Category: Devotionals

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses. Acts 1:8

I find the apostle Peter such an interesting character to follow through the New Testament. He inspires me, challenges me, and frustrates me by turn. From a fisherman with nothing else in mind except turning a profit for the family business, he moves to a disciple and then on to become a fiery spokesman for the church.

What happened?

When I read about Peter, I want to crawl inside his mind. What made him leave everything he’d ever known to follow this teacher and healer? Jesus’ message had very little to do with the demands and economy of a fishing business. There must have been something about Jesus and what he offered that satisfied Peter in a way that his current job did not.

And then when I watch him make the honest attempt to walk on water, I want to get inside his heart to find out just what was going on in there. Fear so easily clouded his image of the man he’d left everything for and sank him in doubt.

But he tried. And for that I admire him.

I can’t think of any reason why I would be courageous enough to leave the safety of the sturdy boat and take on the wind and waves.

Unless the Holy Spirit got a hold on me. Only then would I try something so daring.

This happens to Peter later on. After he’s gone through the grievous night in the garden and then his betrayal of Jesus in the High Priest’s courtyard, Peter stood at the foot of the cross and then raced his buddy John to the tomb. He sees Jesus again, several times in fact, over the course of the next forty days.

But the game changer for Peter may have been at Pentecost–that moment when the Holy Spirit Jesus promised came upon him. A fresh wind. A blazing fire. A warm love that coated his heart and redefined his very person. The Holy Spirit had gotten a hold on Peter. “You will be my witnesses when the Holy Spirit comes on you,” Luke writes in the scene when Jesus returns to heaven. This proves true in Peter’s life because already in chapter two we catch a glimpse of Peter preaching to the crowd giving witness to the resurrection.

The power Jesus spoke of in Acts 1:8 came natural to Peter. He operated out of it, lived in it, and wore it to such a capacity that even his shadow carried healing. People brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by (Acts 5:15).

The Holy Spirit so permeated Peter’s life that the gentle power of healing flowed from him without him even needing to do anything.

So it is with us. When we live in a relationship with Jesus, his spirit lives in us, changing us, moving us from a worldly focus to discipleship to service. The supernatural starts to feel natural. Our hearts become aligned with the word of the Lord. Our motives and priorities reflect the gradual take over of the Holy Spirit on our lives.

I’d like to think that at some point after Peter received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he went back to the Sea of Galilee alone, with none of his disciple friends around, only the Lord watching from heaven. He stood at the water’s edge–the place where Jesus taught him about faith and power, and about how to walk on water.

And then, with the waves lapping at his toes, he took one tiny step out onto the water. Maybe Peter tensed waiting for the strong winds of a storm to come and knock him down again. But even if one did come along and blow fury and fear into more doubt producing waves, Peter would have made it. He wouldn’t have just tiptoed across and expanse of water, he would’ve danced. He was the Rock, the one on whom the church was about to be built. Peter had learned how to put his faith in the Spirit that now lived in him, upholding him and keeping him afloat.

Now Peter knew he could go into the world preaching about Jesus and proclaiming the resurrection because he’d made it. He finally had what it takes to walk on water.

By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. I Corinthians 6:14

Have you ever thought about how much power is contained in a thunderstorm or in the waters of a flooded river? At times, life can feel like the storms or floods and completely overwhelm us. We can lose purpose, develop doubts, or experience brokenness in our relationships in the aftermath.

Powerlessness becomes our permanent state. Nothing we can do could put things back together again. We’re stuck staring at a new reality we didn’t ask for.

The disciples may have felt this way in those hours following Jesus’ death. Their master, friend, very center of their whole universe had just been killed. That relationship was over. Their life mission had come to an abrupt end. Now they stood still. Confused and hurt, fearful and questioning, they read in each other’s eyes the suspicion that just maybe they’d been on the wrong track all along.

Jesus wasn’t who they thought he was. Now he’s gone. Without him, the disciples were no longer who they thought they were; Jesus’ followers, the ones who would someday witness the nation set to rights allowing them a share in the glory and the power.

But Jesus knew a different kind of power. This power was longer lasting than the pompous authority enjoyed by the Roman rulers and coveted by the disciples. This holy power would blast the grave with a force reaching into eternity. When the Holy Spirit breathed into their lives, the disciples would know this power, too.

It is resurrection power. Sweet enough to keep them asking for more. Strong enough to face down the worst of fears.

Then Jesus reappeared totally and vibrantly alive. He stood among them and proclaimed, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). That one statement restored their purpose. Jesus had spoken, and he’d spoken to each one of them. No opposition could stand in their way. Love for Christ and a clear understanding of his word to them propelled these friends into lifelong service.

