Daily Byte
What do you do when it seems like your whole world is falling apart? What do you do when you discover that your most cherished dreams have been dashed? What do you do when it appears that death has destroyed everything that you hold dear? When love is dead. When hope is dead. When purpose is dead. When dignity, and truth, and goodness, and integrity, and your very identity are dead. What do you do?
Where do you go when it seems like your whole world is falling apart? Where do you go when feelings of anguish and despair and utter desperation are so overwhelming that they are like a flood, like a surging torrent that cannot be restrained? Where do you go when the pain becomes too much to cope with? When the grief becomes too big to bear. When the chaos becomes too hectic to handle. Where do you go?
Well? What DO you do? Where DO you go?
It was these very questions that Jesus’ disciples faced in the chaotic and confusing aftermath of his death. What were they to do? Where were they to go? For them, it must have seemed like their world was falling apart. For Jesus’ death spelt the death of so many other cherished things for them. This wasn’t simply a friend who had died, but someone on whom their very lives had been centred. It’s difficult for us to imagine the feelings of anguish and despair and utter desperation that must have overwhelmed them. Or maybe it isn’t, because there are many people reading these words who are well-acquainted with such feelings.
In these devotions this week we will explore the story of two of Jesus’ disciples who were faced with questions like these. In their response, and the remarkable encounter they had with the risen Christ, may we find echoes of our story and the promise of Easter breaking over our lives.
Maybe you would like to start reading their story now. It is found in Luke 24:13-35. The first part of it is included below:
Pray as you go:
Lord God, when things fall apart in my life, I’m often unsure what to do or where to go. I pray that through the scriptures and devotions of this week you would help me to realize that in desperate times you are a God who is present and active in my life, making the decisive difference that I need. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Focus scripture
Luke 24:13-27
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
"What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Monday, 5 April 2010
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Easter Sunday!
Christ the Lord is risen today! Hallelujah!
Jesus is alive!
The powers of sin and death have been defeated!
There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can separate us from God’s love!
So, go rejoicing with Living Faith!
Prayer:
Risen Lord Jesus,
When all the world seems against us,
Keep our hopes alive,
Help us to remember
That after crucifixion,
Comes the resurrection,
That after darkness
Comes the dawn
And after the bitterness of defeat
Comes a new beginning.
Keep our hopes alive
So that we may be ready.
Amen.
Jesus is alive!
The powers of sin and death have been defeated!
There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can separate us from God’s love!
So, go rejoicing with Living Faith!
Prayer:
Risen Lord Jesus,
When all the world seems against us,
Keep our hopes alive,
Help us to remember
That after crucifixion,
Comes the resurrection,
That after darkness
Comes the dawn
And after the bitterness of defeat
Comes a new beginning.
Keep our hopes alive
So that we may be ready.
Amen.
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Day 40 - Holy Saturday
Simply reflect today on the emptiness, darkness, mustiness, and cool of the stone tomb.
Picture yourself entering there and being present with Christ.
Write or draw your responses to Christ’s sacrifice, given so that you, personally, and the whole world might live.
Picture yourself entering there and being present with Christ.
Write or draw your responses to Christ’s sacrifice, given so that you, personally, and the whole world might live.
Friday, 2 April 2010
Day 39 - Crucifixion
Reading : John 18:1-19:42
We have meditated this week on various aspects of our environment and our relationship through Christ to them, and today on Good Friday, we read that Jesus is crucified on pieces of wood chopped from an ordinary tree.
Christ died on a tree.
Think for a few moments today about whether, or not, the person who grew and chopped down that tree knew it would be used for such a crucifixion. Were the foresters and carpenters blindly following orders? Were they participating in that industry simply to turn a profit?
How often do we participate in systems and follow the commands of superiors and the crowd without questioning the end results of our actions?
How often do we act unthinkingly, as we chop down forests without accounting for the ecosystems that live within them, create mountains of waste instead of recycling, buy products from the shops without questioning their origins and the bi-products of their development, and mine for precious minerals, leaving lands clear-cut and eroding away.
In what ways are we inadvertently, or purposefully, crucifying the world around us?
Do we really ‘know not what’ we do?
As we look toward Easter Sunday, how might Christ desire us to become more aware of the ways we affect His world? How might Christ desire us to help resurrect it?
