Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from FMWM Asia Area Director Eric Spangler. We hope you will be encouraged.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
This devotion is written by N.T. Wright and is entitled “Raising of the Widow’s Son.” This article can be found in Dr. Tom Wright’s Luke for Everyone biblical commentary.
11 Not long afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples went with him, and so did a large crowd. 12 As he got near to the gate of the city, a young man was being carried out dead. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. #ere was a substantial crowd of the townspeople with her. 13 When the Master saw her, he was very sorry for her. ‘Don’t cry,’ he said to her. 14 Then he went up and touched the bier, and the people carrying it stood still. ‘Young fellow,’ he said, ‘I’m telling you—get up!’ 15 #e dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. 16 Terror came over all of them. They praised God. ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ they said. ‘God has visited his people!’ 17 This report went out about him in the whole of Judaea and the surrounding countryside.
So where was the faith this time? The centurion’s servant was healed because of his owner’s faith, but in this story the only person who has any faith that the dead man can be raised is Jesus himself. #ough Jesus loves to see the signs of faith, he isn’t always bound by it, and in this case he acts freely, from sheer compassion, to do something nobody had imagined he could or would.
Luke certainly wants us to make a connection between this scene and the later one, when Jesus is himself carried off, his widowed mother’s eldest son, for burial outside Jerusalem. In the present case, of course, the young man is brought back to ordinary life and will have to die again one day. Luke will eventually tell of Jesus’ new life in which death is left behind for good.
Come inside the story and allow its force to sweep over you. Walk in the crowd a few paces behind the bier, on a hot day in Galilee, with the bright sun sparkling on the tears which are streaming down everyone’s cheeks. Death is common enough, and everybody knows what to do. The professional mourners and wailers are there, making plenty of noise so that friends and relatives, and particularly the poor mother, can cry their hearts out without the embarrassment of making a scene all by themselves. (How much kinder a system than the clinical, detached solemnity of a modern Western funeral!)
People are coming along with spices to anoint the body, ready to wrap them up in the grave-clothes to offset the smell of decomposition. You make your way from the family home, through the streets, to the town gate. A death in a small Middle-Eastern community touches everyone. The family burial plot will be a little way outside the town: probably a small cave in the side of a hill, where the husband and father had been buried some time before, and where now his bones, folded with care and devotion, lie stored in a bone-box, leaving the main shelf clear for the next burial. That’s where the procession is going.
Then, quite suddenly, some strangers arrive. A man leading a small group of followers. He seems vaguely familiar: Upper Galilee isn’t such a large place, and perhaps he grew up in a neighboring village (Nain is about five miles south-east of Nazareth). He is looking at the widowed and now doubly bereaved mother, and something inside him seems to be stirring. He comes up and says something to her—and then, to everyone’s surprise and horror, he touches the bier. (Nobody would normally do that except the official bearers; touching a corpse or the bier, or even the bearers themselves, would make you unclean.) Then—the biggest shock of all—he’s telling the lad to get up … and he’s getting up. The whole funeral procession goes wild with astonishment, delight, disbelief.
They don’t know which one to look at, the no-longer-dead boy, his amazed and ecstatic mother, or this stranger who has done what the old prophets, Elijah and Elisha, used to do. (Luke has told the story with deliberate echoes of 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4.) ‘God has visited his people,’ they say: not in the sense of paying them a social visit, but in the old biblical sense, where this phrase was used to refer to God ‘visiting’ Israel at the time of the Exodus and other great events. It means, ‘God has come near to us, to save and rescue us.’ It means, ‘This is the time we’ve been waiting for.’
Now go through the scene again; but this time, instead of it being a funeral procession in a small first-century Galilean town, make it the moment you most dread in this next week or next year. Maybe it’s something that you know is going to happen, like a traumatic move of house or job. Maybe it’s something you are always afraid of, a sudden accident or illness, a tragedy or scandal. Come into the middle of the scene, if you can, in prayer; feel its sorrow and frustration, its bitterness and anger. Then watch as Jesus comes to join you in the middle of it. Take time in prayer and let him approach, speak, touch, command. He may not say what you expect. He may not do what you want. But if his presence comes to be with you there that is what you most need. Once he is in the middle of it all with you, you will be able to come through it.
Resources:
Commentary Article: Luke 7:11-18 - Interpretation Bible Commentary
Commentary Article: Luke 7:11-18 - Introduction & Commentary
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from FMWM Associate Area Director, Darin Land as he reports on the Free Methodist work throughout Asia and shares from John 17:20-26
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor David Hicks. Pastor David is a retired Free Methodist Pastor and Leader. He served as Lead Pastor at CrossView Church in the early 2000s. We hope you are encouraged by this week’s message.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
This devotion is written by Dan Wilt and is entitled “I Am With You Always: The Commissioning Of The People Of The Resurrection.” Dan Wilt is a contributing author at Seedbed.com.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Today, we go to the mountain with the eleven disciples as the risen Jesus gives them what we call the Great Commission. The Great Commission is the moment where the disciples (and we) realize that the story of Easter will never, ever end.
