'Silent Witnesses' Tagged Posts
Now What?
Now What? Daily Devotion for Easter | Easter Monday, April 2, 2018 Read Luke 24:1-11. When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him. (Mark 16:1) Joseph and Nicodemus didn’t have time to do a proper burial for Jesus that Friday evening. Though they did the best they could, the women who followed Jesus were not satisfied. They planned to come back early Sunday morning…
A Homely Beginning
A Homely Beginning Daily Devotion for Lent | Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018 | Holy Week Read John 20:1-9. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. (John 20:6-7) It seems so tidy, somehow. When the disciples look into the tomb, they see the linen cloths…
Access To The Father
Access To The Father Daily Devotion for Lent | Good Friday, March 30, 2018 | Holy Week Read Luke 23:44-46. And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (Mark 15:37-38) Imagine what it would feel like to be a priest going about your duties in the temple that Friday, getting ready for the Sabbath. You would be doing it nervously, in near-darkness—the sun’s light…
For You
For You Daily Devotion for Lent | Maundy Thursday, March 29, 2018 | Holy Week Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-25. (Jesus said) “This is My body, which is for you….This cup is the new covenant in My blood….” (1 Corinthians 11:24b-25a) “I need a hug,” my son says to me when he’s having a bad day. “Can you hold my hand?” a child asks her mother, standing in line for an amusement park ride. “Stay with me, don’t leave me,” beg…
Are You Sure He’s Dead?
Are You Sure He’s Dead? Daily Devotion for Lent | Wednesday, March 28, 2018 | Holy Week Read John 19:31-37. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. (John 19:34) They wanted to be sure He was dead. So one of the soldiers took a spear and stabbed Jesus in the side, bringing out a flow of blood and water. This was good proof He was dead, because…
The Nails
The Nails Daily Devotion for Lent | Tuesday, March 27, 2018 | Holy Week Read John 20:24-28. But he (Thomas) said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25b) As a carpenter and builder, Jesus would have known the use of nails. Nails were expensive; if a wooden peg would do instead,…
Whose Cross?
Whose Cross? Daily Devotion for Lent | Monday, March 26, 2018 | Holy Week Read Mark 15:21-25. So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. (John 19:16b-17) After Jesus had been flogged, mocked, and condemned, they took Him out on the road to Golgotha, carrying His own cross. Now the cross was probably what we would call the crosspiece only—the patibulum.…
Victory Palms
Victory Palms Daily Devotion for Lent | Sunday, March 25, 2018 | Palm Sunday Read Mark 11:1-10. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. (Mark 11:8) Where I grew up, we had palm trees everywhere. There were palms at the beach, palms used as street trees, palm thickets so deep you could lose yourself playing hide and seek. There were even palms trying to grow up through…
The King Of The Jews
The King Of The Jews Daily Devotion for Lent | Saturday, March 24, 2018 Read John 19:18-22. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19) When the Romans crucified someone, they often put a notice on the cross over the criminal’s head. This was called the “titulus,” and it was there to tell everybody what crime was being punished. When Pilate wrote the inscription to…
Sponge and Stick
Sponge and Stick and Sour Wine Daily Devotion for Lent | Friday, March 23, 2018 Read John 19:28-30. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. (John 19:29) Just before Jesus’ final moments, He said, “I’m thirsty.” Someone took a sponge and filled it with the sour wine the soldiers brought to drink. Then they put it on a stick…
Pain Killer?
Pain Killer? Daily Devotion for Lent | Thursday, March 22, 2018 Read Matthew 27:33, 46-50. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when He tasted it, He would not drink it. (Matthew 27:33-34) The Roman executioners were not complete monsters. Before they nailed Jesus to the cross, they offered Him wine mixed with gall—a painkiller, probably a bitter-tasting plant like opium poppy.…
Not A Chance
Not A Chance Daily Devotion for Lent | Wednesday, March 21, 2018 Read John 19:23-24. “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”… (John 19:24b) When a man was crucified, his clothes normally went to the executioners. That’s how Jesus’ execution squad wound up gambling at the foot of His cross. There was a single valuable piece of clothing left over—a seamless tunic—and they didn’t want to ruin it. So they played for it. The…