Be Ready

Verses: Luke 22 : 35 - 38

My thoughts about the verses:

Jesus first sent the disciples with nothing.  They were depend on the other followers to provide food, and shelter.  Jesus knew that they would be provided for.  The people at this point and time were on the side of Jesus.  They were newly converted and wanted to do anything to help the cause.

Yet, at the mount Jesus tells them that they must be prepared.  Instead of going into the world thinking people will help them he was preparing them that things would be different.  By the time that they would be by themselves  the word would have gone out that Jesus had been arrested.  That he had been labeled a criminal.  this would mean that the same people that helped them last time may turn them away.

I can really relate to this.  Tonight I was reminded about what it felt to have your friends and community to turn you out.  Knowing that because they did not live what they preached they had labeled you a sinner that Jesus could not love.  That you were choosing to sin and because of that you could not be reconciled with God.

See I grew up wanting and desiring to be around church as much as I could.  I loved listening to sermons.  Participating in youth activities.  Helping with the bus mission.  Singing in the choir.  In fact, I even attended College that my Church was running.  I was loved and people thought I would grow up to be a great Pastor's wife.  My only option in their book for serving God.

Yet, I was different and knew it my whole youth.  The worse part about the whole thing is that I also came to hate myself because of the teachings that I was hearing.  I don't know if they knew how depressed Church was making me.  The more I came to Church the more depressed I got.  It was like I could not do enough to please the people that I adored.

I was very closeted to my family and church during this time.  I was afraid if anyone found out I would loose everything.  How could I survive without my Church family.  Without my Church Family I would loose my connection with God.

What I realised tonight is that I still love this group of people.  I was part of their family as much as they were a part of my family.  Their teaching were the bases of what led me to accept Jesus as my Savior.  Though they are not in my inner circle they are still part of my extended circle.

Though we see things differently if it hadn't been for these people I would never found my salvation.  I desire to be friends with these people yet, know that is not possible.  It isn't possible because of one thing that we see differently.  I believe in the total priesthood of believers.  God's love is for all people.  We cannot judge people because of our sexual identity, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or ethnicity.  We have to love people because God loves us.

Jesus replaced the old laws.  He talked over and over again about love.  Those that love will receive great rewards in the afterlife.  I know that if certain people read this tonight that were a part of my inner circle in the past they may take it that I am judging them.  Yet, what I am trying to say is that we must love each other and accept our differences.

Jesus makes it very clear that there are now two commandments one to love God with all our Heart.  The second to Love our Neighbors.  So tonight I say I love the people that are against me because of my sexual orientation.  The truth is I forgive anyone that I was once angry with.  I need to do that to truly live my life with the love God has given to me freely.

So what can you take from this.  If you are a Christian be prepared to have people turn against you.  Following God isn't easy there will be people that you love that will turn against you.  There will be loved ones that will see you differently.  Remember no matter what happens to love them. Yet, do not think that you have to accept all the things that they say.  Lean on God.  The sword of faith needs to be your guide. Leaning on that you will be able to be prepared for whatever comes your way.

Prayer:

Dear God thank you for loving us.  Thank you for helping us overcome barriers that have been placed in our life.  Thank you for helping us forgive those that have hurt us.  Help us be the people that can love others without judging them.  In your Name we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you felt rejected by people that you have loved?  Are you willing to love others that have hurt you?  Are you willing to love people like God loves us?

The Denial of Jesus

Verses: Luke 22 : 31 - 34

My thoughts about the verses:

The story is simple.  Peter who had done so many things was again put to the test.  Peter had faith but it often was tempted.  He would in one moment say that Jesus was the Messiah and in the next moment his faith would falter.

Sitting at the table that night Jesus looks at Peter and says that he has been praying for him.  That he had prayed that he would not lose his faith.  Now Peter as usual says don't worry Jesus I will never let you down.  I will go to prison or even die for you.  Yet, Jesus tells him that before that very night was over that he would deny him three times.  I know I can see the shocked expression on Peter's face.

