Holy week devotionals

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Fulfilling its Holy Week destiny (Tuesday)

Anyone alive in the 90’s and early 2000’s (which I was), is familiar with the television show “Friends.” It tells the story of a unique group of six twenty-somethings in New York City, who find themselves deeply embedded and engrossed in one another’s lives - through every up and down, and twist and turn. As is the case with basically every successful sitcom, there are multiple on again off again relationships, fashion and hairstyle trends, those who find love in…

Totally Righteous (Monday)

Words often get hijacked and repurposed, especially in modern day English. If you had asked my parents what the words cool and hot meant, they would have talked to you about temperature. Ask my grandparents and they might have told you that cool meant something that was popular or en vogue, but that hot was still reserved for whether something had come fresh out of the oven or sitting in the summer sun. When I was a young man (many…

King of what? (Palm Sunday)

There’s a famous scene from the movie Aladdin, where the poor peasant boy of the same name pretends to be a prince, and rides into town trying to impress His desired princess. There are horses, soldiers, a monkey, and even a marching band. They wave flags, sing a song, shoot off fireworks and march into town with a big to-do. “Prince Ali” sits atop his majestic animal throne and is paraded into town as the biggest deal since sliced bread,…

Easter Sunday

I’m going to be honest, I haven’t seen too many sunrises in my life. I’m not a huge what they call, “morning” person. Apparently they’re beautiful. Many people wake up just to see them I am told. You see my theory has always been, the sunset, is the exact same thing as the sunrise, just in reverse - so as long as I see one or the other, I’m good.  The Mary’s didn’t get up that Sunday morning to see…

Saturday – Cancel the coronation

The closest people to me that I have lost have been my grandparents, and my wife’s parents. My grandma died when I was in college, my wife’s mom and dad when I was in my twenties, and my other three grandparents passed away when I was in my thirties. Even though I was in different stages of life, and their deaths all happened in different ways, and we experienced each differently - I had a similar circumstance during each one.…

Good Friday – Not guilty 

Luke 23:1–5 (ESV) - Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt…

Maunday Thursday – Dinner Theater

I’ve been to the dinner theater once in my life. It was a very strange experience to be honest. People acting in front of you, all while you try and eat food you can barely see (because you’re in the dark) and trying to pay attention to them, hear them, and chew all at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the allure. I like the theater, and I like eating. Combining the two seems like a win,…

Wednesday – thirty pieces of silver

No one wakes up one day and says “today is the day I am going to ruin my life.” It happens much more slowly than that. The worst moment, the worst choice, the worst day, all sneaks up on you through small, minute, seemingly inconsequential decisions until all at once they have reached their climax. Affairs don’t begin the minute you’re with another person. Murder doesn’t spring out of nowhere the second you pull the trigger. Thieves don’t walk into…

Tuesday – Maybe this is the end?

The last few years have been fun, haven’t they? Obviously not. I am not making light, and I am picking sides. What I am saying is, everyone has suffered. Everyone has had their life changed, altered, or turned upside down because of the events we’ve gone through collectively. Some more than others, some worse than others for sure, but none of us were, or are, immune.  When we suffer, it makes us think about the end. The end our suffering,…

Monday – “Day after” moments

There’s something about the day after a big event that creates an emotional letdown. Every year our church celebrates three HUGE events; Fall kickoff, Christmas Eve, and Easter Sunday. For each one, I find myself getting amped up to eleven (on a scale of ten) with energy, passion and excitement. We celebrate enjoy the day, celebrate the wins, and then, as always, life moves on. I’ve had similar experiences with sporting events, music releases, and others of life’s “big time”…