Sunday, Mar. 7: Third Sunday in Lent: Ps. 84; Mark 5:1–20
Most people love redemption stories. It feels good to see someone rescued from desperate situations, have their prospects for meaningful life turned around, and begin to thrive in a way no one expected. It could be the story of someone who stutters in speech becoming valedictorian in college, it might be a refugee who refused to give up and became a difference maker in her home country; it could be a cancer survivor, a homeless person, a victim of abuse, or someone who lost everything in a fire or natural disaster. But they made it, and we like the stories, often seeing them on television and finding a tear or two as the story moves toward a joyful conclusion. It’s beautiful!
So why were the people in Gerasene so disturbed when a deranged person they had encountered many times showed up in his right mind? No celebrations, slaps on the back, congratulatory handshakes or high fives were forthcoming. And the hero? The one who facilitated the change? In our usual experience, there is always someone who makes the change possible, someone who goes out of the way to care when no one else cares or knows what to do to help. They receive due recognition, and fittingly so. But not Jesus. He was asked to leave. The kind of power he displayed was too much for them; it couldn’t be contained, as demonstrated by the rush of the swine into the sea.
Could it be that people do enjoy seeing the conversion of the worst cases, but do not like the thought of converting everyday sinners? We’re not as bad as that, after all; we don’t need such great power interfering with our lives. Maybe life isn’t all so beautiful as it could be, but we’re getting along okay. For the most part. Sort of. The truth is, every sinful way needs the power of God to drive it away, we can’t fix it any more than the fellow in the story could fix his own life. The power of Jesus to make us whole and make life beautiful is available to us; but let us never think that finding it will not involve change. Let’s not chase him away in fear when he offers it.
Prayer: Lord, I’ve marveled at what you’ve done to change the lives of many people, especially those with the most dramatic conversions. It is a fearful thing, however, to allow that same power to work on my life. Stay close, and finish your work in me, as well. Amen.
Monday, Mar. 8: Ps. 119:73–80; John 7:14–36; 1 Cor. 3:10–23
In today’s world it’s difficult to know when we’re hearing the right voices and following the best direction. We like to think we’re following Godly ways; we don’t want to toss them aside because someone who is influential seems to be making a lot of sense. The Bible says so little that seems to be relevant to today’s world of technology and social structures; shouldn’t we just leave the Bible for “spiritual matters,” and follow the best wisdom of the day on the nitty-gritty of life in the 21st century?
Well, not exactly. All the wisdom of the world implies an understanding of who we are as human beings. If we are wrong at the critical points about that very important subject, the entire structure of thought is going to be skewed. The Bible does not answer every question about technology and science in the 21st century; but it does indicate that we are God’s intentional creation (not an accident of an unguided evolving universe); it does tell us that we are made in God’s image (as opposed to making our own meaning in any way we find comforting); it does tell us that we have chosen to prefer our own ideas on what is good for us or detrimental to ourselves and others (as opposed to making it up as we go, with right/wrong being a fluid category we are free to change at will). It also tells us that God loves all of us and wants to redeem the messes we make and transform us into his likeness (as opposed to being defined once and for all by any single bad choice we have, and being justly cast aside by an uncaring mob).
That’s the wisdom of God for any age, and when we build our lives accordingly, we build well, in a way that will survive the storms and challenges of life; and we’ll contribute to the welfare of others because of the way we see them. Those ways appear increasingly foolish to the wisdom of the world, no matter how cleverly packaged it might be. The truth about ourselves and about the way life ought to be lived is what God’s law is all about. We should study it and meditate on it much more than most of us do.
Prayer: God of all Wisdom, open your word to my eyes and my eyes to your word, that I may clearly distinguish truth from falsehood in today’s world. I want to build on the foundation you have provided in Christ, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life. Amen.
Tuesday, Mar. 9: Ps. 34; John 7:37–52; Heb. 9:23–28
The image is powerful if we can grasp it. Streams of living water, life-giving refreshment, life saving and life preserving refreshment are to come from those who have heard the call of Jesus to repent and follow him. There is a purpose, a hope, a challenge that should engage us for life if we contemplate the meaning of this image.
