Tag: Gospel of Luke

Morning Reading: Luke 22.54-62 NLT – not me

Reading: Luke 22:54-62 NLT

So they arrested him and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there.

"The Denial of St. Peter" Gerrit van Honthurst, c. 1623
“The Denial of St. Peter”
Gerrit van Honthurst, c. 1623

A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!” But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!”

After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!” “No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted.

About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.” But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter.

Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Fill me with a spirit of repentance and remorse for the times that I have denied you.  May I weep with Peter over my weakness of resolve. Forgive me… and give me the the courage to follow you… come what may. May I honor you in all things. Amen.

Hymn: “Are Ye Able,” Said the Master –  Earl Marlatt (1926)

“Are ye able,” said the Master, “to be crucified with me?” “Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered, “to the death we follow thee.”

Refrain: Lord, we are able. Our spirits are thine. Remold them, make us, like thee, divine. Thy guiding radiance above us shall be a beacon to God, to love, and loyalty.

Are ye able to remember, when a thief lifts up his eyes, that his pardoned soul is worthy
of a place in paradise?

Are ye able when the shadows close around you with the sod, to believe that spirit triumphs, to commend your soul to God?

Are ye able? Still the Master whispers down eternity, and heroic spirits answer, now as then in Galilee.

Morning Reading: Luke 22:47-53 NLT- darkness reigns

Reading: Luke 22:47-53 NLT

Judas KissBut even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.

But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – When I find myself overwhelmed by betrayal and darkness… remind me that, in the end, you win. Amen.

Spiritual: “What do you think about Jesus” (He’s alright)

Morning Reading: Luke 22.39-46 NLT – your will

Reading: Luke 22:39-46 NLT

Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives.

image

There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”

He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.

He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief.

“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father – Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. Thy will be done… in me. In Jesus’ name, I ask it. Amen.

Hymn: “Go to Dark Gethsemane” – James Montgomery (1825)

Morning Reading: Luke 22.35-38 NLT – armed and ready

Reading: Luke 22:35-38 NLT

Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler’s bag, or an extra pair of sandals, did you need anything?”

“No,” they replied.

packing light“But now,” he said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one! For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among the rebels.’ Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.”

“Look, Lord,” they replied, “we have two swords among us.”

“That’s enough,” he said.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – I understand packing and getting ready to travel. And I understand the counter-culture threat your followers pose to prevailing societal norms. But I don’t understand arming myself… except with the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”  So give me both wisdom and and innocence… that I might be a faithful bearer of your Good News – fully clothed in your heavenly armor… and prepared to go when you call. Amen.

Hymn: “Song for the Nations” – Chris Christensen

6th Sunday of Easter: Revelation 21.10-14, 22-27 NLT – new Jerusalem

Reading: Revelation 21.10-14, 22-27 NLT

new-jerusalem-coming-down-out-of-heavenSo he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west. The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty— but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – deliver me from evil and write my name in your Book of Life. For your name’s sake, I ask it. Amen.

Spiritual: “Twelve gates to the city / I bid you goodnight” – Robert Plant & Band of Joy