It's a Promise Unequaled!

 

Good Friday, April 3, 2026
Celebrate the Covenant- again and again! Mark 14:17-24

Christians through time have celebrated the sacrifice of Jesus with Bread and Cup, speaking to us of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. On the night before He died, the Lord Jesus observed the Jewish Passover that marked the deliverance of the Jewish people from the judgment that fell on Egypt when the first-born of every household perished. He made it a moment for disciples through time. We read-  
When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. … 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

At FDC, we close almost every Sunday worship gathering with the Lord’s Table, remembering the wonder of God’s gift to us. It is not just a ritual tacked onto the end of the service that we hurry through. It is a holy moment and has been part of Christian worship for 2 millennia.

The bread that we eat holds so much richness for us. Jesus spoke of Himself as the “Bread of Life.”  He promised that as we come to Him in faith and give our lives to His care, we will find the kind of deep satisfaction that a hungry person feels after a good meal. Bread comes from seeds that are ground and broken to provide sustenance. Jesus became our Bread only after allowing Himself to be broken. And, we learn that from His brokenness emerges our wholeness. Yes, when you take that bit of bread, remember the true Bread given in Him, and be fed not in your physical body but in your spirit!

As we take the Cup it is a wonder-filled moment of worship. Jesus spoke of the covenant written in love because of His spilled blood. The ancient practice before God was that sin demanded sacrifice. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” In the First Covenant, the blood of a lamb was shed to cover the sin of the people.

Christ Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  (John 1) Though we are sinners by nature, our guilt is removed, washed away by Christ who died in our place. He wrote a New Covenant, an agreement with God and humanity at the Cross. The result is that “we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus … (so) let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.” 

What a mystery that we are now at peace with a Holy God, not because we are good enough, not because we have made some great sacrifice, but because Christ has provided for us what we could never earn for ourselves. We need not live in shame, guilt, or fear because “the One who knows us best, loves us most.”

So next time we take that little cup with bread and juice, let’s truly worship giving thanks for the Bread of Life and the blood-sworn Covenant of which the Cup speaks.

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For reflection –
Have I received God’s grace gift for myself or am I still attempting to gain His favor?
When I worship in the time of Holy Communion, do I prepare my mind and heart for the Spirit’s work?
How can I give proper thanks to God for His great and precious promise?

 

If you would like to share your thoughts or prayer needs with me you may do by emailing me – JerScott55@gmail.com

For a video of this devotion go to https://www.youtube.com/@FaithDiscoveryChurch

 

Sleepy Saints

Thursday, April 2, 2026
Sleepy Saints  -Mark 14: 34-40

Since growing a bit older (seasoned, as our pastor would say) I find a warm, sunny spot in the afternoon in my house or while I’m driving to be an invitation to a nap! Being retired allows me the luxury of drowsy rest for about 20 to 30 minutes many days around 4 pm. Napping, for an old guy, is quite all right.

Spiritually, we cannot afford the luxury of becoming sleepy saints, though the temptation is often there. When life is going well, when we are getting along with our spouse and/or kids, when there is enough money, when our health is good – we may be tempted to let our prayers slip, to get casual about our worship commitments, to step back from active service.

After the Last Supper, Mark tells us about the failure in the disciple’s life brought on by their sleepiness. They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Peter urges us to remain awake and aware. “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.”  (1 Peter 5) Our vigilance is not fear-based nor should we allow ourselves to become filled with anxiety. Secure in God’s hand and sealed by the Holy Spirit will live in the confidence that God can care for us in every way.

The greater issue for the Christian is not external, but from within us. We can just become complacent, a sleepy saint. This warning tells us -“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”  (Hebrews 2)

Are you drowsy, lacking a faith that is alive and engaged? Take the challenge of the Revelation. “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”  (Revelation 3)
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For reflection –
Am I engaged actively in spiritual growth?
Is there any part of my Christian experience where I am currently adrift/aimless?
To what discipline should I commit myself to “stay alert” and awake spiritually?
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If you would like to share your thoughts or prayer needs with me you may do by emailing me – JerScott55@gmail.com

For a video of this devotion go to https://www.youtube.com/@FaithDiscoveryChurch

A Coin and Caesar

 

Loyalties – giving God His due   Mark 12: 13-17

Ask anyone who knows me well and they will tell you that Jerry struggles with authority! When inspectors of various agencies visited the church I served my guard went up. “Why?” was the first question that came to mind. Am I proud of my independent streak? Not at all. It makes me limp spiritually from time to time!

How do you respond to authority? It is a question every Christian should ask himself.

Christians have always had a difficult relationship with civil authority. Where does God’s direction for us intersect with loyalty to earthly authority? Some insist that we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven exclusively, free from all constraints of human law. Others insist that to honor Christ we must be absolutely obedient to the laws of the land.

Here is what Jesus said when asked about God and Caesar (earthly authorities).

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.

True disciples are good citizens! They pay their taxes. They give due respect to those in office.

Peter wrote to the first-generation Believers, who were dealing with a very hostile empire, with instructions to submit to the governing authority. “For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.”  (1 Peter 2:13) Paul reminds that earthly authority is part of God’s order for us and urges us to pray for those who hold office.

There is a tension however created by the higher demands of God on us. Those early Believers often found themselves persecuted, some even put to death, because they refused to give offerings to images of Caesar who claimed to be divine. They recognized that kind of worship belonged only to God and were willing to die for Him.

As we walk with Jesus, we must keep a humble heart that gives “Caesar” what he is due even as we hold unwavering to the will and way of God that supercedes all human authority.

Pray for our nation. Keep those in office, be it local, state, or national, on your prayer list, asking God to give wisdom. When necessary, choose God’s way even if means persecution. Peter tells us, “if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.” (1 Peter 2)

We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and citizens of the nations of this world. May the Spirit show us the way to be the best of both, for the glory of God.
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For reflection –
Where do I struggle with government authority?
Do I remember to give the respect that comes to the office, if not the person?
Are my prayers faithfully offered for God’s will to be done through those who govern?

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I am excited to hear of your discoveries, about your struggles, and to pray with you.
If you would like to share any of those things with me you may do by emailing me – JerScott55@gmail.com

For a video of this devotion go to

https://www.youtube.com/@FaithDiscoveryChurch