Daily Prayer Guide - Thursday Apr 9 -A Covenant of Hope!

John 12:23-29

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Matthew 26:26-32

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“ ‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ^k

³² But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

A covenant of hope!

Jesus knows that the road to God’s kingdom is paved with sacrifice. It is a sacrifice that He is prepared and ready to make.  Jesus teaches his disciples that without sacrifice our lives remain singular, only about ourselves, but with sacrifice our lives bear fruit in the lives of many others. 

Today many are making significant sacrifices for the sake and well being of others.  The medical personnel and first responders are daily putting their lives on the front lines to serve others.  Our leaders, from local to national ones, are making the sacrifices necessary to provide direction and protection for millions of people.  You and I are making sacrifices to stay at home and adjust our lives in the hope that it will contain this virus soon. 

Jesus, the Son of God who lived as a man, made the ultimate sacrifice that would provide us eternal hope and he did it by establishing a covenant, which was sealed by his blood.   He demonstrates His control over the situation as he walks into the hands of His accusers fully aware of what lay ahead of Him and so he was able to say “what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour”. 

The Jews had been living under a covenant that God made with his people to deliver them from bondage.  Now Jesus establishes a new covenant that fulfills the old one and brings hope to us today.  This is a covenant of forgiveness that is sealed by His blood and is symbolized in the act of communion.  It establishes a sacred relationship between us and Jesus and provides us the ultimate hope that is stronger than our circumstances.

He brings strength to our weaknesses as He knew we would all fall away and wander off like scattered sheep, but His covenant offers us hope that he will always be there for us.  He wants His followers to believe in Him.  Not blindly, but connecting His sovereignty with the realities around us.  He is at work in the world around you today.  Do you recognize the hope He brings to your life today?

Prayer:

• Thank God that He desires to bring hope into your life.
• Confess your dependence upon Him for your hope – to make it through the doubts and darkness that your days can bring.
• Ask Him to be your strength today and to fill your heart with the hope that only He can provide.
• Ask Him to provide strength to those who are making sacrifices for others during this coronavirus situation.
• Thank Him for being your only source of hope.

Meditate:

Heb 6:19-20

19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.

Listen: “To the Cross” P Baloche  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO_V4bRIxvM