2020 Mar. 1 Mar. 8 - I am AME · Mar. 1 Mar. 8 Mar. 15 Mar. 22 Mar. 29 Apr. 5 Apr. 12 Apr. 19 Apr....

Unit 1: Wilderness ........... 4

March 1 Because of Sin 2

Genesis 3:8-24

March 8 Jesus in Gethsemane 8

Matthew 26:36-46

March 15 The Israelites in the Wilderness 14

Numbers 21:4-9

March 22 Jesus in the Wilderness 20

Matthew 4:1-11

March 29 The People of Judah Are Exiled 26

2 Kings 25:8-21

Unit 2: Salvation

April 5 Jesus Dies on a Cross 32

Mark 15:22-39

April 12 Jesus’ Resurrection 38

Matthew 28:1-10

April 19 Rebuilding the Temple 44

Haggai 2:1-9

April 26 John Prepares the Way for Christ 50

Mark 1:1-8

Unit 3: Grace

May 3 The River of Life-giving Water 56

Revelation 22:1-5

May 10 God’s Grace Toward Adam, Eve, and Cain 62

Genesis 3:21; 4:10-16

May 17 God Provides Food in the Wilderness 68

Exodus 16:2-15

May 24 Grace to the Dying Thief 74

Luke 23:32-33, 39-43

May 31 The Holy Spirit Inspires Jesus’ Followers 80

Acts 2:1-21

Mar. 1

Mar. 8

Mar. 15

Mar. 22

Mar. 29

Apr. 5

Apr. 12

Apr. 19

Apr. 26

May 10

May 17

May 24

May 31

May 3

SPRING QUARTER 2020LIFE

Comprehensive.Spring20.qxp_Comp.Win.09 12/20/19 11:20 AM Page 1

Lesson 1 2 March 1

PurposeTo recognize the relationship between our human condition and our sin.

Hearing the Word The Scripture for this lesson is printed below.

Because of Sin

Genesis 3:8-24 (NIV) 8 Then the man and his wife heard thesound of the Lord God as he was walking in thegarden in the cool of the day, and they hid fromthe Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man,“Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden,and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you werenaked? Have you eaten from the tree that I com-manded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put herewith me—she gave me some fruit from the tree,and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman,“What is this you have done?” The woman said,“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent,“Because you have done this, cursed are youabove all livestock and all wild animals! You willcrawl on your belly and you will eat dust all thedays of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and thewoman, and between your offspring and hers;he will crush your head, and you will strike hisheel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will make yourpains in childbearing very severe; with painfullabor you will give birth to children. Your desirewill be for your husband, and he will rule overyou.” 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listenedto your wife and ate fruit from the tree aboutwhich I commanded you, ‘You must not eat fromit,’ cursed is the ground because of you; throughpainful toil you will eat food from it all the daysof your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eatyour food until you return to the ground, sincefrom it you were taken; for dust you are and todust you will return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because shewould become the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin forAdam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man hasnow become like one of us, knowing good andevil. He must not be allowed to reach out hishand and take also from the tree of life and eat,and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from theGarden of Eden to work the ground from whichhe had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed onthe east side of the Garden of Eden cherubimand a flaming sword flashing back and forth toguard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:8-24 (KJV) 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord Godwalking in the garden in the cool of the day: andAdam and his wife hid themselves from thepresence of the Lord God amongst the trees ofthe garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, andsaid unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the gar-den, and I was afraid, because I was naked; andI hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thouwast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, where-of I commanded thee that thou shouldest noteat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom


thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of thetree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman,What is this that thou hast done? And thewoman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I dideat. 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent,Because thou hast done this, thou art cursedabove all cattle, and above every beast of thefield; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shaltthou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee andthe woman, and between thy seed and her seed;it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise hisheel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatlymultiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrowthou shalt bring forth children; and thy desireshall be to thy husband, and he shall rule overthee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thouhast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, andhast eaten of the tree, of which I commandedthee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed isthe ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat

of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bringforth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of thefield; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eatbread, till thou return unto the ground; for out ofit wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and untodust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve;because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did theLord God make coats of skins, and clothedthem. 22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the manis become as one of us, to know good and evil:and now, lest he put forth his hand, and takealso of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forthfrom the garden of Eden, to till the ground fromwhence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placedat the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,and a flaming sword which turned every way, tokeep the way of the tree of life.

Seeing the NeedI was a good boy growing up. I never

swore, and I never spit. I was always kindto animals, and I was mostly kind to myyounger sisters. Was I perfect? After 63years, my mother would say yes, but youshouldn’t believe her. I was good, andthat seemed good enough.

That belief represents the big prob-lem with us as humans. We tend to thinkwe are pretty good. We do what we thinkis the right thing most of the time. Weare also fairly adept at setting asidethose not-so-good things in our liveswhen we evaluate ourselves because wetend to think they don’t matter.

We think we are pretty good, and thatshould be good enough. The truth is, wehave a marvelous capacity for self-

Lesson 1 3 March 1

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

February 24 Psalm 104:24-30

February 25 Genesis 3:1-7



February 28 Ezekiel 28:11-19

February 29 Ezekiel 31:2-13

March 1 Genesis 3:8-24


Lesson 1 4 March 1

deceit. We accommodate our blindsidedbiases and shortcomings as just honestmistakes that shouldn’t factor in whenwe tally our righteousness.

This lesson takes us back to thebeginning, to the first humans and thefirst sin. The story of the first man andwoman challenges us to look honestly atour human condition and at the conse-quences that arise when we follow thatcondition instead God’s intention andwill.

That “Human Condition”If nothing else, Genesis 3 helps us

understand that humans are all alike.I’ve come to believe we are created witha spectrum of living and acting. At oneend of the spectrum, we are created todream. We can aspire, imagine, and seethings that could be, and live almostwithout limits. At the other end, we arelocked down by the knowledge of ourown limitations. We see what we cannotdo, or perhaps should not do, and thelimitations keep us grounded.

Our human condition, then, is thepush and pull between those two endsof the spectrum of our lives. Motivationalspeakers play to our aspirations. You cando whatever you dream of doing, they tellus! Rules and commands remind us ofour limitations. Everything we might wantto do does not grant us license to do it,they tell us.

So, throughout our lives, even daily,we are urged from deep within to con-sider sin. That is, I see what I’d like to dobut shouldn’t do; or I don’t believe I canbe more than the minimum in my life, yetmy potential is so much greater than Iwant to believe. The tension is critically

important for us to exist and act appro-priately as human beings, those “lessthan divine” (Psalm 8:5). Indeed, wecan’t be the boss of the world and dowhatever we want, although perhaps wecan do more than we sometimes thinkwe can.

The woman in Genesis 3:2-3 explainsthat important tension for us: She couldeat of any tree in the garden, except theone God said they could not eat of. Ofcourse, as she explained that to thesnake, she actually added more restric-tions (Genesis 3:3). God actually hadsaid, “Eat your fill from all of the gar-den’s trees; but don’t eat from the treeof the knowledge of good and evil,because on the day you eat from it, youwill die!” (2:16-17). God did not say thehumans could not touch the tree.

Imagine how different our existencewould be if, at that point, the snake hadresponded with, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’tknow! Have a nice day!” But the snake,Scripture tells us, is “the most intelligentof all the wild animals that the Lord Godhad made” (3:1). Other Bible transla-tions use words such as “more cunning”or “more crafty,” giving it an almost sinis-ter cast.

We know the story: The snake deniedwhat God had commanded and con-vinced the woman that things would onlyget better if she ate fruit from that tree.In fact, if she did, the snake promised,she would “see clearly” and “be like God,knowing good and evil” (verse 5).

Although we pray, “Lead us not intotemptation,” we know that temptation isall around us. It whispers in our eagerears and invites us to step away from thetension of living a balanced life, to do


Lesson 1 5 March 1

what we want to. In fact, we know thatwe don’t even need a snake. We find iteasy on our own to walk a little distanceaway from God. But taking that walk,even a short one, is sin. Anytime we liveor act apart from God, we sin.

Considering sin ought to scare us todeath. Instead, it’s as if we become com-fortable having a snake roam around ourhomes. The danger is so evident, but forsome reason, we forget how dire, howtragic a mistake we make when weassume a sin is “not so bad.” Eating apiece of fruit isn’t the same as killingsomeone, right? Deciding we know bet-ter than anyone else what is best isn’tthat terrible, right?

Our “not so bad” choices become thepath to getting what we want, but theyalso pave the way to losing all that weare. Much of the brokenness in our livesis not due to the evil we have done.Frankly, some of us might even say wehaven’t done anything terribly evil. Muchof our brokenness comes because wehave considered that our own deci-sions—made separate and apart fromGod’s love and guidance and will—arethe best. “You will be like God,” thesnake assured the woman, and thewoman sinned.

What happens when you consider thesin in your life?

Acting OutSomeone once said, “Better to

remain silent and be thought a fool thanto speak out and remove all doubt.”We’re not sure who said this, but regard-less of its origin, the greater truthstands: Considering doing somethingcertainly puts us on the path to action,

but it is far different and has less of animpact than actually doing or sayingsomething that changes reality for us.

Potential and actual are different.Actual means “pertaining to an act––something real or existing.” It’s danger-ous to think about doing something thatmight be sin (potential); but when weactually follow through, it becomes somuch more harmful and tragic.

My wife and I always made sure toteach our boys the importance of think-ing before reacting instantly and perhapslashing out. The latter might feel good atthe time; there is a lot of power in react-ing. But those are actions we cannottake back or remove once they happen.It’s sad to read about someone with roadrage who ends up hurting or killinganother person because the one withrage couldn’t control the impulse thatled to such terrible things.

The woman in Genesis 3 wasdeceived by the snake. The tree indeedwas “beautiful with delicious food”(verse 6). Her thoughts propelled heractions at the idea of something sobeautiful and delicious also providingwisdom. She wanted something andrefused to allow any limitations to heractions, so she picked the fruit.

But even at that point, it wasn’t toolate. God told the man and woman not toeat of it. Picking it was foolish and dan-gerous, but God did not tell them theywould die if they did. But then she bitinto it, and “also gave some to her hus-band, who was with her, and he ate it”(verse 6). Scripture doesn’t indicate thatthe man protested or objected in any wayto eating the fruit.


The sin was cast. In that simple act,the human beings broke their relation-ship with God. We might argue that, assoon as the woman considered takingthe fruit, the relationship was broken;but the act itself proved the willingnessto step away from God and disobey whatwas a simple command. Don’t do it, Godsaid, but that’s the thing they weredrawn to do.

Why do we sin? Why are we willing tobreak our relationship with the one whohas given us everything? Perhaps it’sbecause we are not satisfied with ourplace in the universe. We break relation-ship with God but also with one another,and then the best we can say is “Sorry”when the wound is opened and the hurtflows out. We don’t live in Eden becausewe have become too comfortable “doingsin” and creating pain, hurt, strife, andconflict.

Unfortunately, this story is our story.Even when we give it our best shot andtry as hard as we can, it seems too easyto give up the tension of the human life.So we slide to one end or the other ofthe spectrum in hopes that things willease up, and we will feel more relief. Thetruth, of course, is that after we do that,we only end up feeling worse and addingguilt, shame, and fear on top of it all.

At the very core, we give up our lovefor God for the sake of the trinkets ofthis world or so that we can have ourown way. You can see, then, that sin isnot simply doing some things that mightbe impolite or even a bit wrong. Sin isthe shattering, crushing, and quietbreaking of our love for the Creator ofthe universe.

How does the story of the first sin

help you better understand what makesyou step away from God, and how mightit work to keep you closer to God on adaily basis?

ConsequencesOur son Aaron was about 60 miles

from home, on Christmas break from col-lege, when he called. The low-fuel lightwas on. He had long since passed whatwas the last gas station on the interstatebefore Fargo, and he didn’t know what todo. I suggested that he leave the inter-state and take a parallel road that hadmore towns, and perhaps he could fill upsomewhere along the way.

Later, Aaron called again. He hadpassed through two towns where the sta-tions were closed or didn’t exist, and hewas panicked. At that point, he wasabout 30 miles away, so I told him todrive until he made it to the first gas sta-tion or ran out of gas; then we wouldcome and help out. He was nervous andunhappy, to say the least!

The next time we heard from Aaronwas when he rang our doorbell. He hadmade it all the way and had coasted intothe first gas station and filled up. Aarondid not want to talk about his experi-ence, but we once again repeated thetoo-true rule: It is just as easy to fill thetop half of the tank as it is the bottomhalf. In a way, Aaron had avoided theconsequences of a bad decision thatday––sort of. His free and breezy triphome had turned into a nervous andworried affair, even though he didn’tactually run out of gas.

In the last part of our Scripture forthis lesson, we find consequences thatarise out of the decision to eat of the

Lesson 1 6 March 1


tree’s fruit. We find out what happensbecause of sin. Some of these seem tobe punishments, but it’s important torecognize natural consequences of ourhuman choices, some of which are badones.

As God dealt with the disobedience ofthe humans, God described the future ofthe snake, the woman, and the man. Asit turns out, all of them are descriptionsof how we live in the world today.

Some people think this story helps, inpart, to explain why snakes and peopledon’t usually get along well, why womenhave such pain in childbirth, why it is justso hard to grow a good crop, and why wedie. This is our present reality andmakes a good answer to the “why,” whenwe think about the world the way it istoday. It’s as if the Bible is saying, “It did-n’t have to be this way. But because ofwhat happened, because of sin, it is nowthis way. So we must live with it.”

First, God cursed the snake (Genesis3:14). God also “put contempt” betweenthe snake and the woman and her off-spring (verse 15). The consequences forthe man and the woman were just asprofound, if not more so. God told thewoman that her pregnancy would bepainful (verse 16). God cursed the landbecause of the man and declared thatthe man must labor hard among “weedsand thistles” that would grow among theplants the man tended.

Because of their sin, this Scripturetells us, the humans “saw clearly” (verse7). They had a deeper comprehension ofthe world around them. It was a naturaland expected consequence of eating thefruit of the tree. The next consequence,however, was that they realized they

were naked. In that first moment ofshame, they had to sew f ig leavestogether. Both of those things were con-sequences: one potentially good, theother tragic.

The next consequence marks a sadmoment in human history. Apparently,most every evening, the Lord God wouldwalk in the garden. Perhaps the humansmet God there and communed inblessedness. But on this day, they hid,and God had to call, “Where are you?”(verse 9). You see, it’s neither a punish-ment nor God’s fault or actions that thehumans had broken the divine relation-ship. It was a terrible consequence oftheir actions, their sin.

I believe the final consequence camein where the humans would live. It’s adecision God made, but it appears thatin order for there not to be another badchoice by the humans (to eat of the treeof life), they had to leave the garden ofparadise. Some might call this a punish-ment, but I think that, because of thechange in the nature of the humans andtheir newfound knowledge, the gardencould no longer sustain them without fur-ther danger, so they had to leave.

Verse 24 says that God “drove out thehuman.” Their sin (stepping away fromGod) also meant that their entire liveswould change and, in a way, become farless than what they were before.

Knowing that God loves you, how canthat begin to change your choices in life?

Lesson 1 7 March 1


Lesson 2 8 March 8

PurposeTo realize that suffering can come to all parts of our lives.

Hearing the Word The Scripture for this lesson is printed below.

Jesus in Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-46 (NIV) 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to aplace called Gethsemane, and he said to them,“Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons ofZebedee along with him, and he began to besorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is over-whelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stayhere and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his faceto the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is pos-sible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not asI will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples andfound them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keepwatch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fallinto temptation. The spirit is willing, but the fleshis weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed,“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to betaken away unless I drink it, may your will bedone.” 43 When he came back, he again foundthem sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away oncemore and prayed the third time, saying the samething. 45 Then he returned to the disciples andsaid to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man isdelivered into the hands of sinners.46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Matthew 26:36-46 (KJV) 36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto aplace called Gethsemane, and saith unto thedisciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the twosons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful andvery heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul isexceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry yehere, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little farther, and fell onhis face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it bepossible, let this cup pass from me: neverthe-less not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, andfindeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What,could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not intotemptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but theflesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time,and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup maynot pass away from me, except I drink it, thy willbe done. 43 And he came and found them asleepagain: for their eyes were heavy. 44 And he left them, and went away again,and prayed the third time, saying the samewords. 45 Then cometh he to his disciples, andsaith unto them, Sleep on now, and take yourrest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son ofman is betrayed into the hands of sinners.46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at handthat doth betray me.


Lesson 2 9 March 8

Seeing the Need

Difficulties, problems, and losses cometo each of us throughout our lives. Peoplewe love––friends, family members, andspouses––face illnesses and die. We losejobs and deal with financial concerns. Wedeal with the consequences of our poordecisions and those of other people. Weface broken relationships and wonder howhealing can ever come. We suffer. Some ofthe suffering is even beyond our imagina-tion, and sometimes we wonder how wewill ever survive such heart pain over situ-ations that nearly destroys us.

This lesson focuses on suffering—per-sonal, heartbreaking, and real sufferingthat comes to our lives. As we consider thesuffering of Jesus in the garden, listenclosely for the good news that can help us

move through the suffering that we haveexperienced or will experience.

What Is Suffering?

When our sons were teenagers, mywife, Cheri, andI could have used a grantfrom the Department of Agriculture toassist with the purchase and preparationof the food required to fill their stomachs.Even after having healthy breakfasts andgood lunches, by 4:00 in the afternoon,they had consumed their third full meal ofthe day. The amazing thing is, though, thatthe meal had no effect on their hungerwhen 5:30 or 6:00 rolled around. All thework of a full evening meal vanishedbefore our eyes as the horde from thebasement descended on the kitchen! Theywere polite enough to wait until about8:30 before looking for a snack. Wethought the ingestion of massive amountsof food was necessary to keep them fromsuffering the agony of empty stomachs.

Suffering is a subjective word; that is,the suffering each of us might identifybelongs to us. You might look at what I callsuffering and think it is silly, that I’m mak-ing a big deal out of nothing. However, anyfeelings we have rightfully belong to us.Though the ways we suffer vary greatly,the experience is one we all share at onetime or another. The word suffer means“to bear, undergo, or endure” something.What we endure or undergo in terms ofsuffering is always something that createspain or grief or fear. It’s just not a happyword for us to own.

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

March 2 Psalm 61:1-5

March 3 John 17:1-5

March 4 John 17: 6-15

March 5 John 17:16-19

March 6 Matthew 26:36-39


March 8 Luke 22:39-43


Lesson 2 10 March 8

Suffering is like having an aching bigtoe. No matter what we do, we can’t getaway from the pain. It invades and paintsa gray layer over everything. Even when weare involved in our everyday life, the pain isthere. The distraction the aching createskeeps us from experiencing what the restof life has to offer. We are suffering. Someof that suffering is almost overwhelming.The shock or the situation we are in maybe so pervasive and life-robbing that weare nearly broken in two.

Think of the devastation caused by ahurricane or a tornado, when all seemslost, when lives are taken. The reaction ofthose whose lives seemed normal just aday before is justifiably agonizing. Withloss and brokenness in life, with thedestruction of those things that create thebeautiful and happy framework of ourlives, it appears that suffering is the onlyword that seems fit to use. Suffering isthat terrible, honest tearing apart of life,the heaping of burdens and loss thatbecomes what we must undergo orendure, because there’s no other way tolive at the time.

Matthew 26:37-38 offers us a descrip-tion of Jesus at one of the lowestmoments of his life. Read how Jesusdescribed himself. The New Revised Stan-dard Version (NRSV) translates Jesus assaying, “I am deeply grieved, even todeath,” while in the New International Ver-sion (NIV), Jesus says, “My soul is over-whelmed with sorrow to the point ofdeath.” The Common English Bible (CEB)

translates Jesus as saying, “I’m very sad.It’s as if I’m dying.” Jesus was profoundlytroubled. He was suffering.

While we certainly have not faced thecircumstances Jesus faced that night, wehave felt similar agony. We know what itfeels like to face impending and unavoid-able pain. The suffering resulting from thedecision that Jesus came to, to die onbehalf of the world, was agony, and he feltit. Jesus did not simply go through themotions of this garden of Gethsemaneexperience. He was deeply affected bywhat transpired there. Yes, he felt as if hewas dying, because he would be betrayed,denied, beaten, mocked, made a publicspectacle of, and then hung on an instru-ment of humiliation and execution beforethe sun went down the next day.

When suffering seems to overwhelm uslike ocean waves crashing over our heads,we can take comfort that Jesus knowswhat we are going through. Jesus speaksto each of us and says, “I know it hurts. Iknow the pain, and I cry with you over thestruggle and suffering you are goingthrough right now. Take my hand, and let’sgo through this together.” Knowing thatthe Lord of the universe knows our paindoesn’t make the pain go away, but itshould help us each morning as we waketo go through the next day with Jesus byour side.

What difference does it make for you toknow that Jesus also suffered?


Friends Should Help

“Randy, I have cancer.” The phone callcame on a beautiful spring day in theDakotas. My friend called from ten hoursaway. He had visited a few different doc-tors and had experienced several invasivetests. If you have ever received a call likethis, you know that nothing prepares youto hear those words from a friend. I didn’tknow what to say, and I struggled againstsaying that everything was going to beokay. His voice carried fear and a brokenspirit. Cancer, a malicious presence hedidn’t know how to eradicate, had invadedhis body.

So I said I was sorry and asked how hewas feeling. I also asked about the nextsteps he was going to take. The big issue,of course, was how he was going to live inthe midst of something threatening his liv-ing. I promised him I’d keep in touch andwould hold him in prayer, and I told him tocall me whenever he wanted to.

