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Betrayed, Arrested, Disowned

Posted on by Paula Davis

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
John 21:15

 

In amongst the blessings of life we all have times when things don’t go our way. We face sickness, pain, loss of jobs, days when dreams don’t come true or someone didn’t come through the way you thought they would.

All of this is part of living in a sinful world filled with imperfect people. And we learn to cope with it. But have you ever been betrayed by someone you love? Have you ever had a time when someone you thought would stick by you pretended they didn’t know you? This goes beyond disappointment. It’s enough to plunge someone into despair.

When Jesus finished praying in the Garden of Gethsemane He was confronted by a group of His enemies…and one of His closest friends. The kiss Judas greeted Jesus with was not a kiss of affection. It was a kiss of betrayal intended to identify Jesus to those who wanted to take His life.

Jesus was arrested in the Garden and led off to be judged. His friends followed at a distance or I imagine some of them slipped away as not to be taken captive themselves. Either way they didn’t stand at Jesus’ side to plead His case to the man who would judge Him.

30_pieces_of_silver

 We don’t know why Judas agreed to betray Jesus, but we do know that he did it for a few pieces of silver. And we know Judas was so ashamed of what he did, sure he could never be forgiven that he took his own life.

As Jesus was taken into the temple to be judged Peter followed. I believe Peter wanted to protect Jesus and wanted to defend Him but I think he was scared. Whatever his reason, when asked if he knew Jesus he denied that he did. He was pressed by someone who saw him with Jesus and still he denied that he did. Three times Peter denied that he had anything to do with Jesus and he never had a chance to make it right before Jesus died.

Have you ever said something and then wished you could take it back? Perhaps you have treated a friend badly or had a fight with your family, then parted before being able to make it right. It is a terrible feeling.

The good news for Peter was that after Jesus rose from the dead he gave Peter an opportunity to redeem himself. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Jesus. Three times Peter said that he did. And all three times Jesus told Peter to go and take care of others, helping them to know Jesus as Peter himself did. Peter didn’t let Jesus down again.

This same opportunity is available to you and me. No matter what we do, when we genuinely confess and repent to Jesus we will be forgiven. It may take time to repair the damage done to earthly relationships but there is hope for those as well.

The same gift of forgiveness and restoration offered and granted to Peter is there for us too. We only need to ask.

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Gethsemane ~ A Lesson in Perseverance

Posted on by Paula Davis

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised.
                                               Hebrews 10:36

As we draw closer to Easter weekend we remember the time Jesus spent preparing for the last meal He would eat with His disciples before His death. Throughout the day Jesus tried to explain to them what was to come – of His imminent betrayal and eventual death. His disciples didn’t get it. Jesus washed their feet, explained to them about serving others, and asked them to join Him as He prayed in the garden. He never gave up trying to teach them of God’s love for them.

When evening came Jesus gave us such a beautiful yet heart wrenching picture of perseverance. Jesus knew He was about to be betrayed and executed. He had lived a perfect life. In all His interactions with those who opposed Him Jesus never sinned. Yet He would be ridiculed and hung on a cross to die the most painful death for all people who believe that He is Lord and Savior.

His heart must have been so heavy, yet He persevered.

Jesus Gethsemane

Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane that evening to pray for God’s will. Matthew’s gospel tells us that Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He didn’t receive an answer so He prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Jesus prayed a third time in the same manner, persevering for an answer from His Father for what He was facing.

The outcome of Jesus’ perseverance was not His deliverance from the coming ridicule and death. It was not what He desired but for Him it was more important for God to be glorified than for Him to be comfortable. Because Jesus persevered and completed the purpose for which His Father sent him to earth we reap countless blessings. Every year as we remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us we are reminded that if He had not persevered through His times of tribulation we would not have the gift of eternity in Heaven with Him.

Each one of us has challenges to work through and overcome. While yours may not seem significant to the world it is significant to you, therefore it also matters to God. Whatever you are facing as you read this I pray for your perseverance. Don’t give up – on yourself, a solution, and especially your faith that God will bring good out of your circumstances. And as you persevere remember that through Jesus’ gift of salvation we can have the blessing of peace that passes all understanding.

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Servanthood

Posted on by Paula Davis

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humble,

and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”            Luke 18:14b

Jesus was a King. He was God living on earth yet He walked everywhere He went. He had no fancy carriage and no palace in which to sleep. Jesus and His disciples slept under the stars and ate whatever they could find. Yet they never went without. Jesus came to earth to demonstrate God’s love for all people by meeting them where they were.

