Written By Rev. Adam Hengst
Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Ashes and Dust Genesis 3:17-19
“From dust you came and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Every year on Ash Wednesday people come to church and have these words spoken over them by their pastor as he smears ashes on their foreheads. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people participate in this act each year. But have you ever wondered why? After all, this seems like a strange tradition. Why do we place ashes on our heads? Why does the pastor speak these words reminding us of our mortality?
Throughout the Old Testament we see example after example of people humbling themselves before God in repentance and covering themselves in ashes. After Job lost everything he had, including his children, he covered himself in ashes (Job 2:8). All the people of Israel in the known world covered themselves in ashes after they learned that the Persians were planning a genocide against them (Esther 4:1-3). Even in the New Testament Jesus warned the cities of Israel to repent in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21). The circumstances when people put on sackcloth and ashes are different throughout the Bible, but the one thing they all have in common is that when the people covered themselves in ashes they were in despair and were coming to God in repentance.
Dust and ashes symbolize having been brought low, all the way to the ground. During these moments, God’s people showed grief over their circumstances and over their sin and humbled themselves before God as they asked for deliverance. It is incredible that no matter what God’s people had done, when they humbled themselves in this manner God listened and remembered His people.
Why do we cover ourselves with ashes on Ash Wednesday? We do this because like the people of God from the Bible it is a reminder of our frailty, our mortality and our sinfulness. Being marked in ashes is an outward sign of humbling ourselves before God and crying out in repentance. The joyous thing for us is that in the same way God forgave His people of old He forgives us today.
On Ash Wednesday come to hear the pastor say “From dust you came and to dust you shall return” as he rubs those ashes on your forehead. Come with a heart of humility and repentance to receive God’s forgiveness. Come in joy as well, for God is faithful to forgive His people.
Heavenly Father: I am a poor, miserable sinner. I come before You today with a penitent and humble heart. Forgive me for my sins and, during this season of Lent, let me remain humbled before You in fasting, repentance and prayer. Amen
Thursday, February 23, 2023
The Comparison Game Luke 18:9-14
The comparison game is one that almost everyone has played at one time or another. Here are some examples of how the game plays out:
- Well, I may not have gotten an A on that test, but at least I did not do as bad as that person.
- I may not be a great parent, but at least I am present for my kids.
- I may not be perfect, but at least I am not as bad as they are.
We like to play this game. It makes us feel better about ourselves and our shortcomings, because at least we are not like THEM, whoever they are. However, when we play this game we do not just deceive ourselves. No, we may not be as bad as THEM, but that does not mean we are good enough for God.
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus told a parable about the comparison game. In this story, a Pharisee, who by all appearances was a good person, came to God in prayer and compared himself to everyone else. The list of all the good things he did was pretty impressive. He did not commit crimes, he fasted, he tithed, overall he thought he was better than everyone else. On the other hand there was a tax collector who everyone knew was not a good person, who was hated, because, well, he was a tax collector. He knew he could not match up to anyone else, so his prayer was simple, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
What is most interesting about this parable is that Jesus commended the tax collector and not the Pharisee. Why? Simply put, because no matter how much better the Pharisee was than the tax collector, he was still a sinner and did not deserve God’s grace and forgiveness. But instead of asking for forgiveness, he simply told God how great he was.
Meanwhile, the tax collector, recognizing how full of sin he was, came to God with a repentant heart and asked for mercy. He truly was sorry for his sins and God poured out His grace upon him.
Lent is a season of repentance, fasting and prayer. It is a season when comparing ourselves to others serves no purpose; it does not matter how good we think we are or how much better we are than someone else. The only thing that matters is how good we are compared to God! The answer for everyone is–not good enough.
That is why as we start this Lenten season we begin with repentance, coming to God like the tax collector in this parable with a broken and contrite heart, coming to receive the grace and mercy of God through the justifying work of Jesus.
Dear God: I know I am sinful in thought, word and deed. Have mercy on me and grant me Your forgiveness now and always. Amen.
Friday, February 24, 2023
Why Should I Give Something Up For Lent? Matthew 6:16-18
In 2014 the Washington Post did a twitter survey of the top 25 things that people give up for Lent. The top of the list included the following:
- School (11,330 Tweets)
- Chocolate (8,916 Tweets)
- Twitter (8,171 Tweets)
- Swearing (6,733 Tweets)
- Alcohol (6,543 Tweets)
Reading through these responses made me realize that most people do not understand the purpose behind giving something up for Lent. Many people see giving something up as a joke (thus the school answer being number one). Many others see it as a chance to restart their failed New Year’s resolution. Others see it as a chance to get something toxic out of their lives. For others it is a way to get attention for themselves by giving something up.
While having a good laugh at a silly joke, improving oneself or getting rid of toxic things is admirable and fine, that is not the purpose behind the practice of giving something up for Lent. The purpose of this practice is to partake in a fast, and a fast is not just giving something up for the sake of giving something up.
The Christian perspective on fasting is that a person would give up something important, like television or certain meals in the day. Instead, they would use the time spent watching TV or eating a meal to focus their hearts and minds on God’s word, in prayer and reflecting on the goodness of God in their lives. This is true fasting.
In the scripture reading for today’s devotion Jesus teaches about fasting. In this teaching from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus wants us to know the importance of fasting. More importantly, He wants us to take the idea of fasting seriously. Fasting is not a joke nor is it a way to draw attention to ourselves. Instead, we fast to draw closer to God, hear His voice and follow after Him.
This year, I would encourage you to fast during this 40 day season of Lent by giving up something important that takes a lot of your time. Then use that time to focus your heart and mind on God and on His love for you by being in His word, being in prayer and reflecting on Him.
Dear God: Help me to focus my heart and mind on You during this season. As I give up _______, help me to do so to grow closer to You. Amen.
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Come to Me Matthew 11:25-30
One day while Martin Luther sat at the dinner table eating his food, he noticed one of his dogs looking eagerly and longingly at the food that Martin was eating. The dog kept looking with an open mouth and motionless eyes, completely focused on the food and waiting for Martin to give him just the slightest morsel of the meal he was enjoying. After observing the dog for a few minutes Martin declared, “Oh, If I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish or hope.” *
Indeed, how wonderful it would be to pray with that kind of fervency and desire. To want nothing more than to be in God’s presence and to hear His voice spoken into our lives. Unfortunately, prayer is not an easy discipline for us to master as Christians. Yes, we want to speak to God, we want to hear Him speak to us and we want to be people who pray without ceasing; yet we so often struggle in our prayer life.
There are countless reasons why we struggle to pray. We don’t have time. We don’t know what to say. We get distracted by too many things that we have to deal with. We feel guilt, fear or shame and because of this, we do not feel worthy to come to God in prayer. There are many other reasons why we struggle in prayer.
Yet prayer in the life of a Christian is not just a good idea, it is essential. It is vital that we come before God in praise and thanksgiving, in want, need and supplication. It is vital that we sit still in the presence of God and listen to His voice.
Jesus makes this very clear to us in our reading for today. He invites us to come to Him with all the weariness we feel. He invites us to come to Him even if we do not know what to say. He invites us to come with our unworthiness. He invites us to come to Him so that He may give us rest and take our burdens upon Himself.
The more we come to God in prayer, the more we will become like the dog in the story. We will learn to focus more on who God is and what He has done for us. Even when we are distracted while praying, God will have mercy and compassion on us and will hear our prayers.
If you are weak and heavy laden, take time to come to Jesus. Pray to Him and cast your burdens on Him because He cares for you.
Dear Jesus: I thank You that You invite me to come and to lay my burdens before You and on You. Help me to find rest in You today and to be intentional about being in prayer. Amen.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Songs of Praise Psalm 100
Lent is a time of somber reflection and preparation. During this season we focus on prayer, repentance, service and fasting. While all of this is appropriate, it is also important for us to remember the joy we have as children of God. That joy leads us to praise. For this Sunday’s devotion I encourage you to read Psalm 100, reflect on it and then read it a second time. Finally, read it a third time, and during this third time of reading, read it as a prayer to God, giving thanks and praise to Him for all He has done and for all He continues to do. For He is indeed worthy of all praise.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, He is God!
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture,
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him; bless His name!
For the Lord is good;
His steadfast love endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for all You have done for me and for continuing to be with me in all things. Help me to give You thanks and praise always, for You alone are worthy of praise. Amen.
Monday, February 27, 2023
Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better Jeremiah 9:23-24
Growing up, I had a close friend who always liked to play the one upmanship game. If someone did something they thought was unique or special, he had already done it and had done it better than us. On the off chance that we managed to have an experience that was unique to us and was impossible for him to have done, he would immediately tell a story that was so incredible that one could hardly believe it (and no one ever did). He always had to one up others and boast about how special he was. His mantra was truly, “anything you can do I can do better. I can do anything better than you.”
I am certain that you could think of someone you know or have known who always had to one up others with a boastful story of all the things they had accomplished in life. Instead of focusing on that individual, today I would ask you to examine yourself. Have you ever boasted and bragged about your accomplishments? Sure you have. It is human nature to seek to achieve greatness; and when we achieve something great, it is human nature to share this with others. Sharing can be done in a humble manner; yet too often we inevitably turn to boasting as we brag about our success at work or school. We inevitably boast about our wisdom, our success, our wealth and so many other things. No matter how much we may accomplish, in the end it will never be enough.
We should certainly give thanks to God for these great blessings and achievements in our lives. However, Jeremiah 9:23-24 reminds us that there is only one thing we should boast about.
“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
During this season of Lent, let us follow these words. Let us not boast in what we have accomplished, in our wisdom or in our strength, but let us boast in knowing God and in Christ Jesus who is our life, our righteousness and the only thing worth boasting about. Instead of one upping people with what we have accomplished, let us boast in the God we serve and in who He is.
Heavenly Father: Help me not to boast in myself or my accomplishments. Help me to boast in knowing You and the life and hope I have in You. Amen
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
White Washed Tombs Matthew 23:1-36
Just a day or two before Jesus was crucified He had one of the most contentious moments in His entire ministry. In Matthew 23, He was speaking before crowds of people at the Temple Mount when suddenly He turned on the Pharisees and Scribes, and in front of His disciples and the crowds He pronounced “woes” upon them. These “woes” were declarations of horror upon the Pharisees and the Scribes. This was certainly a startling and unexpected pronouncement from Jesus to the religious leaders of Israel, and they were certainly taken aback. Within 24 hours they would put their plan of executing Jesus into motion.
Jesus did not pronounce these woes upon the religious leaders of Israel because they were outwardly breaking the law of Moses. In fact, they followed that law to the letter. They followed the ritualistic cleansing laws, but inside were full of greed and indulgence. They were meticulous about following the laws of tithing, but would ignore matters of justice because it was inconvenient to them. Despite following these laws so well, Jesus still pronounced woes on them. He did this because the Pharisees and Scribes relied so much on their own conformity to the letter of the law that they had missed the purpose for which God had given them the law.
They were just whitewashed tombs (v. 27). They looked great on the outside. Perfect in fact. However, they were dead inside. No matter how well they followed God’s law, their hearts were far from God.
