Feeling lonely and unloved? Talk to someone who cares.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love… But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).

A little boy stared at Jesus with big eyes. The child took only a few steps forward before a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.“The teacher has no time for you today,” a gruff voice said. Jesus turned from His conversation and looked to see the child’s quivering lip. “Let the little  children come to me, and do not hinder them.” The boy freed himself from the   disciple’s grasp and ran to Jesus. (Mark 10:13–16)

Love is patient.

A woman stared into the eyes of her accusers, ignoring the rocks in their hands. Who were they to judge her  She braced herself and waited for the first blow. The crowd turned to Jesus saying, “Teacher, the Law of  Moses commanded us to stone such women. What do you say?”

Jesus replied, “If  any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” The woman watched her accusers leave one by one until Jesus alone remained. ‘Has no one condemned you?’ he asked her, “Then neither do I’” (John 8:1–11).

Love is kind.

Jesus lay prostrate on the ground offering up anguished  prayers. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:39–46).

Love is not self-seeking.

The crowds mocked and jeered at Jesus as He hung on a cross. “Save yourself, if you’re the Son of God. Come down so that we may see and  believe.” But when Jesus looked at them He saw only sheep without a Shepherd and prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

The two Marys ran breathless from the tomb. Their minds raced as fast as their feet. Hadn’t Jesus said that He would come back to life?  Hadn’t He known He would suffer, and hadn’t He gone to Jerusalem anyway? They  had not understood Him then. But the empty tomb explained everything (Mark?16:1–8). A risen Christ means victory—victory over death, over sin, over Satan.

Love never fails.

Heavenly Father, God who is love, thank you for showing me your perfect love through Jesus. Teach me to love like He loves. Pour your love into my heart and out through me to the world who does not know you. Amen.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: We love because God loved first

Questions: How has Jesus shown His patient love towards you? Is there someone that you can show God’s love to this week? How?

About the Author Rebecca Sample

Are you feeling the regrets of having an abortion and need someone to talk to?

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

One day, with head hung down, the lowly subject known as Sinner found herself standing in the Presence of the King. He guided her to a rugged cross, stained with blood that had trickled down its post. He escorted her to an empty tomb, where burial cloths lay as evidence of One having been there. As He walked with her into the Garden of Easter gladness, she finally understood and accepted the sacrifice for forgiveness of sins.

Sinner became known as Saint as she daily sought the King’s Presence. Sitting at His feet, she received all the King’s blessings of the Holy Spirit for her life. Then, one day, she crawled into the Throne Room as Discouraged, seeking answers to her many trials. The King lifted her up and sent her home with His Servant Encouragement to attend her in all her ways.

Entering one day as Faithless, she timidly approached the King. He immediately forgave her and imparted His Servant Grace to fill her heart. One day, entering as Defeat, she bowed her head in shame before the Throne, asking for the King’s assistance, wondering Him why her life was a failure. He entrusted His Servant Victory to be her advocate in all the matters of her life.

Entering one day as Pride, she strutted in before the King. Shaking His head at her, He assigned His Servant Humility to kneel by her side always.?? One day, entering as Grief, she fell sobbing into the arms of the King. He gently placed His hand of Love upon her head and dispatched His Servants Comfort and Peace to wipe away her tears and accompany her to still waters.

Entering one day as Selfish, she shoved her way into the King’s Throne Room, and the Selfless Lamb appeared and stood silently beside her, wrapping His arm around her shoulders and leading her to perform sacrificial acts for others.

One day, she returned as Prodigal, collapsing in exhaustion at the feet of the King. He set her back upright, wrapped a royal robe around her shoulders, placed a golden crown upon her head, and a divine ring upon her finger, sending His Servants Goodness and Mercy to pursue her in all her ways.

In all her subsequent days, she entered the Kings’ Presence on bended knees, with her head bowed in reverence, and her hands lifted in gratitude. Praise and Worship became her closest Companions…forevermore.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:21, NIV).

What is your name today?

Questions: With what attitude are you coming before the Lord today? What is the Lord’s response to you?