Jesus welcomed children, fed the hungry, healed the sick and lame and loved everyone, no matter their occupation or the sins they had committed. He expected them (and us) to follow His example.

Perhaps one of the greatest acts of servanthood Jesus showed was at their Passover supper the night He was betrayed.

In John 13 we read that as the meal was being served Jesus got up from the meal and removed His outer clothing. He picked up a towel, tied it around His waist and poured water into a basin. Jesus then began to wash the feet of His disciples, drying them with the towel tied around his waist.

Jesus wash feet

There is great significance in this.

First – We just discussed that Jesus and His disciples walked everywhere they went. If they wore shoes at all they were likely only a form of sandals designed to protect the bottom of their feet from rocks and other debris. They were held on by cloth or leather strips, barely covering the tops of their feet as they walked along the dusty roads. Their feet were constantly filthy. Only an individual or their servant would wash their feet.

Second – A king was dressed in robes and splendor. Jesus never did wear the kingly robes he deserved, and He removed the only robe He was wearing and replaced it with a towel tied around His waist just as a servant would have worn.

Third – Jesus did the unthinkable. He bent down to His disciples, kneeling before them to wash their feet. This posture of kneeling before someone was again what a servant would do to a master. Not a posture fit for a King.

Some of Jesus’s disciples argued with Him. Imagine if you had spent the day walking through a muddy field or down a dusty dirt road wearing open sandals. You arrive home to find someone famous whom you really admire waiting for you with a bowl of water and a towel ready to wash your feet.

Would you be excited, or embarrassed? Most of us would want to run around to the back entrance, hop in the shower and clean up before this person could see us. It was the same way with the disciples.

The lesson Jesus was trying to teach His closest friends is that it doesn’t matter what position you hold or how much money is in your bank account. It’s irrelevant how many Facebook friends you have or if you rub shoulders with influential people. The only thing that matters to God is how far you are willing to go to show love to others.

Jesus knelt before them and washed their feet.

Jesus allowed His enemies to mock Him, beat Him and whip Him until He could barely stand.

Then Jesus gave His life for His friends.

That includes you and me.

If the creator of the world did all of this for us, is it too much for Him to ask us to humble ourselves before others?

I’m going to ponder this today…and hopefully put it into action. How ’bout you?

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Are You Prepared?

Posted on by Paula Davis

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

 

How do you spend the days before a holiday or special event? Mine are usually filled with lists, shopping, decorating and baking. I want to make sure everything is just right for the special day.

Passover was a time of preparation as well. There was cleansing, choosing a lamb and preparing food for the feasts. I imagine there were plenty of lists and worries over everything being just right.

This year Jesus was trying to prepare His disciples for what they were about to experience. This Passover would be different but they didn’t realize it yet. Jesus told them parables but they didn’t understand what He was trying to say. He even told them that one of them would betray Him and send their Savior and friend to His death but still they were unclear.

jesus-teaching-in-temple

Maybe the disciples were not truly listening to Jesus closely enough to figure out the intent of His parables. Perhaps they believed He would explain them later when all the other people had gone.

Or possibly some of them did begin to understand what Jesus was preparing them for but were too afraid to believe it really could happen. There could have been a sense of denial as well. They may have said to themselves, “Maybe this one time Jesus could be wrong.”

When all that Jesus was trying to prepare them for did come to pass the disciples found themselves unprepared and unable to process it all. They weren’t ready to move on and see what God had for them next.

What about us? Have you ever found yourself at a place of uncertainty, unprepared for what comes next? I know I have and sometimes I look back and see how God had been trying to prepare me only I wasn’t paying attention or didn’t want to hear what He had to say.

Thankfully, while the circumstances the disciples found themselves in left them without Jesus for a time that never has to happen to us.

Jesus and His Holy Spirit are always with us to guide and direct us, giving us wisdom beyond our own. He will take our fear and turn it to confidence and joy.

We need only ask.

If you’re facing uncertainty today and it’s unclear what your next step should be I encourage you to take some time to sit quietly and seek God’s guidance. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you, and be open to His leading. Prepare your heart to be ready to hear from Him.

I guarantee you will.

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The New Sacrifice

Posted on by Paula Davis

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”    Luke 19:38

Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, a very important holiday for the Jewish people. It is at Passover that Jews celebrate their freedom from slavery in Egypt.

