(Photo credit: Paulette Hodges)
Who Christ Really is for Us Today - Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 40
– Purity 1012
Purity 1012 04/08/2023 Purity 1012 Podcast
Purity 1012 on YouTube: Coming Soon!
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the last night’s post sunset
twilight time comes to us from a FB friend who captured this scene near presumably
near their home in Germantown NY and shared it on social media last evening ,
commenting that there was “no filter needed”.
Well, It’s Holy Saturday and I am sharing a link to gotquestions.org’s
biblical answer to the question of “What is Holy Saturday?” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Holy-Saturday.html
) to let the curious, like I was,
know what happened on the day in between Christ’s death and resurrection.
Spoiler alert, while Christ’s disciples mourned his
loss, the Pharisees, remembering Jesus’ claim that He would rise from the dead,
were asking Pontius Pilate for a guard to put on Christ’s tomb to keep anyone
from breaking in.
However, as we all know, the Resurrection was an “inside
job” and no amount of Roman soldiers was going to stop Jesus from breaking out
of that tomb to show the world that He was who He said He was, the Messiah – The
Son of God and God the Son – and that even the grave could not hold Him down!
But on Saturday, the pharisees, the Romans, and may even
some of the disciples, believed that Jesus was dead and gone – but just in case
his enemies put a guard on him. So “Holy
Saturday” became a day of waiting even
those who didn’t believe in Him and some Christians will observe today in
somber reflection remembering Christ’s death, and the death of other Christians
who have gone into eternity before us, to acknowledge the loss but it will an
acknowledgement and remembrance that will be tempered with a hope and a
promise.
We can mourn the loss of Christ and the departed
saints today, but we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection tomorrow and still have
the hope and the promise of Christ’s return to earth to rule and reign forever
and the resurrection of all His faithful followers still to come.
So whether you choose to use Holy Saturday to remember
the loss or to rejoice over the resurrection and the hope of Christ’s promised
return, I hope you enjoy this day of waiting and have a wonderful Easter or
Resurrection Sunday tomorrow.
But speaking of mourning our losses, it may be hard
to believe but we have officially arrived at the last day of Lent, and the last
day of our current series, the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with
Day 40.
As a final reminder, and as we have said each day of
this journey, we took this path to mark the season of Lent and to draw closer
to God in anticipation of the celebration of Easter, knowing that if we took
this journey of repentance seriously, we would not only see the days and
seasons change, the Lord would use it to change us too.
And the Lord did use this walk to change us. We are at
the very least were well over 40 days older (no Lent days on Sundays remember?),
but if your walk has been similar to mine, the last 40 plus days has helped to
deliver you from some of the darkness and chaos of winter and into a new life
of spring. It was February 24th
when I started doing this devotion on the blog, on DAY 3 of Lent, yup started
late and didn’t know I was going to walk this out officially until Day 5, but
it gave me a rest I desperately needed and gave me wisdom and encouragement
that I didn’t have before. This lent I
have been a little more disciplined with my health and have seen some major
moves of God with the Freedom in Christ course and some new insights and
personal revelations through the study material, cohort community, and prayer
minister that the Deeper Walk School of Prayer Ministry’s curriculum required
me to see to “experience being a client.
This season of Lent just proves to me again the reason why I do this blog
– share the knowledge that we are to continually lean on and learn from the Lord
and if we keep “waking and talking with God” we will continue to grow and
mature as we experience the grand adventure of the new life the Lord has given
us to live.
So if you are coming in late, you can walk out this
40 day journey with Bonhoeffer for yourself, at your own pace.
You can sign up to get this devotional yourself by
going to the Biblegateway link on the blog ((https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/40-Day-Journey-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/today)) .
Day 40
Near the end of his life, Bonhoeffer
was reported to have said the following:
“What bothers me incessantly is the question…who Christ
really is for us today?”
Biblical Wisdom
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he
asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the son of Man is?” and they said,
“some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one
of the prophets?” he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter
answered, “You are the messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46
Questions to Ponder
- What is the relationship
between who Jesus was two thousand years ago and “who Christ really is for
us today”?
M.T. Clark: Well, We are going to have to go with Scripture on
this one and proclaim that:
Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever.
And that just as Jesus was close and personal to his disciples two
thousand years ago, He is close and personal to His disciples today. To be with Jesus back then, you had to follow
Him. He had places to go and people to see and if you wanted to know Him you
had to follow Him. Likewise today, if we want to know Him we have to follow Him
and we shouldn’t be surprised to discover that He has places for us to go and
people for us to see. The presence of
the Christ in our lives is a tangible reality that requires our “asking,
seeking, and knocking” for His wisdom, guidance, love, and strength but the
good news is that if we seek Him, we will find Him. So if you don’t know Him or
have experienced His presence, keep seeking Him – in His word, in prayer, and by
walking and talking with Him – and surrendering yourself to His will for your
life.
- Is there a difference
between asking who Christ is for us and who Christ is for me? Explain.
M.T. Clark: While Jesus is the same for all of us – our Lord and
Savior, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Our God and Brother, who Christ
is “for me” will be a little different for each of us because He will heal our
individual hurts and empower us with individual talents for our individual
purpose for the body of Christ and the kingdom of God. We are one body, but we are not all the same,
and Christ will be “different” to each of us as our relationship with Him will
be highly personal.
- How do we go about answering
the question about “who Christ really is for us today”?
M.T. Clark: Again, I would
point to Christ being who He said He was and the fact that He doesn’t change
and that if we want an answer to the question of “who Christ really is for us
today?”, we have to consider who we “really are” for Christ today.
