In step

[RiverOL]

Breakdown
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go for a walk.” And when they were out in a field, Cain killed him.
Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”
Then the Lord said:
Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you.
(Genesis 4:8-10)

Reflect:
It did not take long for the implications of the Fall to play out in human tragedy; one of Adam and Eve’s boys murdered the other out of jealousy (see 4:5). When God confronted him, he denied it. A refusal to confess our sin can only lead to a breakdown in our relationship with God. It is that serious.

Respond:
Why might we want to deny our guilt? Allow God to shine a spotlight on your life, remembering that he looks on you with great love and mercy.

Midday Meditation:
‘The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.’
(Augustine of Hippo)

Evening Reflection:
O Living Flame of Love…
How Gently and how lovingly
Thou wakest in my bosom,
Where alone thou secretly dwellest;

And in Thy sweet breathing
Full of grace and glory,
How tenderly Thou fillest me with Thy love.

 

[RiverOL]

Christianity Is Unique
For reading & meditation: John 14:1-14
"No one comes to the Father except through me." (v. 6)

We make the claim once again - Christianity is unique. It is unique in the sense that it is the divinely appointed way to enter into a relationship with the one true and living God. There is only one way, only one Name, only one God, only one Lord, only one Mediator. Our claim that Christianity is unique comes not from arrogance but from simple empirical fact. W. A. Visser't Hooft, in his book No Other Name, says: "There is no universality if there is no unique event." Uniqueness and universality go together.

It is because God has exalted Jesus to the highest place in the universe, "far above all rule and authority," and given Him the unique Name of "Lord," that He towers over every other name. That, too, is the reason why every knee must bow to Him. And it is precisely because Jesus Christ is the only Savior that we are under an obligation to proclaim Him to as many as we possibly can. In whatever culture we live, we must endeavor to make Jesus known.

We must set our face against the faction in today's church that aims to modernize the gospel and says: "Let us recognize all religions as being authentic before God and seek not to convert people from their religion but encourage them to be better adherents of it." Have these people no regard for the honor of Jesus Christ? Do they not care when Christ is seen as just one among many Saviors rather than, as God declares, the only Savior. No true Christian can ever worship Christ without minding that others do not.


Prayer:
Father, help me understand that it is not enough to know about the faith into which You have brought me by Your grace: I must seek also to share it. Help me grasp every opportunity that comes to make the way clear to others. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

No Fear of Tomorrow
…whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. —James 4:14 NKJV
One of Satan’s most effective tools is the word "tomorrow." It was Thomas Jefferson who said, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

How much more important that is when dealing with the soul’s salvation. No man knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return and set His feet once again on the Temple Mount.
On the day of His crucifixion, He was preparing to lay down His life so that those who would believe in Him in the ages to come will have no fear of tomorrow.
You have the promise that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).

 

[RiverOL]

David's Confession
Morning Encounter:
Read:
You are kind, God!
Please have pity on me.
You are always merciful!
Please wipe away my sins.

Wash me clean from all
of my sin and guilt.
I know about my sins,
and I cannot forget
my terrible guilt.

You are really the one
I have sinned against;
I have disobeyed you
and have done wrong.
(Psalm 51: 1-4a)

Reflect:
David was a man after God’s own heart, but he also messed up pretty badly on occasion. This psalm was written after he’d committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed (see 2 Samuel 11, 12). Why does he say he has sinned against God when he has hurt Bathsheeba and Uriah (pretty badly!)? Because all sin is ultimately a transgression against the Law God has given us for our benefit and to honour his holiness.

Respond:
Acknowledge before God that when you do wrong you hurt your relationship with him. Spend some time in prayer, confessing the ways you have fallen short of holiness over the past few days.

Midday Meditation:
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
(The Book of Common Prayer)

Evening Reflection:
‘We come with hopeful hearts, for the One we are coming to waits for us like the father of the prodigal who saw his son when he was still a great way off and in compassion ran and embraced him and welcomed him back (Luke 13:20). His greatest delight is to forgive.’