God’s people had been slaves in Egypt for generations. What began as an invitation by Pharaoh for Joseph and his family to share the Egyptian land turned into fear. Joseph and all of his brothers had died and a new Pharaoh came to power. He saw how numerous the Israelite nation was and was worried that the Israelites would someday side with Egypt’s enemies in a war…and he would be out of a job, or worse yet, killed.

To prevent this from happening the Egyptians became slave masters over God’s people and forced them to hard labor with little or no pay. They lived this way for generations until God provided a way out for them.

One night the Israelites were instructed to kill a lamb without any deformities and paint its’ blood over the doorposts of their home. The angel of death visited the land of Egypt that night and killed every firstborn son. Those with lamb’s blood on their doorpost would be spared.

That very night God’s people left Egypt under God’s protection and found freedom from the Egyptians. They were no longer slaves but were free to worship their Lord in their own land.

leaving_egypt

Every year this freedom is remembered and celebrated in the homes of Jewish families and for some it is a time of pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the geographical center of the Jewish faith. This was also true in Jesus’ time.

Remember reading about when Jesus was very young and He taught in the temple? This was during Passover. His family had returned to Jerusalem for the festival that year as well.

This year Jesus knew Passover would be different.

He entered Jerusalem on a colt and was surrounded by hundreds or perhaps thousands of people. People had been following Jesus everywhere He went for years, but just a short time before this Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Many who saw or heard what He had done now followed Him into Jerusalem, shouting praises to Him and declaring, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

jesus_donkey

In just a few days many of these same people would desert Jesus. They wouldn’t understand the sacrifice He was about to make that would give them a new freedom.

Jesus’ life had been perfect (just as the lambs at the Passover celebration) so He was the only one who could serve as a sacrifice for us. While He disagreed with the religious leaders and some of the laws of the land Jesus never sinned. He took with Him to the cross the sins of every man, woman and child who ever lived or ever will live.

It can be easy to praise God and welcome Jesus as leader of our lives when we see miracles and other good things happen in our lives. It’s also easy to turn away from Him when we don’t understand how He will bring good from a difficult situation.

As we enter Holy Week and reflect on the last days of Jesus before His ultimate sacrifice may we examine our hearts and ask ourselves if we believe without reservation. Will we stand and proclaim Jesus is Lord through it all?

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Obedience ~ Words Worth Remembering Week #11

Posted on by Paula Davis

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands.

As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.

                                                                                                                          2 John 1:6

From a very young age we are taught to obey. Before we can talk or ask, “why” we are taught what is right and wrong. But as we mature we begin to question why we need to obey, a sort of  “what’s in it for me?” attitude. Today’s verse shows us that obedience is a form of love. As children of earthly parents we obey because it pleases our parents and shows our love for them, even if we don’t understand why they are asking us to obey. Obedience to God is the same.

obedience1

Oswald Chambers wrote:

There is nothing miraculous or mysterious about the things we can explain. We control what we are able to explain, consequently it is only natural to seek an explanation for everything. It is not natural to obey, yet it is not necessarily sinful to disobey. There can be no real disobedience, nor any moral value in obedience, unless a person recognizes the higher authority of the one giving the orders…A person is simply a slave for obeying, unless his obedience is the recognition of a holy God.

God did not intend for us to be slaves to His laws. He asks us to obey because we love Him and recognize Him as the leader of our lives. It is not always easy, and we won’t always understand. But when we know God is asking for our obedience we must step forward in love to Him and to others around us.

Tomorrow we begin what is recognized in Christian churches as Holy Week, the week we remember the days leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus’ entire life was lived out of obedience and love for His Father God. All that Jesus did during His earthly life was done to show God’s love to those around Him, and through Scriptures even to us today.

There is no greater example of obedience through love than this week of Jesus’ life. Through the ups & downs, the people and places we can learn so much through each step of His obedience.

Sometimes the week before a big holiday can be crazy and chaotic. We see that at Christmas, and also now that Easter is just a week away. It can be easy to lose the impact of Jesus’ gift to us at Easter when we focus on the activities and preparation.

This week I will be posting a devotion here each morning. I pray that they will help to focus your day and encourage you to cherish the incredible gift that Christ gave us on the cross.

blessings and peace to you today!
Paula

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Failure? – Words Worth Remembering Week #10

Posted on by Paula Davis

Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
                                                                                          Isaiah 43:18-19

What does it take to be labeled a failure?