Questions were answered. Doubts could get laid to rest. Jesus really was who he’d claimed to be. And more. He was the King. The one they’d hoped all along would come through. They knew now because they had seen him. Touched him. Heard his word to them. Nothing could shake their confidence after spending time in the presence of the Lord himself. They wouldn’t have to leave him behind. When those doubts resurfaced, they could recall those wonderful words, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).

Community and faith now restored, the disciples embrace this resurrection power. Then they take seriously Jesus’ question to Peter, “Do you love me?” (John 21:16).

“Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you,” was the reply.

This is what Jesus’ kind of power is all about anyway. Love. Love for him. Love for his call. Love for his world. “Many rivers cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away” (Song of Songs 8:7).

Finally, we have a force that can stand up to the overwhelming floods and storms; power based on love. It carries through the days of doubt, the longing for purpose, and the brokenness that invades our lives.

Resurrection power. It carries on into eternity guaranteeing us a place at the Lord’s side where we ,through his Spirit, become conquerors enjoying a long and consistent conquest assured of victory.

But now, this is what the Lord says, he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” Isaiah 43:1-5

These first five verses from Isaiah 43 bring me much comfort whenever I face endings or the future’s uncertainties. With gentleness, God reminds Israel and each of us of his assurances of how deeply he knows and loves us.

God is the creator. He knows all about you and the season you are in right now in your life. He knows you by name. You belong to him.

God is also the protector. Through floods or fires, he will allow nothing to overwhelm you. He provides a firm foundation of safety and peace holding you secure when the deep waters of change or loss swirl all around.

God is sovereign over all. He sees the beginning and the end. He counts costs and places high value on each one of his children. He will never forget about you. His love doesn’t runt out, but instead shelters and upholds you.

Remember the days of 35 mm cameras that stored images on rolls of film? When the rolls were full, we took them to a store with a lab and had them developed. And always, in the envelope along with the developed photos were these seemingly unimportant dark brown strips of the original film from which the photos were developed, known as the negatives.

In the negatives, shining objects and light looked dark. Sunlight, white teeth, light colored clothing, and whites of the eyes appeared black on the negatives.

Often we found ourselves wondering what the odd shapes and people were in these dark little squares. By holding the negatives up to a lamp and with the help of the light shining through, we could make out the images of the people or places represented on the film.

Even motion and angles were backwards from the actual photo. What was the real picture? Certainly not the negative. Yet, the negative was necessary for developing the image into a photo. Without the negative, you could never have a picture.

Genesis 1:27 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image…so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.'” Our will, emotions, creativity, relationships, and our very beings themselves are made to store his image.

We are God’s negatives. Our dark places are where his light shines brightest. Our most difficult and negative circumstances offer the most space for his love to shine through. God sees the total picture. What looks dark to us is light to him. What looks backwards to us might actually be the right direction to God. What seems unnecessary to us might be God’s design for growth and development.

Whether caught in a difficult relationship or a painful situation, take a good look at the negative. God’s light and love just might be shining through somewhere.

In You, Lord, I have taken refuge. Let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me. Turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and fortress. Psalm 71:1-3

These verses from Psalm 71 provide us with the best perspective on change. Instead of focusing on the source and potential duration of the changes coming our way, these verses turn our vision in God’s direction. This is because he never changes. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

We’ve all had the unknown invade our lives. It can leave us spinning as if we may be going off course. Nothing is normal. Everything is different. Fear can hinder our ability to function. Anxiety and worry can distort our perspective until we reach a point where we don’t even know what is real anymore.

The thing we used as a gauge to help us measure “real” has been removed through the changes and we’re left with a world we no longer recognize. Where do we even start to find a new source of security?

In Psalm 71, the Lord is offered as this new source. He is a rock, a refuge, and a fortress. These verses at the beginning of Psalm 71 don’t make the promise that change will never happen. Anxiety producing events will enter our lives. “Normal” will get disrupted. What is real may appear hidden from us for a time.

But these verses do tell us that God is the place to go for safety when change does take place. He is the one who holds each one of us in his care. He is always there. God is the unchanging, all-knowing heavenly Father who keeps his focus on us even as we turn our eyes upon Him.

Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22

As I was reflecting on the events of Holy Week: the last supper Jesus enjoyed with his friends, Jesus getting arrested, the trial and Jesus’ death on the cross, and finally the startling news of his resurrection, I thought about the disciples.

Their emotions must have run the gamut during those last days of Jesus’ life. First, he rides into town as the proclaimed King. A few days later, the disciples watch one of their own betray him. Then they stand around helplessly on Friday through the hours of torture heaped on their Master, Teacher, and friend.

Saturday must have been a dark day of silence and wondering for these men. Wasn’t Jesus God’s Son–the true King of the Jews who had come to set the world aright in a display of power? Had they followed Jesus for nothing? Where were all these rewards and blessings of the kingdom Jesus kept talking about?

