Dear Friends,

We read about the burial of Jesus in the book of Matthew. “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.” Matthew 27:57-60 (NIV)

When Bonnie and I visited Israel, part of the tour included visits to two different sites, each of which is purported to be the place where Jesus had been buried. The first, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was originally ordered built by Emperor Constantine about 325 AD. Over the centuries it has been destroyed, rebuilt, and renovated a number of times.

According to tradition, the site includes Calvary or Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified, and Jesus empty tomb, from whence he was resurrected. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is controlled by several Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and to a lesser extent Copts, Syriacs, and Ethiopians. Protestant denominations are not represented.

In the early nineteenth century, protestant Christians who questioned the authenticity of traditional religious sites in the Holy Land began to search for alternate sites. The second tomb site we visited on our tour is located north of the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem.

Commonly referred to a Gordon’s tomb, this location which has become a pilgrimage site for protestants, features a garden tomb, hewn from a steep cliff, on a hill that resembles a skull; which seemed to conform to the description found in John 19:41-42: ^“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

Which site — if either — is the exact location where Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead? We’ll just have to ask Him when we meet him in Heaven.

Pilgrims to either site should be encouraged by the words the angel spoke to the women at the empty tomb: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

Jesus only borrowed the tomb. He is risen; He is risen indeed!

Verse for the Week: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

Dear Friends,

In Ecclesiastes 3, we read, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” After much prayer and reflection, Bonnie and I have decided that the season for us to send out this weekly devotional has ended. Our goal over the past two years has been to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that is respectful and caring. Our hope is that you have been blessed as much by reading it, as we have been by preparing each message.

Our thanks to those who encouraged us with their kind words, emails, and letters. We close, wishing each of you a glorious Easter.

Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen Indeed.

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”  Titus 3:4-7

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ – Don & Bonnie Sennott

Dear Friends,

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psalm 23:1-2 (KJV)

 “He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.”
Isaiah 40:11 (NLT)

The Scriptures include myriad of verses that compare the Lord to a Shepherd. As we approach Easter, let us turn our attention to the Tenth Chapter of John, where Jesus explains his role as the good shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15 (NIV)

In the Reformation Bible, R.C Sproul points out that “know” here, as so often in Scripture, means more than a mental grasp; it includes personal understanding and a commitment of will. To say that God “knows” a person in this way refers to His gracious redemptive commitment to that individual.

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:16

Up to this point, Jesus ministry had been focused on the Jews. Here he announces that he is the shepherd for all who will listen to his voice.

 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” John 10:17-18

Note the significance of these verses. Jesus is declaring that he will not only voluntarily lay down his life for his sheep, but that he will live again. When Jesus raises Lazarus in John 11, he reveals God’s power over death.

 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30

Jesus uses the analogy of the shepherd to explain his role as our Savior. If we listen to his voice and follow him, he offers us eternal life.

Verse for the Week:
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

Dear Friends,

The word “grace” appears in the New Testament over 100 times; the apostle Paul used it 80 times.  Surprisingly, Jesus never spoke of grace … He lived it.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NIV)

Stories in the Scriptures can help us recognize the nature of grace.

1. When Jesus chose Matthew, a hated tax collector as his disciple, he showed us that grace doesn’t take applications, it offers invitations. Grace meets people where they are, not where they ought to be.

 “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” Matthew 9:9

2. At the wedding in Cana, Jesus demonstrated that grace comes to us even in the midst of life’s little dilemmas. There is an expression, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.” Grace comes in when the small stuff becomes really big to us.
   “The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”” John 2:1-3 (NLT) 
3. Jesus touched the leper before he healed him. We don’t have to get cleaned up before we can come to Christ.
   “Jesus reached out and touched him.“I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the  leprosy disappeared.”   Matthew 8:3 
4. Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery shows that God knows all our secrets and accepts us where we are.
   “They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said,“All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.” John 8:7-8 
5. Jesus words on the cross show that grace is available to each of us.
   “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
   Luke 23:24aTHERE ARE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS THAT KEEP US FROM REALIZING THE POWER OF GRACE.

“NOT AFTER WHAT I’VE DONE”
Once we start to realize that grace accepts us as we are, we can start to build our own grace story.