Easter Day is the first day of new creation, impacting our lives in the here and now. Easter Day is also a visible sign, set like a diamond in time, in human history. A sign that says you and I who say yes to the covenant with God fulfilled in Christ will live again in complete wholeness (shalom) on the other side of death—tears wiped away from our eyes, bodies raised imperishable to worship and to know and enjoy God forever (see the Westminster Catechism).
In our here and now, Jesus is with us always as he says in the final verse of our passage. According to Colossians 1:27, “God has chosen to make known . . . the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In other words, he is in you. He is in me. He is living his life through us. Romans 8:11 says: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” That is one of the powerful results of the resurrection, leading to the ascension, leading to the Pentecost filling that will follow. We are filled with Jesus, and the same resurrection Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. If Jesus is in us, by the Holy Spirit, what then is this Great Commission to make disciples all about?
Jesus had invested years in training his disciples to be like him. He was about to empower them with his everlasting, indwelling presence, to give them the power to actually become Christ-like in all respects. There was a very clear intent in Jesus’s life among us for those thirty-three years, two millennia ago. His purpose was to live the way a human ought to live, before our eyes, and by that example and through teaching, modeling, and practice, to train learners who would think like him, act like him, and even feel like him in the midst of a beautiful yet broken world. To be a disciple of Jesus, to be a learner of Jesus’s ways, is to say yes to being a fully engaged apprentice of Jesus.
Just as an apprentice shadows a master, and learns the habits and patterns of a trade, so, too, we watch how Jesus lived (through the Word of God, by the Spirit of Jesus at work within us, and by watching others who are living Christ-like lives) and pattern our lives after him. That patterning impacts everything from the way we post on social media to our ways of speaking to someone when no one else is listening. The New Testament believers and the early church understood that to think and act and feel like Jesus takes both a filling with the Holy Spirit and a deep and long training—just as it did for the disciples. It takes partnership with the living Christ within us to move forward in claiming the full benefits of the resurrection for ourselves.
By the Spirit of resurrection within us, we actively unlearn ways of being human outside of Jesus that lead to death. We must see, name, and be set free from patterns that lead to death in relationships, death in hope, death in society, death in calling, and even to physical death itself.
By the Spirit of resurrection within us, we simultaneously actively learn ways of being human, from Jesus, that lead to life. We must see, name, and practice living in patterns that lead to life in relationships, life in hope, life in society, life in calling, even to eternal life itself.
That is discipleship, and it begins by first learning we are the beloved of Jesus, and welcoming union with Christ to become the new end goal of our lives—that is true conversion to Christ. The Spirit of resurrection now in us, you and I are to walk into the world of today as true people of the resurrection, constantly inviting the Spirit to change our minds, hearts, and inclinations in profound ways, even to expose remaining weaknesses so they can be confessed and surrendered to that Spirit, and then aligning our lifestyles (both public and private) to further reinforce those ways taking root within us. As we are being changed to become like Jesus, we move in the world helping others to know him, and to become learners and apprentices themselves, just as we have become and are becoming.
What does being an apprentice of Jesus look like? Colossians 3:12–17 gives us a glimpse.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
In other words, live as the beloved of God, embodying his love in the world. Preach good news. Heal the sick. Minister to those who are weak. Care for the poor. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Strengthen those who are frail and fragile. Bind up the wounds of the broken. Lay down your life for others. Join Jesus in undoing the works of the evil one.
Our risen Lord has commissioned us to go into the all the world to carry his very presence among people as his Spirit lives out his life through us. And so we go. We make disciples. We teach and train others to be fully human in the way of Jesus. We teach them there is no other path to fulfillment, no other purpose higher, than to live in union with Christ. The resurrection life is ours for the living–the life-giving Spirit of Jesus is within us (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:35–49)!
Resources:
Video: Gospel - Bible Project
Commentary Article: Matthew 28:16-20 - Message of Matthew Bible Commentary
Commentary Article: The Great Commission - N.T. Wright
This devotion is written by J.D. Walt and is entitled, “Do You Believe in Demons?” J.D. Walt is the Executive Director of Seedbed.com.
“9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”
When you have a quantity of demonic spirits with capability to possess a herd of two thousand pigs and they are all living in the same person you have an impossible situation. But if there’s one thing we know from reading the Bible, it’s that nothing is impossible with God.
Jesus specializes in chaos. He walks right into the jaws of chaos and brings forth order. He did it earlier in the deadly storm on the Sea of Galilee. In today’s text, he takes on the chaos of unimaginable demonic possession. Imagine the storm on the Sea of Galilee with all its chaos raging inside of a single human being. That’s what he’s facing.
