Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a collection of brief but meaningful meditations on Scripture. BJU Press has published a book by the same name with 96 of these devotional articles. Each chapter focuses on a Scripture verse or two, blending key facts about context with meditations on the truth of the passage. Find out how taking just a minute each day can change your life!
If you are interested, you can purchase Just A Minute, containing the first 96 printed articles.
Mary the First (Just A Minute #129)
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. (John 20:1)
She was the first.
Mary was at the front of that long line of people who actually saw the resurrected Lord! And obviously, nobody can ever take the gold medal from her neck.
All four Gospels tell us that she was the fortunate believer. Other women went early too, but none before her. Of the men we know little. They were either too sad, too confused, too discouraged, or too frightened.
City Seekers (Just A Minute #128)
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. (Hebrews 13:12-14)
Various cities in the Middle East fuss over which is the most ancient. Among the contenders are cities like Jerusalem, Byblos, Jericho, and Damascus. The debate often spars over definitions, involving the claims of uninterrupted habitation, the presence of the oldest ruins, and so forth. Some argue with archeology while others dig up their evidence from the writings of age old historians.
The writer of Hebrews would not have taken sides in this squabble. He had his sights much higher than any earthly city. He had read the Biblical record of city builders like Nimrod, Pharoah, and Nebuchadnezzar. He was not ignorant of the glories of Niniveh, Pithom, and Babylon. But he was not too impressed with their splendor and power.
All of that dazzle was now sealed and useless in the coffins of history. Yes, they had risen, and they had shined. But their glory had forever fizzled out.
Thirsty People (Just A Minute #127)
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. . . . . Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. . . . And many more believed because of his own word; (John 4:15,30,41)
There were a lot of thirsty people near Jacob’s well that day.
First was the Lord Jesus, who had been walking for several hours. He was tired, hot, and ready for a drink of cool water. Presumably the disciples were just as eager to relieve their dry throats. The woman of Samaria who came out for water in the heat of the day was undoubtedly thirsty too.
But all of this thirst was merely physical.
The Second Surprise (Just A Minute #126)
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:1-3)
In the previous chapter Jeremiah had received his first surprise.
As a prisoner in Zedekiah’s courtyard, God had interrupted his puzzled thoughts. Unsure about exactly how the Babylonian siege would play out, and perhaps wondering about his own safety, he was probably asking the Lord for direction. Whatever his request, most likely he had not expected the message he got.
God told him to buy property from a relative who was about to visit him!
Now that was really strange.
Witnesses! (Just A Minute #125)
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. . . . But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Isaiah 43:10/Acts 1:8)
How beautifully the Holy Spirit weaves His themes in and out of Scripture, causing them to emerge in different centuries of the sacred story, each time according to His wise purpose.
The wording of Isaiah’s verse is so close to that of Acts 1:8 that there can be little question about their being close spiritual cousins. The exact details are different but the living thrust of both passages is a divine mission for every true believer in God.
We are to be His witnesses.