 

[RiverOL]

Footholds for faith
For reading & meditation: Psalms 73
"' I have put my trust in the Lord God '"(v.28, NKJ)

We begin today a verse-by-verse examination of one of the great passages in the Bible - the seventy-third psalm. If you were to ask any group of Christians to name their favourite psalm most would probably reply: "The twenty-third." And it is not difficult to understand why. The simplicity and beauty of its language, together with its comforting content, has endeared it to millions. Unfortunately the seventy-third psalm is not so well known, but in my opinion it deserves to be. The truths and insights it contains provide us with some of the most steadying and encouraging revelations to be found anywhere in the Word of God.

The issue with which the psalmist struggles in this psalm is this: Why do the godly suffer so much when the ungodly, generally speaking, seem to get off scot-free? So deeply does this question cut into his soul that he is brought to the point of near despair: "My feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold" (v.2). Whilst there, however, he discovers some spiritual principles that bring him step by step to the heights of spiritual assurance. Are you puzzled by the fact that though you are following the Lord, life is extremely difficult? Do you wonder why those who live in opposition to the Almighty seem to have an easier time than those who are committed to His cause? Take heart. It is possible to find a foothold on this slippery path of doubt. The psalmist found it, and so can you. Follow me day by day through this thrilling psalm and you will discover a few more footholds for your faith.

Prayer:
Gracious and loving heavenly Father, help me as I begin this quest for greater light and illumination on life's problems, for I know that a faith which does not hold my intellect will not hold my heart. I would have both held by You. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Danger is Your Business

What can mere mortals do?—Psalm 56:4

Our King, Jesus Christ, calls us to a new kind of life, his kind of life. “Follow me” is quoted more than fifteen times in the Gospels. Following him, however, goes against prevailing culture—for which safety andsecurity are utmost priorities. The kind of life to which Jesus calls us is not safe, nor secure. Here’s a report from a man, the Apostle Paul, who lived it:

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27).

God didn’t design Paul for safe or secure; nor did he us. We’re all designed for big, dangerous lives: “. . . for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).



Insert your name into 2 Timothy 1:7:

“. . . for God gave [ . . . you . . . ] a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Read it through again. Now, fast-forward to the end of your life, imagine friends and family saying that of you: “He was fearless. He had power and love and self-control.” What do you need to begin now, to ensure those words then? What bold changes will you make? Remember, your days are numbered (Psalm 90:12). Commit, brother, to make at least one change this week.

 

[RiverOL]

Fully Known
Morning Encounter:
Read:
You have looked deep
into my heart, Lord,
and you know all about me.

You know when I am resting
or when I am working,
and from heaven
you discover my thoughts.

You notice everything I do
and everywhere I go.
Before I even speak a word,
you know what I will say,
and with your powerful arm
you protect me
from every side.
(Psalm 139: 1-5)

Reflect:
Psalm 139 is a beautiful reminder that we are fully seen and known, and yet still fully loved by our creator God. The fear in confessing sin to people comes from the chance that they will reject us as a result of our revelation. Nothing we confess to God will make him turn his back on us, because he already knows it, and he loves us anyway.

Respond:
Allow the truth of today’s reading to sink in to your mind and heart. God sees you. God knows you. God loves you.

Midday Meditation:
If there is a terror about darkness because we cannot see, there is also a terror about light because we can see. There is a terror about light because much of what we see in the light about ourselves and our world we would rather not see, would rather not have be seen.
(Frederick Buechner)

Evening Reflection:
‘A huge part of confession is forgiveness… It is important to understand confession as a process. Since forgiveness is a process and almost always takes a significant amount of time, the practice of confession becomes an integral part of this process. There is nothing more healing for sin than bringing it into the light. The best way to bring sin into the light is through confession.’

 

[RiverOL]

A lost emphasis
For reading & meditation: Malachi 3:13-18
"Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other '" (v.16)

Although in Psalm 73 the psalmist is beset by doubt, he begins, nevertheless, on a triumphant note: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." Preachers usually leave their conclusion until the end of their sermon - but here the psalmist begins with it! It might seem strange to some that the psalmist should begin with a conclusion, but this is often seen in the book of Psalms.

