DEVOTIONAL FOR THE WEEKS OF OCT. 26 - Nov. 2, 2020

In my Bible, I have the direct words of Jesus in red letters. These days, I am focusing on the “Red”. Here is one of those verses in John 16:33.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world  you will have tribulation. But take heart: I have overcome the world.”

Over the years I have seen succession planning done well and done poorly. I counsel leaders of all ages to think about their succession and how it needs to be modelled and driven from the top.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus stuck around for forty days after His resurrection? We do not have much written on what He was about during this time, yet we do know from 1 Corinthians 15:6 that on at least one occasion, He appeared to over 500 people.

I would like to suggest that Jesus was a master strategist in succession planning. He knew He could not immediately go back to Heaven without preparing His disciples for the task ahead of them. We see that during this 40-day period these self-centered men were transformed to turn the known world upside down. Of course, it was through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, but they also needed the basics, and Jesus stayed with them to ensure they had the foundation to help them stay the course for the impossible assignment in front of them. We are learning about this as we study the early church in our Acts series on Sundays, this fall.

These men would have gone back to the words which Jesus shared with them in that Upper Room; red letter words so to speak. He so wanted them to understand that He had overcome the world, He is still overcoming the world, and He will always be in an overcoming position over this world.

Here are six reasons, which I would say, Jesus wanted the disciples, and us in 2020, to know.

1. He wanted them to know that He was alive; He had risen from the dead.

2. He wanted them to know, that He was the Messiah and was in absolute control.

3. He wanted them to know, that though at times He was invisible, He still was present with them. One example of this was when He met Thomas and told him exactly what he had been saying and Jesus had not been visibly present during this conversation.

4. He wanted them to know that He would return.

5. He wanted them to know that if they died, they would be immediately with Him, where He was.

6. He wanted them to see His new amazing body, which was different, even though He still had the five senses. It was an example of the kind of supercharged bodies they would have in the future and that means us as well.

Obviously, they got it and the world has never been the same. You and I also need to get it, for these six reasons are as relevant to us today during this pandemic, as they were to the disciples.

I read the “Red Letter Words” and I say, “WOW!” They help me to get my eyes off Covid numbers increasing, the uncertainty I feel about the future, days where I say, “What did I do today?”, the anxious thoughts which come at me at times, and the other paralyzing ways that some of you have shared with me.

My fellow passengers on this journey, focus on the “red”. Jesus has and is overcoming, and I encourage you today to remember the 6 foundational realities that He wanted His disciples to trust in. This is all about God’s wisdom and supernatural equipment, so to speak, for us.

It also speaks to me, about who am I investing in.

~ Bruce