Daily Devotional For Sunday, April 13, 2025

Good day Southside. Today is Palm Sunday. This is the day we spiritually celebrate the historical event of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem with the people laying down palm branches and shouting to Him this on what we call Palm Sunday. Look this below: 

• Luke 19:38, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (NASB).
• Matthew 21:8-9, “Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. (9) Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (NASB).
• Mark 11:8-10, “And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. (9) Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; (10) Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” (NASB).
• John 12:13, “They took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (NASB).

What a day this must have been. Can you imagine the excitement and thrill of the people? And it would be short-lived. The same people who shouted this on this day were shouting on Good Friday, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” We are quick to condemn these Jewish religious leaders and Jews for how fickle they were, but are we any different? We can come on Sundays praising God and then Monday-Saturday do and say things that are blasphemous, profane, and sinful. 

After seeing the kind of power Jesus had to heal every kind of illness, cast out demons and raise the dead, but He would not use that same power to overthrow Rome, everyone turned on Him. They had their image of a Messiah and so do we at times. When all are prone to attempt to make God in our own image. We want the freedom to live our lives basically independent of the Lord while expecting Him to bless us with “showers of blessings.” 

The call to discipleship is not based on opinion, but on the Lord’s. Jesus commands us to die to self so that His self can take up residence in our hearts. We “want our cake so we can eat it too.” Jesus says to us, “It is a misunderstanding to think you have any cake at all.” We are to surrender that also to the Lord. Jesu said this in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (NASB). Notice in order to come after Jesus, and we must deny ourselves of all, take up our cross, meaning crucify everything that wants a place in our heart over the Lord. Then and only then can we follow Him.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem knowing 5 days later the events that would unfold. This is why He took a lot of time being with His disciples trying to prepare them for it. Even though they all pledged they would not betray Him, in the end, they all did. It would take the Resurrection to bring them all back. Even though we may spend a lot of time with the Lord in our own daily quiet time, it is arrogant to think we will not betray Him. To me, the best deterrent to this is reminding ourselves how Jesus denied Himself, took up His own cross, to follow His heavenly Father’s will. He modeled for us that this can be done. We do not have to live lives that are fickle, but lives that are lived in faith consistently. As the Jews threw down palm branches shouting praises to Him, we too can throw up praises to God that sustain us through the week so that when our own “Good Friday” comes, we do not say, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” through unfaithful disobedience. Instead we say, “Crucify me! Crucify me!” through faithful obedience

Assignment: Take a moment and think about all the Lord has done and is doing for you. When are you more prone to say “Crucify Him,” rather than, “Crucify me”? Is it when someone pushes one of your buttons? Is it when you are around certain people? Is it when you fail to get adequate rest and you are on edge? Is it when you do not keep a consistent quiet time with the Lord? Is it when you find yourself in a certain situation either intentionally or unintentionally where you are vulnerable to sin? My advice: surrender unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ’s will for your life. If you need help, get a godly disciple of Jesus to hold you accountable. Is this risky? Yes, but it is also righteous. 

Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 10:38-39, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (39) He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it” (NASB).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I know how fickle I can be. I do not want to live this way. I want to live a life of faith no matter what. I don’t want to be praising You one minute and then sinning against you the next. Please help me to be the kind of disciples You want and the world needs. I know I have the greatest power in the universe living in me – Your Holy Spirit. Help me to utilize Him as You did Your whole life on this earth. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly