April 15 2019

The Stones Would Immediately Cry Out

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19:37-40

All creation was created to worship the Lord.  
As Jesus entered the city, His disciples began to praise Him and called out “blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” 
The Pharisees were angered by this and asked Jesus to rebuke His disciples.  
Jesus response: 
“I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” 
Jesus was once again pointing out His Deity.  
The Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah; they believed the disciples were blaspheming. But Jesus made it clear, if the disciples were to be silent, creation itself would cry out as the Messiah entered Jerusalem.  
Do you recognize Jesus as Lord, today?  
Then cry out and bless Him even now.  
For as we keep silent, the very creation that surrounds us will cry out in our place.  
Who wants to be outdone by a pile of stones?
Question for Discussion
Does your praise outdo the stones?

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April 14 2019

Because the Lord has Need of it

And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. “And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ” Luke 19:29-31

“Because the Lord has need of it.” 
Jesus instructed the disciples to go to the village and take the colt – when asked why they were taking it, they were to answer, 
“Because the Lord has need of it” and the colt would be released.  
This colt was likely an important piece of property, a piece of someone’s livelihood. 
And yet, when the disciples indicated that the Lord had need of it, the owner released it willingly and without question.  
What does the Lord have need of in your life today?  
Are you willing to release that to Him, without question? 
The Lord has need of many things in our lives.  
There is much work to be done and that work requires the concentrated effort of the Body of Christ.  Without the colt Jesus would not have been able to make His entrance into Jerusalem, an important step to the journey to the cross, the grave and the resurrection. 
That thing that the Lord has need of in your life is an important piece of the bigger plan.
 “Because the Lord has need of it.” 
Are you ready to hand it over?
Question for Discussion
What does the Lord have need of in your life today?

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April 13 2019

Are you Willing to Climb the Tree?

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. Luke 19:1-4

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus but he was short.  
He couldn’t see over the crowd. 
But Zacchaeus really wanted to see Jesus.  
So, he ran ahead and climbed up a tree to give him the height he required. 
Zacchaeus’ solution required some effort: 
1) he had to acknowledge the limitation and think it through, 
2) he had to actually climb the tree, 
3) he couldn’t allow what others might think of him impact his plan.
Sometimes we really want to see Jesus but there is something standing in our way. 
There are times when we just give up right there.  
We see the obstacle and we either turn around and go back or we just stand there and bemoan its presence in our lives.  
But we, like Zacchaeus, need to learn to take on the obstacle.  
1) We need to think it through (the first step is really to acknowledge the obstacle and to make the decision to think of a way around it). 
2) We need to actually follow through with our plan (often we know what we need to do but struggle to get it down). 
3) We can’t allow the perception of others to impact our plan (others may laugh or criticize while we climb the tree, but they are not the ones that have a desire to see Jesus and get past that obstacle, so their laughing and criticism is of no importance). 
Do you want to see/encounter Jesus in a new way today?  
It is time to climb the tree.  
Are you willing?
Question for the Discussion Group:
Are you willing to climb the tree to encounter Jesus?

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