Twelve Devotionals for Easter
Part I
Who Jesus Is
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Day 1
Jesus Takes Our Burdens: “Take Up Thy Cross”
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” Matthew 16:24
Jesus gave his disciples instructions on life with God. When we read these words of Jesus, we already know He would die on a cross. But remember, the disciples had no idea that their Rabbi would soon be literally carrying His own cross! Did they not feel the need to question Him, “Take up our cross, Jesus? Why would we need to do that?”
Everyone during this time knew what a cross was for – the Roman death penalty for convicted wrong-doers. Jesus often spoke in metaphors in His teachings. So, the disciples may have thought Jesus’ instructions meant they were to realize how heavy their sins were to carry around. The burden could be released by following Jesus. This is true, but the truth of Jesus’ crucifixion was still an unknown future event.
There’s something even more impactful here: Jesus instructions to His disciples were not just for His disciples, and He knew it. Then and there, Jesus spoke these words fully knowing you would hear them as well. God knew the days of your life before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). He also knew that even though the disciples weren’t exactly sure what Jesus was talking about, He knew you would be sure. Jesus instructs us to follow Him.
This passage is more proof of how Jesus has always loved you. He didn’t die just for the people in Jerusalem at the time or for the disciples listening to His teachings. He died for you, and He already knew you.
He has always loved you.
. . . “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3
What does taking up your cross and following Jesus mean to you?
Day 2
Jesus Spread His Love: “How Beautiful Are His Feet!”
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, / Who proclaims peace, / Who brings glad tidings of good things, / Who proclaims salvation, / Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7
Jesus’ feet – the feet that walked countless miles! Think of how delighted Jesus was to see a cold stream to place His feet in. How refreshing! What a cleansing!
According to Isaiah 52:7, the feet of our Lord and Savior did five things: #1, He brought good news. What was it? #2, Jesus proclaimed peace. How so? #3, Jesus brought glad tidings of good things. When? #4, Jesus proclaimed salvation. What did He say? #5, Jesus exclaimed that God reigns. When, and what did Jesus specifically say?
It’s a lot of questions, so here’s some help and some things to think about as we prepare our hearts for Easter.
#1: Jesus brought good news repeatedly. The famous good news brought by Jesus is His words in John 3:16.
#2: Jesus proclaimed peace when He commanded Peter not to retaliate with the soldier. Jesus instead healed and restored the man’s ear who came to arrest Jesus.
#3: Jesus brought glad tidings or good things. Here’s one of many examples: With 5,000 hungry people and little food, Jesus fed them all.
#4: Jesus proclaimed salvation. He told the Samarian woman at the well that He could give her living water.
#5: Jesus exalted God in His prayer to God in John 17.3 NIV: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Jesus did many things and performed many miracles. What actions and or miracles of Jesus come to mind? What does this memory mean to you?
Day 3
Jesus is Our Teacher: “The Word of God”
The annual obligation came for a new car tag, and I sat among rows of other community folks at the tag office, waiting for my number to be called. A married couple, probably in their eighties, came to sit next to me. The man had a bundle of papers in his hands, with “Veteran” labeled as the header.
“You’re a veteran? Thank you for your service,” I greeted him.
“Thanks,” he said with an old, tired voice, “I brought all my papers this time, because they didn’t help me last time. I brought my…” He continued to tell me everything he had to accomplish there, with desperation in his kind, old eyes. He held onto his papers as if they were a vital package, with his aging, spotted hands, showing proof of hard work; proof that he had sacrificed his own life for his country. “I just hope they’ll help me.” His words touched me.
Imagine Jesus coming to sit by you, with a bundle of papers in His worn, pierced hands. The papers are labeled “Bible,” and He says to you, “I brought all My papers; I just hope they’ll listen.” There’s a kind, desperation in His eyes, and He explains all His papers with you. It obviously means so much to Him that we understand. He knows that the truth of all those papers in His loving hands will be revealed, like He’s waiting for the time to return.
Jesus taught the Old Testament Scripture to other teachers, to His disciples, and to crowds and crowds of people throughout Israel. He taught on love, on following and believing in Him, on sin, forgiveness, and salvation. He shared 38 parables on knowing God and preparing for Heaven. He said nothing but truth to everyone.
In Matthew 4:4 NKJV, Jesus says, “Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
The Bible is essential in our lives. Jesus’ words in Matthew 4:4 came before the New Testament was written, so at this time, He spoke of the Old Testament, yet knowing the New Testament would be written. The Bible is a living Word that lives before it’s even written!
What passage in the Old Testament do you think Jesus enjoyed reading? Why?
Day 4
Jesus Loves Life
In Matthew 26:37-39, 42, Jesus’ “soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” He asked God to “let this cup pass from Me, not as I will but as You will.”
Jesus, who knows eternity and all about His home in Heaven, is sorrowful about leaving this dying, sinful earth! Although our eternal home in heaven is divine and awesome, living here on earth is a wonderful gift from God. Jesus enjoyed this gift.
