PROTECTING UNITY

 April 8, 2026

Ephesians 4:1–6

4 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: 4 there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

The Apostle Paul urges us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” In a fractured world, that calling looks like choosing unity when division feels easier.

Paul suggests four postures that make unity possible: humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love. I want to suggest to us today that these postures are not natural responses, but they are resurrection responses. They demonstrate that Christ’s life is at work in us.

Let's remember that unity does not mean we all think the same or feel the same. It means we let the Spirit shape how we treat one another. Paul says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Unity is a gift from God, but I believe, we should also recognize that unity is also a responsibility we guard carefully as Jesus' Followers.

The foundation of our unity is not preference or personality, it is Christ Himself. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. What we share in Him is stronger than anything that could divide us.

As people of the resurrection, we show the world a new way to live, one where love overcomes fear, hope outshines cynicism, and Christ is greater than every brokenness around us.

Today's Action Step

Where is God inviting you to choose unity this week?

Which posture, humility, gentleness, patience, or love, needs fresh resurrection life in you?

Let's Pray

Risen Lord, help us to protect the unity You’ve given us. Teach us to grow in humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Hold us together by Your Spirit so our life reflects the hope of Your resurrection. Amen.

A GIFT. A PRESENCE. A PROMISE.

 April 7, 2026

John 20:19–21

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

The disciples are hiding behind locked doors, and honestly, it’s not hard to relate to, is it?

When life feels uncertain, overwhelming, or just plain exhausting, we tend to do the same thing, lock things down. We shut people out. We brace ourselves. We try to manage our anxiety by controlling whatever we can.

In our reading today we witness that it is in this kind of anxious, worrisome and fearful space that Jesus shows up.

He doesn’t knock. He doesn’t wait for them to calm down. He doesn’t say, “Get it together first.”

He simply stands among them and says, “Peace be with you.”

It’s not a slogan. It’s a gift. A presence. A promise.

Jesus brings peace into the room, not after the anxiety is gone, but while it’s still swirling in the air. And then He breathes on them, literally breathes resurrection life into their fear, and sends them out with purpose.

Maybe that’s the reminder we need after Easter: Resurrection isn’t just about an empty tomb. It’s about a Savior who walks through our locked doors and speaks peace into the places we’ve been holding tight.

Today's Action Step 

Notice one place where anxiety has been shaping your reactions.

Let's Pray

“Jesus, breathe Your peace into the places I’ve been holding tight.”

HOPE OVER FEAR

 April 6, 2026

Matthew 28:1–10

28 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.

I wonder if some days you wake up and feel like the women at the tomb? You are doing the faithful thing, yet carrying a knot of fear in your stomach. The women were not expecting a miracle that day. They were expecting to manage their grief, not be the witnesses to resurrection.

In truth, many of us begin our days this way, present in body, yet guarded and bracing for what lies ahead.

But then God does what God always does: He changes the course, God alters the script.

An earthquake. An angel. A stone rolled away. It’s as if heaven says, “Fear doesn’t get the final word today.” And when the angel says, “Do not be afraid,” it’s not a rebuke. It’s an invitation. Almost like: “You’re seeing things as they were. Let Me show you how they are now.”

The women came expecting death. They left carrying hope. They came trembling. They left running. They came as mourners. They left as messengers.

That is resurrection at work, fear doesn’t miraculously disappear, but it loses its authority, its grip. Hope rises in the places where fear once ruled. 

And maybe that is the invitation for us today: Don’t wait until we feel brave and courageous. But to lean in and continue to walk toward Jesus even while you are afraid. 

Matthew 28:9-10 ends this account with these words: "Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  

Do you hear that? Jesus meets us on the way as we are doing the faithful thing!

Today's Action Step

Name one fear that’s been shaping your decisions lately.

Let's Pray

“Risen Jesus, help me walk toward You even when I feel afraid.” Amen.