See Jesus wanted us to realize that sometimes even the people that we see as having the strongest faith will be weak.  That no one is perfect.  There are times in our life that we will face different hardships and our faith will be  weak.  It isn't that we don't believe in Jesus.  It is just that fear that things will not work out for our good.

We all have people that we look up to.  We see them as being these very spiritual faithful people.  Yet, when they have their stumble like we all do we start to criticize them.  We have put so much of our trust in how they respond to Jesus that we lose our grip.  We miss that we have to stay focused on God and not judge how others are faithful.

The next time you see a brother or sister in Christ have one of those stumbles of faith do not judge.  Know that we will all go through our times of great faith and our times of no faith.  Those moments when we feel that God is doing all we need.  Those moments that we doubt God is there.  Those moments we offer our lives freely to the service of our Savior.  Those moments we run and hide because.

No matter where you are this moment know that God is there with you.  Your faith might be running low.  Yet, Gods faith and trust in us never falters. God knows when we struggle in our faith.  In those moments we are gently pushed back into the circle so that we can feel the presence of God.  Don't judge others for how their faith is today only worry about how your faith is.

Prayer:

Dear God thank you for loving us when our faith is weak.  Thank you for being with us as we go through life's struggles.  We thank you for carrying us in our hard times.  Help us keep focused on you.  Help us as we walk through life not to lose our faith in you.  In the name of the Creator we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you ever denied your relationship with God?  Have you ever felt your faith falter?  Is today the day that you allow God to help you rebuild your faith?

We are to be humble and serve others

Verses: Luke 22 : 24 - 30

My thoughts about the verses:

Jesus established in this last meal the fact that the most important wasn't the one that was served but the one that was serving.  The goal isn't to be the one with the highest authority but to be the one that served in humbleness.  We are to honor God by being helpers to the world.  We are to put away our ideas that we as Christians deserve to be on a higher plan.  Instead we need to accept that we are to be there for others.

I really feel that this is one of the greatest missions and responsibilities we as Christians have.  We are to provide help to those that are in need.  We are to feed the hungry.  Give water to the thirsty. Clothe and shelter the poor.  When we are doing this we are living the life that Jesus taught us.

Christians who forget the basic principle of servant hood miss out in a lot this life offers.  Nothing is more rewarding than knowing you helped someone.  I can tell you from my own experience that being able to help someone that is less fortunate than me.  I might not have been able to solve all their problems but providing a basic need is a way of showing Christ's love.

I really feel that when you help others you should be humble.  It isn't right to brag about what we are doing for others.  Instead we should serve knowing that God wants you to give freely.  Jesus didn't go to the cross in a fanfare.  Instead he went to the cross in humbleness.  His death wasn't a grand exit out of this world.  Instead through his humbleness he died on a cross.

We need to concentrate not on who is the best but rather what can we do.  Putting aside our motivation to be the best will actually help us be important in the afterlife.  We should make sure that when we serve we do it with humbleness and no desire to get rewards.  This is the example that we have been given and is what we should be more than willing to follow.

Prayer:

We thank you Jesus for being the server of freedom.  We thank you for your humbleness as you went to the cross.  We thank you for being an example of how to be a server. Help us keep our eyes focused on you.  Help us be humble and serve the world to the best of our ability.  In the name of the Redeemer we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you worried about your status in life?  Have you accepted that you are to serve the poor and hungry?  Are you willing to reach out to those that are on the outside so that they can find the love of Jesus?  Is there something that you can do today to show Christ's love to the world?

Who is welcome at the Table

Verses: Luke 22 : 21 - 23

My thoughts about the verses:

To answer the question That is welcome at the table we must look at who was at the last meal.

There are many people that were at the table that would Jesus wrong in just a few short hours. Jesus knew everything that would happen.  Yet, he shared the meal with all the disciples.  Now think about this a second Jesus who knew all still shared the meal with all.

