"The Lamb Who Was Slain" June 19 Readings: 1 Chronicles 24-25, John 19:1–27, Psalm 74:17–23, Proverbs 15:18–19

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Reading the Bible in 2023

Each day this year we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. In reading four portions of God's word in a day, one of them is bound to speak to your life!

NOTE: if you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 24-25, John 19:1–27, Psalm 74:17–23, Proverbs 15:18–19

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional:  The Lamb Who Was Slain

It is the most horrible story ever told, and also the greatest. John 19 recounts Jesus' trial before Pilate and his crucifixion. It is the historical act on which our eternal destiny depends.

It is painful to read of the brutal torture and crucifixion of Christ. Look at what human beings did to Jesus in these awful moments. First, Jesus was flogged in the horrifying Roman way. Then, to add insult to injury, the soldiers commenced ridiculing the beaten man. They put a crown of thorns on him, gave him a purple robe, slapped him, and chanted "Hail, King of the Jews." The Lamb of God was giving himself for their sins and all they could do was mock. The priests and other religious leaders manipulated and schemed to get him convicted according to their laws and to bring him before Pilate. Time and again, Pilate tried to find a way to get him off the hook, but in his cowardice, he gave in to the pressure and gave the order for crucifixion.

It can be said that the day of the Cross was the low point in human history; that moment in which sinful human beings reach their moral nadir as they laid hands on the Creator himself and nailed him to a tree. It was an awful day.

I love preaching from Revelation 4 and 5, in which Jesus is described as worthy of all worship and praise. Why? Because he was slain. It was his humility, his death, his sacrifice that was magnified in the heavenly worship. Jesus changed history the day the worst thing happened to him. He took the evilest act in history and used it to forever conquer evil, to redeem a people for himself, and to secure redemption for us. We are forgiven and given eternal life in Christ.

When terrible things happen to you or in your life, or even when you fail in a monumental, shameful way, remember the power of this God. The God of the Cross is not fazed by the wickedness of the wicked. He takes it and uses it to accomplish his glorious purposes.

It is an amazing God that we serve. If he can turn the crucifixion into glory, he can take whatever struggles, trials, or even tragedies that you are facing and turn them to blessings.

Father, I confess that you are an great God, one who is able to turn even the most awful things of life into your glory. I thank you for doing that in my life. 

Consider God's Word:

Did one of these passages speak strongly to you today? Which one? 
Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 
Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Take time today to both consider the horror of the Cross and the glory it brings into our lives.





 

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