Dancing in the Desert – New Living Translation https://wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com/nlt Just another STANDALONE WPMU2 Sites site Wed, 08 Dec 2021 09:22:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 Mary’s Testimony: He Is Risen From the Dead https://wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com/nlt/2019/04/16/marys-testimony-he-is-risen-from-the-dead-2/ https://wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com/nlt/2019/04/16/marys-testimony-he-is-risen-from-the-dead-2/#respond Tue, 16 Apr 2019 17:49:26 +0000 https://wpmu.azurewebsites.net/nlt/?p=3533 “After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.” Mark 16:9, NLT

Devotional from the Dancing in the Desert Devotional Bible

In a legal setting, the testimony of a woman was considered unreliable, subject to undue influences of the heart and imagination and therefore inadmissible. Men of the first century—Jewish, Greek, Roman, Arab—all held this view, albeit in varying degrees. They easily dismissed the words of a woman if those words didn’t fit their assumptions. The disciples rejected Mary Magdalene’s testimony of having seen Jesus (16:11), and they were later rebuked for that by Jesus himself (16:14). Yet of all the followers of Jesus—of all those whom the biblical text refers to as disciples, whether directly or by implication—Jesus appeared first to Mary and the women with her. Not only that, he sent her to tell the news to the men (Matthew 28:10).

Some biblical scholars consider this one of the clearest signs of the Gospel’s authenticity. No man of the first century would fabricate a story about a miracle and then undermine it by having women as the first witnesses to it. It had to be true. But Jesus held an unusual view of women, and Mary of Magdala seemed to be foremost among the women who followed him. She is listed first in every mention of female followers of Jesus, who apparently traveled with him throughout Galilee and, at least on this unusual occasion, to Jerusalem for Passover. We don’t know much about Mary other than the fact that she had been tormented by demons before she met Jesus and then followed him closely But we do know that no other rabbi at this point included women in his circle of followers. Jesus did, even though the sight of women traveling with men who weren’t their relatives surely unnerved a lot of people. And on this trip to Jerusalem, it was good they were there. Many women watched from a distance as Jesus hung dying (Matthew 27:55), long after most of the men had fled.

Mary probably thought she was only going to Jerusalem for Passover, never envisioning Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb. But when he was executed and her world shattered, she remained there. She came to the tomb with her companions, not to witness a resurrection, but to anoint a body. And Jesus put her world together again, better than before, and gave her a testimony for the ages.

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David’s Repentance https://wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com/nlt/2019/02/27/davids-repentance/ https://wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com/nlt/2019/02/27/davids-repentance/#respond Wed, 27 Feb 2019 19:31:40 +0000 https://wpmu.azurewebsites.net/nlt/?p=3438 “You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”
Psalm 51:17b, NLT

Devotional from the Dancing in the Desert Devotional Bible

David had sinned against Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah, and then
seemed to live in denial about the gravity of the situation. Only when Nathan the prophet confronted David with a piercing parable did the king see his sin. And unlike many kings who would have put the pesky prophet to death or banished him from the royal courts, David broke down in confession and repentance. He grieved. And he saw his offense against Bathsheba and Uriah as a sin against God himself (51:4).

Few things in life seem as hopeless as our own guilt. The sense of futility
and alienation is crushing. While many run from a painfully honest admission of guilt, we know that’s the only place to find restoration. And God is a restorer by nature. He doesn’t reject a broken spirit. He absorbs the penalty of sin himself. When we overcome pride and admit our brokenness, he repairs it and renews our joy.

Chris Tiegreen is an award-winning author of more than 50 books and discussion guides that have been translated into more than 30 languages and read by more than 5 million people worldwide. He is also a collaborative/supporting writer for other communicators (i.e., ghostwriter) on more about 20 book projects, and writer of hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles on a wide variety of topics. His experiences in media, ministry, and higher education bring a unique perspective to his writing, which often focuses on cultural commentary and devotional themes. He and his family currently live in Atlanta.

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