Jesus knew who would betray him.  Yet, he served the meal to Judas.  Judas probably understood more than the other disciples what the meal represented.  You can only imagine how shocked he is when Jesus tells them that one among them was going to betray him.  Yet, Jesus had just shared the last meal with him.  Jesus did not out Judas and tell him to leave because he didn't want him at his table.  Instead he opened it up and made Judas comfortable as he took the food.

Just think about that one second Jesus offered to Judas  the same freedom and cleansing that he offered everyone else at the table.  I have a feeling that we all have had moments that we felt that we were betraying God with our actions.  Yet, God doesn't stop us from receiving the gift that Jesus came to give us freely.

Not only was Judas at the table but also Peter was at the table that night.  Jesus knew that he would deny he even knew him.  That he would deny the existence of Jesus and the fact that he was a disciple.  Jesus served him the meal.  He gave Peter the same gift of freedom and forgiveness.  In our lives there are times that we deny knowing God.  We feel that if we tell our friends that we will be isolated and mocked.  Yet, Jesus still loves us.

Jesus knew that those that were partaking of the meal would hide.  Fear would overcome them and they would hide so they would not be identified with Jesus.  Even though Jesus knew this would happen he still offered them the meal that would remind them of their redemption.  We all have hidden in different closets afraid of sharing our identity.  We hide so that friends, family and co-workers would not mock us as being Christian.  Yet, Jesus meal is still there for us.

So just who is welcome at the table?  If all of the disciples would do something that would be a form of betrayal to Jesus was given the meal that can we stop from coming.  The meal is not created by us the meal is Jesus.  He is the one that went on the cross.  He prepared the meal therefor who are we to limit who can be at the table.

It is important as Christians that we do not deny anyone that has a relationship with God access to the table.  Amazingly many groups have created their own interpretation of just how the Lord's Supper is to take place.  Different Christians have determined who is worthy enough to get communion.  They think their way is the only way.  It is important to note that Jesus said that they all should drink of this cup. That they all should eat of the bread.   He did not pick and choose who could have the gift of the cleansing blood.  No one was denied the access of freedom that would come to those that would accept Jesus's death.  To stop someone from receiving this grace is against the very Biblical story that the meal represents.

Prayer:

Dear God thank you for choosing to love us.  Thank you for opening the table to all that accept you as their Savior.  Help us to never stop someone from partaking of the meal you have created. Be with us so that we do not judge others.  Jesus we offer our life to you.  In the name of the Holy One we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you ever hidden who you are around people?  Have you denied knowing God?  Have you ever judged someone thinking that they did not deserve the gift that Jesus prepared for them? What must you do to today to be a witness of Jesus's love?  Who is welcome at the table?

The Wine and The Bread

Verses: Luke 22 : 14 - 20

My thoughts about the verses:

After the meal was finished Jesus took the bread and wine and blessed it and gave it to the disciples.  This part of the meal is a piece of the Seder meal that we as Christians continue today. We need to fist understand the importance of the wine and bread to the Seder meal and then what it signifies today.

In the Jewish Seder meal there are four cups of wine.  Each cup represents a form of deliverance promised by God to the community.  The first cup represents the bringing out of the Jewish community from their situation.  The second cup represents the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery.  The third cup represents the fact that God will be the redemption that the people need. The final cup represents the fact that God will return to take his people home.

In the Christian culture we concentrate a lot on the third cup.  The third cup is the cup that was served after the meal.  Jesus lifted the cup and asked God to bless it.  When he blessed it he told the disciples that this would be the last cup that he would drink before he died.  This cup in modern day Christianity signifies the blood that was poured out from the side of Jesus that cleanses us from sins.   In reality this third cup was the cup of redemption that all had wanted.  Yet, at the meal many didn't understand.  We know that in a few short hours that would all change

The bread is also significant to the Seder meal.  The bread was a loaf that had not risen.  The Jews did not have a lot of time to gather things after the Egyptians freed them.  So they gather unleavened bread and left Egypt.  This bread represented the beginning of freedom.  It was the food that they prepared in Egypt to take into the promise land.  This was the start of their new life.