We have all met people about whom it is said that they were so heavenly minded that they were of no earthly good. Sometimes it’s an unfair assessment, but not always. There are numerous people who are forever going to Bible study, attending services, listening to one radio or television Bible teacher or another, but who also display little evidence of contributing to the good of other people, whether in a spiritual or physical sense. Maybe if they study a little harder, listen a little more intently, or pray a little more fervently God will use them. It’s sad. Today’s gospel reading suggests why.
God did not design his people to be reservoirs, where water is stored up. Jesus did not tell his followers that they would be sponges, soaking up every drop that came from him. He told them they would be springs--sources of flowing water, which was symbolic of the Holy Spirit, who does not come into them for their own benefit, but to refresh those who come by in search of refreshment. The life he gives to us is to be shared, and when we give it away he renews and expands the supply. So let it flow through us today!
Prayer: O Holy Spirit, forgive me for holding on to what you’ve already poured into my life without letting your love flow through me to those who are thirsting. Today it might be a kind word, a smile, a hand to someone in need. Perhaps it will be the gift of seeing the ones you want to reach out to, then letting them know you care about them more than they imagined. Let the springs flow today. Amen.
Wednesday, Mar. 10: Ps. 5; John 8:12–20; Rom. 5:1–11
Anyone who says Christianity is a crutch for the weak or crippled doesn’t really understand the faith. In some ways, most of us have less of an understanding of it than we would if we took it with us into all of the events and challenges life brings our way. Christian faith is a hard way to live at times.
The idea that Christ redeems us and includes us in the people of God by faith should not be the end of the story. So says the apostle Paul in today’s Romans text. Yes, thank God, we come into Christ by faith, not by accomplishment or performance. That’s how we are introduced into the faith. What follows is hard; it consists of words like perseverance, proven character, and then hope. We all like to have hope, especially the kind that comes with some sort of assurance. We want to have good reason to believe that what we hope for will be proven true. That reason often comes to light only through having our faith in Christ tested.
We often react to even slight hints of persecution, even little subtle challenges to what we believe, by assuming or saying that our challengers don’t really understand what we’re saying. But maybe they do--at least enough to understand that if we are right in our belief that all people are lost in sin, they are on the wrong side of God, the wrong side of life in this world. And that usually does not go over well, especially in a world where the assumption is that no one knows the truth--if there is such a thing in the first place. When that happens, do we back off? If so, we’ll never get that grip on the hope that is in Christ; it won’t be as firmly planted in our spirits and minds. It’s still true, but our level of hope fades just a little. Don’t let that happen today.
Prayer: Lord, before I ever thought of sinning no more, or even making the first attempt toward living rightly, you came and died for me, ungodly as I was. Your love reached out, as it continues to do each day. I give you thanks. And I ask for the perseverance to endure and grow through any challenges someone may bring my way as I walk in your light. Amen.
Thursday, Mar. 11: Ps. 27; John 8:21–32; Rom. 5:12–21
The simple truth is that faith in Jesus Christ is not compatible with any other religious or philosophical system. It cannot be one way among many for understanding who God is. He cannot be just one of a number of good teachers whose message was just about the same as another’s. For the things that Jesus said about his relationship to the Father, and the things that the later New Testament writers, such as Paul, say about Jesus set him completely apart from all other religious leaders the world has known.
One of the many reasons why it is good for us to have a season of Lent for reflection, repentance, and renewal is that we need to continually focus on the truth that is Jesus. We need to be guided each year to the focus on the Word made flesh, who dwelled among people, who showed both true humanity and true deity. Paul tells us that he came to start something new--a whole new way of being human in this world, a way which actually is the image of God as we were intended to portray. He was a new Adam--a new original, who started a new people. No other faith makes that sort of a claim; nor could one.
