Category: Daily Prayer

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Luke 19:39-40

Jesus wasn’t into being a big deal or having people notice what miracles He performed. He didn’t call people over to see the wine He created for the wedding. He often told those He had healed not to tell anyone. But when the Pharisees said His followers should “settle down” as He entered Jerusalem, He said the celebration would happen even if the people were silent.

Jesus was telling them that this was appropriate for the occasion. He didn’t advocate disrupting what others were doing, He taught respect and love. He also taught that praising God is part of who we are, and recognizing what God was doing for us is important. The Pharisees were angry because they knew Jesus would change the world and their grasp on power was slipping.

We are invited to celebrate with the crowds as Jesus goes to Jerusalem, praising God for the gift of His Son and giving thanks that we are called to follow Him. May we shout our joy aloud as they did.

Loving Lord, we want to share our joy at the coming of our Savior. Help us to let others know of His sacrifice for us and the love that will not let us go. Amen.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Luke 19:37-38

Jesus entered Jerusalem followed by a crowd that proclaimed Him king and shouted loud praises. Some of them were His closest friends, who had been with Him since the beginning of His public ministry. Others had just become aware of Him, some believing and some just caught up in the scene.

This is pretty much our situation as we prepare for Holy Week – some are Jesus’ old friends, some new believers and some along for the ride. There is room for all of us, and Jesus welcomes all of us, calling us all to deepen our commitment and grow in our understanding of His love.

Regardless of where you are on the “belief scale”, Jesus loves you and has things you can accomplish for His kingdom. Don’t let the ways of the world hold you back! Jesus invites everyone to be part of His work, no matter who you are or where you’ve been.

Loving Lord, thank You for calling us all into Your mission in the world. Show us the part we have to play, strengthen us against the opposition we will face, and make us joyful servants of Your kingdom. Amen.

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. Luke 19:35-36

As Jesus entered Jerusalem I’m sure many of His disciples thought “This is it, He’s going to restore the kingdom!” He had told them all along it doesn’t work that way, but most of them didn’t understand – or didn’t want to understand.

We are in the same situation sometimes. We hear what Jesus says, but we think that it will be different somehow, that the outcome will be the way we want. I’m sure Jesus is not surprised by our actions but I imagine He shakes His head sadly at our lack of understanding.

Jesus told them – and us – what was to happen. He quoted the prophets, where it was written “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Gracious God, we didn’t understand how much You loved us and how much Jesus was willing to sacrifice for our salvation. Thank You for the redeeming gift of Your son. Amen.

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
Luke 19:32-34

Jesus needed the colt for His entrance into Jerusalem, so He sent two disciples to fetch it. When the owners ask about their intent, they reply as Jesus instructed “the Lord needs it” and they take it back to Jesus with no apparent opposition from the owners.

We think we own things, collecting goods and wealth as we work through our lives. We think we have earned things through our efforts. We need to step back and remember that nothing we see or have is ours – it all belongs to God.

God made everything there is. We may reshape the materials or combine them, but God created them for our use. We may discover new ways of doing things but God created us with the gift of intellect and curiosity. Without the Word of God, nothing would exist.

We forget that we’re just renters here, that the property doesn’t actually belong to us. Psalm 24 tells us “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”. When He has need of something to accomplish His purpose, He can assert His right of ownership over anything, and that includes us. However, God calls us to be willing partners in His work; asking, not demanding. Listen for what God wants you to be part of today.

Loving Lord, help us to remember who and whose we are. May we be willing servants, aware that all things are yours and all work together according to Your will. Amen.

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Luke 19:28-31

Today we begin the final journey to Jerusalem with Jesus. We celebrate with the crowds as He enters the city, not quite the King we expected but our hopes are high. He sent two disciples ahead to arrange His ride. Surely it will be a white stallion, and He will enter the city majestically, in direct military opposition to Pilate and the Roman legions.

Instead, he tells them to get a colt…a little horse. Some say it was a donkey, but no matter – it certainly wasn’t a warhorse. If we had paid attention to Scripture, the prophet Zechariah told us this: Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)

Jesus told us time and again that He was not like earthly kings, that His kingdom was in heaven. He came with arms outstretched to clasp us in love, not with a sword to force us to kneel in submission. Our allegiance to Him is by choice, and He waits for our decision.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessing of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. You sent Your own son to redeem us from our sin. May we claim Him as the King of our lives. Amen.

John 12:1-8 has been our lectionary study passage this week. The lectionary is a set of readings designated for each week of the year according to the liturgical season and lists an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a Gospel lesson and an additional New Testament passage. This particular lesson from John’s Gospel has been teaching us about serving and sacrifice.

