Mosaic: Rejection Devo

March 4th, 2018

Devotional

“Mosaic: Rejection” -Matthew 9:12-13, Matthew 27: 27-31, 1 Peter 5:7

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Well and Sick” -Matthew 9: 12

I don’t know if you have ever found yourself in this situation: you pretend that the aliment you are struggling with just doesn’t exist. Or maybe you try to doctorate with it yourself, until finally you can’t ignore it any more, only by that point you are really sick. Last year, when the flu bug was going around my family I was the last to get it. Tried as I might to will myself not to get sick, I not only got sick, but had one of the worse cases in the family. 

Too many people in our world today, walk around pretending that everything is well, when really they are sick in their soul. They tell other people that they are fine, but that silly isn’t the truth, as they know that something deep within their core is off - is not as it should be.

Jesus said that those who are well are not in need of a physician, but those who are sick do need that doctor. Along the same lines, those who have it all together, they act like they don’t need a Savior, when those who recognize their own sickness in their soul proclaim that they are in need of someone greater than themselves. 

What made you realize that you were in need a Savior? 

Prayer: God, at times we act like we have it all together. Like everything is fine, when really inside we know that their is a sickness in our souls. We cry out to you this day, Lord Jesus, to come and bring us healing so that we can find new life in you. Amen. 

Tuesday: “I Have Come” - Matthew 9: 13

In a Bible Study recently, we were talking about who Christ called to follow him. It was not the people who were “well off” or those who had everything figured out. It was the people who were willing to follow him. The people who were able to realize that they needed Jesus in their lives and left behind what they were doing previously in order to be a part of this mission and movement for the Kingdom of God. 

Similarly, in this verse of scripture, Jesus said that he did not come to call the righteous but to call sinners. Often it is said that the Church is not called to be museum of the Saints, but rather a hospital for sinners, which is what Jesus is getting at here. If people don’t need the healing and new life Jesus is offering, then he isn’t going to invite them to come. If people think they are better off on their own, then Jesus is going to call those who realize that they have a God-shaped hole in their lives. Once we realize that we don’t have all the answers and are in need of a Savior, Jesus is happy to come and bring us all that he alone can offer. 

How do you introduce other people to the healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ?

Prayer: Lord, we know that we cannot go through life on our own. We know that we need you more than we can even begin to realize. Lord, we take the step of faith to hand our lives over to you as we respond to your call on our lives. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Took Jesus” - Matthew 27: 27

Recall the events that we remember together on Maundy Thursday, coming up in just a few short weeks. As we gather together around the table, we retell the powerful story of Jesus’s last night on earth with his disciples. We proclaim that Jesus took the passover meal and gave it a new meaning as he said “this is my body that is broken for you” and “this is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

At that supper he predicted that the disciples would reject him. That they would not be with him during some of the most difficult moments of his lives, yet they all asserted that they would give their very lives for Jesus. But when they found themselves in the garden, praying with him later that night, they could not even stay awake.

When the guards came, some of them put up a fight. Others fled. One had sold him out for silver coins and indented him with the kiss of betrayal. Then the guards took Jesus away. Took him to be examined for a crime that he did not commit. Took him towards what would ultimately be his death. 

In retelling that story, a lot of people today claim that they too would have stood by Jesus, yet truthfully, how many of us would have rejected him as well? How many of us reject Jesus in ways big and small throughout our days? What would it really look like for us to live lives that stood by Jesus, even in the midst of death? 

In what ways have you rejected Jesus?

What would you need in order to stand by Jesus, no matter what you may face?

Prayer: Lord, we hear the stories of martyrs around the world who gave up their very lives for you. Children, youth, and adults who would not reject you as Lord and Savior. We want to say, Precious Lord, that we would respond just like they did, but we also admit to ourselves that their are ways in our daily lives that we reject you. Forgive us, O Lord, and embolden us by your Holy Spirit to stand by you, no matter what we may face. Amen. 

Thursday: “Mocked Him” - Matthew 27: 28-31

Those putting Jesus on the circus that they called a trial, were not satisfied to simply condemn them for the crime they said that he committed. Instead, they had to mock him and humiliate him in the process - stripping him, spitting on him, hitting him. 

This was a whole new level of rejection. Many of us have also faced rejection in our lives, where people have knowingly or unknowingly harmed us - but for how many of us did it look and feel like this? Therefore, we know that whatever we may face, Jesus can truly say that he too has experienced it. And when he proclaims that we are not alone, we can trust his word. For by his strips and wounds we are healed, and he truly has experienced the rejection that can come from being humans in a sinful world.  

How have you experienced rejection before? 

How do you know that Jesus is with you no matter what you may face? 

Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you never let us stay like we are. Thank you for calling us forward in a life of holiness. Thank you for encouraging us to grow in our faith and move on towards perfection. Let us reclaim the roots of holiness in our lives, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “He Cares” - 1 Peter 5:7

Sometimes we make the claim that no one cares about us, but this is simply not true. In scripture, both in this verse, but throughout the body of the Old and New Testament, we hear again and again that Christ cares for us. We can bring anything we want to Christ in trust and confidence that he deeply cares about us. Nothing is too great or too small to lay at the foot of his cross.

Next time you feel the lie sneaking into your mind that no one cares about you and what you are going through, take it to Jesus. He has lived life and died our death and rose for our sake. He knows what it is like to live this human life, with both all of its beauty and brokenness. As you pray, know that Christ does care, as he takes your concerns upon himself. 

When do you find yourself most prone to believing the lie that no one cares?

How do you feel after you take your concerns to Jesus? 

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we know that the Devil whispers into our mind and our heart that no one cares. Free us, O Lord, from the bondage of this lie, as your wrap us in your arms of love and concern. Help us live into the light of your truth. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Mosaic: Responsibilities” - Genesis 3: 12-13 and John 14

Family Activity: Who are some of the kids in your class who others are not very nice to? How can you share with them the love of Jesus?