Before we go further into this Gospel we need to ask ourselves a couple of questions. We need to take a bit of a reality check. First, do we hold to a biblical view of the world with categories for visible and invisible? Seen and unseen? How about natural and supernatural? What about demonic beings and angelic beings? The Bible does not set out to prove these dimensions of reality. It assumes them. Given the scientific age in which we live, many are dismissive of the biblical worldview as a relic of pre-modern times. I am not one of those people. I have neither an overly simplistic nor a highly sophisticated understanding of the categories inherent in a biblical worldview. That said, believing in an unseen reality strikes me as a fundamental requirement of faith and a prerequisite for biblical Christianity.
I trust in the veracity and the authority of the Bible. When Scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit, I believe it. When Scripture speaks of demonic beings, I believe it. When Scripture speaks of angelic visitations, I believe it. While my understanding of such realities continues to grow, my faith in the biblical revelation of the nature of reality, past, present and future; visible and invisible remains as fixed as the sun. This is not blind, easy, believism. It is the hard fought, time tested fruit of faith. Many God-fearing Christians remain agnostic on these matters, content to live out their lives with the conviction of a hung jury. While I don’t want to insist on belief in demonic spirits and such as essential to saving faith, I do believe that robust growth in the Christian faith requires one to lean trustingly into the biblical world view rather than accepting the easy agnosticism of our age.
Here are the basic contours of my own developing theology of the demonic, all of which I see at work in today’s text. First, demonic presence distorts human identity. Second, apart from the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit, human beings are defenseless against demonic forces. Third, the reign of Jesus (a.k.a. the Kingdom of God) means the present power of the Holy Spirit to provide protection from and aid to prevail decisively over demonic forces. (i.e. “Deliver us from evil).
Resources:
Commentary Article:
Commentary Article:
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor Mark Morrison. Pastor Mark serves as the director of Shepherd Ministries. You can find out more information about Shepherd Ministries here.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
“Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
With these seven words, tension infuses the story.
Jesus had escaped an attempted stoning and arrest in Jerusalem and had retreated to an inconspicuous place with his disciples. His whereabouts appear to have been known by his friends, the sisters from Bethany, Martha and Mary. When their brother, Lazarus, fell ill, the sisters sent a message to their friend Jesus, letting him know of the situation.
It’s interesting to note that the language of the message is vague. No names are used, no locations given. Only the simple statement, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
“He whom you love.” What intimacy these words hold, what tenderness. No further explanation was needed for Jesus to understand. Lazarus was ill. His friends needed him. They were in Bethany, near Jerusalem, where the authorities were waiting for an opportunity to arrest and kill Jesus. If Jesus was to go to his friends, he would have to leave his place of retreat and risk being caught. Was it worth the risk?
Jesus’ initial decision to not go to his friends seems to imply that the risk was too great. The sisters seemed to understand this as well. Notice that they did not ask Jesus to come to them. They simply informed him of Lazarus’ illness. There seems to be no indication that they expected Jesus to join them. When Jesus stayed in the place where he was, perhaps no one was surprised. Perhaps his disciples were relieved.
Imagine then their confusion when, two days later, Jesus announced that they would go after all. They tried to dissuade him. Why now, Lord? Don’t you think it’s too dangerous? Lazarus will be all right without you. But Jesus knew what they didn’t. He knew that Lazarus was dead. How did he know? Was this a mark of his divinity, that he would have knowledge of events without being told of them? If so, why had he needed the message from the sisters? Did he not also know that Lazarus was sick in the first place? The story does not answer these questions for us, and so the mystery builds.
Why did Jesus wait until his friend had died – his friend, the one whom he loved – before going to him? If he was willing to take the risk of being seen in public, then why did he not go earlier when he could have comforted Lazarus, could have said goodbye, or even could have healed him? The answer Jesus gives is meant for the reader as much as for the disciples: “…so that you may believe.”
Martha was the first to greet Jesus as he approached the home of his friends. With so many people in the house, Martha left and met Jesus along the way. Was she hoping to protect him by meeting him privately? Was she hoping to avoid the chaos and disruption that his presence might cause in her village?
How Martha’s words must have pierced Jesus’ heart. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Did Jesus have the same thought? Had he wrestled with his decision to delay his coming? Did he already know what he would do, or did he, in his humanity, know only the moment in front of him?
Even in her grief, Martha spoke with the faith, courage, and resolve held by women throughout time – matriarchs, caregivers, mothers and sisters. She grieved her loss, and she grieved that which might have been, and in the same breath she said, “But even now…”
But even now, Jesus, I believe. Even now, Jesus, I know you are favored by God. Even now, Jesus, I know you are able. In this darkest moment when hope is too late, even now, Jesus. Even now.
In response to this humble, broken, powerful faith, Jesus spoke words of hope and life. He responded to Martha’s faith with a promise of life. Not a faraway life, not a distant dream of resurrection at the end of time, but a glorious revealing of resurrection standing in front of her, of life that she could see and touch. A future hope and a present reality; a future reality and a present hope. Martha, do you believe this?
