Morning Devotional 042426 To Whom Do We Belong?

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

April 24, 2026

Matthew 27:45-56

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon, the whole earth was dark. ⁴⁶ At about three, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?” ⁴⁷ After hearing him, some standing there said, “He’s calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ One of them ran over, took a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.” ⁵⁰ Again, Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died. ⁵¹ Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, ⁵² and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised. ⁵³ After Jesus’ resurrection, they came out of their graves and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake, and what had just happened, they were filled with awe and said, “This was certainly God’s Son.” ⁵⁵ Many women were watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. 

Good Morning! Jesus is certainly God’s Son.

With all that, many still did not believe, including the religious leaders! Think about the audacity of those who are read and taught the scriptures to see all the prophesied signs and still question the authority of Jesus. 

Within these thoughts, I hear the little voice in my head saying, “We can become so tainted by what we think we know that we can’t even consider the idea that we might be wrong.” Throughout history, we have seen and read accounts of those who fostered their beliefs of being right to the death of themselves and their followers.

In our modern times, we see cult leaders, like Jim Jones, who are guided by false prophets and lead their followers to ruin. There are more names for this list than I can type, but I’m sure you can name others. Whenever we find ourselves asking, “How in the world could someone follow and not see?” we review our own journeys and think about those we blindly followed. 

The human tendency to belong is powerful. Evil has a way of using this need to belong to lure unsuspecting people into its web. By the time we begin to put the pieces together, we are caught and unsure of how to find our way out. 

 The Good News is that God is always waiting to come and find all who call on Jesus’ Holy name. There is nowhere we can go that is beyond God’s reach. When the desire to belong is nurtured in God’s love, it becomes a life-changing experience. Jesus calls us to come, see, listen, and follow. It is up to us to open ourselves so that we don’t miss the signs leading us to love, peace, grace, and mercy. 

God of Wisdom, you bless us abundantly! Help us, your sinful children. We are proud and stubborn when it comes to admitting we were wrong. Thank you for loving us anyway. Thank you. We love you. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Thought for the day: Even when we are in the darkest pit, Jesus comes to light our way.

Give yourself fully to Christ! Pastor Liz