who He really is? I love Jesus… that is all.

2015 Day 93 – Luke 24

03 Friday Apr 2015

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The very first sentence in Luke 24:6, “He is not here; he has risen!” How beautiful are those words! Today I also read a quote that said, “Earth’s saddest day and gladdest day were just… three days apart.” So true! While today is Good Friday and we remember the crucifixion, in just three days we celebrate the most hopeful of days, His resurrection! Praise God for loving us so much that even in the darkest of days His light will always shine through. Have a blessed weekend as we focus on all Christ sacrificed so that we can have a relationship with Him for all eternity.

2015 Day 92 – Mark 16

02 Thursday Apr 2015

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Today we are reading the last chapter in the Gospel of Mark. In this final chapter Jesus rises from the dead and begins to appear before the people including His disciples. One of the most interesting verses is Mark 16:7 where the angel at the tomb tells the women, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you’ “ The interesting part is where he says “and Peter”. Despite Peter’s denial, Jesus did not disown him. Jesus still had great plans for Peter. For us, even when we fail, Jesus never stops loving us or wanting to include us in His plans. Jesus does not expect perfection, but a willing heart wanting to serve Him and others.

2015 Day 91 – Matthew 28

01 Wednesday Apr 2015

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As we finally reach the resurrection of Jesus, one of my favorite sentences in the book of Matthew is the last one in verse 20, And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Jesus never stops loving us or walking with us. When we do not feel His presence it is because of our lack of focus on Him and not the other way around. Let us always remember our relationship with Christ. When we turn our focus to Jesus, we find that He is already focused on us. He never leaves us or forsakes us because He loves us more than we can possibly ever know.