Martha responded to Jesus with one of the most significant statements uttered in all of the Gospels. “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” Even now, with her brother in the grave, with her friend in danger, with her world turned upside-down – even now, Martha believed.
After Martha’s stunning confession of Jesus as the Messiah, she makes one last effort to protect Jesus by discreetly telling Mary that he was waiting for her. Mary does not appear to have the same sense of discretion as she bolted from the house to find Jesus, causing the gathered crowd of mourners to notice and follow her. We can imagine Martha’s frustration at such seeming carelessness.
The sisters are presented differently in the story. Whereas Martha had held a firm resolve and confidence even in her grief, the picture painted of Mary is one of a distraught and emotionally vulnerable woman who is overwhelmed by her sorrow. In their own ways, both women sought the presence of Jesus. And Jesus responded to each woman according to her need.
Mary greeted Jesus with the same plaintive cry as her sister – “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But, unlike Martha, Mary cannot continue. Instead, at the feet of Jesus, she weeps.
Mary’s weeping seems to be pivotal in the story. Her weeping, along with that of the Jews who were mourning with her, evoked two simultaneous emotional responses from Jesus. As he witnessed the depth of Mary’s grief, he was “greatly disturbed in spirit” and “deeply moved”. While the entire story is full of emotion and tension, this is the first time that we see Jesus demonstrate an emotional response. After the tension of his own endangerment, the weariness of travel, the loss of Lazarus, and the sadness of Martha, Jesus reached his own emotional breaking point when he witnessed the overwhelming, unbearable grief of his friend, Mary.
Jesus did not say anything to Mary. Perhaps, as is so often true in times of immense grief, words were simply inadequate. Instead, as Mary knelt weeping on the ground, Jesus asked those around him where Lazarus had been buried. In a haunting echo of the words that defined Jesus’ ministry, the people replied, “Lord, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
Upon arriving at Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus proceeded to speak with boldness and clarity. Any hesitation to act on behalf of his friends was now gone. Jesus acts decisively and with a clear mission. Was it Mary’s grief that brought him such clarity? Was it the people’s response, seemingly benign yet filled with meaning, to “come and see” – the closing bookend to Jesus’ ministry? Or did Jesus know all along what he would do when he reached his friend’s grave?
Perhaps it was Martha’s understanding of Jesus as both God and man that allowed her to live with such seamless integration of the spiritual and the physical. Moments earlier, she had confessed her belief in Jesus as the Son of God, the promised Messiah. Now standing at her brother’s grave, she gently reminds the Messiah about the stench of death. Jesus meets her concern evenly by reminding her about the glory of God. This is all the reminder that Martha needed, she who “even now” believed Jesus, and so the stone was taken away.
As the tomb stood open before them, Jesus offers a curious prayer. We might notice that Jesus does not ask for anything in his prayer. He does not pray that God would do anything. He simply thanks his Father for having heard him. He then quickly adds that he knows his Father always hears him – but he said it anyway for the sake of the crowd. What is it that Jesus thanks the Father for “having heard”? Is he referring to a previous prayer? Is he referring to the disturbance in his spirit? To his weeping? The story does not tell us.
What is clear from Jesus’ prayer, though, is that he wants those in the crowd to know who he is. He wants them to believe. This is significant! Jesus was already wanted dead by the authorities. He had already retreated to a low profile in order to stay alive. Now, face to face with the grave, he is ready to step into his identity with boldness, come what may. In a moment that marks the climax of the book of John, Jesus “cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ [and] The dead man came out…”
Lazarus’ resurrection tipped the scale of Jesus’ life. In this moment, Jesus acted decisively to give his friend life, knowing that by doing so he would garner the attention of the people and the hatred of the rulers. His life was already on the line. The resurrection of Lazarus, performed in front of a crowd just two miles from Jerusalem, sealed his fate. Jesus knowingly sacrificed his own life to save his friend’s.
“Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” - Jesus
Resources:
Song: I Believe - J.J. Heller
Devotional: Aching for Resurrection - Grace Pouch
Visio Divina for John 11*: The Road to the Valley - Edward Mitchell Bannister
*Visio Divina is a contemplative practice that allows us to notice the Holy Spirit’s invitation through art. Spend some time looking at the image. What are you drawn to? What shapes and colors hold your eye? What do you resist in the image? Do you sense a connection between the image and the passage that you read? There is no need to force a connection; simply be receptive if one should come to you. Lastly, do you sense an invitation in the image? What might the Holy Spirit be inviting you to?
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor Mark Morrison. Pastor Mark serves as the director of Shepherd Ministries. You can find out more information about Shepherd Ministries here.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
This devotion is written by Dan Wilt and is entitled, “Were Not Our Hearts Burning Within Us? Two Disciples On the Road To Emmaus.” Dan Wilt is a contributing author for Seedbed.com.
It is the first Easter day. The stirrings, the whispered conversations, the wide-eyed looks of shock and disbelief, the to-ing and fro-ing and post-resurrection scene after scene and the Easter grapevine . . . are all just getting started.
