A WeakDay Devotion: WAS THE CROSS FAIR?

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The WeakDay Devotion originated as encouragement for a dear friend who was having difficulties with her job.

It is especially for my family, firends, business people, students, pastors, teachers and a myriad of pre-, new and long-serving Christians who want more Scripture with their devotion than many of the regular devotionals offer. it is also written to be short so you can get on with your day, but filled with a new idea from God's Word that is practical and applicable. You can also have it sent directly to your email box every day - just send me an email (DarleneRichard@gmail.com) and I will add you to the distribution.

Sunday, February 28, 2021

WAS THE CROSS FAIR?

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featuring Lana Ranahan and David Phelps

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“And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spat on Him, and they took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.

“And after they mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. And as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

“they gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots; and sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there.” Matthew 27:29-36

The Cross revealed the kind of world we have (even today). It also revealed the wonder of our God in a world of gross unfairness -- a God whose love is greater than the payment He was forced to make for our disappointments, disobediences -- our choice of sin.

None of us can escape tragedy or disappointment – God Himself was not exempt. Jesus offered no immunity, no way out of the unfairness. He choose to walk through it to the other side. Good Friday demolished the instinctive belief that this life is supposed to be fair. Easter Sunday follows with its startling clue to the riddle of the universe. Out of the darkness, a bright light.

Take care, your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene (who prays for you each morning.)

PS: Find my statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of beginner Bible studies to share). You can easily find the WeakDay Devotion online by doing a Google search for ‘WeakDay Devotion’. (Also, there is an android ‘Goggle Blogger’ app you can download to read them on your phone. Not sure about Apple.)

NEW PRAYER REQUESTS

· David – as his health waxes and wanes during this challenging time. Pray for Heidi who cares for him and his little companion dog, Sparky. Pray God watches over him and steadies his steps and his heart.

· Voddie Baucham – Will have heart surgery tomorrow/ today (wherever you may be in the world) at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. Please continue to pray for him, and especially Bridget, his wife, the doctors and others attending him. Click on the link in his name if you want to learn more of his adventure to date.

· Carla, Paul and Matthew Kossally – have come down with Covid-19 and are all resting at home.

· THANKSGIVING - Louise, sister of Rachael – has come through the surgery successfully. Continue to pray for her recovery, her health-care providers that they have wisdom and compassion. Pray for those who support her through this time.

· Cathy – she has just begun chemo as she faces stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She is Barb (my sister-in-law’s) sister-in-law. They have a beautiful family. Please pray for them and their health carers as they travel through this journey.

· My brother, Tim – is seeing benefits from his new bi-pap machine and sleeping better. Pray for his continued wisdom and patience in managing his COPD (chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease) and arthritis. Pray his doctors are attentive, wise and compassionate. Pray for Barb, his wife for her strength and compassion. Continue to grow their faith as give them wisdom as they share Christ with others.

· Elaine and Jim Pounder and their Little Church ministry have had a very difficult 2020. They need your prayers for healing strength and time with family as their ministry continues to spread around the world in a model of home churches. They have begun a YouTube channel and I urge you to subscribe and watch their sound and warm videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/thelittlechurchworld ). And website: The Little Church World.

· USA – Pray the Lord will demonstrate His power in unexpected and uniting ways during these times of unrest and confusion. Help hearts settle and rest in Him alone. Let the truth of God’s Word and ways, overcome the drive to destroy our founding, Bible-based values. And pray for Christ-centre, Bible-based revival in the USA and religious freedom for Christians wherever they may be.

· Pray for those in these countries who read the WeakDay Devotion – Hong Kong, Israel, Sweden, Russia, USA, Canada, Ukraine, Poland, UK, France, Australia, UAE, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Ireland, American Samoa, Brazil, The Philippines, Estonia, Singapore, China, India, India. Thank the Lord for allowing this blog to be reaching around His world to an international audience in mysterious and far-flung geographic locations.

· Hans – a dear friend in Germany, continues his immunotherapy for lung cancer. His MRI and brain scan went well. Pray for his ongoing strength through the pain, patience and God’s mercy. Continue to pray for his healthcare providers and that he is surrounded by faithful and compassionate Christian friends who will support him through this journey. Pray for his Mom (age 83) who is unwell herself, that their time together will be filled with extraordinary good memories and lots of love.

· Isaias and Judith (Ambassadors for Christ the Philippines) – the Philippines is a remarkably difficult mission field and Isaias and Judith and their entire family have maintained a teaching and discipling ministry there for dozens of years. It is a difficult mission field for so many reasons. Please take a moment to visit their new website: https://afcph.org/ to learn more. Pray our Father keep these servants strong, in good health, safe and supported and that they keep a balance in their lives. They need funds badly now. It would only take a moment to send encouragement to Isaias Catorce, who teaches and leads the groups at icatorce@gmail.com

· J&R – recently had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with them and would appreciate prayers that God uses His words in their hearts to draw them to Him for Eternity!