As we read this account, it is easy for us to condemn and cast stones on the Pharisees and Scribes, but the attitude these people held was not unique to them. As a matter of fact, 700 years earlier God spoke a warning against this kind of attitude to His people Israel, through the prophet Joel. In Joel 2:12-13 God says, “‘Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster.” 700 years before Jesus spoke these words to the Pharisees and Scribes, God told His people that what He really wanted from them is a heart that is turned back to God and seeking Him in all ways. While the outward signs of piety were fine, what God really wanted from His people was their hearts.
This is still what God wants from His people today. God wants us, His people, to follow Him and turn to Him with our hearts. It is good that we go to church. It is good that we help people in need. It is good that we practice spiritual disciplines. It is good that we tell people about Jesus. It is good that we follow the law of God. All of these things we should do and they are good. But if our hearts are far from God then we are no different than the Pharisees and Scribes whom Jesus pronounced “woes” upon.
So the question is, are you seeking God with all your heart? Are you turning to God in repentance with all your heart? Or is your heart far from God?
Heavenly Father: Forgive me when I try to rely on my own goodness and righteousness. Help me to follow You with all my heart. Amen.
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
The Mighty Warrior Zephaniah 3:17
Every day the little boy would sit on the front porch with his dad and look at the geese on the pond. Every day he would say to his dad, “I am not afraid of those geese at all. I bet if I ran down there to try to scare them off, they would all fly away.” One day he found the courage to go after the geese. He ran down towards them as fast as he could, making all kinds of noise trying to scare them off. As he began to draw close to them, the geese turned toward the boy and began to come at him and hiss at him, and the little boy got scared and ran away.
When he got back to the porch his dad said, “Why don’t you try that again.” The little boy responded, “Only if you go with me.” So the little boy and his father went down to the geese. This time when the geese started to come toward him aggressively, his father made himself really big and intimidated the geese so much that they all flew away. The little boy was overcome with joy that he had scared all the geese away, but more than anything he was overjoyed that his father had been with him.
There are many times when we try to accomplish things on our own. Many times we are scared and think we need to overcome those fears on our own. Other times we just feel self-sufficient and do not need help from anyone. Sometimes we are just like the little boy in this story. We want to be strong, self-reliant and independent, but when really scary situations and difficulties arise we try to take care of them ourselves but quickly realize we are not able to.
Instead of trying to do things on our own, we should turn to our Heavenly Father and ask for His help. When we ask for God to be with us and to help us, He will always answer “Yes.” He does this because we are His children and He loves us. He is the Mighty Warrior we read about in Zephaniah 3:17. He is our protector who saves us and loves us and sings over us because we are His.
Today and every day in the coming week, go to your Heavenly Father in prayer, laying your need before Him and asking for His help. He will answer you and be with you because you are His child and He is the Mighty Warrior.
Heavenly Father: Forgive me for the times when I try to do everything on my own. Help me to begin each day in Your name and ask for Your help in my life. Thank You for loving me and singing over me, Your child. Amen.
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Hide and Seek Luke 11:9-13
One thing that I remember most fondly from childhood was playing games with my family and friends. My favorite game was hide and seek. The way we played the game was different from how most played it. We did not just play in our house, but we played on our 10 acre property, which had a lot of good places to hide. It could easily take an hour or two just to find one or two people. It was not possible to half-heartedly look for those who were hiding. We had to seek them with intention and with tenacity or we would not find anyone. When we sought people out with energy and with consistency, we were able to find many of those hiding.
In Luke 11:9-13, Jesus tells the disciples to ask, seek and knock. For everyone who asks will receive, and whoever seeks will find, and for the one who knocks the door will be opened. In these words Jesus is not telling us that if we just have enough faith we will get whatever we want. He is telling us that as children of God when we ask, seek and knock for the things of God (faith, strength in hard times, being led by the Spirit, wisdom, love, patience, etc.) that He will answer us.
These words should encourage us to daily seek God in prayer, to daily ask for the things we need and to daily knock at the door of faith. Unfortunately, it is easy to fall into the habit of being lackadaisical in prayer and, in some circumstances, we can find ourselves not seeking God at all for a wide variety of reasons.
As followers of Jesus, redeemed by the grace of God, there should be nothing in the world that we seek more than being in prayer and in the presence of God. When we fall prey to ignoring God in our daily lives our faith suffers. When we truly seek after God in prayer with intention, energy and faith, God will answer our prayers and be with us.
God is with us in every circumstance of life and He cares about what we are going through. Do not hide from God but seek Him with all your heart at all times.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for seeking me out and finding me through Jesus. Help me to not hide from You, but to come before You asking, seeking and knocking in all life’s circumstances. Amen.
Friday, March 3, 2023
Being A Person After God’s Heart Psalm 61
King David is known as a man after God’s own heart (I Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22), but he was far from being a perfect man who lived a perfect life.
From a very young age he became a prominent figure in the nation of Israel. He rose to prominence because he defeated the giant Goliath (I Samuel 17). With this great victory the people of land began to praise David as a mighty conqueror. Saul, the king, became very jealous of David. Numerous times he tried to kill David until finally David had to flee and live in the wilderness as a fugitive because of King Saul’s jealousy. This was certainly not a great way to live. But David was a man after God’s heart and he continued to seek to trust God.
Eventually David became king, but not everything was great for him. After a time David became self-satisfied and lazy. He took Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, as his own. Then David had Uriah murdered. Still, David was a man after God’s own heart, and when he was confronted with his sin, he cried out to God for forgiveness and he repented.
When David became old he had to deal with the consequences of his sinful actions with Bathsheba. His son Absalom accomplished a coup d’etat, which drove David away from Jerusalem. It was during this time of familial brokenness and kingly defeat that David prayed the words we read in Psalm 61. In this Psalm we see once again why David was called a man after God’s heart. In the midst of disaster, he turned back to God and begged for God to remember him, to hear his prayer and to forgive him.
In all of these circumstances of David’s life, we see a common thread. When he was good, righteous and doing God’s will, he sought God with his whole heart. When he did sinful and abominable actions he turned to God in repentance and sought Him with his whole heart. When he was betrayed by his son and his kingdom crashed down around him, he sought God with his whole heart.
David was a man after God’s heart, not because of what he did or failed to do, nor because of who he was or wasn’t. He was a man after God’s heart because in all circumstances he turned his heart to God.
Like David, we are called to be people after God’s own heart. Too often we sin, often we have been sinned against and many disasters have happened to us. During those times it is so easy to try to ignore or excuse our sin. It is easy to seek vengeance for the wrong done to us. It is easy to hide from or ignore the disasters or try to fix it all on our own.
In those times we need to remember we are to be people after God’s heart. Follow the example of David and turn to God for forgiveness of our sins, for the grace to forgive others who have sinned against us and for God to be with us in the midst of disaster.
Turn your heart to God no matter what circumstance you are facing at this time.
Heavenly Father: Help me to be like King David and be a person after Your heart. Help me to turn to You in all circumstances and trust You are there with me. Amen.
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Cast Your Anxieties on Him I Peter 5:6-7
Christians know there is no need to be anxious, not only because Jesus tells us not to be anxious about anything (Matthew 6:24-35), but because we know that Jesus cares for us, provides for us, will not leave us. Most importantly, He saved us and gave us eternal life. Yet despite the encouragement from Jesus to not be anxious and to trust in Him, in our sinful condition we are prone to have seasons of great anxiety.
There are many reasons for this, but all anxiety boils down to fear. Fear about the future, fear of what people think of us, fear of disappointing others and so many more. Fear can easily dominate every part of our lives. Arthur Somers Roche defined anxiety in the following way: “Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” This is a perfect description of anxiety, because most anxiety comes from a very small fear that can easily be blown into all-consuming anxiety that affects our health, our relationships, our mental well being and even our faith.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, when we come to faith, we would never again struggle with anxiety. But so long as we are in this world as sinners and saints we will be prone to struggle with both fear and anxiety.
What are we to do as followers of Jesus? After all, He tells us not to be anxious. But in our sinful nature we are too often filled with both fear and anxiety.
According to I Peter 5:6-7, when we are filled with anxiety and fear we are to remember the God we serve. We are to humble ourselves before Him and cast all those anxieties upon Him. In remembering the God we serve, we are reminded that He cares for the flowers of the field and the birds of the air (Matthew 6:24-35). If He cares for those things, how much more will He take care of us. In remembering the God we love, we are reminded that Jesus died for us and rose for us. No matter what happens God will love us and we will have eternal life. As we remember the God we serve and humble ourselves before Him, we are reminded that He does truly care for us and is with us always.
Doing this does not guarantee that we will never have anxiety, but when fear and anxiety raise their heads remember the God we serve and cast those anxieties on Him because He cares for us.
Heavenly Father: I come humbly before You today, thanking You for Your love and mercy in my life. I cast my anxieties on You today, because I know You love me and You care for me. Amen.
Sunday, March 5, 2023
Songs of Praise Psalm 150
Lent is a time of somber reflection and preparation. During this season we focus on prayer, repentance, service and fasting. While all of this is appropriate, it is also important for us to remember the joy we have as children of God. That joy leads us to praise. For this Sunday’s devotion I encourage you to read Psalm 150, reflect on it and then read it a second time. Finally, read it a third time, and during this third time of reading, read it as a prayer to God, giving thanks and praise to Him for all He has done and for all He continues to do. For He is indeed worthy of all praise.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty heavens!
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
praise Him with lute and harp!
Praise Him with tambourine and dance;
praise Him with strings and pipe!
Praise Him with sounding cymbals;
praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Heavenly Father: Thank You for all You have done for me, and for continuing to be with me in all things. Help me to give You thanks and praise always, for You are worthy of praise. Amen.
Monday, March 6, 2023
Lord I Believe, Help My Unbelief Mark 9:14-27
The man’s son had been dealing with horrible ailments during his entire life. He was unable to speak and frequently had seizures. The man tried everything to help his son. He consulted with doctors and with the wise and knowledgeable men of his community. Yet nothing had been done. He was convinced the reason no one was able to help was because his son was not just dealing with an ailment, but was actually possessed by a demon. So he consulted the religious leaders of his community but they could do nothing to help.
He was about to give up when he heard of a man who was going around the area preaching a message of repentance and healing people. In desperation he attempted to take his son to this man, but the crowds were so great he could not get to the man, whose name was Jesus. However, some of Jesus’ followers were on the outskirts of the crowd. He took his son to them, but they were not able to help. What was going on between the followers of Jesus and this man began to draw the attention of the entire crowd. Eventually Jesus made His way to this man who was arguing with Jesus’ followers.
Jesus asked the man what was going on, and he told Him the entire situation. He finished the story by declaring that Jesus’ followers tried to help, but they could do nothing. Jesus asked that the boy be brought to Him, and asked the father how long his son had struggled with the infirmities. The man responded that it had been happening the boy’s entire life, and if Jesus could do something he would greatly appreciate it.
Jesus responded, “If I can do something, all things are possible for those who believe.” The man responded and said, “I believe, help my unbelief.” At this point, Jesus healed the boy and drove the demon out.
