MARCH 16, 2026

  “I'd made it this far and refused to give up because all my life I had always finished the race.” 

― Louis Zamperini, Devil at My Heels

DEUTERONOMY 27-28

9The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him(28:9)

MARK 15:33-46

33At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^b

35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

36Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,^c he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

JOURNAL 

A life lived in its fullness from birth to death is a beautiful thing. Why was it that the centurion, seeing how Jesus died, said, “Surely this man was the Son of God”? I think it is because integrity, obedience, and passion in the midst of adversity reveal something divine. There is something unmistakable about a life that holds to its purpose even while suffering.

Jesus persisted, obeyed, and did not waver all the way to the end. Even in the moment when he cried out that God had forsaken him, he did not turn to bitterness or vengeance. He did not abandon the path. He accepted the mission he had been given and finished it.

Everyone has a cross to bear. Everyone will encounter adversity. The question is how we handle it and how we persist. When we submit ourselves to follow God all the way to the end, our lives become instruments in his hands. They become part of how his Kingdom is revealed on earth. Christ not only secured redemption for us. He also showed us what a life fully lived in obedience to God looks like.

This is also a lesson in the ordinary daily grind of life. The truth is that the small, moment by moment victories prepare us for the larger ones that will eventually come. Some of the moments that seem small now will turn out to be far more important than we realize. Every moment of our lives matters. Every moment presents a challenge and an opportunity to choose obedience.

The way we respond in those moments creates patterns that shape the rest of our lives. When I continually fail in one area of my life, it inevitably affects the others. Because of that, it is vital that I bring Christ and obedience to God into every corner of my life.

This is what it means to have faith and devotion. It means surrendering my life to God completely. Faith is not something reserved only for the dramatic or important moments. It is a daily, moment by moment commitment that lasts for the rest of my life.

28Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

JOHN 19:28-30