As faithful brothers in Christ, we bothknew prayer was critical for his healingand that prayer indeed is powerful. Still,the suffering remained, and the uncer-tainty of the future was permeating andnearly kept him from living the days thathe had been given. But I hoped that mywords would somehow let him know that Iwas there for him for whatever that wouldmean to him as he underwent the struggleand suffering of cancer in his life.

When something comes into our livesthat creates suffering and pain, we often

reach out to someone we know and trust.At the core of our beings as humans, espe-cially when something bad happens, wedon’t want to be alone. Somehow justknowing that someone else knows whatwe are going through gives us the courageand the grace to be able to talk about itand to determine that it won’t overwhelmand control us.

Perhaps one of the saddest humanexperiences is to suffer in silence or to tryto endure a horrible thing and keep it asecret. That’s not to say we stand on astreet corner and announce our suffering.But it does mean that we are better offwhen we share our burdens with thosewho can help us shoulder the pain, or atleast are able to know that we are in suchpain and suffering in our lives. When myDad was dying in the hospital, I spent sev-eral nights sitting up with him, just to bethere and tell him it was all right when hewould wake with fear in his voice.

At one of his most painful moments,Jesus called on his dear friends, his clos-est companions, Peter, James, and John.“I’m very sad,” he told them. “It’s as if I’mdying. Stay here and keep alert with me”(Matthew 26:38). Remember who thesethree were to Jesus. This select trio hadbeen with Jesus at his transfiguration(17:1). They vowed they were willing todrink from the same cup as Jesus (20:22).In other words, they were willing to die forhim (26:33).

Keep alert. Be my friends. Stay hereand just be with me, Jesus said to them.

Lesson 2 11 March 8


Lesson 2 12 March 8

He wanted their presence and their atten-tion. The fact is, there was nothing theycould do except to be with him so that hewould not have to suffer alone.

When has someone sat with you inyour suffering? What was the most helpfulthing they said or did?

The Time Has Come

After making his request of his closefriends and disciples, Jesus “went a shortdistance farther and fell on his face andprayed, ‘My Father, if it’s possible, takethis cup of suffering away from me. How-ever—not what I want but what you want’ ”(Matthew 26:39). Jesus’ prayer reflects hisdeep struggle, asking God first to deliverhim from death but then stating firmly andclearly his commitment to God’s will.

It’s sad and almost painful, to readthat, after Jesus prayed this poignantprayer, “he came back to the disciples andfound them sleeping” (verse 40). Theyactually fell asleep three different timesthat evening (verses 42-43)!

They had one thing to do: to stay withJesus and to stay awake. Instead, theyslept and found comfort in the placewhere Jesus found agony. They fell farshort of doing what should have been asimple thing. We like to think that wewould never have done that, but we cancertainly think of times when we havewalked away from Jesus’ call to stay withhim. It is not a matter of what we pledgewe will do for Jesus. It’s a matter of what

we do at each moment that shows ourlove is more powerful than our personaldesires of comfort.

Sadly, Jesus needed the disciples, andthey faded to sleep. “Look,” he told them,“the time has come for the Human One tobe betrayed into the hands of sinners. Getup. Let’s go. Look, here comes mybetrayer” (verses 45-46).

What have you committed to Jesus?What distracts you or pulls you away fromkeeping your commitment?

God Is With Us. We Are Not Alone

Most often, we humans don’t do wellall alone. Even when we think we are self-reliant, the sense of loneliness and empti-ness in life is an entire other form of suf-fering that we usually try to avoid.

In October 2013, I was living in RapidCity, South Dakota, while Cheri was livingin Fargo, North Dakota––nine hoursaway––where she found work. One day, itsnowed hard in Rapid City. By the time itstopped three days later, over 31 inches ofsnow had fallen at my house, coupled withwinds that gusted up to 71 miles per hour.Two hours after the snow and wind began,I lost electricity, phone, internet, and cellu-lar service.

For three days, I was trapped in thehouse with no way to communicate withthe outside world. An eight-foot by eight-foot by seven-foot-thick snow drift closedoff my front doors. It is amazing how quiet


and lonely it can be when you are alone ina house with no power, lights, heat, or any-thing!

If I never have to experience that again,it would be just fine with me! Sometimeinto the second day, I spontaneouslybegan to talk to God. I shared a lot of feel-ings, a lot of ideas, of lot of anger, and alot of requests for help. On day three, sud-denly the power came back on! And thenjust as quickly, it went out for another sixhours. By then, however, I was doing okay.It wasn’t mystical or deeply religious, but Iexperienced the presence of God with me.God kept saying, “It’s okay. What else doyou need besides me?”

God was right. What I needed was thepresence of the one who made me andwas sustaining me. It was a powerful expe-rience when all was said and done andgrew my relationship with and my relianceon God in a good way.

That night in the garden, Jesus hadhoped not to be alone. He had hoped forhis friends to stay with him, but it was as ifhe were separated from all of them. Thatnight, however, Jesus did have God. As hefaced painful realities alone while hisfriends slept, with the presence of God,Jesus was able to come to a sense of

peace, acceptance, and surrender. Heknew that, in all things, God would be withhim, even when he would feel thatabsence on the cross. He knew that Godwould bring life, even after death.

So it is with you and me. When we takethe time to pray, to listen, and to realizethat, when no one else is there, God iswith us, we too can be filled with that pres-ence and that promise, even when we areforced to drink of the cup from pain andsuffering in our lives. God is still with usand will sustain us in all things with thelove that will not let us go. This is our faithas Christians. This is God’s grace pouredout on us when nothing else seems towork.

“We are not alone,” proclaims “A State-ment of Faith of the United Church ofCanada.” “We trust in God. . . . In life, indeath, in life beyond death, God is with us.We are not alone. Thanks be to God.Amen.”1

Knowing that God will always be withyou, how does that change the way inwhich you deal with suffering in your life?

Lesson 2 13 March 8

1 From “A Statement of Faith of the United Church of Canada,” The United Methodist Hymnal; page 883.


Numbers 21:4-9 (NIV) 4 They traveled from Mount Hor along theroute to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. Butthe people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and againstMoses, and said, “Why have you brought us upout of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is nobread! There is no water! And we detest this mis-erable food!” 6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakesamong them; they bit the people and manyIsraelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “Wesinned when we spoke against the Lord andagainst you. Pray that the Lord will take thesnakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for thepeople. 8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snakeand put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten canlook at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and putit up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten bya snake and looked at the bronze snake, theylived.

Numbers 21:4-9 (KJV) 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by theway of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom:and the soul of the people was much discouragedbecause of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, andagainst Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us upout of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is nobread, neither is there any water; and our soul loa-theth this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among thepeople, and they bit the people; and much peopleof Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, andsaid, We have sinned, for we have spoken againstthe Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, thathe take away the serpents from us. And Mosesprayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee afiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shallcome to pass, that every one that is bitten, whenhe looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, andput it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a ser-pent had bitten any man, when he beheld the ser-pent of brass, he lived.

Lesson 3 14 March 15

PurposeTo confess our often self-centered approach to our relationship with God

Hearing the WordThe Scripture for this lesson is printed below.

The Israelites in the Wilderness



Seeing the NeedAdmit it: As cute and cuddly as they

are, babies are also self-centered. Theybelieve they should always have theirown way: fed and held when they want,diapers changed immediately ondemand, full attention all the time.Often, we sit in awe of the miraculousand marvelous new creations of Godthat they are.

Self-centeredness is a human condi-tion. Nearly every day, most all of us takeinto account our own needs, wants, andsense of being and often as not placethese at the center of our lives and ourworld. We can forgive this sense of self-centeredness in babies, children, andteenagers since it is part of humangrowth and development.

But as adults, we are often self-cen-

tered when we are sick or have signifi-cant issues that arise in our lives. Wethink of ourselves first when we feel painor are having trouble dealing withchanges. We can think of a thousand dif-ferent reasons and acts of self-centered-ness that we have experienced orobserved in others. This is humannature.

However, when self-centerednessbecomes our default attitude, we are indanger. We are in danger of losing thebest part of our lives when we makeeverything else a servant of our needs,because we miss the experience of thebeauty of things in and of themselves.When I need you to serve me, and I seeyou only in that light, I never see you aswho you are.

Unfortunately, the children of Israelhad that tendency throughout their wan-dering in the wilderness. This lessonleads us to look at their self-centered-ness and God’s interesting reaction to it.Their story can remind us of our ownself-centered tendencies in our relation-ship with God.

Feeling ProudIn the verses just before today’s

Focus Scripture, we find an importantstory. The Israelites had wandered intothe northern Negev desert, in what todayis southern Israel. At that time, it wasruled by a Canaanite king. Israel was nota warrior nation, and the king of Aradfought with them and took someIsraelites into captivity. Israel prayed toGod to give them the power to defeat theking, and in return they would destroy

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

March 9 Exodus 17:1-7

March 10 Numbers 14:1-4



March 13 Numbers 21:4-9

March 14 John 3:9-15

March 15 1 Corinthians 10:1-13


the city. It happened as they prayed, andthey experienced another victory over aforeign force (Numbers 21:1-3).

When our son Adam was in elemen-tary school, he played on a good soccerteam. They managed to pretty well whipmost of the other fourth-grade teams.The inherent danger of being so good,unfortunately, was that they believedthey deserved to win every game.Instead of showing good sportsmanship,they grew boastful and arrogant. Everygoal they scored became an opportunityto belittle the other team. It was nolonger fun to watch them play.

Their coach, embarrassed and frus-trated, arranged for them to play a gameagainst another team from a neighboringtown. We quickly understood the coach’smind. Our team held their own for a goodfour minutes, and then the other teambegan to play with their own disciplined,incredibly good skills. By the time thehalf was over, it had become a hugerout. More significantly, when the otherteam scored over and over against us,they had no reaction; they just went backin formation, ready to score again. It wasa marvelously humbling experience forthe team and for all of us.

The Israelites had won a few differentbattles, and after this most recent vic-tory over the Canaanites, we can imag-ine that they were feeling proud and per-haps a little haughty. Then they startedcomplaining to Moses and to God abouttheir living conditions.

“Why did you bring us up from Egyptto kill us in the desert,” they challenged

God and Moses (verse 5). Granted, theywere in the wilderness, but their basicneeds were being met, even by themiraculous gift of daily manna God gavethem for their sustenance. In theirhaughty self-centeredness, they rejectedwhat God had given them: “We detestthis miserable bread!” (verse 5). Howarrogant, rude, and self-centered couldthey be to complain af ter God hadbrought them out of slavery!

What would we have done in their cir-cumstances? Would we have demandeda change in our living conditions? Wouldwe think so highly and completely of our-selves that we would impugn the gifts ofGod? What about in our actual circum-stances? Have we ever been guilty ofsimilar attitudes toward God’s provi-sions?

Self-centeredness means that wedraw the baseline of what is acceptablefor us at such a high level that wedemand the world––and God––to shapeup and see to our needs, and do sopronto. Self-centeredness creates ahunger in our hearts not for peace but tofeed what cannot be satisfied. As aresult, the self-centered person is themost miserable being on earth.

Think about a time when you wereself-centered. What happened to yourinner balance? What about your heart?

Say What?Can you think of a time when, as

soon as words came out of your mouth,you wished you could quickly gatherthem back from the atmosphere andstuff them back down your throat?




At the age of 13, I had lots of activi-ties and friends and accomplishments ofall sorts. I never even noticed the trans-formation growing inside of me frombeing delighted with the good parts ofmy life to demanding that the rest of mylife get in line with those other parts.Everything, slowly but surely, becamethings that pleased me or displeasedme. It was all about me, the Center ofthe Known Universe.

One day when I came home fromschool, I encountered the smell of navybean soup. I hated navy bean soup.Mom was in the kitchen, and I stompedin and began to berate her for “makingsuch garbage” for dinner.

You can most likely surmise that thiswas not the appropriate thing for me tosay on a number of levels! Mom lookedat me for a good minute or so, and thenshe put down the spoon and walked outof the kitchen. My big, important, self-centered world crumbled. I wished thatshe had knocked me on the foreheadwith the spoon, but she just left. I hadtaken her feelings, thrown them on thefloor, and stepped on them—this womanwho had often gone without so that theseven of us children could have more. Isaw beyond myself, and I saw myself,and it wasn’t pretty or even acceptable.

Yes, I apologized, and, yes, we madeup; but I never forgot the experience ofplacing myself above a person who lovedme. Even today, I remember it with pain.

So, the Israelites didn’t like theirmanna—their navy bean soup—or appar-ently anything else God had provided to

sustain them in the wilderness. Theywere so full of themselves that theytreated God like their own servant.

Verse 6 is powerfully understated:“So the Lord sent poisonous snakesamong the people and they bit the peo-ple. Many of the Israelites died.” Isn’t itfascinating that the same creature whoparticipated in the fall from Eden nowwantonly moved through the nation ofIsrael and killed many of them? God did-n’t say a word to the people. God’sresponse to their condemnation waspowerful, however. What can we thinkabout God’s reaction?

Honestly, it was harsh and scary. Wetend not to think of God acting this way.Let’s set aside the idea that God wasjust angry and decided to let them haveit. Nothing in the Scripture text speaks tohow God felt at this point. But what Goddid was a witness to great power.

Just as God rained down the plagueson Egypt for their denial of that powerand authority, so it was even with thechildren of Israel when God unleashedthe snakes on them. When they com-plained to Moses, all Moses could dowas be frustrated and put out by theirdemands and behavior. When they com-plained to God, we can see that theresponse was indeed not what theyexpected!

Could it also be that God wanted tomake a definite point? Notice that Goddidn’t rain fire and lightning down on theIsraelites didn’t turn their water to blood,or give them boils. God simply let loosethe creatures of the wilderness. Poison-



ous snakes would have been prevalentin that region. Even today, vipers arenumerous and deadly.

Could it be that God intended withthis action to answer Israel’s complaintthat they had been brought up to bekilled in the wilderness? It’s as if Godmeant to prove that, indeed, God didn’thave to kill them. There were plenty ofthings, such as poisonous vipers, to killand injure the Israelites in this place.Rather than bring them up from Egypt tokill them, it was the other way around.God was the one who had protectedthem, even in the land of snakes andscorpions and other things that so easilykill.

When God heard Israel’s selfish com-plaints and condemnation, God seemsto have said (and I’m paraphrasing, ofcourse), “Say what? You don’t know whatI have done for you, and you complainabout the bread I have given you to sus-tain your life? Go ahead and deal withsome snakes for a while, and then wecan talk.”

In a sense, God punished the peoplein a harsh way. But in another sense,God simply allowed them to experiencelife without the divine presence so theycould experience the danger and fatalconsequences of acting self-centeredbefore the God who controls bread andsnakes.

What have you experienced when youdemanded that God meet your needsaccording to your specifications? Howdoes God sustain your life?

Repentance and HealingIt’s easy, isn’t it, for us to say we are

sorry about minor or simple offensesagainst other people, such as bumpingagainst them or interrupting them in con-versation. “Sorry” becomes simply partof good manners, and we ask to beexcused from the penalty of inappropri-ate behavior. Most often, they will say,“That’s all right” or “No problem.”

But when it comes to a major episodeof offense, often, it’s incredibly hard forthe offender to ask for forgiveness. Andit can be equally hard for those who havebeen hurt to wholly extend forgiveness tothose who have offended them. I’veoften said that the most delicious posi-tion someone can be in is holding otherpeople’s wrongs against them, standingrighteously wounded as a true victim.The trouble is, when we refuse to releaseothers from their imprisonment of wrong,we too are frozen in time and unable tomove forward.

It’s hard to forgive, because we haveto give away what is ours: our sense ofbeing wronged and our sense of beinginnocent. However, it is only in repen-tance and the offering of forgivenessthat true healing can begin to occur andour l ives once again become morewhole.

So, the people of Israel knew theyhad blown it. With snakes slitheringaround killing their family members, thepeople went to Moses. Notice they didn’tgo directly to God the way they did whenthey decided to condemn and fault Godfor their inconvenience. The people wentto Moses and said, “We’ve sinned, for



we spoke against the Lord and you. Prayto the Lord so that he will send thesnakes away from us” (Numbers 21:7).

As before, God did not address thepeople directly for their behavior.Instead, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Makea poisonous snake and place it on apole. Whoever is bitten can look at it andlive.’ Moses made a bronze snake andplaced it on a pole” (verses 8-9). Who-ever was bitten by a snake “could look atthe bronze snake and live,” God toldMoses (verse 9).

We need to realize what God did withthis command to Moses. Is there any-where else in the Bible where, if some-one looks at a piece of bronze on a stick,they are healed? Not that I can think of.Could it be that the symbol of the bronzesnake is better understood as a call tothe people to repent and renew theirfaith? Would they have faith enough tosimply look at a bronze snake on a stickand so be healed? That’s what hap-pened. The snake was a focal point forthe people to trust in God once again.

Did they believe God would care forthem, see to their needs, and even healthem from venomous snake bites? Ifthey did, then they could go to God hum-bled and ready to receive, not out of self-centeredness, but with gratitude forGod’s grace and provision.

The fact is, we, like they, need God.Their story challenges us to examine ourrelationship with God and repent of thetimes and ways we have been self-cen-tered in that relationship. It warns us toavoid becoming haughty about what wethink we deserve or complaining abouthow we have not gotten what we thinkshould be coming to us. It reminds us torespond in gratitude for God’s forgive-ness toward us and extend to others theforgiveness we have received.

For what do you seek God’s forgive-ness today? To whom do you need toextend forgiveness?


Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV) 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into thewilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights,he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If youare the Son of God, tell these stones to becomebread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shallnot live on bread alone, but on every word thatcomes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy cityand had him stand on the highest point of thetemple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said,“throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He willcommand his angels concerning you, and theywill lift you up in their hands, so that you will notstrike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written:‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very highmountain and showed him all the kingdoms ofthe world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you willbow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, andserve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels cameand attended him.

Matthew 4:1-11 (KJV) 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into thewilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and fortynights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said,If thou be the Son of God, command that thesestones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Manshall not live by bread alone, but by every word thatproceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holycity, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son ofGod, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall givehis angels charge concerning thee: and in theirhands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thoudash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again,Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into anexceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all thekingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will Igive thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence,Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lordthy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold,angels came and ministered unto him.

Jesus in the WildernessPurpose

To claim the power of Scripture to combat temptation in our lives

Hearing the Word

The Scripture for this lesson is printed below.




Seeing the NeedTemptation. The word always involves

the enticement to do something wewould otherwise not do, and usually thatsomething is sin. “I’m tempted to try thatnew dessert.” “I’m tempted to do this ordo that,” usually based on the lure ofsomething that exists out there some-where. I think we can be honest thattemptation rarely, if ever, is some forcethat calls us into holiness or right waysof living. More likely, it’s the “come on”to do what we should not do.

Isn’t it interesting that, immediatelyafter his baptism and the spoken bless-ing from God calling Jesus God’s Son(Matthew 3:13-17), Jesus was led by theSpirit into an extended time of tempta-tion? It was a time to test Jesus’ ownspirit and confidence in God’s power inhis life to overcome the need or lure tolive like anyone else in the world.

The great news of this Scripture isthat Jesus did overcome this temptation.He did what we wish and hope we coulddo. As we look closely at this incidentfrom Jesus’ life, we can learn how Jesussaid no to temptation, and we can find inhis example resources to help us growmore fully into Christlikeness.

The Fact of TemptationMaybe it’s something fairly innocent,

such as wanting another piece of choco-late, or not counting that one missedstroke on the golf course. It could be abit more serious, such as breaking a traf-fic law or shoplifting. Or even more, giv-ing one’s self over to pornography or toacts of violence or vandalism. As wenoted in earlier lessons, the lure oftemptation is woven into our behavior ashumans. We want what we cannot orshould not have; and in our self-centerednature, we think we should receive pref-erential treatment or be allowed to dowhat no one should do.

It’s important to realize that tempta-tion is not a rational thing. It is always anemotional takeover of our reason andour core beliefs. When we are temptedto do something, whatever it is seems torise in power and overwhelm normaldecisions we would otherwise make.

My beloved wife, Cheri, is one of themore balanced and reasonable peopleI’ve ever known, except when it comes toshoes. I have three pairs of shoes that Iwear, including a pair of sandals for thesummer. I just sneaked into our closetand counted over 25 pairs of shoesCheri owns, not including the pair she iswearing today. This count also does notinclude the near dozen pairs she is giv-ing away to help others dress more fash-ionably. Frankly, she has never met a

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

March 16 Proverbs 1:10-17


March 18 James 1:2-4, 13-15

March 19 Deuteronomy 8:1-10

March 20 Deuteronomy 6:10-19

March 21 Hebrews 4:11-16




pair of shoes she didn’t like, and sheusually buys them!

Cheri is helpless in the face offootwear. Not me, of course. I’m happywith my eight-year-old dress shoes. Butlet’s not talk about our collection ofantique stoneware crocks, okay? I mean,there is always room for another piecefor the house, right?

Our temptations are as varied as ourpersonalities, and we need to under-stand that temptation never goes away.There are and will always be invitationsto do what no thinking person would rea-sonably do but what seems, at the time,to be a good path to take. Once we areclear about the reality of temptation inour lives, then we can understand itspower over us. We can also recognizeour need for God to overcome thoseenticing, sometimes innocent, some-times horrible ways in which we aretempted to take a path that is not goodfor us.

Two other things about temptation:First, being tempted usually happenswhen we find ourselves in dangerousplaces. That is, we are most easilytempted when we are outside of our nor-mal element.

When I’m in a strange place, even ifthat’s a shoe store, an antiques mall, ora foreign place I don’t know well, myanti-tempting guard goes down. In themidst of a strange place, I see thingsthat I might not see in my normal life,and those things are tempting and entic-ing. The strong barricades against mov-ing forward on them slide away.