The statement that the man made to Jesus at the end is one of the greatest prayers in the entire Bible. As Christians, we believe in Jesus, and yet so often we struggle with that faith. We doubt God for a variety of reasons, or we let fear overpower our faith. It is during those times that we should remember this story, remember the words of this father and make them into a prayer for ourselves.
The times when we doubt God or fail to trust in Him as we should, we can pray, “God I am struggling to trust You. Lord, I believe in You, help my unbelief.”
When we feel shame and guilt for our sin, we should pray, “God, I do not feel like You could love me right now because of what I have done. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”
Those times when we are overcome with grief and brokenness, we should pray, “God my heart is broken, and I do not know where to turn. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”
Any time we are struggling in faith, we should pray, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”
God is faithful and He will carry us in our unbelief and answer us, just as he did the father in this story.
Heavenly Father: Forgive me when I doubt or struggle in faith. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Amen.
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Joy Philippians 1:21
Where does joy in your life come from?
There are thousands of different answers to that question, the most common of which are family, art, music, exercise, professional success, financial success and security.
These things often bring a feeling of great pleasure or happiness, which we usually define as joy. It makes sense that these things would bring us feelings of great joy. Being around our family, the people we love the most, brings happiness. Seeing a child succeed in an endeavor brings happiness and pleasure to parents. Listening to beautiful music or observing spectacular art gives us a feeling of pleasure and, oftentimes, peace. Exercise releases endorphins into our bodies which makes us feel great. Success in life helps us feel like we are gifted at something, causing us joy. These are wonderful blessings from God.
Unfortunately, there are times when these things fail to bring the anticipated joy. Our families hurt us, or maybe we hurt them causing strain within our family. There are times when we cannot exercise and we become physically unhealthy causing frustration instead of joy. Financial success and security can quickly be taken away if we lose our job or we make some bad financial decisions.Then instead of security and peace there is turmoil and fear. Even music and art that bring us joy can fade when we are struggling.
If our joy is based on people, success, health, wealth or even the arts, at times that joy may completely disappear. However, if our joy is based on Jesus, then no matter the circumstances of our lives, our joy cannot be taken away. How can this be? Saint Paul captured the answer to this perfectly when he wrote in Philippians 1:21, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.”
Disciples of Jesus can have joy in all circumstances because no matter the situation Christ is risen and He is with us. Even if our family is at risk or our livelihood is at risk, God is faithful; He does not change, nor does He leave us. So, it is true that to live is to be loved by Christ, to walk with Christ and to serve Christ. If things become so dire that our lives are at risk and we find ourselves facing death, there is joy, because if we die then we go to be with our Savior in Paradise.
Joy found in people, success, health and wealth is an amazing gift from God. Not only can these gifts come and go, they will come and go based on the seasons of our lives. On the other hand, joy found in Christ is present in every circumstance we may face.
So, where does joy in your life come from?
Dear Jesus: Thank You that in every circumstance I face in life You are with me. Thank You for all the blessings that bring me joy. Help me ultimately find my joy in You. Amen.
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
A Time of Preparation Luke 4:1-4
Last year I ran my first marathon, and even though the entirety of the race took place over a few hours, in reality it was a five month long race. It took five months to achieve the level of training needed to run the marathon. While it is possible to complete a marathon without training, it is much more likely the runner would end up in the hospital than finish the race. So I began training by running five times a week for the first five weeks. From week six on I ran at least 30 miles a week. It was not easy, but in the end I was thankful I had trained as I did. I was thankful because I was able to complete the race in 3½ hours and had no physical issues after the race. Preparation was vital in running that marathon.
In Luke Chapter 4 we see Jesus preparing for something much more important than a marathon. Jesus was preparing to begin His earthly ministry when He would preach and teach, heal and restore and eventually die and rise. Jesus knew how important it was for Him to fulfill and accomplish the mission for which He came. So for 40 days Jesus was by Himself in the wilderness fasting and praying. But, while He fasted and prayed He was being tempted by the devil himself. At the end of the 40 days, Jesus was ready to do the mission for which He came to this earth. These 40 days of Jesus’ preparation show us how important it is for us to prepare ourselves during the season of Lent.
And what are we preparing for? We are preparing ourselves not only for the death of our Lord Jesus but, equally important, to remember why He had to die. We prepare ourselves to confront our sinfulness and sickness. We also prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. The way we prepare ourselves is to follow the example of Jesus. We join together in worship, in repentance, in prayer, in service and in fasting.
By doing this, we not only prepare ourselves for Good Friday and Easter, but we also prepare ourselves for the day when Christ will return.
Dear Jesus: Thank You for all You have done for us, Your children. Help me prepare my heart for the remembrance of Good Friday and Easter. Amen.
Thursday, March 9, 2023
The Repentant Life Ezekiel 18:21-24
When I was a kid I got in trouble for cheating at a game of Monopoly with my family. I did not think it was that big of a deal, but my dad thought otherwise. I was sent to my room and after 30 minutes my dad came to talk to me. As soon as he came into my room, I said, “I am sorry, can I get out of my room now?” My dad was not fooled. He knew I was not sorry for cheating, but was simply sorry I got caught. I was still in a lot of trouble for cheating, but I learned something important that day. There is a difference between an apology and repentance. When people apologize, they are sorry they got caught. When people repent, they are sorry for what they did but, more importantly, they want to change and not continue doing the thing they apologized for.
In Ezekiel 18, God speaks through the prophet telling His people the soul that sins shall indeed die. These are difficult words for us to hear, because we know that we are people who do sin and because of our sins we deserve the death described in this chapter. However, God makes it clear that even though we deserve death, He does not desire this outcome for us or for any of his creation.
In Ezekiel 18:21-24 God speaks and says, “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?”
These words make it clear that God’s desire is not for people to die and be separated from Him because of their sin. His desire is not for us to be punished. His desire is for His people to turn back to Him in repentance and to follow Him with all our heart. It is amazing that a holy, righteous, perfect God desires us unholy, unrighteous, imperfect people to be with Him for all eternity. In fact, He loves us so much that He came to this world to be our righteousness and to suffer and die on our behalf.
We are forgiven and are given a new life in Christ. Yet there are still so many times when we do wicked things and choose to follow our own way instead of following His way. When we find ourselves continually falling short of God’s glory and sinning over and over, we are encouraged by God to come to Him in repentance over and over. Whenever we do this God is faithful to always forgive our sins. So let us live lives of repentance as we seek God in all we do and say, trusting that God is pleased when we turn from our sinful ways and live in the grace and mercy of Jesus.
Heavenly Father: Forgive me for my sin. Thank you for making me righteous through Jesus. Help me live a life of repentance and faith. Amen.
Friday, March 10, 2023
Out of the Blue Genesis 12:1-4
Abraham was a man of some significance and wealth in Haran, the town in which he lived. He daily livied a good and fulfilling life, completely content with his lot in life. Then one day out of the blue all that changed.
God appeared to Abraham and told him to leave everything behind. That meant Abraham had to leave the gods he had been serving. It meant he had to leave his community and friends, to leave his security and to become a nomadic wanderer.
However, God did not just ask Abraham to leave everything, He also made a promise to Abraham that if he would listen and obey Him by leaving his country, his gods, and his security, then God would be with him and would make him into a great nation. In addition, God would also make him a blessing to the nations. Abraham immediately got up and prepared to leave, taking his family and his wealth, but leaving everything else behind, trusting in a promise he could not be certain would be fulfilled.
Over the remainder of Abraham’s life he often doubted God’s promise. He especially was troubled that he and his wife, Sarah, could not have children. After all, if he was unable to have children with his wife, how could he ever become a great nation and a blessing to the world? Despite those moments of doubt, Abraham continued to trust God. Even though Abraham would never live to see God’s promises fulfilled, he knew that God would fulfill them in His time.
Abraham’s faith was rewarded. Israel grew into a great and important nation and still is to this day. More importantly, God blessed the entire world through Abraham, because it was Abraham’s descendant who would be born as a baby to a virgin on Christmas. It was Abraham’s descendant who would go to a cross on Good Friday. It was Abraham’s descendant who would rise victorious from the grave on Easter.
Christians today have been given the blessing that was promised to Abraham. Through Jesus the entire world has been blessed because salvation has come for all who believe. When we were baptized into the family of Christ, God brought us from death into life and made us part of His people. Out of the blue God called us by name and made us His own. Now, through the faith given us by God, we walk in faith just as Abraham did, trusting that God is always faithful to keep His promises.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for calling me to be Your child and for giving me the blessing of Abraham, Your son Jesus. Help me walk in faith in Him today. Amen.
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Rescued Zechariah 9:14-17
Air Force fighter pilot Captain Scott O’Grady was shot down behind enemy lines on June 2, 1995, in Bosnia. He had undergone a 17 day Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training, but no training could have fully prepared him for the real deal of being shot down behind enemy lines. He knew from training to immediately radio for help, but once he had shared that initial communication he had to go radio silent so as not to give away his location. For the next six days he had to evade the paramilitary forces that were seeking to apprehend him. He ate leaves, bugs and grass and stored whatever rainwater he could in a bag. On June 8 O’Grady set a radio beacon for the American rescue troops to find his location. He set off a flare so that he could not be missed and he was rescued from behind enemy lines by a Marine rescue team.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel had gotten lost behind enemy lines. They had not been shot down like O’Grady was, but they had been conquered and oppressed by the nations of Assyria and Babylon. This happened because they rejected God and made idols for themselves, and because they had put their trust in kings and nations instead of in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Regardless of the reasons why this happened, the reality is that they were in need of being rescued.
They believed they had been forgotten by God, but in Zechariah 9:14-17 God spoke to His people through the prophet and said, “On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.” With these words God reassured His people that He had not forgotten them, that He would save them and that He would restore the promise of blessing to them.
Ultimately, God would accomplish this when He sent His son Jesus into this world. On the day of Jesus’ death and resurrection, God saved His people. He brought them out of darkness into light and rescued them from the power of sin, death and the devil, fulfilling the promise He had made to them in the book of Zechariah.
Many times in our lives we need to be rescued from our circumstances. Many times we need to be rescued from our sin. During those times we need to remember the promise God made to His people in the book Zechariah and remember that Jesus has fulfilled that promise and rescued us. He came behind enemy lines to pull us out of our sin, to pull us out from the hell that we deserve. He is our rescuer and our strength. The Lord is our salvation.
Dear Jesus: Thank You for coming to the world and for rescuing me from sin, death and the power of the devil. Grant me assurance of Your salvation and help me to live boldly in faith as Your child. Amen.
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Songs of Praise Psalm 148
Lent is a time of somber reflection and preparation. During this season we focus on prayer, repentance, service, and fasting. While all of this is appropriate, it is also important for us to remember the joy we have as children of God. That joy leads us to praise. For today’s devotion I encourage you to read Psalm 148, reflect on it, and then read it a second time. Finally, read it a third time, and during this third time of reading, read it as a prayer to God, giving thanks and praise to Him for all He has done and for all He continues to do. For He is indeed worthy of all praise.