The challenge for the followers of Jesus is twofold in a disbelieving world. The first side is to know who Jesus truly is by studying the word about him, becoming more familiar with his words and deeds; the second is to live as he did when he included us in this new humanity. We don’t argue his nature as effectively as we live his nature. Argument without demonstration is pointless; demonstration might open the way to explanation. Let’s get to know him better today.
Prayer: Lord Christ, it is hard to speak openly about you in part of my world. It’s even difficult to show your character by letting it live through me, toward those whom you love--especially toward the ones I’m finding it hard to love. Please fill me with your Spirit today, so that I might be a good example of the new humanity you are creating. Amen.
Friday, Mar. 12: Ps. 148; John 8:33–47; Rom. 6:1–11
Today we take a different turn. It’s a needed turn, one which is probably not as heavily emphasized during the season of Lent because of the overall focus on repentance. Yet even in the middle of this period, we should not lose sight of its importance. What is it? Praise!
The daily readings include a portion from the Psalms, some of which, as today’s, simply call on us to praise the Lord. It’s not just a single voice that is called for; it’s a call to the whole world, all of nature, the entire creation to join in declaring to everyone that God is unimaginably creative, wise, and powerful. He is aware of who we are, where we are, and what we need; and He looks to provide it. The psalm declares to us that we can praise God from anywhere and everywhere, from the greatest heights to the lowest depths, from the far reaches of space to the structure of the smallest particles.
What the writer is saying to us is that we can find an unending array of reasons to give thanks and appreciate the presence of God, no matter where we are in life, no matter what circumstances might surround us. Anything we see can be turned into an occasion to praise God. A storm, a piece of fruit, a creepy spider, a majestic horse, a soaring bird, a worthy leader, a young child at play--all coming from his mighty and caring hand, all providing occasion to praise him if we will only look and think about them as such. Isn’t it amazing that there is sight from eyes and brains reflecting on things that can be recognized, that there is taste for foods grown naturally, and that in fact sustain our bodies, that there are roles in preparing the ground for all of the creepy crawling things we seldom see? Today, make a point to praise the Lord, both for and in spite of the things you will see and experience.
Prayer: God of Wonder and of Might, of Imagination and Delight, I want to praise you today for the glories of earth and sky, the expanse of space and the microscopic building blocks of the world we live in. May I never forget that in all circumstances of life, you are there with a loving and guiding hand, and that you are more than capable of staying with me through any seeming trouble that comes my way. Thank You!
Saturday, Mar. 13: Ps. 149; John 8:47–59; Rom. 6:12–23
Sometimes it happens that the farther we go down a wrong pathway, the harder it is to admit that it was, indeed, the wrong pathway. We shouldn’t have chosen this route, but it will get us where we need to go, so let’s stay on it. And then we become so focused on the route that we forget where it is we are trying to go. It’s one thing to do it in our cars or on foot. It’s another to do the same thing with our goals in life and with the means we choose to reach them.
In the extended discussion Jesus had with “the scribes and the Pharisees,” he was building to a point where he openly declared to them that he was more than a human person. Not only that, he seems to have called them out for not recognizing who he really was. They, of all people, they who spent countless hours studying the Scriptures, they who had been entrusted with the responsibility to teach the people who God is and what God truly wanted of them--had missed the point. They had taken a wrong turn; they didn’t even seem to be searching for God any longer, focusing entirely on the map rather than on the destination.
We get caught up in the doing all so easily. We can come to the point where the procedures and practices overshadow what we started out with as a goal, a treasure, a lifelong pursuit. Doing it right becomes more important than remembering what it is that we intended to do. It happens in our lives on multiple levels, whether it is playing a sport, planning our finances for the future, mowing our lawns, or worshiping God. The means become more important than the ends, and we forget what it was that we had set out to do. If we’re not careful, we become slaves of the process. Today, set your eyes on Jesus. Isn’t following him what you set out to do in the first place?
Prayer: Lord, in the busy ways of life I can easily be drawn away from my true goal, which is to follow you. Fix my eyes on you, not so that I only see you, but that I might see the people in my life as you see them. I trust your Spirit to live your life through mine. Amen.
