Tag jesus

Plain, suffered, finished!

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He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, and there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain.  Isaiah 53:2-3
 
 


 Not attractive
 Jesus was not a superstar, rich, or popular growing up.  He was not an influencer, nor did he have any entertaining dance or songs. He was plain, no beauty.  Nothing in His appearance attracted people to him.  People would hide their faces from him.  Jesus was avoided, despised, rejected, and familiar with pain.  This description is found in Isaiah 53:1-3.
  
Shunned
This was my devotion this morning.  We have all seen people rejected because they did not fit our style.  We tend to walk the other way.  I was thinking about all the rejection Jesus received growing up.  He did not fit into most families.  Jesus was plain, no beauty.  We all see pictures and paintings of a manly man with chiseled features.  The scriptures state there was nothing in his appearance that attracted people.  It pains my heart to think about the creator being shunned.  Just the rejection Jesus experienced broke my heart.
 
 Innocent yet silent
 He was innocent of all sin, yet He took mine.  He did not speak about the unfairness of it all.  He just bore the punishment and the increasing pain. Pilot asked someone to stand up for Jesus, but no one would.  They were silent except for the lies and demands of his death.   Jesus knew why, even though he asked God to see if there was another path. His emotional pain was beyond anything man had experienced.  God was also…. silent.
 
God crushed his Son
 The Father of Jesus took all our sins from our desires and sinful attractions and laid them upon Jesus. No one stood up for Jesus, protested his treatment, or even noticed or cared. Jesus alone took our punishment and did not complain.
It was God’s will to crush Jesus and cause Him to suffer.  God and Jesus decided this plan before man was born.
Yet the pain, both physical and emotional, was laid upon Jesus.  Why?  For you and I.  For the world.
 
Finished – Righteousness for all!
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was like a sheep led to the slaughter.  No one protested.  Life went on around Him. Everyday life revolved around our suffering savior, unaware of the holy sacrifice that was taking place close by.  Jesus suffered alone, quietly.  Until He said, “IT IS FINISHED.”  Then, the curtain in the temple separating us from God was torn from top to bottom.  From God to man.  From Jesus for me.
 
Thank You Jesus
 Thank you, Jesus.  Oh, the Blood of Jesus, shed for me and you.  Oh, what a savior who died for me! Isaiah 53:12b: “Jesus bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressor.”
 I encourage you to read Isaiah 53 sometime today, letting your heart break into pieces and rejoice for our mighty savior’s sacrifice for you, for me, for all.
 
Let you, LightNSide, be forever grateful for His sacrifice.

Between the times

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Luke 22:31-32   “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.  But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

I

Not everything can be accomplished quickly.  There is an illusion of quick answers, of drive-through solutions.  This frustration has turned many of us into watchers rather than warriors.  We find ourselves between times of focus and times of floundering.  We wonder when we stopped marching, too busy with life’s issues.

Satan has asked to sift you like wheat.

I have found myself existing ‘between the times’ of faithfully writing a weekly Biblical Devotion to rest with excuses and reasons why I gave the devotions up.  There have been issues in my family, from age to major medical problems I could point to, but in reality, I found myself living ‘between the times’ of duty and excuses.   I faithfully created a weekly Biblical Thought from  2018 to 2023 and began to slow down.  I was no longer faithfully writing devotions from my heart to whoever was listening.  This decline of obedience slowed me down to living in a world between the passion of ministry and a frustrated observer of time filled with guilt.

Maybe you are living “between the times” of launching a new ministry but wrestling with its unknowns and insecurities.  Maybe you are living between an uncomplicated marriage, and now a child is born with its fears, tears, and unknown futures. Perhaps you are at a setback in your life.  Pain and frustration have replaced passion. Perhaps you are lost in a time of struggling with faith, God, and desires.  You remember the strong and secure times, but now you are “living between”  faith and feelings,  strength and searching. 

I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail.

Repent and turn again to Christ.

I am writing today for the first time in 2025. I am again taking up the challenge of this calling. The first thing I must do is repent to God.

