Ash Wednesday…Give something up? Or do more?
This week’s devotions are based on Week 1 of Cross Examined: Can We Stay? (LISTEN HERE)
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent in the Christian Church. The season is marked by 40 days leading up to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. If you are a math person, there are actually 46 days until Easter. However, in our observation of Lent, the Sundays in the season (6 of them) are to be “little Easters” that remind us of the victory of Christ even as we journey with him through his suffering and death.
As we enter this season, perhaps it is an opportunity to follow the direction of God the Father from the mountain of transfiguration.
Luke 9:34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”
The season of Lent is often observed by “giving something up.” If this is helpful, please carry out this custom. However, maybe it’s a season to be more deliberate of putting something back into our lives – the voice of your Savior, the words of God.
When the Father spoke from the cloud to the disciples and in view of his Son Jesus and Moses and Elijah, he in essence was saying, “The most important things you can take from this moment are these. Jesus is my Son. He is God. Jesus is the one I have chosen, the Messiah (“anointed one”) and I want you to listen to every word he has to say, every one.
Our ears are filled with “noise” from social media, podcasts, netflix, news, and more. Perhaps the thing that is lacking in our day is the voice of Jesus.
40 days is often used in the Bible for God’s people as a time of rededication, repentance, and refocus. Saying “Yes” to more time listening to Jesus will entail saying “No” to something else. However, look at it as “adding to” instead of “giving up.”
On one occasion as Jesus was teaching many of his followers left him. As he turned the disciples and asked them if they wanted to leave, Peter said this:
John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
This is the reason the Father implores us to listen to his Son. The words he shares are life, eternal life! The words are what our souls need to give forgiveness, joy, love, guidance, hope and peace.
Could you use more of these in your life this Lenten season? I know I could. I think we all could.
So here’s a couple of suggestions.
Plan 1: The Gospel of Mark has 16 chapters and the Gospel of Luke has 24. Read one chapter a day (Monday – Saturday) and hear Jesus’ words in these two Gospels during the season of Lent.
Plan 2: Use a reading plan on “You Version” Bible app (Search “Lent”) or similar of your choosing to read through the passion history of Jesus in all four Gospels.
Plan 3: Pick one Gospel and work your way through it during this season of Lent.
Enjoy this season and make it a time of “adding to” your faith even as the Lord Jesus leads your soul away from things that hinder your walk of faith and leads you closer to him!
A blessed Ash Wednesday and Lenten season to you!
Apply: Choose a reading plan for the next 40 days. Listen to Jesus’ voice!
Prayer: Lord as we enter this season of lent, forgive our sins, renew our hearts and open our souls to receive your word. Fill us. Strengthen us and guide us closer to you. AMEN.
A moment that changed everything!
This week’s devotions are based on Week 1 of Cross Examined: Can We Stay? (LISTEN HERE)
Seventeen years ago at Wake Med hospital in Cary, NC was a moment that forever changed our lives. The good Lord gave us a healthy daughter, Mikenna, who has since brought much joy and pride to our lives. She is a young woman of God and beautiful inside and out.
Moments like this are to be treasured. When I held her for the first time, I couldn’t imagine the full blessing and significance she would have in our lives, but that moment changed everything for the better. Happy birthday Mikenna! We couldn’t be more blessed by God and proud of you!
You have had moments like this in your lives. Moments that replay in your mind and stick with you more than other events. As you look back on them through the lens of history you begin to see more and more the significance of that day, of that event.
The amazing thing is God packs all that significance into that moment…it just may take us a while to discover.
The moment of Jesus’ transfiguration was one of those moments for Peter, James and John. In the moment it was brilliant. It was amazing. It was awesome. It created wonder and fear, amazement and reflection.
So what did the Lord pack into this moment?
This moment was about a week after something:
Luke 9:28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
Here’s what happened eight days prior:
Luke 9:18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Peter made the confession “The Christ of God.”
Matthew’s Gospel records that Peter objected when Jesus started sharing about his upcoming suffering and death. The implication was that Peter’s idea of the “Christ” was not a suffering servant.
But that’s not what the Scripture had said.
Luke 9:29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus talking about his upcoming departure, i.e. his suffering and death that was coming. Jesus was standing with the testimony of “Moses and the prophets” to clarify that the role of the Messiah, the Christ was to complete a mission in Jerusalem that entailed his suffering and death.