Jesus took the bread that was given at the end of the meal.  He told them he would not eat anything else before he died.  That last piece of bread that was blessed and broken signifies Jesus's death. His sacrifice on the cross we signified with the breaking of the bread.  The fact is his death came quickly and was given up freely.  Those that accept Christ and partake of communion, lord's supper, realize that this is a symbolism of freedom we receive when we accept Christ in our life.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for the freedom that you give us.  Jesus we thank you for your blood that covers our sins.  We thank you Jesus for giving your life freely so that we can have freedom for the things that we do.  We thank you for your never ending love.  In the name of our Savior we pray. Amen

Questions:

Do you understand how the body and blood of Jesus is represented in the Last Supper?  Have you accepted the redeeming power of Jesus spilled blood?  Have you come to accept the death of Christ as the gift of freedom from our transgressions?

The Last Passover Meal of Jesus is prepared

Verses: Luke 22  : 7 - 13

My thoughts about the verses:

The Passover meal is a very important feast for the Jewish community.  It signifies the freedom from slavery and bondage.  It represents the moment when the Jews were freed from the grasps of the Egyptians.  They left their bondage to go out into the world to create their new nation.

It is no coincidence that this was the time chosen for Jesus to perish.  Think about this a moment. The people who would soon lead him down the long road to Calvary had just celebrated their freedom as a nation.  Yet, Jesus was the final Passover that they needed.  He would lead them out of the bondage of their own trespasses into the world of true freedom.  He was the last lamb that needed to be slain so that the world could be free.

Let us take a look at a few of the elements of the Passover meal and how they were lived in those last moments of Jesus's life.  The first part that we need to look at is the lamb that would be sacrificed.  In the Jewish culture only the purest and most wholesome of lambs is sacrificed for religious purposes.  They had to have no blemishes so that they would be worthy enough to be sacrificed to God.

The very first Passover occurred on the night of the last plague of Israel.  On that night

all of the first born of Egypt were going to pass away.  Yet, God spared the first born of Israel.  A lamb was sacrificed and the blood was spread on the arches of the door.  This would signify that the first born of that house were to be passed over and not be killed.

Jesus is that lamb for us.  Once we accept Jesus in our life we are free from death.  The gift of everlasting life is bestowed on us because of the sacrifice of Jesus.  The last lamb needed to die to fulfill all promises that God had made to the people that would follow him.

Bitter herbs are eaten to remind the people of the hardships of bondage.  If you look at what happened to Jesus as he faced the end you can see the bitterness of the day.  He was beaten for our transgressions.  How many of us can endure this beating willingly.  During the Passover or Seder Meal the herbs are dipped twice into salt water to represent the tears that were shed during servant hood to the Egyptians.

In some instances they use vinegar is often used as the substance the bitter herbs are dipped in.  As Jesus continued the meal he too knew that in a brief time a sponge dipped in vinegar would be served as water to him.  This action was the last insult by the Romans. Yet, if you think about it for a moment was this not just a continuation of the actual freedom that Jesus would give us.  He was enacting in physical form the entire Seder meal.  He was the Seder Meal that would be given to any and all who accepted it.

Therefor it was very important that the meal be prepared properly.  This was not a normal Passover meal this was the last one.  Once this meal was completed Jesus would go to the cross and things would change forever.  No longer would we need to remember the past instead we need to concentrate on the future.  A life the Savior has prepared for us.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for the many gifts that you give us.  We thank you for sending the perfect sacrifice so that we may live forever.  We thank you dear Savior for you unending love.  Help us so that we may be the people that you want us to be.  In the name of the Pure Lamb of God we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you prepared yourself to accept the sacrificial lamb?  Are you willing to accept Jesus in your heart?  Do you understand the importance of what Jesus has done for you?  Are you willing to share this story just like the Jewish community has shared the Seder Meals for decades?