We must not assume that Jesus was so deluded by His Palm Sunday acclaim that the condemnation of Good Friday surprised Him. Never did Jesus look around, stunned, as if to say “Father, I’m sure surprised at how fast My celebration turned into crucifixion.” Jesus knew the treacherous nature of humankind. In our fallen world, it is possible to be a hero on Sunday and crucified the following Friday.

Christ managed to achieve something we find so difficult to master in our own lives — trusting others enough to freely serve them, yet not committing ourselves to their unstable sense of allegiance. For example, Jesus loved Judas as much as He loved the other disciples, but He was not shattered when Judas betrayed Him. Because He understood the treachery of human nature, He loved Judas anyway.

He does the same with us. How often we have disappointed Christ, yet He is never destroyed by our momentary betrayals. Betrayal is human, but then humanity was His business.

Palm Sunday is evidence that we are to serve our friends and even to receive their accolades. We must always remember, however, that only God is perfect. Friends can disappoint us. But if we love like Christ, we must keep on loving them even as they disappoint us.

Lord, knowing how fickle I am in loving You, help me not to be debilitated when my own friends begin to betray me. Loving the unlovely has always been Your kind of love. Help me to remember that such love is really grace simply wearing an earthier garment.  Amen                         (CALVIN MILLER)

Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it’s a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who gets forgiveness, who gets to go to heaven, who gets the Holy Spirit, who gets a new nature. A Christian, in terms of our deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transformed you into someone who didn’t exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn’t the point; it’s who you are that determines what you do. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Peter 2:9,10; 1 John 3:1,2).

Understanding your identity in Christ is absolutely essential to your success at living the Christian life. No person can consistently behave in a way that’s inconsistent with the way he perceives himself. If you think you’re a no-good bum, you’ll probably life a no-good bum. But if you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you’ll begin to live in victory and freedom as He lived. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess.

After years of working with people who are in deep spiritual conflict, I found one common denominator: none of them knew who they were in Christ. None knew of their spiritual heritage. All questioned their salvation and the love of God. Are you aware that there is someone alive and active in the world today who is dead set against you seeing yourself as spiritually alive and complete in Christ? Satan can do nothing to damage your position in Christ. But if he can deceive you into believing his lie – that you are not acceptable to God and that you’ll never amount to anything as a Christian – then you will live as if you have no position or identity in Christ.

Heavenly Father, I take my stand as a child of God in Christ. Thank You for giving me this gracious and unwarranted position.
(DAILY IN CHRIST – NEIL T. ANDERSON)

We live in a world that can be increasingly described as uncommitted.  Divorce rates, abortion rates, and drop out rates all make this clear.  This characteristic of the fallen world is also seen in God’s church.  People show a lack of commitment in numerous ways.

When we think about true commitment it must consist of three clear aspects.  First, commitment must be complete.  When Jesus answered the Pharisee’s question as to what was the greatest command, He stated, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.”  He was saying that what God wants is your all.  God desires your complete allegiance.  Every ounce of our being should be committed to God.  This is the beginning of true commitment.  True commitment is an attitude of complete dedication.

Second, true commitment is concrete.  Sometimes we desire to keep commitment to God in the theoretical.  We want to talk about being sold-out for Jesus, but are not willing to keep His commands.  Jesus states that committed love is seen in “keeping His commandments.” If we are going to be truly committed, then it must be seen in concrete obedience. Concrete obedience would mean using our words to God’s glory.  It would be using our words to build up, not tear down.  Using them to glorify God, not to curse men.  Using them to spread truth, not lies. Ultimately, those who are completely committed seek to “do the will of the Father” in all things.

Third, true commitment must be consistent.  In Matthew 23 Jesus has a scathing rebuke for the religious leaders.  His harsh words were directed at their hypocrisy.  He called them “white washed tombs.”  Their true nature was different than how they appeared.   Whenever we are inconsistent in our commitment we are the same as the Pharisees.  Commitment goes hand-in-hand with persistence.  Committed people see the task through until the end.  When it comes to our walk with God it means consistently living the Christian life until the Day of our Lord.