How often do you think Jesus walked along the Jordan River and thought of standing by Samuel as he prayed for Israel? When Jesus sat under a terebinth tree, did He remember the look on Abraham’s face when He promised Abraham that his children would inherit the land? When Jesus passed a forest, did He remember the cries and songs of David as he hid? Perhaps Jesus stopped to admire some lilies, thinking of that third day of creation, when God created the lilies. Jesus watched the people around Him, going here and there, whether they were sad or joyful, full or in need. He saw the hope in their hearts.
Living here on earth is a beautiful gift. Even Jesus, who was the former, is the present, and is the eternal resident of heaven, whole-heartedly believed this was so.
What specifically do you think Jesus enjoyed about life on earth?
Day 5
Jesus is Joy
John 16:22 “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”
John 16 should not be read with a dull, mundane tone because this wasn’t an everyday conversation Jesus was having with His disciples. Jesus was letting his disciples in on some intense information. He was about to leave the world, and it would be a sad time. But He lovingly told them not to worry – He would be back. Our joy is important to Jesus. His own death mirrors the valleys we walk through, situations and events that leave us feeling helpless.
The death of Jesus didn’t last. Neither do our sorrows and difficult times. With Jesus, our “hearts will rejoice.” He wants to give us joy because He loves us. In John 16:24, Jesus says, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
In Matthew 19:26, Jesus teaches, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Do we forget how powerful our faith in Jesus Christ can be? Is there a place in our lives today where we can reignite our faith in Jesus’ joy?
Day 6
Jesus is Our Savior: “Tetelestai”
When Abraham sacrificed a perfect, spotless lamb from his flock, the sacrifice paid heavy weight for Abraham’s sins and his family’s sins. Payment, or atonement, was made to welcome, invite, and hunger for the holy presence of God.
When God made His own sacrifice of his own Son, perfect and sinless, the end result was proclaimed by Jesus as He hung on the cross: “Tetelestai!” Atonement, payment for the sins of the world, was made.
Tetelestai means “It is finished!” From the first sin in the garden of Eden, the work of Jesus became threaded throughout the words of God in every book of the Old Testament, throughout the gospels, and soars on through the ministries of Christians today. Sin separates us from God; Jesus paid for our sins, clothed us in righteousness, and abides within each heart that believes Jesus is the Lord of their life and their Savior from eternal death and separation from our holy God.
Who can love like Jesus? We try, but we fall short with anger and selfishness. As Jesus hung on the cross, He even requested that His accusers be forgiven. This was after being whipped, spat on, and nailed to the cross. “Forgive them,” Jesus said. How was He able to be so loving? Maybe Jesus knew, through it all, it was a good day of death being defeated – a Good Friday.
It seems like a sad day that God’s work was complete; but remember, it’s God’s work with death that was completed. We know it’s not the end of the story – God’s work now involves life.
Part 2
Who We Are In Jesus
Day 7
We Have the Opportunity to Worship
My 15-year-old son asked if he could make a purchase online. I gave him permission, and considering he does not have a credit card, the purchase had to be made in my name. My son wasn’t equipped with what was needed to contact the seller solely on his own. He fell short, and no matter how nice and mannerly he may have approached the seller, there was absolutely no way he could have made the purchase without my name.
I covered the cost. All he had to do was ask. Since he accepted my gift, in his gratefulness, he gave me cash to cover cost. Now, since the product was paid in full, we have a good relationship with the seller who often sends emails. He’d like to do business with my son again, if the business is in my name.
Ending prayer with “In Jesus’ name” is not just traditional Christian lingo. These words remind us that we approach our Father in only one name, Jesus, because we are not equipped to approach the GOD OF CREATION, OMNIPOTENT, HOLY, BREATHER OF LIFE, COMFORTER, PROVIDER, EVERLASTING GOD on our own. Yet, God wants us to call Him FATHER. How intimate, and so humbling and undeserving! In those three words, “in Jesus’ name,” there’s worship, and acknowledgement of God’s SOVEREIGNTY AND LOVE, and thankfulness that Jesus provides the way, taking our sins, putting them to death, saving us with the gift of eternal life. There is absolutely no way we can come to the Father without the name of Jesus.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 NKJV
Is there a praise song or hymn that reminds you of the gift we have through Jesus?
Day 8
We Suffer and We Are Comforted
Isaac Newton's third law is that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Actually, Newton’s law was already established in 2 Corinthians 1:5(NKJV): For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. So, two things are sure, as our “double-edge sword” teaches: We will suffer, and we will be comforted.
Suffering is inevitable for followers of Christ, and it will abound. It’s not a discouraging or fearsome fact, nor pessimistic. It is truth to compellingly and courageously embrace, primarily because the verse does not stop here. . .
Comfort also abounds. It’s never weaker than our sufferings. It doesn’t whisper as our sufferings shout. Comfort surrounds you, rooted from God’s deep love for you. It’s an equal truth to compellingly and courageously embrace.
Amid our struggles, comfort may be difficult to feel. An adage says we “write out our blessings in sand and engrave our struggles in stone.” God’s comfort is with you today! In His word, His music, His creation, through the Holy Spirit, through others, children, your spouse, through your prayers.