“NOT AFTER WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO ME”
We want justice when what is needed is grace. We need to release our hurt and resentments to God.
“And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”                                        Ephesians 4:26-27

 

“NOT AFTER WHAT MY LIFE HAS BECOME”
Guilt and pain that we feel because we made a difficult decision can only be released when we believe that God’s grace is greater than anything we have done or has been done to us.

How would you answer the question, “What is grace?” Some might be tempted to rely on a Sunday school definition such as “Grace is unmerited favor,” or “Grace is a gift we need, but cannot earn.” But the best answer is a story: your story of how you have experienced grace. God can help you write a new story, and the title is, “Grace is greater.”

ACTION PLAN: We may see grace without recognizing it; we may offer grace without realizing it. This week, make a note of times when you have experienced grace, and share your “grace stories” with others.

ACTION PLAN: If you have been limited by any of the “Not after” thoughts that keep us from realizing the power of grace, pray that God will show you his grace by freeing you from that kind of thinking.

ACTION PLAN: Help others find grace by volunteering to serve at your church at Easter.

Verse for the Week:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

 

 

This week’s devotional was inspired by a message titled “Grace is Greater”
Kyle Idleman
Saddleback Church, March 25-26, 2017

 

Dear Friends,

A few days ago, Bonnie and I viewed the Lionsgate film The Shack. If you have seen the film, we’d love to hear what you thought of it. If you haven’t, be warned:
This movie is not for everyone; it deals with a horrific tragedy, and forces the viewer to grapple with the question, “How do you forgive the unforgiveable?”

In an interview, the author, Paul Young, explained that “The Shack is a metaphor for the house we build out of our own pain.” The positive message we took away from The Shack is that we don’t have to be trapped in that house of pain. God is in the business of rebuilding.

Anyone who has read the 2007 novel The Shack will appreciate how faithfully the film follows the original story line. Mack Phillips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted, and evidence found in an abandoned shack indicated that she had been brutally murdered by a serial killer. Four years later, his life covered by a Great Sadness, Mack discovers in his mailbox a suspicious invitation to return to the shack. What follows is a miraculous, but painful, spiritual journey, during which Mack struggles to understand just where God is in a world filled with such unspeakable pain.

The Shack is not a theological treatise, it is a story. But it is a story that explores the struggle people who suffer great injustice must face. Will they turn their back on God and slip into an ever-deepening despair, or will they seek God and find the grace to forgive and live again?

Mack’s story gives us a fresh view of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. By using very untraditional characters to represent the Trinity, the book and the film allow us to cast aside our stereotypes to find the God of love—who cares about each and every one of his children—to find the God who is “especially fond” of each one of us.

“There are not ‘many’ ways to heaven—only one, and that’s found in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  But when all the world can see, looking through the knothole of their pain, is a disfigured caricature of God, how (the authors wondered) might we … catch a glimpse of the God who really is?”

If you decide to read the book or see the film, you may appreciate the biblical thread that runs through the story. These are a few verses of Scripture that came to mind as we discussed the film:

Mack’s wife affectionately refers to God as Papa. Abba is the equivalent of daddy or papa. ^“And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6 (NLT)

Even though Mack voices his anger with God, God repeatedly shows him how much he loves him. “No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:39 (NLT)

Sarayu, the character that represents the Holy Spirit collects Mack’s tears in a bottle. “You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.” Psalm 56:8 (TLB)

Mack actually questions God when God tells Mack that there was a journey he’d have to take alone. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

Judgement is a recurring theme throughout the film. “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.” Matthew 7:1-2 (NLT)

Mack’s encounter with Jesus at the lake is delightful. “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.” Matthew 14:25 NLT

As in Proverbs, Wisdom is presented as a woman. “Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square;” Proverbs 1:20 (NIV)

Only someone who has known deep pain can offer the comfort that Mack is eventually able to offer to his family. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

God’s love for Missy shows God’s heart for children. “These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy.” Luke 18:17a MSG

The limitlessness of God’s love is seen in the way the character representing God hates the crime, but grieves over the soul of the killer. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

Mack is truly comforted in the end. “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4  (NLT)

This is the hardest verse to accept when you are blinded by your pain: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Verse for the Week: “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:4

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