Pray for those in full-time service

Pray to uphold our Christian leaders – that they never compromise God’s Word, are bold and courageous in the face of evil. Pray for their wisdom, safety, ingenuity, strength and for their families.

Pray for those with ongoing health concerns

Many of us have family, friends and loved ones with fragile health. Pray God takes special care with them and protects them in practical ways and that the Lord will have mercy on them during this challenging time.

Pray for the World

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Background of WeakDay Devotions

Over eleven years ago a dear friend couldn't find a job. She's brilliant, skilled & experienced -- but simply couldn't find a position to suit her. After about eight months of struggling & searching, she was hired to work with the Sydney Olympics but six months later the role turned feral. She was discouraged as she pulled herself into work each morning.

Then it became apparent they were trying to "move" her out. She struggled. At least once a week she would be on the phone to me or be sitting on my balcony talking/crying her heart out. I found myself being a sort of Christian coach/mentor for her.

One morning after my quiet time, something I learned seemed relevent for her, so I shared it with her in an email. She wrote back that it indeed helped. Next morning the same thing happened. Again the Lord used it to encourage & strengthen her. The next morning nothing seemed good to send, but I searched till I found something I hoped would strengthen her. The Lord used it. Each week day morning from then on I would get up early & write her a note of encouragement.

A month went by & another friend sent me an e-mail expressing their own frustration with a work situation. I sent them a copy of the e-mail I'd sent my friend that very morning. They were encouraged & asked me to include them each morning. After a couple of weeks both wrote to me to say they'd been sending the email to others & would I just add theses new names each morning. They also suggested I ask others if they'd like to be included. I did & many asked to receive it. One day, I was asked to do a radio interview with Gordon Moyse ("An Ordinary Christian"). He had heard about the morning "WeakDay Devotions" & wanted his listeners to know more about them.

Almost every week day morning since that first e-mail, I've written a fresh word of encouragement for (by now) an untold number of people around the world. It was originally mostly business oriented, but has grown to be more general in nature with Christian business people knowing it is the little personal details of their walk that need a boost anyway.

Within the distribution list now are Christians or pre-Christians (Catholic & Protestant), some are Jewish, some have not made a decision about what they believe, yet. There are several pastors; a Catholic priest, a Jewish teacher and a Christian Web page creator (and pastor) who distributes select ones to his readership. There’s even a pastor in the USA who uses them as part of his daily radio program.

Many who receive them forward them to others & they ricochet around the world. They're used as morning devotions between friends at work in the USA, Argentina, the Philippines, New Guinea, Hong Kong & places I don't even know about yet.

The Lord is using these meek & meagre "presents to Him" for His own purposes in the lives of others & I'm constantly surprised & humbled at the encouragement I've found in my own personal time with the Lord because of their ministry to me!

If you'd like to have them emailed directly to you each day, just send me an email. I'm open to comments, suggestions & criticisms.

Again, it's almost always only one screen long, so you don't have to take too much time with them, they always come marked "Urgent" so they can be found more quickly. Finally, the distribution list is "blinded" so everyone's privacy is assured (although I pray for everyone I send to & know them all much better now).

Every day is different, some days are very short -- sometimes only one verse or two, but there's always a Bible verse (I always use the New American Standard Bible translation, unless otherwise indicated). There are also times when there is a suggestion for something special as an assignment. I've also written a variety of series, such as: The Ten Commandments, Forgiveness, How to Know God's Will, Fasting, Unmet Needs, etc.

Stay close to His Word.
Your servant and friend in Christ.... Darlene

The First Devotion

"And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee." Psalm 9:10

From George Muller's Autobiography:

"I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.

"The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord's blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of reaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this...that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer."

Have a wonderful day resting in Him....love, your servant and friend in Christ...D

Another style: The Princess & the Pea

[Jesus teaching] "'And why do you look at the spec that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?'" Matthew 7:3

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." James 2:10

"So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!" James 3:5

"Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" Matthew 13:31-32

Ever notice how it's the little things that get under your skin and grow out of perspective? Think of the time you spend looking for a misplaced file or phone number. What about when you're late and get a red light or someone pulls out in front of you in traffic. Or how about when you get a paper cut or have a hang nail? How about forgetting someone's birthday or when you lose your glasses or keys? Any of these things can make us "lose our cool". As Christians we must be ever vigilant to how the little things can stumble our walk and witness with Christ.

It reminds me of the fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea (where a prince looked for a gentle and delicate princess to help rule his kingdom. He arranged a test of all the fair maidens. He had a stack of mattresses placed one on top the other and each "princess candidate" was invited to spend the night in the castle. The Prince became discouraged because no one seemed to respond to the test until one morning a lovely woman complained she could not sleep, as the mattress was too lumpy. Unbeknownst to her (and all the other candidates) the Prince had placed a single pea under the bottom mattress. No one else had been sensitive to the little things. Of course they lived happily ever after. In our Christian walk we need to be that sensitive to the little things that stumble us! Take care, your servant and friend in Christ – Darlene

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