Turning the spotlight on Jesus Christ and His words, He Said What?! artfully places you in the midst of powerful and meaningful conversations Jesus had with women. Discover His words’ incredible meaning for women today. Allow His values and desires to restore order to your life. Experience new understanding and gain insight for living as you hear Him speak to you. An in-depth and reflective look at Christ’s words will have you saying, “Guess what He said to me!”
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When I’m researching a book, all kinds of questions enter my mind—questions whose answers won’t necessarily become part of the book. Writing Not My Will (based on Jesus’ prayer life) was no exception. For example, when I studied Jesus’ words to Peter at the Last Supper, I wondered, Why didn’t Jesus pray that Peter be protected from trouble? Wouldn’t you if one of your family members or coworkers was going to be experiencing difficult times?
Instead, Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail (see Luke 22:31-32). Peter and the other apostles were going to be facing tough times ahead as their leader was arrested, tried and killed. Satan had demanded—and apparently received—permission to test the disciples. They (and specifically Peter) were going to be shaken like straw in a sieve, a process used to separate valuable wheat from the chaff. Looks like Jesus would have wanted to protect them from this violent shaking process. Wouldn’t you if Peter were your brother, your child or your friend?
Many of our prayers for our loved ones, friends and coworkers are about protection, safety, deliverance and escape. We don’t want to see those we care about go through rough times, but sometimes they do. At those times, Jesus’ prayer for Peter is something we might want to consider praying. We might want to ask that their faith not fail instead of asking for protection.
This is not to say that we shouldn’t pray for protection and safety for others. Jesus did that, too, which added to my perplexity. Later that same night, Jesus prayed for the disciples to be kept “safe from the Evil One” (John 17:15b TEV). Earlier in His ministry, when Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He encouraged them to say, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13a KJV).
What all this suggests to me is that we might want to be more discerning in our prayers. There are times when we will definitely want to pray for protection for our friends and loved ones, but there are also times when praying that their faith wouldn’t fail would be appropriate.
Faith can be a fragile thing. Peter who had been with Jesus over two years was going to deny even knowing Him in a matter of hours. Would his faith grow even weaker? Possibly die out altogether? Or could it survive and grow stronger?
There are going to be those experiences in life when our faith is tested. The undergoing of difficulties and hardship are an integral part of life. These experiences, as hard as they are, can contribute to our faith development by separating the false from the true, the genuine from the fake, the good from the bad. And if our faith survives the sifting, perhaps even growing stronger, we’ll be better able to help others who are struggling. This was Jesus’ vision for Peter. He said “And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32b TEV).
How else would Peter know how to strengthen his brothers if he could not have understood the depth of their dismay over their own failures? They would all desert Jesus in his hour of need, and they would need someone with strong faith to help them. Peter would be that person because Jesus prayed that his faith wouldn’t fail.
The next time you start to ask for protection or safety for someone, pause for a moment. Ask yourself, should I pray instead that his or her faith not fail? I know that’s something I’m doing as a result of pondering the question, Why didn’t Jesus pray that Peter be protected from trouble?
Studying Jesus’ Prayers has been one of the joys of my life. Not only did the study lead to four related books, but it helped me immensely in my own praying. In particular, His prayer life showed me how to pray about things that can’t be changed which I write about in Not My Will. If you would like to make a personal study of His prayer life, here’s a list of His prayers in order of their occurrence. The order is based on A. T. Robertson’s A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ. I hope the study will benefit you as much as it did me.
Jesus’ Prayers in Order of Occurrence
Jesus prayed at His baptism, Luke 3:21-23, Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11.
He withdrew to pray when the crowds in Capernaum wanted Jesus to stay with them, Mark 1:35-39 and Luke 4:42-43.
He withdrew to pray after the healing the leper, Luke 5:12-16, Mark 1:40-45, Matthew 8:2-4.
Jesus prayed before choosing the Twelve apostles, Luke 6:12-16 and Mark 3:13-19.
Jesus gave a prayer of thanks after working with people who rejected His miracles, Matthew 11:25-26.
He gave thanks before the feeding of the 5000, Mark 6:39-44, Matthew 14:17-21, Luke 9:13b-17, and John 6:8-13.
He withdrew for prayer following the feeding of the 5000, Mark 6:45-46, Matthew 14:22-23, and John 6:14-15.