Prayer:
Oh Lord, we know not what we do. Father, forgive. Amen.
We have meditated this week on various aspects of our environment and our relationship through Christ to them, and today on Good Friday, we read that Jesus is crucified on pieces of wood chopped from an ordinary tree.
Christ died on a tree.
Think for a few moments today about whether, or not, the person who grew and chopped down that tree knew it would be used for such a crucifixion. Were the foresters and carpenters blindly following orders? Were they participating in that industry simply to turn a profit?
How often do we participate in systems and follow the commands of superiors and the crowd without questioning the end results of our actions?
How often do we act unthinkingly, as we chop down forests without accounting for the ecosystems that live within them, create mountains of waste instead of recycling, buy products from the shops without questioning their origins and the bi-products of their development, and mine for precious minerals, leaving lands clear-cut and eroding away.
In what ways are we inadvertently, or purposefully, crucifying the world around us?
Do we really ‘know not what’ we do?
As we look toward Easter Sunday, how might Christ desire us to become more aware of the ways we affect His world? How might Christ desire us to help resurrect it?
Prayer:
Oh Lord, we know not what we do. Father, forgive. Amen.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Day 38 - Gifts of Darkness & Light
Reading : John 13:31b-35
Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is often marked by a service of Tenebrae, which means shadows, or darkness.
As the lights are extinguished in the sanctuary, slowly the story leading up to the crucifixion unfolds until the very moment of crucifixion is spoken, and total darkness descends.
As we prepare for this service, we ponder today the gifts of light and darkness. We have often heard news about the current electricity crisis in South Africa, and many of have experienced power outages in the recent months.
For many in poor areas of this country, light in darkness is a luxury, not a consistent reality.
Often in scripture, disciples of Christ are called to be lights of the world. In worship and Christ-centered fellowship, candles are often lit to symbolize the presence of Christ.
In what ways are we being called to bring both physical and spiritual light to the world?
How might we conserve light in homes and workplaces so that power will be available for others?
As we sit in the darkness of crucifixion tonight, ask yourself how you feel. Do you feel scared? Disoriented? Restful? Awkward? Tired? Electrified by the moment? Anxious? Freed? Hopeful?
How might our knowledge that light will come in the midst of darkness affect how we relate to other people and to the world around us?
How might it teach us to love one another, as Christ has loved us?
In many Tenebrae services, one candle is lit at the end to signify that people may go out into the world.
It is the light of Christ. As you think of that small light, picture how strongly it shines, after you have been sitting in darkness for a while.
Questions for reflection:
Reflect here on a personal experience with darkness.
Reflect here on a personal experience with light.
Putting Faith into Action:
Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is often marked by a service of Tenebrae, which means shadows, or darkness.
As the lights are extinguished in the sanctuary, slowly the story leading up to the crucifixion unfolds until the very moment of crucifixion is spoken, and total darkness descends.
As we prepare for this service, we ponder today the gifts of light and darkness. We have often heard news about the current electricity crisis in South Africa, and many of have experienced power outages in the recent months.
For many in poor areas of this country, light in darkness is a luxury, not a consistent reality.
Often in scripture, disciples of Christ are called to be lights of the world. In worship and Christ-centered fellowship, candles are often lit to symbolize the presence of Christ.
In what ways are we being called to bring both physical and spiritual light to the world?
How might we conserve light in homes and workplaces so that power will be available for others?
How might our knowledge that light will come in the midst of darkness affect how we relate to other people and to the world around us?
How might it teach us to love one another, as Christ has loved us?
In many Tenebrae services, one candle is lit at the end to signify that people may go out into the world.
It is the light of Christ. As you think of that small light, picture how strongly it shines, after you have been sitting in darkness for a while.
Questions for reflection:
Reflect here on a personal experience with darkness.
Reflect here on a personal experience with light.
Putting Faith into Action:
- Every time you turn on a light or turn off a light today, say a prayer for those who are without power.
- Research issues related to the recent Escom crisis. Pray for a godly and just solution to it, and commit yourself to practicing energy conservation strategies.
- Pray through this verse in John 1:3-5, asking God to show you how to bring light to the world, both literally and spiritually: All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
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