God’s comfort abounds, and no struggle can overcome the comfort God gives us. Both the struggles and the comfort may be quite powerful, but the struggles will never win. “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).
Is there a struggle today? What is the comfort Jesus provides with the struggle?
Day 9
We are Healed by Jesus: “The Good News”
Isaiah 61:1
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”
These are prophetic words from the Book of Isaiah, written between 700 and 800 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Are they the words of Jesus? They might as well be; Jesus does all these things for those who are born again through His death, burial, and resurrection.
Think about it:
When we feel poor, -- whether it’s in money, friends, understanding, wisdom, or joy, -- knowing the truths and teaching of Jesus lead us to wealth. When we’re brokenhearted, -- from loss, death, discouragement, loneliness, or disappointment, -- God’s Word gives us comfort and hope. When we feel enslaved or trapped, God’s Word reminds us of His freedom through forgiveness and atonement paid on the cross.
The words of almost 3,000 years ago live today. God’s Word won’t die. It won’t become old-fashioned or irrelevant in our lives. The truth of God given to us through Scripture will endure to the day we see the face of our Savior. Because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we will have beauty for ashes and a garment of righteousness of praise for our spirit of heaviness (61:3).
How is Jesus your Healer?
Day 10
We Can Pray to God: “Seamstress Not Needed”
God is holy, righteous, and everlasting. Without Jesus, we are sinners, bound in our sin with no hope. Only in righteousness can we be a child of God and heir to His throne. Our good works do not change the fact of our mortal state. How can we be redeemed and reconciled to God? Matthew 27:50-51 gives us an answer: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.”
Verse 51 tells us that after Jesus breathed His last breath, “the veil was torn.” The veil was a curtain which was originally made in the tabernacle, introduced in the Book of Exodus. In Exodus 26:31-33, God gave Moses instructions on how to make the veil:
“You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. You shall hang it upon four pillars of acaia wood . . . and you shall hang the veil from the clasps. . . The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.”
What was the significance of the veil? The veil has a monumental meaning in our lives. For thousands of years, sin separated people from the Holiness of our Creator. That separation was represented by the veil. But when Jesus’ work was finished, the veil tore “from top to bottom,” as if our mighty Creator held the top of the veil in his fingers and ripped it in two. He didn’t want anything in the way of having a relationship with us. Jesus provided the way.
Hebrews 10:19 tells us we can have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.” Upon placing our faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we can go straight to our Heavenly Father in continuous prayer.
Imagine being alive before the tearing of the veil. What would your relationship with God be like?
Day 11
We Have a Friend, Savior, and Lord in Jesus: “Take a Moment”
There’s nothing that can take one back in time like good old-fashioned photo albums! Remember that time in the backyard, or that vacation when you were sick? Those pictures refresh our memories, and we fall in love with life and loved ones all over again!
There’s a Bible passage that does the same. It takes us back, refreshes our memory, and helps us fall in love with Jesus all over again. Romans 5:5 (NKJV) states,
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Remember that day God revealed His love and His plan in your life?
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:6
Remember that revival Jesus gave you in your heart? Verse 8 states,
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God’s love remains strong for us, although we wouldn’t love Him back. Remember that time when you realized He really loved you? Verse 9 states that
“having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
God’s plan for us to be with Him forever is in great details – like all His plans and creation. Remember when you were in awe of the intrinsic ways and creations of God? Verse 10 states that
“we shall be saved by His life.”
The resurrection and eternity of Jesus lives within us. He rose from the dead! Remember seeing His power in your life? If the truths of this Bible passage are not a memory for you, know that Jesus died and rose again for you. He wants an eternal relationship with you as the Lord of your life. We can make new memories of God’s works in our lives beginning now.
What do you remember about the beginning of your relationship with Jesus?
Day 12
We Have Hope: “Next time…”
We all have these two wonderful words that we hang on to in disappointing times, such as when we fail, or when it storms on our camping trip, when we lose a game, or we’ve missed out on seeing a friend or family member. Perhaps as Christians we hope for a next time to share the love of Jesus Christ with an aching soul. Perhaps we hope for a next time to make a solid decision to give and surrender our own lives to Jesus. “Next time…” gives us hope, and something to look forward to. The wonderful thing about it is that we (often, but not always) get many “next times,” another chance, another opportunity.
As Christians, we breathe in and out our faith of the most glorious next-time that there will ever be. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will return as King of all Kings, the Sovereign Lord, “the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). What a glorious day, opening the door for believers’ eternity! Philippians 2:11(NKJV) proclaims that “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Jesus says in Revelations 22:20, “Surely, I am coming quickly!” And after this next time, there will be no more next-times. No extensions or grace-periods. Believers that eagerly awaited for this next time will live eternally with Him. Those who reject the love of God through Jesus will be eternally separated from all hope of any next times.
How can you ignite and re-ignite your faith and hope?
How can you keep your heart and actions pressing on for this glorious next-time?
Maranatha!
Come, Lord Jesus! Come!