Today is Palm Sunday and it is a glorious day in the life of the church. It is both interesting and ironic that the circumstance of what drove Jesus to the cross are alive and well today. You see, people want to be saved form tragedy and hard times, but they don’t want to be told that they need a savior because of their sins. People equally want someone to lead them to a better life, but they don’t want anyone to lord over them. These truths were active in Jesus’ day and they remain alive and well today. But these are exactly the reasons why Jesus had to make His way to the cross. We, if left to ourselves, will always choose autonomy and sin. We will not stand for anyone telling us what to do, or that we are doing wrong. We know that this is the case for all mankind and we prove it when someone calls us out on who we are. We get resentful and seek out consolation from those who think like we do and agree with us. But once again, this is why we can’t save ourselves and more importantly, this is why we need Jesus as both Savior and Lord.
This week, the week before Resurrection Sunday, is known as Holy Week. Let us take this time to reflect upon our lives, our relationship with Jesus and our spiritual health. There has been much talk and attention placed on the world-wide pandemic but let us take this week to realign our minds on what matters eternally. Long after this pandemic is behind us, long after we have developed a cure and vaccination for the coronavirus, we will continue to need Jesus our Lord. So, I would like to invite you to fast, read Scripture and pray with me this week. This may sound foreign or even futile to some, but I believe that it is these practices that develop deep spiritual disciplines within our lives and draw us closer to Jesus Christ.
You can fast in many different ways; some fast all day, others fast for a specific meal and still others fast from specific activities like watching television or getting on social media. The choice is yours, but the point is to remove yourself (temporarily) from the dependency of whatever you’re fasting from in order to focus your attention and trust in God. During a time of fasting, it is vital to this practice to devote yourself to the reading of Scripture and prayer. This can be achieved by pausing throughout your day for 5-15 minute intervals. I believe that it is these intimate moments that yield the greatest fruit. My hope for you and I is that we would grow spiritually, Biblically and through this, we would become a stronger witness for Christ.
Here are some Bible verses that I think would help you along this spiritual path.
Monday – Psalm 69:1-3 & 34-36 (We are helpless without God, but God always saves His own)
Tuesday – Psalm 123 (Developing a humbled frame of mind – we are not equal with God)
Wednesday – Psalm 51:1-12 (Developing a heart of repentance)
Thursday – Psalm 92 (Worshiping God for the wisdom He bestows)
Friday – John 19 (The true meaning of sacrificial love)