I have given this considerable thought due to circumstances in my life lately.

The conclusions I have drawn are these:

1. No one can declare us a failure except ourselves.

2. We are not failures until we refuse to keep trying.

no failure

Thomas Edison is remembered for his many inventions that enhanced the lives of many, including us today. But no matter what the invention was he saw numerous failures before he saw success.  With each failure he kept going.

“If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward”.
Thomas A. Edison, Encyclopaedia Britannica

There are any number of inspirations for not giving up if we look for them.

Colonel Harland Sanders – started the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise at age 65.

Grandma Moses – began painting at 76, after arthritis forced her to give up embroidery. She continued painting until 101.

Julia Child – became a chef after many years as a secret intelligence officer. She was 49 when her first book was published, 51 when her TV program “The French Chef” first aired.

Ray Kroc – went from being a salesman to opening the first McDonald’s at age 52.

Sister Marion Irvine – started running at age 47, when she was overweight and smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day. Went on to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials at age 54.

Laura Ingalls Wilder – published the first book in the “Little House on the Prairie” series at 65.


The list could go on & on but the point is that none of these people allowed the lack of worldly success to keep them down. They put their failures behind them, but didn’t forget what they had learned from them. Then they looked ahead to see what might be ahead.

One of the biggest challenges I have had in my adult life is with a healthy lifestyle. As a child I was very active and was skinny as a stick. But as I became less active and made poor food choices I put on pounds and found it a much bigger challenge to take them off. Lately as I consistently miss work-outs and eat sugar-filled treats I begin to doubt that I will ever win the war with weight.

This week’s verse is a reminder of what God’s desire is for us in regards to our past. He tells us to put it behind us, not dwell on it and look ahead to the new work He is doing in us. Even when it seems we are walking in the wilderness of being alone, of disobedience or discouragement when we look closely we will see good things springing up.

This gives me hope!!

God’s desires for us are always for good, never desiring for us consider that we are failures. But we have free wills and minds that can think whatever we choose. If we choose to dwell on the past or the negative that is where we will stay.

When we choose to look ahead and SEE with faith what God has planned for us we will NEVER fail.

Praise God for the new things He is doing in each of our lives!!

Blessings & Peace,

Paula

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Truth ~ Words Worth Remembering Week #9

Posted on by Paula Davis

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
                                                                                           John 8:32

Truth.

It can be defined:

  • sincerity in action, character, and utterance
  • the state of being the case : fact (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts
  • a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true <truths of thermodynamics>

And it can be debated.

In this passage Jesus says we will know the truth and it will set us free. So what is He talking about?

How do we know the truth?

Jesus was with His disciples and other Jewish leaders (who wanted to kill Him) as He was speaking. Just before the above statement Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (vs. 31) But the Jewish leaders debated Jesus’ statement saying they had never been slaves to anyone. This is a sentiment we might share.

So how can we be set “free” if we have never been slaves?

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (v 34-36)

As followers of Christ our truth comes from God’s Word and is interpreted for us by His Holy Spirit. The Spirit convicts us of sin and compels us to confess and be forgiven. The more we know God’s Word the better we are able to listen and follow the truth.

truth next exit

The challenge comes when we choose to create our own truth because we don’t like what God’s Word tells us or we ‘adjust’ His truth to make it easier for us to accept and follow, perhaps to make it easier to get along with others who don’t believe God Word is the truth.

But watered down truth is no truth at all.

The consequences of watering down the truth are a less intimate walk with God and a slippery slope towards believing the lies of the evil one. It can happen slowly so that we don’t even realize what is happening. That’s part of the plan.

If you are a follower of Christ I encourage you to take some time today to consider whether you are consistently following the truth of the Bible or are watering it down so that you ‘fit in’ with those around you. It is difficult to be challenged and chastised by those who don’t think as you do. Jesus was killed for following God’s truth. But He did it so that we could be set free.

I’m so thankful for God’s truth. Even when it’s difficult!

blessings and peace to you today!
Paula

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Prayer Power

Posted on by Paula Davis

“Prayer does not equip us for greater works. Prayer is the greater work.”    
~ Oswald Chambers

This quote met me one morning as I sat down for my time with God. And it hit me square between the eyes.

I am a fixer by nature and like to figure things out. Often to my detriment I try and try to solve something until I’m out of ideas and frustrated then I ask someone to help me. Usually I find that if I had asked for help before I started things would’ve gone much more smoothly.