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars!
Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord! For He commanded and they were created.
And He established them forever and ever; He gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling His word!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and maidens together, old men and children!
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for His people, praise for all His saints, for the people of Israel who are near to Him.
Praise the Lord!
Heavenly Father: Thank You for all You have done for me, and for continuing to be with me in all things. Help me to give You thanks and praise always, for You are worthy of praise. Amen.
Monday, March 13, 2023
The Scraps from the Table Mark 7:24-30
Dogs were always an important part of my family growing up. We always had at least one dog ,but usually more. They were outdoor dogs and not allowed in the house. Most of our summer meals were eaten on our porch. During those meals the dogs would always come and surround us, patiently waiting for any food we dropped. If any food fell from the table they would pounce and gobble it up in a flash.
The Gospel of Mark tells a story of a woman who was desperate for the scraps of God’s love, just like a dog looking for food under the table. In Mark 7:24-30, we meet this woman who had a daughter with an unclean spirit. When she heard that Jesus was coming to her town she came out to Him, fell at His feet and begged for Jesus to heal her daughter. Surprisingly, Jesus did not instantly grant her request because she was not an Israelite. In fact, Jesus compared her to a dog. He said, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
Instead of taking offense at this, the woman responded in great faith and even greater humility. She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Jesus had compassion on her after this statement and He healed her daughter and sent her home.
Despite how strange this account is, there is something beautiful about it, and that beauty is found in the woman’s statement of faith. She comes to Jesus desperate, and when He calls her a dog, she sees the truth of this statement, at least in her relationship to Jesus. She is not worthy of anything good, she is not someone who would be called a child of God, for she was not an Israelite, and yet she trusts in Jesus’ love, His mercy and His goodness. Though she is not worthy of anything good, she receives the great gift of healing for her daughter. Even though she was not a person who would be called a child of God, she is treated as a child of God, because she put her faith in Jesus. She receives love, mercy and goodness from Jesus.
More importantly, we see the beauty of God’s grace shown to her through Christ Jesus. Jesus came not only for the Jews, but for all people, and this was one of the first signs in His ministry where we see that. Because He came for everyone, all who call upon Him in faith receive the gift of life and healing.
There is a lesson from this account about faith and mercy. From the woman, we see an example of humble faith and love for God. We see that we are to be people who live in humble faith, seeking, in faith, even the smallest scraps from God. From Jesus, we see the promise of forgiveness and mercy, grace and blessing upon all who call on His name. And this forgiveness and mercy, grace and blessing are not just scraps from God, but they are the very best of all He has to give for us.
Heavenly Father: Help me to live in humble faith. Thank You for showering me with an abundance of Your blessings of grace and mercy in my life. Amen.
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Serving Like Jesus Mark 10:35-45
Do you have a servant’s heart?
Certainly there are many people who have a servant’s heart, and who not only seek to serve others, but find great joy in doing so. There are also many people who think they have a servant’s heart, but in reality, serving is not as easy for them as they would like others to believe.
I am the latter kind of person. I can be very selfish and can take a lot more than I give. I would like to be able to say that I am naturally inclined to serve others, but the truth is I would much rather be served than to serve. In this respect, I am a lot more like James and John than I am like Jesus.
In Mark 10:35-45, we see James and John approach Jesus with a very self- involved, selfish request. They ask Jesus to let the two of them sit at His right and left hands in His kingdom. In other words, they are asking that Jesus would make them the most influential and important people in His kingdom. By sitting on His right and left sides they believed they would be His most trusted advisors and, in many respects, that they would be the gatekeepers who allow people to approach the throne of Jesus. They were seeking greatness for themselves.
In His response to them Jesus teaches not only James and John, but us as well, what it means to be great. He said, “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus served us by coming into this world and taking on our flesh. He served us by leaving His Heavenly Kingdom to show us how we are to love the unlovable and the outcast of society. He served us by going to the cross to die for our sins. He continues to serve us by being with us and providing for our every need in this life. In this statement, Jesus makes it very clear that His goal in coming into the world was not to achieve greatness, but to serve a fallen and broken humanity. As people redeemed by Jesus, we are now called to follow His example. We are not to seek greatness, but we are to seek to serve.
For many of us, myself included, this is a daily struggle. It is something we have to be very intentional about. As followers of Jesus, we look to Him for the strength to seek not to be served but to serve.
Today, follow the example of Jesus and serve others as Christ has served you.
Dear Jesus: Thank You for coming not to be served but to serve. Thank You for serving me through Your death on the cross. Help me to follow Your example today and to live my life with a servant’s heart. Amen.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Serving Jesus Matthew 25:31-46
There is an old tale of a cobbler who one winter morning felt his faith growing weak. So he prayed, “O Lord, please visit me today.” He finished praying with the conviction that God would answer his prayer and that Jesus would come to his humble shop that day.
The cobbler opened the shop where he made shoes, and started looking frequently out the window, expecting the Lord to arrive any moment. As he watched, he saw one of his neighbors, an old workman, leaning against his shovel, shivering in the cold. The cobbler opened his door and called to the workman, “Come in and warm yourself with a bowl of soup and a cup of tea!” The man returned to his work some time later, warmed by the food and drink—and by the cobbler’s kindness.
Later, the cobbler saw a woman pass by his window. In her arms she held a baby, loosely wrapped in a thin blanket. The baby was crying from the cold. The cobbler yanked his door open and called to the woman. “Please come inside. Warm yourself and your child.” When the woman came inside, the cobbler found a much thicker blanket than the one she held and gave it to her. The woman left a few moments later, warmed by the cobbler’s gift—and by his kindness.
Scenes like that were repeated several times throughout the day, as the cobbler watched and watched for the Lord to come to his humble shop. But night arrived, and still the cobbler watched. Finally, the day came to an end. The cobbler, disappointed, locked his doors and turned down his lamp. “Lord,” he said, “I prayed for you to come to my shop today, but you did not.”
Suddenly, the cobbler’s room blazed with warm light, though the lamp still burned low. He heard a voice and knew immediately that it was the Lord’s. “I came, Cobbler,” the voice said. “And you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing—for when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”
The cobbler’s story is only a fable, of course. But it beautifully illustrates an important truth: Our Lord views a compassionate act toward another human being as an act of compassion toward Him. As children of God we are to seek to serve our Lord in how we serve others.
If you know someone who is in need of service and love today, do not just pass them by, but serve them in Christian love, and as you do so, you will be serving Christ.
Heavenly Father: Help me to serve others as You have served me, and help people to see You in my love for them. Amen
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Create In Me A Pure Heart Psalm 51
Most people want to be thought of as a “good” person. They try to be kind to others. If they see someone who is in need of help, especially if it is someone they know and love, they will go out of their way to help. We try to be a “good” friend, a “good” spouse and a “good” parent. We strive to be “good” people, because we want to be loved, respected and appreciated. In our striving to be “good”, we can easily convince ourselves that even the mistakes we make in life are not that big a deal, because we are generally “good” people and we are trying really hard to be good. But is this really the case?
One of the hardest things in life is to reflect on our actions, our thoughts and on who we really are inside. The reason it is so hard is because if we honestly reflect on these things, we most often will not like what we see.
Sure, we may try to be kind to others, but too many times when we have the opportunity to be kind, we choose to be rude. There are times when we help people in need, but also many times when we see someone who needs help, but we choose to ignore them. We can be a good friend, spouse and parent, but we can also choose to be selfish and take advantage of the people we love.
These are just the sins we do against our neighbor. If we reflect honestly on our hearts and actions towards God, we see even a sadder picture. Instead of loving God with all our heart, we love other things. Instead of worshiping God only, we create idols in our lives. When we reflect honestly on our lives, we see that we fall woefully short of our desire to be “good” and, more importantly, we realize that we fall short of the glory of God.
The good news is that Christ is “good”, and He took our place on the cross and died for us, and now He imputes His goodness to us. When we come to Him in repentance as the Psalmist did, and ask for God to create in us a pure heart, God says “I forgive you, and I have purified your heart through Jesus”.
Today I encourage you to reflect honestly on your life. When you have done this, instead of being discouraged, come before God and pray Psalm 51 as a prayer of confession, and know that beyond a shadow of doubt your sins are forgiven, and you have been made “good” by the work of Jesus.
Heavenly Father: Forgive me for my sin today and create in me a pure heart. Thank You for the grace You have shown me. Amen.
Friday, March 17, 2023
The Faithful God and the Faithful Servant Mark 16:15
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. It is mainly celebrated by people wearing green, people drinking too much alcohol (if you are over 21) and by seemingly everyone claiming to have some kind of Irish ancestry. However, the actual story of St. Patrick is not only fascinating, but it teaches us about faith and forgiveness and trust.
Patrick was born in the late 4th century in Britain and was a son to the deacon of the church. At 16 he was kidnapped by an Irish band who had raided Britain, and was taken as a slave. He spent the next six years in slavery to an Irish land owner. During the time of his slavery, he returned to his faith and received a vision from God that if he ran away to the coast he would find a ship that would take him back to his family in Britain. Trusting that this vision was true, Patrick fled his slavery, found the ship he had seen in his vision and was returned to his family.
After six years in slavery, it would have made sense for Patrick to revel in his freedom and to seek to serve God in Britain. But after being home for a few months, he had a dream in which a man named Victoricus gave him a letter headed, “Voice of the Irish.” He was hesitant to listen to this call because he felt inadequate for the task. But he knew that God was calling him to go back to Ireland and bring the message of the Gospel to the lost of the island.
Over the remainder of his life he proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to the Irish people who had enslaved him as a young man. He faced persecution, imprisonment and was in constant fear of martyrdom (many of the people who became Christians were killed for their faith by this time in Ireland). Through his faithful ministry hundreds, if not thousands, of Irish came to faith in Christ during his lifetime, and hundreds of thousands more came to faith as a result of his ministry over the course of the last 1500 years.
Careless revelry is what we associate with the name of St. Patrick. But this should not be so. If we look at the actual life of St. Patrick we see the faithfulness of a God who was with Patrick in his slavery, in his ministry and in his persecution. We see the love of God to bring salvation to a nation that was lost in sin. We see an example of what it means to faithfully trust in God and to go where He leads, knowing He is with us in all things.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for your faithfulness to those who trust in You. Help me to go where You lead, as St. Patrick did, trusting that You will be with me in all things.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
The Great Eraser Isaiah 43:25
Corrie ten Boom and her family lived in the Netherlands during the rise of the Nazi regime in World War II. They were a Christian family who were appalled at the dehumanization and persecution of Jewish people and decided that, as a family, they had to do something about it. Over the course of the next few months they hid numerous Jews from the Germans. When the Nazis discovered this, the entire ten Boom family was arrested and sent to concentration camps.
Corrie survived the horrific ordeal and after World War II she began to travel throughout Europe preaching the Gospel of Christ. In 1947 she attended a gathering in Munich where she spoke about the depths of forgiveness that Jesus gives to us.