He gave thanks before the feeding of the 4000, Mark 8:1-9, Matthew 15:32-38.
Jesus prayed before questioning the apostles about His identity, Luke 9:18-21, Matthew 16:13-20, and Mark 8:27-30.
He prayed before His transfiguration, Luke 9:28-36, Matthew 17:1-8, and Mark 9:2-8.
Jesus expressed joy and thanksgiving after the return of the 70, Luke 10:17-21.
He prayed before His disciples asked to be taught to pray, Luke 11:1.
He gave thanks at Lazarus’ grave, John 11:36-44.
Jesus blessed the little children, Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, and Luke 18:15-17.
Jesus prayed when His heart was troubled, John 12:20-36.
He prayed for Peter, Luke 22:31-34.
He prayed at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19-20, and 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.
He prayed for Himself and His disciples after the Last Supper and before He was arrested. This is often referred to as Jesus’ high priestly prayer, John 17. This is the longest of Jesus’ recorded prayers.
Jesus prayed for an escape in the Garden of Gethsemane, Luke 22:39-46, Mark 14:32-42, and Matthew 26:36-46.
From the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:33-34).
From the cross, He prayed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” See Matthew 27:45-46 and Mark 15:33-34.
From the cross, He prayed, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit (see Luke 23:46 and John 19:30).
The resurrected Jesus blessed the bread when eating with the disciples from Emmaus, Luke 24:30-32
He gave a parting blessing at His ascension, Luke 24:50-51.
Many Christians don’t like to talk about things that are unchangeable. We’re positive people, ever optimistic about the future. But if we are honest, some of us wrestle with things we can’t change but wish we could. How do we prayerfully deal with unchangeables and find peace? Jesus’ prayer life shows us how. If we walk with Jesus from His baptism to the cross as outlined in Not My Will, we’ll gain insight, inspiration and guidance for coming to terms with things we can’t change.
Jesus said, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12b). When we walk with Jesus, He will light up our path, show us how to cope, and restore our hope. He’ll help us make peace with what we can’t change.
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When my husband and I wanted our young sons to know what Easter was really about, we brainstormed about what symbols we could put in some plastic Easter eggs. I had read a small article in Evangelizing Today’s Child magazine about how a teacher used plastic Easter eggs to quiz her students about Jesus’ last week and crucifixion. She placed representative symbols inside the eggs. She then asked each student to open an egg, take out the symbol, and tell what it stood for. Bob and I thought, What a good idea for our family!
The article, though, didn’t list the symbols so Bob and I talked about different items we could use and scoured the house for them. Here’s what we discovered and used:
A small donkey from the children’s play farm animals. Jesus made his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matt. 21:1-9, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-38, and John 12:15-15).
Plastic leaves resembling palm leaves. The cheering crowd spread palm leaves before Jesus when he entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9-9, Mark 11:1-10, and John 12:12-13).
Tiny bottle of perfume. Jesus was anointed for burial by a woman who lovingly poured out expensive perfume on him (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 4:3-9, and John 12:1-8).
A dime. Judas received thirty pieces of silver for delivering Jesus over to his enemies. (Matthew 26:14-16, Luke 22:3-6).
A small piece of bread. Bread was used as a symbol of Jesus’ body when he held The Last Supper. (Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-26, and Luke 22:19).
Some plastic grapes. Wine, made from grapes, was the symbol for Jesus’ blood that he introduced at The Last Supper. (Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-26, Luke 22:17-20)
Small rooster from children’s farm animals. Jesus predicted Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. (Matthew 26:31-34, 74-75; Mark 14:27-31,66-72; Luke 22:31-34, 54-62; and John 13:36-38, 18:15-18,25-27)
Plastic toothpick shaped like a sword. Peter used a sword to cut off the ear of one of those who came to arrest Jesus (Matt. 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-50, Luke 22:47-53, and John 18:3-12) and a soldier plunged a sword into Jesus’ side (John 19:31-37).
A chain. Jesus was led in chains to appear before the Pilate, the Roman governor (Matt. 27:1-2, Mark 15:1)
Thorns from a rose bush. Pilate’s solders made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head. (Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, and John 19:2,5)
A pair of dice. The soldiers gambled for Jesus’ clothes at the foot of the cross. (Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34b, and John 19:23-24)
Small metal cross. Jesus was crucified on a cross. (Matthew 27:31-35, Mark 15:20-24, Luke 23:32-33, John 19:16, and Philippians 2:8)
Small sponge. When Jesus was thirsty while on the cross, someone lifted a sponge, soaked with cheap wine, up to him. (Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, and John 19:28-30)
Small piece of linen cloth. Joseph of Arimathea wrapped Jesus’ body in linen. (Matthew 27:59-60, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, John 19:40, 20:4-7).