WAITING in the SILENCE

 April 4, 2026

Matthew 27:62-66

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." 65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

This passage is the only text that speaks of the Saturday between Crucifixion (Good Friday) and Jesus' Resurrection (Easter Sunday).

Today is often called Holy Saturday—but honestly, I think of it as the “in-between day.”

Yesterday was Good Friday. Maybe you were in a service, read something meaningful, or just paused to remember what Jesus went through. And naturally, our minds tend to jump ahead to Easter—the celebration, the hope, the joy.

But in the days of Holy Week, I find that it’s Saturday that feels real. 

It’s the quiet day. The numb day. The day where nothing seems to be happening and no one knows what comes next. I imagine the disciples sitting in that space, confused, afraid, maybe not even sure how to comfort each other. Everything they thought was certain had just fallen apart.

And honestly… that feels familiar.

We all know “in-between” days like that. After loss. After disappointment. After life doesn’t go the way we hoped. The days after the funeral. The weeks after everything changes. The waiting between diagnosis, treatment, and answers. Those are often the hardest moments—when nothing is fixed yet, and hope feels far away.

That’s where Holy Saturday meets us.

It reminds us that even when it feels like nothing is happening, God is still at work. On that first Holy Saturday, no one could see it, but God was already preparing resurrection. Already writing a new future.

And maybe that’s the quiet promise for us too:

Even in the waiting…
Even in the grief…
Even in the unknown…

God isn’t done yet.

LET'S PRAY

God,

In these in-between moments—when we feel the weight of waiting, the ache of loss, and the uncertainty of what comes next—help us to trust that You are still at work.

When hope feels distant, remind us that You are near.
When we cannot see the way forward, remind us that You are already there.
When our hearts are heavy, hold us in Your peace.

Teach us to rest in You, even in the silence, believing that You are not finished yet.

Amen.

TO THE END

 April 3, 2026

John 13:1

“Having loved his own who were in the world, 

he loved them to the end.”  

That phrase, “to the end” I believe, is the heartbeat of Good Friday. Jesus doesn’t love halfway. He doesn’t love conditionally. He doesn’t love until it becomes inconvenient. He loves to the very end of Himself.

Good Friday is not about God punishing Jesus. It’s God in Christ taking upon himself the worst of humanity; violence, betrayal, pride, and fear, and choosing not to respond in the same way.

Jesus doesn’t save us from suffering by avoiding it. He saves us through suffering by entering it. Because He carried the cross, we don’t carry ours alone.

Good Friday invites us to sit in the silence, not to rush to Easter, not to skip the ache, but to let the weight of love settle on us.

LET'S PRAY

Lord Jesus, On this holy day,
we remember Your love that went all the way to the end.
Teach us to love with courage, to forgive with generosity, and to walk in the way of the cross, the way that leads to life. Amen.

THURSDAY: ARE YOU GOING TO WASH MY FEET?

 April 2. 2026

John 13:1-15

13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 

Today is Maundy Thursday, a day of Holy Week that Jesus' followers remember the last evening Jesus shared with his disciples in the upper room before his arrest and crucifixion. Maundy Thursday marks three key events in Jesus’ last week: his washing of his disciples’ feet, his institution of the Lord’s Supper, and his new commandment to love one another. The name “Maundy Thursday” comes from the Latin “mandatum novum”, referring to the “new commandment” Jesus taught his disciples (John 13:34). In other words, this is “new commandment Thursday.”

 

We read in Verse 1 above, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” On the night before the cross, Jesus does something unexpected.

He kneels at the feet of each of the disciples.

The One who has all authority over heaven and earth, wraps a towel around His waist and begins washing His disciples’ feet,  even the ones who will fail Him, deny Him, and betray Him. Let that sink in.

This is the heart of Jesus:
love that serves, even when it knows the cost.

Peter resists at first, like many of us, uncomfortable with being served. But Jesus makes it clear to Peter and to you and me, that we cannot follow Him unless we first let Him wash us.

That’s where this Maundy Thursday begins:
not with what we do for Jesus, but with what He does for us.