Most people love redemption stories. It feels good to see someone rescued from desperate situations, have their prospects for meaningful life turned around, and begin to thrive in a way no one expected. It could be the story of someone who stutters in speech becoming valedictorian in college, it might be a refugee who refused to give up and became a difference maker in her home country; it could be a cancer survivor, a homeless person, a victim of abuse, or someone who lost everything in a fire or natural disaster. But they made it, and we like the stories, often seeing them on television and finding a tear or two as the story moves toward a joyful conclusion. It’s beautiful!
So why were the people in Gerasene so disturbed when a deranged person they had encountered many times showed up in his right mind? No celebrations, slaps on the back, congratulatory handshakes or high fives were forthcoming. And the hero? The one who facilitated the change? In our usual experience, there is always someone who makes the change possible, someone who goes out of the way to care when no one else cares or knows what to do to help. They receive due recognition, and fittingly so. But not Jesus. He was asked to leave. The kind of power he displayed was too much for them; it couldn’t be contained, as demonstrated by the rush of the swine into the sea.
Could it be that people do enjoy seeing the conversion of the worst cases, but do not like the thought of converting everyday sinners? We’re not as bad as that, after all; we don’t need such great power interfering with our lives. Maybe life isn’t all so beautiful as it could be, but we’re getting along okay. For the most part. Sort of. The truth is, every sinful way needs the power of God to drive it away, we can’t fix it any more than the fellow in the story could fix his own life. The power of Jesus to make us whole and make life beautiful is available to us; but let us never think that finding it will not involve change. Let’s not chase him away in fear when he offers it.
Prayer: Lord, I’ve marveled at what you’ve done to change the lives of many people, especially those with the most dramatic conversions. It is a fearful thing, however, to allow that same power to work on my life. Stay close, and finish your work in me, as well. Amen.
Monday, Mar. 8: Ps. 119:73–80; John 7:14–36; 1 Cor. 3:10–23
In today’s world it’s difficult to know when we’re hearing the right voices and following the best direction. We like to think we’re following Godly ways; we don’t want to toss them aside because someone who is influential seems to be making a lot of sense. The Bible says so little that seems to be relevant to today’s world of technology and social structures; shouldn’t we just leave the Bible for “spiritual matters,” and follow the best wisdom of the day on the nitty-gritty of life in the 21st century?
Well, not exactly. All the wisdom of the world implies an understanding of who we are as human beings. If we are wrong at the critical points about that very important subject, the entire structure of thought is going to be skewed. The Bible does not answer every question about technology and science in the 21st century; but it does indicate that we are God’s intentional creation (not an accident of an unguided evolving universe); it does tell us that we are made in God’s image (as opposed to making our own meaning in any way we find comforting); it does tell us that we have chosen to prefer our own ideas on what is good for us or detrimental to ourselves and others (as opposed to making it up as we go, with right/wrong being a fluid category we are free to change at will). It also tells us that God loves all of us and wants to redeem the messes we make and transform us into his likeness (as opposed to being defined once and for all by any single bad choice we have, and being justly cast aside by an uncaring mob).
That’s the wisdom of God for any age, and when we build our lives accordingly, we build well, in a way that will survive the storms and challenges of life; and we’ll contribute to the welfare of others because of the way we see them. Those ways appear increasingly foolish to the wisdom of the world, no matter how cleverly packaged it might be. The truth about ourselves and about the way life ought to be lived is what God’s law is all about. We should study it and meditate on it much more than most of us do.
Prayer: God of all Wisdom, open your word to my eyes and my eyes to your word, that I may clearly distinguish truth from falsehood in today’s world. I want to build on the foundation you have provided in Christ, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life. Amen.
Tuesday, Mar. 9: Ps. 34; John 7:37–52; Heb. 9:23–28
The image is powerful if we can grasp it. Streams of living water, life-giving refreshment, life saving and life preserving refreshment are to come from those who have heard the call of Jesus to repent and follow him. There is a purpose, a hope, a challenge that should engage us for life if we contemplate the meaning of this image.
