Devotional for 3/29/15
Many of us have ascended mountain top experiences that carry us for weeks on a natural high. And we have fallen into valleys so deep that we thought we would never climb out. Our Savior knows what that is like.
Jesus entered Jerusalem in honor and glory on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. People threw their cloaks on the ground as a royal carpet and waved palm branches as a sign of honor. But the tide would quickly turn. Jesus talks about what will happen later that very week, about his death on the cross in order that many might have life. And he faced this impending "valley" in his life with resolve. It troubled him, but he knew it was necessary.
John 12:23-24, 27-28 NIV Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ... “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Even in his "valley" of impending death, Jesus was able to share that there would be great benefit to come of it, and that was what he came to earth to do. We can take heart in knowing that our valleys also serve a purpose, to point us back to God so that we lean on him in our troubles. There is an end to every valley, and it is in the valleys that we can most appreciate the majesty of the mountains. Just as we do not remain in our "valleys," Jesus did not remain on the cross.
As we enter Holy Week on this Palm Sunday mountain top and see the approaching valley of the passion of Christ, we look forward to the next peak, the climax of Easter, when Jesus is resurrected in all glory!
Prayer: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, we thank you for sending your Son triumphantly into our world. We are so grateful that he was willing to sacrifice his life on the cross in payment for our sins to earn our salvation, which we could never attain on our own. Help us to appreciate the mountains as well as the valleys in our own lives. Draw us unto you that we might have everlasting life in the shadow of the cross. In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Hallelujah, Amen.
written by Jan Andersen
It was a triumphal Sunday in Jerusalem that day long ago.when Jesus rode into the city on a donkey to the shouts of adulation and welcome which only a few days later were turned into jeers of hatred. The Bible asks who is man that you should love us. Still Jesus proceeded to His appointment with His destiny to earn our eternity.Thank you Jesus,
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