No wonder, then, that Peter shoved his own denial aside the best he could and went back to fishing. Because, after all, a terrible day on the lake hauling in empty net after empty net was better than a day filled with pain in which he had too much time on his hands to think about his great loss.

I can imagine all the disciples felt that way. The more fortunate ones had livelihoods to return to that helped keep their thoughts and their hearts occupied. The others, like Matthew, who no longer had an occupation to call his own, may have felt overwhelmed in their devastation. Jesus was gone. And here they sat. Empty. Grieving. Might the Jews hunt them all down and kill them too?

But at some point, each of these bereft disciples will personally experience the resurrection. It may not happen right away or even at a time when they expect it, but the resurrection will happen to them. Contact with the risen Jesus is what marks them as a community. Each one of these disciples encountered Jesus after he rose from the dead.

And then all those hazy words Jesus spoke to them and prayed for them before his arrest will begin to make sense. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy (John 16:22). The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God (verse 27). I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (verse 33).

Oh, we get it, Jesus. Joy. Victory. Deeper levels of love. These things only come after suffering and grief have ravaged our souls. Jesus revealed himself to the disciples on three separate occasions: behind locked doors, the following week to Thomas, and by the Sea of Galilee. Each of these times the disciples were together. All of them saw Jesus. All of them experienced the resurrection as they received this revelation from the Lord himself.

A group of people such as the disciples who have seen the Lord are a community of people who live out of the healing and joy the resurrection brings. No one in this group saw life in the same way as they did before Jesus went to the cross. They’re changed, healed, and empowered.

The fourth time Jesus appeared to his disciples was to commission them to go and add numbers to this resurrection community. Proclaim the good news that Jesus lives. Teach them how to encounter Jesus for themselves.

The resurrection community keeps on giving. Increased love for God and firm belief in Jesus continues to spread into our lives and the lives of others sustaining us through those times of pain and loss. We face them together. As brothers and sisters in Christ we’re devoted to one another because we have seen the Savior. His work and presence is evident in our lives. We see him in each other. So we love and serve together in the name of the resurrected Jesus.

With Mary, we declare together, “I have seen the Lord!” And this is a joy that can never get taken away.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

The story of Lazarus from John 11 is a picture of Jesus’ power over the grave. Death, suffering, sickness, sorrow, and unbelief all die their own deaths in the face of a story like this one. Perhaps you know the story of Lazarus. He was from Bethany and lived with his two sisters. After falling sick, Lazarus dies. Word reached Jesus that his friend is gone. Jesus arrives in Bethany after Lazarus’ body has been placed in a tomb. Mary and Martha, the sisters of the dead man, meet Jesus on the road. Jesus asks in verse 26 if they believe in him as the resurrection and the life. Each in their own way assure him that they do.

Deeply moved and in tears, Jesus approaches the tomb holding his friend, issues a command to remove the stone blocking the entrance, prays, and tells Lazarus to come out.

Lazarus comes out.

In the days following, what was life like for Lazarus? The Bible records no spoken words belonging to Lazarus. We wonder if Lazarus was a common man living an ordinary life. We don’t know much about him except that he had a family that included two sisters. He appears in the gospel story, not because of any shining qualities in his personality nor because of any legendary achievement, but only because of the amazing miracle that happened to him.

Later in the narratives, we find Lazarus again. This time, he is in attendance at a dinner where Jesus and his disciples are also present. He is recognized as, “Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.”

Everyone has a first name. We all go by the names our parents gave us or nicknames we have earned over time. We also have a last name; a surname to identify us as belonging to a certain family, or holding a particular history, or originating from a specific location. Lazarus kept his first name, but Jesus defined his last name. For Lazarus, identity, history, and origin began with Jesus. Now Lazarus’ full name reads, “Lazarus Whom Jesus Raised From the Dead.”

He was still a common person living an ordinary life, but he had an uncommon, extraordinary witness to the power of God. Everything he had been given, all that he was able to accomplish, each relationship he valued was only because of the miracle Jesus worked in his life.

John 11:26 ends with the words, “Do you believe this?” Jesus is asking the sisters if they believe in him as the only one who holds the power over death and suffering.

Jesus asks each one of us, “Do you believe this?” Can you stand with Martha and say, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world” (verse 27). Because of this answer, Martha was about to witness the power of God. She, too, qualified for a famous last name. Maybe hers would read something like, “Martha Who Saw Death Defeated.”

Even though Lazarus entered the grave, he didn’t stay here. Lazarus Whom Jesus Raised From the Dead overcame suffering, sickness, and sorrow. He gets to enjoy a life redefined by Jesus’ resurrection power. Forever.