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Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13 ~ As we continue toward intentional living over Easter weekend, I want to talk about the life of Jesus. Jesus is our perfect example of how to live intentionally; everything He did and said had a reason. Even as a child Jesus understood His purpose and lived with intention. We read in Luke 2:52, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,” (NIV). At the age of twelve following the Passover feast and unbeknownst to His parents, Jesus stayed behind in the temple to discuss scripture with the teachers and priests. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”  He asked his parents when they anxiously asked why He had not gone with them (Luke 2:49, NASB). Jesus was not being disobedient or disrespectful; He was being intentional. His parents did not account for Him when they left and assumed that he would be with the other children most likely. Who was lacking intention in this event? In Mathew 3:13 – 17 we read about the baptism of Jesus. John the Baptist at first resisted, feeling that he was unworthy and that it should be the other way around, but Jesus knew that by being baptized he was fulfilling God’s righteous plan and identifying himself with man so that He, the perfect lamb of God could take all of our sin and failure on Himself.  And as He arose from the water the Spirit of God came on Him like a dove and spoke, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased,” (Matthew 3:17, NASB). Jesus spent His entire ministry teaching love, compassion, and purpose. He commissioned us from the beginning. In Matthew 5:13 – 14 He tells us that we are the salt and light of the world, in other words we are to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world as disciples of Christ. The bible is our instruction manual on how to do this. He tells us to love not only our neighbors, but to love our enemies, going as far as turning the other cheek when someone has wronged us. Jesus was not teaching us to be pushovers, but to choose our battles wisely. Do you ever scroll through an argument on social media? When conversations get heated, it can go on and on. Everybody wants to get the last word. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him, (Proverbs 26:4, NKJV). Jesus understood this and He did not answer the leading priests nor Pilot when later interrogated. Jesus promoted justice and righteousness; He was frequently heard calling out the Pharisees and the Scribes for their hypocrisy. Warning them cared a their desire for honor and dignity came before love; they placed heavy burdens on their followers that they did not keep (Matthew 23). He flipped over the money tables in Matthew 21 and rebuked the people, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves, (Matthew 21:13, NKJV).’”  Jesus was not throwing a tantrum, but exemplifying reverence for God Almighty. By doing this, He demonstrated how anger has a place when utilized appropriately. Jesus promoted lovingkindness and mercy. When He met the woman at the well, He did not discriminate against her, even though she was a Samaritan (despised by Jews) and a woman of ill repute. He asked for a drink of water and offered her forgiveness for her sins. Not only did she receive Jesus as Lord that day, but she followed the great commission and brought the other people of the village to Jesus as well (John 4). Later in John 8, attempting to trap Jesus the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery before Him. His answer about stoning her gave them no option but to walk away, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first (John 8:7, NKJV).” For forty days in the wilderness, Jesus not only modeled the importance of fasting and prayer, but He taught us how to resist temptation. Three times the devil tried to tempt Jesus, twisting scripture, but Jesus rebuked him with the word of God. Jesus was armed and ready for Satan, are you? Ephesians 6:10 – 18 tells us to put on our armor of God. In verse 12 we read, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” (NIV).  Jesus understood this and followed the commands of God in word and action. He hung out with outcasts; In Luke 7:36 – 50, Jesus is anointed by an immoral woman (possibly a prostitute or adulteress) with her tears and expensive perfume, she wiped his feet with her hair; this offended the Pharisee who had invited Jesus over, but He pointed out that the Pharisee did not offer water for cleansing, greet Him with a kiss, or anoint Him in anyway.  The immoral woman arrived to do just this, and her sins were forgiven. We read in Luke 19:1 – 10 the story of Zacchaeus, a corrupt tax collector, who was so excited to see Jesus that he climbed a sycamore tree to see Him past the crowd. Jesus called Zacchaeus down and went to stay at his house, when the people grumbled His reply was a revelation of His purpose on earth. “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost,” (Luke 6:10, NLT). When the soldiers arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, He did not resist, in fact, he healed the soldier whose ear Peter cut off. He did not try to stop His execution, in fact, Jesus tells Pilot in John

Key Verse:  Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (Colossians 4:5-6, NKJV) Devotion: As a child I dreamed of becoming a writer, but words can serve as a double-edged sword. They can take a dream to the next level, or they can crush a dreamer’s heart. We have all experienced it and we have all been guilty in some way. We should be encouraging one another, but sometimes we get caught up in our own negativity like the teacher I spoke about a couple weeks ago, who did not see the relevance in having her students experience a filibuster in action. There were other dreams I had as a child, dreams that I would do big things someday, dreams of having my own family, of breaking the cycle of poverty over my life, of affecting change. Some dreams have come to fruition, but not in the way I imagined; some are a work in progress, some have been released with acceptance, some have been forgotten or stifled by the world’s cruelty. The perspective of a child is often innocent and full of wonder, but disappointment and pain can imprint scars not easily undone. “Parents, don’t provoke your children in a way that ends up discouraging them,” (Colossians 3:21, CEB). The Word tells us to treat others as we want to be treated, to be gentle and kind and gracious toward one another for a simple word can crush a dream (Eph 4:32, Luke 6:31). But we also must be careful not to feed a dream that does not come from the Lord. We live in a divisive world with much confusion; not every desire comes from God. “For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God,” (Ecclesiastes 5:7, NKJV). Often these fleshly desires crush God-given dreams. In both Matthew 6 and Luke 16 we read that we cannot serve two masters. James admonishes his listeners, “You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy,” (4:4, CEB). Engage: So, what then? We must walk in the wisdom of God in the Spirit of love and truth. If you have God-given dreams being crushed by someone’s worldly desires, know that you are not alone. Pray: Abba, Thank you that you are not a dream crusher, but the Giver of dreams. Guide me into discernment and help me to be an encourager to others. Let all I do and say bring You praise; bring comfort and encouragement for those dreams that feel crushed and stifled. In Jesus name! Amen!

Innocent and serene, is how the dream began A butterfly spreads its wings, a dance that too soon ends Beguiled or foolish, not sure of which Taunting so ruthless, the bait and switch Crimson dreams that slowly die From naive gestures, a log in their eye The noise and clamor of slow decay A busy distractor, emotive Bengay Bound up and silenced, but still alive The dance can never truly die Shine a light, and wings may shudder There’s still a fight inside this gutter Bruises may take time to heal A forgotten dream lives here still