Daily Devotional
The Crown of Misery: Rescuing His Beloved
“…So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men…”
Isaiah 52:14
April 5, 2020
Ponder This
Some years ago in New York City, there was a mother who was hanging out her clothes. A neighbor came screaming, “Your house is on fire!” The mother dropped her clothes and ran into the raging inferno to the crib where her little girl was. She wrapped her baby in a blanket and laid her upon the grass as the house was consumed. That mother’s face took the heat of those flames and was horribly scarred. Her hands were burned and gnarled. But the little baby was not touched at all by that fire. The little girl grew up to be a beautiful girl and when she was 18 her high school class held senior day on the Hudson River. This girl, so lovely she could have worn the crown of a beauty queen, was the center of attention. At a certain moment, this girl’s mother passed by, and one of the high school girls asked, “Who is that hideous woman?” And her own daughter said, “I don’t know who she is.”
Practice This
Once the mother revealed to her daughter the account of how she had become disfigured, the mother-daughter story concluded with reconciliation. Will your story have the same ending? The crown of thorns was placed on Jesus’ temple, one of the most sensitive parts of the body. Then they battered the head of the Lord Jesus Christ until His face was so brutalized you could not tell whether it was the face of a man or an animal? Look now upon His face. Let your heart be pricked by His crown of thorns. Recognize that He allowed Himself to be disfigured so you could be made eternally beautiful and wear the crown of the redeemed. God has revealed Himself to you through Jesus Christ. Will you be reconciled to Him?
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FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