“When we confess our sins God cast them into the deepest ocean, gone forever,” she proclaimed at the conclusion of her speech. After she finished speaking, the crowd gathered their belongings and began to go home. All, that is, except for one man who began to approach. As he came towards her she recognized him immediately. This man had been one of the guards at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. His approach brought back all the ways she had been mistreated, all the ways she had been humiliated and all the ways everyone in the camp had been dehumanized by this man and the other guards.
When he finally reached Corrie, the man spoke to her and told her that he had been a guard at Ravensbruck and that since the fall of the Third Reich he had become a Christian. He declared he knew that God had forgiven him for the cruel and evil things he had done, but he felt compelled to confess his sin to Corrie and ask for her forgiveness. Corrie had no desire to forgive him, but after having shared about God’s forgiveness, she felt a need to forgive this man. She said a quick prayer asking for God’s help, and God answered. He gave her the heart to forgive, and she said to the man, “I forgive you brother, with all of my heart!”
This true story is a beautiful example of the depths of God’s love and forgiveness. The former Nazi guard did not deserve forgiveness from Corrie and, more importantly, he did not deserve it from God. But God does not forgive based on what we deserve. He forgives based on what Christ has done for us, and He gives us the power to forgive people who do not deserve it. Jesus blots out the sins of all who return to Him and He remembers them no more. Corrie understood this and she knew how much she had been forgiven; because of that she knew how much she could forgive.
You have been forgiven just as much as Corrie and the guard in this story. Your transgressions are blotted out and God remembers your sins no more. Live in that forgiveness, and as you live in that forgiveness, follow the example of Christ as Corrie ten Boom did, and forgive those who have sinned against you.
Dear Jesus: You have blotted out my sin and remember it no more. Help me to trust and live in that forgiveness, and give me the strength to forgive those who have sinned against me. Amen.
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Songs of Praise Psalm 149
Lent is a time of somber reflection and preparation. During this season we focus on prayer, repentance, service and fasting. While all of this is appropriate, it is also important for us to remember the joy we have as children of God. That joy leads us to praise. For today’s devotion I encourage you to read Psalm 149, reflect on it and then read it a second time. Finally, read it a third time, and during this third time of reading, read it as a prayer to God, giving thanks and praise to Him for all He has done and for all He continues to do. For He is indeed worthy of all praise.
Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
His praise in the assembly of His faithful people.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise His name with dancing
and make music to Him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in His people;
He crowns the humble with victory.
Let His faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
Praise the Lord!
Heavenly Father: Thank You for all You have done for me, and for continuing to be with me in all things. Help me to give You thanks and praise always, for You are worthy of praise. Amen.
Monday, March 20, 2023
Bread of Life Mark 8:14-21
Jesus and His disciples were on the Sea of Galilee going from one village to another. During the journey, some people in the boat became hungry for something to eat. All they could find was one loaf of bread, which would not have been enough to fill up even one of them. While they were discussing their need for food, and almost certainly grumbling to one another about the situation, Jesus spoke to them saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
This comment was not what the disciples expected Jesus to say, and they were certainly confused by it. Instead of asking Jesus what He meant by this, they began to argue among themselves about what He meant. Finally, Jesus reminded them that He had fed thousands of people, not just once, but twice. The first time he fed 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. The second time he fed 4,000 with seven loaves of bread. After reminding them of this, He asked a vitally important question, “Do you not yet understand?”
At that moment the disciples did not understand. They did not understand that Jesus was warning them to not rely on their own righteousness to be saved. The Pharisees taught the people of Israel to follow the law of God. This in itself was actually a great thing. But the Pharisees wrongly taught that a person’s ability to follow the law would determine one’s salvation and would also determine whether or not God could love that person. The leaven they were spreading was essentially, “earn your way to heaven by being perfect.”
Jesus was telling the disciples that their thinking was false teaching, because no one could ever be good enough. However, He did not leave them without hope. Instead, He reminded them of all He had done. He had fed thousands of people, not because they deserved it or earned it, but because He loved them and had compassion on them. Those thousands of people played no part in Jesus feeding them other than receiving the food. He had done it all.
What Jesus wanted His disciples to understand then, and still wants His disciples today to understand, is that grace, life and forgiveness do not come from any works. They come from Christ, and Christ alone. No one else helps; no one earns it. Jesus does all the work. He gives us life through His death. He gives salvation from our sin.
So, beware the leaven of the Pharisees. Do not trust in your works or the works of another person to save. Trust in the work of Christ alone, for He alone is the one who brings salvation apart from anything else.
Dear Jesus: Help me to not rely on my own righteousness and my own goodness, for I know I will never be righteous or good enough. Help me to trust completely in Your work on the cross for me. Amen.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Life in the Desert Hosea 13:4-5
The desert is a very intimidating place because deserts lack water, shelter, and food. If we are not prepared to be in the desert we will not survive long. Just imagine for a moment being stranded in the desert for days on end. It is terrifying just thinking about it.
Now imagine that God led you into the desert. He did not just lead you into the desert, but He led you along with 600,000 other men. There would never be enough food or water for so many people. There is no way that many people would be able to survive.
This is what actually happened to the people of Israel in the Old Testament. They were slaves in Egypt for 400 years, and after centuries of waiting, God delivered them from slavery. He brought them through the Red Sea and led them to the verge of the Promised Land. All the people had to do was trust God, go in and occupy the land. But they were filled with fear. They saw the powerful cities and peoples already living in the land. Instead of trusting the God who delivered them from slavery and parted the Red Sea, they disobeyed and refused to enter and conquer the land. Because of their disobedience God told the people they would not enter the Promised Land for 40 years, but would wander in the desert.
So God led 600,000 men on foot, plus women and children, into a dry and barren land to wander for 40 years. This should not have been possible. That many people should have died of thirst within days, or if they had somehow managed to find enough water for everyone, they should have died within weeks of starvation.
God, however, made a way. He gave the people bread (manna) from heaven every day. When they were tired of eating this bread He gave them meat as well. When the people ran out of water God miraculously brought water from a rock, not just once but twice. God loved His people so much that even when they were dealing with the consequences of their sin, He remained with them and provided for them and “knew them in the desert, in the land of drought” (Hosea 13:5). He was with them and led them until the 40 years were over. Then He led them into the Promised Land.
God has always cared for and provided for His people and He continues to do so today. When we are going through financial stresses, anxiety, depression, sickness, grief, broken relationships, struggles of faith or any other desert time we may face, God is with us and provides for us. He knows us in our struggles and hardships. He is with us in the land of drought. Because of this we do not have to be terrified, but can live in the Promised Land of hope that God has led us to through the love of Jesus.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for being with me in every situation of life. Help me to trust in You and remember that You are with me in all circumstances. Amen.
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
The Way of Love I Corinthians 13:1-13
Love is desired by all people. It doesn’t matter if a person is good or bad, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, law abiding or criminal, every person desires to be loved by someone and to have someone to love. Different kinds of love are desired by people as well. People desire romantic love, love between friends, love between child and parents and love between siblings. Thankfully, God has given us a world with people to love and with people who love us, which is one of the greatest blessings in this world.
Unfortunately this great blessing of love often leads to some of the worst pain we will ever experience. The pain happens when someone we love does not treat us lovingly, or, God forbid, stops loving us altogether. Sadly this happens much too often in our world today. The reason for this is that we are sinful people who love sinful people. There are times we do not show love to the people we care most about and there are times when these same people do not show us love. When this happens love can cease and our hearts can be broken. So what are we to do as Christians when we live in a world where love can fade or be fickle?
In I Corinthians 13 we see a description of what we can do. We can choose to love in a different way. In this chapter, Saint Paul, describes the love of God by writing;
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
The love described here is a love of action. God did not just love us with words. He did not just love us when it was convenient. He did not just love us when He felt like it. God chose to love us by being patient towards us in our sin. He chose to love us by keeping no record of wrongs, but washing our sins away and remembering them no more. He chose to love us by being the way, the truth and the life. He chose to love us by persevering all the way to the cross.
Because of the love of God given to us in faith and because of the power of the Holy Spirit, we can love in the same way God loves us. So, what are we to do as Christians when we live in a world where love can fade or be fickle? We can love others wholeheartedly. We can love others even if they do not love us. We can love people who do not deserve to be loved. We can forgive people in a loving way, even though they do not deserve forgiveness. In doing this we follow the example of Jesus, for that is the way He continues to love us.
Dear Jesus: Thank You for showing me the way of love. Help me to follow your example and love others the way You loved me. Amen.
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Persistence Matters Luke 18:1-8
John had a dead tree in his backyard. It was an eyesore certainly, but, truth be told, John did not really care enough to remove the tree. It would take time and money and he just did not want to deal with the hassle of removing the tree.
It bothered his neighbor, old Mrs. Stedman terribly, and week after week she asked him to do something about the tree. At first he told her, “Yeah, I know I have to take care of the tree, and I’ll get to it.” After about two months of this his mood changed and he decided he would not do anything to remove the tree, just to spite Mrs. Stedman for her constant nagging.
This went on for many months. Finally, after more than a year of being asked to do something about the tree, John had enough. When Mrs. Stedman confronted him again he said, “Fine, I’ll take care of it, just stop harassing me about it.” He went into his house, called a tree removal service and within the week the dead tree was gone.
The next week one of his friends visited and asked John what finally made him get rid of the tree. “Mrs. Stedman. She was never going to stop pestering me until I removed the tree, so I removed it.” Mrs. Stedman’s persistence paid off, and she finally got what she had wanted all along.
Jesus tells a similar story in Luke 18, where a widow kept coming to a judge asking for justice, even though this judge did not value justice. Day after day she came to him and for a while he refused to give this woman justice. Because she would not stop, he finally granted her the justice for which she was looking, simply to get her out of his hair.
The point of this parable is that we need to understand that God wants us to come to him persistently with our cares, our fears and our needs. If an unjust judge will give justice to a woman just to get her out of his hair, how much more will a just God, who loves us and cares for us, hear us when we come to Him.
Persistently coming to God in prayer does not mean that God will give us exactly what we want, in the way we want and in the timing we want. It does mean that God will listen to our prayers prayed in faith, and He will answer us and give us what we need in His perfect timing. While we wait on God He invites us to perpetually come to Him and lay our burdens, cares, fears and needs at His feet.
Do that today. Lay all at the feet of Jesus. Do so persistently, for He cares for you and He hears your cries.
Heavenly Father: I lay all before You. Thank You for listening to my prayers and for caring for Your people. Help me to always come to You and lay my burdens at Your feet. Amen.
Friday, March 24, 2023
Turn the Other Cheek Matthew 5:38-42
In college I had a friend who I was very close to. We were close because we were both studying to become pastors. We had an inordinate number of classes together, and we had similar interests outside of class. He was also someone who was very fun to hang out with. The summer between our Junior and Senior years, the two of us, along with three other friends, got an apartment together, and planned to split the rent five ways. After just two weeks of this living arrangement, my friend informed me that he had an opportunity to move into a place where he would pay significantly less rent, and that he was going to do that. The rest of us could figure out how to cover his portion of the rent.
