And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
TO PONDER
I remember as a young Christian boy listening to an audio track, I'm not sure you could call it a song really, by the Christian artist known as Carman. It was called 'the Champion'. It narrated, with background music and sound effects, a battle between Jesus and Satan which Jesus ultimately wins through his death on the cross. It sparked my imagination as a young boy and allowed me to visualise, albeit in a very un-theological way, the victory of Jesus through the cross.
I'm not sure if there really is any better way to make a spectacle of your enemies than to allow them to think they have defeated you and even put you to death and then to pop back up three days later and put them all back in their place. But the victory does not just belong to Jesus. He invites us to share with him in the victory.
That means that when we feel like things are getting on top of us, when we feel oppressed or attacked by the evil one, we can claim Jesus victory as our own and disarm those powers and authorities. However, remember this, that while Jesus death on the cross was the means by which his victory was won, it is actually the love he displayed for us by dying on the cross that is the ultimate disarming factor. We will also disarm our opponents when we refuse to fight with them but instead continue to show them the relentless love of Jesus.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to demonstrate your disarming love to all those around me, especially those who want to do me harm or who oppose my faith in you. Give me the courage to stand in the victory of your cross, knowing that you have already won the victory over everything that could truely harm me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
TO PONDER
I suspect that most of us one of those friends who is not afraid to boast. You know who I am talking about, the one friend who always caught a bigger fish than you, or had a longer holiday than you, or bought a more expensive house/car/boat than you. It doesn't seem to mater what area of life you might be talking about, they just don't seem to be able to let your story stand without sharing how they did something similar but even bigger or better or more impressive that your own story.
As humans we do have a deep seated need to be significant, to feel as if we matter and have a purpose for living. This is why so many people work themselves to the bone trying to gain success for themselves in the corporate world, or on the sporting field, or in academics, or media. Part of the freedom that Jesus brings to us through his death on the cross is freedom from needing to prove ourselves.
His death on the cross clearly communicates that we matter to him. That the God of the universe paid with his own life to claim us back for himself how's how significant we are in His eyes. That is why the apostle Paul, in this letter to the Galatian Christians, boasts about the cross of Christ. Nowhere else in human history, and as far as I'm aware, no where else in any other faith or religion has the value, and intrinsic worth of humanity been expressed as clearly than through the cross of Christ. In light of that assessment, the value the world places on us is irrelevant.
PRAYER
Father God, pour your Holy Spirit out on me again and grow in me a heart that values what you value and loves how you love. May I never boast in my own achievements but only ever boast in the cross of Jesus, my Lord, whose death confirms the incredible value you see in me and in all your people. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
TO PONDER
When I stop and think about it, I am not really surprised that so many people have trouble understanding how Christianity works. When viewed objectively without the eyes of faith, the story seems to have most of the elements of a fairytale. It's almost a Cinderella story where we play the character of Cinderella, the rightful heirs who have been denied our rightful place by the stepmom and ugly step sisters. Martin Luther would probably suggest we call them sin, death and the power of the devil. Until one day Prince Charming, in our story this is Jesus, comes along and restores us to our rightful place.
That's about where the similarities end though. We are not restored by fitting a beautiful glass slipper, we are restored because the hero of the story, allows himself to be captured by his enemies, be put to death and publicly humiliated on a Roman cross. That's just not how these types of stories are supposed to go.