We have all met people about whom it is said that they were so heavenly minded that they were of no earthly good. Sometimes it’s an unfair assessment, but not always. There are numerous people who are forever going to Bible study, attending services, listening to one radio or television Bible teacher or another, but who also display little evidence of contributing to the good of other people, whether in a spiritual or physical sense. Maybe if they study a little harder, listen a little more intently, or pray a little more fervently God will use them. It’s sad. Today’s gospel reading suggests why.
God did not design his people to be reservoirs, where water is stored up. Jesus did not tell his followers that they would be sponges, soaking up every drop that came from him. He told them they would be springs--sources of flowing water, which was symbolic of the Holy Spirit, who does not come into them for their own benefit, but to refresh those who come by in search of refreshment. The life he gives to us is to be shared, and when we give it away he renews and expands the supply. So let it flow through us today!
Prayer: O Holy Spirit, forgive me for holding on to what you’ve already poured into my life without letting your love flow through me to those who are thirsting. Today it might be a kind word, a smile, a hand to someone in need. Perhaps it will be the gift of seeing the ones you want to reach out to, then letting them know you care about them more than they imagined. Let the springs flow today. Amen.
Wednesday, Mar. 10: Ps. 5; John 8:12–20; Rom. 5:1–11
Anyone who says Christianity is a crutch for the weak or crippled doesn’t really understand the faith. In some ways, most of us have less of an understanding of it than we would if we took it with us into all of the events and challenges life brings our way. Christian faith is a hard way to live at times.
The idea that Christ redeems us and includes us in the people of God by faith should not be the end of the story. So says the apostle Paul in today’s Romans text. Yes, thank God, we come into Christ by faith, not by accomplishment or performance. That’s how we are introduced into the faith. What follows is hard; it consists of words like perseverance, proven character, and then hope. We all like to have hope, especially the kind that comes with some sort of assurance. We want to have good reason to believe that what we hope for will be proven true. That reason often comes to light only through having our faith in Christ tested.
We often react to even slight hints of persecution, even little subtle challenges to what we believe, by assuming or saying that our challengers don’t really understand what we’re saying. But maybe they do--at least enough to understand that if we are right in our belief that all people are lost in sin, they are on the wrong side of God, the wrong side of life in this world. And that usually does not go over well, especially in a world where the assumption is that no one knows the truth--if there is such a thing in the first place. When that happens, do we back off? If so, we’ll never get that grip on the hope that is in Christ; it won’t be as firmly planted in our spirits and minds. It’s still true, but our level of hope fades just a little. Don’t let that happen today.
Prayer: Lord, before I ever thought of sinning no more, or even making the first attempt toward living rightly, you came and died for me, ungodly as I was. Your love reached out, as it continues to do each day. I give you thanks. And I ask for the perseverance to endure and grow through any challenges someone may bring my way as I walk in your light. Amen.
Thursday, Mar. 11: Ps. 27; John 8:21–32; Rom. 5:12–21
The simple truth is that faith in Jesus Christ is not compatible with any other religious or philosophical system. It cannot be one way among many for understanding who God is. He cannot be just one of a number of good teachers whose message was just about the same as another’s. For the things that Jesus said about his relationship to the Father, and the things that the later New Testament writers, such as Paul, say about Jesus set him completely apart from all other religious leaders the world has known.
One of the many reasons why it is good for us to have a season of Lent for reflection, repentance, and renewal is that we need to continually focus on the truth that is Jesus. We need to be guided each year to the focus on the Word made flesh, who dwelled among people, who showed both true humanity and true deity. Paul tells us that he came to start something new--a whole new way of being human in this world, a way which actually is the image of God as we were intended to portray. He was a new Adam--a new original, who started a new people. No other faith makes that sort of a claim; nor could one.