Jesus wanted to solidify this truth that the suffering of the Christ was not antithetical to the Scripture, but rather exactly what Moses and the prophets declared.
In the moment it maybe didn’t make sense, but the moment was given to the disciples and to us to confirm, “Yes, Jesus is the Christ” AND yes, the Christ was sent to suffer and die for the sins of the world. As Jesus said after his resurrection:
Luke 24:25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Don’t move on from the transfiguration too quickly, but soak it in and realize the impact of the moment as it clarifies who Jesus is…the Christ, our Savior.
Apply: What moment in your life have you looked back on only to realize the impact of the moment was greater than you realized at the time the moment happened?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for in your mercy you create moments to communicate and clarify your truth to us. Help us to never miss the impact of these moments, from the past or from our present. AMEN.
I don’t want to leave…
This week’s devotions are based on Week 1 of Cross Examined: Can We Stay? (LISTEN HERE)
The view was breathtaking. Standing at the edge of the south rim of the Grand Canyon, it was hard to take it all in and notice all the details. With the passing of the day to sunset the shadows and lighting made the scenery change moment by moment. It was hard to leave.
“Just one more ride.” A day a Disney world was so fun, but as the park was closing no one wanted to leave. It was too much fun.
“I can’t believe they are gone.” Standing at the graveside of a loved one who passed quickly and unexpectedly leaves loved ones lingering and not wanting to leave, knowing saying “Good-bye” is tough.
Certain moments in life make it hard to move on. Some of those moments are exciting and enjoyable and other moments are trying to hang on to a passing reality, uncertain of what the future brings.
Peter was trying to take in the moment.
He and James and John had gone with Jesus up a mountainside to pray. They were sleeping and perhaps dozing off (sound familiar?). Yet they were awakened from their drowsiness with the vision of amazing brilliance around Jesus and the persons of Moses and Elijah (whom they seem to recognize without ever meeting them!). Perhaps still a bit groggy, Peter says, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Luke 9:33)
He wanted to stay. He wanted Moses and Elijah and Jesus to stay. He wanted the moment of amazing glory to linger indefinitely.
Who wouldn’t?
Who wouldn’t want to be in the presence of the Lord and his two most well known witnesses, Moses and Elijah?
Questions could be asked. Stories could be told. Insights could be gained.
Can we stay?
Perhaps one could argue that Peter had a point. It would be nice to hear more from Moses and Elijah and their testimony about Jesus. It would be nice to have recorded for all ages which words they wrote hundreds of years earlier were specific about Jesus and his life and ministry. And wouldn’t it be cool to invite your friends to come up the mountain with you and visit the “homes” of Moses and Elijah and Jesus.
Can we stay?
The moment was amazing. The moment was brilliant.
The moment had a purpose, but the moment wasn’t going to last.
Jesus wanted his disciples to experience the moment because he knew what was coming.
In some ways, Jesus probably from a human standpoint would have loved to stay in this moment and not moved on. But he knew he had to.
Luke 9:30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
The moment was impactful, but moving on would be important.
The moment was significant, but moving on was necessary for our salvation.
The moment was brilliant, but moving on brought the greatest blessing.
Can we stay? Sure. For the moment. But sometimes the greater vision of God’s glory comes as we move on to see the full glory of his grace.
Apply: What situation have you not wanted to move on from? When you did, what blessing did you experience afterwards because you experienced the moment AND moved on?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for a wonderful moment at your transfiguration and the ability to “see” it through the words of your Bible. As we linger in the moment, help us also to move on to experience and share the fullness of your grace and plan of salvation. AMEN.
“I’m going to get you back!”
This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of Tough Love: Love Your Enemies (LISTEN HERE)
When someone hurts you, would you not agree it is very difficult to not think of something bad to happen to them by you or someone else?
Our natural inclination is to see evil repaid with evil. From early on we see our sinful nature rear its ugly head when another child takes our toy, we take one of theirs. As we get older, we like to say mean things about someone who said mean things about us. As adults we continue but maybe take to social media to let the virtual world know how bad someone is who didn’t serve us well at a restaurant.
To be sure the impact of evil is great. Some of you reading may have had very heinous things happen like rape, ugly divorce, emotional abuse and more. The thought of the person who did these things is anything but “love.” While you may not have the inclination to incite evil on them, you would be ok if they succumb to evil worse than they did.