And the reason is this: the psalmist is so convinced of the fact that God is good that he decides to start right there. It is as if he is saying: "I want to tell you how I moved from doubt to faith, but the thing I want you to get right away is this: God is good." Some commentators believe that in the Temple services there was a time of open testimony and worship, similar to that which featured in the old Methodist class meetings, when individuals gave testimonies to their fellow believers of God's dealings with them.

This is one of the most powerful ways of building the spiritual life of the Church, but regrettably it does not seem to be widely practised today. If this psalm was part of the psalmist's testimony during an open time of worship, one can imagine the impact it would have made upon the hearers as he related how he emerged from crippling doubt to renewed confidence in the goodness of God. I know of nothing more motivating in the Christian life than for believers to identify and share the spiritual principles which have enabled them to overcome attacks on their faith. When we ignore this principle we do so at our peril.

Prayer:
O Father, show us clearly how sharing with each other what You are doing in our lives not only inspires and motivates us, but greatly strengthens the Body. Help us restore this lost emphasis wherever it is missing. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Prayer and Forgiveness
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. —Mark 11:25–26 NKJV

Jesus taught that there was a relationship between forgiving and receiving God’s forgiveness. The prayer for forgiveness on the cross was not meant to be the last act of a dying man; it was an example for His followers. As they had been forgiven, so were they to forgive those who sinned against them. (See Matthew 6:9–13, the Lord’s Prayer.)
God had a lesson, not only for Israel, but for all mankind: He loved them and each of us with an everlasting love. It was a mirror of God’s constant love that reaches far beyond our sinfulness all the way to the cross, where Love hung between heaven and earth.
Your prayers are encumbered by unforgiveness. Conversely, your prayers are enabled by forgiveness; your faith is strengthened. Forgiveness is potent. Forgive today.

 

[RiverOL]

Forgiven
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Jesus told us that God is light and doesn’t have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you.
If we say that we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts. But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn’t in our hearts.
(1 John 1:5-10)

Reflect:
The most important reason for confessing our sin is that through doing so we open the door to forgiveness. God can be trusted to ‘take our sins away’ (1:9)- as far as the east is from the west (psalm 103:12). We can’t be forgiven if we don’t acknowledge our need for forgiveness; simple as that. But if we do, we have righteousness before God through Jesus: ‘all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.’ (Romans 3:24)

Respond:
Thank God for his precious gift of forgiveness.

Midday Meditation:
Who, oh Lord, could save themselves
Their own soul could heal?
Our shame was deeper than the sea
Your grace is deeper still
You, oh Lord, have made a way
The great divide You heal
For when our hearts were far way
Your love went further still.
(Matt Redman)

Evening Reflection:
When grace introduces us to repentance, the two of us become best friends. When anything else introduces us to repentance, it feels like the warden has come to lock us up. But when grace gets involved, the truths of repentance reveal a fabulous world of life-freeing beauty.

 

[RiverOL]

How strong convictions come
For reading & meditation: James 1:2-8
"' that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (v.4)

We continue meditating on the first verse of Psalm 73: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." The psalmist has gone through an experience of crippling doubt but the great thing is this: he has emerged from it spiritually enriched and with a deeper confidence in the goodness of God. So he starts with that conclusion and then tells us how he got there. This is one of the great values of the psalms - they reflect and analyse the experiences that we are called upon to face. Ray Steadman says of the psalms: "They are an enactment of what most of us are going through, have gone through or will go through in the walk of faith."

Every one of us will be able to understand the psalmist's struggle: we start off with a positive faith in God's goodness and then something happens which causes us to be plagued with doubts. The problem then is how to get back to where we were. This is what the psalmist does in this psalm - he shows us how to return to the place where the soul finds true peace. We should not forget that the strongest convictions are born in the throes of doubt. The statement "God is good to Israel" is a statement grounded in experience. In a similar vein, Dostoevsky, the famous Russian novelist, could say: "It is not as a child that I believe and confess Christ. My hosannah is 'born of a furnace of doubt.' " Doubts may discourage but they need not demoralise you. It is not what happens to you, but what you make of it that matters.