Now that’s not to say that we shouldnever leave home or travel or go to newplaces, but it’s critical for us to alwaysknow where we are and what we are fac-ing. That helps us make decisions that

are less emotional and reactive andmore thoughtful, with a level of reserve.If I go to an antiques store with money inmy pocket and get carried away, I canassure you I will not only be led intotemptation but will embrace it fully andcompletely, with my cash and creditcard!

Second, temptation causes heart-break when I give in to it. The thing thatis tempting me can even try to over-whelm me and take away my reasonableperspective and thoughts. But it is onlywhen I say yes that the temptation andthe tempter win. No one makes us fallinto and agree with temptation. It’s onus. It is our sin, our fault, our lack ofbackbone, or our willingness to pleaseourselves no matter the cost that makesit so horribly effective.

What was happening in your life thatmade the temptation so easy to agree to?

Knowledge Is PowerWhen I was about eight or nine years

old, the Air Force base chapel my familyattended had a junior youth group forchildren in grades three through five. Wehad lots of fun with great songs, lessons,and games. One of the more importantparts, however, was the ongoing Bibleverse memorization. We were challengedto memorize what seemed to be a mas-sive list of Scripture verses.

As we recited the verses we hadlearned each week, the leaders wouldcheck off squares on their large tallyboard. As we passed certain levels, wewould receive precious and valuablegifts, such as rulers with Bible verses onthem or Bibles with the winners’ namesinscribed on them. These were powerfulincentives to learn Bible verses, and theywere effective.



Would it surprise you to know that Istill have all of those prizes in my pos-session today? More important, I stillcan quote a huge number of verses inthe Bible that are woven and cementedinto my brain. I didn’t realize at the timeas an eight-year-old what enormous giftsthose leaders had given me: the abilityto rely on Scripture when things gotrough in my life and to use Scripture insharing the good news with others.

Matthew wrote the verse so plainly, somatter-of-factly: “Then the Spirit ledJesus up into the wilderness so that thedevil might tempt him” (Matthew 4:1).But Jesus was no victim here. As it wasat his baptism, his temptation was “partof his obedience to God.”1

Matthew also tells us that Jesus wentfor 40 days without eating and “wasstarving” (verse 2). But while Jesus wasphysically hungry—he was human, afterall—his 40-day fast had strengthenedhim spiritually for what would come next.That’s when the devil first brought thetemptation to bear. He painted a pictureof what could be if only Jesus were tosuccumb to the temptation to act in away that would betray his true identity asthe Son of God.

The devil was pretty crafty in invitingJesus to take advantage of the privilegeof being God’s Son, to care for himself,to make God care for him, and to lordover the world: “Command these stonesto become bread . . . throw yourselfdown . . . bow down and worship me”(verses 3, 6, 9).

How could Jesus resist such tempta-tion? It was so powerful, and Jesus wasin a weakened state. In those momentsof terrible temptation, Jesus recalled histraining as a boy in the synagogue. Heremembered Scripture verses that must

have been woven into his mind andheart. When the devil made a full-onpress to get Jesus to fall in the tempta-tion, Scripture took over. Jesus didn’thave to bring a long-winded theologicaltreatise. He quoted Scripture, and thetruths of Scripture empowered him towithstand what the devil offered andkeep Jesus on the holy path.

One of my favorite hymns of all time isone I expect you know as well: “How Firma Foundation.” The first stanza says,“How firm a foundation, ye saints of theLord, is laid for your faith in his excellentword!”2 Within the United Methodist tra-dition are four factors guiding our under-standing of God: Scripture, tradition, rea-son, and experience. The primaryresource and standard for doctrine isScripture, God’s excellent Word.

A great tragedy in a Christian’s lifeoccurs when that person has no knowl-edge of God through Scripture. Ofcourse, we can understand the grace ofGod and the gift of Christ in many ways,but a powerful core source comes as westudy the Bible, as we learn the verses,and as we weave those verses into ourvery lives. For many people, all I have todo is write, “The Lord is my Shepherd, Ishall not want,” and you can completethe sentence and probably many othersthat follow it. You know the power ofthose words to comfort, to guide, toreconfirm God’s loving care. Just asJesus relied on his learning, so we havethe responsibility and opportunity to dothe same.

What verses of Scripture do you mostcherish? How much time do you spendin reading and studying Scripture on aregular basis?



To Say the Right ThingCan you think of a time when, after

the heat of an intense conversation, youcame up with absolutely the best retortor response, but it was too late? I cer-tainly can. For some reason, it seemsour brains often freeze up when we arein an argument, and we miss the chanceto provide a strong comeback. I like tothink of it as God guarding our mouths,saying, “That’s enough; time to cool off.”Sti l l , we probably do wish we hadthought of those things to say earlier.

Jesus was in a face-to-face battle withthe devil. He was exhausted and starv-ing, having spent 40 days alone and nowbeing in a weakened state. The devilcame on strong, affirming Jesus’ identityas God’s Son but challenging him aboutwhat that actually meant to him. Sinceyou’re hungry, he said, “command thesestones to become bread” (verse 3).Would Jesus decide to perform a miracleto assuage his own hunger and that ofothers (notice the plural “stones”), orwould he rely on God to provide for him?Jesus’ reply was simple and direct, andhe quoted Scripture: “It’s written, Peoplewon’t live only by bread, but by everyword spoken by God” (verse 4; Deuteron-omy 8:3).

Having been foiled in that first test,the devil then took Jesus “into the holycity and stood him at the highest point ofthe temple,” challenging him to “throw[himself] down.” After all, the devil said,also quoting Scripture, “it is written, I willcommand my angels concerning you,and they will take you up in their handsso that you won’t hit your foot on astone” (verse 6). Again, Jesus’ reply wassimple and direct: “Don’t test the Lordyour God” (verse 7; Deuteronomy 6:16).

The devil was still not done withJesus, taking him next “to a very highmountain” where he “showed him all thekingdoms of the world and their glory”(verse 8). All of this can be yours, thedevil told Jesus, “if you bow down andworship me” (verse 9). Why not trust thatGod will protect you, even if you dosomething as careless as jumping offthe top of the Temple? the devil said.How about just bowing down to me, and Iwill give you all of the kingdoms of theworld? Think of the power you wouldhave! Strong temptations, to be sure,and ones we might cave into and accept.But the kingdoms the devil offered toJesus were not his to give.

A third time, Jesus rebuffed the devilby quoting Scripture, this time adding hisown words as well: “Go away, Satan,because it’s written, You will worship theLord your God and serve only him” (verse10; Deuteronomy 6:13). Finally, the devilleft Jesus, “and angels came and tookcare of him” (verse 11).

Not only did Jesus know Scripture sowell he could quote it, he knew exactlywhat the devil was tempting him to do,and Jesus responded with exactly theright words at the right time. When facedwith the test and the enticement to sin,encouraged to place himself and hisneeds above God’s will and power, Jesusinstead used the power of Scripture andthe blessing and knowledge of God toovercome the temptation handed to himby the devil.

You see, Jesus knew at that momentwhat overcomes temptation. His love forGod, his humble respect for God’s calland claim on him, his knowledge ofScripture that contains the story of God’sinteraction and grace for this world fromthe beginning of t ime—all of these


empowered Jesus to withstand tempta-tion. Jesus had one thing more: He hadfaith in God’s power and provision.

Notice the three Scripture versesJesus quoted. They all deal with our rela-tionship with God and how we are to liveand trust our lives to God in all things.That’s what defeated the devil. That’salso what will defeat the temptations inour lives, no matter how delicious orenticing or reasonable they seem to be.

Anything that does not draw us closerto God is a temptation to lead us fartheraway from God. We have been given thepower to overcome it, by God’s graceand loving hand. It is our call to live asJesus lived, in love, respect, knowledge,and trust in the one who has created usand who sent his Son to free us from the

burden of being powerless in temptation.Trusting in God empowers us to live in

our world as holy, loving, and hopefulchildren. To try to go it alone will bringonly the certainty of broken hearts andbroken lives for ourselves and others.

What helpful words from Scripturemight you share with someone you knowwho is in the midst of a time of tempta-tion, in their wilderness, who needs tofind a better path with God?


1 From The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume VIII (Abingdon Press); page 163.

2 The United Methodist Hymnal, 529.


2 Kings 25:8-21 (NIV) 8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, inthe nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the impe-rial guard, an official of the king of Babylon,came to Jerusalem. 9 He set fire to the temple of the Lord, theroyal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem.Every important building he burned down. 10 The whole Babylonian army under thecommander of the imperial guard broke downthe walls around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan the commander of theguard carried into exile the people whoremained in the city, along with the rest of thepopulace and those who had deserted to theking of Babylon. 12 But the commander left behind some ofthe poorest people of the land to work the vine-yards and fields. 13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pil-lars, the movable stands and the bronze Seathat were at the temple of the Lord and they car-ried the bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away the pots, shovels,wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articlesused in the temple service. 15 The commander of the imperial guardtook away the censers and sprinkling bowls—allthat were made of pure gold or silver. 16 The bronze from the two pillars, the Seaand the movable stands, which Solomon hadmade for the temple of the Lord, was more thancould be weighed. 17 Each pillar was eighteen cubits high. Thebronze capital on top of one pillar was threecubits high and was decorated with a networkand pomegranates of bronze all around. Theother pillar, with its network, was similar.

18 The commander of the guard took asprisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniahthe priest next in rank and the three doorkeep-ers. 19 Of those still in the city, he took the offi-cer in charge of the fighting men, and five royaladvisers. He also took the secretary who waschief officer in charge of conscripting the peopleof the land and sixty of the conscripts who werefound in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan the commander took themall and brought them to the king of Babylon atRiblah. 21 There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath,the king had them executed. So Judah went intocaptivity, away from her land.

2 Kings 25:8-21 (KJV) 8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh dayof the month, which is the nineteenth year of kingNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, cameNebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant ofthe king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: 9 And he burnt the house of the Lord, andthe king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem,and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that werewith the captain of the guard, brake down the wallsof Jerusalem round about. 11 Now the rest of the people that were left inthe city, and the fugitives that fell away to the kingof Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, didNebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away. 12 But the captain of the guard left of the poorof the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. 13 And the pillars of brass that were in thehouse of the Lord, and the bases, and the brasensea that was in the house of the Lord, did theChaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass ofthem to Babylon.

The People of Judah Are ExiledPurpose

To understand that suffering comes in many forms.





Seeing the NeedI love action movies. You know the

kind: An average guy gets thrust into therole of hero to try to save someone orsomething. He eventually overcomes the

evil with only a scratch over his eye andmaybe a bruised shoulder. At the begin-ning of all of these movies, however, thebad guys seem to have all of the power.They attack everyone who gets in theirway. Then they methodically loot the bankor seize the nuclear weapon or kidnap anunsuspecting soul and head for a secretlocation, where they think they’ll never bediscovered.

It happens every time. And every time,I am taken to the edge of a cliffhangingmoment. Then the hero miraculously winsthe day; all are rescued; the world issaved; and, usually, the hero gets the girl.Make-believe stories and movies likethese are meant for entertainment; andeven as dramatic as they get, we knowthey are not real. The suffering and strug-gle we find in them are just part of thescript. We can imagine that, after thedirector yells “Cut!” the villains and thehero go to lunch together and have agood time.

With 24/7 access to global news,

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

March 23 2 Kings 23:34–24:7

March 24 2 Kings 24:8-17

March 25 2 Kings 24:18–25:7



March 28 2 Chronicles 36:17-21

March 29 Ezekiel 36:33-38

14 And the pots, and the shovels, and thesnuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels ofbrass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and suchthings as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in sil-ver, the captain of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, one sea, and the baseswhich Solomon had made for the house of theLord; the brass of all these vessels was withoutweight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteencubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and theheight of the chapiter three cubits; and the wrea-then work, and pomegranates upon the chapiterround about, all of brass: and like unto these hadthe second pillar with wreathen work.

18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiahthe chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest,and the three keepers of the door: 19 And out of the city he took an officer thatwas set over the men of war, and five men of themthat were in the king’s presence, which were foundin the city, and the principal scribe of the host,which mustered the people of the land, and three-score men of the people of the land that werefound in the city: 20 And Nebuzaradan captain of the guardtook these, and brought them to the king ofBabylon to Riblah: 21 And the king of Babylon smote them, andslew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. SoJudah was carried away out of their land.


much of it involving suffering, it might beeasy for us to turn this real suffering intoa sort of screenplay. But real suffering isjust that, a real, horrible, agonizing experi-ence that can destroy lives and destroyhope. Suffering can be personal, but itcan also be found in a community or inan entire nation, as we experienced onSeptember 11, 2001.

Second Kings 25:8-21 offers a plainand chilling account of the suffering ofthe nation of Judah and the fall of thegreat city of Jerusalem at the hands ofthe Babylonians. It describes suffering ona massive scale that forever changed andinformed the people of Israel about theirlife in this world. As you read this account,pay close attention to the incredible detailthe writer offers. It’s a sad and powerfulstory, with an important meaning for ustoday.

A Bit of BackgroundI’ve always read with interest the sto-

ries of German men, some in their 90snow, who are finally arrested for havingserved during World War II as Nazi guardsat concentration camps. Even more than70 years after their crimes, after havinglived entire lives, the consequences oftheir actions arrive with significant accu-racy and power and result in these menstanding trial and often facing imprison-ment for the rest of their lives. After somany years, they probably thought theywould never face punishment.

By 930BC, the united kingdom of Israelhad gone through internal struggles andhad split into the northern kingdom ofIsrael and the southern kingdom of

Judah. Israel was then conquered by theAssyrians in 722BC. Judah, as we read in2 Kings 25, was conquered in 586BC andthe people led into captivity by the Baby-lonians.

This explains what happened to theregion, but it doesn’t explain why. The“why” unfortunately is simple: The peopleturned away from God, and the rulers didevil in the Lord’s eyes. We can all recallthe wonderful story of the Israelites cross-ing the Jordan River into the promisedland of Canaan, a land that they believedGod had given to them through Abraham.They were God’s chosen people, chosento be a blessing to the world. They werethe example of how people can be incovenant with the God of the universethrough the commandments and the Law.They were a nation founded by God.

Sadly, over the course of generations,over and over again, the chosen peoplechose not to follow God. Instead, theychose to follow their own devices anddesires. They broke the commandments,including worshiping false foreign gods.They, and especially their kings, continu-ally acted as though God didn’t matter.They shattered the covenant time andtime again. Sure, there were some kingslike Josiah who worked to lead the peopleback to God; but after their deaths, thepeople reverted to living apart from God.

Second Kings 23:26 says that, in spiteof Josiah’s faithfulness, “the Lord didn’tturn away from the great rage that burnedagainst Judah . . . and said, ‘I will removeJudah from my presence just as Iremoved Israel. I will reject this city,Jerusalem, which I chose, and this temple




where I promised my name wouldreside.’”

Whether we consider it to be a conse-quence or a punishment levied by Goddoesn’t matter. After generations of thepeople rejecting the prophets’ calls toturn back to God, God decided to sendthem away from all they knew and all thatwas comfortable. This means of sufferingwas laid upon them to change theirhearts and minds to live more humblyand faithfully as God’s people.

If you had been living in Judah at thattime, what would be the last thing youwould expect to happen? It probablywould be to lose your sense of normal:food, shelter, language, possessions, andthe Temple. The Judahites’ impendingsuffering was greater than anyone couldhave imagined, especially since woveninto their cultural minds was the promiseof the Promised Land. That was God’s keygift to them, and soon they would nolonger have it.

What suffering might you undergo butnever expect? What emotions would arisefor you and others?

Ruthless DestructionOne of the parsonages we lived in was

situated on a corner lot. It had beennicely landscaped, with large areas oftrees and bushes dividing up the grassyareas. It took forever to mow and water,but it was pretty, almost like a park.

One morning, after a rainy couple ofdays, I went outside to get the paper, andI saw it. Someone, in the middle of thenight, had driven their truck right acrossour yard and had dug deep ruts in the

grass. Instead of simply using the street,they cut across our yard. It wasn’t an acci-dent. They purposely decided to be van-dals.

It doesn’t take much for me to recallthe feelings I had inside. I was furiousand helpless at the same time. We hadno way of finding out who did it, and itwould take a lot of time to repair the dam-age; and there was no guarantee theywouldn’t do it again. The action by some-one who thought they would just have funor use their power to destroy brought areal measure of suffering to my heart fora while. It was a bad thing, and I could dolittle about it.

Nearly the entire reading of the Scrip-ture for this lesson sounds chilling. Itrecounts a step-by-step progression ofdestruction of Jerusalem and all that thenation of Judah held dear. The act wasrecorded in careful detail (2 Kings 25:8).First, this “commander of the guard” and“official of the Babylonian king” burnedeverything, from the Temple to the palaceto all of the houses (verse 9). Next, heand his army tore down the city wall(verse 10). Then, they exiled all of thepeople, except for a few to farm and workthe vineyards (verses 11-12).

We find the greatest detail in thedescription of the utter destruction of thebeloved Temple Solomon built . TheChaldeans (another name for the Babylo-nians) ransacked and looted it, taking“the bronze . . . the pots, the shovels, thewick trimmers, the dishes, . . . the firepans and the sprinkling bowls, whichwere made of pure gold and pure silver”(verses 13-14). “The bronze in all these



objects,” the text tells us, “was too heavyto weigh” (verse 16).

Finally, the commander of the guardrounded up the leaders of the Templeand the officers and military personneland drove them to Riblah, in what is Syriatoday. Verse 21 is brutal in its simplicity:“The king of Babylon struck them down,killing them.” Those who would possiblyhave had the power to regroup the peopleor maintain the traditions were wiped out.

Please understand the grave meaningof these actions. The city was not justtaken over but was ransacked and thentorn down. The Temple, the center of wor-ship life, was also torn down, and the pre-cious holy things were stolen and cartedoff. The leaders were murdered. Can weunderstand suffering on this scale, notonly the immediate pain of losing somuch but also the suffering of losing theconnection with the past and the senseof being set adrift?

It indeed was a ruthless act. The kingof Babylon wanted to be completely thor-ough in his control of that region, and theway to do that was to disintegrate theentire culture of Judah and take thosewith any type of skills or talents and usethem to further build up his own king-dom. If this were the only part of the Biblewe had available to read, our faith wouldmost likely be found only in despair andgreat sadness.

Let’s recall the context once again.Why would God allow this to happen? It’simportant to acknowledge that God wasnot being mean in this situation. The cho-sen people had become a covenant dis-

aster, with the entire nation living in a waythat seemed to say, “We care nothing forGod.” The only way left to somehow pre-serve the chosen people was to destroyeverything that might come betweenthem and the God who loved them.

Even the Temple had become a substi-tute for their relationship with God, sincethe people, if they worshiped at all, simplywent through the motions of worship with-out making it real. God acted to allow thesuffering that would eventually bring thepeople to a new relationship with God.

Would there be a reason for God toallow this kind of suffering for us?

The ExileOur family lived in Australia when I

was a boy, and it was a marvelous time. Ienjoyed my friends there and the “funny”way they talked. Although, since we werethe only Americans on the base where welived, our English dialect was probably thefunny one!

It was later, as I learned more aboutAustralia, that I discovered a sad and fas-cinating fact: The first British arrived inSidney on a fleet of 11 ships in 1788, car-rying convicts, exiled for life from theirhomes to a faraway land.1 I wonder whatthat would have felt like.

I remember how strange it was tomove from the Red River Valley of NorthDakota, populated by Scandinaviandescendants, to the Black Hills of SouthDakota, where on Sunday mornings youwould find the tops of coat racks filledwith cowboy hats. A number of times, Ithought I should click my heels and find


my way back “home,” because the man-ners, interactions, and even the culturalexpectations there were so different fromNorth Dakota. I wasn’t exiled, but itseemed close. The times I went homewere wonderfully familiar and gave myheart joy.

Second Kings 25:21 closes withanother simple but chilling and profoundstatement: “So Judah was exiled from itsland.” An entire nation, an entire culture,was ripped away from them. Rememberthat Babylonians and Jews did not speakthe same language, nor did they eat thesame food or keep the same calendar.The Babylonians also did not understandthe idea of sabbath or any of the othercommandments and rules the Jews fol-lowed. Nothing in Babylon felt like home.

Perhaps you’ve seen the musical Fid-dler on the Roof and can recall that asthe people are being forced from their vil-lage of Anatevka, they sing of the senseof mourning from having to leave theirlongtime home. The need for the familiarin a sea of foreign is critical for all of us.Even after a wonderful vacation, peopleoften say, “It will be so nice to sleep in myown bed.”

After the killing and slaughter of theleaders of Judah, when the people weretaken to Babylon, they were not tortured,brutalized, or imprisoned. They were thesame as they always had been, except forone thing that brought incredible suffer-ing, sadness, sorrow, and pain. They

couldn’t go home. They couldn’t experi-ence the normal of their normal life. Andeven if they went home, there was noth-ing left of what they had known as home.

So the people of Judah, in one chapterof Scripture, experience death, destruc-tion of their home and center of worship,and exile to a foreign land, so differentand strange from what they had known.

We live in a far different time. Becauseof our ability to travel and to know theworld through television, print, and inter-net sources, we are better connected withpeople and places that seem strange tous. When I go to the mall and walkaround, I can hear people speaking asmany as 10-12 different languages. Thepeople of Judah knew only Judah. Theirsuffering was honest, true, and heart-breaking.

It would eventually end. In 70 years,over two generations later, the peoplewould finally be free to return home to aplace most of the nation had never seen.Perhaps that would have been the great-est moment of suffering, the feeling thatthe place to which they returned was nothome, but it felt like it since their parentswere born there. It should have beenhome, but it too felt like a foreign land.But God was still their God.

Have you ever experienced a kind ofexile from all that you know or love?


