April 23

"...But made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" Philippians 2:7.

"Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restriction of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile." Dorothy Sayers, Christian Letters to a PostChristian World.

It is a fact of heaven and earth that Jesus lived on this earth. Jesus' execution is mentioned in the Annals of the Roman historian Tacitus; he writes concerning the so-called Christians, "The name is derived from Christ, whom the procurator Pontius Pilate had executed in the reign of Tiberius." Josephus, a Jewish historian, remarks about the stoning in AD 62 of "James, the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ..."
Our problem with Jesus is not whether He lived on this earth for history proves it; it's whether we choose to believe it. Our human nature has an enormous difficulty accepting that Divinity would come to us in degraded human form as a Servant, of all occupations. Our age demands rights; Jesus requests right living.

If Jesus honored earth today, His family and the crowd would wonder if He was in His right mind, just as they did back in His day (Mark 3:21). The Godhead was His right but manhood he accepted voluntarily. And in this is our hope, for He can exact nothing from us that He has not suffered.


Pat Nordman ©

Today's Bible Question ?

Who were the two men who helped Moses hold up his hands while Joshua's army fought the Amalekites?

Previous question and Answer: What are the four rivers in the Garden of Eden? Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Genesis 2:11-14

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T H I N K A B O U T I T

Carrying Burdens An aged, weary-looking woman with a heavy basket upon her arm, entered a train. Carrying her burden down the aisle, she found a seat and dropped into it, resting her heavy basket on her lap. A friendly workingman sitting across from her watched her for a long time, and then finally leaned across and spoke. "Madam," he said, "if you will put your basket on the floor, the train will carry you and the basket, too." How much truth there is in that kind remark. How often we do as the woman did, come to Christ for our soul's salvation, and yet steadfastly refuse to let him bear our burdens and look after our daily lives. We are willing to get on the train, but refuse to lay down the burdens.  - Farm and Fireside.Maps

 

Today's  Devotion

 

 

 

 

 

The Most Expensive Meal by Tim Knappenberger   "But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:50-51 (NIV)

A couple years ago, I surprised my wife by taking her out on the town. The date consisted of dinner at one of the fanciest restaurants in our area and followed by a Neil Diamond Concert. Now, we're not what you'd call 'backwater hicks' by any means, but seven course dinning isn't the norm for us either. Sitting at our table for 2 by a full glass window overlooking a waterfall and babbling brook, our waiter (Stephon, I think) was totally devoted to us! Dinner was an event that kept unfolding. Cocktails, followed by appetizers, followed by palate refreshers, followed by entre preludes. To Stephon's every 'suggestion' as to what might be our next pleasure, my wife and I would respond with a resounding "Sure! Why not!" After all, having seen the price of the entres, I wanted to make sure I was getting my money's worth. We ordered it all! However, little did we realize that all of Stephon's 'suggestions' were in addition to the double-digit prices to which we tried hard to conceal our shock. When Stephon got done 'suggesting' and brought our bill, all we could do was stare. The wad of bills I brought with me to pay for the meal "and have some to spare", quickly began to look like the tip. Needless to say, plastic can save your life sometimes. Throwing my car keys on the silver tray would have made the whole event a lot simpler, but I didn't think Stephon would have been caught dead in my '87 Ford Escort Wagon. Anyway, for the rest of the evening, all my wife and I could do was to marvel that we had just eaten THE most expensive meal of our lives! Then in a brief and quiet flash, God brought to mind another meal..."While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.' Sorry Lord, I forgot. Stephon hadn't served me the most expensive meal of my life; You did." When you come to the Lord's table, remember the price that was paid! Drop Tim, the writer of this devotion, a line at  Tim Knappenberger. ©

To Stephon's every 'suggestion' as to what might be our next pleasure, my wife and I would responded with a resounding "Sure! Why not!"

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