Pastor Ed's Devotional

Luke 7:13 “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 7:15 And he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.”

Pastor Ed — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:01:15 +0000

That short phrase, ‘He had compassion on her.’ catches our attention and gives us insight into the heart of our Savior. All believers must come before our Savior in humility but we need to also come remembering that He is ‘compassionate’ and that His ‘mercy endures forever.’ It is fundamental to the heart of God to respond to our frail and faltering needs and to forgive us and emotionally strengthen us. Here we see into the heart of God at a funeral procession turned into a celebration. Bernard of Clairvaux summed this idea up well when he said, ‘Justice seeks out only the merits of the case, but pity only regards the need.’ It was compassion, not justice that moved Jesus then and He still responds to our needs in the same way today. Don’t you love verse fifteen the ‘dead sat up and began to speak’? It says this young man who was dead started talking and certainly he had to be speaking about what God had just done. So we still see when Jesus raises people today who are dead in their sins, they also ‘began to speak’ about God. It is one of the signs we expect to see when a person gets saved. They start talking about God in a positive way perhaps for the first time in their life.

“LORD, help us to speak well of Your grace and mercy this day to others.”

Luke 6:10 “And looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6:11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”

Pastor Ed — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:01:27 +0000

Doctor Luke doesn’t want the reader to miss the fact that Jesus was, ‘ looking around at them all.’ Jesus took the time to look carefully into the eyes of every man standing there to give them a chance to respond to the question of whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. But no one responded. Imagine for a moment, standing eye ball to eye ball with the Creator of the Universe! Aren’t you glad you weren’t there that day with a similar hard heart? Imagine being caught in eternity remembering that look of compassion on Jesus’ face? Jesus says to the man, “stretch out your hand.” Strangely the man did not argue with Jesus when he was being told to stretch out a useless hand, No, he simply tried. And then, ‘his hand was restored as whole as the other’ or we might say, a perfect match. These religious ones responded with anger because Jesus had disregarded their tradition and this always aggravates the religious. Jesus is saying that it is always right to do a good thing on the Sabbath or any other day of the week for that matter. Jesus held radical views for worship and that required that He attack their limited view of God. Did God create us in order to honor Him on the Sabbath? Do we exist to satisfy God’s ego and to appease Him? Are we supposed to worship in order to gratify some need that God has? No, of course not! If man was made for the Sabbath then these things might be true. But back in Mark 2 Jesus said to them, “the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’ Two things here that we might ponder from this story, first the day of worship and rest isn’t for God but it is for us His created beings. The designer has hard-wired us to need a day of rest out of every seven days. Secondly when God tells us to do something that seems physically impossible we only have to try to reach out and try to be obedient. God never asks us to do something that He falls to provide the power to achieve it.

“LORD we do want to experience Your moving in our lives so we choose to follow You this day.”

Luke 5:18 “Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed. And they sought to bring him in and lay him before Him. 5:19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. 5:20 So when He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.’”

Pastor Ed — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:01:50 +0000

Here is a beautiful picture of what each of us who believes is called to be and do for others. Doctor Luke tells us these, ‘men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed.’ It seems that this man wanted to come to Jesus, but was unable to get to Him under his won power. But he had friends (four men according to mark 2:4) who had faith and brought him to the Lord. What a simple but profound lesson here. Good friends bring others to Jesus. The vast majority of people who come to believe were originally spoken to or invited to church by a friend or relative. We can’t help but notice the measures that they were willing to go through to make sure that their friend had an opportunity to meet Jesus. The crowds were so large that it was impossible for these men carrying their buddy to get close enough to the Messiah even if they waited until Jesus left the house, It says, ‘when He saw their faith’ so it was clearly the faith of the friends carrying the man that Jesus first noticed. At first glance it seems like a strange thing for Jesus to say to the man, ‘your sins are forgiven.’ These guys must have been thinking something like they brought their friend to be healed, not forgiven. But Jesus always knows what we really need no matter what we might request. They thought the guy needed a physical healing but it turns out God the Son understands that his spiritual needs were far more important. This man is pardoned with a word, ‘forgiven.’ It doesn’t really matter what sin had brought on this paralysis because it was now forgiven. Jesus had healing for both for soul and body for us today no matter what sins might have brought us to this prison of brokenness.