I felt betrayed and did not know how I would be able to afford to cover his share of the rent he had left for the other four of us to cover. I was so furious that every time I saw him, I wanted to hurt him. I shared the story with everyone I could intending to run down his character. I am ashamed to say this continued for more than two years before I finally confronted him about my anger for what he had done, and told him how sorry I was for how I had acted.
Looking back on that today I know I was not wrong to feel betrayed by him, because I was betrayed. I was wrong to want retaliation and revenge instead of turning the other cheek. That led me to do horrible, sinful things to this person.
When we are wronged by someone, it is human nature to want to defend ourselves, to get revenge and to make the person who wronged us regret that they did so.
Jesus has a different idea of what we should do when we are wronged. In Matthew 5:39 Jesus said, “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” These were not just words that Jesus spoke, they were actions that He lived. He would be mocked, beaten and ridiculed; but instead of seeking vengeance He turned the other cheek. He would be convicted of crimes He did not commit. He would die a death you and I deserve, and instead of anger, He would respond in love saying, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they do.” Jesus did not come to retaliate against us; He came to reconcile us to Himself.
As disciples of Jesus we have been remade in His image, into a new creation. Through the work of Jesus in our lives, we are able to turn the other cheek instead of seeking vengeance. He has set the example for us and has made a way for us to do this through His work on the cross.
Today, examine your heart to see if you are seeking revenge against someone for the way they have treated you. If you are avenging some, then follow the example of Jesus, ask for His help and turn the other cheek.
Dear Jesus: Thank You for turning the other cheek and dying for me, even when I was a sinner. Help me to follow Your example, and turn the other cheek when people hurt me. Amen.
Saturday March 25, 2023
From Faith to Get Behind Me Satan Mark 8:27-9:1
In 2002 my summer league baseball team was playing in the district playoffs. It was our first game in the tournament and we came into the top of the final inning down six runs. I led off the inning with a single, stole a base and came around to score a run, which started a great rally for us. Later that same inning I came up to bat again, but this time the score was tied and we had two outs and runners on the corners. I smacked a double into the gap and two runs scored. We came all the way back from six runs down to take the lead going into the bottom of the final inning, and I was the hero. I started the rally and finished the rally for us. It was awesome.
However, I was about to learn how quickly someone can go from being a hero to a goat. In that final inning the opposing team was down to their final out. They had runners on first and second, and the batter hit a line drive right at me in Left Field. It was a routine out, but I misjudged the ball, charged in and the ball went right over my head. Both runners scored, the batter got to third and then scored the winning run on a wild pitch. It was unbelievable. I was the hero of the game and five minutes later I was the goat.
In Mark 8:27-9:1, we see the Apostle Peter in the same kind of situation, but with something much more significant than a summer league baseball game. Jesus was with His disciples and He asked them who they thought He was. The disciples responded by saying John the Baptist, or Elijah or a prophet, answers that showed they understood that Jesus was someone special. But Peter, in that moment, saw Jesus for who He truly was. He responded to Jesus’ question by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
What an amazing profession of faith. This was the first time anyone understood and acknowledged the reality of who Jesus was. Peter’s great confession came from such great faith. But Peter was about to go from hero to goat.
Jesus told the disciples that He needed to go to Jerusalem to suffer, die and then rise three days later. This message bothered Peter greatly and he took Jesus aside and rebuked Him for saying He would have to die. At this, Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” Just five minutes earlier Jesus had lauded Peter for his confession of faith and now He was calling Peter, Satan.
Peter had great faith, yet he still struggled to trust Jesus. That led him to rebuke his Rabbi whom he had just confessed as the Christ. We can relate to this in our lives as well. We have faith in Christ, we trust that He loves us and cares for us and has given us life. Yet, there are still times when we want to be in control and want to tell God what He should do. We find ourselves trusting God completely one moment but in the next moment doubting everything.
Peter learned from this encounter that he is not God, and that he needs to trust in Jesus who is God and knows what He is doing. We need to remember that in our lives as well. He is Christ, He is in control and He knows what He is doing. We need to keep in mind the things of God and trust in Him in all situations.
Dear Jesus: You are the Christ. Forgive me when I don’t trust You but try to get You to do things the way I think they should be done. Help me to always trust You. Amen.
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Songs of Praise Psalm 147:1-11
Lent is a time of somber reflection and preparation. During this season we focus on prayer, repentance, service and fasting. While all of this is appropriate, it is also important for us to remember the joy that we have as children of God. That joy leads us to praise. For today’s devotion I encourage you to read Psalm 147:1-11, reflect on it, and then read it a second time. Finally, read it a third time, and during this third time of reading, read it as a prayer to God, giving thanks and praise to Him for all He has done and for all He continues to do. For He is indeed worthy of all praise.
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for all You have done for me, and for continuing to be with me in all things. Help me to give You thanks and praise always, for You are worthy of praise. Amen.
Monday, March 27, 2023
For Freedom We Have Been Set Free Galatians 5:13-15
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland sometime between 1820 and 1822. In 1840 the man who owned the plantation on which her family lived, and thus owned her whole family, died. His Will set her father and all of his children, including Harriet, free. However, the new owner of the plantation refused to acknowledge the Will and continued to hold Harriet and her family in bondage. Finally, in 1849 Harriet decided that attempting to run away to freedom was better than continuing to live as a slave. So she and two of her brothers ran away from the Maryland plantation to Philadelphia which was a free state. That meant she could no longer be a slave to anyone.
She spent the first half of her life in slavery and finally risked her very life for the freedom she now had. But what would Harriet do with that freedom? Would she just try to live the best life she could or would she try to bring freedom to others?
Instead of making a life for herself in the safety and security of freedom in Pennsylvania, she chose to work to free other enslaved people from the bondage they were in. She worked with the underground railroad throughout the 1850’s to help lead slaves to freedom. That action put her at great risk. If she was caught in a slave holding state, she could be sent back into slavery, or even killed for helping men and women gain their freedom.
Why did Harriet do this? Because she believed that she had been given freedom from slavery by God so that she could help others find freedom, and she risked everything to do this. She personally helped lead more than 70 people gain their freedom from slavery during the course of the 1850’s.
Harriet perfectly personified what Saint Paul describes in Galatians 5:13-14, where we read, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Like Harriet, we were once slaves. Not slaves to another human being, but slaves to sin. Christ came into this world to suffer and die the death that we deserve, and then He rose from the grave. In doing this He set us free from sin, death and the devil. We are now free in Christ. We have not been set free so that we can live our lives for ourselves. Instead, we are set free to serve one another in love just as Christ has served us.
Know for certain that you are free and forgiven in Christ. Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Today and forever more, live in humble love toward your neighbors as you serve Christ by serving them. It is for freedom’s sake that Christ has set you free.
Jesus: Thank You for setting me free from sin and death through Your work on the cross. Help me to live in that freedom by serving You and serving others. Amen.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
The Armor of God Ephesians 6:10-18
Second Chance Body Armor was a company that manufactured bulletproof vests for law enforcement and security personnel. Their products were purchased and used by hundreds of police departments in the United States. In 2003 a police officer in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania, was shot and the vest did nothing to stop the bullet. Eventually this police officer died. This led to Second Chance Body Armor being sued for a defective product. It was soon discovered that when these vests were exposed to extreme heat and humidity, they lost their ballistic capabilities. Eventually the National Institute of Justice tested the vest, which showed that 50% of the vests that were in use were defective. As you can imagine Second Chance Body Armor was successfully sued and had to declare bankruptcy.
This was a horrible situation because police officers routinely find themselves in dangerous circumstances with their lives at risk. Because of this risk they need to have the right equipment and the right armor to protect themselves.
While most of us do not face physical danger on a daily basis, as Christians we routinely find ourselves in perilous situations in our spiritual lives. In the same way it is dangerous for police officers to go about their work without having the proper body armor, it is hazardous for our spiritual well being to go through life without the armor of God.
But what is the armor of God and how are we to put it on? We get the answer to both of these questions in Ephesians 6:10-18. The armor of God is…
- The breastplate of righteousness- the righteousness of Jesus given to us in the waters of baptism. It guards our hearts and protects our lives.
- The belt of truth- Truth that comes from Christ. It holds all things together, because Christ is truth.
- The shoes of the gospel of peace- Peace that comes through the work of Christ. When we bring the gospel to others we bring the peace that passes all understanding.
- The Shield of Faith- Satan is constantly attacking us. God gives us faith that can withstand the attacks of Satan.
- The Helmet of Salvation- Salvation through Jesus protects us against the thought that we can earn salvation on our own.
- The Sword of the Spirit- The one offensive weapon in the armor. It is the power of God to cut through the lies of the devil and the heart of mankind to bring them to faith.
God gave us all these gifts out of His love for us. We put them on through prayer, in faith, and by trusting in God in all things. We are under spiritual attack daily, but God has armored us with all of these gifts, and they are not faulty or defective. So put on the armor of God today.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for giving me the armor of God. Help me to daily put on these pieces of armor in prayer and faith. Guard my heart today from the attacks of the devil. Amen.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Encourager Acts 4:36
Edward Steichen was one of the most renowned, prolific and influential photographers in the history of photography. Amazingly he almost quit before he got started. At 16 years of age Edward bought a camera and took 50 photos. Of the 50 photos only one turned out– a portrait of his sister at the piano. Edward’s father thought that was a poor showing and he let Edward know it. Edward was ready to sell his newly purchased camera until his mother spoke up. She insisted that the photograph of his sister more than compensated for the 49 failures. That little encouragement changed Edward’s life, and because of it he continued with his newly found hobby. Photography became much more than a hobby, it truly became an art form.
We all have times when we feel defeated or feel like giving up and we just need a little bit of encouragement. We get a picture of what Christian encouragement looks like from the Bible in a person named Joseph.
This is not the Joseph who had a coat of many colors; nor is it the Joseph who was the earthly father of Jesus. You probably know this Joseph by his nickname, Barnabas, which means son of encouragement. He received this nickname because throughout his life he encouraged others in their faith, and there are numerous examples of this in the book of Acts.
Barnabas is first introduced to us in Acts 4:36, when he sold a field that he owned and gave all the money he made from the sale to the church to help take care of the poor and widows.
He does not appear again until Acts 9:27, right after Paul had his conversion to faith in Christ. Before this conversion Paul arrested anyone he could find who was a follower of Jesus, and because of that the church was terrified of Paul. On the road to Damascus Jesus appeared to Paul, after which he became a Christian. Now, Paul was a follower of Jesus but no one wanted anything to do with him, because they did not believe he had changed. That is, no one except Barnabas. Barnabas met with Paul, heard his story, rejoiced and welcomed him as a brother in Christ when no one else would. He spoke on Paul’s behalf before the whole church.
After Paul was accepted by the church, he and Barnabas were sent on a missionary journey. A young man named John Mark went with them. After a short time John Mark became homesick and abandoned Paul and Barnabas. A few years later when the two of them were preparing to go on a second missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along, to give him another chance. Paul was so adamantly against this that the two of them could no longer work together. What is amazing is that John Mark had matured and grown, and would eventually become one of Paul’s closest helpers. This only happened because Barnabas encouraged him in his faith when everyone else, including Paul, had given up on him.