It’s natural to want evil to be repaid with evil. It’s what our sinful nature defaults to.
But the Word of God teaches differently.
Like a game of tag being played by kids with the rule “no tag-backs,” so is the direction God gives to us. The Apostle Paul puts it clearly in Romans 12:
Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Evil is real. Evil is ugly. Evil is wrong. Paul does not minimize the evil, but directs our response to it.
Do what is right.
Do everything you can to make peace.
Do not take revenge.
Respond to evil with good.
Ugg. My sinful nature didn’t want to hear that. But consider what happens when we perpetuate evil by doing evil or break the cycle by showing love.
We do what is right.
We work toward peace rather than greater conflict.
We contrast the ugliness of evil with the beauty of God’s love.
And…
We leave room for God’s wrath.
Showing love to our enemies may win them over from their evil. But if it doesn’t, we know also that God is a God of perfect justice. We can simply allow God to deal with the evil that happens. We don’t have to “tag back.” We don’t have to get even. We don’t even have to figure out what is fair. God will.
If there is justice to be carried out, God will sort it out. It’s his promise to you when we have been a victim of evil.
As tough as it is, we can respond to evil with good and understand that if there is a score to be settled, God will do it in time or at the last day. Trust him. He is the God of love who empowers you to love your enemies AND he is the God of justice that will carry out justice on the evildoer. We win both ways.
Apply: What hurt are you carrying and still actively or subconsciously thinking of taking revenge? Take time today to release that desire to the Lord and trust his justice to take care of it.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love which covers evil with your forgiveness and the blood of Jesus. Thank you for your justice that will deal with any evil perfectly so I don’t have to worry about it or seek a way to avenge it. I know you will do exactly what is fair and just. AMEN.
Don’t create enemies to love!
This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of Tough Love: Love Your Enemies (LISTEN HERE)
Jesus said, “27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Jesus’ words make us think. Jesus’ words challenge us to be different. Jesus’ directs us to do something that is not natural and counters how many in the world would choose to interact with those who hate or mistreat them.
Let’s consider this from another angle.
Jesus’ words also challenge us not to create enemies.
What do I mean?
Sometimes we can create an enemy out of someone who is really not our enemy.
How?
Someone says something to us and we take it out of context or put the worst construction on it. The result? I think they hate me.
Someone with whom you are serving on a ministry team offers help or direction and you construe it as micromanaging or dismissive of your input.
The result? I’m in conflict with them…i.e. My enemy.
Someone doesn’t say “Hi” or seems to ignore you and you interpret it as an intentional snub.
The result? Curse them.
All of a sudden in the context of a Sunday morning, I have potential to create three enemies because I have chosen to view their actions or hear their words in a way that I feel wronged.
The feeling is real. The reality may be much different.
Part of Jesus’ direction is to not create enemies, but rather extend love and grace to the people around us to avoid making up a perceived enemy out of someone who isn’t.
In these situations, I can feel justified in creating a story that this person meant to say something mean, is punitive of my abilities, or too busy to even say “Hi.”
The fact is, if I would simply have a conversation with this individual or individuals, I could avoid even the temptation to make this person my enemy and cause a rift in our relationship.
Because when I apply love and grace here’s what happens.
I don’t have an enemy because I realize the words spoken were missing the context and not directed at me. I don’t have someone who hates me, but rather values my skills and simply was offering theirs to make the project better and more impactful. I don’t have someone who mistreated me because that person was rushing to greet a visitor, not snub a friend.
Part of loving our enemies is not to make someone our enemy.
Part of doing good to those who hate you is to not make up a story of hatred.
Part of blessing those who curse you is to not misinterpret their words or actions.
Keep a friend by practicing love, grace and forgiveness.
Avoid creating an enemy by breaking the eighth commandment (You shall not bear false testimony against your neighbor.)
When love, blessing, goodness and prayer are just the norm in your life, notice that the number of enemies you have diminishes and the new ones you create are zero!
Apply: Have you created an enemy in your mind and later found out it was your misperception that led to your sinful nature making the person your enemy? How might you use Jesus’ words to avoid “creating enemies” in the future and avoid sinning against a person.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your love and grace that always takes our words and actions in the kindest possible way. Thank you for showing me how to forgive so I don’t create enemies where there are none. Forgive me for the times I have. AMEN.