Sadly going to God is too often the same. I’m sorry to say that many times I  choose prayer as a last resort. If I can’t find a solution for something on my own I talk to God about it.

This is certainly a backwards way of thinking and something I work on daily.

God has given us an incredibly powerful tool in prayer. He promises that when we come to Him our prayers will be heard and answered. Our prayers can bring us close to God, encourage and inspire us, challenge us, and show us miracles.

I’m not an expert on prayer, but through reading and my own experiences I have found a few things I’d like to share with you.

prayer hands

1. While spending a concentrated block of time with God in prayer, thanking, seeking and listening to Him is important God doesn’t intend for us to pray only when we can get to our quiet place with a chunk of time.

Ephesians 6:18 charges us:
“ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

There isn’t anywhere that you can’t pray. When someone comes to mind, breathe a prayer for them. When you see something beautiful, say “thanks” to God (yes, that’s a prayer if you’re talking to Him!) These prayers may give a friend just the encouragement they need at a difficult moment and keep you in constant contact with God, developing a closer relationship with Him.

2. Do you know how powerful your prayers are? If you are a child of God and the Holy Spirit lives in you the power of God also resides in you!

Mark 11:24 encourages us:
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Sometimes we hold other Christians in high regard because of their knowledge or gift of speaking and believe that God hears them better than us. We want someone ‘important’ to pray so that God will hear and answer.

Guess what? You are just as important in God’s eyes as any other person He created. Your prayers are POWERFUL! Believe that and you will see God bless your efforts.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16b

3. The habit of prayer is much more important than the words we say or how we say it.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12

I am learning to change my thinking about prayer. Instead of saying, “I can’t do anything to help, so I will pray” I am learning to pray first. Many times God will then show me if there is something more He wants me to do.

I’m still working on understanding the full power of prayer. I’m thinking it may take my lifetime — at least!

What have you learned about the power of prayer?

blessings and peace to you today!
Paula

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Content ~ Words Worth Remembering Week #8

Posted on by Paula Davis

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Philippians 4:12

 

The world around us does not encourage contentedness. We are encouraged to want more and more and to have what we want when we want it. Years ago a fast food chain used the slogan “have it your way”. Now there is a commercial that declares “breakfast just the way I say”.  My dad had a saying, “as a rule man’s a fool, when it’s hot he wants it cool. When it’s cool he wants it hot; always wanting what is not.”

This is so true. When it’s rainy we wish the sun was shining but too much sun makes us long for the cool rains to water our dry plants & flowers. Like watching fireworks in the rain, being content with what we are given is well outside the realm of our society. Honestly, it is difficult for me too.

Watching fireworks

This week’s verse was written by Paul from a prison cell. What an incredible relationship he must have had with the Lord to be able to be content even as a prisoner! Paul found a way to let the Lord work in and through him even when he was trapped in a prison where he had no control of his outside circumstances. But Paul did not allow his circumstances or the people around him to ‘get him down’ so to speak. There is no record that Paul campaigned to get out of prison (although I imagine he may have talked to God about this) but instead he did what he could and sought the Lord for how he could reach others in the midst of his circumstances.

I spent years feeling like a prisoner as a single adult without an earthly spouse with whom to share the fears, desires, joys and accomplishments of my life.   As I sought God in the midst of my unwanted circumstances He reminded me that being single is not a sentence. In fact, being married to a spouse apart from God’s will for our lives would be a life-long sentence brought on by our own selfishness and stubbornness. God has promised He will be enough, even in the darkness and fear. While I still desire an earthly mate I realize that marriage was never intended to take the place of God’s relationship with us and it isn’t something God owes us just because we think we want it.

Do you have times when you feel like a prisoner, trapped in your life and circumstances?

When we feel this way God wants us to remember what it means to be content.

Being content is to be satisfied, comfortable, even pleased with the circumstances we find ourselves in.

It is not pleasing to God when we whine about what we don’t have, or what we believe we need to make life complete.

It does not mean that God doesn’t want us to pray about getting out of unwanted circumstances, yet at the same time we should not dwell on a future desire but learn to live for Him where we are at.

After all, who are we to tell the God of all creation that we know better than He does what is best for our lives?

God is so gracious to be patient with us when we slip into those times of egotism and self-pity. Let us look with anticipation toward the day when we can stand with Paul and truly be content, knowing that we too can do all things through the strength of our incredible God.

Wishing you blessings and peace…and contentedness in your life today.
Paula