Today, I ask you to consider someone you know who needs encouragement and how you can encourage them. We never know what difference that little bit of encouragement can make in someone’s life.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for giving encouragement to me through others in my life. Help me to know how I can encourage others today. Amen.
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Praying Like Hezekiah 2 Kings 18-21
King David was the great king of Israel. Israel was wealthy and powerful and their territory expanded greatly during his reign. David was a great leader, a brilliant general, and a mighty warrior. However, none of these qualities made David a great king. What made him a great king is that he loved God, he followed God and he sought God with all his heart, even when he sinned horribly (See March 3 Devotion). It is because of this that God blessed David and the nation of Israel.
Sadly, not long after David died the nation of Israel was divided into two nations. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was ruled by wicked king after wicked king. Less than 300 years after David’s death, in the year 721 BC, it was completely wiped out.
During that same time period the Southern Kingdom of Judah had almost exclusively wicked kings, though occasionally they had a good king. That is, until the year 715 BC when a young man named Hezekiah came to the throne. He was preceded by a particularly wicked king named Ahaz, and Judah was under threat of annihilation from the Kingdom of Assyria led by King Sennacherib.
In 2 Kings 18 all the cities in Judah, with the exception of Jerusalem, were captured by Assyria, and Jerusalem was now surrounded as well. Sennacherib sent one of his messengers to Hezekiah to tell him that if he did not surrender, Jerusalem would be annihilated. When the word of this came to Hezekiah he was devastated. But instead of giving up, he humbled himself before God and asked for deliverance. He took the message that had been given him to the temple of God, laid it before God and begged God to deliver his people. He trusted God completely, and God miraculously delivered Jerusalem from Assyria.
This is not the only time that we see Hezekiah cry out to God in prayer. A few years after God had delivered Jerusalem from destruction, Hezekiah became deathly ill. He cried out to God for healing and God listened and healed him.
During the two most desperate and hopeless times of his life, Hezekiah turned to God trusting in Him above all else, and God listened and delivered Hezekiah. We see in him a wonderful example of how we should turn to God in prayer during times of desperation.
During times of desperation and hopelessness it is easy to turn to a person to save us, to turn to medication, to turn to our wisdom or to turn to our wealth. While these things may be helpful to us in our struggles, we should always turn to God above all else, because He listens and cares for us. If you are facing a time when you feel desperate and hopeless, follow the example of Hezekiah and come to God in prayer, trusting in Him completely.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for caring for me. Help me turn to You in all circumstances of life, trusting that You love me and care for me as You did Hezekiah. Amen.
Friday, March 31, 2023
Where is Your Focus? Hebrews 12:1-3
Chuck Knoblauch was a four time all-star second baseman who played with the Minnesota Twins from 1991-1997. In February, 1998, he was traded to the New York Yankees where he continued playing at a high level. In 1999 he began to experience some trouble when he committed 26 fielding errors. Everything came to a head on June 15, 2000, when he made three throwing errors in five innings. After that final error he asked to be taken out of the game. He returned to the lineup the next day, but would never be able to consistently make an accurate throw from second base for the rest of his career.
Knoblauch could no longer perform this basic function of a baseball player because he had made those errors. Instead of focusing on the basics of the game and trusting in his ability, he was only able to focus on his throwing issues. In 2001 he was moved to the outfield and by the middle of 2002 he was out of baseball completely. This was truly an amazing fall from grace as this uber talented and accomplished athlete completely lost his ability to make the most basic and routine play in baseball.
While none of us have ever had the experience of Chuck Knoblauch’s yips, all of us know what it is like to focus on our errors, our sins. We know what it is like to be caught in a lie and to focus on that lie, convincing ourselves that we are nothing more than a liar. We know what it is like to sin against our spouse and to focus on that sin, convincing ourselves that we are nothing more than a horrible husband or wife. We know what it is like to lash out in anger and to focus on that sin, convincing ourselves that we are nothing more than a rage monster who no one would ever want to be around.
In Hebrews 12:1-2, we are told “to run with endurance the race before us, focusing on Christ.” When we find ourselves confronting our sinfulness, we should always focus on Christ and His redeeming work, for that redeeming work is greater than any sin we have committed.
When we sin, it is imperative to acknowledge that sin and confess it to God. When we confess, God is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:8-10). It is also imperative that once we are forgiven we need to believe that Christ has indeed forgiven us and not continue to focus on our sin. Instead focus on Christ, for the work of Christ is what defines us.
Dear Jesus: Thank You for taking my sins on Yourself. Help me to keep my focus on You at all times. Amen.
Saturday, April 1, 2023
April Fool’s Day John 12:12-19
One of my wife Heidi’s favorite days of the year is April Fool’s Day. I, however, hate this day. I wake up walking on eggshells, because I don’t know if I am going to be sprayed in the face with water from our kitchen sink, if my pant legs will be sewn together, if there is going to be vinegar in the coffee pot, or if there will be salt in the sugar container (all of which she has done in the past).
The most jarring April Fool’s Day joke she ever pulled on me was on April 1, 2010, exactly four months before we were married. At the time I was a Chaplain Candidate in the Army Reserves. That summer I was scheduled to go to Chaplain Training School in Columbia, South Carolina, from June 7th through July 24th. Heidi asked me numerous times to make sure that I would have no conflict with my duties on August 1, our wedding date, and I assured her there was no conflict. She proceeded to call our Company Chaplain, who I was working under, and convinced him to tell me that I had to report to my Reserve Unit on July 30th. I spent the entire day in a panic, and at 11:30 that night I called Heidi to tell her the terrible news about having to move our wedding. To my surprise she seemed completely at ease with the situation. After 45 minutes of conversation I finally asked why she seemed so fine with the changed situation. She answered by saying, “Adam, what day is it?,” and immediately I realized I was
the fool on that April 1st.
No one likes being made a fool, but it happens to the best of us. Hopefully, when it happens we can laugh it off. Unfortunately, sometimes we are the fool, and it is not so funny.
Palm Sunday, which we will celebrate tomorrow, was a day when many people were fooled. When Jesus entered Jerusalem that day He was hailed as the King of Israel, which He was, but the crowds did not understand what that meant. They were looking for a king who would conquer Israel’s enemies; they were looking for a king who would make them prosperous and wealthy; they were looking for a king who would make Israel into a great nation.
Jesus was without a doubt the king the people of Israel had been waiting thousands of years for, but he was not a king who led armies, had great wealth, or power and influence. He was not a king who would make Israel into a great nation. Instead, Jesus was a king who came to conquer and defeat sin, death and the devil. He was a king who came to bring peace between God and man. He was a king who came to give the greatest gifts of all: love, mercy, salvation and life everlasting.
The crowds were fooled that day because they were convinced that God would work things in the way they thought best, and did not trust that God’s plan was best. We can easily fool ourselves as well when we convince ourselves that our way is best. As we enter into Holy Week, let us not play the fool, but instead let us trust God’s plan and not insist on our own plan.
Dear Jesus: Your ways are perfect. Help me to trust in Your plan, even when I do not know where it is leading. Amen
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Songs of Praise Psalm 147:12-20
Lent is a time of somber reflection and preparation. During this season we focus on prayer, repentance, service and fasting. While all of this is appropriate, it is also important for us to remember the joy we have as children of God. That joy leads us to praise. For today’s devotion I encourage you to read Psalm 147:12-20, reflect on it and then read it a second time. Finally, read it a third time, and during this third time of reading, read it as a prayer to God, giving thanks and praise to Him for all He has done and for all He continues to do. For He is indeed worthy of all praise.
Extol the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion.
He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.
He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.
Heavenly Father: Thank You for all You have done for me, and for continuing to be with me in all things. Help me to give You thanks and praise always, for You are worthy of praise. Amen.
Monday, April 3, 2023
True Worship Mark 11:15-19
Entering into the temple on the Monday of Holy Week Jesus was greeted with a shameful and sickening sight. Every direction He looked, activity was taking place, but only a little of that activity was as it should have been. In one direction were animals in pens being sold to the worshipers to be offered as sacrifices. In the other direction were money changers, which were essentially cash registers, where the sellers of animals were making a profit off the worship of God. All of this activity offended Jesus greatly, because the temple was intended to be a Holy place of prayer and worship, and it had turned into nothing more than a marketplace where people were making money from the sacrifices that were to be made to God.
This was something Jesus had seen before. He had come to the temple many times so this was not a new situation. But this time Jesus did something radical. Jesus knew the time of His death was drawing near, and this was the time to take the temple officials and the religious leaders to account. The temple had been corrupted but before He went to the cross Jesus would cleanse the temple.
In righteous anger Jesus drove out those who were profiting from the worship of God. He flipped over the tables of the money changers and He did not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. Jesus did this for a purpose, as He was teaching and reminding the people what the temple was for and how they should worship. As He was doing all these things He taught the crowds, saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers.” Jesus made it very clear by His actions and His teaching that God wanted people to worship Him out of a heart of faith and love, not out of obligation nor for the opportunity to profit.
As we enter into Holy Week and commemorate the Passion of our Lord and Easter to celebrate His resurrection, it is important to remember why and how we are to worship. We are to worship God because He is the Lord of heaven and earth and He is worthy of praise. We are to worship Him because of His sacrifice on the cross made for you and me and the life He gave us through His death and resurrection. We are to worship Him because He is with us in all things, even to this day.
Not only are we called to worship, but this account from the Gospel of Mark also reminds us how we are to worship. We are not to come to God seeking profit. We are not to worship God out of obligation. We are not to worship Him with a false heart. Instead, we come to worship in faith, we come to worship to be fed, we come to worship with humility, and we come to worship trusting that the God who cleansed the temple has cleansed us from all of our sins as well.
This Holy Week, come to the Lord in faith and love to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
Jesus: Forgive me when I make a mockery of worship. Help me, especially this week, to remember why I need to worship You, and how I am to worship You. Amen.
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Questioning God Mark 11:27-13:37
Jesus walked back into the temple with His disciples on Tuesday of Holy Week. A day earlier He had cleansed the temple of those who were turning it into a marketplace. His action enraged the entirety of the Israelite political and religious elite. The Pharisees, Saduccees and Scribes all wanted to get rid of Jesus because of His growing power and influence and because He was opening peoples’ eyes to how the leaders of Israel failed to understand God’s law and how they had failed to lead the people in the way of God.
This morning He came to the temple to teach the people, but before He could begin teaching He was questioned by all the influential groups of people in the Israelite society. This questioning was not intended to be a thoughtful dialogue. The purpose of the questioning was to trap Jesus into saying something either heretical–and turn the people against Him, or revolutionary–so they could turn Him over to the Roman government.
The officers of the temple, chief priests and scribes were the first to question Jesus. They asked Him by what authority He did the things He was doing. When Jesus asked them a question about the authority of John the Baptist, they refused to answer. Jesus informed them that He would not tell them by what authority He was doing His work. He refused to answer because if they could not acknowledge John was from God, they would certainly not acknowledge Jesus was God.
