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Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 17

What you see is what you get…right? The saying is more or about putting it all out on the table for someone else to see. Our eyes tell us so much about something or someone. We make decisions and determinations based on what our eyes tell us. Have you ever thought, though, that our eyes might need protecting? 

No, you don’t need to wear goggles all day, but you do need some eye protection.

You need to keep some things away that can wreak havoc on your life and the entry point is located on your face. At least that’s what Jesus says. His follower Matthew records it like this:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ”

— MATTHEW 6:22

The eyes.

The eyes allow entry to our minds, which are connected to our hearts—the engines for our lives. Protect the eyes and you protect the heart. Protect the heart and your life will shine as it’s intended to shine. Let down your guard at the point of the eyes and your heart will be impacted.  Darkness can enter. Darkness is blinding. It does damage. We stumble in the dark. Our lights can begin to dim . . . but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can guard our hearts by guarding our eyes.

How is your eye protection? Impenetrable? A few small cracks? Nonexistent? Has your light been fading as more darkness comes in through your eyes? 

Is what you’re seeing starting to impact the way you’re living? Are you filling your eyes with light? Or darkness? 

Get some friends. Share your goals. Admit your weaknesses. Shore up the protection. Get your eyes healthy again. Jesus said we’re the light of the world. We will struggle with that if we allow darkness to keep creeping in.

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 16

When Jesus was alive, I wonder if his disciples took notes.

Was somebody writing down all the stuff that happened along the way? I don’t think they were because they never expected him to die on a cross. They planned on him being around as long as they were. There had been death threats, but he always escaped. He could heal blind people and make food appear out of nowhere and walk on water and turn water into really good wine. He was untouchable. There was nothing to worry about. So, no, I don’t think they wrote things down.

And yet somehow in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we find very detailed accounts of important conversations, stories, and moments they shared with him. 

One such conversation is found in John 16.

The disciples were a few years into serving as his closest followers. Impressive miracles had taken place. They had seen him do fantastic things and they were likely expecting more. Circumstances were good. Their hearts were likely at peace when he dropped a bombshell on them. He told them he was going to be leaving and they would be scattered, possibly killed, and definitely would be full of grief for a time over his demise. Their world was about to be ripped apart. Then look what he told them at the end of the conversation: 

““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.””

— JOHN 16:33

Huh? You told us you were leaving, we would miss you, we might be killed and scattered and hated . . . and you told us this so that we would have peace? How does that work? He went on: 

““In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.””

— JOHN 16:33

I love this about Jesus.
He told them the truth about life . . .
It’s not easy.
Circumstances will get rough.
Politicians and people will argue.
Race relations will be challenging.
You will disagree with one another.
Your hearts will be broken. 

The behaviors of your teenaged children will cause you stress, marriage won’t be easy, growing your character will be rough—life isn’t easy or fair or comfortable all the time. 

In THIS world you WILL have trouble. BUT in a world full of trouble, there is a way to have peace. 

And the path to peace is not paved with pretty circumstances.  
The path to peace is paved by his victory. He defeated all enemies of peace. 

In this conversation, he told them he was going away and they would not see him . . . but then after a bit, they would see him again. And when they saw him again, their peace would be solidified because they would know for sure that he had overcome the world. They were going to watch him die. Then they would see him alive again. That is how they would know that he was the boss of all the trouble, which meant they didn’t need to worry about the trouble because they knew trouble’s boss. They just had to hang with the boss. Know the boss. 

We all face trouble, and if you are faced with a lack of peace as you experience the trouble, don’t focus on the trouble. Get to know the boss. He’s the source of peace, because he’s not worried about things he already knows he has overcome. He is your source. Don’t let trouble fool you into thinking you can’t live in perfect peace. You can. 

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 15

Jesus knew that the hour was upon him when he would be handed over and led to his very painful death on the cross.

Can you imagine what would be going through your mind in those moments?
Could you honestly think of anything or anyone else?
Could you knowingly be hours from your own death and still have the presence of mind to make sure you set one final example for those you were leading? 

Jesus did.

Check out what he does on his final night with his followers: 

“So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. ”

— JOHN 13:4–5

That’s crazy. 

It’s been said that humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. In his most difficult moments, Jesus controlled his own mind enough to consider the needs of others. Can we do that? 

If you and I knew that we were about to be tortured, could we do that?
Thinking of others is tough enough in the good times, but in the tough times?
In your worst moments, who are you thinking of most?
Probably you. 

