The Devotional

Papa “J” says

Ever notice that a fool can be considered wise? But first, he must close his mouth! Proverbs 17:28

I remember days gone by when my mother would take me downtown shopping. There is something about those days that cannot be forgotten. The narrow busy streets with all the shops and department stores. The smells of roasted peanuts and the unique smell of the five and dime stores. Today, even the malls are giving way to a new way of shopping. The internet search for appliances, clothing, sporting equipments, shoes and most everything else you can think of is now available on line. By the time you receive an order of clothing from an on line purchase your waistband has increased another inch. Well, what do I mean! “I do not recall physical exercise and so-called professional athletic trainers in those days teaching the average person how to stay fit and healthy.” In days gone by we as a people were more active, WE DID THINGS! Today, we want it all done for us, including a health care program that costs little and can be ordered on line. Truly, we are a people who have become complacent, lazy and self-serving. Anytime Israel fell into this socialistic pattern, God sent another nation to their rescue by stomping the nonsense out of them.

Psalm 22

Psalm 22:1-2 About 1,000 years before the death of Christ on the cross, king David wrote this Psalm. It is a prophecy of what happened in the mind and soul of Jesus as He willingly died for the sin of the world. On a personal note; that would be your sin and mine. My sin is horrible, I wonder how you would recognize yours. The thoughts of our LORD in this Psalm are in two parts. One: what He experienced as He paid our sin debt, and Two: What He experienced when He died and returned face to face with His Father in heaven.

No doubt, Jesus loves the Father but verse one would say to you and me that the strength of that love was measured at this moment when Jesus felt His Father and the Spirit of His Father leave Him completely on His own. Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. If one were to simulate what sin does in the life of a family, forsaken would be a perfect explanation. The groan of separation and the cry for help is the roar within the heart that cannot be measured or satisfied.

The suffering of the human heart is not rare and all of us have suffered the pain of sin. So, we might find ourselves saying, “So, whats the big deal here” What makes the suffering of Christ different than our daily suffering of sin, past, present or future. Well, to this point in time Jesus did not know suffering related to personal sin. So, His experience of suffering and dying for our sinful condition, the sin of the entire world, past, present and future are beyond what we can comprehend. Did you note that sin is not plural here. It is “One” in total and complete. Yet, He did this because He loves us. Romans 5:8