Victory through death is not something many people are familiar with. It just doesn't make sense based on our experiences of every day life. And I think that's the key. Jesus death and resurrection are the key to Christian faith, the key to your faith. When you talk to others about Jesus, perhaps don't start with the theology of his atoning sacrifice in the cross, start with how his death and resurrection has changed your life. Help them to see the saving power of God at work in you and they too might come to see Jesus death on the cross not as foolishness, but the power of God for salvation.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, your death on the cross makes all the difference. Help me to recognise the times and places that you have changed my life and help me to share those times with others so that they too might come to see your cross, not as foolishness, but as the power of God for their salvation. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
TO PONDER
This is one of those verses of Scripture that often fail to make sense to me. What joy could possibly motivate someone to let themselves be crucified on a cross? I know that a positive incentive can really motivate people. In my previous life as a teacher I was not above using bribery to motivate my students to get a task finished. For some, it was the promise of chocolate that worked for them, others preferred the lure of 10 minutes free time at the end of the day. Each of the students had something that I could leverage to get a little more effort or a little more efficiency out of them. Put the right 'joy' before them and suddenly tasks that seemed too difficult only moments before became the simplest thing in the world.
So what does that mean for our verse today? Well, here's what I think. If Jesus had before him the toughest task any human has ever had to face, then I can only surmise that the 'joy set before him' or the 'positive incentive' which he was offered to help him complete that difficult task must have been the single most important thing in the world to him. So what was that thing that motivated Jesus to go through with the whole dying on the cross plan? It was you! This is why Jesus death on the cross is so important because it communicates to each of us, how much God loves us. It demonstrates that there are no lengths he is not prepared to go to in order to reclaim us from sin and death and restore us too himself. What an incredible thought, you are the Joy set before Jesus and you are the goal or prize for which he went to the cross.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, It is so easy to believe the lies of the evil one that say I am useless and of no value, full of sin and evil. May Jesus' death on the cross always remind me of how valuable I am to you, that you would send Jesus to die in my place and to win me back for yourself. May my life also communicate that truth to others. Amen.
Todays devotion by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
TO PONDER
In year 10 at my high school, all students participated in a week long hiking camp in the Grampians, a mountain range in South West Victoria. This specific camp was called 'Adventure Camp' and while it was an adventure in many ways, it was not an adventure many year 10 students would have gone by choice. We were grouped in pairs and as a duo, had to organise our food for the week, and pack our hiking back pack with all our gear, including said food, tent, sleeping bags and clothes to get us through the week.
Needless to say, there was a lot of grumbling on the first day of that camp. Our bags were the heaviest they were ever going to be, given that we had not eaten any of our food yet; and our lazy teenage bodies were adjusting to the shock of being asked to walk around 8 hours a day on bush tracks through the mountains. However, the discomfort of those first few days started to wane as we became more accustomed to the pack and the discipline of walking each day.
Sometimes, particularly when we begin our journey with Jesus, the invitation to pick up our cross and follow him is not a pleasant sounding experience. The new life we have in Jesus doesn't always feel comfortable the moment we put it on for the first time. In fact, many people find it so uncomfortable that they lay it down and never pick it up again. Jesus encourages us in this reading from Luke's gospel to choose each day whether we will shoulder the responsibility of following Jesus - enduring the barbs and arrows of those who despise our faith or our Lord and continue to follow him regardless, or simply stay where we are because it is just to hard.
The good news is, the more we choose to follow Jesus the easier things become. The Holy Spirit of God helps us to acclimatise to the new life that he brings through Jesus. It is not always comfortable and is not often easy but I can not tell you how good it was to reach the end of that 5 day hike. In the same way, when we follow Jesus all the way to the end what joy will we receive when he leads us through the cross to eternal life with him?!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, life following you certainly is an adventure. Grant me the strength and conviction to pick up my cross and follow you despite my situation or circumstances. Renew your Spirit within me and continue to lead me on the path that leads to eternal life. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
TO PONDER
Do you ever feel disappointed that no matter how hard you work at something, you don't feel or seem to make any progress? I used to feel like that while learning the piano as a young boy. Certainly, I learned quickly in the beginning; it's not hard to know more than you did before when your starting point is zero knowledge at all. but as I learned to read the music, and play the notes my progress slowed down. It became necessary for me to put in much longer hours in order to make increasingly small improvements.
Needless to say, as the effort to reward ratio reduced, my commitment to practice waned and before long I had basically given up. Today I can still read music but my ability to platy the piano with much skill has all but disappeared.