If Christ is someone you only visit a couple of times a year, or
just on Sundays, at a church service, He really isn’t going to be much for you.
But if we are continually seeking to know Him more through consulting His word
and seeking His guidance in prayer and conforming ourselves to His image in the
way we live our lives, He is “really” going to be “really real” to us and He is
going to really be the answer to everything in our lives. So if you want to
know “who Christ really is for us today?”, you might want to ask yourself \:
“Do I really “believe this” (John 11:25-26)? Do I really believe
that He is the resurrection and the life? Am I really following Him? Am I for
real, in my faith?”
Psalm Fragment
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
Journal Reflections
- If
someone asked you who Christ really is for you today, how would you
answer?
M.T. Clark: If someone asked me
who Christ really is for me today, I would tell them that, Jesus is:
· My Lord and Savior
· My reason for Hope
· The One who Recued me
· The One who gave me life
· The One who paid for my
sins
· The One who forgives me
· ‘The One who loves me
· The One who has answered
all my questions
· The One who has never left
me of forsaken me’
· The One who walks with me every
day
· The Other in the Fire
· My Brother, My Lord, and
My Friend
And that’s not all, but
that’s some of who Christ really is for me, today, and every day.
- You
have finished a 40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer. How
was the journey? What did you learn from Bonhoeffer? Has your
understanding of what it means to be a Christian to follow
Jesus
changed? If so,
how? What will be different in your life of faith for having taken this
40-day journey?
M.T. Clark: The Journey was
great! I am a huge Bonhoeffer fan and admirer. If you didn’t know, I am so
zealous about his book, Discipleship (The Cost of Discipleship) that I did a
rather amateurish walk through it on YouTube (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYr9n4D1yfkpmfKHjeP5auLNK4e27Y8AX)!
So doing the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a “no brainer” when I
discovered it on Biblegateway.
My understanding of what it
means to be a Christian and to follow Jesus is always changing as the Lord
blesses those who seek to learn from Him and that surrender themselves to His
will for their life. I was blessed every
day through this study with Bonhoeffer’s writings, the scriptures, prayers, and
these questions.
What will be different because
of the study? Well, it’s now on the blog, the podcast, and YouTube now so I
pray that others find it and decided to be inspired by it to follow the Lord
and I am sure that the Holy Spirit will reserve the right to glean from the things
I have learned from it to encourage myself and others in the future.
As for me, I was on the path of
Christian discipleship before I found the study and will just keep going the
way the Lord directs me. Every ending on this path is merely a new beginning,
and so come Monday I will see what is next but I will always remember that the season
of Lent in 2023 was spent with the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Intercessions
Pray for all those
who will read this book, that their journey with Bonhoeffer might lead them
closer to Christ.
M.T. Clark:
Lord,
I thank you for the writings and faithful example of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer and pray for all who have walked out this devotional through the blog
and the podcast with us, and to all who will go on to do the devotional on
Biblegateway or who will read the book, that their journey with Bonhoeffer
might lead them closer to Christ and to inspire to live out their Christian
faith for all to see the abundant life that comes to all who learn from and
follow Jesus.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Prayer for Today
Loving God, for where
I have been and for where I am going on my journey with Jesus, I give you
thanks and praise.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
(40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Copyright © 2007
Augsburg Books, imprint of Augsburg Fortress.)
***As we are being
provided with Bible verses from the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we
will are taking a break from sharing a verse of the day from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”. We plan on
resuming that normal installment of the blog following Easter.***
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
By
ARTHUR W. PINK
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE VALUE OF THIS DOCTRINE continues
We shall now consider
the Value of the doctrine in detail.
8. It evokes a song of praise
It could not be otherwise. Why should I, who
am by nature no different from the careless and godless throngs all around,
have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and now blest
with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Him! Why was I, that once was
an alien and a rebel, singled out for such wondrous favors! Ah! that is
something I cannot fathom. Such grace, such love, “passeth knowledge.” But if
my mind is unable to discern a reason my heart can express its gratitude in
praise and adoration. But not only should I be grateful to God for His grace
toward me in the past, His present dealings will fill me with thanksgivings.
What is the force of that word “Rejoice
in the Lord alway” (Phil. 4:4)? Mark it is not “Rejoice in the Saviour,” but we are to “Rejoice
in the Lord” as “Lord,” as the Master of every circumstance. Need we
remind the reader that when the apostle penned these words he was himself a
prisoner in the hands of the Roman government. A long course of affliction and
suffering lay behind him. Perils on land and perils on sea, hunger and thirst,
scourging and stoning, had all been experienced. He had been persecuted by
those within the church as well as by those without: the very ones who ought to
have stood by him had forsaken him. And still he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord alway”!
What was the secret of his peace and happiness? Ah! had not this same apostle
written “And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). But how did he, and how do we, “know”
that all things work together for good? The answer is, Because all things are under the control of and
are being regulated by the Supreme Sovereign, and because He has naught but thoughts of love toward His own, then “all
things” are so ordered by Him that they are made
to minister to our ultimate good. It is for this cause we are to give
“thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). Yes, give thanks for “all
things” for, as it has been well said “Our disappointments are but His appointments.” To the one who
delights in the sovereignty of God the clouds not only have a ‘silver lining’
but they are silvern all through, the
darkness only serving to offset the light—
“Ye fearful saints fresh courage take
The clouds ye so much dread,
Are big with mercy
and shall break
In blessings o’er your head.”[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the
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My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), her
Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