Prayer:

Gracious and loving Father, I pray that You will do for me what You did for the psalmist and help me turn my strongest doubts into my strongest beliefs. I offer You my willingness - now add to it Your power. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Praying the Word
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. —Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

King David said what God said! The words he spoke were the words of God—divinely inspired. He was praying what God said! Praying the Word is much more powerful than what you or I say.
“I am going through a horrendous time of terror, Mike,” you might say to me. I know—I have been there many times. But remember, “Desperation is the mother of invention.” If you’re desperate, then you’re hungry to do whatever it takes to change your situation.
As with the woman with the issue of blood who said, “If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole,” (Matthew 9:21 KJV), you will transform your thinking through the power of the Word of God.
Your life journey of praying the Word of God begins with Psalm 20. Read it today, and pray the prayer of David.

 

[RiverOL]

Mutual Confession
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Then Nathan told David:
You are that rich man! Now listen to what the Lord God of Israel says to you: “I chose you to be the king of Israel. I kept you safe from Saul and even gave you his house and his wives. I let you rule Israel and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much more. Why did you disobey me and do such a horrible thing? You murdered Uriah the Hittite by having the Ammonites kill him, so you could take his wife.

“Because you wouldn’t obey me and took Uriah’s wife for yourself, your family will never live in peace. Someone from your own family will cause you a lot of trouble, and I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes. He will go to bed with them while everyone looks on. What you did was in secret, but I will do this in the open for everyone in Israel to see.”
David said, “I have disobeyed the Lord.”
“Yes, you have!” Nathan answered. “You showed you didn’t care what the Lord wanted. He has forgiven you, and you won’t die. But your newborn son will.” Then Nathan went back home.
(1 Samuel 12: 7- 15)

Reflect:
On Wednesday we looked at Psalm 51, David’s confession to God following his adultery with Bathsheeba. Confession is something that happens between an individual and God, and there is no need for anyone else to be involved (see 1 Timothy 2:5). But there is a place for the practice of confessing to a fellow Christian and it is equally biblical. When David comes clean to Nathan, Nathan is able to confirm to him that he is forgiven. He speaks God’s mercy to David in a way that David can hear and hold onto as the consequences of his mistakes unfold.

Respond:
Do you have anyone in your life to whom you are accountable and with whom you can lay bare the very worst failings? If you do, thank God for them and resolve to continue to be honest and open. If you don’t, prayerfully think through who could fulfil this role in your life.

Midday Meditation:
‘If we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners, we are freed to hear the unconditional call of God’s love and to confess our needs openly before our brothers and sisters… we are sinners together. In acts of mutual confession we release the power that heals. Our humanity is no longer denied, but transformed.’
(Richard J. Foster)

Evening Reflection:
‘If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot.’

 

[RiverOL]

A great soul battle
For reading & meditation: Psalms 69:1-12
"I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold." (v.2)

Having shared with us the conviction that God is good, the psalmist now proceeds to tell us what caused him to move away from that belief so that his soul became filled with such desolating doubt: "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (Psa. 73:2-3). Here begins what Spurgeon described as "a great soul battle, a spiritual marathon, a hard and well-fought fight in which the half-defeated became in the end wholly victorious". The psalmist seems bothered by the apparent contradiction between what he had been taught in the Scriptures - that God is good to those who are pure in heart - and his experience in life. He was envious, he says, of the arrogant and deeply upset over the fact that the wicked appeared to be more prosperous than the godly

. He had been told that when you were righteous, then God would take care of you and prosper you. Obviously things had not been going too well for the psalmist and when he compared his situation with that of the ungodly who appeared to be so prosperous, he came close to giving up his faith. Am I talking to someone who is in a similar situation at this moment? Is your faith so badly shaken by what you see around you that you are tempted to give up? Then this is the word of the Lord to you today: hold on. It is a dark tunnel you find yourself in at this moment, but God will bring you through. He never fails. Never.


