DAY 28 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection and devotion. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

THE POINT OF THE CROWN: "The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorian...And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head." Matthew 27:27-29

The devotional makes a great point about what I'll call stress. It may manifest itself as worry or doubt or fear or anxiety or guilt, but it all is a source of stress. All of our streesors on life are a results of sin. If you can rationalize with yourself that you should never worry because God is in control of all things, then you have mastered something no other human being has ever accomplished. In some matters, we can't help but to sin- it's just instinct. Doubting God's control over the universe, much less your tiny existence, or feeling guilt, of which the Father has eternally absolved you, is just a trap of the Devil's that we often fall right into.

The devotional seems to suggest that Jesus' cry to the father, "Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani" is a sign of the desperation of a human sinner as the Savior has taken on our sin. No idea why, but that is one of the only translations I've memorized. Something about the words, the desperate nature of the message, the brokenness of the speaker on the cross.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I got an (unexpectedly early) raise today! WOOOHOO!!!!