On this bright day, Resurrection day, we meet two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. We know that one is named Cleopas; the other’s name is left a mystery. (Some have welcomed that mystery throughout the millennia; we are given a perfect opportunity to imagine ourselves in the position of the unnamed disciple in the story).
It is a seven-mile walk, and the conversation is focused and pained. The crucifixion is fresh on their minds, and reports have begun to circulate that the battered and pierced body of Jesus was not only absent from the tomb—some of the female disciples were telling stories that angels declared he was alive!
After the last three years of miracles, and sightings of the impossible-made-real, one might think anything is possible.
But pain and suffering of the soul can lead one to doubt, and a tone of disappointment is clearly heard in the song of lament and confusion their spirits are now singing.
In v. 17, we read that their faces are downcast, shadowed by sorrow and gloom. Sadness, disappointment, confusion, seem high—faith that a miracle-of-miracles has occurred seems dreadfully low.
And it is here that Jesus companions them on their journey. It is here that Jesus companions us—when information is partial at best and hope feels like a luxury.
They don’t recognize Jesus, or, as the passage says, they were kept from recognizing Jesus. Their sight may have been limited by the Lord himself, by their ignorance of the true story behind the story of their people Israel, or even by their own grief-laden minds.
No matter the reason, we know that the disoriented spirit can often suffer from a form of inner blindness, an inability to see what is right and true and beautiful in front of us. The brain masks the obvious, and we are propelled into our worst stories, catastrophizing outcomes and beginning to believe that our worst fears are being realized.
It bears noting that all doubt is not stubborn, rigid unbelief. Sometimes, as may have been the case here, doubt is simply the soul seeking better answers than it has known before.
Jesus is patient with the seeking and unsure. He listens, without interruption. The Emmaus Road disciples share as we all should, honestly and without hiding their bewilderment. He listens as they get the story they have come to know out in the open.
Then, Jesus speaks.
Put yourself, for a moment, in the place of the unnamed disciple—what would it have been like to have the resurrected Jesus explain the whole story of the Scriptures, pointing to himself and the promises of God fulfilled in him, all the way through? The moment was wonder-filled enough for them to describe their hearts as “burning within” them.
Hope must have begun to stir their spirits as they listened. They must have never heard, truly heard, the gospel like this before—a gospel that included the suffering of the Messiah before entering his glory—told by the resurrected Messiah himself! Faith may have started to rise like the sun that morning, gradually—yet inevitably.
We know the next part of the story. For the disciples on the Emmaus Road, it took the sight and sound of bread breaking, being given to them by Jesus, for their eyes to be opened.
And opened they were.
Uncertainty is not always the opposite of faith; it is often the precursor to faith when the heart is soft and listening. Jesus knows that sometimes we need answers as we struggle with bewilderment and doubt—but sometimes we need an encounter with his presence far more.
The risen Jesus companions you—accompanies you—on the long and sometimes troubling road Home. And just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, a long listening in his presence can open our eyes to see that he has been right there with us all along.
Risen Lord of the Burning Heart, it is your presence that leads us to true sight, true hearing, of the answers you give along the challenging journey home. We are grateful for your patience, your companionship, and the breaking of our seasons of blindness as you reveal your heart to us once again. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Resources:
Commentary Article: Luke 24:13-35 - N.T. Wright
Commentary Article: Luke 24:13-35 - John Mason
This devotion is written by Dan Wilt and is entitled, “Were Not Our Hearts Burning Within Us? Two Disciples On the Road To Emmaus.” Dan Wilt is a contributing author for Seedbed.com.
It is the first Easter day. The stirrings, the whispered conversations, the wide-eyed looks of shock and disbelief, the to-ing and fro-ing and post-resurrection scene after scene and the Easter grapevine . . . are all just getting started.
On this bright day, Resurrection day, we meet two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. We know that one is named Cleopas; the other’s name is left a mystery. (Some have welcomed that mystery throughout the millennia; we are given a perfect opportunity to imagine ourselves in the position of the unnamed disciple in the story).
It is a seven-mile walk, and the conversation is focused and pained. The crucifixion is fresh on their minds, and reports have begun to circulate that the battered and pierced body of Jesus was not only absent from the tomb—some of the female disciples were telling stories that angels declared he was alive!
After the last three years of miracles, and sightings of the impossible-made-real, one might think anything is possible.
But pain and suffering of the soul can lead one to doubt, and a tone of disappointment is clearly heard in the song of lament and confusion their spirits are now singing.
In v. 17, we read that their faces are downcast, shadowed by sorrow and gloom. Sadness, disappointment, confusion, seem high—faith that a miracle-of-miracles has occurred seems dreadfully low.
And it is here that Jesus companions them on their journey. It is here that Jesus companions us—when information is partial at best and hope feels like a luxury.