Then Jesus gives a command:
“Do as I have done for you.”

Simply put Jesus is saying:

Love like this.
Serve like this.
Humble yourself like this.

Today, we are invited to receive His grace…
and then to give it away.

LET'S PRAY

Jesus,
You knelt to serve and showed us what love looks like.
Wash us with Your grace,
and teach us to love others the same way.
Amen.

THE PLOT THICKENS

 APRIL 1, 2026

Matthew 26:1-5

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”


Matthew 26:14-25

14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

It is to be noted that even as the cross was drawing closer, Jesus stayed  calm and in control. He talked about his arrest and crucifixion before the religious leaders had even met to plan it. He knew Judas, one of his own friends, was going to betray him. Imagine how unsettling that must have been for Judas, realizing Jesus could see right through him. People can scheme all they want, but God’s plan always wins out. Nothing can get in the way of what he intends to do. And at the center of that plan was Jesus, the Son of Man, being handed over to be crucified.

His last meal, the Passover, wasn’t just a tradition, it pointed to the whole reason he came. Passover celebrated Israel’s escape from slavery in Egypt. Jesus’ death became a new kind of Passover. Anyone who trusts him experiences a true Exodus, freedom from the hold of sin. With that freedom comes the joy of living in his love forever.

I believe the message for us today is that when life feels chaotic or when it feels like  everything is falling apart, it helps to remember what Jesus went through at the end of his life. People plotted against him and carried out their plans, but they still couldn’t stop God’s bigger purpose. It’s comforting to know that nothing can disrupt the plan of the One who’s truly in control, and that He’s working out every detail for good. When we look to Jesus, especially His sacrifice for us, we see that God ultimately desires for us to have life, freedom, and love.

LET'S PRAY

God, keep our focus on Jesus, the center of your plan. Since you’ve forgiven us, help us walk each day in that freedom, living fully devoted to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

CLEANSING

 MARCH 31, 2026

Mark 11:15-19

¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

 

Each year at Passover, huge crowds of Jewish people headed to Jerusalem from all over Israel and Judea to offer sacrifices at the temple. For many of them, it was just easier to buy an animal once they arrived instead of hauling one along on a long trip and risking it getting hurt or not being acceptable. So over time, buying your sacrifice in the city just became the normal option.

In today’s reading the issue wasn’t the buying, it was where all of this was happening. The marketplace had taken over the Court of the Gentiles, which was supposed to be the one space where non-Jewish people could come and pray and seek God. But during Passover, that area was crammed with animals, vendors, and money changers exchanging different currencies.

So, when Jesus walked in he was angered by the scene, enough to start flipping tables and shut it all down. Why this reaction? It looked like people were just providing a service, helping others worship, helping them obtain the animals for sacrifice. The issue was that they were doing it in a way that pushed others out. When Jesus called them “robbers,” he wasn’t just talking about dishonest business, he was calling out the fact that they were taking away people’s chance to come near to God, by taking over the Court of Gentiles.

I think there is an even deeper meaning here. In another Gospel, when people asked Jesus to prove his authority, he said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) They thought he meant the Temple building, but he was talking about himself. (John 2:21) What Jesus was saying is huge: everything the temple stood for, the sacrifices, the priests, even God’s presence, was all pointing to him. Jesus is the true Passover Lamb. He is the Great High Priest. He is God with us.

So when in Mark 15:38, the temple curtain tore at his death, it was a sign that the barrier between God and people was gone, for everyone. Jesus became the place where anyone, from any background, could come and meet God.

Now worship isn’t tied to a building or a location. Jesus himself is the place where we meet God, a true “house of prayer for all nations.”

Jesus is the temple. He is where we meet God.

LET’S PRAY

Jesus, thank You for being the place where we meet God.Make our lives a house of prayer,  open, generous, and centered on You.Let Your Spirit guide us, reshape us, and draw us deeper into Your love.  Amen.

