Time Out! Devotions

Luke 22:42 (NIV)

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus was more than anxious; he was afraid…

How remarkable that Jesus felt such fear.  But how kind that he told us about it.  We tend to do the opposite.  Gloss over our fears.  Cover them up.  Keep our sweaty palms in our pockets, our nausea and dry mouths a secret.  Not so with Jesus.  We see no mask of strength.  But we do hear a request for strength.

“Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering.”  The first one to hear his fear is his Father.  He could have gone to his mother.  He could have confided in his disciples.  He could have assembled a prayer meeting.  All would have been appropriate, but none were his priority.  He went first to his Father.

(by Max Lucado – UpWords Ministry)

by Dr. Charles Stanley

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READ | Romans 10:8-11

Believing that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead is essential for Christians. Merely recognizing that He died for our sins is not enough; we must accept His resurrection in order to receive eternal life. Christ paid our debt, but His sacrifice on the cross means nothing if He possesses no power over the grave. In vanquishing evil and death, the Lord made our salvation possible.

Jesus’ resurrection proved He was able to remove sin and its penalty. Assuming Christ remained dead would mean accepting the opposite—that believers are still in sin. And the inevitable end of a sinful life is death. Consequently, a person who denies Christ’s eternal nature looks toward a void future. Bertrand Russell, a famous atheistic philosopher, offered this sad description of such hopelessness: “Brief and powerless is man’s life. On his and all his race, the slow sure doom falls, pitiless and dark.”

Instead of enjoying Christian liberty and anticipating a home in heaven, those who reject resurrection are slaves to the present, with no real hope or meaning in life. Career, family, and good works can offer brief pleasure but not the kind of joy that comes from knowing we are right with the Lord and working in His will.

Resurrection is not a denominational issue or a point for theological debate. Either we believe Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven or we do not. If we reject His victory over the grave, we deny ourselves a place in eternity. But if we accept the truth, Paul assures that we will be saved.

(Mark 15:26-32)

Some people jeered at Jesus as He hung on the cross. “The Son of God should be able to save Himself,” they taunted. These men and women thought that Christ’s death proved Him weak. But in fact, the opposite was true. The Lord’s power was so great that Jesus died with the world’s sin on His shoulders, and He arose three days later. Furthermore, anyone who believes in Him doesn’t have to pay his or her own death penalty. God’s awesome power sets captives free.

I treasure a letter from a former addict who described God’s power in his life. One night, just before drugs stole his consciousness, he heard through an open window a single sentence from a radio preacher: “No matter who you are, God loves you and cares for you.” Weeks later, while searching for a program on his own radio, he came across a familiar voice. Intrigued, he listened to that entire In Touch broadcast. What happened, in short, is that he got the message, received Christ, cleaned up his life, and reconciled with his family.

The cross’s power is life-changing. God used a phrase heard in a drug-induced haze to prepare a man’s heart. Then, once the Lord had his attention, He yanked that fellow out of a deep pit of despair!

Human strength is insufficient to rid ourselves of sin. The truth is that we are all in need of a Savior. Jesus Christ humbled Himself to die in our place, which was not a show of weakness. On the contrary, He made the most powerful sacrifice He could — and He did it for you and me (John 15:13).

(from April 2009 issue of In Touch magazine by Dr. Charles Stanley)