The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Luke 24:1-12 (day three)

“These words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe [Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, and the other women].”

The roil of emotion as the injurious cascade of events crashed into these believers overwhelmed them. To hear that what had hammered their souls might not be what they thought it was sounded to them perhaps as though their fellow disciples were at best trivializing these occurrences or at worst denying them. Can anything become unlost, unagonizing, or untrue? The categories of pain are fixed and unmoving. Only immersion into a new way of being in the world will alter those categories. Mary and company had encountered such a new way. Those encounters would so drastically re-form their lives that succeeding generations wouldn’t need to behold what they had beheld in order to experience the same shift.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 24:1-12 (day two) Why do you seek the living One among the dead?  v. 5b

There is nothing dead about our faith. It is alive, because Christ is alive. Although we give lip service to this fact, do we actually live it? Christ overcoming death is a revolutionary concept. We must take great care to not let complacency take the place of wonder. Jesus wasn’t just alive that day, he is alive now. He conquered death. May we never be comfortable with that truth. May we ever marvel at the power Jesus has over sin and death. They are defeated, not just 2000 years ago, but for all time. Our faith shouldn’t resemble a memorial service, but a joyful celebration of the ever-living, ever-giving journey that we are called to follow. Christ is Alive!

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:28-44 (day seven)

 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” vs 40

Through our last series we saw Jesus try to quiet His Messianic praise by telling those whom He healed to not tell people what had happened. It wasn’t His time yet, but what happened? The people could not help but speak of they had seen and heard!

Now we ride into Jerusalem in time for Passover. All the religious leaders in all Jerusalem are there. This is the time to lay low and quiet these claims right? Instead of quieting the crowd shouting His praise, Jesus doubles down: Even the rocks cannot help but speak of what they have seen and heard!

The rocks were silent that day. The people praised! What about today? Will you let the rocks cry out? His praise is inevitable and undeniable. The questions is not “Will He be praised?” The question is “Will you join in the praise?” For we all cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard! Acts 4:20

Hosanna! Hosanna in the Highest!

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:28-44 (day six)

“After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples.” — Luke 19:28 (NLT)

Jesus knew what was waiting for him in Jerusalem—betrayal, suffering, and the cross. Still, he didn’t hesitate. He walked ahead.

He led the way with purpose and courage. Not because it was easy, but because he saw what was on the other side. The writer of Hebrews says he endured the cross for the joy set before him. (Hebrews 12:2)

We usually do everything we can to avoid pain. But Jesus shows us another way. Sometimes joy is found not in escaping hard things—but in walking through them with faith.

Jesus once said, “Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” He wasn’t calling us to misery. He was leading us to real, abundant life.

Maybe the path to true joy is the one we’ve been avoiding.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:28-44 (day five) “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,”
What an amazing line in our Re:Verse passage. Jesus saw the city. In His heart and mind there must have been a thousand things flooding through. Fully aware that He was headed to die (Luke 18). Understanding that multiple prophesies were being fulfilled (colt, palm leaves, words and worship of the people), Jesus is moved by the sin and the suffering that embodies the city of Jerusalem. There is no hesitation or doubt that God is in control and that His plan and purpose will come to pass. Yet, there is space and grace in Jesus’ heart to not only see, but weep over the brokenness and destruction of these people. Lord give us Your eyes and Your heart as we walk and serve- that we might be tenderly moved and compassionate like our Savior and King!!

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:28-44 (day four)

While Jesus didn’t enter his coronation parade like a typical king, robed in purple and mounted on a war horse, he was still surrounded by pomp and circumstance. While Luke focuses on the reaction of the disciples, we know from the other gospel accounts that a large crowd had gathered, echoing the disciples’ praise, calling out Hosannas, waving palm branches and loudly worshipping.

In the student guide for this Re:Verse series, Patricia Beck points out the irony of this moment beautifully. While the disciples and the crowd are rightfully praising Jesus as king, Jesus isn’t reveling in glory, he’s filled with sadness. When he made the final turn in the parade toward Jerusalem, he wept over the city. We don’t know how the crowd reacted to this or who witnessed his emotion, but it’s a stark contrast to the mood of the triumphal celebration behind him.

Jesus laments over the city of Jerusalem, knowing that they would soon suffer violence and destruction. They had “missed the time of their visitation.” Their minds laid superficially elsewhere as they remained concerned about their political standing with Rome, not their spiritual standing with God. He had come to them, Immanuel, yet they missed it. How heartbreaking this scene is.

As the Holy Spirit constantly works and moves among us, may we not become so focused on earthly trials that we miss heavenly miracles. The promised one has come. Hosanna!

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:28-44 (day three)

“The Lord has need of it.”

Jesus’s way of living in this universe never took an adversarial stance. You know what that is: You fight traffic; you slog through the day; you endure meetings; you gear up for a conversation; you avoid that issue. Fighting, slogging, enduring, gearing up, avoiding – these are not open-hearted, vulnerable, curious, and connected positions in interacting with the world. They are instead protective, apprehensive, and guarded. And there are good reasons you would approach life that way. When something appears harmful, you’ll do what it takes to steer clear. But Jesus lived differently. He says, “Ask and you will receive.” He says, “Let your yes be yes.” When he had need for a donkey, he instructed his disciples to state that need plainly. This seems simple, exposed, even dangerous. Yet it begets peace and provision. Learn from him.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:28-44 (day two) Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” ⁴⁰ But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” vv. 39-40

Have you ever been in worship and judged others? That’s a loaded question, I know, but hear me out. Have you ever heard someone shout ‘AMEN’ and you have thought, ‘wow, that’s a bit over the top.’ Or maybe seen or heard someone singing or being very demonstrative in their worship and felt it was for show? At some point we have all made these kinds of judgments rightly or wrongly. The Pharisees were eager to control any narrative that wasn’t their own, and they were quick to put down anything that strayed from their narrative. No one person will react to the Lord’s presence in the same way, and we are not in a place to wonder or worry about their motivation. Our focus should not be like the Pharisees, outward – on others. Our focus should be responding to the Lord as he calls. Let’s continue to be a place where we freely allow the Spirit to move, and respond accordingly. Otherwise…the rocks are warming up.