Christ Church Daily Devotion Jan 20 2024

In today's devotion, we read from Mark 15:1-5, where Jesus is falsely accused by the chief priests and is brought before Pilate. Despite the accusations, Jesus remains calm and chooses not to defend himself. This amazes the narrator, who admits to struggling with staying calm in unfair situations. The narrator highlights the peace and calmness that God offers even in the storms of life. It is important to prepare ourselves beforehand in order to receive these gifts. The devotion concludes with a personal worship option, suggesting the story behind the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul" as an example of finding peace in the midst of a storm. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for January 20th, 2024. Today we will be reading from Mark chapter 15, verses 1 through 5. Very early in the morning, the chief priests with the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. "'Are you the king of the Jews?' asked Pilate. "'You have said so,' Jesus replied. The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, "'Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of?' But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed." If you have ever worked with children, you have probably heard statements like this at some point. She's telling lies about me. I never did what she said. That's not fair. They're making up stuff about me, just to get me in trouble. Okay, so if you've worked with adults, you may have heard similar statements. Tomorrow, we will look at a scene from the beginning of Jesus' ministry when he was calm during a storm. Today, we are reminded of such a scene near the end of his ministry. I don't know about you, but I am like Pilate. I am amazed that Jesus chooses not to defend himself here. He was being falsely accused, but he remained calm in the midst of this stormy scene and said nothing. I don't know about you, but when I see or experience something that is unfair, that is when it is the hardest for me to keep my mouth shut. That's when I struggle most with being calm. And yet, there is a peace and calmness that God offers to us in the midst of the storms of life, even in those times when life isn't fair. However, as we talked about it a couple of weeks ago, it's important that we do our storm prep, work ahead of time, in order to receive these gifts. As you and I deepen our connection with the spirit of peace, we will experience this peace, even during the storms. Today's personal worship option. If you don't know the story of when and why Horatio Spafford wrote the words to this hymn, go look it up. In the midst of the storm, he was experiencing. He obviously had a deep connection with God to be able to write these words. When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, though has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.