ANNOINTED

MARCH 30, 2026 

Holy Week - MONDAY

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

When the woman poured her expensive perfume on Jesus, some people were furious. “What a waste!” they said. From their point of view, it made no sense—she could’ve sold it and helped a lot of people.

But Jesus shuts that down immediately. He refuses to let their cost‑benefit mindset define what matters. Absolutely, the perfume was valuable. True enough, the money could have gone to the poor. But Jesus sees something deeper: this was an act of worship. And worship always reveals what’s at the center of your life.

I believe we know that in life, when our focus, what we worship is something other than our Creator, everything else falls out of balance. But when you worship the living God, the One who gave Himself for us through Jesus, you start to see what truly matters. Your priorities shift. Suddenly, “wasting” your life on Jesus doesn’t feel like a waste at all. It feels right. It feels beautiful. And it naturally leads you to care about the things He cares about, standing up for justice while showing compassion to those who need it most.

Now, Jesus isn’t downplaying the needs of the poor here. He’s actually quoting Deuteronomy 15, a passage that calls God’s people to radical generosity. But generosity flows from worship. Get the first thing right—God—and everything else, falls into place.

When God is first, your life becomes something poured out in all kinds of beautiful ways for the sake of the world.


LET'S PRAY

Lord, I admit that I often give my worship to the wrong things. Teach me what it means to pour out my life for You, trusting that You’ll make something beautiful out of it. In Christ’s name, Amen.

What a Generous Invitation

 March 27, 2026

Isaiah 55:1-7

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”


6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Isaiah 55 opens with the most generous of invitations in Scripture: “Come, all you who are thirsty.” God calls not the strong, but the thirsty; not the wealthy, but the empty. His grace is offered without money and without cost because the One who invites us has already paid the price.

The prophet asks a question that still searches us today: Why do we keep spending our energy on things that don’t satisfy? We chase success, approval, comfort, and control, and .... yet none of them can nourish the soul. Only God can.

Three times Isaiah says, “Listen.” Why such repetition? I believe it is because life begins not with striving, but with hearing God's voice, His mercy, His promises, His covenant love.

And then we hear the words of call: “Seek the Lord… return to Him, for He will freely pardon.” Remember, repentance is not a scolding; it’s a homecoming. God meets returning hearts with mercy and grace.

May we bring our thirst, our hunger, and our wandering hearts to the One who satisfies.

Let's Pray

God, help us listen for your voice, and as we hear it, guide us to turn back to you. May we find our joy and fulfillment in you. Stir within us a renewed sense of anticipation, knowing that those who trust you are never disappointed. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Innocent Sufferer

 March 26, 2026

Jesus’ life was significant, but not in the ways people usually celebrate. He wasn’t chasing comfort, popularity, or influence. Those were the temptations that the Devil brought to him, but Jesus stayed the course of his calling. Instead of surrounding himself with wealth or status, he chose to live among struggling people every day. Instead being driven by political aspirations or power, he talked about a kingdom built on serving others. By normal World standards, Jesus’ life looked unsuccessful, he was rejected, misunderstood, and eventually executed in humiliating way. Yet what we witness is that instead of failure, Jesus revealed greatness through love, obedience, and selflessness.

Today’s scripture suggests that even looking at him from the outside, you’d never guess he was the One who created and holds the entire universe together. It goes on to say, there was nothing striking or impressive about his appearance, nothing that would make people stop and stare, yet, he, the suffering servant, our Jesus, was in truth the  very source of all beauty. No,  he was rejected, dismissed, and misunderstood. We read today that Jesus  carried sorrow so heavy that people couldn’t even look at him, they turned away from him.

He was beaten, wounded, crushed, and suffered in ways we can hardly wrap our minds around. And the most staggering part of all this is that he was completely innocent, the most righteous person who has ever lived.

What we need to take in today, and this is so powerful, Jesus went through all these things in so that that we would never have to. I think I should write that again! Jesus went through all these things in so that that we would never have to.  He suffered more than we could handle and was punished for sins he didn't commit. The last verse compares us to sheep, lost and stubborn, but our wrongdoing was placed upon him. He emptied himself of all his heavenly wealth so we could gain through his sacrifice.