The church needs to be committed to the Christ.  We need to live for Him heart, mind, and soul.  The great blessing of being committed to Christ is that He will be committed to us on that last day!               (WESLEY WALKER)

When God declared His covenant with His people,
He was reminding them of His everlasting hesed—
His covenant love,  His mercy and kindness.   It is the Old Testament equivalent of grace.

We have a covenant relationship with God, a relationship not contingent upon our conduct, because that’s what He decided. He is the covenant-making-and-keeping God. He is not a contract God, and the difference has eternal significance. If God was a contract God, when you act incorrectly or live sinfully the contract would be broken. But a covenant is a relationship that’s not dependent on performance. In this case, all the responsibility lies with the one participant who can keep the covenant—God Himself.

A covenant is not a contract. When the Bible reveals God as a covenant God, it means He has entered into a relationship that cannot be changed by your behavior.

If you’re saved by faith in His Son Jesus, God says in essence, I’m making a covenant commitment to you. I’m entering into a relationship with you that you can’t mess up in any way. And through the prophet Isaiah, He tells us what that looks like: “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David.” (ISAIAH 55:3)

Remember King David? His whole life was a testimony to God’s mercy—spared as a shepherd boy from being devoured by a lion, mauled by a bear, taken apart by a giant. As the successor to Israel’s throne, crazy King Saul chased David across the country trying to kill him. Again and again, God protected David’s life in fulfillment of the covenant He had made (1 Samuel 24).David is the poster boy for a covenant relationship with God. Not even adultery and murder could put God’s covenant love to an end (Psalm 51). Get this: while failures may hurt fellowship, they don’t destroy covenant relationship.

God has declared His unchanging partnership with you, His child, through a covenant. You are in relationship with One who is like no other, anywhere, anytime! Because of His covenant love—which Lamentations 3:23 promises is new every morning—God will forgive you in His mercy and satisfy you with His kindness. He lives in you and brings an absolute delight that you will never find apart from Him.

Even though you may stumble in many ways (James 3:2), “Fear not.” Our God is the ultimate covenant keeper.

•    When was the last time you let your performance dictate the closeness of your relationship with the Lord?
•    Do you believe God loves you no more on your good days and no less on your bad days? How can you strengthen your faith in His covenant-keeping character?                                              (JAMES MACDONALD)

Several years ago I heard the story of a young brilliant concert pianist.  He was giving his first professional performance of his career.  As he played skilfully and brilliantly the audience sat in rapt attention, absorbing every note.  Finally at the end of a magnificent performance the audience exploded to a standing ovation.  In the midst of the ovation the young pianist left the stage shoulders downcast, crest fallen and dejected.

The stage manager came to him full of congratulations and praise but the young musician remained despondent.  “I am no good” the young man exclaimed.  “It was a failure”.  The stage manager responded, “Nonsense.  It was tremendous, everyone was on their feet and applauding, except for just one old man.”  The young concert pianist replied, “Yes, but that old man is my piano teacher.”

This story should remind us that our service to Jesus Christ is to be motivated by one factor and one factor alone; Our love for the Master, His Word and His approval.  For there are many in their Christian walk, who look for and seek the approval of men and those around them.  For you see, society wants and measures success by power, position, prestige and numbers.  They seem to say if you dress just so, drive this make of car, join the right health club, live in the right part of town, or are seen by just the right people you will be considered accepted and “in”.

God is not looking for the right address, or the right clothes in the latest styles, or even the right vocabulary.  God’s eyes are searching for the right heart.

Therefore, in our obedience, our worship and our service the applause and approval of men really means nothing.  Only what Jesus says will be the deciding factor.  Under the threat of imprisonment, the apostle Peter responds in Acts 5:29, “we must obey God rather than men.”

So as we travel this highway called life under the umbrella of Christianity, we must remember that “the master is in the audience.”  As Christians we are called to follow the Master, Jesus Christ.  Yes, not even the government, when it goes against our Lord Jesus or God’s Holy Word.  We are not to follow man-made traditions, philosophies or even religions.   As Christians we are called to listen and follow ONE voice.  The MASTER!
(PASTOR LEONARD NAVARRE)

Have you ever noticed that some of the saddest words  in the  English  language  begin  with  the
letter D? For example, disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, despair and death.

