Saturday, March 31 - Holy Saturday

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES

My Redeemer, the one who redeems me – Lives! Because He lives, I shall live evermore. My Redeemer lives and is doing His work. What is His work? Redeeming me and all who live. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Redeemer!

The Lord redeems the life of His servants; none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:22)

How can I keep from singing this hymn of praise.

Because He Lives 
God sent his son 
They called him Jesus 
He came to love
Heal and forgive 
He lived and died 
To buy my pardon 
An empty grave 
Is there to prove 
My Savior lives

Because he lives
I can face tomorrow 
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living 
Just because he lives

Bill and Gloria Gaither (1971) 


Kaye White 

Friday, March 30 - Good Friday

Luke 23:44-46 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, He breathed His last.

During my school age years we were never in school on Good Friday so you could attend church services from 12-3. I never gave much thought to the significance of this time period as it related to the crucifixion, but I do know that it was always cold, cloudy and very dismal on that day.

Upon doing some research, it seems that several scientific phenomenon may have occurred during this period when Jesus was crucified. First, “the sun stopped shining” may insinuate that the darkness was the result of an eclipse and secondly, the tearing of the temple curtain may have been from an earthquake. I find that often before our storms here on the OBX, there is calm and darkness before “all hell breaks loose.” This shows us that at the time of our storms much like the crucifixion of Jesus - the presence of God can always be felt.


Tom Secules (1937-2017) 

Thursday, March 29 - Maundy Thursday

A DEVOTION FOR MAUNDY THURSDAY

John 13:6-9 [Jesus] came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

Knowing that this would be his last meal with his friends before he was to be handed over to death, Jesus “loved them to the end.” That’s the way John’s gospel clues us in on what is about to happen. Jesus, taking the role of a servant, kneels before his disciples to wash their feet. The One they have called “Lord” and “Teacher” lovingly takes care of the feet of the ones who have walked so many miles with him.

Peter objects, as if to say: “Lord, it should be the other way around. I should be washing your feet!” Not so many years before, John the Baptizer felt that he should have been presenting himself to Jesus for baptism.

Like bookends, Jesus’ actions of humility stand at the start and the close of his ministry. The water that marked its recipient as God’s own now becomes the sign that binds a community together in mutual love. Jesus knows he can’t physically remain with his friends, so he bids them to care for each another, as he has done for them. In the sign of loving one another, Jesus will be made known through them. (John 13:35)

As followers of Jesus, water is a foundational sign of our faith. The basin and towel of Maundy Thursday recall for us the basin and towel of baptism. We who were redeemed and reconciled to God in the water of baptism are sent as co-workers with the Risen Christ to make redemption and reconciliation known in the world.

Pastor Keith Dey 
Emmanuel Lutheran Church 
Southern Shores, NC 

Wednesday, March 28

God promised Moses that He would accomplish four redemptive acts: He would bring out the Israelites from their suffering in Egypt, rescue them from slavery, redeem them from their oppression with His outstretched arm, and take them as His own nation.

These four promises are called the Four Expressions of Redemption, and are traditionally commemorated during the Passover Seder with four cups of wine.

For each of these acts of deliverance written in Exodus 6:6–7, God used the following Hebrew words: Hotzeiti, I will bring out; Hitzalti, will rescue; Ga’alti, I will redeem; and Lakachti, I will take.

God also made a fifth expression of redemption. He promised he would bring His people back into their own land.

“And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.” (Exodus 6:8)

Two thousand years ago, when the Jewish People lived in the Promised Land, this fifth expression may have been commemorated during the Seder with a fifth cup of wine.

Although God has been rescuing the Jewish people from their exile and bringing them back into the Land, the fifth cup is often considered to represent a complete Redemption through the Messiah. This fifth cup at the Passover Seder, therefore, is called the Cup of Elijah, which is left untouched for the Prophet Elijah, who is expected to return to earth to herald the coming of the Messiah and His Messianic reign.

Even today, there are those whose bondage is so cruel and whose spirit so broken that they cannot hear those who preach the Good News of Yeshua (Jesus). Sometimes they must watch us walk in the power of God, seeing signs and wonders before they will listen and believe.

Sometimes, we must faithfully sow seeds, patiently waiting as God grows them.

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow." (1 Corinthians 3:6)

This whole account of God’s redemption of Israel from Egypt has a spiritual parallel in our salvation from the kingdom of darkness, ruled by Satan (literally, the Adversary) and our place in the Kingdom of Light, ruled by the LORD.

We are delivered from Satan through faith in Yeshua, the Passover Lamb, not simply to walk away and “do our own thing,” but to follow Jesus in our everyday lives. As it was for the Israelites, the purpose of our freedom is to serve the living God.

“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

Perry White

Based on a daily email from Messianic Bible 
news@biblesforisrael.com 

Tuesday, March 27

Luke 12:5-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

“Sparrow”

“Surely, I am not special”
An easy thought to conjure after they branded you,
left a mark,
poured sand you still carry in your arms, and chest, and throat, 
then left
carelessly, and easily,
tiring, anchoring, and shattering you.
Foolish to think they would have wanted you,
impossible to think that you’ll fly again.

I promise that your time is coming - His course is set. 
Rest your wearied heart
Build strength from the sand
You are not forgotten, or lost.
His breath will lift your wings, 
and you will be with Him, 
whole and home.


Lauren White 
Senior, Gettysburg College 
Gettysburg, PA 
Perry and Kaye White’s granddaughter 

Monday, March 26

Psalm 46: 1-4 and 11 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore. we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea; Though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. ....Be still, then, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.
You may wish to read the entire Psalm.

I grew up on the coast of Virginia, Hurricane Alley, and am well-acquainted with the awesome, sometimes terrifying, power of the ocean. The imagery of mountains falling into the heart of the sea is unfathomable to most of us in North American, and certainly in Virginia, but it could happen. That which we think of as terra firma could indeed be shaken to its core and fall away into the ocean.

Unfortunately, in our day-to-day lives, this happens figuratively all too often: a marriage falls apart; one loses the security of one’s job, one’s home, or one’s belongings; one loses loved ones and friends to tragedy or illness, or we may find our own health and well-being in jeopardy. The earth really feels as if it gives way beneath our feet.

Yet what the psalm wants us to grasp is the unshakeable truth that “The Lord Almighty is with us.” There is nothing, not even the mountains falling into the heart of the sea or the earth giving way, which can alter the fact that God is with us. With God all things are possible.

When temporal “stability” seems threatened, we are quite literally “stopped in our tracks.” This would be the perfect time to “Be still, and know that I am God.” Once so centered, we become aware that God is indeed with us, and we need not be afraid.

Jennifer Beckett (1965-2017)

This reading was written by Jennifer on March 26, 2017, when she was in treatment for cancer. It was read at her Memorial Service on December 16, 2017. We celebrate her life by including it here. 

Sunday, March 25 - Palm Sunday

If our world has a need for one thing above all things it would be RECONCILIATION! Our nation is deeply divided into “camps” of people with their feet firmly planted in concrete! We’re told that the threat of nuclear war with our “enemy,” North Korea is immanent! Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners are marked by awkward periods of silence or outbursts of anger when the conversation even edges toward politics. We’re “bubbled into” our own little kingdoms of personal opinions! Churches are far from spared!

But, as is always the case Scripture is not silent about the subject of reconciliation! The Bible insists on afflicting the comfortable as well as comforting the afflicted!

Moving from the macro to the micro, for some time I’ve been struggling about a deep, wide wall between me and a relative with whom communication has screeched to an uncomfortable halt. Recently, instead of self-righteously propping up my wall of defenses and self-justifications, I asked God for help. Within moments the Spirit pointed me once again to Jesus’ powerful words beginning in Matthew 5:21:

”I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot’ and you might just find yourself into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid’ at a sister, and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. This is how I want you to conduct yourselves in these matters. If you enter your place of worship, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right, then and only then come back and make things right with God.” (The Message)

Precisely the opposite of my mindset! Take care of the log in my eye, and let God deal with the speck in the other person’s eye!

Jesus’ command gives us pause to wonder for a moment what might happen in US, and in our relationships with others if we were to walk the walk, and call a halt to merely talking the talk! The Macro reconciliation problems are way bigger than we can handle. Thank God, God can! But, the burden is on us when it comes to the myriad of relationships in our own backyard!

Prayer: Give us your peace, Lord Christ, as we seek to let you burst the bubble of ego and self-justification that walls us off from others! May we do what you command us to do! AMEN


The Rev. Craig Peel 
Retired Minister 
Presbyterian Church USA