Lenten Daily Devotional - Day 19 - 3/6/13

Devotional Scripture:  John 11:45-57

Devotional Thought:

"What do you think?" - John 11:56

What a wonderful question we find in verse 56, after we have read about how the religious leaders argued about how to get rid of Jesus.  Funny, the difference between what the general public thinks about things going on around them, and what leaders in private plan to do about what's going on, planning how to spin it to their advantage . . .

Oh . . . the intrigue of it all . . .

"What do you think?"

As you read today's scripture passage, could you say that you would have come . . . or would you have stayed in hiding for a while and then arrived at a later time, when things had cooled down some?

"What do you think?"

Is a follower/disciple of Christ to ever fear the consequences of doing the right thing?  Or are we to fear the consequences of not doing the right thing?  Is it always right to do what's right?  As I read the scriptures, I believe it is always right to do what is right.  Although doing so is sometimes painful.

"What do you think?"

Is it ever right to do what is wrong?  Oh how we are tempted to believe that is it OK to do something we know is wrong to do.  But, who will find out?  After all, what we do wrong is never anything big, right?  In the end, it won't really matter in the grand scheme of things? 

"What do you think?"

Back when I was a police office teaching the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program in various schools in Fort Worth, I learned a really good definition of the word "consequence."  A consequence is the the result of something you choose to do or choose not to do.  So, consequences are either positive or negative.

"What do you think?"

I believe that Jesus fully understood the possible consequences of his arriving where people were looking to arrest him.  Despite this knowledge of what lay ahead, Jesus came and in doing so fulfilled God's will.  What follows during the events of Holy Week do not make for a very pleasant story.  The physical consequences he faced were in no way "pleasant."

"What do you think?"

One consequence of Jesus' actions is that we are able to experience salvation and a closer walk with God.  As you face moral dilemmas and the decisions of character they require of you, think about doing what is right.

Do what is right . . . as you continue to clear away and make straight the path that leads to Easter.

God's grace still amazes me . . . ><>