Words of Hope Daily Devotional
The Words of Hope Devotional is a non-profit, donor-supported publication whose goal is to encourage readers to grow in faith through the practice of daily Bible reading and prayer. The devotional is available in your email, in print, and as an app in Google Play and the App Store.
Upside Down
Read: Matthew 20:17-28
You do not know what you are asking. (v. 22)
Last summer a pastor in Missouri berated his congregation for not giving him a luxury watch and other niceties. Although he later apologized, he evidently missed Jesus’ leadership memo: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (v. 26). The kingdom of God turns our entire world upside down. As Jesus gets closer to Jerusalem, the gap between the coming events of Holy Week and the disciples’ assumptions and aspirations could not have been wider.
For the third time in Matthew, Jesus says he’s going to die. This time he gets very specific, including the first use of crucified. He will be “mocked and flogged and crucified” (v. 19). Shockingly, these details don’t register in their understanding. In the very next verse, the mother of James and John asks Jesus to have her sons sit next to him in his kingdom (v. 20). She wants her boys to have the highest status among the disciples. The other ten got mad about it, but only because they all wanted to be the greatest (Matt. 18:1).
The kingdom Jesus establishes plays by different rules. Greatness comes through service (20:26) not celebrity. If we want to sit with Jesus, we will need to take on his status, who “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). In doing so, he gave his life “as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28), including us. May we walk this week in the way of Jesus all the way to the cross. —Jon Opgenorth
As you pray, ask God for a servant’s heart.
About the Author
Rev. Jon Opgenorth serves as president of Words of Hope. Previously, he served for 18 years as senior pastor at Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. In preparation for ministry, he received a BA in Religion from Northwestern College, and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary.
A Letter for the Churches and for Us
Read: Revelation 1:1-7 In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom. 8:37) Why do I return to the introduction again? John must have written it after the visions. How excited he must have
The King’s Promise to Return
Read: Revelation 22:6-21 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:3) The seven episodes of Revelation interpret each
A Scintillating Crystal Cube
Read: Revelation 21:9-22:5 Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. (v. 9) John sees a sparkling, jeweled crystal cube. The angel says it’s the Bride, the Church descending from God. Her people are born of God.
A New Earth
Read: Revelation 20:11-21:8 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (21:5) Multitudes stand before the throne. All the
Thrones, Priests and Martyrs
Read: Revelation 20:4-6; Eph. 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. (Eph 2:4-5) The “1000 years”
The King and the Red Dragon
Read: Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
Last Battle and the Vulture Banquet
Read: Revelation 19:11-21 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? (Mal. 3:2) Our Warrior-King has his sword in his mouth. His sword is his Word. It is our sword too, to
Return of the White Horse Rider
Read: Revelation 19:11-21 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Cor. 2:14) Suddenly the Bridegroom appears! The Warrior-King with the
The Bride of the Lamb
Read: Revelation 19:1-10 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matt. 25:13) More visions! In one hour the planet and its cultures collapse into total silence and darkness. De-creation. But heaven explodes into jubilation and light!