“LORD heal our broken and snared lives again this day. Set us free to worship and serve You this day we as in the name of Jesus.”

Luke 4:3 “And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4:4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ “

Pastor Ed — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:01:13 +0000

The three kinds of temptation that Satan used against Jesus are still the three used against all believers to this day. The first is the temptation to do it by your self. The second is the temptation to take the easy way, the way of least resistance. And the third is the temptation to not believe it until you see it. Of course we cannot be tempted to turn stones into bread because we are not capable of doing so under our own power. So Satan changes it slightly to make us believe that if we want something we need to do it now and never mind looking to God. We are regularly tempted to go outside the boundaries of God’s will to satisfy our personal desires.In the second temptation Satan offered Jesus a kingdom without the cross. Why go through all the trouble and pain to have victory over the world and the flesh when it can be handed to you on a silver platter with no personal cost? But if Jesus took the crown without the cross it redemption would not have taken place and we would be still lost in our sins. The final temptation for us is like saying to God, “I won’t believe in you until I see you show it to me on my terms.” The one common denominator to all three temptations is that they attempted to destroy Jesus’ relationship with His heavenly Father. We love the quote from Martin Luther when he was asked how he overcame Satan. He replied, “When he comes knocking at the door of my heart, and asks, ‘Who lives here?’ Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.” When Jesus Christ fills our life then Satan has no way to come in.

“LORD, forgive our sins, fill our hearts, keep the evil one from us we humbly ask in Jesus’ name.”

Luke 3:5 “Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; and the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways made smooth; 3:6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. “

Pastor Ed — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:01:24 +0000

This quote from Isaiah 40 describes something that was a common occurrence in biblical times. If a monarch wanted to travel to inspect his kingdom he would send a crew of workmen ahead to make sure the road was clear of obstructions to make the journey as smooth as possible. In a spiritual sense, John was calling the people of Israel to prepare their hearts for the coming of their Messiah King. The message has four parts that represent spiritual realities found in all of our lives. First valleys being filled spiritually represents the depressed and despairing low times being elevated emotionally. The second picture of mountains and hills being brought low represents the arrogant and proud heart being humbled. The third is obvious in that the crooked hearts are those twisted and trapped in dishonesty and corruption of all kinds, Lastly the rough ways speak of hearts that are rough, rude and crude in their ways. So John is pointing to actual parts of a person’s character that need correction. If you feel worthless, depressed and insignificant or if you feel your life is meaningless then look to God and He will lift you up. To say, ‘I have no hope’ means that you have no expectation of coming good from God. Repent of your sin and call out to God. Mountains and hills means the exalted and proud hearts must be humbled and brought low. If you feel self-satisfied, perfectly sufficient to handle your own affairs then you need to come down in order to find God. British Pastor F.B. Meyer said, “Cherish the lowest thought you choose of yourself, but unite it with the loftiest conception of God’s all-sufficiency.” God will meet us there if we humble ourselves under the might hand of God. There is also hope for the crooked and twisted and bent trapped in dishonesty and corruption of all kinds, If we are handling things in a crooked manner, devious in our business dealing and untrustworthy in our relationships with others then we also must repent. That’s exactly what John is saying. We turn our life around by having a change of mind and heart and God will meet us there. Finally those with rough ways, the cynical who are convinced that their opinion is always right. There is no way to cut sin out of the human heart with a knife but the Great Surgeon the Holy Spirit Himself will do that for us if we ask.

“LORD we do repent and turn to You. Heal us we ask in Jesus’ name.”

Luke 2:27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation.”

