Daily Bible Reading
Matthew 28
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Daily Devotion
What did Jesus have to say?
Both the chapters for today’s reading (Matthew 28 & Mark 16) vividly capture the victory of Jesus through resurrection. I wish I could soak into it and share something inspirational, but God gave me a different direction.
Before Jesus could embrace this victory over all creation in Heaven and Earth, He needed to walk a path of selflessness and self-denial. He had to bring His self-will into subjection. In Matthew 26, Jesus Himself had to demonstrate submission and self-denial in order to claim His victory. (Matthew 26:39 “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”)
If I were to ask this question to a room full of people, I am sure there would scarcely be any hand raised, including me. Who likes to fast? Who enjoys fasting? Most probably; no one. Who would want to experience that terrible feeling of hunger and starvation? Who would want to abstain from enjoying delicious food? Yet, we don’t have a choice but to fast. As followers of Jesus, we are to practice what He preached and lived out.
I was very convicted by Bro. Travis Miller’s teaching on ‘Prayer and Fasting’, in Purpose Institute last weekend. Sharing a few nuggets from his notes.
In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus explains the purpose and the intent of fasting. The beginning of Matthew 6:16 is “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious…”. What is very important here is the fact that Jesus doesn’t say ‘if you fast’. Instead, He says, ‘when you fast’. It is pretty apparent that He expects us to fast. Jesus assumes His followers will fast as He himself fasted during His temptation.
So, what are some things we should not do and the things we should do during fasting?
- Matthew 6:16-18 says that we should not fast so that people will admire us. We’re not doing it to get people’s attention. We’re not doing it to have other people be impressed with how pious we are.
- Isaiah 58:1-7 addresses wrong motives displayed by the children of God during times of fasting. Israelites are accused of fasting with selfish motives and with no spirit of generosity. They weren’t allowing the fasting to impact their lives, it was just a habit. There was no self-reflection. There was no soul searching. They used it as an excuse to make up for their sins. The assumption was that ‘if I fast a lot, I’m good, as it balances out.’ In response, the Lord said, “This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.” If it is all about self-righteousness, you get nothing but hungry.
Discipleship is a package of practices. Fasting should be done in the right way and with a right attitude. (Joel 2:12-13 That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.)
- Biblical Christian fasting should include re-evaluation. It is connected to things of the heart – change, soul searching.
- Smith’s Bible Dictionary: “The sacrifice of the personal will, which gives to fasting all its value, is expressed in the old term used in the law, afflicting the soul.”
- William Barclay: “When the body is most disciplined, the mental and the spiritual faculties are most alert.”
Fasting is chosen, intentional self-denial in preparation for necessary, situational self-denial (I need to deny, and I don’t want to deny.)
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. Since around the 70’s, people began using the term consumerism to mean “high levels of consumption”. Quotes from William Barclay
- “It is easy to come to a stage when we deny ourselves nothing which it is in our power to (possess). It would do most of us a great deal of good if for some time each week we set aside our wishes and our desires, and exercised a stringent and an antiseptic self-discipline.”
- “Some kind of fasting preserves the ability to do without the things which should never be allowed to become essentials.
What are we trying to accomplish by fasting? What did Jesus have to say?
Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their lifewill lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
~Yoga Raj