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 DEVOTION
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“Do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” Luke 23:27-28Luke 23:27-28.
Jesus had just experienced the most inhumane treatment that left Him unrecognisable (He was
“marred more than any man”, Isaiah 52:14Isaiah 52:14). At this time, instead of feeling sorry for Himself, He
turns to those who were weeping over His treatment and says “do not weep for Me, but weep for
yourselves and for your children.”
Firstly, Jesus was speaking to many who wept for His natural suffering,
not perceiving the spiritual victory that would result. Their sorrow
was worldly. Jesus’ suffering on the cross was our deliverance from the
righteous judgement of God, and the purchase of eternal life for us. In
John 16:20John 16:20, Jesus said to His disciples, “your sorrow shall be turned into
joy” because He would appear to them in bodily form, and they were
later empowered with the Holy Spirit. We share in that joy today!
Secondly, Jesus was speaking to the daughters of Zion, an often used
symbol for the Jewish nation, that they should weep for themselves
because they had not believed in Him as King and Saviour and will thus
suffer God’s judgement.
We must declare to every soul that Jesus will return again as the
appointed Judge of this world (Acts 17:31Acts 17:31). Jesus says that when this world is judged those still
alive will “call to hills and mountains” to shelter them from God’s wrath, yet stubbornly they will not
cry out to Jesus Christ for refuge. In the end, all who reject Christ will be cast into the Lake of Fire
(Revelation 20:15Revelation 20:15).
Thirdly, and more personally, let us weep for our own sins, and the sins of our children, that were
the cause of His death. Let us weep for fear (such were the tears here prescribed) of the miseries we
shall bring upon ourselves, if we slight His love, and reject His grace, as the Jewish nation did, which
brought upon them the ruin Jesus foretold.
The great cost Jesus paid for our sin should challenge us about the lack of intimacy many Christians
have with the Lord, including our prayer life and private devotional time. The growing mediocrity
with which so many professing Christians live their daily lives is alarming to say the least, choosing to
run with their own will, instead of submitting to God’s perfect will.
Let us rejoice in the Lord this Easter, remembering His provision for us and the price that was paid for
us to enjoy the Lord for all eternity, and honour Him by surrendering ourselves to Him.
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POINTS TO PONDER
PRAYER
Argentina. Will and Ale Herndon: Pray for the future
direction of this couple with Challenge and the possibility
of a greater role with us.
World Cup edition. With a demand for 1 million copies,
costing thousands of dollars we are challenged to step out
in faith to meet this request as we trust the Lord to provide
for this strategic opportunity in South Africa and South
America.
John Palandri. Pray for John, his wife Jenny and their
family, as John commences his role as Impact Mission
Teams Director. This role will also include a variety of work
within Challenge.
South Africa. Please pray for Multi Ministries and its director
Harold Peasley as they face some very difficult challenges
financially. As our partner organisation they are critical to
the success of the paper both in the general community
and into prisons. Also pray for their staffing needs as we are
looking for the right younger staff to take on the mantle of
leadership at the appropriate time.
Pray for the Challenge Representative Cobus Britz who has
just come on board with the work in February. Pray for
him as he endeavours to raise personal support and for
opportunities for him to promote the paper into churches
as well as for preaching opportunities.
India. We have just done another print run of 100,000
papers which have been well received. Pray for real results
for the distribution of these papers. Please pray for the right
printer as the one we are using is a sheet fed press which
is much slower and work intensive than a high speed web
press. Pray for our partner organisation Asia Evangelistic
Fellowship as they, like us, struggle to raise the funds
necessary to not only sustain this project but to grow it.
Pray for the first Hindi language edition, and for the right
testimonies to come in that we can use in India.
Testimonies. Please consider contributing your testimony
for the Australian edition, as your testimony may also be
used in international editions. You have a testimony that
may speak into the lives of many.
Pray for our Easter edition as it goes out and that God will
use it to speak to many about their eternal destiny. We have
printed almost 65,000 papers for Australia, which is a lot
of seed and we are trusting God for a rich harvest in due
course.
PRAISE
A response to the Indian edition of the paper.
I on behalf of Dwarka Community Church would like
to thank you and the “Destiny” team for sending us the
magazine. We put 3000 copies in the English News paper
at Dwarka. We haven’t got any immediate response but we
believe that we have sowed into good soil. And the Spirit of
God is working in the hearts of the people. We are glad to be
part of this endeavour. Many of our church members have
given good feedback.... Once again, thank you “Destiny”
team for your excellent job and the sacrifices you have made
for spreading the gospel. May God provide all your needs
and may He bring people of high calibre who are sold out
for God. — Khaning, Pastor Dwarka Community Church
Praise the Lord for a steady flow of encouraging gifts that
we have received for the work in various parts of the world.
Praise the Lord for the opportunities that Andrew and
Carl had to promote the Challenge paper in Sydney late
February into March.
Praise the Lord for all our faithful volunteers and writers
who give generously of their time and skills to spread the
gospel.
Praise the Lord for all our partner organisations who
wonderfully assist us to get out the good news.
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Challenge Literature Fellowship Bank Account direct deposit details
BSB: 066162 / Account: 00900455
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Address: PO Box 978, Cloverdale WA 6985,
Phone (08) 9453 3311 or Fax (08) 9453 3006
Email: info@challengenews.org
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MY RESPONSE
Post to: Challenge Literature Fellowship, PO Box 978, Cloverdale WA 6985; or Fax to: (08) 9453 3006
Name: __________________________________________________________________________________
Address:___________________________________________________________ Post Code: ______
Email: _________________________________________________ Phone: ________________
With God’s help I would like to be a partner in supporting the ministry at Challenge in the
following way(s):
__ Prayer: Please send me updated prayer information.
__ Financial: Please receive my: __ Monthly __ Quarterly __ Yearly __ One time contribution of:
__ $50 __ $75 __ $100 __ $200 __ Other (Please specify): $ _________
Credit Card: __ VisaCard __ MasterCard
Credit Card #: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Expiry Date: __/__
Name on card: _______________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________
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