Scripture: John 19:38-42

“³⁸ After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. ³⁹ And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰ Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. ⁴¹ Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”

Reflections:

• Praise God that He is capable of reaching the hearts and minds of people who we often would never think would believe in and honor Him.
• In what ways do you presently honor Christ in your life? What could you do differently to honor Him more?

Scriptures:

• Romans 6:1-11, ““What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

• Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Reflections:

• One of the most certain facts of life is that mankind has within us the potential for truly dark deed, from the smallest to the greatest, and yet God gives us mercy and grace, and a chance to leave behind a life marked by pride and sin.
• Sadly many of us who have been given a new life in Christ will return to our old life’s ways of thinking and behaving. What are some ways that you need to leave behind the old life, and walk in the new life which you have been given?

Scriptures: 

• John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
• Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Reflections:

• What are the things in life that stir your affections for Christ, and help you to see more clearly the great love which God has shown for you? Music? Friends? Church? Art? Nature?
• And how can you do to make those things a bigger part of your life and stir those affections so that you can return the love which God has so graciously given us?

Scripture: Luke 22:39-44

 ³⁹ Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. ⁴⁰ When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

⁴¹ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” ⁴³ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Reflections:

• How amazing is it to think that Jesus knowingly, willing went to cross, enduring the shame and humiliation and scorn, for you and I?
• Christ, who is our example of holy living, faced even with the horror of the cross submitted His will to The Father. In what ways do you still seek to have our own will done rather than God’s?

Scripture:  Matthew 21:12-13

¹² Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”

Reflections: 

• How amazing is it that the same God who created and sustains the entire vast cosmos, also wants to hear from you?
• What are some obstacles in your life that keep you from prayer?