Prayer:
Father, thank You for speaking to me today. Help me not to form my conclusions from what I see around - the immediate - but from what I see above, in You, the Ultimate. I wait in quiet confidence for Your word to come to pass. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

A Vision for Victory
In Him we live and move and have our being. —Acts 17:28 NKJV

What has God promised you? Do you have a vision for victory for your life? Speak the promises of God, meditate on His Word, and determine that you will allow nothing—nothing—to keep you from becoming everything God has created you to be. Then you will, indeed, develop a warrior spirit.
You will stand against the forces of darkness, look them squarely in the face, and encourage yourself in the Lord. David, in the midst of adversity, said, “I am going to pursue, overtake, and recover all” (see 1 Samuel 30). And so will you!

The Bible says, “The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits”(Daniel 11:32 KJV).
God did not choose King David to live in this End-Time hour, but He has chosen you. Refuse defeat! Guard your words. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Remember that you are guaranteed victory by the creator of the universe because of what our Lord did at Calvary. You have to rise up and fight the fight of faith.

 

[RiverOL]

Fresh Start
Morning Encounter:
Read:
During the meal Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”
Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He then gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and drink it. This is my blood, and with it God makes his agreement with you. It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven. From now on I am not going to drink any wine, until I drink new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
(Matthew 26:26-29)

Reflect:
Confession, repentance and forgiveness belong together. There are times we do things so awful we feel we have blown any chance of redemption or the opportunity of a fresh start. There are times we burn with shame and do our best to bury evidence. Sometimes we do things and we are not sorry, although we know we should be. Jesus gave his body and his blood for our redemption, the removal of our shame, and the possibility of peace with God for all who seek it. It was a costly gift. It is ours for the taking.

Respond:
Meditate on Jesus’ sacrifice and its implications for you, today and for eternity.

Midday Meditation:
‘To shame our sins He blushed in blood;
He closed His eyes to show us God;
Let all the world fall down and know
That none but God such love can show.’
(Bernard of Clairvaux)

Evening Reflection:
‘And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life. God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.’
(John 3:14-16)

 

[RiverOL]

Be honest with yourself
For reading & meditation: Psalms 51:1-9
"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts '" (v.6)

Even the most casual reader of Psalm 73 cannot help but be struck by the openness and honesty of the psalmist. He says: "My feet had almost slipped ' for I envied the arrogant" (vv. 2-3). This again is one of the great values of the book of Psalms - it brings home to us the importance of acknowledging what is going on in our hearts when we are caught up in the midst of conflict. I cannot stress enough how spiritually damaging it is to ignore or deny our true feelings.

There is a form of teaching going around in some Christian circles today which holds that one should never admit or acknowledge a negative thought or feeling - not even for a single second. Life must be lived positively, it is said, and that means refusing to consider or even glance at anything negative. What nonsense! The people who advocate this approach to life can never have read the book of Psalms. I am all for a positive approach to life, but positivism first involves facing things realistically no matter how negative they may be. How can you know what you need to be positive about until you have clearly seen what is troubling you? Once an issue is faced, and faced realistically, then the matter can and must be dealt with in a positive way. But to try and be positive without bringing into clear focus what is wrong is like building a house on sand. No matter how much cement is poured into the foundations, and no matter how well the walls are reinforced, when a storm comes it will sink without trace.

Prayer:
Father, drive this truth deeply into my spirit, for I see that it is not enough to be honest with You and others, I must also be honest with myself. Help me get there and stay there. In Jesus' Name I ask it Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

What’s the Bold Move?

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear—Psalm 118:6

“What’s the bold move?” It’s a question that should be asked often, in one form or another, when men gather in Christian community. It’s a question that challenges us to press our intellectual understanding of the truth of our King, Jesus Christ, into clear, practical action. It dares us to form Gospel words into living, breathing reality.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? . . . Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:14, 18).

When we men move boldly in faith it demonstrates—with our actions, with our lives—that we do indeed trust Jesus. It confirms that we’ll actually live our lives like we trust him. Maybe it’s finally deciding to draw clear work/home boundaries, despite ambition or difficulty; maybe it’s confessing some sin, despite embarrassment or awkwardness; maybe it’s giving money or time, despite greed or inconvenience; maybe it’s sharing our faith, despite discomfort or fear; or maybe it’s something else entirely. For each of us, there comes a time when we just must take action, must take risk. There comes a time when our faith mandates that action and risk are the only real options. And that’s when things begin to happen—big, breathtaking things—not because we seek them out necessarily, but because they’re the byproduct of lives that reflect faith.