About the Author Lynn Mosher

Remember the tale of the Titanic? How it was supposed to be impregnable, and nothing could poke holes in it? How it would never be sunk? Well all I can say is that human hubris knows no bounds, and that hasn’t changed in the last century.

On April 15^th 1912 the supposedly leak proof Titanic rammed into an iceberg and sank—sank like a giant stone. Sank quickly, with great loss of life.

Why do I bring this up? Because in one of the interesting ironies in recent memory, James Cameron the movie director who made the enormously successful film “Titanic”, on the night after the Oscars, will give an Oscar winning performance at a news conference along with Simcha Jacobovici who have now produced a Discovery Channel special on the discovery of Jesus’ tomb, ossuary, bones, and that of his mother, brothers, wife, and his child Jude as well! Who knew! The show will air on March 4, 2007.

In addition we are now regaled with a book by Simcha and Charles Pellegrino entitled The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation, and the Evidence That Could Change History just released today by Harper-Collins timed to co-ordinate with their news conference and the Discovery Channel special. Why should we be skeptical about this entire enterprise?

First of all, I have worked with Simcha. He is a practicing Jew, indeed he is an orthodox Jew so far as I can tell. He was the producer of the Discovery Channel special on the James ossuary which I was involved with. He is a good film maker, and he knows a good sensational story when he sees one. This is such a story. Unfortunately it is a story full of holes, conjectures, and problems. It will make good TV and involves a bad critical reading of history. Basically this is old news with a new interpretation. We have known about this tomb since it was discovered in 1980. There are all sorts of reasons to see this as much ado about nothing much:

1) The statistical analysis is of course only as good as the numbers that were provided to the statistician. He couldn’t run numbers he did not have. And when you try to run numbers on a combination name such as ‘Jesus son of Joseph’ you decrease the statistical sample dramatically. In fact, in the case of ‘Jesus son of Joseph’ you decrease it to a statistically insignificant number!

Furthermore, so far as we can tell, the earliest followers of Jesus never called Jesus ‘son of Joseph’. It was outsiders who mistakenly called him that! Would the family members such as James who remained in Jerusalem really put that name on Jesus’ tomb when they knew otherwise? This is highly improbable. My friend Richard Bauckham provides me with the following statistics:

Out of a total number of 2625 males, these are the figures for the ten most popular male names among Palestinioan Jews. The first figure is the total number of occurrences (from this number with 2625 as the total for all names, you could calculated percentages),  while the second is the number of occurrences specifically on ossuraies.

1. Simon/Simeon 243 59

2. Joseph 218 45

3. Eleazar 166 29

4. Judah 164 44

5. John/Yohanan 122 25

6. Jesus 99 22

7. Hananiah 82 18

8. Jonathan 71 14

9. Matthew 62 17

10. Manaen/Menahem 42 4

For women, we have a total of 328 occurrences (women’s names are much less often recorded than men’s), and figures for the 4 most popular names are thus:

Mary/Mariamne 70 42

Salome 58 41

Shelamzion 24 19

Martha 20 17

You can see at once that all the names you’re interested were extremely popular. 21% of Jewish women were called Mariamne (Mary). The chances of the people in the ossuaries being the Jesus and Mary Magdalene of the New Testament must be small indeed.

By the way, ‘Mara’ in this context does not mean Master. It is an abbreviated form of Martha. Probably tehe ossuary contained two women called Mary and Martha (Mariamne and Mara).
There are so many flaws in the analysis of the statistics themselves, that one must assume the statistician did not have the right or sufficient data to work with.

2) There is no independent DNA control sample to compare to what was garnered from the bones in this tomb. By this I mean that the most the DNA evidence can show is that several of these folks are inter-related. Big deal. We would need an independent control sample from some member of Jesus’ family to confirm that these were members of Jesus’ family. We do not have that at all.

In addition mitacondrial DNA does not reveal genetic coding or XY chromosome make up anyway. They would need nuclear DNA for that in any case. So the DNA stuff is probably thrown in to make this look more like a real scientific fact. Not so much.