Rock. A stone was placed in front of the tomb (Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46, 16:3-4) and was rolled away by an angel of the Lord (Matthew 28:2).
A lamb from children’s farm animals. Jesus celebrated the Feast of Unleavened bread with his disciples, the day the lambs for the Passover were killed (Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7-8,14-16). Jesus became the sacrificial lamb for our sins.
Whole cloves. Faithful women took spices to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body (Mark 16:1). Nicodemus and Joseph prepared his body for burial with spices (John 19:39-41).
Leather shoestring with sharp pieces of metal tied in the ends. Jesus was scourged with a whip with metal sharpened bits of metal in the ends. (John 19:1, Mark 15:19)
Purple piece of cloth. In mockery, Roman soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus (John 19:2-5 and Mark 15:17)
Nail. When Jesus was crucified, nails were driven into his hands. (John 20:24-25)
An empty egg. It symbolizes the empty tomb (Mark 16:5-7, and Luke 24:2-3).
We put the symbol-filled eggs in a basket and passed it around at lunch and dinner. Everyday during Holy Week, we opened eggs and talked about the symbols inside. Perhaps it was putting our minds to work, perhaps it was reading Bible verses, or maybe it was touching the thorns and the nails, but something happened to us. When our family got up on Easter Sunday, we spontaneously and enthusiastically greeted each other with, “He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!”
Consciously or unconsciously, we peg our lives around holidays. They are a part of the rhythm of life. We can make the most of these holidays by turning them into holy days, with an emphasis on God, on what pleases Him, on our faith, and on our values.
The challenge for families is finding ways to do this. Already busy with work, child care and numerous other responsibilities, it is hard to be ready for the next holiday let alone think of spiritual ways to celebrate. Here’s where Holiday Living can help. This book focuses on 19 special days observed in the United States. A chapter is devoted to each one giving some background information and then giving ideas for putting the holy into holidays. With a variety of ideas, each family can choose what best suits their situation.
Using the ideas in Holiday Living, your holidays can be occasions for connecting with God and building faith plus providing enjoyable, memorable times for your family. It can be an indispensable guide for putting the holy into holidays so they can be special, set apart days for instruction and worship just as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Ingathering were for God’s Chosen People.
My friends say with a name like Poinsett (almost a flower!), I’m a natural for celebrating Christmas, and indeed I am. I love to have people in my home to celebrate Jesus’ birth, but this is not to say, I don’t get frustrated at times. In this way I’m like Martha—the woman in the Bible who invited Jesus into her home and then got upset by all the work she had to do. Yes, I’m an imperfect host but I’ve learned imperfection doesn’t stand in the way of having a “Mary” Christmas. That’s why I wrote Unwrapping Martha’s Joy: Creating a Mary Christmas in Your Heart and Home.
In this book, I write about Christmas from a homemaker’s point of view. I know, I know, not many women refer to themselves as homemakers these days, but I do. My home is an extension of who I am. If my kitchen is in disarray, then I’m in disarray!
I like to invite others into my home especially at Christmas, and I want Jesus to be present too. I want both a Martha (company’s coming!) and a Mary Christmas. Mary was Martha’s sister who got to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from him. I want to see him and to experience him, and this book reflects on some of my experiences. The reflections will assure you that you don’t have to be perfect to have a Mary Christmas.
Here’s what Page, a woman who lives in Kentucky, said about Unwrapping Martha’s Joy: “It is super relevant to all women whether they are working, working at home, retired or anticipating a new season of life. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our “real life” and miss what God is doing right around us. I loved the illustrations from Brenda’s ‘real life’ that allowed me to hurt with her and others as well as rejoice in all God was and is doing. As a “party girl” like Brenda, I praise God that He reveals Himself to plain ole girls seeking Him.”
Page connects with me because we’re both “party girls” and “plain ole girls.” Yes, we’re both homemakers who like to entertain, and we both make sure we invite Jesus to join our celebrations.
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