How might you live out your faith with a bold move? Choose something simple, near-term (i.e., this week), and achievable. If you’re in community with other men (and you should be), formulate your bold moves together, customized to each individual and circumstance. Then, keep one another accountable for executing them. This is one way communities of men must work.

 

[RiverOL]

The Last Supper (1)
Morning Encounter:
Introduction
It is Passover, and over the traditional meal of lamb, bread and wine, Jesus takes the last window of uninterrupted time to prepare the disciples for what is to come- his death and what it means: what it will mean for them and the rest of humanity including us. This week we will be listening in on the meal-time conversation in the upper room all those years ago. Let’s pray that as we listen, the impact of the sacrifice Jesus made will hit us harder than ever before.

Read:
After Jesus had said these things, he was deeply troubled and told his disciples, “I tell you for certain that one of you will betray me.” They were confused about what he meant. And they just stared at each other.
Jesus' favourite disciple was sitting next to him at the meal, and Simon motioned for that disciple to find out which one Jesus meant. So the disciple leaned toward Jesus and asked, “Lord, which one of us are you talking about?”

Jesus answered, “I will dip this piece of bread in the sauce and give it to the one I was talking about.”
Then Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Right then Satan took control of Judas.
Jesus said, “Judas, go quickly and do what you have to do.”
John 13:21-27

Reflect:
Judas has a terrible place in history: the one who led the soldiers to Jesus so they could arrest him, identifying him with a kiss. A cold betrayal. But there is more to the story. It began in the Garden of Eden with a snake and an apple, it continued with a faithless nation and idolatrous leaders. Judas plays his part in Jesus' terrible suffering, but all of sinful humanity is implicated.
There is a painful intimacy in this exchange between Jesus and Judas. They both know exactly what is happening. They are both willing participants in the unfolding drama.

Respond:
Jesus was ‘greatly troubled’ (13:21) knowing one of his inner circle would betray him. There were many things he would suffer over these days, and this was part of the pain. Perhaps you know what betrayal feels like. Spend some time in Jesus’ presence thanking him for what he submitted to in order to buy your freedom.

Midday Meditation:
Imagine you are in the room with the disciples. Try to picture the scene- what can you see? What can you hear? In your mind’s eye, watch Jesus dip the bread in the sauce and pass it to Judas. How does he respond? How do you feel? What is the atmosphere like and what do you notice the others doing?

Evening Reflection:
What Jesus did was not a mere example of something else, not a mere manifestation of some larger truth; it was itself the climactic event and fact of cosmic history. From then on everything is different…the End came forward into the present in Jesus the Messiah”

 

[RiverOL]

If you're thrown - admit it
For reading & meditation: Psalms 22:1-11
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (v.1)

We continue looking at the attitude of the psalmist, who does not hesitate to tell the truth about himself. As we saw, he admits that his feet had well-nigh slipped and his faith had almost gone. I find the psalmist's honesty both stimulating and refreshing, especially when compared to the tendency of many in today's Church to pretend that things are not as they are. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones said in one of his sermons: "I know of nothing in the spiritual life more discouraging than to meet the kind of person who seems to give the impression that he or she is always walking on the mountain top." I agree.

You see, it is far more important to be honest than to appear to be the sort of person who is never thrown by problems. If you are not thrown, then fine; but if you are then admit it. But can't openness be a form of exhibitionism? Yes, it can. Some people may confess to failure as a means of drawing attention to themselves. But I do not believe that this was the psalmist's motive, for quite clearly he wrote the psalm to glorify not himself but God. The pathway to spiritual growth begins when we realistically and honestly face up to the struggles that are going on inside us. If we are so concerned about developing or preserving pleasant feelings that we ignore the negative feelings within us or pretend that they are non-existent, then we end up demeaning ourselves. An honest look may involve a struggle, but there is more hope in that for growth than there is in pretence or denial.

Prayer:
O God, teach me to be unafraid to look at anything - myself included. Make me strong enough in You not to need the defences of pretence and denial. You are on the side of honesty; I am on its side too. Help me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.