3) Several of these ossuaries have very popular and familiar early Jewish names. As the statistics above show, the names Joseph and Joshua (Jesus) were two of the most common names in all of early Judaism. So was Mary. Indeed both Jesus’ mother and her sister were named Mary. This is the ancient equivalent of finding adjacent tombs with the names Smith and Jones. No big deal.

4) The historical problems with all this are too numerous to list here:

• The ancestral home of Joseph was Bethlehem, and his adult home was Nazareth. The family was still in Nazareth after he was apparently dead and gone. Why in the world would be be buried (alone at this point) in Jerusalem ? It’s unlikely.
• One of the ossuaries has the name Jude son of Jesus. We have no historical evidence of such a son of Jesus, indeed we have no historical evidence he was ever married;
• the Mary ossuaries (there are two) do not mention anyone from Migdal. It simply has the name Mary– and that’s about the most common of all ancient Jewish female names.
• We have names like Matthew on another ossuary, which don’t match up with the list of brothers’ names.
• By all ancient accounts, the tomb of Jesus was empty– even the Jewish and Roman authorities acknowledged this. Now it takes a year for the flesh to desiccate, and then you put the man’s bones in an ossuary. But Jesus’ body was long gone from Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb well before then. Are we really to believe it was moved to another tomb, decayed, and then was put in an ossuary? Its not likely.
• Implicitly you must accuse James, Peter and John (mentioned in Gal. 1-2– in our earliest NT document from 49 A.D.) of fraud and coverup. Are we really to believe that they knew Jesus didn’t rise bodily from the dead but perpetrated a fraudulent religion, for which they and others were prepared to die? Did they really hide the body of Jesus in another tomb?
  We need to remember that the James in question is Jesus’ brother, who certainly would have known about a family tomb. This frankly is impossible for me to believe.

Continue reading The Jesus Tomb 1.2.
Dr. Ben Witherington III is currently a professor at the Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky since 1995. He completed his Ph.D at the University of Durham, England in 1981. During his career, he has written more than 30 books and six commentaries including: The Gospel Code: Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Da Vinci (2004) and The Brother of Jesus. The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family (2003) with Hershel Shanks. Learn more about Dr. Witherington’s credentials and work.

A Discover Channel documentary boldly proclaimed that the “Lost Tomb of Jesus” had been found, including an ossuary (bone box) which purportedly contained the remains of Jesus himself. The documentary was derided by both Christian clergy and secular scholars as being misleading and deceitful, the critical conclusion being that this was not, nor was it ever, Jesus’ tomb, and rather another example of sensational journalism in order to get ratings.

As believers in God’s Word, we know that this sort of discussion is foolishness from the start. In Matthew’s gospel we read:

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earth-quake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven … The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. … So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (Matthew 28:1-10).

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” When the women heard this, they were “afraid yet filled with joy”. This is because, while they had knowledge of the events that had occurred, they had not yet met the risen Christ. When Jesus appeared to them for the first time in his renewed, transformed body a short time later, he said to the “Do not be afraid.”

As you reflect upon Jesus’ resurrection during this Easter period, consider his glorious re-appearing which assures us that “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Corinthians 6:14). In repudiation to the “Lost Tomb of Jesus”, the angel proclaims “He is not here; He is risen.” Do not be afraid, as someone who does not know Jesus personally, but instead open your heart to experience the joy that flows from a fully formed relationship with the God who lives.

Thank you Lord, that the grave is empty, You are alive and You walk with me daily. I praise Your name! Amen.

Questions: Take time to reflect on what Easter is really all about and how it has affected your life personally.

About this Author Darren Hewer

Daily audio podcast: Hear today’s daily devotional, He is not here; He is risen, read aloud, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Has someone you love died? Then you know the feelings death detonates in your body: anger, self-pity, depression, confusion, grief, anguish.

Scripture tells of Jesus’ close friend, Lazarus, who was sick. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, quickly sent word. “Come, Lord, and save him!” But incredibly, Jesus didn’t come. Lazarus died. The sisters entombed Lazarus and sank into grief and confusion. Where was the Lord? Jesus could’ve saved their brother! Weren’t they his closest friends? Four days later Jesus finally showed up! Martha, beside herself with grief, accused, “Jesus, if you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” John 11:1-43

Jesus quietly answered, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this” (John 11:25-26)? I don’t think Martha had a clue what He meant. Would you?