That’s how it is with all of us. Not so with Jesus.

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

— JOHN 13:12–15

Struggles didn’t stop him from serving.
All followers of Jesus face struggles.
That is no reason to stop serving.
To follow him well, we must become servants regardless of our circumstances.

Going through a challenge? Serve.
Been down on your luck? Serve.
Struggling in your marriage?
Singleness got you in your feelings?
Job situation looking bad?
Finances miserable?
Family on the struggle bus? 

You are probably tempted to focus on the trials in front of you.
But if you are a follower of Jesus, he would tell you to think of others. 

Put them first. 

It’s amazing what serving does to the anxiety caused by our problems.
It’s like medicine for our souls and Jesus knew that his followers needed to see that medicine in action in his life.

In his worst moments, he thought of them and served. 

Who can you serve today? 

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 14

As a follower of Jesus in the 21st century, I love it when I read about the disciples messing things up. It makes me feel so much better. There they were, face to face with Jesus, and they still didn’t get it. 

You may be familiar with the story of Jesus feeding 4,000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. He actually did this twice, once with 4,000 and another time with 5,000. 

One occasion is recorded in Mark 8 . . . 

Can you imagine having been one of the disciples passing out the baskets that just kept filling up? I like to picture their shock and surprise as this miracle unfolded. Maybe Matthew yelled over to Bartholomew, “Yo, Bart! My basket is blowing up over here! It’s just like . . . renewing itself! It’s not running out—at all. Like ever! This is so sick!” 

I think if I saw that happen and Jesus was my good friend, I would never worry again. If he can make food just multiply out of nowhere, then surely he has whatever we need, right? 

But then just a few hours later, we find the disciples in a boat headed somewhere together worried about dinner. Check this out: 

“The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ‘Be careful,’ Jesus warned them. ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.’ They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread.’

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’

’Twelve,’ they replied.’And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ They answered, ‘Seven.’ He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’”

— MARK 8:14–21

Isn’t it crazy that they still didn’t understand?

Somehow, even in his presence, having watched the miracles over and over again, they still didn’t get it. His closest followers didn’t get it.

We often don’t get it.

The point?
If you have a hard time understanding, you are in good company. It’s not uncommon. 

He chose those guys in the boat.
He knew they would struggle to understand.
He was patient with them and he used them in mighty ways.
He will be patient with you. 

Do you still not understand? 

Hang in there. Keep listening. Stay close to him.
The disciples eventually got it. You will too. 

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 13

You know the golden rule, don’t you?
“Do unto others what they deserve because of the way they acted the other day.”
Is that right?
Or is it, “Do unto others what they did to me?”
No, that’s not it, but that does sound familiar . . . or feel familiar.

I wonder what rule that is?

Is that the platinum rule? Or the silver rule? Or the angry red rule?
It must be some kind of rule, because as a rule, it’s how we respond much of the time. 

I know the golden rule. You know it. You didn’t have trouble completing the statement, “Do unto others ‘what you would have them do to you.’” 

It’s a simple ethic. It makes sense because we all know how we would like to be treated. When we mess up, we want patience and forgiveness. When we make a wrong turn, we want people to understand that we’re only human. When we say the wrong thing or lose our cool, we hope people will recognize that everybody has a bad moment once in a while. And since we know how WE want to be treated, it makes sense that if we just applied that to OTHERS, we would treat one another appropriately.  

Jesus actually spoke about this following his teaching on prayer. He said that if a child asked a parent for bread, the parent wouldn’t give him a stone. And if the child asked for a fish, his dad wouldn’t give him a snake.

His point was that if parents know what their children need and would easily provide it, it follows that God knows and can provide even more. God knows what we need and he will do it. And if he acts that way, then we can follow his lead. 

Whatever we know other people need, we can provide. In fact, it’s what the whole law that God had given was about. Just treat people the way you want to be treated and you will be following everything he asks. This is the whole verse found in Matthew:

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. ”

— MATTHEW 7:12

The golden rule is just a summary of everything God wants and what he wants is written on our hearts.

We want to be loved. So love.
We want to be forgiven. So forgive.
We want to be heard. So listen.
We want to be encouraged. So encourage.

It’s all right there on our hearts, in our minds.
If we just do to others what we want done to us, we will be doing ALL that God intends and we’ll be acting like God himself. 

You can change the world. And it’s simple. It’s just not easy.
Go golden-rule your world today!