Pastor Ed — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:01:59 +0000

Being patient and waiting for God to answer our prayers is difficult for most believers. Here we find two believers who have been waiting for many years in confident expectation of actually living to see the Messiah in the flesh. Although the waiting interval is difficult, it does make the arrival all the sweeter. This occasion was the most thrilling moment of Simeon’s long life as he the baby Messiah in his own hands. He makes an incredible prophetic announcement about Jesus’ life and death, but before he does he speaks of his own personally gratitude to God. He says, ‘My eyes have seen Your salvation.’ He clearly understood that this tiny infant was God’s plan for salvation for both himself personally as well as for the whole world. The word for “salvation” that Simeon uses in this text is very interesting. Simeon says the Greek word “soterion” which means, ‘one fitted to save.’ Literally he is saying, “My eyes have seen one fitted to save others.” How did Simeon have the kind of insight? We only need to look carefully at Simeon’s song to see that it contains numerous quotes from the Old Testament. Simeon was a serious student of the Scripture. He has loved and spent a great deal of time studying and memorizing the Word of God so that when the moment comes, God’s Word is ready on his lips. Sometimes waiting adds to the blessing as was the case for these two believers, Simeon and Anna. Actually they are the only two people who seem to clearly recognized Jesus as the Messiah. The waiting was good for their spiritual discernment wasn’t it?

“LORD please help us to wait on You this day, ready to share Your word with others.”

Luke 1:5 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless 1:7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.”

Pastor Ed — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:01:58 +0000

Some times prayers go unanswered because the prayer is denied. In the New Testament book of James chapter four, it teaches us that sometimes our own poor motive blocks us from receiving things requested in prayer. But often times the answer to prayer is delayed by God purposefully, because He has special timing in mind for unseen reasons. The birth of John the Baptist was just such a delayed prayer request. Dr, Luke emphases the barrenness of Elizabeth and that they were now both literally, ‘well stricken in age’ and beyond the normal age of fertility. In that culture, to be barren was considered as a sign of God’s disfavor on a couples life. In this case just the opposite was true, since they were about to be greatly honored by their loving heavenly Father. God was delaying the answer to their prayer for a child because the course of human history would be changed through the ministry of their son John. He was to be the announcer, the forerunner, or the messenger sent by God to introduce the Messiah, God the Son. According to Jesus these two people, Zacharias and Elizabeth had the honor of raising the most important person ever born up to that moment. God hears prayers from His children. Keep praying dear believer because your answer may also be delayed by a loving heavenly Father who has something even better for you at a later time. God always gives us His best when we leave the choices to Him. Only stop praying when the answer is in your hand or that God has revealed a better answer in your heart.

“LORD we thank You that You are loving and always move in our lives according to what is best for us. Give us Your best this day we ask in Jesus’ name.”

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Pastor Ed — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:01:47 +0000

‘The Great Commission,’ is a penetrating command in Scripture second only to, ‘You must be born again.’ The phrase “go into all the world…’ is literally ‘as you are going.’ The world needs to see authentic believers living out relationship with Jesus in real life situations in a godly way. There are few things that turn off unbelievers more to the Gospel than phony believers. A major temptation for us is to try to cover up our problems and to act pious and religious, pretending we are holy. The way to influence our friends who don’t know Jesus is not by leaving the impression that we never fall. We must be honest with ourselves and admit we’re no better than anybody else. Instead simply admit that if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ, we’d be in big trouble. Several years ago, a major Christian publication did a study that concluded that it required one thousand lay people and six ministers, one year to lead a single person to Christ. It was also estimated that 95 percent of Christians today will never lead a single person to Jesus Christ. This is the exact opposite of Jesus’ command for New Testament evangelism. Contrast that with John Harper’s life. John Harper was born into a Scottish Christian family on May 29, 1872. He became a Christian age thirteen and had already started preaching by age seventeen. He received training at the Baptist pioneer mission in London, and in 1896 he founded a church, now known as Harper Memorial Church, which began with 25 worshipers but had grown to 500 members by the time he left 13 years later. In 1912 Harper, the newly called pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, was traveling on the Titanic with his 6-year-old daughter. After the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink, he got Nana into a lifeboat but apparently made no effort to follow her. Instead, he ran through the ship yelling, “Women, children, and unsaved into the lifeboats!” Survivors report that he then began witnessing to anyone who would listen. He continued preaching even after he had jumped into the water and was clinging to a piece of wreckage (he’d already given his lifejacket to another man).
Harper’s final moments were recounted four years later at a meeting in Hamilton, Ontario, by a man who stood up and said: “I am a survivor of the titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. Harper of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck, near me. “Man,” he said, “are you saved?” “No,” I said, “I am not.” he replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.” The waves bore him away, but, strange to say, brought him back a little later, and he said, “Are you saved now?” “No,” I said, “I cannot honestly say that I am.” he said again, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved,” and shortly after he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper’s last convert.” He was also one of only six people picked out the water by the lifeboats; the other 1,522, including Harper, were left to die.