They don’t recognize Jesus, or, as the passage says, they were kept from recognizing Jesus. Their sight may have been limited by the Lord himself, by their ignorance of the true story behind the story of their people Israel, or even by their own grief-laden minds.
No matter the reason, we know that the disoriented spirit can often suffer from a form of inner blindness, an inability to see what is right and true and beautiful in front of us. The brain masks the obvious, and we are propelled into our worst stories, catastrophizing outcomes and beginning to believe that our worst fears are being realized.
It bears noting that all doubt is not stubborn, rigid unbelief. Sometimes, as may have been the case here, doubt is simply the soul seeking better answers than it has known before.
Jesus is patient with the seeking and unsure. He listens, without interruption. The Emmaus Road disciples share as we all should, honestly and without hiding their bewilderment. He listens as they get the story they have come to know out in the open.
Then, Jesus speaks.
Put yourself, for a moment, in the place of the unnamed disciple—what would it have been like to have the resurrected Jesus explain the whole story of the Scriptures, pointing to himself and the promises of God fulfilled in him, all the way through? The moment was wonder-filled enough for them to describe their hearts as “burning within” them.
Hope must have begun to stir their spirits as they listened. They must have never heard, truly heard, the gospel like this before—a gospel that included the suffering of the Messiah before entering his glory—told by the resurrected Messiah himself! Faith may have started to rise like the sun that morning, gradually—yet inevitably.
We know the next part of the story. For the disciples on the Emmaus Road, it took the sight and sound of bread breaking, being given to them by Jesus, for their eyes to be opened.
And opened they were.
Uncertainty is not always the opposite of faith; it is often the precursor to faith when the heart is soft and listening. Jesus knows that sometimes we need answers as we struggle with bewilderment and doubt—but sometimes we need an encounter with his presence far more.
The risen Jesus companions you—accompanies you—on the long and sometimes troubling road Home. And just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, a long listening in his presence can open our eyes to see that he has been right there with us all along.
Risen Lord of the Burning Heart, it is your presence that leads us to true sight, true hearing, of the answers you give along the challenging journey home. We are grateful for your patience, your companionship, and the breaking of our seasons of blindness as you reveal your heart to us once again. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Resources:
Commentary Article: Luke 24:13-35 - N.T. Wright
Commentary Article: Luke 24:13-35 - John Mason
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Special Guests Tricia Mason & Stella Bokare from ICCM. ICCM is a ministry of the Free Methodist Church, helping vulnerable children worldwide to reach their fullest potential, as they embody Jesus’ love through partnerships to provide holistic care. We are so excited to have then with us this week. If you would like to learn more - click here.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from our very own Casey Flitsch. Casey serves as the Worship Director of CrossView Church. Casey also serves as the Area Director for Snohomish County Young Life.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Special Guests Helri & Phuong Caadan. Helri & Phuong serve as SE Asia International Missionaries. We are so excited to have then with us this week. If you would like to learn more, or support Helri & Phuoung - click here.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
This devotion is written by Matt O’Reilly from his book, “The Letters to the Thessalonians.” Matt O’Reilly is a contributing author at seedbed.com. We hope you will be encouraged.
1 Thessalonians 5:4–7 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.
Key Observation. Christian behavior should reflect Christian identity.
Understanding the Word. “Remember who you are.” My grandmother spoke those words to me and my brother as she handed us our jackets. We were heading out the door to meet some friends. I have no idea what she thought we might do. Nevertheless, her point was clear. She wanted us to remember that our family had a good reputation. She didn’t want us to damage it. Our grandmother expected our behavior to accord with our family identity.
That’s also what Paul expects of the Thessalonians. You can see his logic in the movement from 1 Thessalonians 5:5 to 5:6. He begins by reminding the Thessalonians of their identity. He wants them to remember who they are. And here Christian identity is described in terms of the future. Christians are “children of light and children of the day.” To identify believers as light-people was Paul’s way of saying they belong to Jesus. For Paul, God has lifted the blinders and led believers out of darkness to “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Light-people know God because they’ve seen God in Jesus.
Notice also that Paul uses family language to describe believers. They are children of light and of the day. Paul’s original Greek actually used a word that means “sons,” but translators rightly render it “children” to be inclusive of men and women. The importance of family relationships in the ancient world cannot be overstated. You take your identity from your family, and you owe your loyalty to your family. Paul’s use of family language to describe the identity of the group reinforces the deep emotions that would be attached to this new family of God.
Not only are they identified as light-people, they are also day-people. The day in question is the day of the Lord. They belong to Jesus. And the day of his return will be the day that all the implications of their identity in Christ will be revealed. For the Thessalonians, their identification with Jesus makes them a mockery among outsiders. They suffer for it. But on the day of the Lord, they’ll be vindicated. They’ll participate in his resurrection. Their union with him will come to its fullness. But if they are going to make it, they’ve got to remember who they are in Christ and who they are together.