Revelation 2:4-5 ” 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. “

Nothing happens unless we take responsibility for our actions, even if we face valid issues. We must again become warriors and pilgrims, obedient servants who trust God and allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide us.

Strengthen your brothers

Monuments or Footprints

William Faulkner speaks of the place in our duty to God where we stopped moving forward.  That place where you last left your mark can become a monument or a footprint.   A monument only says, ‘At least I got this far,’ while a footprint says, ‘This is where I was when I moved again.’

I encourage you to once again take on the challenge of God’s calling. Break out of living ‘between the times’ of faith and frustration. Join me in repenting for the idle times and let that place I stopped become a footprint of renewed passion, not a monument to where I stopped.

Let your LightNSide shine in 2025 and forward.

Shush, shush…listen…

Pastor Dave Rose Leave a comment

Psalms 81:13 Oh, that my people would listen to me

What makes you stop and listen?

Is it the thunder of a coming storm? Is it the giggle of a baby? Or the laughter of a popular TV show? Is it political news or news of violence?  Is it the call of Social Media with something new to hear? What is your ear tuned to?   The Bible says in Psalms 115:6: “They have ears but do not hear.” Mark 8:18: “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” 

We all have two sets of ears. 

Our physical ears and spiritual ears. Our spiritual ears hear from our hearts.   Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” John 10:27

How do you hear with your spiritual ears? Take the time to sit still and listen with your heart.  I love the morning or evening when the sun rises or goes down.  If I take the time to push away all the distractions and just be quiet,  I listen to God’s creation. It has beautiful sounds.  The animals, the wind, the movement of tree branches. The sounds of nature.  They all share the sound of a mighty creator.   In this process, as I listen to nature,  I hear God speak to me.  Not with my physical ears but with my spiritual ears.  With my heart. I need to do this more!

Fight Distraction  

There is a world trying to get your attention all the time.  I encourage you to be still, push away the noises, and hear God. Hear nature. Wonder at God’s creation. See its beauty. As you are still, your spiritual ears will begin to hear God.  You will start to listen to Him whisper to you. 

God also whispers to you through His word. Take the time daily to read it, then sit still and meditate on the living words. The most remarkable chapter on this process and its effect is Psalms 1.  “…blessed is the man who meditates on God’s word… whatever they do will prosper…”

I encourage you to take time daily to hear God in a noisy and demanding world.   Listen to the rest of Psalms 81 and what God says to you in these verses.

Psalms 81:13-16

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. 15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever. 16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock, I would satisfy you.”

Take the time to let your LightNside hear God’s voice.

Why the hatred for Israel?

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Genesis 17:6-8 

 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

God Chose Israel to be His Nation

God chose Israel to be His people. From that very promise, Satan put Israel in the bull’s eye of his rage. Satan has always tried to destroy Israel, even from Adam and Eve. From that very first attempt to destroy God’s greatest creation to the very last battle in Revelation, the focus from the devil is to kill Israel as a nation and the Jews as a people.

The illustrated explanation of Revelation 12

Verse 1-2: A woman with a crown of twelve stars on her head – (Israel and the twelve tribes. She was about to give birth—the birth of Jesus by a virgin descendant of the tribe of Judah, the Son of God.) Verse 3-5 The dragon (Satan) stood in front of the woman to kill her son (Jesus) – (Matthew 2:13-18 – King Herod tried to kill Jesus when he demanded all baby boys two and under be killed. ) Her child was snatched up to God and to his throne – (Jesus’ death and resurrection, the defeat of Satan’s plan to kill Jesus. ) Verses 7-17 Satan has been defeated, and He is outraged. His vengeance is toward Israel, Jews, and anyone who follows Jesus.

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work 2 Thess 2:7

The secret power of lawlessness is the hatred given to people who rage against peace, justice, and authority. We see the news where lawlessness is the rule of our country. The courts have no teeth, and prisoners are released to continue lawlessness. Our college campuses and larger cities are destroyed by anger, crime, and a lack of authority.

The same rage that came from satan toward Jesus is at work in our nation against righteousness, authority, holiness, and God’s chosen nation, Israel.

Don’t get caught up in anger. Choose peace, choose faith, and pray for our nation.

