Scripture:
Mark 15:33-47
Fri, 15 April 2022

Thankful It’s God’s Friday

Observation:

What is the theological significance of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross?

Deeper Reflection
JESUS’ LAST WORDS ON THE CROSS (AS RECORDED IN the four Gospels) carry profound theological insights regarding the salvation of sinners. First, the Forgiveness from God. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). Forgiveness is at the heart of the Gospel message. Forgiveness from God, offered to all humankind. Forgiveness – needed because we all are lost like sheep and know not what we do. Forgiveness – made possible only through the cross of Christ.Second, the Finished Work of Christ. “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). Jesus’ work on earth is completed at the cross, His mission fully accomplished. There is nothing more that needs to or can be added to it. Nothing the Church does or neglects can ever enrich or impoverish the finished work of Christ. “It is finished” is as much an accomplished historical reality as well as an everlasting spiritual truth. Jesus died for sins and God’s wrath is therefore turned away from everyone who trusts in Jesus for salvation.Third, the One Forsaken for Sinners. “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; Mk 15:34). These most anguishing words echo the Psalmist’s cries of complete abandonment and rejection.24 About 2,000 years before Christ, on Mount Moriah, God provided Abraham with a ram as a sacrifice in place of his son Isaac.25 On the same mountain, Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, was totally rejected and slayed on behalf of sinners, so that people can be forgiven their sins and find acceptance before the Holy God. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.26
24 Psalm 22:1. 25 Genesis 22:8, 13-14. 26 Hebrews 9:22b.
Application:

With whom might God be leading me to share the meaning of Good Friday
and Easter Sunday?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for SGI leaders: That they will greatly rejoice and give thanks to God for His glorious work of redemption through the immeasurable sacrifice of Jesus Christ
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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Daily Devo
Daily Devotional Journal
Scripture:
Daniel 7:13-18, 25-27; 11:29-36
Sat, 2 December 2023

The Triumph

Observation:

What characterises the triumph of God’s people in tribulations under tyrants?

Deeper Reflection
God’s people living under tyrants and suffering tribulations under them can triumph – whether we are delivered from or destroyed in tribulation. The triumph rests on a threefold confidence.We know the conclusion of evil. It is repeated in manifold ways in Daniel that evil that comes through inhuman kings – no matter how great and how long – will definitely come to an end: “he will be broken” (Dan 8:25), “he will be found no more” (Dan 11:19), “yet he will come to his end” (Dan 11:45) and “all these events will be completed” (Dan 12:7).We know God’s calling for us: To be a suffering people – to be captured, plundered, burned or killed (Dan 11:33). But in our suffering, we can be strong as “people who know their God” (Dan 11:32), knowing that God is purging and purifying us to become a sanctified (Dan 11:35; 12:10) and shining people who “shine brightly” with heavenly brightness in the hostile world (Dan 12:3). And we will be a steadfast people who “keep waiting and attain to the 1,335 days” (Dan 12:12) – until we become a sovereign people who “receive and possess the kingdom forever” from “the Ancient of Days” (vv.13-14, 18, 27).We know who is in control. The tribulations under the tyrants in Daniel 7 to 12 are all subject to and subsumed under “that which is decreed will be done” (Dan 11:36; 9:26, 27) “at the appointed time” (Dan 11:27, 29, 35).We conclude Daniel with this theological-discipleship summary statement: We can triumph in tribulations under tyrants when we trust with tenacity in the One who is on the throne.
Application:

How can I triumph in tribulations?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for Church Board: To grow in the faith and perseverance of overcomers in Christ
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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