Sometimes our life as disciples of Jesus can be similar. When we first come to faith in Jesus, we can often be excited and energised by the difference that faith makes in our lives and in our outlook. Sometimes, as time moves on, we can find that level of excitement can begin to wane. We can convince ourselves that maybe if we put in more work, try a bit harder to "live like a good Christian", then we might recapture some of the joy that we first experienced when we came to faith.
The reality of the situation is that this kind of thinking undermines the truth of the gospel. It is God's grace that, over time, transforms us as his people into the likeness of Christ, not any effort on our part. It's when we remember this and stop striving to impress God and simply allow his Spirit to work within us, that we recapture the joy of being his people.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Thank you that in the cross of your Son Jesus, that you have done everything necessary for us to enjoy a relationship with you. Help me to understand this truth more deeply each day. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples."
TO PONDER
There is a problem that can occur for many people of Christian faith and manifests itself in two different ways. The problem comes from a misunderstanding of salvation by faith in Christ alone. Martin Luther knew how important it was to understand this correctly. On the one hand, God's grace gives us freedom freedom to live fully, without fear of judgement when we fail to live the way he has instructed us in his word. Historically, some groups of people understood this to mean that they could continue living in their rebellious and evil ways - Luther called this "cheap grace".
The other mistake people sometimes make is to hear a passage like this one and be caught up thinking that they still have to strive to live right, obey Jesus commands and always do the right thing, afraid that if they take a misstep that their access to God's promise of salvation could be in jeopardy. Rest assured, Jesus has done all that is needed for your salvation. Eternal life is yours through faith in him. However, he also promises us a greater and fuller experience of this life the more closely we follow him and and hold to his teaching every day of our lives on this earth.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for those who help us to see more clearly your grace and mercy and for the work of Martin Luther. Help me to also be one who walks in your ways and strives to understand and live in light of the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus, so that I might also help others know the life and message of the gospel. Amen
This devotion was written by Mathew Von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
TO PONDER:
There were false prophets in the ancient days, but there are also false prophets now in churches. False prophets are like wolves in sheep's clothing. Prophets are supposed to be the messengers of God, serving him and his Church. But sadly, we hear time and time again, when those called to serve God and the Church of God use their position to gain prestige, or to impose on the generosity of local congregations, and so live a life of comfort, and even pampered idleness. They are dressed as sheep but live as wolves.
Pray that we might be alert for false prophets in our midst, to take heed that we are not deceived and imposed upon by them. Their aim is to destroy people, divide communities and draw people away from the life of Godliness which glories God and adds beauty to this world. Pray that we may test everything we hear against the truth of God’s Word that has been revealed to us in Jesus.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, keep me alert and awake in this world to anything that is not of you, that I may only receive your word, for you alone have the words of eternal life. Amen.
Today’s Daily Verse is written by LifeWay’s Chinese Pastor, Francis Leung.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
TO PONDER:
We live in a world full of false teachings that believe Jesus Christ himself is not unique; that he is just one among many manifestations of God. That any belief in a divine power is valid, that any god can be served because they all contain truth that will lead us to the same destination. These false teachings would have us believe that the simple truth preached by Jesus and preserved in the gospel is not enough. That we need more to be saved, whether it is our work or effort or contribution. It is a tragic thing when people who have been liberated by Jesus Christ, could contemplate submitting themselves to a new and disastrous slavery. But sadly, we do. We listen to the lies of the world.
Pray for Jesus to give us the discernment to reject any teaching that tells us we need something more than the teaching of Christ and the words of the gospel. Pray that we might claim the truth of the Word alone that the triumph of Christ alone is all we need.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, help me to know the truth of your Word, that I may daily reject anything that is not from you, for you are all I need today and always. Amen.
Today’s Daily Verse is written by LifeWay’s Chinese Pastor, Francis Leung.