1 From gutenberg.net.au/first-fleet.html.


Lesson 6 32 April 5

Mark 15:22-39 (NIV) 22 They brought Jesus to the place calledGolgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed withmyrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up hisclothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. 25 It was nine in the morning when they cruci-fied him. 26 The written notice of the charge againsthim read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 They crucified two rebels with him, one onhis right and one on his left. 28 It is written: ‘And he was numbered withthe transgressors... 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him,shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who aregoing to destroy the temple and build it in threedays, 30 come down from the cross and save your-self!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and theteachers of the law mocked him among them-selves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’tsave himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, comedown now from the cross, that we may see andbelieve.” Those crucified with him also heapedinsults on him. 33 At noon, darkness came over the wholeland until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried

out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”(which means “My God, my God, why have you for-saken me?”). 35 When some of those standing near heardthis, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with winevinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus todrink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijahcomes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in twofrom top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there infront of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surelythis man was the Son of God!”

Mark 15:22-39 (KJV) 22 And they bring him unto the placeGolgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place ofa skull. 23 And they gave him to drink wine mingledwith myrrh: but he received it not. 24 And when they had crucified him, they part-ed his garments, casting lots upon them, whatevery man should take. 25 And it was the third hour, and they crucifiedhim. 26 And the superscription of his accusationwas written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 And with him they crucify two thieves; theone on his right hand, and the other on his left. 28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith,And he was numbered with the transgressors.

Jesus Dies on a CrossPurpose

To recall the unprecedented sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Hearing the Word

The Scripture for this lesson is printed below.


29 And they that passed by railed on him, wag-ging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou thatdestroyest the temple, and buildest it in threedays, 30 Save thyself, and come down from thecross. 31 Likewise also the chief priests mockingsaid among themselves with the scribes, He savedothers; himself he cannot save. 32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend nowfrom the cross, that we may see and believe. Andthey that were crucified with him reviled him. 33 And when the sixth hour was come, therewas darkness over the whole land until the ninthhour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with aloud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?

which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, whyhast thou forsaken me? 35 And some of them that stood by, when theyheard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vine-gar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink,saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias willcome to take him down. 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gaveup the ghost. 38 And the vail of the temple was rent in twainfrom the top to the bottom. 39 And when the centurion, which stood overagainst him, saw that he so cried out, and gave upthe ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son ofGod.

Lesson 6 33 April 5

Seeing the NeedI have always loved Palm Sunday! The

hymns are so happy, and worshipers cele-brate Jesus as the one who comes in the

name of the Lord. I imagine the patchworkquilt of coats laid on the street as heentered Jerusalem that day, carefullyplaced so that not even the hooves of thedonkey that carried Jesus would touch theground.

One year when I was a chi ld, wereceived a special gift on Palm Sunday atchurch. Someone had taken palmbranches, cut them into little strips, andthen stapled them together in the form of across. We each got one as we went in forworship. It was the first time I rememberfeeling the conflict between Palm Sundayand Passion Sunday or remembering thedeath of Jesus on the cross.

As I held the pieces of palm fronds, Icould feel, right in the center, the hard,sharp edges of the staple that held thefronds together. It felt for me like the sharpedges of the nails that held the crucifiedJesus to the cross. In the midst of thatgrand celebration of the procession ofpalms, I held the symbol of what wouldcome to be the saddest day of the year. I

DAILY BIBLE STUDY



April 1 Hebrews 9:1-12

April 2 Mark 15:22-32



April 5 John 19:31-37


Lesson 6 34 April 5

grew up a little bit that day.As you reread the Passion story, do so a

bit more slowly than usual. Try to recreatein your own mind the events on the dayJesus died. Doing so can help us come to adeeper gratitude for what the Son of Godendured for our eternal sake and life.

A Matter of FactOne of my hobbies is to explore my fam-

ily history. I’ve made connections to theMayflower and even to King Charlemagne(mostly for boasting rights!), but the morefascinating parts have come as I’ve discov-ered various death certificates of my long-lost family members.

They are stark in their descriptions,usually simply stating the date of death,the location, and the specific time. Theyalso usually state the cause of death: can-cer, cancer of the stomach, hear tattack/stroke, pleurisy, brain disease, orold age. Quite a few relatives were killed inbattle. There are lots of ways we can die,aren’t there? My extended family seems torepresent a wide variety. However, nowheredo we find “died by crucifixion” as a causeof death.

Mark’s way of writ ing his Gospelinvolved wasting no words. He almostseems to have been in a hurry to recordonly essential details. He didn’t create anyflowery illustrations or images. For exam-ple, read Mark 15:24, which bluntly states,“They crucified him.” Simply horrible butplainspoken, just as it was to read of theprocess by which the soldiers determinedwho would get the only things left thatJesus owned: “They divided up his clothes,drawing lots for them to determine whowould take what.”

Jesus had been taken to Golgotha(verse 22) outside the city walls, mostlikely close to where the burial site waslocated. The word Golgotha comes fromthe Aramaic, gulgulta, which, as the Biblestates, literally means “the place of theskull.” Some scholars say that the actuallocation somehow looked like a skull, butothers simply connect it as a place ofdeath. The word Calvary comes from theLatin calva, which means bald head, orskull. Different languages but the sameessential meaning.

The Romans had a passion for main-taining order and did so through a widevariety of execution methods. Beheading,stabbing, strangling, stoning, burning alive,and worse were all in the repertoire of theRoman executioners. Only they, however,would use the tool of crucifixion, and theyused it as a political weapon. One could becrucified, not for stealing or adultery, butfor sedition, which was the attempt to over-throw the government.

Some believe that the two men cruci-fied with Jesus (verse 27; “thieves,” KingJames Version; “bandits,” NRSV) were“outlaws” (CEB) or “rebels” (NIV) againstthe government since there were dozens ofrebellious groups in Palestine at the time.Even though the high priest believed Jesusshould be executed for blasphemy, Romedidn’t care. It wasn’t their religion. How-ever, they did agree to crucify Jesus forcommitting a civil crime, of making state-ments and promoting the belief that heindeed was King of the Jews and a civilthreat to Roman power.

However we might interpret the reasonsfor his execution, there is no doubt of thehumiliation, pain, and agony that Jesusexperienced that day. Imagine the incredi-


Lesson 6 35 April 5

ble sacrifice he gave himself over to experi-ence. For us as followers of Christ, webelieve this act of self-giving, as horrible away as it was for Jesus to die, brought eter-nal life and salvation to this world.

As you think about the plain, simplefacts of Jesus’ crucifixion, what does itmean to you personally to know he died foryou? What is the best way for you torespond to Jesus’ death on a cross?

My God, My God!When our two sons were growing up,

Cheri and I of ten took them on hikesthrough various areas of the Black Hills ofSouth Dakota. One day, we decided to hiketo the top of Bear Butte, an ancient moun-tain-like formation.

It was a long walk uphill. By the time wereached the top, we were a bit winded. Onthe way down, Adam, seven years old atthe time, was curious about everything.“Dad,” he asked, “do you think there areany rattlesnakes around here?” Withoutthinking, I responded, “I’m sure there aresome.” Before I finished the sentence,Adam transformed into a human pogostick, jumping back and forth, hearing forcertain a thousand rattles, ready to strike.He was terrified and could not get back tothe car fast enough.

We all have been through times of fearand terror in our lives, and some of themwere legitimate, even life-threatening.Keep in mind that fear is always a future-directed emotion. What might happen cre-ates the fear, not what has happened orwhat is happening. Even if it is momentsaway, it’s still in the future and undeter-mined.

Do you think Jesus felt fear on the crossthat day? He knew he was going to die, but

he had never experienced death and onlyknew that pain and agony awaited him. Itmust have been terrifying. I think that’swhy he turned to Hebrew Scripture andrecalled what he had learned as a boy: “MyGod, my God, why have you left me?”(Mark 15:34; also Psalm 22:1). Jesusrecalled the words appearing in the psalmjust preceding the one that states, “TheLord is my shepherd; I shall not want”(Psalm 23:1, KJV).

Psalm 22 is a long psalm, with 31verses in contrast to the six verses we findin Psalm 23. When we read it in itsentirety, we discover that it is a song ofagony and suffering. “I cry out during theday . . . even at nighttime I don’t stop,” thepsalmist said (Psalm 22:2).

But the psalm does not end there.Beginning in verse 19 and through the restof the psalm, we find praise of God andaffirmation of trust in God’s presence andcare, even when things are horrible. Thiswas the psalm Jesus offered as he hungfrom a cross. In his sacrifice, Jesus calledout in pain and suffering. But just as surelyas the psalmist’s words, expressing feel-ings of abandonment, were part of his lifeand heart, so also were the words of affir-mation and trust that followed.

How naturally do we employ that kind offaith when we are faced with times ofagony, grief, and loss? Some of us haveexperienced incredible pain, and it per-haps makes us cry out, wondering why Godhas forsaken us. The circumstances them-selves are painful enough, but that painand suffering are multiplied by the sensethat God has abandoned us, leaving us totry to endure it alone.

That’s why investing the time and effortto grow in our faith is so critical. Studying


Lesson 6 36 April 5

the Scriptures, spending time in prayer,nurturing our relationship with God, learn-ing in community with others, and under-standing more fully the gift Jesus is in ourlives—all of these things combine to createa different posture from which we live.When things seem hopeless and withoutpurpose, we can trust that God has indeednot forsaken us. Beyond the momentaryfeeling of loss, we know that God is with usin all things, and we are not alone.

That assurance comes when we takeour Christian faith seriously and make thegrowth of our faith a core priority for ourlives. Our faith is not simply an add-on toliving a good life. It is the center of livingduring times of abundance and in times ofsuffering, because in all things, we do sowith God’s love.

How might you live in the upcomingEaster season that would give you the firmfoundation for living a life of faith in themonths to come?

The End of the TempleMy dad died July 21, 1993. He died in

the morning in the hospital after a fitfulnight flooded with morphine that was sup-posed to ease his pain and calm him. Itdidn’t. Outwardly, Dad had been fine upuntil late spring that year. What eventuallyappeared to be cancer was insidious anddifficult for the doctors to determine.

Dad’s dying was a powerful and signifi-cant part of all of our lives, but his deathcreated a new reality for the Cross family.As a retired lieutenant colonel in the AirForce, Dad was the squadron commanderfor our family. Mom certainly was a leaderas well, but where she expressed her lovethrough tenderness, reason, and conversa-tion, Dad expressed his through order, rou-

tine, and a larger-than-life presence. Whenhe was gone, it was as if pieces of his lifeand gifts were suddenly spread around tothe rest of us.

Granted, oldest brother, Ray, thought hewould simply take on the mantle, which istypical of firstborns, but it didn’t turn outthat way. We have survived and donepretty well, but we are different now. Whatwas on that day in July, simply wasn’t any-more. We often talk about “what used tobe” and even laugh at the ways in whichour family organization lived out its mis-sion. But today, those days are done. It’snot better or worse; it’s just different.

Mark 15:37 uses the same stark sim-plicity we find throughout the rest of theGospel: “But Jesus let out a loud cry anddied.” It was over. The life of the itinerantpreacher and teacher from Galilee, wholed and taught and healed and brought anew understanding of the kingdom of God,was gone. Even before Resurrection threedays later, the world changed. The sacrificeof the Son of God was complete; and theworld, although it didn’t know it quite yet,was offered a new way of living and exist-ing, as the sin of the world had been alsocarried into death and destroyed forever.

In the Temple, “the curtain of the sanc-tuary was torn in two from top to bottom”(verse 38). Some traditions hold that theTemple curtain was 60 feet tall, four inchesthick, and made of blue, purple, and scar-let fine linen. Where Jerusalem was theheart of Jewish life and the Temple theheart of Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies wasbelieved to be the earthly dwelling place ofGod. Only the high priest could enter there,and then only on occasion, to offer the sinoffering on behalf of the people. Becauseof sin, the people were symbolically and lit-


erally kept apart from God.On that Friday, Jesus’ sacrifice became

the once-and-for-all sin sacrifice, and italso meant for Christians that the Holy ofHolies no longer need keep us away fromGod, nor would the Temple be needed asthe symbol of the old covenant. With thetearing of the curtain, the new covenantwith Jesus Christ was ushered into theworld.

In one sense as we read this Scripture,we may be struck in awe over the incredi-ble sacrifice of Jesus In another sense, wecan see that the sacrifice also changed theworld forever. Also notice that the changein everything was not by human effort. Thiswas done by God’s hand. Some imagina-tive writers have suggested that the curtainwas torn from the inside of the Holy ofHolies, as God tore the barrier betweenwhere God was believed to have dwelt andthe entire world outside of that place.

We celebrate and affirm that the workof Good Friday, although physically done bythe hands of Roman executioners, wasaccomplished by the grace of God, whohas freed and reclaimed this world throughthe gift of God’s Son. We know that thistime next week, we will celebrate a differ-ent reality and experience as we willrejoice in the resurrection of Jesus fromthe dead. Let’s not, however, miss thesolemn oppor tunity to rejoice in thisweek’s powerful and loving gift of God.Nothing we have done has enabled this tohappen, but certainly everything we do canbe known as a grateful response for thegracious gift of God through Christ.

What is your own response to God asyou have considered the events recordedin this Scripture?

Lesson 6 37 April 5


Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV) 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first dayof the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Marywent to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for anangel of the Lord came down from heaven and,going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and saton it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and hisclothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that theyshook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not beafraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus,who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as hesaid. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘Hehas risen from the dead and is going ahead of youinto Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I havetold you.” 8 So the women hurried away from thetomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell hisdisciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” hesaid. They came to him, clasped his feet and wor-shiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not beafraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee;there they will see me.”

Matthew 28:1-10 (KJV) 1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began todawn toward the first day of the week, came MaryMagdalene and the other Mary to see the sepul-chre. 2 And, behold, there was a great earth-quake: for the angel of the Lord descended fromheaven, and came and rolled back the stone fromthe door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, andhis raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake,and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said unto thewomen, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus,which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples thathe is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goethbefore you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo,I have told you. 8 And they departed quickly from the sepul-chre with fear and great joy; and did run to bringhis disciples word. 9 And as they went to tell his disciples,behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And theycame and held him by the feet, and worshippedhim. 10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid:go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, andthere shall they see me.

Jesus' ResurrectionPurpose

To experience the “fear and excitement” of Resurrection.


Lesson 7 38 April 12



Seeing the NeedCandy, baskets, new clothes, a great

meal, and hymns of triumph and cele-bration. Did I hear trumpets playing? Ishould, because today is a day unlikeany other in our year. It is ResurrectionDay!

One year when our family was living inSouth Carolina on an Air Force base, theEaster sunrise service was held on thetarmac where the planes landed andwere kept. Parents brought their bleary-eyed children out into the dewy, almostchilly early spring pre-dawn; and we allstumbled our way across the grass andfound our way to the cold folding chairs.No lights were lit. Only darkness.

After what seemed to be an awfullylong wait, as we looked east, we saw thesun come up over the horizon. Nothingstood in the way of the sunrise, but soon

we realized that a large object had beenplaced before us. As the sun continuedto break through and light the new morn-ing, everyone’s eyes opened wide. Gaspsrippled through the congregation. Infront us, life-sized and covered with lilies,vines, and everything beautiful was anempty cross.

Nine years old at the time, I don’tremember a thing the chaplain said, norany part of the service, but I will neverforget the incredible sight of the cross atsunrise on Easter morning. It spoke tome, and still does, more deeply thanwords, filling me not so much with fearbut with excitement and awe. This iswhat the angels proclaimed. This is whatGod promised.

Resurrection is something we canclaim and experience in our own lives,especially on this first day of the week.As you reread the Scripture of this mirac-ulous morning, my hope is that you willonce again experience this for your lifeand find the joy of this day in the com-pany of Christian brothers and sisters.Let’s celebrate!

Nothing NewCheri is a women’s health nurse prac-

titioner, and she sees dozens of expec-tant mothers each year. She is amazedat how many couples seem to believethat the child to be born to them will beunlike any other and that no family inhistory has or will experience what theyare experiencing. Not to mention, thechild will be the most handsome orbeautiful and most talented and intelli-gent—far above average! When she tellsme that, we just smile, because we knowthat our two sons were the most hand-

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

April 6 Psalm 118:1-9, 14-18

April 7 Matthew 27:57-61





April 12 Revelation 1:13-18


some and intelligent and talented chil-dren ever created.

Even though humans have the abilityand desire to believe that our lives aresingularly unique and our experiencesare unlike any one else’s (the truest love,the most important work, the best grand-children), when we stop and think for amoment or two, it’s humbling to realizethat there is nothing new. Granted, thereare still things that are special and dra-matic, and they catch our eye and atten-tion; but in terms of “totally new,” we arevarieties of the same theme, the samehuman joys and sadness and successesand tragedies. Yes, in one sense, we areall unique, but we are al l uniquetogether.

Today’s Scripture holds the uniquestory upon which we Christians build ourfaith, God’s miraculous act on Eastermorning. Resurrection means “raisingfrom the dead.” It comes from the Latinresurgere, to “resurge” or “to rise.” Weknow of other instances in Scripturewhen persons were brought back to life,including by Jesus’ hands.

Lazarus is perhaps the most well-known case, as Jesus called him back tolife from the tomb. Many Bible scholarssay that Lazarus was resuscitated,brought back to l i fe by Jesus’ act,whereas Jesus was raised to life as anew creation. In doing so, he opened thegates for each of us to experience lifethat is eternal in nature (2 Corinthians5:17).

When Lazarus was brought back tolife, he eventually died again. WhenJesus was resurrected, he was thenraised to heaven and lives now eternallyat God’s right hand. Jesus is the onewho has brought not simply a more

abundant life but also eternal life for youand me.

What difference does it make thatJesus has been resurrected by God’spower and lives today?

FearAs a staff member of the Dakotas

Annual Conference of The UnitedMethodist Church and serving as asuperintendent for 19 years, I have man-aged to wear out four and a half carswith all the driving I’ve had to do. Withnearly 145,000 square miles in the twostates, my tires have become acquaintedwith plenty of interstates, highways, andlittle back roads. In all these years, Ihave never had an accident nor hit adeer, moose, or other such animal,although I have had to replace a fewwindshields due to rocks and the occa-sional pheasant.

One thing I have decided is that I hateto drive long distances after dark. In fact,I have prayed when I’ve had to drive atnight that God would protect the sweetcreatures that roam at night and keepthem in the ditches or the fields or theforests rather than on the roads. Ibelieve in prayer. I also believe in prayerwhen filled with fear. Besides breakingmy car, it would also break my heart tohit and hurt one of those beautiful crea-tures.

As we noted in an earlier lesson, fearis always based on a future event. Whatmay happen is what seizes us. Fear isalso based on the pure unknown. Whenwe come up against something sostrange that we have never beforeknown about or experienced, fear is atotally legitimate emotion.

In today’s Scripture, it’s not a matter




of deer in the headlights but instead amatter of experiencing the power of Godin a way never seen before. FollowingJesus’ death and burial, Pilate and thechief priests posted guards at Jesus’tomb (Matthew 27:62-66), which alreadyhad “a large stone” at its door (verse60). They further secured the entranceto the tomb by “sealing the stone” (verse66), almost, it seems, to make sureJesus stayed dead. But God wasinvolved. A little something like a boulderwas no match for the incomparablepower of God.

“There was a great earthquake,”Matthew tells us, and “an angel from theLord came down from heaven. Coming tothe stone, he rolled it away and sat on it”(Matthew 28:2-3). It was almost as ifGod were saying, “This is all you have?”With a glimpse into the glory of God, theangel’s shining face and clothes droppedthe guards of the tomb into terror andleft them shaking and acting like deadmen. Quite a sight and quite an experi-ence! I imagine I’d be right there withthem, shaking, quaking, and dropping atthe vision of such a holy, power fulmoment.

Isn’t it interesting that the first wit-nesses to Jesus’ resurrection wereRoman guards? Neither these importantsoldiers––instilled with the power ofRome and with official authority to main-tain order––nor a closed and sealedtomb were any match for the power ofGod. In the face of God’s might andglory, all of the human, puffed-up, andoh-so-very-important actions of Romewere set aside, as though they were ofno consequence at all. All that was leftwas for the soldiers to experience fear inthe face of holiness, as their work came

to a sudden end.However, it’s more than opening a

tomb that can elicit fear. “Mary Magda-lene and the other Mary came to look atthe tomb,” Matthew says (verse 1).Instead of encountering what theythought they would see, they also wit-nessed God’s power and glory, as well asthe terrified guards. They also had a con-versation of sorts with an angel, cer-tainly not your typical Sunday morningactivity.

The angel must have known what hisappearance looked like, because his firstwords were words of good news: “Don’tbe afraid” (verse 5). It’s okay, he reas-sured them. You are looking for a deadbody? He’s not here, because he hasbeen raised by the very hand of God tonew life! He’ll meet you in Galilee. Youcan meet him there.

How might we have responded tomeeting an angel and hearing suchincredible, remarkable, almost unbeliev-able words? I’d be scared, even if theangel told me not to be! The womenexperienced great fear for all of the rightreasons that morning; but as we will see,that wasn’t the last thing they experi-enced, was it?

As you place yourself into this Gospelstory, what might your first reaction havebeen?

ExcitementLike me, you’ve probably experienced

times when fear and excitement ranhand in hand before you. Perhaps it feltas if your heart leaped out of your throat,and you were so happy and so terrifiedat the same time.

I remember the f irst t ime I held



Cheri’s hand as we walked in the snowbehind her parents’ farmhouse. Iremember each time we discovered wewere going to be parents. The fear andthe excitement of those events and oth-ers were so closely matched together,almost like breathing out and breathingin. The exhale was the fear, the inhalewas the excitement, as I was filled withhope and expectation and still had togasp a little at being uncertain aboutthis future that came crashing down onme.

