by Elizabeth | Apr 2, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Easter, Lent
A Prayer about Becoming Fruitful Fig Trees
And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once. Matthew 21:18
Creator God,
We confess,
many of us are as confused
as the disciples about why you cursed the fig tree.
What we don’t understand
is that the fig tree represents Israel, your people,
who had been saved for a purpose:
to bear fruit (grow figs);
yet they repeatedly turned away from you,
the God who saved them:
“What I gave them has passed away from them” (Jeremiah 8:13).
Their leaves of life had withered
and their figs of fruit had passed away.
Lord, save us from our wayward hearts.
Help us to grasp
that Christ’s death and resurrection
alone will change us into fruit-bearing trees,
flourishing in your kingdom,
waving our bright green leaves
and offering others a taste
of the rich juicy fruit of your glory.
In Jesus’ fruit-bearing name. Amen.
Read Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14.
Note: This prayer is based on my Holy Week devotional, The Gospel Day-by-Day. Get your Holy Week devotional e-book free now. Link in profile or copy/paste link into browser: http://eepurl.com/b__teX.
by Elizabeth | Apr 1, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Easter, Lent
A Prayer about Perfect Peace
Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’
John 20:21
Heavenly Father,
Even as Holy Week begins,
may we remember its conclusion.
In the days leading up to his death,
Jesus suffered physical, mental, and emotional pain.
And yet, he always remained at peace,
because he knew he had been sent by you to complete a mission—
to bring your people back to your loving embrace.
Now, we your people carry on that mission.
And sometimes we too will suffer physical, mental, and emotional pain.
When we do,
may we remember Christ’s words
and know his profound comfort:
‘Peace be with you.’
In Jesus’ peace-bringing name. Amen.
Read John 20:19-23.
by Elizabeth | Mar 31, 2015 | Learning Story
It’s Holy Week. As I thought about this blog, I realized I know a lot about “Palm Sunday,” “Maundy Thursday,” “Good Friday,” “Silent Saturday” (or “Easter Eve”), and “Resurrection Sunday.” These are the biggies, (they even have names), and preachers, teachers, and bloggers tend to focus on them.
But what about Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday — what happened on those days? I often forget. So I did a bit of research. I considered what Jesus did, and I thought about what we learn about the gospel, the story of God’s grace, through them. Here are four happenings from Monday and Tuesday. I’ll follow up with Wednesday tomorrow. Here is a short list of some of the events of those days:
Fig Monday (yes, apparently it has been so named:-)!
1. The curse of the tree: Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14: Jesus curses the fig tree for not bearing fruit. His disciples were confused. What did the fig tree do to deserve this?
- Gospel implication: In Jeremiah 8:13, a fig tree represented Israel, God’s chosen people. In this final week, God is unveiling the truth — his very own people deserve judgment, death, for their sins. And Jesus will be dying in their place.
2. More moneychanger trouble: Mark 11:15-19: We don’t often see Jesus apparently lose his cool (he doesn’t really lose it), but here, filled with righteous indignation at the religious leaders and moneychangers, he starts turning over tables.
- Gospel implication: The religious folk are requiring payment for temple entry. Jesus is about to die for the sins of the world. Jesus teaches us that the only way to gain access into God’s presence is by trusting in him as Savior. Not taxes, not sacrificial animals, not good deeds.
Teaching Tuesday(?) or Trap Tuesday(?) (Okay, I made these up:-)!
1. Jesus teaches the disciples: Mark 11: 20-25: Passing the cursed fig tree on their way back to Jerusalem, the disciples notice it is now withered. Jesus gives a brief but significant lesson on faith, prayer, and forgiveness.
- Gospel implication: The disciples will soon face a task that will seem far more impossible than praying a mountain into the sea. Jesus’ dark-houred death will demand faith that hope will rise again. And they will come to know that indeed, Jesus’ death and resurrection profoundly changes their story — they are forgiven, freed of sin, guilt, and death, and they are empowered to forgive others.
2. Jesus teaches the religious authorities trying to trap him: Mark 11:28-12:40, Matthew 23:39. The religious leaders question Jesus’ authority — who authorized him to take the actions in the temple?
And in the sections that follow, Jesus pulls out all of his teaching stops — questions, parables, illustrations, and finally, the provocative “woes” of Matthew 23:1-37 (WHOA!). We might say Jesus had a “come to Jesus” meeting with them.
- Gospel implication: Jesus, knowing his teaching will further enrage them, persists in pointing them (and us) to their/our desperate need for a Savior. The only cure for their hardness of heart, self-righteous attitude, and stubbornly blind eyes is God’s grace.
Well, whoops! As I got into this, there was obviously more story to tell than room to tell it, so I’ll continue with “Spy Wednesday” tomorrow (you’re dying to know, aren’t you:-)!
To read more about some of the specifics that occurred on these two days, check out the wonderful Holy Week series by Justin Taylor and Andreas Kostenberger, also now compiled in book form.
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