Daily Devotional: Tuesday, March 31, 2020
SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 53:7b (KJV)
he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
The Bible says God gave us the animals to eat. Christians eat meat. This means Christians kill animals to eat them. Sometimes we buy meat in stores where the chicken or pig or cow has been killed by a butcher. But sometimes we do the hunting and killing ourselves.
Does your Daddy go deer hunting? Have you ever eaten deer meat? Have you ever gone fishing? Did you kill and clean and eat the fish?
When the Schreuders lived here, if you ever got invited to their house for dinner, you ate lamb. Mr. Schreuder grew up on a sheep farm, so his favorite meat is lamb. Each lamb Mr. Schreuder eats was killed. Each lamb was led to the slaughter.
Do you wear wool? Wool comes from sheep. Wool is what we get by giving sheep a haircut. Do you see the sheep getting a haircut, here? Soon this wool will be a sweater or a pair of socks.
When lambs are killed for meat and when sheep are sheared for wool, they don’t fight. They are quiet. They stand still. Sheep trust their shepherd.
This is what Isaiah is saying about the Messiah. He would suffer silently and without complaint. He would go to the cross and die entrusting himself to His Heavenly Father.
Many Christians have been martyred and have died without complaining. The first Christian martyr, Deacon Stephen, died without complaining:
When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him… They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:58-60)
QUESTIONS
- When Jesus was mocked and laughed at and dying on the cross, what did He say? (See Luke 23:34.)
- Is that what you would have said when you were being mocked and laughed at and hanging on a cross, dying?
- Isn’t Jesus a wonderful Savior for you and for me?
SONG OF THE WEEK
Ah, Holy Jesus
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee!
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied Thee;
I crucified Thee.
Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered.
For man’s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.
For me, kind Jesus, was Thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life’s oblation:
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.
Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.
Listen to Ah, Holy Jesus on Clearnote Songbook
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Loving Father, I praise and thank You anew today for sending Your Son into this world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Help me always to remember and fully appreciate the horribleness of my sins necessitating His death, the incredible cost Jesus paid for my ransom, Your great love in sending Him to the cross, my complete unworthiness of the smallest part of Your mercy, and the privilege I have of living before You now in humility, obedience, gratitude, and joy; not of myself, but through Christ in me. Amen.
OTHER PRAYER NEEDS
- Wisdom for the elders to lead through this time
- Good health and protection for the vulnerable among us
- Deliverance from the coronavirus plague
SCRIPTURE MEMORY THIS WEEK
Isaiah 53:9-10 (KJV)
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
