Pastor Stephen Dedman

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Holy Monday

Encouragement

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭14‬

On Palm Sunday Jesus went into the temple, looked around, shook His head, and went back to Bethany where He stayed for the night.

On Monday Jesus renter Ed the temple but this time He did so with righteous anger. He overturned the money changers’ tables and cleansed the temple. He warned them His Father’s house was to be a house of prayer.

Once the temple was cleared out He began to do His great work. The Scripture says the blind and the lane came to Him to be healed. The mighty power of God worked through the temple.

The house of God should be a place of healing for those who are sick and hurting. It should be a hospital for those who are needing healing. The church should be a place where people go to be restored.

What would it take for the church house to become a place of rescue? If Jesus were to stand before us and speak He would instruct us to have faith in God. He would tell us to have faith and watch what happens.

Does your heart need to be restored or healed? Have you come to Jesus and asked Him to restore your joy and strength? Make today count by bowing before the Lord and asking God to give you what you need.

Pray

Lord, You have everything I need. You are my Healer and my Restorer of all things. In You I have faith. Help me Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

Encouragement

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”
‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭

Today begins Passion Week. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey that had never been ridden. This was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 which says, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.” (NLT)

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, He was greeted by a multitude of people who rejoiced at His presence. His entry was unexpected as He entered as a humble king. The people were expecting their king to come and conquer Rome and give them freedom and peace.

Sadly, these same people who were singing praise to the king were shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” on Friday. They wanted a Messiah to bless them with power and glory instantly. They didn’t realize that indeed He was the Christ.

When Jesus comes back in the Second Coming at the end of the seven-year Tribulation, He will be riding on a white horse symbolizing His kingship. He came as a humble servant the first time but when He returns in the Millennium Reign, He is the righteous Judge and King. He comes to conquer.

Humility is a sign of being like Jesus. We must humble ourselves before the Lord and set the example of humility to others. We must serve others like Jesus did. We must treat others like Jesus did. We must be the picture of Jesus that others see.

What can you do today for others to see that you serve Jesus? Surprisingly, when we humble ourselves we lift up others who need to be encouraged. Be a blessing to someone today.

Pray

Lord, help me to put others before myself. I sing praises to You as You are my Lord and Savior. Let my life be a blessing to others.

No Doubt

Encouragement

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
II Timothy 1:7

Satan uses tools of fear and doubt to keep us from doing and witnessing extraordinary things.  Satan does not want us experiencing God’s power and love. Instead, he will try to paralyze our faith.

God gives us power, love and a sound mind to do things that glorify Him.  We are capable of doing powerful things through Jesus when we put our faith to the test. Without Him we are nothing.

In Matthew 17:14-21 a man came to Jesus and begged for his son to be healed from demonic convulsions associated with epilepsy. Previously the man brought his son before the disciples but they couldn’t heal him. Immediately Jesus cast the demon out and the boy was healed. 

The disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast it out and He replied, “Because of your unbelief.”  He said if they had mustard seed-sized faith they could move mountains and nothing would be impossible for them. The problem wasn’t with their faith.  They had faith.  The problem was with their unbelief or doubt.  He gave them a solution: “this kind (of unbelief) does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” 

The devil plants seeds of doubt into our minds subconsciously and sometimes we’re not even aware of it.  We must protect our minds and be sure that what we are hearing and seeing is full of truth and not the lies of the devil. Jesus said to fast and pray.  Fasting and praying starves the flesh of self desires and feeds our souls with the Spirit of God.

Is there any unbelief that is keeping you from living an extraordinary life? Is your unbelief keeping you from witnessing God’s great things? Remove your unbelief.

Prayer

Lord, I pray in the Name of Jesus to have all fear, unbelief and doubt removed from my mind and replaced with God’s power, love and truth. Give me the knowledge of what I can do through Jesus.