Good Morning Girls Devotional Week 1 "Why Easter Matters"

This is the reading for Wednesday, 4/2.

Read: Matthew 26:21-25 (The Message)
During the meal, he said, "I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators."  They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, "It isn't me, is it, Master?"  Jesus answered, "The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures - no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man - better never to have been born than do this!" Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, "It isn't me, is it, Rabbi?" Jesus said, "Don't play games with me, Judas."  

S: "In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures - no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man - better never to have been born than do this!"  

O: It is clear here that Jesus is dismayed and somewhat angry. One of the people whom He trusted would turn against Him. Even though Jesus knew for a long time that this was what His fate would be. But somehow, I don't think He knew it would come about by one of His followers turning Him in. Jesus is saying that whoever betrays Him would wish he were never born. 

Can you imagine someone you trust with your life, betraying you? If you've had this happen, you know how hurt it makes you feel. Can you imagine how Jesus must've felt? Even though this fulfilled the prophecy, I would imagine Jesus was hurt down to His core. 

But imagine the guilt that Judas must've felt afterwards. He was a follower of Christ. He was one of His disciples. And here, for a pittance of money, turned Jesus over to be crucified. Was it really worth it? If I could talk to Judas today, that's exactly what I would say. Was it really worth it Judas? What did you get out of it? I bet Judas wished he were never born after that.

A: I've had my trust betrayed numerous times. But this last time has left me angry and hurt. You are always full of questions. Why? How could you? I hope you're happy with yourself Oh, I could go on and on. 

But remember this little phrase.."Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Wow. BUT there's one little phrase that seems to always get forgotten. "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Mark 15:34 The Message) Even Jesus had a moment of weakness when He thought that God had abandoned Him. 

Those are some tough emotions to wrestle with. And believe me, every single one of them is at war in my head. Everything from I hate you for what you did to I love you. 

Human emotions dictate how we handle things. But sometimes those emotions can be damaging. They can cloud our judgement. The Bible tells us we are to be level-headed and in charge of our emotion. I found this on a page from Joyce Meyer "First Peter 5:8-9 teaches us to be well-balanced and temperate (self-controlled)"

I need to get my emotions under control. I need to lose the anger and work on controlling how I feel. It's not going to change the situation. What's done is done. All we can do is move forward.

P: Lord Jesus, help me to remain even tempered. Help me to remove my anger and turn it into compassion. You asked Your Father to forgive those who persecuted You; if You can do that, then I can forgive those who have hurt me. I pray for peace in my soul and in my heart. And I pray for those who have hurt me. I pray all this in Your Holy Name. Amen.

Luke 2:19-20

Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them. 

Mary thought about all the things that had transpired since she was told that she was to give birth to Jesus. These things were so memorable that she wanted to tuck them away in her heart. How wonderful all these things were! But Mary wasn't the type who would go around telling people she was this grand, chosen person. She knew how faith worked.

Matthew 6:6 tells us "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then, your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Do you know how long it took me to understand that passage? To me, it seemed like I didn't want people knowing that I pray to God. Like it was something I should be ashamed of what I was doing. But then I realized what that was all about. God doesn't want us to be boastful about what we do. God knows all that we do.

I found this really good explanation of this lesson on a website called "tillhecomes.org". "All of us need to learn from Mary and Joseph that our suffereings, and our troubles and our trials in life are tools in the hand of God to mold us and shape us and make us into something beyond our imagination. When trials and troubles come into your life, you may feel like you are getting beaten with rods and ground into powder-remember the grain in Isaiah 28- but remember, grain must be ground to make bread. God is making you into something great. In whatever trials you are facing, ask God these kinds of questions: Say "Father, what are you trying to teach me in this situation? How can this trial make me more like Jesus Christ? What chaff in my life are you trying to grind out of me? How can this troubling time make me better instead of bitter?"

These are questions I should be asking of God myself. I am going through many trials and tribulations. Some days it feels like things will never get better. I've found myself wondering why this is happening to me. I feel like God isn't listening. But He is. It's just that He hasn't told me His plan. I have to be patient. There is a reason for all things that happen to us. Instead of complaining and whining about it all, I should be asking God what can I learn from this? Is it so I grow closer to Him? Is it because He knows I am strong and I can get through this as long as I keep God's love in my heart. There are so many questions I could be asking. But, I think for the moment, I will be still. I will be quiet. I will wait until God shows me the way I need to go.

11th Night of Advent Luke 1:39-45

I can't seem to get this together. I have prayed to Jesus asking Him to open my heart and my mind so that I may have a better understanding of what it is He is trying to say to me. 

This time our reading takes us to see Mary visiting Elizabeth. It's funny, really, that the passage we are reading now is one that I just read. We were at church last night and I asked my pastor how he learned to interpret what he is reading in the bible. I used last nights passage to start with and we discussed it. He gave me some very good ideas. As we were discussing it, I read ahead a little and made some notes. 

 In those days Mary got up and went hurriedly into the hill country, to a town of Judah, and entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She exclaimed with a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb! And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? For the instant the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”


So, here is what I learned from my pastor: First you ask basic questions: who, what, when, where, and why. Then you ask yourself "what is like me?", "what is unlike me?", "where am I in the story?", "what is different in translations?". He said that you should have 2 or 3 different translations available so you can compare them. Find keywords, think about the emotions. But most important of all, PRAY. Pray before you read, pray before doing your interpretation. Find out what God is trying to tell you.  

Mary has gone to Judah to visit her cousin Elizabeth (we see the definition of what relation Elizabeth is to Mary in BibleGateway.com. Other versions say Elizabeth is Mary's sister, in others it just says she was a "relation".)

Elizabeth, who is married to Zechariah, is 6 months pregnant. BUT Elizabeth was beyond child bearing age and thought to be "barren". But here we have not 1 but 2 "immaculate" conceptions (I count Elizabeth as one since technically she was too old to become pregnant). These 2 women were chosen by God. Why they were chosen is not clear. It shows, however, what great faith in God these women had. Zechariah had been praying for years for a son, and here, after he thought there would never be a child, his wife was pregnant. 

Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, who rejoices when in the presence of Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus. In turn, Jesus reacts the same in the presence of John the Baptist. This shows the connection of the two who will some day change the world. We see that Elizabeth is humbled in the presence of this woman and the savior she will give birth to. 

9th Night of Advent

The reading tonight it the rest of the Gospel of Matthew. Depending on which version bible you have, it may be Matthew 1:22-26 or 25. The ones I am using only go to 25.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

So, dear readers, I am learning all this right along with all of you. I'm looking for resources so that I can better understand what it is I am reading and writing about. And on that note.....

Christ is a title applied to Jesus. It is not his last name. It is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament word mashiah (‘Anointed One’, the Messiah). It is this chapter we see Matthew's claim that Jesus is the Messiah, Yahweh’s Anointed One, the One promised from

ancient days to be God’s Savior for his people. Then Matthew

extends this bold claim with two others, saying that Jesus Christ is

‘the son of David, the son of Abraham’.

The Old Testament foretold of the birth of Jesus Christ. We see this in Isaiah:

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this (Isa. 9:6–7).

Matthew builds his message on the Old Testament. What was promised

long ago is now being fulfilled. This is the good news that Matthew

brings to us.