God is in control

God’s plan is perfect. He wins in the end, and all who follow Him win an eternity of great peace, love, and freedom from anger, violence, and death. 

Revelation 21:3-5  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

Be wise in these last days. Read your Bible. Pray for Israel. Have faith in God. “Lord, I pray you will send a revival to this nation and our  hearts.” 

 Be strong in the Lord and keep your LightNside holy and pure.

Giving and Forgiving = Joy

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Hebrews 12:2 …” For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame…

I am reading a book for devotions.  Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. It is a classic in its 20th edition. Reading a portion as part of my morning devotion has brought me to the subject of “Giving and Forgiving.” 

We live in a society where we know what we have and what others have. We see the poor and needy, and we give as we desire. Jesus calls us to a life of increased  Giving and Forgiveness to all, a life that brings a sense of duty to the Holy Spirit and a deep feeling of joy and contentment.

Giving and Forgiving.

One has to do with our assets and treasures; the other has to do with releasing hurts and pain that have collected in our hearts and minds.  We think these negative thoughts are some kind of treasure that one day will bring justice or deserved pain to those who have hurt us.  When, in fact, it becomes a weight that is heavy to carry even though it feels unfair. To restore the soul, we must follow Jesus’ path to the cross, be able to say, “Father, I forgive them,” and be carried into the tomb by Christ’s teaching. As you feel the negative thoughts replaced by forgiving them, you begin to feel joy as God resurrects you to life anew. 

Quote from the book: “Jesus was not some harsh ascetic who practiced or imposed pain for its own sake. He did not choose death because it was good in itself, but for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross and despised the shame. Hebrews 12:2

Giving is the highest expression of potency. In the very act of giving, I experience my strength, my wealth, my power. The experience of heightened vitality fills me with joy.  I experience myself as overflowing, spending, alive, and joyful.  Giving is more joyous than receiving because it is an expression of my aliveness.”

Only through surrendering to Christ’s teaching and example can we begin to take on our assignment to give and forgive. “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap.” Luke 6:38

Jesus gave and forgave by surrendering to the cross.

Jesus gave His life and forgave our sins. Jesus experienced extreme joy as His life was given for all, and His righteousness was available to all because His giving and forgiveness took all our sins upon Him. 

As we celebrate Holy Week, let our LightNside choose to Give and Forgive often.  God will respond by sending you His joy.

John 1:14 The Word became Flesh

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Became vs Pretend!

Four simple words contain more wonder and truth than all the world’s books could capture.  God became man- Emanuel with us. The God of the universe came to earth as one of the poorest of man.  Born in poverty and suffering, He revealed God’s grace and love in ways we could observe.

While some translations say “put on” flesh, it is not a performance from an actor.  On stage, an actor will put on an outfit to portray a character.  We understand he is not really that character but one who puts on a unique costume that can be quickly changed out of when the play is over.  Christ, the Word (Logos) was not acting in a divine play costumed as a man.  He became human the same way you did.

How can this be?

Mary spoke these words to the angel. The angel told Mary the seed was from God instead of a physical man.  Christ became a man at conception and grew for nine months, as all babies do.  The almighty who spoke the world into existence from nothing limited himself to grow slowly through the design He created in mankind.  It is like the potter becoming the cup.  The builder becomes what was built to experience the real pressures on the structure. The programmer becomes the program and experiences the purpose of the programmer.

Man needed a savior.

Because of sin, the darkness of men could not comprehend or observe God enough to live as God intended.  While God sent us samples of Himself through the prophets and events of the Old Testament, we needed more.  We needed to see and feel God.  John 1:17-18.  Since we could not go to God, He came to us.  He became one of us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

CS Lewis -Miracles (Chapter 14 – The Diver)

“One may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then diving in mid-air, then going with a splash, vanishing rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the deathlike region of ooze and slime and old decay; then up again, back to color and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks the surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing he went down to recover. He and it are both colored now that they have come up into the light: down below, where it lay colorless in the dark, he (the diver) lost his color too”.

Thank Christ for His sacrifice so you could be rescued and live with His LightNside.