Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Not “A” truth, but “THE” truth (3/21/24)

If you had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus what would you ask Him? What would you want explained or defined? I have several things I would want to know and understand.

Pilate had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus and even asked Jesus an important theological question.

John 18:37-38         ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

It appears Pilate was a relativist. Maybe it was because he constantly heard different people’s perspectives on all sorts of issues. However, he had an opportunity to hear straight from Jesus what truth is and passed it up! How sad and foolish.

What about you and me? We get inundated with news, people’s opinions, all kinds of statistics, and “new” research. What information is really true? Only God’s Word is 100% trustworthy. Are you like Pilate? Do you pass up the opportunity to hear truth directly from God? Do you spend more time watching and reading news articles than reading truth from God’s Word? If so, we’re just as foolish as Pilate.

John 14:6     ⁶Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Many of us chart our daily steps and hours of sleep. What if we charted the amount of time reading, studying, memorizing and applying the Bible, versus time spent taking in information from the world? Truth is available to us! Let’s not foolishly pass it up.  

Thursday Devotional - Selfless King

Leading up to yesterday, I helped organize a big event here at work (the technology unconference). I tried to coordinate volunteers for the day. It was interesting how few people volunteered to be a volunteer. Then, only about half of the original volunteers actually volunteered. Thankfully, many of the volunteers did more than their share and took on extra tasks or went above and beyond what we asked them to do. Also, the planning committee shuffled around to cover holes.  

On the contrary, Jesus didn’t just volunteer to selflessly sacrifice 3-4 hours of his time, but was innocently killed for you and for me! He was crucified as “The King of the Jews.”

John 19:14-18         ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. ¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

Jesus selflessly died, fulfilling God’s plans.

Death for someone else (especially someone who is innocent dying for someone who isn’t innocent) is the most selfless act of all!

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal King and Savior? No one else will ever do what He has already done for you. If Jesus is your King and Savior, how are you and I selflessly sacrificing so God can accomplish His plans through us?    

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Who Has Power and Control?

Last year Sarah enjoyed “riding” a tricycle at my parents’ house that had a long pole out the back. At 2, she felt independent steering and pedaling, all the while someone was giving her power from behind.

Like Sarah, Pilate thought he had power and control, but the only power and control he had was given to him by God.

John 19:5-11 ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁷ The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

No one has power or control unless God allows it. Like Pilate, you and I might think we are in control, but God is the only Almighty One who has absolute and unlimited power over all.

And when things seem out of control, we can remember that God’s purposes will prevail in spite of the chaos and evil. What comfort does that give to you and me today?    

Alice

Thursday Devotional - What is Truth?

If you had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus what would you ask Him? What would you want explained or defined? I have several things I would want to know and understand.

Pilate had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus and even asked Jesus an important theological question.

John 18:37-38         ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

It appears Pilate was a relativist. Maybe it was because he constantly heard different people’s perspectives on all sorts of issues. However, he had an opportunity to hear straight from Jesus what truth is and passed it up! How sad and foolish.

What about you and me? We get inundated with news, people’s opinions, all kinds of statistics, and “new” research. What information is really true? Only God’s Word is 100% trustworthy. Are you like Pilate? Do you pass up the opportunity to hear truth directly from God? Do you spend more time watching and reading news articles than reading truth from God’s Word? If so, we’re just as foolish as Pilate.

Many of us chart our daily steps and hours of sleep. What if we charted the amount of time reading, studying and applying the Bible, versus time spent taking in information from the world? Truth is available to us! Let’s not foolishly pass it up.   

Alice