Verse 8 of today’s Scripture seems tocapture that feeling: “With great fear andexcitement, they hurried away from thetomb and ran to tell his disciples.” Thewomen were overwhelmed by what thenews might mean, but at the same time,they were filled with incredible energyand the power to “summon forth” or“call out,” which is the original meaningof excite. They almost couldn’t stopthemselves, because they were excitedto tell the disciples what they had heard!

Isn’t that the case with you? Whenyou have heard or experienced some-thing amazing or life-changing, don’t youquickly call someone or maybe take apicture on your phone and then text it toall of your friends?

You may remember, like me, wakingup in the middle of the night as a child.The shadows seemed to be active, andthe house creaked, and our first instinctwas to run to those persons who couldhelp take the fear away. It was some-thing to get rid of, and we found thatrelief in the arms of someone bigger andsafer than the danger of the night. Thefear that claims us is best shared withothers who have the power to remove itfrom behind our hearts, where it seems

to sit.Excitement, though, is so far differ-

ent, which makes it amazing that thewomen would have felt both emotions soclose together. When we are excited, wewill talk with a server in the restaurant ora stranger in line or almost anyone, notto take the excitement away, but in astrange way, to grow the excitement byhaving others join us in joy. The womenhurried with excitement, because theycouldn’t wait to tell the disciples! Weconsider the women to be the first evan-gelists of the Christian faith, becausehearing the incredible news, their onlygoal was to share it with others.

They were stopped for a moment,though. They were stopped by an evengreater moment, as they encounteredthe risen Jesus, who greeted them onResurrection morning. All the womencould do was grab his feet and worshiphim. Jesus’ response was just what theyneeded: “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell mybrothers that I am going into Galilee.They will see me there” (verse 10).

Imagine the meeting between thewomen and the disciples, their emotionsranging from disbelief to fear to excite-ment. The news changed their entireworld. Joy replaced sadness, and excite-ment overwhelmed the fear they facedwhen Jesus was crucified.

What is your reaction this Resurrec-tion morning? The ancient greeting forthis day that we still repeat is “Christ isrisen!” thus announcing the good newsand sharing the excitement. And theresponse is, “He is risen indeed!” affirm-ing this life-altering, world-changingnews.

At least one dictionary records over



125 languages and cultures that offerthis greeting on Easter. All of them useexclamation points. These words bringthe power of the Resurrection into ourmidst: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!That’s not something to shrug off!

May we offer that greeting today withjoyful voices, calling out the power ofGod’s grace and love by offering theaffirmation of the Risen Christ in ourmidst. Easter should change us, and notonly for the day, or because we wear anew dress or shirt. Easter has the abilityto transform us from living day-to-day

with a component of fear to becomingpersons who are filled with God’s Spirit,excited for the present life and the eter-nal life ahead. Thanks be to God and therisen Christ!

Who needs to hear from you, withaffirmation and joy, that Christ is risenindeed?


Haggai 2:1-9 (NIV) 1 …on the twenty-first day of the seventhmonth, the word of the Lord came through theprophet Haggai: 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, gov-ernor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the highpriest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in itsformer glory? How does it look to you now? Does itnot seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declaresthe Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, thehigh priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you whenyou came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remainsamong you. Do not fear.’ 6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a lit-tle while I will once more shake the heavens andthe earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desiredby all nations will come, and I will fill this house withglory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will begreater than the glory of the former house,’ saysthe Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grantpeace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Haggai 2:1-9 (KJV) 1 In the seventh month, in the one and twen-tieth day of the month, came the word of the Lordby the prophet Haggai, saying, 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son ofShealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the sonof Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue ofthe people, saying, 3 Who is left among you that saw this housein her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it notin your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith theLord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, thehigh priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land,saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith theLord of hosts: 5 According to the word that I covenantedwith you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spiritremaineth among you: fear ye not. 6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, itis a little while, and I will shake the heavens, andthe earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7 And I will shake all nations, and the desireof all nations shall come: and I will fill this housewith glory, saith the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,saith the Lord of hosts. 9 The glory of this latter house shall begreater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts:and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord ofhosts.

Rebuilding the TemplePurpose

To affirm the power of God to bring new life out of ruin.





Seeing the Need

It might take most of us a few min-utes to find the Book of Haggai. It proba-bly does not make it into the top ten inthe list of favorite books of the Bible formany people. The two chapters compris-ing the book are nest led betweenZephaniah and Zechariah. Still, thereare eight biblical books that are smallerthan Haggai.

The book deals mostly with encour-agement to the Jews to rebuild the Tem-ple, which was destroyed in 587 bc. By520 bc, the Jews’ exile in Babylon wascoming to a close. The important workahead was to try to rebuild the holy cen-ter of the nation after nearly 70 yearswhen its people had been separatedfrom the land. At first, it was not going

well, so God sent prophets to call thepeople to a holy response and to givetheir resources, efforts, and skills to beabout this important work.

As you read today’s Scripture, try toread it as someone who needs encour-agement. Read it as a pep talk, as a newvision offered to you as you might partic-ipate in actually putting God’s houseback together again. Imagine for amoment that your church building wasdestroyed in the time of your grandpar-ents and has been in ruins for all ofthese years. Now you and your friendshave been given the task of rebuilding it,sparing no energy or resources to do so.As you read the words of the prophetHaggai, consider the ways that God canwork to bring new l ife out of thoseplaces of ruin that we find around us.

Different Than Before

When our sons were young, most oftheir waking time was not spent in frontof a computer, phone, or television.Cheri and I always believed they wouldhave much more fun just making believeand enjoying their own adventures. Wehave loads of wonderful pictures of theboys looking important in their outfitscreated from digging through the bigcostume bin we kept handy. Oversizedboots, coats with sleeves rolled up, hatsthat fell over the ears and had to bepushed up and back on the head so thehero could see clearly––they were allpart of the game.

To be a true hero, of course, they

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

April 13 Ezra 1:1-11


April 15 Haggai 1:1-8

April 16 Haggai 2:1-9

April 17 Zechariah 1:12-17

April 18 Ezra 4:24–5:5




always needed a place to live out thatrole, so that meant the creation of a fort,a spaceship, a boat, or some other kindof setting. At that point, the two adultdevelopers and laborers were oftencalled in to create that place.

Now, I’m not bragging (much), but itdid seem that often I managed to buildthe better site than their hard-workingmother. I even remember once getting acall at the church from across the park-ing lot. As it was transferred to me, Ianswered, and a small voice said, “Dad,we need your help. Mom’s not doing itright.” I took a break, built the fort, andthen went back to doing the Lord’s work.Although if the truth be told, I have tothink that the Lord enjoyed watching uscreate a wonderful, imaginative world.

“It doesn’t look right.” The Bibledescribes the Temple Solomon built as amagnificent wonder. You can read aboutit in 1 Kings 6 and following. It was thecenter of the Jewish faith, created andadorned, sparing no expense, as a placeGod would actually want to inhabit.Unfortunately, Nebuchadnezzar was anexpert at tearing apart and destroyingsuch a thing of beauty. Nothing was leftin place as the Babylonians sought tobreak the spirit and the soul of the Jewsin order to dominate them as part oftheir rule.

Later, God granted those in exile thegift of returning home. The great workahead, of course, was to rebuild theirlives as they rebuilt their homes andtheir cities. The focal point of reconstruc-

tion was to be the Temple. The peoplehad spent most of their time, money,and effort on building their own homesupon return while the Temple still lay inruins. Now the moment had come to jointogether and do the holy work of restor-ing the Temple.

“Go up to the highlands and bringback wood. Rebuild the temple so that Imay enjoy it and that I may be honored,says the Lord,” Haggai told the peopleon God’s behalf. “The Lord moved thespirit of Judah’s governor Zerubbabel,Shealtiel’s son, and the spirit of the highpriest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son, and thespirit of all the rest of the people. Thenthey came and did work on the house ofthe Lord of heavenly forces, their God”(Haggai 1:8, 14).

However, upon review, the Temple didnot resemble what they remembered orwhat had been described to them bythose who had seen it in its glory days.“How does it look to you now?” theprophet asked them. “Doesn’t it appearas nothing to you?” (Haggai 2:3).

Perhaps you’ve experienced that feel-ing about the second incarnation ofsomething. Maybe you spent a greatdeal of time and effort on something butlater had to redo your work. The secondattempt somehow just didn’t seem tomatch the first wonderful, exciting prod-uct, and you felt let down and disap-pointed. We sometimes hear about one-hit wonders in the music business. Theyrecord a great piece of music that sells amillion copies or more, but they just



can’t seem to recreate that same specialformula for another hit. Granted, manytimes we grow more competent in doingsomething over and over again. Butwhen it comes to the once-in-a-lifetimeprojects we believe we will never have toduplicate or repeat, when the repetitionbecomes a requirement, it often fails incomparison. It’s just not as good as thefirst one was.

But there’s another way to look atwhat seems to be the disappointment ofa second try. It’s actually what’s knownas “another right answer.” Part of ournature as humans is to strive to come upwith that perfect thing, that great rightanswer to a question or a challenge.However, one aspect of learning how tocreate honestly and hopefully is to real-ize that often we can find more than oneright way to do something. Sometimesanother, new creation can replace theone that seemed to be so right in thefirst place. When we allow our eyes andhearts to focus on seeing what could be,even though it is different than what wasbefore, we are opened to a whole worldof possibilities.

The Temple was going to be rebuilt.No, it wouldn’t be the same and mightonly be similar. But because it couldn’tbe exactly as the first one was, shouldthere be no effort to try to build the newone? Of course not. By keeping in mindthe Temple’s purpose, the people couldgive it their best efforts and build some-thing that would honor God and becomea blessing for those who had returned

from exile.

When have you been aware that Godbrought something new in your life, per-haps following a tragedy, failure, or diffi-cult season? How did you learn toembrace and accept that new thing asequally precious and welcome in yourlife?

Work, For I Am With You!

Have you ever run like crazy behindthe bicycle of a beginning rider, hangingonto the seat because the little bikerthought he or she needed you there togive the bicycle balance? You may alsohave experienced the moment of lettinggo and seeing the rider achieve the awe-some gift of balance or the horror of animmediate crash, with skinned kneesand a broken spirit!

I’m not sure who first coined thephrase: “Do your best, and God will dothe rest.” It certainly seems to fit theAmerican spirit. Our can-do attitude, ourmake-it-so eagerness to accomplishwhat we set out to do––these are allwrapped up in our cultural self-under-standing. Certainly, it’s important tobelieve we can accomplish what we setout to do and be willing to work hard toachieve it. But just because we workhard to achieve something does not nec-essarily mean that God is pleased andwill help us in that work.

We find a more humble and morefaithful approach in the message Goddelivered through Haggai to the peopleworking to rebuild the Temple. “Be



strong,” God said. “Work, for I am withyou, says the Lord of heavenly forces”(verse 4).

When we commit ourselves to doingwhat we have discerned with prayer andhumility to be God’s will and intention forus and our world, when we then placeour efforts, energy, and resources there,God will certainly be with us, direct ourpaths, and give us the ability to do thatgood thing. You see, it’s God’s goodthing. When we honestly and openly findour way to God’s way, God is indeed withus.

That was the challenge and the giftGod gave the Jews as they gave them-selves over to the important task ofrebuilding the Temple from ruin. “Work,for I am with you . . . my spirit stands inyour midst,” God promised (verse 5).

What are you building in your lifetoday? Have you started something butperhaps have begun to feel a bitexhausted or discouraged? Have youbecome distracted from the things youought to be doing? Has something satidle because other things have taken pri-ority over it? Are you afraid of not suc-ceeding? Or are you concerned thatwhat will result may not be what you hadhoped?

When you are committed to doingGod’s work, the promise God made tothe people long ago is the same promiseGod makes to you: “Be strong. . . . I amwith you. . . . My spirit stands in yourmidst.”

What do you feel God calling you tobegin or resume today?

Heavenly Forces

When our family lived in South Car-olina, the entire region would shut downon those rare times when it would snow.I remember waking up to two inches ofsnow and not going to school for twodays! Here in Fargo, North Dakota, if itsnows a foot, school may be delayed foran hour. But a snow day in South Car-olina meant spending the entire day out-side building snowmen and snow fortsand having snowball fights.

One time, three older and bigger boysran up, tore down our snow fort, andthrew big snowballs at us, all completelyunprovoked. As we younger kids tried towithstand the assault, throwing snow-balls back that fell terribly short, myolder brothers suddenly burst out of thehouse and began to pummel and deci-mate the enemy forces. It was a battlefor the ages. In the end, the mean boysran off, and my brothers were vaultedinto glory as our heroes.

Fourteen times in two chapters of theBook of Haggai, the prophet identifiesGod as “the Lord of heavenly forces.”Other translations render this term as“Lord of hosts” (KJV, New AmericanStandard Bible, NRSV) and “LordAlmighty” (NIV). These names for Godcome from the word Sabaoth, which isthe transliteration of the Hebrew word.You may recall singing that word in thegreat hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our



God.” It means “hosts” or “armies” andis understood to depict God as theleader of Israel’s armies.

The image set before us and beforethe Jewish builders was not only that ofthe all-powerful God, but also that ofGod in charge of an overwhelming armyof angels who will protect and secure thesafety and lives of those who follow God.To those working to rebuild the Temple,Haggai promised that it and they wouldbe defended by angelic forces and bythe utter power of the Lord of hosts.

What incredible images these are!God’s faithfulness and care of the peo-ple, especially in the face of those whowould do us harm, is unstoppable andirresistible. The God who is with us isalways greater than those who areagainst us. With this promise, the Jewishpeople continued working to rebuild theTemple for God on the site of ruin.

We also face places of brokennessand ruin in our lives, resulting from bro-ken promises, disease, death, severedrelationships, and other great disap-pointments. God has promised to takeour brokenness and create a new life, anew purpose, and a new way of livingand relating as we affirm the power ofGod through Christ in our lives. Look towhat power and assurance God offers toyour l ife, even if r ight now you feelexhausted or weak or unable to do muchof anything with your broken spirit. TheLord of heavenly forces is with you!

With this promise given to us today,what can we build in those places wherewe have found ruin in our lives? Whereare we being called to re-create in thename of God?


Mark 1:1-8 (NIV) 1 The beginning of the good news aboutJesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I willsend my messenger ahead of you, who will prepareyour way— 3 a voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the ways for the Lord, make straight pathsfor him.’” 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in thewilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance forthe forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all thepeople of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessingtheir sins, they were baptized by him in the JordanRiver. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair,with a leather belt around his waist, and he atelocusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comesthe one more powerful than I, the straps of whosesandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptizeyou with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 1:1-8 (KJV) 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,the Son of God; 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, Isend my messenger before thy face, which shallprepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness,Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his pathsstraight. 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, andpreach the baptism of repentance for the remissionof sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the land ofJudæa, and they of Jerusalem, and were all bap-tized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing theirsins. 6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, andwith a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eatlocusts and wild honey; 7 And preached, saying, There cometh onemightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoesI am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water: buthe shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

PurposeTo acknowledge how God offers a new start to the world and to our lives.



John Prepares the Way for Christ



Seeing the NeedYou may recall hearing the song that

opens the musical Godspell, which pre-miered in early 1970. In it, the shofar, aram’s horn trumpet used by ancientJews, blows to call the people to atten-tion, and then we hear the first piercingtones, which are the same as Matthew3:3: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”The phrase is repeated over and over asthe music grows and the actors begin togather, joining in singing the song. I wishit were that easy to get new membersinto a church!

The first verses of Mark’s Gospel con-front us with a powerful statement: “Thebeginning of the good news about JesusChrist, God’s Son, happened just as itwas written about in the prophecy of Isa-iah” (Mark 1:1-2). Mark chose to spend

no time telling the story of Jesus’ birth inhis Gospel, instead rushing headlonginto good news by quoting from theprophet Isaiah. Isaiah’s original messageannounced freedom for Jews held inexile. Here, Mark claimed these words toannounce the coming of the Messiah,the new beginning of the good news forthis generation and generations tocome.

As we quickly move into the Gospel ofMark, keep in mind the profound andutterly life-changing and world-changingevents that happened in first-centuryPalestine, events that claim us and ourworld 20 centuries later. This good newsof what is and what is coming call us toprepare the way of the Lord, maybe evensinging a song as we do.

Sending the MessengerI was in ninth grade, gangly, uncoordi-

nated, and sort of a nerdy brainiac whowas terribly shy around girls; but I alsowished every day that I had a girlfriend.One day as I was waiting for the bus, asmall contingent of girls approachedwith what appeared to be a serious mis-sion. The spokesperson for the groupasked me, “Do you like Mary?” (Thename has been changed to protect theinnocent.) Mary was cute, with long hairand a captivating smile, and was in mostof my classes, although we had neverspoken a word to each other before. Still,among the 20-30 girls I had selected inmy mind as appropriate girlfriends, shewas definitely near the top of the list.

At that moment in my life, I was soglad that I had watched hundreds of dra-

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

April 20 Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

April 21 Malachi 3:1-4

April 22 Isaiah 40:3-8

April 23 Luke 1:67, 76-80

April 24 Mark 1:1-8


April 26 Acts 19:1-7



matic movies and read loads of booksabout adventure and romance. This hadprepared me for such a t ime. Iresponded to the contingent of Mary’slieutenants: “I think I would only tell thatto Mary!” It came out well. The girls weresuitably impressed and retreated, I wassure, to inform the now object of myattention. When I got on the bus, Marywas sitting alone. Shaking and sweating,I sat down beside her, and for the 30-minute bus ride, I said absolutely noth-ing to her, nor even looked at her until Igot up to leave, and said, “Bye.”

Messengers play a critical role in ourlife together. They convey the intention ofanother and offer a word of insight, butthey often offer a word of invitation.Throughout the Bible, we see that Godused messengers of all sorts to bring aholy word to human beings. The wordangel in Greek means “messenger,” andangels certainly played an important rolein delivering news. But God also oftenused prophets to share divine intentionswith leaders or even an entire people. Infact, much of Scripture follows the pat-tern of delivering and receiving newsfrom God.

The messenger in today’s text is Johnthe Baptist (Mark 1:4). Luke’s Gospelrecords that he was the son of Zechariahand Elizabeth, a miracle child born ofaged parents. “He will be filled with theHoly Spirit even before his birth,” theangel told his father before John wasborn. “He will bring many Israelites backto the Lord their God. He will go forthbefore the Lord, equipped with the spiritand power of Elijah. . . . He will make

ready a people prepared for the Lord”(Luke 1:15-16, 17). That’s just what hedid.

John claimed the prophecy of Isaiah,and in the Judean wilderness outside ofJerusalem, he called to the people toprepare: “Prepare the way for the Lord;make his paths straight” (Mark 1:3). TheLord is coming! God’s kingdom is com-ing! God is doing a new thing and offer-ing a new start to this world and to you!Prepare the way of the Lord!

We’ll look more carefully at John’smessage and the people’s response, butfor now, consider how you might havereacted to seeing and hearing a man inthe wilderness calling out and makingsuch a statement about God. Did hemean that following the law of Moseswasn’t enough anymore? Was he callingpeople to make changes in their lives? Itsure seemed so.

Frankly, anytime someone enters ourlives unannounced or uninvited andbegins to lay claim to a possible changein who we are and what we do, i trequires us to make a decision. Whenthe call doesn’t seem to have urgency, orit doesn’t pertain to us, we can simplyreject it and go on with our lives. How-ever, when the call is urgent, we oftenwill change our lives, at least for a time,and abide by the urgency or the impor-tance of the call.

Beyond those concerning physicalsafety, what calls have you received thaturged you to change, to turn around, orto respond in some way?

What difference does it make as to



who the messenger is when we receivesuch a message?

A New RealityOne of the top ten greatest days in

human history was June 13, 1981, mywedding day! Besides the gifts, the greattasting cake, and the chance to wear atux, why get married? Why bother withthe cost and effort just to affirm what wealready knew to be true, that we lovedeach other and were committed for lifeto each other? The reason, frankly, isthat the wedding ceremony did indeedchange everything. Yes, we were in loveand committed, but to stand in a holyplace and before God to speak thewords, “I take you . . . ,” was our bestpossible response to the invitation tomake something permanent that wasbefore that moment only a hoped-forintention.

We have taken each day since then toreaffirm that permanence, and I’m fullyaware that for some people, the vow andthe relationship can certainly die. For us,however, it created a new reality. At thatmoment, we were married to each other,before God, as a response to our loveand a response to the call to live holylives together before God.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that “John wasin the wilderness calling for people to bebaptized to show that they were chang-ing their hearts and lives and wantedGod to forgive their sins” (Mark 1:4).John was a true evangelist, sharing theimpending future of God’s kingdom andMessiah coming to be among them.Many people heard John’s proclamation

and answered the call with yes. Theywanted to repent and to live new liveswith new beginnings. That’s why Johnbaptized.

In one sense, John’s baptism of thepeople made no difference. Physically,nothing changed. However, this was notsimply some physical adjustment thatthe people of Judah were taking on, likegoing to the chiropractor or having a hipreplaced. John’s baptism was a power-ful, spiritually transforming moment forthe people.

When someone answered the call torepent, to ask for forgiveness of theirsins, and to begin to live a new life, thephysical act of baptism represented thespiritual act of dying to the old life andrising to the newly changed heart andlife. Just as our wedding practicallychanged nothing, the spiritual power ofthat moment for our lives did indeedchange forever the path and the relation-ship of our life together. So it was withbaptism.

While Mark doesn’t give us an exactnumber who responded to John’s mes-sage, he does say that “everyone inJudea and all the people of Jerusalemwent out to the Jordan River and werebeing baptized by John as they con-fessed their sins” (verse 5).