Jesus modeled both of these in His words and actions while He was here on earth. He taught and showed us how important it was for us to care for others, putting their needs above our own. This is often hard for us, and people say it goes against our human nature. That was exactly Christ’s point! He calls us to avoid our “human” nature and remember that we are God’s children, made in His image.

In this scripture we read about Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume as an act of serving and sacrifice. During the Last Supper Jesus washed the disciples’ feet as an act of serving. Painter and pastor Kenneth Wyatt writes “If the symbol of our faith were not the cross, the towel and basin to represent Christian service would be most appropriate.” Christ sacrificed His life to pay the price for our salvation and calls us to take up our cross and follow Him.

Gracious God, help us to fully appreciate the serving and sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Make us strong that we may follow Him to do as He taught us. Amen.

Please read John 12:1-8 this morning. Several times this week I have mentioned the danger of selectively reading a single verse. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with reading or memorizing single verses of Scripture, it’s just that without reading the whole story we may miss important parts of the lesson.

Jesus has begun His final journey to Jerusalem, knowing that death at the hands of the mob, the religious leaders and the government awaits Him there. He is undeterred, but pauses for a moment of relaxation with close friends for dinner in Bethany. However, even in this happy time, there is conflict.

Mary anoints Him using expensive perfume, an act of love that shows her devotion. Judas protests that it is a waste and Jesus steps in to share what is coming in the next week, reproving Judas for his accusation. He teaches them that what one does for Him in love is between them and not for another to analyze or criticize.

We too may fall into this trap that prevents us from working together as the body of Christ, worrying about what someone else is doing or how they are doing it. This only distracts us from our call to love one another and make disciples of all the world. To disrupt our ministry, Satan doesn’t need to destroy us, only to divert or divide us.

Loving Lord, give us clarity to see the work You have for us, and the focus to complete it, not being distracted by what others do. Help us to be supportive of the ministry of our brothers and sisters, knowing that their work is as important as our own. Amen.

“You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:8

Once again we encounter the danger of quoting a single verse without the rest of the passage. Jesus is not telling us “the poor will always be here, so don’t worry about them”, just the opposite! This statement is part of His reprimand to Judas, warning of His impending death and the importance of learning His teachings before that happens.

Jesus in essence says to Judas “the poor have always been here, now when it suits your purpose you say you worry and use them as a weapon?!” Are we guilty of this as well, only concerned about an issue when it benefits our position? We must always be on guard that we genuinely care for others and not seek to advance our own cause through them.

Jesus taught that others are not tools to be used to support our arguments, but our beloved siblings, part of His family and deserving of our care. May we always put their well-being above our own comfort or cause.

Gracious God, You call us to love each other, being connected through You as brothers and sisters. Help us to see everyone in this way, and to care for them as Jesus does. Amen.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.”
John 12:7

Judas protested Mary’s “waste” of expensive perfume (John 12:4-6), but Jesus defends her with another prophecy of His impending death. How often are we on either side of this conflict? Is it wrong to build a beautiful church when the money could be used to alleviate poverty? Is it wrong to support the food bank when the church roof is falling in?

This is the danger of looking at a single verse and a single issue and attempting to apply it to everything. We need to read scripture in the context of the whole passage and understand it in the connection we have with Jesus. He knows our hearts, and in this story Judas’ heart is not in the right place. First and foremost, he doesn’t care about the poor, he is angry that he won’t have the chance to get the money that the perfume might have brought, and he attacks Mary because of it.

Jesus knows that Mary is worshipping Him in truth and love, and He defends her with the warning about what is to come very soon, His passion and death. We must not be like Judas, selfish about what we could do with resources that rightfully belong to Him. Jesus knows our intentions and if we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, rather than our earthly desires, He will always defend us as He did Mary.

Heavenly Father, help us to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us in order that we might be saved. Make us good stewards of the gifts we have been given, that they might be used in love, according to Your will. Amen.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:4-6

It is easy to use Judas as the villain in every story. We know what he did and find it convenient to think He was always evil. But Jesus chose him, why would He pick someone like that as a disciple? Is it possible that Judas was different once and made bad choices over time?

As humans, we should be keenly aware that none of us are purely good and none of us are purely evil. It was almost certainly that way with Judas as well. However, rather than accepting Jesus’ offer of salvation, Judas became focused on himself and what being part of the group could do for him.

We must be careful that we don’t fall into the same trap, being more concerned with earthly things, even when they seem like loving activities. In the first story of Mary and Martha hosting Jesus (Luke 10:38-42), Martha is preoccupied with preparing the home and the meal – not bad things at all, but Jesus tells her Mary has made a better choice by sitting to listen to Him. We must take care to pay attention to our Savior first and foremost, hearing His teachings over any worldly activity.

Loving Lord, help us to focus on You before anything else. May all our actions flow from our relationship with You and not any desire of our own. Amen.