Holy week devotional

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this time feels different

Mark 11:27–28(ESV) ~ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” This time feels different. They’ve been here before. Jerusalem. The city has never been great to them, but the moments of fear and tension have always passed. Usually the…

What a scene

Matthew 21:12–13 (ESV) ~ And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” What a scene. The whole thing seemed to have been one giant, jumbled mess. People shrieking and diving out of…

Riding on a donkey

John 12:12–19 (ESV) ~ The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting…

And then He said her name

She was weeping. Crying. Confused. Her mind raced and her side ached. This was the second time she had come to the tomb this morning - albeit fast this time. Peter and John were up ahead. She hadn’t been able to keep up - so she had stopped in the garden to catch her breath, and instead of doing that she began to cry.  There were SO many questions. Who would do this? What did they want with Him? Why…

It feels like drowning

It feels like drowning. The regret, and the shame. The idea that he had looked Him in the face and promised Him that he wasn’t going anywhere - and then when the rubber hit the road, he literally chickened out. His thoughts raced and overwhelmed him as he remembered every painstaking detail;  Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a…

He can still hear them…

He could still hear them. The noises. They were unlike anything he had ever experienced before.  The laughs. They had mocked Him. “Come down from there. Save yourself. Save us! Aren’t you the King of Jews?” Slanderous and hate filled. Their voices bellowed and their stomachs jostled. Didn’t they know who He was? Didn’t they understand what they were doing? What a mistake they were making? Couldn’t they see He hadn’t done anything wrong? Why would they mock Him like…

When fear comes from a fig tree

They couldn’t believe it. The tree was dead. Like shriveled, brown and broken dead. Just yesterday it had been as healthy as could be - well except for the lack of figs that is. Jesus had wanted something to eat, and He had gone to the tree - something He had done so many times before. Only this time, there weren't apparently any figs, just the leaves; and He was none too happy about it.  “May no fruit ever come…

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Telling stories

It was just another story. Of this Peter was forcing himself to be sure. Just like all the others ones he’d heard Jesus tell over the three years they had been together. Another “story” about the kingdom of God that was difficult to comprehend. It couldn’t possibly mean what it seemed to at first glance. Surely Jesus wasn’t ACTUALLY saying that this would be the end. His emotions were still running high from the whole table incident yesterday, and things…

Entrances are important (Palm Sunday)

Entrances are important. People spend exorbitant amounts of time planning how they will enter a room, come out onto the stage, or walk up to the plate. The music, the mood, the magic that surrounds and entrance has the power to change everything that happens after it. The tension swells. The crowd goes wild. The drop hits. Everything culminates in that one specific and perfectly planned moment - and let the party begin. Entrances are important.  This is not that.…

silence, weeping, death, sadness, Holy Saturday, the end of hope

Saturday – The world will never be the same – Pt. 1 (He is dead)

He is dead. There is nothing in this world that is as sudden AND permanent as death. Many things happen quickly. There is also an abundance of things that are permanent. But the combination of the two is especially brutal. Death packs the two punch. It kicks you in the gut, removes all hope from your heart, messes with your mind - all while seemingly sucking the life right out of your soul. It drags you down, and you do…