Can you imagine the powerful senseof God’s Spirit in that region? What peo-ple once saw as important and as theguiding force in their lives was no longerimportant because they had startedtheir lives anew. They began living a newreality.



Did that remain the case for every-one? We can’t know. We can’t know ifsome went through the motions andwere baptized with no change of heart.But for those who took the baptism seri-ously, it’s exciting to wonder how that actchanged not only their own lives but thelives of everyone around them. God’slove and our faith in God producesincredible fruit in this world that needsso desperately to know love, justice, andpeace.

When have you felt the need tochange your life? When have you beengiven the opportunity to experience anew beginning?

Some of us were baptized as babies,and we were brought into the family offaith at that time. Later, we were able toconfirm and affirm our faith and take ourplace among the community of believ-ers. We don’t need to be baptized a sec-ond time or a third. God has alreadyclaimed us. But we can experience timesof repentance and recommitment, trust-ing that God will allow us to begin again,to restart, and to know the love of Godthat indeed will never let us go.

What would it mean for you to recom-mit yourself to God at this point in yourlife?

Someone StrongerWith two full-sized sons and one fun-

sized petite wife at home, the ritual ofthe opening of difficult jars often falls tome. Cheri will try and fail, and then eachof the sons in turn will grab the jar andtry to twist the lid and fail. Finally, theywill ask the old guy to see if he can open

it. One secret my dad taught me was towork on having a strong grip.

I also learned that, when opening ajar, most people give up too quicklybecause it hurts. So I will take the jar,tap the lid on the counter, slap the bot-tom of the jar, and then twist. And sureenough, the sound of the victory pop fol-lows, and I hand the newly opened jarback to a son and just smile.

Physical strength is a wonderful thing,but the spiritual strength we embody iseven more powerful. We discover it whenwe make sure we don’t quit too soon.

John must have looked like a wildman. He “wore clothes made of camel’shair, with a leather belt around his waist.He ate locusts and wild honey” (Mark1:6). But he must have exuded powerand the sense of being in charge of thesituation. He was the “voice shouting inthe wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for theLord’” (verse 3). Still, he was quick to saythat he was not “the one.” “Onestronger than I am is coming after me!I’m not even worthy to bend over andloosen the strap of his sandals,” heannounced (verse 7). Quite a powerfulimage, as well as a prediction. John, ofcourse, was describing the coming of theMessiah, which he believed was amoment away.

The Messiah was the answer to thecry of the Jews—and in fact the wholeworld—for a new kingdom not based onRoman rule or even the Temple law andsacrifice. This Messiah would bring jus-tice, peace, and love to each person. Hispower, John explained, is seen in the


baptism he offers. Recall that John’sbaptism was a symbol of changed heartsand lives and a desire that God forgivesins.

The “one stronger” who was comingwould not simply invite people to changebut would also usher in the very kingdomof God on earth. And “he will baptizewith the Holy Spirit” (verse 8). As the fol-lowers of John became soaking wet withthe water of hoped-for repentance, thosewho come into God’s kingdom throughthe act of the Messiah are envelopedand renewed in life through the verySpirit of God that pours into them and

that makes all things new.Each day, we can start anew because

of Christ’s power and love for us and inus. Filled with the Holy Spirit, our livescan show this world the love of God andthe hope that is ours in Christ.

What change does God want to bringinto your life? What do you need to do forGod to make that change in you?



Revelation 22:1-5 (NIV) 1 Then the angel showed me the river of thewater of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from thethrone of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of thecity. On each side of the river stood the tree oflife, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruitevery month. And the leaves of the tree are forthe healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. Thethrone of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name willbe on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will notneed the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, forthe Lord God will give them light. And they willreign for ever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5 (KJV) 1 And he shewed me a pure river of water oflife, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne ofGod and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on eitherside of the river, was there the tree of life, whichbare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruitevery month: and the leaves of the tree were for thehealing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but thethrone of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and hisservants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his nameshall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and theyneed no candle, neither light of the sun; for theLord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.

The River of Life-giving WaterPurpose

To respond with gratitude to the future hope God promises.

Hearing the Word

The background text is Revelations 21:9—22:5

Lesson 10 56 May 3


Seeing the NeedUh-oh. The Book of Revelation. The

only other books of the Bible that makemy head swim are parts of Daniel andEzekiel. All three of these biblical booksare known as apocalyptic, which comesfrom the Greek word meaning to“uncover,” or “disclose.” The Book ofRevelation was written to help Christianswho were in desperate straits under therule of a horrible Roman emperor namedDomitian, who led a tremendous perse-cution of Christians. The images of theend of the world and the creation of anew heaven and earth we find in Revela-tion helped to strengthen the faith inthose Christians’ lives, even as they sawtheir entire world collapsing before them.

Like all Scripture, the truth of onewriting in a particular time for a particu-lar people holds truth for people living inother times throughout history. This is

true for Revelation. Because it is apocalyptic, that means

it carries with it a great deal of mysteryand hiddenness. If you hear someonesay that they have the Book of Revela-tion all figured out, they most likely donot, since much of what is written isindeed mysterious and ancient.

In spite of the terrible persecutionChristians were experiencing at the timeRevelation was written, Revelation 22:1-5 offers scenes, not of destruction andcataclysmic war, but of hope. Theseverses offer us a beautiful and awesomepicture of what the future will hold, andthey are packed solid with all sorts ofimages. Take the time to explore some ofthe images God holds before us in thefuture.

One other important thing to under-stand: When John described this magnif-icent place, a city paved with goldenstreets with pearly gates, he was talkingabout the New Jerusalem, “a newheaven and a new earth, for the formerheaven and the former earth had passedaway” (Revelation 21:1). John describedit as God’s dwelling. God will “wipe awayevery tear from their eyes. Death will beno more. There will be no mourning, cry-ing, or pain anymore, for the formerthings have passed away” (verse 4).

What Is Life-giving Water?When Aaron and Adam were in their

teens, I was always amazed at the num-ber of cans of pop/soda/cola they con-sumed. I began to wonder after a time ifindeed they had tried that clear liquidthat comes from a filtered tap. If whatthey had was life-giving, it certainly was-n’t water! I could imagine them, parched

Lesson 10 57 May 3

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

April 27 Psalm 36:5-10

April 28 Psalm 46:1-11

April 29 Ezekiel 47:1-12

April 30 Revelation 21:9-14

May 1 Revelation 21:15-21




Lesson 10 58 May 3

and stranded in a deser t, crawlingthrough the sand crying out the name oftheir favorite beverage.

You know what it is like when you arethirsty. I still recall childhood summerdays when we had run ourselves dry.When we went back home, Dad wouldhave the hose on and would kink it sothat a full but not blasting stream wouldpour out for us to drink. We would berecharged, rehydrated, and usually soak-ing wet. Water is one of the best thingsin the world because it brings us life, andit sustains us. Experts say that oftenwhen we feel hungry, what we actuallyare is thirsty—dehydrated and needing tobe reenlivened by the gift of water.

In Revelation 22:1-5, the angel showsJohn “the river of life-giving water” (verse1) that flows right through the middle ofNew Jerusalem’s main street. This ismore than a scenic view! This river feedsand grows the very tree of life, which“produces twelve crops of fruit, bearingits fruit each month” (verse 2). Evenmore, “the tree’s leaves are for the heal-ing of the nations” (verse 2). All of thiscomes from the life-giving water, whichbecomes eternally life-giving. The imagewe receive is so rich and inviting that itought to fill us with hope in our lives, toknow that God will make such a creationfor us.

But maybe what we sometimes feel isnot so much physical thirst as somethingelse, a kind of spiritual thirst. Maybe it isour hearts that need new life once again.What happens when we are so parchedinside that we feel almost like the drybones Ezekiel saw in the valley (Ezekiel37:1-14)? When we are dried up inside,nothing seems to be bright or vivid or joy-ful.

We’ve probably all experienced sea-sons when we seem to be walking indust that chokes us and clouds ourvision. This may come after the death ofa family member or a close friend,another tragedy, or a chronic illness thatresults in ongoing pain. What we want iswater. We want the water that can bringus back to life. We yearn for the life-giv-ing water that feeds the tree of life andthat can feed us once again and makeus whole and able to thrive, even whenwe are struggling in other ways.

I won’t try to fool you by saying youcan just snap your fingers and it will allbe better. Not at all. But I will affirm thatGod’s life-giving water is available to you,even now. Through humble prayer andreliance on God to give us life and get usthrough, we can receive that gift, evenwhen it feels as though we have beenthirsty a long time. Sometimes it takesmore than a sip to be revived. Some-times we need to linger by the river untilwe are restored. But God promises thisto us and to those we love as an eternalgift.

How spiritually thirsty are you rightnow?

To See the Face of GodSeven children playing hide and seek

in a three-bedroom house required a bitof work, stealth, and planning. Myfavorite hiding spot, which I carefullywithheld from the others, was in the bot-tom of the linen closet where big towelsand blankets were stacked. I would pilethe stuff in front of and on top of me soit looked like I wasn’t there and then pullthe door closed from the bottom. Then Iwould lie curled up and silent in thedark. The problem with being curled up


Lesson 10 59 May 3

in a bunch of blankets in the dark in thewarmth of a closet is that more oftenthan not, I would fall asleep and remainhidden long after the the game ended!

Various biblical accounts talk aboutthe “hiddenness” of God’s face. But“when all the people saw the column ofcloud standing at the tent’s entrance,they would all rise and then bow down atthe entrances to their tents. In this waythe Lord used to speak to Moses face-to-face, like two people talking to eachother” (Exodus 33:10-11), but that was arare event. Often, the Bible tells us ofangels speaking the word of God to peo-ple. They didn’t see God’s face. Art, liter-ature, music, and nature can try todescribe or hint at God’s face, such asMichelangelo’s painting of God on theSistine Chapel. Or perhaps you recall theline from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables,which says, “To love another person is tosee the face of God.”1

Something about the absolute holi-ness and otherness of God makes thepossibilities of seeing God seem to carrya threat of great danger. But Scripturemakes clear that God wants a relation-ship with us. God seeks us even beforewe are aware of God. Our prayers, ourfaith, our belief in God are our pathwayto connection and relationship with Godthrough Jesus Christ.

In the New Jerusalem, however,“There will no longer be any curse. Thethrone of God and the Lamb will be in it,and his servants will worship him. Theywill see his face” (Revelation 22:3-4).The curse of sin will no longer separatepeople from God’s presence. We will seeGod’s face!

Do you hear the good news? Finally,

after so many millennia of not seeingGod, even drawing so close with God’sSon, now in the new creation, the NewJerusalem, the nations and people ofthis world will see God’s face. We willsee what has been hidden andunknown.

When Dad served more than a year inVietnam and Thailand during the Viet-nam War, Mom seemed to have lots ofphotos of Dad in different places in thehouse, almost as if she wanted to makesure none of us forgot what he lookedlike. Even today, as she lies bedridden,Mom still keeps in front of her a pictureof the man she spent her life with andwill always remember.

If the power of having an image ofanother human captivates us so well,imagine what it will be like when all ofour poor images of God are replacedwith our own eyes being granted the joyof fully seeing God! Can you see howRevelation was so important to the earlyChristians in helping them hold on tohope in the future that is held by God?Can you see how important it also canbe to us as we hold the same hope?

What difference does it make to youto know that someday you will see God’sface?

Let There Be LightIn my work as a district superintend-

ent of a district that is over 35,000square miles, I spend a number of nightseach year away from home since it’s toofar to drive back from the far ends of thedistrict. My home becomes a hotel room.Hotel rooms are never arranged the wayyour own bedroom at home is arranged.

Apparently, there is a rule stating that


Lesson 10 60 May 3

a small table with steel legs must be setin the middle of what should be a normalwalkway from one part of the room to theother. And the best efforts to make theroom dark enough to allow sleep withouta beam of light piercing the darknessalso means that the room will be toodark for you to see said small table asyou get up in the middle of the night.

When we l ived in Nashvil le, wereceived over 18 inches of rain in oneday, which meant the Little HarpethRiver became a flooded and floodingentity. Our electricity was out for threedays. Because of all of the hills, when itgets dark in Nashville, it gets really dark.We had only two fair-sized candles tohelp us see. We felt like the people whowalked in darkness.

When light comes into such situa-tions, however, all seems to be like anew creation! We depend on light ashumans. Our senses of hearing, touch,and smell seem second to the sense ofsight. I am quite amazed whenever I amin the company of someone with sightlimitations. Their ability to move across aroom that is always dark for them hum-bles me, as I see how they use the othergifts God has given them.

Revelation 22:5 gives us yet anothergreat promise of the future: “Night willbe no more”! No more fumbling in thedark, and we won’t need a lamp or eventhe light of the sun, because all will beilluminated by the very presence of God.

In Genesis, we read that God’s firstpowerful creation was light, good light,which, when separated from the dark-ness, brought order and clarity to whatwas without form or shape. Now, at theend of Scripture, only a few verses from

the end of the Bible’s last book, we findlight that is everlasting and no longerdependent on “a lamp or the light of thesun, for the Lord God will shine” (Revela-tion 22:5). It is an image for our futurehope.

So, what difference does light maketo your world? What does it bring to you?For me in those dark hotel rooms, lightbrings clarity and a sense of safety. Lightbrings the ability to see things as theyare without having to squint. It helps usknow that we are going in the right direc-tion. Perhaps light gives you comfort, likea night light, or the sense that everythingis going to be okay. People in the Dako-tas often make use of a “happy light”during the long, dark winter days. It’s abright white light that bathes their facesand skin in light and can help ward offdepression. Most who use it stronglyaffirm its value. That’s how powerful lightis to our existence.

The day is coming, Revelation prom-ises, that all will be light. All will be well;hope will be answered with joy; night willbe no more. These are the promises oftomorrow that we can claim and hold asGod’s children when today isn’t going sowell. Jesus called us the “light of theworld,” meaning that God’s presenceand love can shine through us to otherswho also need the light. We can pointothers to that future hope when we willsee God’s face, and “night will be nomore” (Revelation 22:5).

What promises about light from Godcan you claim and share for yourself andfor others?


1 From goodreads.com/quotes/49720-to-love-another-person-is-to-see-the-face-of.

Lesson 10 61 May 3


Genesis 3:21; 4:10-16 (NIV)Genesis 3:21

21 The Lord God made garments of skin forAdam and his wife and clothed them.

4:10-16 10 The Lord said, “What have you done?Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me fromthe ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven fromthe ground, which opened its mouth to receive yourbrother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longeryield its crops for you. You will be a restless wan-derer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment ismore than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, andI will be hidden from your presence; I will be a rest-less wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds mewill kill me.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyonewho kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven timesover.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that noone who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presenceand lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Genesis 3:21; 4:10-16 (KJV)Genesis 3:21

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LordGod make coats of skins, and clothed them.

4:10-16 10 And he said, What hast thou done? thevoice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from theground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth,which hath opened her mouth to receive thy broth-er’s blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall nothenceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitiveand a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punish-ment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this dayfrom the face of the earth; and from thy face shallI be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond inthe earth; and it shall come to pass, that every onethat findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the Lord said unto him, Thereforewhosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be takenon him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark uponCain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of theLord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east ofEden.

God’s Grace Toward Adam, Eve and CainPurpose

To identify God’s grace in the worst of our life’s experiences.


Lesson 11 62 May 10


Lesson 11 63 May 10

Seeing the NeedFrom Revelation’s images in the previ-

ous lesson of the New Jerusalem, thelife-giving river, and the tree of life, withthis text from Genesis, we go back towhere it all began. Because the manand the woman disobeyed and ate fromthe tree God had told them not to eatfrom, God banished them from the gar-den of Eden so that they would not “takealso from the tree of life and eat and liveforever” (Genesis 3:22). It’s important tohold these two ends of Scripturetogether, knowing that we now are some-where between Eden and the promisedplace where all of creation will find itsnew home for eternity.

Reading Genesis 3 quickly revealshow humans messed up paradise. Theman and the woman had it so good.Genesis 4 is also a heartbreaking chap-ter, because it reminds us of how fragile

life is and how seemingly easy it is to killsomething or someone. These two chap-ters, so early in the story of humankind’sexistence with God, ought to bring us toour knees, if for no other reason than wecan so clearly see how easy it is to messthings up. How easy it is to sin, to takewhat we want in this world with little orno consideration of where we fit in thisworld and what we have been created tobe and do.

But there is good news! The theme ofthe five lessons in this unit is grace.While we will look at the sin of the manand the woman and at the horrible thingCain did to his brother, Abel, we will notstop there. We will celebrate the over-whelming love and grace God pours outon us. Allow these ancient stories toshow you how to look for and find God’sgrace, even in the worst of life’s experi-ences.

An Act of Love and GraceEach of us can probably describe a

time when we made a mess of thingsbut someone came along and made it alittle better. I was a Latin major in col-lege, and Dr. Palanca was my professor.In my second year, we had a pretty sig-nificant test. I should have studied.Frankly, I was too smart for my own goodand chose to do other things instead.The night before the big test, I glancedover the material and called it good.

When I looked at the questions onthe test the next day, the translations tobe made, and the other parts of the test,I had a sick feeling inside. I went fromquestion to question, and I didn’t havean answer for any of them. I sat for anhour, trying to carve out a little bit ofsense from something in front of methat made no sense. When I turned in

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

May 4 Psalm 115:9-18

May 5 Psalm 40:11-17

May 6 Jonah 1:4-17

May 7 Revelation 12:1-6,13-16

May 8 Matthew 6:25-34

May 9 Genesis 4:1-9

May 10 Genesis 3:21; 4:10-16


Lesson 11 64 May 10

the test, I knew I had totally blown it.Two days later, we got our tests back,

and I looked at mine. Dr. Palanca hadgiven me an A. I should have received anF. With a great burden on my heart andmy shoulders, I went to see him for anexplanation. He said, in his wonderfulItalian accent, “Yes, your answers werepoor. However, I know what you havedone in my class and what kind of stu-dent you are, and so I gave you the gradeI assumed you would have earned ifsomething had not gotten in your way.”

With a penitent hear t, knowing Ididn’t deserve the gift, I experiencedlove and grace from a professor who wasmore interested in my life than a test.You can guess I never ignored a testagain, but I also have never forgotten thegift of grace I received.

Flash back to the garden of Edenafter the man and the woman had eatenfrom the forbidden tree. “Then they bothsaw clearly and knew that they werenaked. So they sewed fig leaves togetherand made garments for themselves”(Genesis 3:7). Have you ever sewn figleaves together? I can just imagine itwas a mess and only showed how pitifulthe humans’ efforts were at trying tohide themselves and their sin from God.With their self-centered and disobedientdecision, everything changed. I don’tknow what would have been worse: ban-ishment from the garden or coming faceto face with God’s disappointment.

Notice, however, what God did not do.God didn’t set the garden ablaze anddestroy it all or get rid of the humansand start again. It might have beenmuch easier for God simply to push therestart button and once again have apure and holy world.

Instead, we see from God a simplebut tender and incredibly caring act,even before God banished the couplefrom the garden. “The Lord God madethe man and his wife leather clothes anddressed them” (verse 21). Like a heav-enly tailor, the incredibly loving and gra-cious God made sure that the creatureswho so horribly broke away from para-dise would still be cared for and clothedin a way that would last and providethem with what they needed. It was agracious gift from God, made withoutcomment, to cover the shame and vul-nerability of the humans.

An act of love is more than simplecharity. It arises from deep in the heartand brings the possibility for forgivenessand new life. Just as we have receivedsuch acts of love and grace, we alsohave opportunities to extend them toothers. Our loving and gracious God setthe example for us.

When have you received or extendedgrace in the form of an act of love?

An Act of JusticeMost of my work as a district superin-

tendent in the church is enjoyable. I getto be part of celebrations, dreaming, anddiscernment of the direction ministryand mission should go. However, some-times what I have to do is difficult andunpleasant.

Occasionally, I am called to have aconversation with pastors who havemade messes in the church or who havefailed to live according to our high stan-dards as leaders of God’s people.Frankly, the messes are easier. Usually,what has happened is what I like to referto as the pastors “lighting a match in aroom full of gas.” Things blow up oftenbecause they didn’t think about the con-


Lesson 11 65 May 10

sequences of saying or doing somethingthat was unwise. They knew better butslipped, and we have to find a way toclean up the mess.

However, when pastors have true ethi-cal breaks that call into question theirbasic fitness for ministry, heartbreak isoften the result. I once received a call ofconcern because a significant amount ofpornography had been found on a pas-tor’s office computer during a standardmaintenance. I met with the pastor, whoadmitted to the practice of logging on tovarious pornographic websites. He hadfound himself going further and furtherinto that dark part of the internet.

The hardest thing for me to hear, how-ever, was when he said he didn’t thinkthere was any harm in what he haddone. “It wasn’t hurting anyone,” hesaid. I tried to help him understand howunholy and wrong such behavior was,but he refused to take responsibility oradmit it was even inappropriate.

I asked him to surrender his creden-tials and leave the ministry. He wasangry, then scared, and then upset. Ionly wish he had been at all remorsefulor even embarrassed. I hated to changehis future and his work in such a pro-found way, but I have always done myministry by the guide of, “Be kind whenyou can, and be just when you must.”

The act that day was not one of kind-ness, because there was no room left forthat to occur and keep faith with the laityof our church and the standard of ourconduct. I had to be “just, when I must.”The act of justice to remove him fromministry was important not only for ourchurch but, in a real sense, for his ownlife, so that he would realize what he hadgiven up in order to live out that behav-

ior. We did provide counseling for him,but it had to happen outside of thecovenant of called ministry. He couldn’tbe a pastor anymore.

