Read: Romans 5:6-11
The chapter begins by describing some of the benefits we receive when we put our complete faith in God. As we put our faith in God we should have peace. Our sufferings are temporary. God has declared and proved his love for us. Adam brought sin and death to the world but Jesus Christ brought hope as he died for our sins, and with God’s grace all those who believe are offered the gift of grace. Paul acknowledges that as we hope and trust in God, we will never be disappointed or put to shame. Christ died for us while we were weak. Salvation is free, and nothing about who we are earned us that right. Christ dying for us, really shows God’s love for us. Christ died to save us from our sins. God chose the right time for Christ to be born, to live amongst us, died, and was resurrected. During this period, let us ponder at God’s amazing grace and love and let us strive to love each other, citizens of the world. Let us strengthen our faith and our hope in God, no matter what we are going through, knowing that our sufferings are indeed temporary. Daphne Marke Read: Romans 5:1-5
Peace and hope that will not fail. Anytime you turn on the news channel these days all you see and hear is violence, disasters, wars and injustice and all kinds of negativity. This can be overwhelming and some believers can be having doubts. This is not new. The early believers in Rome were having doubts and uncertainties about the new faith. Therefore, if you are going to preach hope to those living under uncertain situations as we are now, you had for sure better know what you are talking about. Just as the early church, we cannot afford to have glossy and empty promises. We cannot tolerate false hopes because it can only make already bad situations much worse. Our hope is on a solid rock, Jesus and the finished work he did on Calvary and that hope will not put us to shame. As believers let us not allow worry to edge out our hope. Also, as we are justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us put our faith in the one who died to give us hope and life everlasting. Praise be to the Lord. for the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods. The sea is his and the dry land. Let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Amen. Uloma Nathan-Igwe Read: Psalm 95:8-11
The message of this Psalm is significant to the recognition of God’s kinship and that worshiping God should be a joyous experience. When we gather as one in Christ our worship should be filled with singing and shouts of joy and gratitude to the God of our salvation. The scripture gives many instances of worshiping in stillness and silence in the presence of God, however, the scripture also documents instances of worshiping in the presence of God with timbrels and joyful singing filled with shouts of adoration to our God. Peaceful silence and enthusiastic praise are appropriate expressions of worship to our God. Similar to Psalm 48:1 which declares great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, so too does Psalm 95 encourage us to praise and worship the Lord in the beauty of his holiness as long as he lendeth our breath. We are cautioned that we should not worship with a hardened heart, but when we worship, we should have a softened heart, ready to listen and be receptive to the voice of God. Remember that he is our king, our rock, and our shepherd. There is so much to gain when we are obedient to his words Fear not!! As we meditate upon this Psalm, let the message resonate within you as you reflect on the greatness of our God and his faithfulness. Take this moment as you meditate on this, take with you the absolute certainty of his promise and his love towards mankind. The author Rick Warren once asked, “What on earth did God make us for?” The response is “to praise and worship him.” Tell others of the goodness of God through your praise, give him all the glory, and most of all through living a holy life. Will you make your morning prayer each day a time of praise to the God of your salvation? Audrey Arthur Certified Lay Minister Read: Psalm 95:1-7
Now Israel will see the earth under Christ. The “joyful noise” that we are to make is the singing of hymns of praise. We are given here a wonderful directive by the Holy Spirit concerning the approach of the believer to the Lord. It is to be with ‘’thanksgiving” and singing. Rest is based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. Faith brings us into rest. Unbelief excludes us. In verses 4 and 5, we see that God is Lord over hell and also over the eternity of the earth. Over and over again, the Holy Spirit refutes the lies of evolution. God is the creator of all and He deserves worship by all (verse 6). We now see the great invitation to come to Christ. He is God’s rest; the rest that can never be disturbed. What a privilege to say that He is our God and that we are the people of His pasture. Therefore, we are admonished to hear His voice. The voice of the Shepherd gives us rest. As Christians, the Holy Spirit says to us, “Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled and tested God in the wilderness.” God took an oath that they will not enter His place of rest. That same rest is for us today; so let us come to God with thanksgiving and singing and pray that God will grant us creation rest, redemption rest, and millennial rest. In Jesus name. Amen. Donald Zack-Williams Read: Exodus 17:4-7
The Israelites wanted to be rescued from the hands of the Egyptians. This initiated another chapter involving the relationship between God and people concerning faith and trust. When a problem surfaced, the people strayed away from faith and that trust. After reaching a location, the people were thirsty and desired water. They could not locate water and instead of referring to spiritual guidance they attached with accusations and complaints. The distrust is evident but the burden is placed on someone else to fix, someone who is considered a leader of the church. That leader is God’s messenger, Moses. God once again will show he does keep his word. One thing he does is instruct Moses to bring his staff of confidence. Also he instructs Moses to bring some of the elders of the church to witness what God can do for the Israelites. (There are over 30 moments in scripture where God includes elders of the church. Involving elders is a way to show wisdom and teaching authority within the church.) As children of God our faith will be tested and we should be careful not to allow insecurity to overcome our love and trust along with faith. We are within his army because we have been called to do his will. Our love for our father should overcast any problem we encounter knowing we can always look to him in guiding us away from any issue. Being let by the Lord involves trusting even when there are roadblocks. Everyone will encounter a problem at some time in their life. However our faith should not waiver but remain strong knowing that our father can remove the roadblocks. Matthew 6:8 reminds us that our father knows our needs before we do. James 1:12 lets us know that we will face tribulation and out love for him should keep us going. If we need to find our living water we can be assured it will not be far away. Jeff Fox (from 2020 Lent Devotional Book) Read: Exodus 17:1-3