No wonder we sing at this time of year the following:

What language shall I borrow
to thank Thee, dearest Friend,
for this, Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever!
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love for Thee.

 

Let’s Pray

God, thank you for your kindness and compassion through your son Jesus. It is only through his wounds that we are healed. Renew us daily in the joy of our salvation.

The Obedience of the Servant

 March 25, 2026

Isaiah 50:4-9

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
I have not been rebellious,
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up

Our verses today present a contrast: one side depicts God’s faithful servant who listens and obeys, while the other shows those who reject him and subject him to abuse. Interestingly, it is the obedient individual who ultimately suffers on behalf of the disobedient. Though he is struck, mocked, and spat on, he stays determined, enduring hardship for a greater purpose. His sacrifice brings redemption to his people.

The New Testament writers are clear that this servant is Jesus. He set his face toward Jerusalem, fully aware of what was coming (Luke 9:51). He was beaten, mocked, and spat on (Mark 15:19–20). He suffered not because he messed up, but because we did. His whole life was marked by obedience, even when that obedience led him straight to the cross (Philippians 2:5–9).

Throughout it all, Jesus maintained his role as the sinless servant (Hebrews 12:2). Who “For the joy set before him he endured the cross.” His joy came from knowing that his obedient suffering would bring redemption to his people.

The Bible tells us, that same joy is still ahead of us. Life can be hard, there’s no denying that, but because we belong to Christ, we share in His victory. So, we just keep going, taking up our cross and following Jesus, the One who’s already walked this road before us, the sinless Savior who leads the way.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus, His life, His death, and His resurrection. Help this good news steady us and lift our hearts, even when life is hard, so we can still find joy.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

To the Ends of the Earth

March 24, 2026 

Isaiah 49:1–6

49 Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
and my reward is with my God.”
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honoredj in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

As the season of Lent progresses toward Holy Week, my practice has been to spend some time with the words and message of the Prophet Isaiah. We began yesterday with Isaiah 42:1-9 and the message about Jesus, the true “Chosen One,” the only one worthy of our worship, God’s servant, compared to the short-lived benefits of Idols.

 

Today, Isaiah 49 opens with a message for the whole world, “Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations” (Isaiah 49:1). These words are global in scope, however, the words are being heard first by Israel, a people who were bruised, exiled, and wondering if God had forgotten them. They anxiously awaited rescue, uncertain of its source.

Then Isaiah declares this surprising announcement: God has a servant, someone He’s been preparing for this exact moment, who will bring His people back. But here’s the twist: this servant won’t appear on the scene with armies or political power.  Instead, did you notice this? His strength comes from his words, his message, his mission (Isaiah 49:2). True salvation comes not by military force, but from truth, compassion, and selfless love.

And then comes the real shocker: this servant is called Israel (v. 3). Not the nation, but a person, the ideal Israel. The one who embodies everything Israel was meant to be. Remember God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12? Israel was to be a blessing to all nations. They never fully lived that out. So, who will?

This servant will. I am so deeply moved by this; this servant won’t just bring restoration to Israel. Listen again to what we read above, God says, “It is too small a thing” for him to save only one nation. He will be “a light to the nations” (Isaiah 49:6), bringing God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.

That is how we know God is good. He didn’t just see Israel’s brokenness; He saw the world’s brokenness. And instead of leaving us in that broken state, God stepped in. The Hebrew in verse 49:6 literally reads that this servant will be God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.

Not just bring salvation. Not just announce salvation. Be salvation.

That’s Jesus. His life, death, and resurrection are the proof that God is good, because God didn’t just send help; He came Himself.

Let's Pray 

Jesus, our suffering servant and Redeemer, thank you for entering our world and becoming our salvation. Help us to truly embrace your goodness, your love, and the hope we have through your death and resurrection. Amen.