Cain and Abel were sons of Adam andEve. You probably know the story well.“Cain presented an offering to the Lordfrom the land’s crops, while Abel pre-sented his flock’s oldest offspring withtheir fat. The Lord looked favorably onAbel and his sacrifice but didn’t lookfavorably on Cain and his sacrifice. Cainbecame very angry and looked resent-ful” (Genesis 4:3-5). Scripture describeshow God warned Cain about his angerand resentment and the “sin waiting atthe door ready to strike! It will enticeyou,” God told him, “but you must ruleover it” (verse 7).

Cain did not master the sin waiting atthe door; his anger and resentment grewto the point that it overtook him, and he“attacked his brother Abel and killedhim” (verse 8). God, of course, knewwhat Cain had done and asked himwhere Abel was. “I don’t know,” Cainreplied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”(verse 9). Then “the Lord said, ‘What didyou do?’ ” (verse 10). Again, God knewthat instead of scattering seed in thefield where he farmed, Cain had scat-tered Abel’s blood there. Such a shock-ing and horrible thing for Cain to do, anact that most assuredly had conse-quences.

Can you imagine what it would be likeif we were allowed, without any conse-quence, to take another life any time wesaw fit? We don’t like the way a neighbormows his lawn, how a coworker chewsher gum, or where a fellow church mem-ber sits in the sanctuary. So does thatmean we are free to kill these people?Of course not! That attitude is completely


Lesson 11 66 May 10

opposite to God’s intention for our world.When Cain acted this way, strangelyenough, God acted out of grace, to bringan act of justice to Cain.

It’s important to realize that gracedoes not mean that everything is okay.Grace is always costly. God’s grace to usthrough Jesus’ death on the cross wasgrace at the highest cost. Sometimes theonly way grace can come to this world isby upholding justice, as in the case ofthe pastor I counseled.

Perhaps it seems incredibly severethat God punished Cain by taking awayhis ability to farm the land. It would nolonger be fertile for him to grow cropssince it contained Abel’s blood, and Cainwould become a nomad on the earth(Genesis 4:11-12). But we need to askwhat less should and could be a justresponse to Abel’s murder by hisbrother? In this act of justice, Cain boreresponsibility for his terrible action, justas Adam and Eve bore responsibility fordisobeying God’s commandment regard-ing the tree.

Although we will explore a secondresponse of grace by God below, for nowit’s important to consider that this actionby God toward Cain was the best thingpossible. To have forgiven without anyconsequence would have changed ourrelationship with God forever and wouldhave also changed the claim on us ashumans to act with a sense of justice inour own lives. Enacting justice often cre-ates space for grace to flow.

When have you experienced God’sgrace to the world through an act of jus-tice? Where in your life do you need forjustice to be offered as an expression ofGod’s care?

An Act of Protection“String him up, boys!” As the mob

decides to storm the jail in the old Westdusty town, it’s up to the marshal to stoptheir desire, not for justice, but for retri-bution. It’s a typical theme of Westernmovies and television shows. I imagineI’ve seen dozens of brave marshals,sheriffs, deputies, or even that noblecowboy stranger keep an entire crowdaway by demanding that real justice beserved, that the crowd obey the silverstar of the law. As a result, the mob isdispersed. “You all go on home now,y’hear? This ain’t the way we are going toact in my town!”

Isn’t it peculiar that, so often, theguilty one needs protection from otherswanting to carry out what they believe isjustice by their own hands? In our justicesystem, when someone is accused of acrime, or when someone is convicted ofa crime, an incredible amount of effort ismade to ensure that the guilty person iskept safe until and while the punishmentis administered. Occasionally, we hear ofinstances when someone is murdered inprison; but as horrible as someone’sacts may be, the entire institution of thejustice system breaks down if that per-son is harmed simply because someonedecides he or she has the right to inflicthis or her own level of punishment.

Cain was inconsolable when he heardthe justice placed upon his life by God.Yes, he had killed his brother. Yes, thatwas horrible. But Cain imagined the con-sequence, not of his actions, but ofGod’s decree! “My punishment is morethan I can bear. . . . Anyone who finds mewill kill me,” he cried to God (Genesis4:14). I have nothing to protect me fromthe worst possible act, he wailed.


Lesson 11 67 May 10

Sometimes we feel hopeless, too.When the consequences of our actionsbring destruction to our lives, we areconsumed with fear and think of howlost our future seems to be. It’s notremorse; it is simply our belief that weare defenseless and powerless againstwhomever takes their revenge on us.

The greatest good news of Cain’s hor-rible story is that God didn’t say, “Servesyou right. You made your bed; now lie init.” No, God’s response to Cain’s hope-less words was that his worst fearswould not happen. I’m in charge here,God essentially said to Cain, and that’snot going to happen. The punishment ofbanishment was enough.

Cain’s defenseless life would be pro-tected by God’s mark on him. “The Lordput a sign on Cain so that no one whofound him would assault him” (verse15). Scripture does not tell us what the

sign was or how those who encounteredCain would know what it meant. But weknow that Cain settled somewhere eastof Eden, “in the land of Nod” (verse 16).

Nod means “wandering” and is alsorelated to the Hebrew term that is trans-lated as “nomad” in verse 12. AlthoughCain was no doubt sad and lonely, hewas safe from violent acts. The grace ofGod that cares for us when we havesinned is amazing. God is just, but inadministering justice, God still loves andcares for us.

What does it tell you about God that,when we have done something horrible,God still offers grace? How well do weextend grace to others, the way Goddoes, when they have offended us?


Exodus 16:2-15 (NIV) 2 In the desert the whole community grum-bled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only wehad died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There wesat around pots of meat and ate all the food wewanted, but you have brought us out into thisdesert to starve this entire assembly to death.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will raindown bread from heaven for you. The people areto go out each day and gather enough for thatday. In this way I will test them and see whetherthey will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare whatthey bring in, and that is to be twice as much asthey gather on the other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all theIsraelites, “In the evening you will know that itwas the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the gloryof the Lord, because he has heard your grum-bling against him. Who are we, that you shouldgrumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that itwas the Lord when he gives you meat to eat inthe evening and all the bread you want in themorning, because he has heard your grumblingagainst him. Who are we? You are not grumblingagainst us, but against the Lord.” 9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entireIsraelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, forhe has heard your grumbling.’” 10 While Aaron was speaking to the wholeIsraelite community, they looked toward the

desert, and there was the glory of the Lordappearing in the cloud. 11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of theIsraelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eatmeat, and in the morning you will be filled withbread. Then you will know that I am the Lordyour God.’” 13 That evening quail came and covered thecamp, and in the morning there was a layer ofdew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes likefrost on the ground appeared on the desertfloor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said toeach other, “What is it?” For they did not knowwhat it was. Moses said to them, “It is the breadthe Lord has given you to eat.”

Exodus 16:2-15 (KJV) 2 And the whole congregation of the chil-dren of Israel murmured against Moses andAaron in the wilderness: 3 And the children of Israel said unto them,Would to God we had died by the hand of theLord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by theflesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full;for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness,to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, Iwill rain bread from heaven for you; and the peo-ple shall go out and gather a certain rate everyday, that I may prove them, whether they willwalk in my law, or no. 5 And it shall come to pass, that on the

God Provides Food in the WildernessPurpose

To contrast our human nature with God’s grace.


Lesson 12 68 May 17


sixth day they shall prepare that which theybring in; and it shall be twice as much as theygather daily. 6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all thechildren of Israel, At even, then ye shall knowthat the Lord hath brought you out from the landof Egypt: 7 And in the morning, then ye shall see theglory of the Lord; for that he heareth your mur-murings against the Lord: and what are we, thatye murmur against us? 8 And Moses said, This shall be, when theLord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat,and in the morning bread to the full; for that theLord heareth your murmurings which ye murmuragainst him: and what are we? your murmuringsare not against us, but against the Lord. 9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say untoall the congregation of the children of Israel,Come near before the Lord: for he hath heardyour murmurings. 10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto

the whole congregation of the children of Israel,that they looked toward the wilderness, and,behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in thecloud. 11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12 I have heard the murmurings of the chil-dren of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At evenye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall befilled with bread; and ye shall know that I am theLord your God. 13 And it came to pass, that at even thequails came up, and covered the camp: and inthe morning the dew lay round about the host. 14 And when the dew that lay was gone up,behold, upon the face of the wilderness therelay a small round thing, as small as the hoarfrost on the ground. 15 And when the children of Israel saw it,they said one to another, It is manna: for theywist not what it was. And Moses said unto them,This is the bread which the Lord hath given youto eat.

Lesson 12 69 May 17

Seeing the NeedAre we there yet? I’m hungry! I have

to go to the bathroom! Ray is botheringme! I think I’m going to throw up! Lisa ishogging all of the cool air! So went themelodious songs from the back seat.Dad, with Mom as copilot, drove the nineof us and Fritz the 40-pound dachshundacross the country each summer. Ourdestination was always a campgroundwhere we would spend the better part ofthe week enjoying nature. But how wecould complain along the way! Someonewas always in someone else’s space, orit happened that some other offense orslight discomfort was shared with theentire crew.

Dad, in his typical fatherly manner,would periodically issue the statement“If I hear one more word, I’m going to

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

May 11 Numbers 11:4-9,21-23

May 12 Psalm 105:37-43

May 13 Exodus 16:2-8




May 17 John 6:26-35


Lesson 12 70 May 17

pull this car over, and then . . .” That’show Dad dealt with insurrection andunruly passengers. When I look back onthose trips, they were perhaps the mostwonderful experiences of my young life.

As you read the biblical accounts ofthe Israelites, do you sometimes wonderwhy, as God heard their whining, God toodid not threaten to pull the caravan overif there was one more complaint? Cer-tainly, the Israelites knew how to raise afuss. What seems most amazing, how-ever, is that the focus of their whiningand bad behavior was centered on theiropinion that God did not care aboutthem, made mistakes, or somehow wasnot “God enough” for them. Isn’t itremarkable to think that they would nottrust in God for their very lives? Whowould act in such a way?

Today’s lesson is another in ourseries of understanding God’s grace. Itinvites us to revisit the Israelites andtake time to see how different their (andour) approach to l ife is from God’snature.

The Academy Award Goes to . . .Children typically do not have a strong

inner sense of governing their behavior,so they can sometimes be overly dra-matic. Adults can, too, but when we hearan adult whining and offering their woesto the world, we are apt to say, “Oh, growup!” That’s because they are acting likechildren, who love to act.

It’s no wonder, then, that God’s peo-ple were called the “children” of Israel.That was their style, their mode of oper-ating. Exodus 16:2 tells us, “The wholeIsraelite community complained againstMoses and Aaron in the desert.” Can youread the drama in their complaints?

“Oh, how we wish that the Lord had justput us to death while we were still in theland of Egypt. There we could sit by thepots cooking meat and eat our fill ofbread. Instead you’ve brought us out intothis desert to starve this whole assemblyto death” (verse 3).

Good grief! Keep in mind that thiswhining happened “the fifteenth day ofthe second month after they had left theland of Egypt,” roughly a mere 45 daysafter they were set free from over 400years in slavery (verse 1). And after onlythat short amount of time, they were inagony and distress because things werenot exactly going their way.

Notice, too, that their complaintswere not against one another, like ridingin the middle of a car seat with two bigbrothers invading your space. Their com-plaint was against God. “Who are we?Why blame us? . . . Your complaintsaren’t against us but against the Lord,”Moses challenged the people when theycomplained to him and to Aaron (verses7, 8). The people inferred that God wasnot just absent or didn’t care; their tonealmost seemed to suggest that God wasthe actor in their pain and responsiblefor their woes.

We would never do that, right? It’s notin our nature to whine to God, is it? If thetemperature is not quite right or the sunis shining in our eyes, we would nevermake such a fuss, would we? Of course,I’m being facetious. Certainly, we would––or at least, I would, along with so manyother humans throughout time.

It’s tempting for us to make the base-line of our lives our personal comfortand having all of our needs met. It canbe easy when something is lacking in ourlives to determine that all is lost and that


Lesson 12 71 May 17

life is hardly worth living. Sin is not justbeing disobedient and doing things weknow we should not do. Sin is an orienta-tion in our lives that says we are mostimportant and that we deserve all thatwe want and hope for. It says that life isall about me, and if I don’t get everythingI need and want, then someone is goingto be blamed.

Remember that the whining of thepeople occurred while they were living infreedom, being led across a sea on dryland, as God protected them fromPharaoh’s army. Clothed in freedom,filled with the presence of God, they stillfelt hungry, so nothing was right.

While we can easily read this portionof Scripture and shake our heads in dis-approval, criticizing the children of Israel,we ought also to read it as a caution notto get so carried away with a “me-first,me-only” attitude. That way leads todeath––the death of joy and the deathof gratitude. It also serves as a goodreminder to us to take stock of what Godhas done in our lives, ways God has pro-vided for and delivered us, comforted uswhen we have been heartbroken, andundergirded our hopes and efforts.

How can you reframe a bad oruncomfortable personal situation in lightof God’s care for you?

God’s EarIt appeared from my sister Amy’s text

that Mom had had another small stroke.Already bedbound for a couple of yearsdue to cancer, Mom had been sufferingwith what seemed to be strokes, whichfurther kept her from talking in completesentences or sometimes knowing herchildren.

I was 1,000 miles away when Amy

cautioned that Mom wasn’t doing well. Ican’t think of a more helpless feelingthan hearing that news when you are sofar away. I immediately texted Cheri to lether know and to share the pain and frus-tration I was feeling. Her response wasjust as I expected: She was going to prayright then.

At 90 years old, Mom’s life had beena long one for sure, so Cheri’s prayer,which I joined, was for Mom to be with-out pain and to live until she no longerwas able. It’s as if we picked her up andplopped her right into God’s hands. Ofcourse, that’s where she had been allalong. I checked the next morning, andMom was doing much better. She waseating and alert. Was this an answer toprayer? Did God do what I asked for? Ithink better that God heard me butalready knew what I desired. Hopefully,our prayers simply aligned our heartsand minds more fully with God’s will forthis situation.

God said, “I’ve heard the complaintsof the Israelites” (Exodus 16:11). Noticethat God did not call them “my children”but instead gave them a t it le thatseemed to put distance between themand God. God said, in effect, “What I willdo is what I, the Lord, am able to do. Iwill rain down bread from the sky! Whatyou will fill your bellies with will comefrom my hand, so that you will know thatyour life is in my hands as well.”

Scripture tells us that God not onlyprovided one miracle but two. In additionto bread (or “manna,” as the peoplecalled it, verse 31), God sent a flock ofquail that “covered the camp” (verse13). What a huge flock that must havebeen, and it was enough for every childof Israel to be fed.


Lesson 12 72 May 17

When morning came, so came themanna, as thin as frost but carrying thepromise of God to care for them in thewilderness. The gift of manna continuedfor 40 years until the nation crossed overthe Jordan and arrived at the border ofCanaan (verse 35).

What does this tell us about God?Certainly, we have to use the word graceagain. All that they received after theircomplaining was a gift. They didn’t earnit, didn’t work for it, and maybe didn’tdeserve it; but God was gracious to themand sustained them by miraculousmeans. That is who God is. God is theone who sustained an entire nation anddid so simply out of the love and devo-tion God has for them. God has thepower and the inclination to love and todo so in concrete and awesome ways.

Perhaps you can recall times in yourlife when what you desperately neededor what you hoped for came to be andcould’ve come only as a gift from God.Each of us has been sustained by God.That’s not to say that God is a heavenlywish-granter or subject to our whining. Itis to say that God’s very nature is tocare. God has cared for us in the past,cares for us today, and will care for us inthe future.

The very grace of God means that wedon’t walk through the wilderness aloneor without what we need to survive.When we experience desert times, theclaim of our faith allows us to thank Godfor the gift of grace that sees us throughand helps us survive, with meat in theevening and bread every morning, inwhatever forms they take. God knowsour needs and is at work in our lives toprovide the grace we need to live thisday.

What do you need right now in yourlife?

Just EnoughWhen things break around our house,

somehow the “victim” always ends up infront of me on the kitchen table. It’s inmy family job description. I have beenridiculed and mocked for searching forthe best “break-fixers” I can find. To thatend, I have amassed a large number ofeffective (and some not effective) glues,pastes, epoxies, and other substances.As I think about it now, I recall that Dadalso had a rather large variety of mend-ing devices at his disposal.

What I have learned when it comes tothese fixes, through many trials andmany errors, is that more is not alwaysbetter. When it comes to putting some-thing back together, adhesive wise, justthe right amount makes all the differ-ence, holds well, and looks good. When Ihave squirted, squished, or dumped toomuch adhesive substance on the brokenitem, it doesn’t stay together; it simplyfalls apart, and I have to start over. Theprinciple of “just enough” sometimeslooks like we should try more, but thedifference between failure and successlies in faith that just enough is enough.

Remember that God showered theIsraelites with manna each morning, butit was good only for that day. “The peoplewill go out each day and gather justenough for that day,” God told Moses.“In this way, I’ll test them to see whetheror not they follow my Instruction” (Exo-dus 16:4). They could eat their fill of thatholy bread, but “on the sixth day, whenthey measure out what they have col-lected, it will be twice as much as theycollected on other days” (verse 5). Would


Lesson 12 73 May 17

they be obedient to the God who sus-tained their lives, or would they try toprotect themselves by amassing morethan just enough?

We f ind later in Scripture that,indeed, some of the Israelites did try tocollect more manna than they neededfor one day, and it became infested withworms (verse 20). Others tried to collectwhat they needed on the sabbath, butnone fell that day. God, of course, wasdispleased with the people in bothinstances.

Every morning for 40 years, theIsraelites woke up to bread for the day,daily bread. Every morning was an oppor-tunity for them to thank God for whatwas provided to them, although itappears, as we move through Exodus,that still, the voice of the Israelites wasmore complaint than praise.

What is just enough for your life?When I am honest, I can name a numberof things I wish I could amass or things Ithink I need more of. I can identify other

thingsI would like to have in order to pro-tect my future.

Perhaps the finest example of livingin grace and knowing the grace of God isto continue to discern what is justenough in so many parts of our lives. I’mnot talking about doing without what wegenuinely need. But I believe we offer agreater witness of faith when we are notweighed down by the “too much” of life––anything that we crave more than need.

Let each day’s manna be an exercisein faith, and know that God will providefor your needs, so long as we trust andare obedient to God’s instruction. Graceabounds.

What do you have in your life that isindeed “just enough”? Where do you seeevidence of the grace of God in your lifetoday?


Luke 23:32-33, 39-43 (NIV)Luke 23:32-33

32 Two other men, both criminals, were alsoled out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called theSkull, they crucified him there, along with thecriminals–one on his right, the other on his left.

39-43 39 One of the criminals who hung therehurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah?Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him.“Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you areunder the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are gettingwhat our deeds deserve. But this man has donenothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember mewhen you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you,today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:32-33, 39-43 (KJV)Luke 23:32-33

32 And there were also two other, malefac-tors, led with him to be put to death. 33 And when they were come to the place,which is called Calvary, there they crucified him,and the malefactors, one on the right hand, andthe other on the left.

39-43 39 And one of the malefactors which werehanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ,save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, say-ing, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in thesame condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive thedue reward of our deeds: but this man hath donenothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, rememberme when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say untothee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Lesson 13 74 May 24

PurposeTo learn to listen to Jesus’ words of grace and hope in our dying


Grace to the Dying Thief


Lesson 13 75 May 24

Seeing the NeedIt was March 28, 2017. I was in the

northern end of my district for one ofthose typical church meetings, dis-cussing with people the kind of pastorthey hoped we could appoint there. Mybreathing was a little wheezy when Istarted the meeting, and throughout thehour, things just seemed to get worse. Ithought I was having a panic attack forsome reason. I just couldn’t catch mybreath.

I cut the meeting short and decidedto drive and relax on the way to the nextmeeting in a town about 40 miles away. Icouldn’t even get to my car. Someonefrom the meeting asked if he could takeme to the emergency room. By the time Igot there, I was pale, and I learned that Ihad about an inch of space for breathingin my lungs. The medical staff did a won-derful job of pushing oxygen back intomy lungs and started me on treatment to

open things up again. Then they trans-ported me to a city about 60 miles away,where I became a guest of the hospitalthere for about four days. Today I feelbetter than ever, but before receivingtreatment, I was probably about five min-utes away from death.

We are all going to die. Most, if notall, of us have experienced the death ofsomeone we know and love. We mayhave been present with someone at theirtime of death. Is it scary? It was for me.Going through all of that just wasn’t onmy calendar. What is the most importantthing someone needs as they go throughthe process of dying? What would clearlybe the best gif t anyone could of ferthem?

Today’s text may seem like a curiouschoice for this last Sunday of Easter,because it looks back to a particularevent surrounding Jesus’ death on thecross. But it was chosen because itstrongly i l lustrates God’s grace. Itreminds us to listen for and share Jesus’words of grace and hope, especially atlife’s most difficult moments, even at thepoint of death.

Demanding PrayersCome on, Lord! Can’t you just do this

for me this one time?Have you ever prayed a prayer like

that? I have to confess that I have, butthe prayers were not for me. The timeswhen I have made such demands onGod were to intervene for someone Ilove. Whether it was for Cheri, our sons,my mother, or someone else, my mindand heart took over my reason, and Ibecame almost angry that they were suf-fering.

Cheri had morning sickness during

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

May 18 Colossians 1:9-14

May 19 1 Peter 1:17-23

May 20 1 Corinthians 1:26-31


May 22 Acts 7:54-60


May 24 Luke 23:32-33,39-43


Lesson 13 76 May 24

both pregnancies. It wasn’t just nausea;she couldn’t keep a sip of water down. Itstarted at the beginning of each preg-nancy and continued for seven months.Both times, she ended up in the hospitalwith IVs and a scared husband.

