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Seven Last Words Daily Devotional -12

by David Joynt on February 28, 2021

Seven Last Words Daily Devotional -12

SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 28, 2021

JOHN 19:25a |  25Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus...

 Do you think of your presence as a present? Often the best gift you can give to someone is the gift of yourself. Joy can be multiplied when a friend is present. Worship can deepen when we offer praise and prayers in the presence of other disciples. Your presence can calm, it can inspire, it can bless, it can protect, it can model, it can encourage.

A small number of people who loved Jesus decided to be present at His execution. The shame and trauma of the moment was unbearable. The shock and horror of the injustice was terrible. Witnessing the pain and suffering was awful. The danger of identifying as His disciple was palpable. 

Yet several brave women, and the disciple whom Jesus loved, gave Him the gift of their presence on His hardest day. The entire Christian movement had three or four members.

Give the gift of your presence to someone today.

Has anyone shown you true loyalty?

 

Tags: loyalty, presence

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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