Resources:
Study Guide: 1 Thessalonians Study Guide - Bible Project
Online Class (free): From Dark to Light - Bible Project
Commentary Article - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 - John Stott
This devotion is written by Matt O’Reilly from his book, “The Letters to the Thessalonians.” Matt O’Reilly is a contributing author at seedbed.com. We hope you will be encouraged.
1 Thessalonians 4:1–3a NIV “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.”
Key Observation. Holiness is God’s will for your life.
Understanding the Word. Most of us want to know God’s plan. We want direction. We want purpose. What’s God’s will for me? If you’ve asked that question, you may be surprised to discover God’s will is the same for everyone. And it’s summed up with one word—sanctification. Sanctification refers to the process of becoming holy. For Paul, everything else is secondary. If you want to know God’s will for your life, start with holy.
If you’re wondering why Paul thinks this way, consider that he grew up immersed in the Old Testament. One passage that fills in the picture is found in Ezekiel 36, which anticipates the day God will rescue his people from exile. How did they get to the point of exile? They had given themselves to sin for so long that God had to do something drastic to get their attention: he allowed foreign powers to conquer them and take them out of their land (vv. 18–19). We’ve already learned from Paul that God never gives up on his people, and that’s Ezekiel’s message too. Ezekiel promised the Hebrew people that God would rescue them. But the plan was not simply to rescue them from foreign captivity; God intended to rescue them from their sin—all of it. After all, sin was the root problem. To do that, God would have to change them from the inside out, give them new hearts. He even promised to give his own Holy Spirit to empower obedience. God will make his people holy. And here’s the reason: “the nations shall know that I am the Lord . . . when through you I display my holiness before their eyes” (Ezek. 36:23). Catch that? God’s plan is to show the nations the beauty of his holiness, and the bodies of his people will be the theater where that holiness is enacted.
That means that God must deal with our sin. He must show us the ways our lives aren’t aligned with his character. If we surrender to that work, we get the remarkable privilege of showing God’s holy love to the world. God is faithful. He always does what’s right. He always tells the truth. There’s no duplicity in him. No deceit. He wants those aspects of his character to consistently define the lives of his people. And that’s how God intends to make his character known to every nation on earth, which means holiness is ultimately about mission.
Do you want people to know God’s holy love? Because he wants to show his holy love to other people through you. Think about that. The world will know God is God when his people embody his holy character. That’s his will for all of us. Everything else is secondary.
Resources:
Study Guide: 1 Thessalonians Study Guide - Bible Project
Commentary Article - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 - N.T. Wright
Commentary Article - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 - John Stott
This devotion is written by Matt O’Reilly from his book, “The Letters to the Thessalonians.” Matt O’Reilly is a contributing author at seedbed.com. We hope you will be encouraged.
1 Thessalonians 2:1–8 NIV You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
Key Observation. All of life should be lived to please God alone.
Understanding the Word. Most of us live under constant pressure to please people. Employers, coworkers, our spouse, friends, church members—we want others to be happy with us. That desire is reinforced by constant immersion in social media, which always leaves us craving one more “like.” Paul offers a vision of Christian life that is radically countercultural. He doesn’t live to please people. Paul lives to please God. That’s the focus of 1 Thessalonians 2, and it has big implications for Paul and us.
First, living to please God meant Paul would suffer. His message about Jesus faced opposition. He mentions they had “suffered and been treated outrageously” in Philippi. We learn in Acts 16 that Paul was accused of disturbing the city and encouraging illegal activity. So, the city authorities had him stripped, beaten, and jailed. But Paul didn’t live to please them; he lived to please God. And God called Paul to preach Jesus. Paul lived courageously into his calling, despite the suffering.
We don’t always think of following Jesus as something that takes courage. In North America, we aren’t in danger of being arrested for going to church. We can follow Jesus without fear of physical harm. But there are places in the world where following Jesus does take courage—great courage. In some parts of China, people who become Christians risk being disowned by family or reported to the local government. Evangelism was recently criminalized in Bolivia. If you attempt to lead someone to Jesus in that country, you could be imprisoned for five to twelve years. It takes real courage to follow Jesus in places like that.
Second, living to please God motivates integrity. All of us can think of preachers who are known as tricksters. They promise health and wealth to those who give money to their ministries, and they end up looking like they’re in it for the money. Paul doesn’t want to give that impression. He’s not preaching for the payoff. He’s not doing it for public acclaim. He’s not out to be a celebrity. He simply wants to be faithful. You see, Paul understood that our lives will either commend the gospel or undermine it. If we’re going to tell people Jesus loves them, we need to also embody that love. If we appear to seek our own gain, we hinder the gospel and create barriers to faith for others. Living to please God means living with integrity that commends the good news.
Resources:
Study Guide: 1 Thessalonians Study Guide - Bible Project
Commentary Article: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 - N.T. Wright
This article is written by N.T. Wright from his book, “Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians.” N.T. Wright is a well know biblical scholar, professor, and former Bishop. We hope you will be encouraged.
I hesitated long over the decision. I had to make up my mind whether to admit to the university a student whose grades were not quite as high as we would normally require. She was clearly intelligent, and capable of hard work, but why were some of the grades just a little bit lower than we had expected? Then I thought back to the interview my colleagues and I had had with the student. She had come alive. She was clearly not only interested in the subject, but enthusiastic, and able to take in new ideas and make them her own. Remembering those first impressions vividly, I made the decision. We would admit her to the college. Three years later I was vindicated: she graduated with top honours.
Paul vividly remembers his first impressions of the Thessalonian Christians to whom he writes this letter. Thessalonica—modern Thessaloniki, or Salonica—was, and is, a thriving seaport in northern Greece, roughly 200 miles north of Athens. Paul had come there after preaching in Philippi, further east, where he had been beaten and thrown in prison before pointing out that he was a Roman citizen. The story of that journey is told in Acts 16 and 17.
Though Paul’s normal practice was to begin his preaching in the Jewish synagogue or place of prayer, it seems that most of the people who came to believe his message were non-Jews. For them, there was a double barrier to be crossed before they could accept the gospel. It was not only a crazy message about a man who was dead and then came to life again. It was a crazy Jewish message. Paul must have known, as he went from place to place, that most people who heard what he was talking about were bound to think him mad.
And yet these people had not. Some in Thessalonica, as in most places he went, found that something happened to them when they listened to his message. A strange power gripped them—the power that, Paul would tell them, was the holy spirit at work. They would suddenly understand what he was saying. It would grasp their hearts and minds. Paul and his companions, explaining the gospel to them, would become excited as they saw the message take hold, make sense, and begin its work of transforming hearts and lives. That memory lingered on even though Paul, Silvanus and Timothy had moved south, to Beroea, Athens and now Corinth (Paul doesn’t say so in the letter, but it is likely that he was writing this from Corinth, where he stayed for over two years).
So when he looks back and gives thanks to God for them he knows that God was indeed at work in them as the word of the gospel was preached. His vivid memory of those early days, of their response and strong conviction, was clear proof that God had chosen them (verse 4). They had not come to faith by accident. God wanted them to be his beachhead into that part of northern Greece, a beacon of light to illuminate the world around. Though, as we shall see, Paul nursed anxieties about how they were getting on in their faith and life, his bedrock conviction was that God had taken the initiative in grasping them with the gospel.
This is the centre of Paul’s opening thanksgiving. Like most of his letters, this one starts with him telling his readers how he prays for them—a remarkable pastoral move in itself. Writing with his companions Silvanus (the ‘Silas’ of Acts 15:27, etc.) and Timothy, his young assistant, Paul knows he can address the Christians in Thessalonica as ‘the community in God the father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah’. The word for ‘community’ is sometimes translated ‘church’, but it was a common word for a gathering or assembly. What distinguished this community from others was that it was not only located in a particular place, but ‘in’ a particular god—the god who is in fact God, the one true God, known to Jews and Christians as father, and known now in the gospel as the one who sent Jesus to be Messiah and so Lord of the world. As so often with Paul, his opening words and phrases contain, in a nutshell, a good deal that he will spell out later in the letter.
His opening thanksgiving and prayer actually extend, in a rambling sort of way, for over half the letter—to the end of chapter 3, in fact; and there is probably a good reason for this. The church in Thessalonica is very young, probably not more than a few months old. Already they have faced great difficulties; they have been persecuted, and some of them have died (whether from the persecution or from other causes, Paul does not say). By way of rooting them the more firmly in the gospel, Paul reminds them at length of what happened when he arrived and preached there; of the example he and his companions set them; of Timothy’s recent visit and the good report he had brought back. And he does all this within the broad framework of telling them how they feature in his prayers, which they do constantly (verse 2).
In particular, he recalls how, even in the short time he spent with them after the initial preaching, they already demonstrated three things which he saw as signs of life. Faith, love and hope: Paul uses this threesome elsewhere, particularly in 1 Corinthians 13:13, but clearly it was a regular part of his thinking and teaching about basic Christian living.
Each one demands effort. Faith is something you have to work at. It is not a ‘work’ in the sense of a ‘work of the law’ done to earn favour with God, but a work of love, done out of gratitude for grace. It means thinking the gospel through, and bringing our minds and wills into line with it. Love—which, as Paul will show later in the letter (4:9–12), is a very practical thing—also requires the kind of effort we associate with hard physical work. Hope needs patience, which is also demanding.
The Thessalonians had all three. Could the same be said for your church?
Resources:
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor Mark Morrison. Pastor Mark serves as the director of Shepherd Ministries. You can find out more information about Shepherd Ministries here.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor David Hicks. Pastor David is a retired Free Methodist Pastor and Leader. He served as Lead Pastor at CrossView Church in the early 2000s. We hope you are encouraged by this week’s message.
Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.
Blessings on you and your week.
Pastor Kyle