The challenge for the followers of Jesus is twofold in a disbelieving world. The first side is to know who Jesus truly is by studying the word about him, becoming more familiar with his words and deeds; the second is to live as he did when he included us in this new humanity. We don’t argue his nature as effectively as we live his nature. Argument without demonstration is pointless; demonstration might open the way to explanation. Let’s get to know him better today.
Prayer: Lord Christ, it is hard to speak openly about you in part of my world. It’s even difficult to show your character by letting it live through me, toward those whom you love--especially toward the ones I’m finding it hard to love. Please fill me with your Spirit today, so that I might be a good example of the new humanity you are creating. Amen.
Friday, Mar. 12: Ps. 148; John 8:33–47; Rom. 6:1–11
Today we take a different turn. It’s a needed turn, one which is probably not as heavily emphasized during the season of Lent because of the overall focus on repentance. Yet even in the middle of this period, we should not lose sight of its importance. What is it? Praise!
The daily readings include a portion from the Psalms, some of which, as today’s, simply call on us to praise the Lord. It’s not just a single voice that is called for; it’s a call to the whole world, all of nature, the entire creation to join in declaring to everyone that God is unimaginably creative, wise, and powerful. He is aware of who we are, where we are, and what we need; and He looks to provide it. The psalm declares to us that we can praise God from anywhere and everywhere, from the greatest heights to the lowest depths, from the far reaches of space to the structure of the smallest particles.
What the writer is saying to us is that we can find an unending array of reasons to give thanks and appreciate the presence of God, no matter where we are in life, no matter what circumstances might surround us. Anything we see can be turned into an occasion to praise God. A storm, a piece of fruit, a creepy spider, a majestic horse, a soaring bird, a worthy leader, a young child at play--all coming from his mighty and caring hand, all providing occasion to praise him if we will only look and think about them as such. Isn’t it amazing that there is sight from eyes and brains reflecting on things that can be recognized, that there is taste for foods grown naturally, and that in fact sustain our bodies, that there are roles in preparing the ground for all of the creepy crawling things we seldom see? Today, make a point to praise the Lord, both for and in spite of the things you will see and experience.
Prayer: God of Wonder and of Might, of Imagination and Delight, I want to praise you today for the glories of earth and sky, the expanse of space and the microscopic building blocks of the world we live in. May I never forget that in all circumstances of life, you are there with a loving and guiding hand, and that you are more than capable of staying with me through any seeming trouble that comes my way. Thank You!
Saturday, Mar. 13: Ps. 149; John 8:47–59; Rom. 6:12–23
Sometimes it happens that the farther we go down a wrong pathway, the harder it is to admit that it was, indeed, the wrong pathway. We shouldn’t have chosen this route, but it will get us where we need to go, so let’s stay on it. And then we become so focused on the route that we forget where it is we are trying to go. It’s one thing to do it in our cars or on foot. It’s another to do the same thing with our goals in life and with the means we choose to reach them.
In the extended discussion Jesus had with “the scribes and the Pharisees,” he was building to a point where he openly declared to them that he was more than a human person. Not only that, he seems to have called them out for not recognizing who he really was. They, of all people, they who spent countless hours studying the Scriptures, they who had been entrusted with the responsibility to teach the people who God is and what God truly wanted of them--had missed the point. They had taken a wrong turn; they didn’t even seem to be searching for God any longer, focusing entirely on the map rather than on the destination.
We get caught up in the doing all so easily. We can come to the point where the procedures and practices overshadow what we started out with as a goal, a treasure, a lifelong pursuit. Doing it right becomes more important than remembering what it is that we intended to do. It happens in our lives on multiple levels, whether it is playing a sport, planning our finances for the future, mowing our lawns, or worshiping God. The means become more important than the ends, and we forget what it was that we had set out to do. If we’re not careful, we become slaves of the process. Today, set your eyes on Jesus. Isn’t following him what you set out to do in the first place?
Prayer: Lord, in the busy ways of life I can easily be drawn away from my true goal, which is to follow you. Fix my eyes on you, not so that I only see you, but that I might see the people in my life as you see them. I trust your Spirit to live your life through mine. Amen.