Human hope is a fragile thing, and when it withers, it’s difficult to revive. We need to note the number of people who take their own life because despair and discouragement have sucked the last bit of hope out of their lives. When someone you love and care for is overtaken by a serious illness, which goes on, and on, despair sets in. It almost becomes impossible to hope for recovery. You may even be afraid to hope because you believe that you cannot cope with another letdown.

On the road to Emmaus, as the two men walked along, a Stranger joined them. The Stranger asked them what they were discussing. And so they poured out their story to Someone who seemed willing to listen. They tell the Stranger all about their hopes and their disappointments. The last thing they needed was a brisk “cheer up” talk, or being told to “snap out of it”. He simply provides a listening ear. We know that the Stranger was Jesus.

Isn’t that a great picture – Jesus walking along the road with His despondent and confused disciples sharing their troubles? Suddenly this 2,000-year-old story is brought into the present. When disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, and despair fill our lives, Jesus is the unseen “Stranger” walking alongside us, listening to us, and if we are willing to hear His voice, revealing Himself to us.

When disillusionment, depression and defeat dominate our lives, Jesus walks with us just as He walked with the two men on the road to Emmaus. He points us to God’s Word of promise in the Bible that tells us again that we are God’s dearly loved children and that He will stand by us through thick and thin. He turns our despair into hope.

The road to Emmaus is a symbol of the Christian life. This story is about ordinary despair, and ordinary Monday-morning drudgery. It is a story about meeting a Stranger, hearing His words of comfort, sitting down at the table and sharing a meal. It enables us to see that the risen Lord gives hope and joy, when all we see is disappointment, discouragement and despair. It enables us to see the world not as a place of death, decay, and defeat, but as a place waiting, groaning toward God’s final victory.

This story is a story for everyday life in 2016. If you are walking the Emmaus road right now or when you will walk it in the future with those sad Ds – disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, and despair – let’s remember we are not walking alone. The unseen “Stranger”, the risen Jesus is walking with us.

When our Emmaus road is filled with discouragement and despair, let’s walk it with Jesus. Walking with Jesus, our road will become a great highway of companionship, conversation, belief and hope.                (PASTOR VINCE GERHARDY)

AS WE GIVE, SO GOD GIVES TO US.
(Matthew 6:19 & 20; Philippians 4:14-20)

There is a cycle of generosity. First, God gives to us and this leads us to give in response. But Scripture also shows that God responds to our giving  –  that we are blessed by it.  We
need to be careful to avoid the ʻprosperity gospelʼ that suggests that this blessing will be earthly wealth, but equally we should not miss the point altogether. As we give, we receive – in the joy in the act of giving, and in receiving Godʼs blessings thereafter – in heaven (Matthew 6) and in His provision for our earthly needs (Philippians 4). And in this, we see again the overflowing generosity of God.

REFLECT:  Spend a moment reflecting on your own giving thinking about where you currently give – money, yes, but also time, or hospitality, or by using skills and talents God has given to you.

AS WE GIVE, WE GROW
(Matthew 25:14-30)

The Parable of the Talents has much to say, but today, let us simply focus on two points: That those who have been entrusted by the Master will one day be held to account, and second, the slightly surprising statement in verse 29, that everyone who has will be given more. The underlying truth is that as we invest time and energy in seeking to follow Christ, so we grow – in faith, in a greater perception of Godʼs blessings to us, and in a greater understanding of what we can do to serve Jesus both in and through the local church.

REFLECT:  Recalling back the areas of your giving, consider what the next step in your growth as a disciple of Jesus might be.

GIVING TO GOD RESPONDS TO WHAT WE HAVE RECEIVED
(1 Chronicles 29:1-20)

King David is known for many things, but one of his final acts is to give to the building of the Temple. He does so from the wealth of his office, and from his own personal wealth. The prayer in verses 10 to 13 is well known to us, but it is helpful to see it in its original context. One of the worldʼs most powerful and wealthy kings  ecognizes that all of his wealth and power is given to him by God, and that his giving back to God is in response to Godʼs prior generosity. The challenge of this passage is not so much to reflect on what we give, but on our motives for doing so – do we give out of thankfulness?

REFLECT:  Pause and reflect on the blessings that you have received. Give thanks to God for His generosity – for the daily blessings of good and shelter, for the blessings of loving human relationships.