“LORD, make us as urgent about souls today as John Harper was then. Please allow us to see someone come to You through us this day.”

Mark 15:21 Now they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

Pastor Ed — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:01:28 +0000

Roman guards recruited Simon randomly out of the watching crowd who was from Jewish colony in Cyrene, Libya, North African. The Cyrenian Jews had a synagogue in Jerusalem we learn from Acts 6:9 and 13:1. Mark lets us know that he was ‘the father of Alexander and Rufus’ suggesting that his children where well known to the church by the time this gospel was written. Simon plays a fascinating role here in that he was a Jewish pilgrim coming into Jerusalem from out of the country, but he ended up as a Messianic pilgrim. The foreigner from 1000 miles away discovered that the real pilgrimage was not inside Jerusalem, but on Calvary. This was the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, not the blood of animals. Like other pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem at that time Simon was there to confess his sins, ask God for forgiveness, and vowed to return another year. But Simon found so much more. He who was only a passerby and a reluctant eyewitness was brought by God’s destiny to the city that day. Not by mans design but God’s grace, Simon at first only an eyewitness then became a participant and finally a believer. There is another true story about an eyewitness who also became a believer but while visiting Africa. British reporter Henry Morton Stanley was sent to Africa by his newspaper editor to find the missing Scottish missionary doctor David Livingstone. It was he who spoke the immortal words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” He described the transformation that came into his life after finding Livingstone this way. “I went to Africa as prejudiced as the biggest atheist in London. but there came for me a long time for reflection. I saw this solitary old man here and asked myself, “How on earth does he stop here – is he cracked, or what? What is it that inspires him? For months after we met I found myself wondering at the old man carrying out all that was said in the bible – “leave all things and follow me.’ But little by little his sympathy for others became contagious; my sympathy was aroused seeing his piety, his gentleness, his zeal, his earnestness, and how he went around his business. I was converted by him although he had not tried to do it.”

“LORD, make my life today a clear enough witness so that someone might see You in me today and find salvation.”

Mark 14:6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.”

Pastor Ed — Tue, 08 May 2012 07:01:02 +0000

This could be better translated, ‘she has done a beautiful thing to me’ since the Greek word ‘kalos’ describes a thing that is not only good but a thing of intrinsic beauty. The Greeks had a common word for something that is ethically and morally good, ‘agathos’ but that kind of act could also be difficult and even Spartan. But something thing which is ‘kalos’ is what we would call perfect, fitting, winsome and attractive. Extravagant love moved Mary to extravagant worship and the beauty of it lay in its very extravagance. This woman did not spare any of her costly ointment but broke the flask and poured out the entire box of it on Him. According to Judas, this woman wasted an enormous amount of money when she poured out the ointment upon Jesus. It was such a lavish act, and that is part of why it was beautiful. Jesus was also saying that it was a perfectly timed act. It was something that could only be done right before his death. There are those moments, those rare opportunities that rarely come in our life, that are only available to be done at that moment. Mary seized the moment to offer this gift and that time would never come again. Jesus is saying, “She has anointed my body for burying.” Jesus had told the disciples many times that He was going to die but Mary believed Him and acted on it. She seems to have understood that He was heading for burial. It would, in fact, turn out that she would not have the opportunity even later to find His body and anoint it for burial.

“LORD, don’t let us miss any opportunities to serve You by touching others this day. Give us the spiritual sensitivity to grasp the moment and do it as an act of worship to You.”