We’re getting closer and closer to losing our home, one of my co-workers has stopped giving me rides, and this morning, my other co-worker told me he’s resigning—meaning my rides to work will be gone in a couple of weeks.
But despite all of this, God has provided for us every single day. We have not gone without, and He remains faithful!
This was one of my scripture readings today:
Psalm 131
1 My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.
Tom has been fasting since Friday, and I’m so glad. I’ve been praying that he would surrender his eating habits to the Lord—not as the reason for fasting, but as a side benefit of seeking God’s face instead of food.
He’s also learning so much from Jesus Has Left the Building! It’s challenging his thinking in new ways, helping him not just accept things at face value. Over the past few days, we’ve been reconsidering why we’re going through the HMI licensing path and decided this morning that we need to stick with it, regardless of whether we feel like we "need" it or not.
Tom’s parents have decided to sell their house and buy a brand new condo in a 55 and older building. He’s working through some emotions about it, and we’ve decided that he should fly out for their “goodbye to the house” gathering. I know he’s missing his family, so I think this trip will be good for him.
I wish I could go too, but financially, it's just not an option right now. Lately, I’ve been feeling an increasing urge to quit my job. I don’t know when, but I feel like I’m getting closer to that decision.
As I was reading Luke 22 today, I noticed some things I hadn’t seen before:
The Last Supper
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
I don’t remember ever realizing that Jesus was betrayed on the same night as the Passover. The connection is so significant.
19 And he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
I also never thought about how the breaking of bread and the drinking of the cup happened at the beginning and end of the meal. Since we always take communion one element after another, I’ve always pictured Jesus doing it that way too.
It made me think… when we start the house church, maybe we should begin with a meal and have communion throughout—rather than just in a structured way. Not as a formula or ritual, but as a meaningful way to share in communion together. Just a thought.
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
I had never noticed the phrase “exhausted from sorrow” before. It makes me wonder—did the disciples know more than the scriptures tell us about what was about to happen to Jesus? Or was there another reason for their deep sorrow?
And another thing struck me—the silliness of the betrayal itself.
Why did they even need Judas to identify Jesus? He had been teaching publicly all along, so why did the religious leaders suddenly act like they needed Judas to show them who He was? What exactly did Judas tell them to justify His arrest?
They had been looking for a way to kill Jesus for some time but feared the people. What about Judas’ betrayal suddenly changed that? Of course, I know the ultimate reason—it was Jesus’ time. Before this moment, it wasn’t—but now, it was. Still, the whole situation seems so strange when you step back and think about it.
Jesus, thank You for Your Word that speaks to us daily, revealing the very nature of God.
Thank You for Your incredible love and sacrifice—that You, the Passover Lamb, willingly gave Yourself to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we could be reconciled to God.
What an amazing act of love!
Lord, please help me to take up my cross daily and die to myself for You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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