The Pharisees were the next group to try to trap Jesus with their question. They asked Him whether they should pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus asked for a coin, pointed out that Caesar’s picture was on the coin, and so they should give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God what belongs to God. In saying this, Jesus made it clear that God cares much more about our hearts, which do belong to Him, than anything else.
The Sadducees were the next group and they asked about marriage and the resurrection, which was completely disingenuous because they did not even believe in the resurrection. Jesus responded by reminding them that God was not the God of the dead but the God of the living.
The final person to question Jesus was a lone scribe. He asked Him what the greatest commandment was. Jesus made it clear that the greatest commandment was to love God with all our heart, and the second greatest was to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Four questions asked out of jealousy, fear, confusion, and in some cases, curiosity. Four different questions to trap Jesus and He gave four perfect answers. He was able to do this because He was, is, and ever will be God Himself.
If we are being honest with ourselves, we are not really that different from those who questioned Jesus on Holy Tuesday. Sometimes we question God when we wonder what He is doing or when we doubt that He is in control. We even question God at times because we think we are right and He is wrong. When we have those times of questioning God, we should question Him in faith, not with a desire to prove Him wrong. What we learn from Tuesday of Holy Week is that Jesus is Lord and He knows all truth, because He is truth.
Jesus: Help me to learn to trust in You in all things. Even when I question You, help me to do so in faith and not doubt. Amen.
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Betraying Jesus Mark 14:1-11
Monday Jesus drove the money changers and animal sellers out of the temple. Tuesday He was questioned repeatedly by the leaders of Israel, answering each of their queries perfectly before teaching the crowds for hours. After these incredibly eventful days, Wednesday was the opportunity for some welcome rest.
Jesus gathered with His disciples to have dinner at a friend named Simon’s home. There was nothing else planned for the day. The dinner was going well with good food and good conversation, when suddenly everything was disrupted. Mary, a close friend of Jesus and the sister of Martha, came into the room. She went immediately to Jesus, broke a jar of incredibly expensive perfume and poured it on His feet. To Jesus, it was a beautiful act of love and devotion, but for Judas it was a ridiculous, sentimental and selfish act of waste. He even remarked to Jesus that it could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money used to feed the poor.
At this Jesus turned to Judas and told him, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have Me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on My body beforehand to prepare for My burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Jesus knew that He would be betrayed and condemned to death within two days, and He saw the love that Mary had for Him and praised her for that love and devotion.
Judas, on the other hand, upon hearing Jesus’ response decided that he had had enough. He followed Jesus for three years waiting for Him to lead an army over the Romans and, even if Jesus was not going to do that, Judas figured he could at least get wealthy off of Jesus.
Seeing that Jesus had no intention of raising an army and knowing that Jesus was completely fine with wasting something so valuable, Judas decided that he would cut his losses and get what he could. He knew that the religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus in a private and quiet place. So on that Wednesday he went to them and agreed to hand Jesus over for 30 pieces of silver.
There are many times in life when we are tempted to betray Jesus as well. We know that we cannot earn our way to eternal life, but sometimes we are tempted to tell Jesus, “No thanks, I don’t need you, I can do it on my own.” We know that we are to seek to follow God in all things, but occasionally we would rather seek our own desires, such as wealth, fame and prosperity. Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves, but we can be tempted to ignore God and hate our neighbor. When we give in to those temptations, we betray God and fall into sin. When we fall into sin, we should come back to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness and grace, which He will pour out on us because He came to die for those who would betray Him, and He gives life to us today.
Dear Jesus: Forgive me for when I have betrayed You with my sinful actions. Help me to trust in Your forgiveness and walk in Your love always. Amen.
Thursday, April 6, 2023
The Passover Lamb I Corinthians 5:6-8
Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years and they cried out to God to deliver them. God heard their cry and sent Moses to lead them out of slavery and into the Promised Land. Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, had no desire to let free slave labor just leave, so when Moses demanded that he let Israel go, he refused. To convince Pharoah to let His people go God sent numerous plagues to punish Egypt, but still Pharaoh would not let them go. God told Pharaoh that if he did not let Israel go, they would face the most devastating plague imaginable. God would send death to the firstborn male of every family in Egypt. The only way to escape death would be to listen to God and to spread the blood of a lamb on the doors of their houses. If they did this, then death would pass over their house. If they did not place the blood on the door, then death would certainly come and there would be no way to escape it.
God does not issue empty threats. On that same night after He told Israel and Egypt this would happen, it happened. In every house without blood on the door the firstborn male died, and in every house that had the blood of the lamb, death passed over them. The next morning Egypt was filled with mourning at the death of so many men, and Pharaoh finally let Israel go. The blood of the lamb had delivered the people from death and ultimately led them from slavery.
This important moment in history was to be commemorated every year by the people of Israel, so on Holy Thursday Jesus gathered with His disciples to do just that. They gathered in an upper room where they remembered the Passover. When they finished supper they went to the Mount of Olives to pray. It was here that Jesus was betrayed by Judas and turned over to the chief priests and the Sanhedrin of Israel, who condemned Him to death.
By Friday morning Jesus would be at Golgotha on the cross, dying the death we deserve. Jesus acted as our Passover Lamb as He shed His blood for the world. Now all who are baptized and believe in Him are covered in His blood. We are forgiven because of Christ and death has passed over us giving us eternal life with God in heaven.
We have been set free from death and from slavery to sin because we are covered with Jesus’ blood. Death has passed over us indeed!
Dear Jesus: Thank You for being the perfect passover lamb. Thank You that we have been set free from sin and that we have life forever with You. Amen.
Friday, April 7, 2023
The Cross Luke 23:44-49
The cross…what is the cross? Is it an architectural decoration, a pretty way of ending a spire? Is it a piece of jewelry dangling from a person’s neck? Is it a figure of speech? Is it a poem whose rhythmic cadences soothe the imagination and satisfy our aesthetic nature? Is it a picture, tragic and pathetic, before which we can sit for hours of meditation and wonder or cry? Is it a philosophy to be studied and discussed; a learned thing to be expounded in essays and eloquent orations? Is it a dream, beautiful and luminous?
No. It is a piece of rough timber upon which a dying man was nailed. That hideous spectacle lies at the very center of our faith. The cross is not a poem, it is an instrument of torture which does not produce rythmic cadences, but, rather, screams of pain. It is not a lovely song, it is a tool of death. It is not a matter of theology or philosophy, it is a criminal’s destination. It is not a piece of jewelry to make us look beautiful.
IT IS the object by which we are saved.
It is interesting that God would choose to use this instrument of pain and death. If God had to come into this world and die, why could He have not just died of old age like so many others do? Why? Why the cross? Why the pain? Why the tears? Why the torture? Why?
The answer is quite simple, yet profound. The reason Jesus had to die is because He loves His creation and wanted to restore that which He had created to perfection. God made the world perfect, holy, sinless, wonderful. Yet when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they brought sin into the world. That sin made what was perfect, imperfect, that which was holy, unholy and that which was sinless, sinful. Saint Paul put it this way in the book of Romans, “The wages of sin is death.” And “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This sin is not simply murder or blasphemy, but it is the love of money, the love of self, the love of power and all the other little sins that we commit on a daily basis. When we realize that, we understand that all of us have been affected by this sin and are, thus, unholy, unrighteous and sinful.
So why the cross? Why the pain? Why the suffering? Because Jesus loves you, and He took your sin upon Himself, so that you could have life. He became sin, your sin, my sin, and the sin of the whole world. He nailed that sin to the cross. That is why the cross, that is why the pain, that is why the tears. He took what we deserve and gave us what we could never earn.
So no, the cross is not a poem. It is not a lovely song. It is not a matter of theology or philosophy. It is not a piece of jewelry. The cross is life. The cross is love. The cross is salvation. Tonight, lay your sins on Jesus and know that you have life through His death, that you have love through His sacrifice and that you have salvation through His grace as you lay your burdens at the cross.
*Adapted from a Sermon Preached by Pastor Hengst on April of 2021
Dear Jesus: Thank You for the cross. Thank You for giving me life through Your death. Help me to trust in You and follow You always. Amen.
Saturday, April 8, 2023
Alone John 19:38-42
Jesus was dead. Everyone who was present at the foot of the cross on that Friday knew this beyond a shadow of doubt. They heard Him breathe His last, and they saw His side pierced with a spear. After He had given up His Spirit, His body was taken down by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimithea and He was buried. His tomb was sealed and a guard was placed before the tomb so no one could enter and take His body.
Jesus’ followers and friends were devastated. They had willingly followed Jesus for the past three years. They were convinced that He was the Messiah and that as the Messiah He would restore the fortunes of Israel and bring peace and prosperity to the land. But now He was dead, and because of His death they were now in danger.
They gave up everything they had and everything they knew to follow Him. They had offended the religious leaders of Israel because they were disciples of Jesus. Now that those leaders had killed Jesus they would have His disciples in their sights.
So, on Saturday, the day after Jesus’ death, the disciples were filled with sorrow, fear and uncertainty, and they hid themselves from the religious leaders. They certainly must have questioned their decision to follow Jesus. They certainly must have wondered what they had missed or gotten wrong. They certainly felt alone. They certainly must have asked God, “Why?”
In this world of struggle we can surely find ourselves in the same place as the disciples. There are times when we question if God is real. There are times we question if God cares. There are times we question if God is with us. There are times when we doubt and fear. There are times we sit alone, away from God, and ask, “Why?” There are certainly times when we feel alone.
On Holy Saturday the disciples had forgotten that Jesus said He would die and rise three days later. They forgot that Jesus said He would conquer sin and death. They forgot these things because fear, difficulty and loneliness made them forget the promises of Jesus.
During times of fear, difficulty and loneliness we sometimes forget that Jesus rose from the dead. We can forget that He promised to never leave us or forsake us. We can forget that we are part of the Kingdom of Heaven now.
The wonderful news is that Jesus did not leave the disciples alone in their fear, difficulty and loneliness, but He appeared to them, risen from the grave, the next day. In the same way, He does not leave us in doubt, fear and loneliness. He comes to us to remind us that He is alive and He is with us. We are not alone, no matter how dark the day.
Dear Jesus: There are so many times when I have doubts and fears in my life and when I doubt that You are with me or care for me. Forgive me for those times of doubt and thank You for reminding me of Your love for me and Your presence with me. Amen.
Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023
CHRIST IS RISEN!!! John 20:1-18
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
This simple proclamation of Christ’s resurrection and victory is the most extraordinary statement that the world has ever known. Through Christ’s resurrection He conquered sin and death and life for all who believe in Him. This work has saved us and given us life forever in Paradise. So today, as we rejoice in our Risen Lord and Savior, I would encourage you to read the account of His resurrection from John 20:1-18, reflect on it and then read it a second time. Finally, read it a third time, and when you are done reading, lift a prayer of praise for the victory Christ has won through the cross and the empty tomb.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
Hallelujah! Thank You Christ for rising from the grave and for giving me life eternal. Help me to rejoice in You always. Amen.