Do you know why we only have twochildren? Because I wanted them tohave a mother. My prayers during thosetimes were not gentle or “let it be yourwill” types of prayers. I demanded, Ipleaded, and I expected God to do what Iwanted. These were probably the poor-est seasons of prayer I have ever had,and it was only later, when bouncingbaby boys were happy and healthy, that Irealized indeed that God had taken careof my lovely wife, in spite of the rudeprayers I offered out of desperation.

My faith tells me that God hears andreceives all of our prayers, even when weoffer them in ways other than the man-ner Jesus taught us to pray. God canhandle it, and in the same way a parentcan absorb the tantrums of a child, soGod loves us and cares for us, evenwhen we are demanding. It’s important,however, to remember that God doesn’twork for us. The breath we use to com-plain to God is first placed in our lungsby the one who cherishes us.

Scripture tells us that “two other crim-inals” were executed with Jesus (Luke23:32). It’s interesting that the wordLuke used is different than the oneMatthew and Mark used. Their word ismore precisely translated as “thieves” or“robbers” and is the same word used toidentify those who beat the man in thestory of the good Samaritan. Anotherinterpretation of the word Luke used is“revolutionary.”

Barabbas was supposed to be cruci-fied with these two criminals. Barabbas

wasn’t just a thief; it was believed hewas part of the whole insurrection move-ment against Rome. He “had beenthrown into prison because of a riot andmurder” (verse 25). Pilate had wanted torelease Jesus, but the crowd demandedthe release of Barabbas instead. Thechief priests had brought Jesus to Pilate,saying that he had been “misleading ourpeople, opposing the payment of taxesto Caesar, and claiming that he is theChrist, a king” (verse 23).

Luke tells us that “one of the crimi-nals hanging next to Jesus insulted him:‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself andus!’ ” (verse 39). In other words, he said,we are all in this together, condemnedfor the same reasons, and so bring yourpower and do it now! Arrogant, demand-ing, and ignorant. Honestly, though, if Iwere hanging on a cross next to Jesus, Iwould probably make the same demand.Perhaps we all would.

Death from crucifixion was agonizing.Those subjected to it basically strangledto death because they could not holdthemselves up by their legs and allowbreath into their lungs. While we tend tolook down on this first criminal, it’s diffi-cult to say we would not react in thesame way, even as people of faith.

“Save yourself. Save us!” A mouth fullof demands, with a heart perhaps full ofdesperation and a pair of lungs unableto sustain him for long. As we peer intothis account, let’s not walk too nobly bythe first criminal, because Scripturesays, “All have sinned and fall short ofGod’s glory” (Romans 3:23). Let’s takeat least a moment and recognize thathanging on that cross is also our ownpossible demand or plea when we arefaced with the reality of death in our ownlives.


Lesson 13 77 May 24

When have your prayers seemeddemanding? What were the circum-stances?

Remember MeWhen playing board games, adults

usually have the ability to look ahead atdifferent moves other players mightmake and figure out a strategy to thwarttheir success and maybe punish them alittle. Frankly, that’s hard to do when youare the daddy and your opponents areyour young children.

So, as my children and I played fiercegames like Candyland or Hi Ho Cherry-O,when they were young, they would some-times get themselves into a pickle. Icould see it coming, but they never did.Often, when that happened, “we” wouldquickly amend the rules so that theplayer could stay in the game and notbreak down in tears. But when I wouldaccidentally find myself in nearly thesame predicament, they would only grin,their eyes twinkling, and force me to facethe inevitable. They had no capacity orno desire to remember the good dealthey had received, especially when itcame to winning the game.

The second criminal on the crossbeside Jesus that day offered a peculiarprayer. But first, he berated the othercriminal, saying, “We are rightly con-demned, for we are receiving the appro-priate sentence for what we did. But thisman has done nothing wrong” (verse41). He then focused on Jesus andcalled him by his name.

That’s a rare thing to read in Scrip-ture. In all four of the Gospels, evenwhen the disciples addressed Jesus, itwas not in such a familiar way. He wascalled Rabbi, Teacher, Master, Lord, Mes-siah, Son of God, Son of Man, or the

Christ. But addressing him by his givenname was uncommon.

On the cross, however, this criminalstaked no claim to the Son of God as hisown. He did not know him as Lord orMaster or Teacher or Christ. All that wasleft was for him to address Jesus asJesus. In that moment, as we eavesdrop,we hear an intimacy and a sense inwhich all else is stripped away. Therewas no time left to use formal titles andpolite address. The man simply called toJesus, assuming nothing in terms ofwhat he could claim from this personbeside him.

But he asked, and the requestrecorded as the last words directed toJesus in his life on earth were, “Jesus,remember me when you come into yourkingdom” (verse 42). When you usher inyour kingdom, please remember me,Jesus.

The words are stunning in their sim-ple plea. The criminal didn’t ask for anyspecial treatment or privilege. He didn’tdemand front row seats or businessclass or the better table at a restaurant.He said, “Remember me, Jesus,” hopingthat with his simple plea, he somehowhonored Jesus.

These words have become for us inthe Christian faith a cherished prayer.We use them as a form of meditationand in song. I believe that is because theprayer is so simple, with everythingstripped away. No pretense, only honestand humble recognition of who was onthe cross beside him and who wouldhave the power to remember a criminalbeing crucified. Today, as we study God’sWord, we also remember this person,because he asked Jesus to rememberhim.


Lesson 13 78 May 24

What did the criminal mean? Perhapshe was only asking that when Jesuscame into his kingdom, Jesus wouldthink kindly upon his life at least as onewho offered respect and recognition ofwho Jesus was. Some understand hisrequest to mean that he was askingJesus to count him in when the kingdomwas established or that he was striking adeal with Christ for some kind offavoritism.

I want to believe that it was far sim-pler, far more straightforward than that.“Remember me, Jesus. Let my existenceon this earth have been worth at leastsomething, to be in your memory.”

If you were to pray, “Jesus, rememberme” today, what would you mean bythat?

I Assure YouMay 24 is a special day for United

Methodists. On this day in 1738, JohnWesley went to a prayer meeting onAldersgate Street in London. As he waslistening to a reading of Martin Luther’spreface to the Letter to the Romans,Wesley felt his heart “strangely warmed,”and he experienced the assurance ofsalvation for his life. He knew that hecould trust in Christ and Christ alone totake away his sin.

This event happened after Wesleyhad spent two years in America and hadgone home terribly defeated anddepressed over his failure to evangelize.After his Aldersgate experience, Wesley’spreaching seemed to take on a new vital-ity; and within another short span oftime, he began to organize followers intoclasses and societies and to spread the“spiritual holiness” that identifies TheUnited Methodist Church today.

On this same day, our Focal Passageinvites us to hear Jesus’ words “I assureyou” (verse 43). Jesus was about threehours from death, but he was not alone.On a cross next to him was a criminalwho had made that simple request forJesus to remember him when the Lordentered into his kingdom.

The word assure means “to makesecure.” I will make the future secure foryou, Jesus told the man. It is in my powerto do so. You can move forward with areal sense of trust and hope that whatyou have heard is absolutely true or willcome true for you.

So what did Jesus assure the criminalthat day? Phrases like this can be a lotof fun in translating Scripture. The origi-nal Greek writing has no commas, andmost of the ways things are translatedare by the endings of the words or thecontext of the words. So preachers takethis opportunity to change the commaplacement and talk about the differentways we might understand what Jesusmeant. It’s either “I tell you, today youwill be with me in paradise” or “I tell youtoday, you will be with me in paradise.”

The first sounds as if, when Jesusdied, the criminal joined him in heaven.The second sounds as if Jesus offered apromise for the future. I’ll leave it to youto decide for yourself what is “right,”since we have no way of knowing.

What we do know, however, is thatthese are words of Jesus’ assurance tothe criminal and, by extension, to each ofus who will also come with humility andsimplicity, not demanding or expecting,but simply requesting this of the Mes-siah. “I assure you that today you will bewith me in paradise.” That’s the blessingto grasp. Jesus, his last breaths labored


Lesson 13 79 May 24

and painful, nonetheless offered such ablessing to a criminal.

It’s curious as well that Jesus woulduse the word paradise. The word is notusually used to describe heaven butsomething closer to the garden of Eden.What we do know is that paradise is asetting of wonderful joy, peace, beauty,and gentleness, which are all aspects ofan existence without sin and pain any-more. It would have been the finestblessing and benediction for the crimi-nal.

As we hear Jesus’ words of grace andhope to the dying criminal, it’s my hope

that you also hear those same wordsoffered to you. As we find ourselves attimes in difficult circumstances, or evenfacing death, we can claim this assur-ance, this blessed assurance, that Jesusknows us and knows our needs, eventoday.

How would you describe the assur-ance you have in your life today concern-ing the grace of Jesus Christ? How mightyou grow in that assurance?


Lesson 14 80 May 31

PurposeTo affirm the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the world.


The Holy Spirit Inspires Jesus' Followers

Acts 2:1-21 (NIV) 1 When the day of Pentecost came, theywere all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of aviolent wind came from heaven and filled thewhole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues offire that separated and came to rest on each ofthem. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak in other tongues as theSpirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in JerusalemGod-fearing Jews from every nation under heav-en. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowdcame together in bewilderment, because eachone heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t allthese who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears themin our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; resi-dents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and theparts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism);Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring thewonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked oneanother, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them andsaid, “They have had too much wine.” 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,

raised his voice and addressed the crowd:“Fellow Jews and all of you who live inJerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen care-fully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you sup-pose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by theprophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour outmy Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughterswill prophesy, your young men will see visions,your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men andwomen, I will pour out my Spirit in those days,and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens aboveand signs on the earth below, blood and fire andbillows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness andthe moon to blood before the coming of thegreat and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name ofthe Lord will be saved.’”

Acts 2:1-21 (KJV) 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fullycome, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound fromheaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled allthe house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloventongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each ofthem. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,and began to speak with other tongues, as theSpirit gave them utterance.


Lesson 14 81 May 31

Seeing the Need

Happy Pentecost! Maybe you wore redtoday, the official color of Pentecost,which is also known as the birthday ofthe church. Pentecost is the Greek namefor the Jewish festival called Shavuoth(shav-u-OT). It celebrates the grain har-vest and the occasion of God giving theLaw, or Torah, to the children of Israel.The word Shavuoth means “weeks.”There were seven weeks between thesecond day of Passover and this festival.

In New Testament times, Jews camefrom all over the region to offer their grainofferings to God in the Temple in a timeof wonderful celebration. That’s whyJerusalem was full of “pious Jews from

5 And there were dwelling at JerusalemJews, devout men, out of every nation under heav-en. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, themultitude came together, and were confounded,because that every man heard them speak in hisown language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled,saying one to another, Behold, are not all thesewhich speak Galilæans? 8 And how hear we every man in our owntongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, andthe dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, andCappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and inthe parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers ofRome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear themspeak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were indoubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full ofnew wine.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lift-ed up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men ofJudæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be thisknown unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose,seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by theprophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days,saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,and your young men shall see visions, and yourold men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaid-ens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; andthey shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above,and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire,and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, andthe moon into blood, before the great and notableday of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoevershall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

May 25 Numbers 11:24-29

May 26 Joel 2:28-32

May 27 Romans 8:12-17


May 29 1 Timothy 2:1-7; John 3:16

May 30 Acts 2:1-13

May 31 Acts 2:14-21


Lesson 14 82 May 31

every nation under heaven” on the occa-sion Acts 2 describes (verse 5). Theywere pilgrims, ready to be part of some-thing important in the Jewish faith.

Christians claim the Day of Pentecostfor what it means in the Greek language:50 days. Fifty days after Easter, afterJesus had ascended to heaven, the disci-ples had returned to Jerusalem and werewaiting for the Holy Spirit Jesus hadpromised would come and give thempower to be his witnesses “to the end ofthe earth” (Acts 1:8). We recognize thisday as the birthday of the church,because it was on that day that the disci-ples changed from being the followers ofChrist to being the witnesses of Christ.

How could or should you celebratetoday? Wear red, the color symbolizingthe power of the Spirit! Release doves, ifyou have any, or recognize the symbol ofthe dove as the Holy Spirit descending.Recall that the Spirit descended like adove on Jesus at his baptism (Mark1:10). Sing the praises of the Spirit withhymns and songs for this day, and do sowith joy, enthusiasm, and inspiration.This is the day of the coming of the Spiritto the followers of Jesus!

Inspiration

I was a Latin major in college andhave always loved to find out the originsof words. Many of the words we use todaycommonly hold much more power andsignificance if we keep in mind their ori-gins.

Take the words inspire or inspiration,

for example. They come from a Latin wordthat means “to breathe in.” (Respirationmeans “to breathe again.”) We lay uponthe word inspire pretty powerful andweighty values. When we say that some-one is inspired, we suggest that they arechanged or empowered to do somethingthey otherwise would not do. An inspira-tion gives someone an idea or a resolveto do something important. When we talkabout an inspired idea, we refer to some-thing out of the ordinary, something spe-cial.

When we receive the Holy Spirit, wereceive a special kind of inspiration. Thebreath of God is breathed on us, into us,and the powerful presence of God’s Spiritwith us gives us the imagination and thepower to do what God calls us to do. Itfills us with resolve and insight and theassurance that this direction, this action,these words, are of God.

The opposite of inspiration is exhaus-tion. You know the feeling of having noenergy or vitality left and the heavyexhale that comes with that feeling. Butwe never talk about the exhaustion of theHoly Spirit. How the Spirit inspires is thereal mystery. We can read about theSpirit coming upon different prophets inthe Old Testament or the Spirit comingupon Mary to create the new life whowould bring salvation to the world. Whatdoes this power and inspiration look like?It’s certainly tough to describe.

But Luke tried to do just that in theaccount we read from Acts 2. Notice theimages: “Suddenly” (verse 2). It was a


Lesson 14 83 May 31

powerful moment, not a gradualstrengthening.’ A sound from heaven likethe howling of a fierce wind” (verse 2).There is a real power! This wasn’t the softbreeze of a nice summer day. It was likea North Dakota afternoon, with howlingwinds! As the disciples looked around,Luke says that “they saw what seemed tobe individual flames of fire alighting oneach one of them” (verse 3). It was asupernatural moment, God-given, andcould happen only because the Spirit hadcome.

Some people may spend a great dealof time trying to explain these happen-ings out of a natural world phenomenon.But I say, let this moment on PentecostDay belong to the power of God to trans-form these people into confident andstrong individuals, ready to be evangel-ists (“a publisher of good tidings” or “onewho brings good news”).

Luke explains not just that this hap-pened but the effect of the coming of theSpirit: “They were all filled with the HolySpirit and began to speak in other lan-guages as the Spirit enabled them tospeak” (verse 4). They did this, notbecause they had studied, but becausethe Holy Spirit enabled them.

These early followers of Jesus werenot highly educated, literary scholars.They were fishermen or held other physi-cally demanding jobs. But they were sud-denly and powerfully transformed so thata dozen or more different languagescame out of their mouths. That effect, wewill soon find, became only another

cause to a greater purpose that day.

When have you felt inspired? Whatwere you able to do because the inspira-tion was in you?

The Mighty Works of God

Most all pastors think they are goodpublic speakers and can preach well. Theproof of that, of course, actually rests inthe ears of the congregation. However,before I became a pastor, I studiedspeech; won awards in high school forradio broadcasting, speech, and debate;and have tried to continue to hone thatimportant craft. The ability to communi-cate clearly and effectively is vital.

When my son Aaron was in eighthgrade, we went to his spring band con-cert. Suddenly, he stood in the spotlightbehind the microphone, where he wastransformed into a poised, articulate,excellent speaker who introduced thenext piece the band would play. I’ll neverforget the way our son, with absolutely nocoaching or training from the master,managed to sound like an experienced,professional emcee, with no gaffs and nomisspeaking, nothing but a mighty per-formance.

As the disciples and others were filledwith the Holy Spirit that morning, they toosuddenly became experts in speaking,particularly in foreign languages. This isnot what today we sometimes refer to as“speaking in tongues.” The latter refersto those who are “caught up in the Spirit”and begin to say things that no one canunderstand. That indeed is one of the


Lesson 14 84 May 31

spiritual gifts the New Testament names,and it too is pretty mysterious.

The tongues of the disciples thatPentecost Day caused a sense of mysteryamong the crowds of Jews who had comefor the festival, not because they werestrange and unknown but because thedisciples were speaking to all of thesepeople in their own languages. Theycould understand what the discipleswere saying. The reaction was surpriseand amazement.

Luke took the time to list the differentnations, cultures, and languages repre-sented in Jerusalem that day. That thefollowers of Jesus were able to speak tothe crowd in those distinct languagesand the crowd was able to understandthem was a true miracle of God. However,when we realize the message that wasspoken that day in all those different lan-guages, we then are met face to face withthe overwhelming holy significance of thecoming of the Spirit.

“We hear them declaring the mightyworks of God in our own languages!”(verse 11). The reason the disciples weregiven this gift was so that those gatheredwould first be amazed at the ability of thedisciples and then overwhelmed by hear-ing of God’s mighty acts.

It is appropriate on this Pentecost Dayto ask what “mighty works of God” wehave shared lately. How often do we tendto keep quiet about those miracles, thoseoccasions when we have experienced thehand of God or known the power of the

Spirit in our lives? How willing are we tospeak with others about how God’s lovehas transformed our lives and how God isusing us to transform the lives of others?

We may use the cultural substitutionsof saying, “Boy, I was lucky,” “As luckwould have it,” or “It was an amazingcoincidence.” It’s more than a pity whendisciples of Jesus attribute what happensto the mighty works of fate, luck, or hap-penstance.

Do you believe God through the HolySpirit is active in your life? Do you trustthat God is guiding and leading you andopening paths to deeper faith and to mir-acles in your life? If we believe this, wemust not keep our mouths closed andsimply let the mighty works of God––inand through us––go by in silence.

The world needs to know of the power,love, and incredible grace of our God whowill not let us go or simply sit by idly. Godis intimately involved in our lives andloves this world. We should claim thepower of the Spirit, especially thisPentecost Day, and recommit ourselvesto declaring the mighty works of God.

Where in your life has God been atwork this week?

Know This!

She’s my mother, so I think she signeda contract that she has to do it. The tag-team that includes her and my wife doesa pretty great job of lifting me up andencouraging me in my life’s work. In theirgentle but firm ways, they remind me ofwhat I should already know. When I am


Lesson 14 85 May 31

faced with a large challenge or a largerdisappointment, they manage to bringthe best word to me and help me see anew path through or around what is infront of me. They are blessings, womenwho speak truth and inspiration thattransform my life on a regular basis.

We come to the climax of Acts 2 whenPeter takes the stage. First, recall pre-cisely who this Peter was. Peter was afisherman in Galilee, at that time prettymuch a backwater, as uncultured andhillbilly land as you could get. WhenJesus initially called Peter to follow him,Peter questioned Jesus’ advice to takehis fishing boat out a little farther in orderto catch fish. “Their catch was so hugethat their nets were splitting” (Luke 5:6).Peter was often hard-headed and slow tounderstand what Jesus said.

On the evening before Jesus was cru-cified, Peter denied knowing Jesus threetimes (Luke 22:54-62). After Jesus’ res-urrection and appearance to the disci-ples, Peter decided to go back to fishing(John 21:1-3), until Jesus caught himagain and set him on the path as a leaderof this new faith. Peter went on tobecome a leader in the early church, justnot the one we would likely have picked.

What we see that morning, after thedisciples had been proclaiming themighty works of God to the vast crowd, isa transformation. Almost before our eyesas we read, we see a fisherman becomea prophet. Peter began to speak, and thewords were different than any otherspeech he had ever made. He spoke with

authority, passion, and spiritual power.

I love his first words: “Know this!Listen carefully to my words!” (Acts 2:14).Peter had a message for the crowd, andhe presented it with a presence that wentbeyond catching their attention. His ser-mon, when completed, yielded “aboutthree thousand people into the communi-ty on that day” (verse 41).

What did Peter say that was so capti-vating? He reminded them of the prophetJoel and the promise that God would“pour out [God’s] Spirit on all people”(verse 17). The pouring of the Spirit waswhat the people were seeing before theirvery eyes. Not only that, Peter shared theincredibly good news that all who calledupon the Lord would be saved, that is,brought into God’s arms and restored tothe relationship God desires for us.

This Pentecost event, Peter seems tohave said, is transformed from the cele-bration of a harvest or the giving of theLaw to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.It utterly transforms and changes all thathas been. It offers new life, new hope,new power, and a new relationship withGod as was promised through theprophet, now come to reality.

“Know this!” is the clarion call ofPentecost. Know that the Spirit of Godhas come, and all that you have everhoped for in your life of faith is now reali-ty. Know that, if a group of people fromGalilee can transform that crowd, certain-ly God’s Spirit in you can transform yourworld, and your life, and your future. We


are Pentecost people. Our heritage is onein which we trust in the saving grace ofGod, in the inspiration of God’s Spirit,and in the powerful gift of Jesus Christ.

How can you carry the power ofPentecost forward throughout your life?What is one thing you can do today to

demonstrate Pentecost power?

Lesson 14 86 May 31


•n

otes•n

otes•n

otes•n

otes•n

otes•


•n

otes

•n

otes

•n

otes

•n

otes

•n

otes

•


2020 Mar. 1 Mar. 8 - I am AME · Mar. 1 Mar. 8 Mar. 15 Mar. 22 Mar. 29 Apr. 5 Apr. 12 Apr. 19 Apr....

Documents

Transcript of 2020 Mar. 1 Mar. 8 - I am AME · Mar. 1 Mar. 8 Mar. 15 Mar. 22 Mar. 29 Apr. 5 Apr. 12 Apr. 19 Apr....