God instructed Moses to lead the Israelite's out from the Desert of Sin. They were like wanderers, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They, of course fussed with Moses asking why this move from our comfortable lives to suffer. They complained that their children and cattle were starving and thirsty. The Lord tests our faith in many ways. We do not always get what and when we want something. In this life as in theirs, we are impatient, but we all need to remember that we are being tested. God wants to know that we have faith, trust, and belief in him. Thanks be to God’s tests which make us strong and grateful. Let’s remember that all things will get better in his time if it is his will. Amen Hazel Waters Read: Psalm 121:5-8
Only you control when the healing begins, but it will start with your trust in God’s word. If you're waiting for an apology, you aren't going to heal. If you're expecting the feelings to miraculously "go away" you can't start healing. See, it's in your power to let the Lord help you to realize that strength and peace of mind is found in him and in you, if you are faithful in his promises. If you have fallen on hard times, call on his word to guide your actions and provide peace of mind to comfort you. Practice seeing people through the principles of the Bible, not the person they are at that particular moment. You have the power! Fill your life with positive supportive loving people. Make your circle of family and friends God-fearing people and hold them close. Jesus is the healer and the prince of peace. Turn your spirit and peace of mind over to him. This will not be an easy task to undertake, but to get peace in your life and acceptance of things that you cannot change, do your best to live each day knowing you are not alone and with his help you can face tomorrow. Angela Glenn Read: Romans 4:16-17
In this passage, Paul reminded the Romans about the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham and his offspring. At the time, there were great divisions between Jews and Gentiles and the Jews were convinced that they had “dibs” on favor with God. In present times, the fellowship of Christians is even more diverse. From Poland to Paraguay, our different races and ethnicities, or different socioeconomic backgrounds, etc. we could not be more different from each other and unfortunately these differences create similar divisions in God’s church. What brings you righteousness in God’s sight? There are no acts that we can do to live up to God’s standard or justify ourselves, we are saved by grace through our faith in God. Paul used the example of God’s servant Abraham. God promised Abraham that he would be the “father of many nations.” At the time the promise was made, this seemed to be impossible. Abraham and Sarah were old and infertile. God’s promise of offspring was fulfilled because of Abraham’s faith despite the seemingly unfavorable circumstance that he was in. Who are we? We are characterized as being Abraham’s offspring. Galatians 3:29 states “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you.” Stop and think about this! The same God who fulfilled his promise to Abraham will fulfill his promise to you! All you have to do is have faith in him. So continue to do your good deeds and bless others and let your life be an example to others whenever you can. God’s name is glorified by these acts and you bring people to Christ. More important however, God’s promises are fulfilled by his grace and through our faith. Have faith in God. Heavenly Father, thank you that there is no Jew nor Gentile in your sight and that you love us all. Please keep us from being distracted by our circumstances so we can be steadfast in our faith that you will keep all of your promises to us. Thank you that you are our father and our God. Amen. Marcia Cort Read: John 3:11-17
Why did God’s son come to earth? As a child, there was a single passage of scripture that I was taught at home, at school, and in Sunday School. All the children in my village had to learn this passage of scripture and be prepared to repeat it verbatim when asked. That passage of scripture is the answer to this question. The Gospel of John 3:16 answers, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The writings of John were designed to convince us that if we are to have eternal life we are to believe in Jesus as God in human form. God sent his son to live among the world in the likeness of sinful flesh so that the world can align with his message of salvation and believe in his father. The preparation for eternal life as a child gives true meaning to “it takes a village to raise a child” even preparing that child for eternal life. John continues in his writing to declare that the son of man did not come to condemn the world but to save the world through him. With such a profound love for us, God sent his son not as a final judgment but so that all may have the opportunity to be saved and obtain eternal life. Thank God for he does not show partiality or bias, his salvation, his grace, and his mercy are for all who believe. The love of God was demonstrated on the cross. Just as Moses lifted the snake in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted (vs,14). The son of God was lifted on a cross to save a dying world. “On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross…” That cross is the emblem of Christianity. Maybe the environment reflects the world we live in today. As Christians, we believe that his death has freed us from the grip of sin, that we no longer live in fear and are anxious for nothing, that God will provide all our needs according to his riches in glory, and that if we only believe in him eternal life is ours. Most loving and gracious God, thank you for your love that is all-encompassing, unasked for, and undeserved yet you love us unconditionally. Thank you for sending your son to die a suffering and shameful death for our sins. We lift your name and give you all the praise and glory. It is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Judith David Tanner Certified Lay Servant Read: John 3:1-10
Nicodemus was a learned man, leader of the Jews. Yet he was confused by Jesus and the stuff he was doing and saying. So he came in the night to question Jesus. Was he afraid others would think less of him if they found out that he could not fathom Jesus? Nonetheless, he wanted to know how someone can be born again since that is a ridiculous notion: a big physical body cannot reenter a womb. Jesus probably chuckled at the notion before giving his answer. He was preaching about spiritual re-birth. Lent is the time when we pause and reflect on our relationship with God and the supreme sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. No amount of self-denial of chocolates, cakes and pork during Lent is worth anything in our spiritual journey. Too often we concentrate on giving up some non-consequential thing instead of adding what is most important - a deeper relationship with God. It’s a wonderful time to be grateful for life and the gifts that have been showered on us - a time to renew our faith in the goodness of our ever-present God - a time to be re-born. All to Jesus I surrender…Make me Savior wholly thine…Judson Van de Venter Merlyn Drummond |
Lent Devotions
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