They walked to the tomb and Jesus commanded the stone sealing the entry be rolled away. Then, stunning everyone, he commanded, “Lazarus, come out!” Instantly Lazarus stood before him! Alive! Jesus ordered the grave clothes removed and mayhem followed as incredulous onlookers gawked and shouted, pushing and shoving to get a better look. Did anyone pinch Lazarus to see if this miracle was real? I would’ve.

Jesus’ name is The Resurrection and The Life. His dying is mankind’s only hope, then and now.

Resurrection in Greek means anastasis: literally a resurrection from the dead; a standing up again. Can we wrap our minds around that? Jesus promises to stand us on our feet again. Not just when we die but when we fail or sin. Faith in Him opens the door for this miracle of new life, eternal life.

Lazarus is Jesus’ ‘show and tell’ of His power to stand men up again. Jesus later demonstrated His power over His own death by rising on the third day after crucifixion. He has the authority and power to lay down his life and stand up again alive. John 10:18 He is resurrection. He is life. No other god has that power.

Jesus gives eternal life to those who believe Him. “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9).

Jesus wakened Lazarus from death so Jesus would get glory, people would see His glory and believe, and so Lazarus would live again.

Do you know this astonishing God who raises dead folks? Who lifts us into abundant newness of life now no matter our trials and heartaches and promises a tomorrow seated next to Him in Heaven?

Ask Him if He’s real. Test Him and see if He answers. But watch out, Jesus will call your name, remove your grave clothes and stand you on your feet. Forever.

Father of Life, resurrect me from my grave and unwrap me to newness of life. I believe, help my unbelief. Thank you, amen.

Questions: Do you know this Jesus who is ”The Resurrection and The Life”? If you know Him, what difference has He made in your life?

About the Author  Petey Prater

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Cross: Why we Believe, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30am EDT.

Is God’s timetable too slow for you sometimes? In John 11, we read about the death of Lazarus. Mary and Martha sent word to their dear beloved friend Jesus to let him know their brother Lazarus had become very ill. They expected him to come heal their brother but he did not come and they wondered why. However, Jesus had different plans, He told the disciples, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it”. He loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus very much but stayed in Galilee teaching and healing the sick.

Two days later Jesus told his disciples that it was time to go to Judea to see Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. When they arrived, they learned that Lazarus had been dead for four days. Martha told Jesus that if he had come sooner her brother would not have died. Nevertheless, Jesus went to the grave deeply moved, asking to have the stone removed from the tomb. Martha said, “But Lord, he’s been dead four days and stinketh”. Jesus told her “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God.” Then Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out” and Lazarus came out of the tomb.

We can learn several lessons from this story. When we pray asking God for something, we get discouraged as Mary and Martha did because he does not answer immediately or on our timetable. However, think of all the people that had the opportunity to be healed and hear Jesus teach during those two days, who would not have been healed, if he had left Galilee right away. Jesus was the God’s Son and knew the Father’s plan and His timetable. It was not God’s plan to heal Lazarus. He wanted to glorify his Son by raising Lazarus from the dead. Isn’t it great that when we think God is four days late by our timetable He is still on time?

Our finite minds simply cannot grasp God’s infinite ways of answering our prayers. We have no idea how many times we have prayed and He is waiting for the proper time to answer. Sometimes God needs to work on our hearts our character or another person before he can answer our prayer.

Are you getting tired of waiting on God to answer your prayers? Are you disappointed and frustrated because God is not answering on your timetable? Does God want to develop character in your life or in the lives of those for whom you are praying before He is ready to answer? We often have to remind ourselves that God’s way and timing are perfect. He knows best!

Dear Father, I want to thank you for privilege of bringing my concerns to you. Give me patience as I wait for you to work out your plan and your timing to answer my prayers. Help me to trust you and your Word as I grow in my confidence as I wait for you to answer. In Jesus Name, Amen

Questions: Is God’s timetable too slow for you sometimes? How do you respond when God does not answer your prayers according to your plans?

About the Author Lillian Penner

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Sufferings of His Broken Heart, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog