Devotionals for the Heart: Holy Week

Reflections on Holy Week
A devotional by Wendy Wilson Spooner

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.”– Matthew 28:5 (NIV)

Holy Week has become my favorite week of the year, right up there with Christmas.

This year, I have searched, pondered, and prayed to understand more of our Savior (Jesus Christ)’s life, message, and miraculous atonement.

I have long loved the fact that women were the first to hear the good news and to tell everyone that Jesus had risen! I am not a feminist. I revere good men just as I revere good women, and my life has been blessed as I’ve been surrounded by truly great men of God.

So, during my Holy Week journey, I asked myself, Am I like the two women named Mary who loved Jesus Christ and were dear friends of the Son of God? Am I His dear friend too? What does that mean?

Then on Good Friday, I went to that place of utter sorrow and anguish of what it must have been like for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to watch her son die on the Cross while people continued to mock and harm Him. I don’t think I could have taken what she did. I probably would have died right along with Him (died of a broken heart).

After much contemplation about my life, and the women who surrounded Jesus, my thoughts at the conclusion of Holy Week came to this…

It has been decades since I was a lost teenager, following the ways of the world. I was unhappy, broken, reduced to feeling like nothing, believing I was alone. Since those years, I have been steadily rising, climbing, slipping backward at times, but always ascending with my heart and mind set on our Savior, trying to become more like Him in a world intent on dragging us down into misery of life without Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Yet, we have hope because Jesus died to save us! But He didn’t stay dead, in three days He rose again and He still lives! Now, when God sees us, He sees His Son and He remembers Christ paid the penalty for our sins. All we have to do is repent of our sins, turn away from our sins and follow Jesus all the way to Heaven.

We also have hope in knowing that we are not a lost cause. Yes, we are imperfect humans but there’s grace for that because God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). And God is patient with us! The Bible says in Philippians 1:6 (TLB), “God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.”

I have hope in knowing that despite all of my imperfection, Jesus Christ considers me and everyone who follows Him, a very dear friend (John 15:15)!

I live each day to testify of Christ’s personal effect on my life as a sinner. I was a lost soul found by Jesus. I was a drifter in this fallen world but then I was changed into becoming a believer in God and a follower of Jesus Christ. Thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on that Cross, I am reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18) and will meet Him one day then live with Him forever!

As a daughter known to God, my soul is at peace as I have come to this conclusion. I fear not as I seek Jesus, just as the women at the tomb were told by the angel (Luke 24:1-10).

It is well with my soul! Listen to this beautiful hymn and remember, God loves you!

Let’s Pray: Dear God, help us to remember what You have taught us—we are never alone. Help us to realize that in our trials, it can be well with our souls if we lean on You. Most of all, help us to freely and faithfully share this good news as we continue our journey through life with You by our side. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

~*~

Author Bio:

Wendy is a Genetic Genealogist by day, a writer by night, and an artist in between.

Her love of what we can learn from history compels her to write the true stories she unearths because she’s found that truth is indeed much more exciting and inspiring than fiction.

Wendy writes about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we really are—the children of God, and the descendants of incredible people who paved the way for us—even if they really struggled. Wendy believes in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become a better generation.

As an award-winning family history writer, Wendy’s debut novel, Once Upon an Irish Summer, released in April 2020. This book is a dual timeline historical fiction novel about a young, gifted artist suffering from debilitating grief, who finds healing and inspiration in her Irish ancestry, and goes on to paint a masterpiece.

The sequel, Celtic Winter: Eliza’s Story, released in November 2021. The storyline goes back in time to the little sister left behind in Ireland to keep her family alive, woven with present-day Beth’s continuing story as she races the clock with the young man she loves to find the only person who could save his mother’s life.

When Wendy is not researching or writing, she hikes, paints, loves being a church youth leader, binges on epic Bollywood movies, and hangs out with her greatest loves—her family.

~*~
Connect with Wendy:
Website: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/
Blog: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner

Devotionals for the Heart: Jesus Christ as The Lion and the Lamb

The Lion and the Lamb
A devotional by Sara L. Foust

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." ~ Matthew 28:18 (KJV) 

"And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!" 

~John 1:36 (KJV) 

Spring is coming! I’m so excited. I often joke that I am really a lizard. I miss the sun when it is cold and wet all winter. And as soon as it starts to warm up, I am outside soaking in all that glorious Vitamin D.

I love the way the winds blow spring into East Tennessee. Like with each gust, it is pulling spring from the other side of the world, bringing it to us in warm breaths. Wrapped up in the power of those winds, I find myself looking to the Creator and each spring being in awe of His amazing creation. The tiny stems of life that sprout from the ground and in the nests in the trees never cease to amaze me.

Each March I think of the old saying, “In like a lion, out like a lamb.” March here is often unpredictable. Sometimes warmth creeps in early. Sometimes late. Sometimes early warmth fools us into thinking spring is here and we get slammed with a late snowstorm. (Like the blizzard of ’93, which, if you lived through it, you still talk about like it is a big deal 25 years later, because nothing has happened like it since.) In the middle of these unpredictable changes, I am reminded of my Savior, whose perfect sacrifice was enough to cleanse me from my sins. Not because He changes, but because He changed me. That He willingly laid His life down for me is humbling, to say the least. I am not worthy of that kind of sacrifice. There’s nothing I could ever do to earn it. Yet, He offered himself as a lamb on a pain-filled cross altar for me. Never had a more perfect sacrifice been found. Never will it be found again.

Now He protects me with his lion-like majesty and power, watching over me, guarding me, guiding me each step I take. Protecting my soul from harm and lending His power as a blanket over me.

Thank God, Jesus was that perfect sacrificial lamb! Thank God He loved me enough to suffer and die! And that He continues to love me enough to get me through each and every day. To bring me to another beautiful spring. To let me witness daily the incredible intricacies of His creation.

Have you heard this song, Big Daddy Weave, “The Lion and the Lamb”? It’s such a beautiful expression of Jesus’s twofold ability to be both the lion and the lamb. To both save and protect, humble and make strong. I am so thankful that God is able to be everything I need. 

Aren’t you?

~*~
Author Bio:

Sara writes Inspirational Romantic Suspense from a mini-farm in East Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and their five homeschooled children. 

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Tennessee Mountain Writers. Her debut novel, Callum's Compass, won second place in Deep River Books' 2017 Writer's Contest. She also has a story, “Leap of Faith,” in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. 

Sara finds inspiration in her faith, her family, and the beauty of nature. When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading, camping, and spending time outdoors with her family. To learn more about her and her work or to become a part of her email friend’s group, please visit www.saralfoust.com. 

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A devotional for your heart about an Author and a Book

Acknowledgments from God in the Lamb’s Book of Life
A devotional written by Alexis A. Goring

"I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels.” ~ Luke 12:8 (NLT)

This devotional was inspired one summer night in July 2017.

I’d logged into my Facebook page and saw an update from one of my friends. She’s an author who’s working on a new novel. I’m one of her beta readers.

The message from my author friend noted how she would award her beta readers after her book was ready to be published. She said, “As a reward for being a HUGE part of this creation, you’ll have your name mentioned in my acknowledgments and you’ll get a free, autographed copy of the paperback when it releases.” As I read this note, Luke 12:8 came to mind and a parallel was formed!

I realized that book enthusiasts get excited when their name is mentioned in the acknowledgments of a book by one of their favorite author friends. It’s exhilarating that we though in most cases are not an author, played a role in helping the author create this polished book. We like to see our name in print. It gives us a feeling of significance and lets us know that the author wants us in their life.

But did you know that there’s a GREAT book that God wrote called The Book of Life? Everyone whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be saved and go to Heaven when Jesus returns to Earth to take His faithful followers home.

Let’s read more about this in Revelation 21:22-27 (NIV): “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

The Bible also says, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” ~1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV)

Now that is a happily ever after ending that I want for my life story! Heaven is going to be wonderful. The struggles we face here on Earth can’t compare to an eternal life free of sin and pain (2 Corinthians 4:17) that awaits us! Most importantly, having our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life brings me so much hope and joy! It shows just how special and significant we are to God and it portrays the enduring, forever love that our Savior Jesus Christ has for humankind.

It’s wonderful to have our names mentioned by our favorite authors in the Acknowledgements section of their book but there’s one Author Friend’s Book that I most want my name to be in and that’s in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God and I want to be acknowledged in His book, don’t you?

So what can you do to be acknowledged by God? By committing your life to Him and accepting the free gift of salvation offered to you through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ! Live your daily life in obedience to God. Study the Bible and apply its principles then watch your faith in God grow!

Remember, it is better to be acknowledged by God than by man.