Second Saturday in Lent: Lent 2014

Lenten Devotional
Matthew 25-26

The gospel continues through on teaching of what followers of Jesus should do to prepare for the end times and what it means to be ready for the end time.  Now we enter into a few parables focusing on these the ways to live in the end and how to be ready.

The first is the parable of Ten Virgins.  Again the story focuses on a wedding situation.  This time the maidens of the wedding group have to wait and wait for the party to begin.    Half the group gets everything ready and keeps a full supply of oil for what ever might come.  The other half does not make any preparations.  When the time came, it was midnight and dark.  The oil and wicks of the second group runs out while the first group has enough to be ready.  There was not enough to share and keep all the lamps running.  The half not ready are sent to find more on their own and they are left out of the feast and the celebration.  A teaching that we must always be ready.

This parable is followed by two more showing that the work of Christ must continue.  The parable of talents where a servant is given different amounts and the one given the least and did nothing was removed.  The last of the parable in chapter 25 is similar.  to the parable of the talents.  This one looks at separating the sheep from the goats.  The ones who come into the kingdom are those that have continue the work and given onto the least.  These teachings all lead to the final times in the gospels.  The next section is the betrayal and anointing of Jesus. 

All of this reminds me of yesterday.   We must remain vigilant in the work of our Lord not matter the length or conditions.  Both of the parables remind us that we are given something from God.  What have you been given that is available to be used?  Some are as simple as a listening ear or a comforting voice to the people hurting.  All of these do not seem important in the scheme of the world.  These are some of the greatest gifts we can have and use with others.  What are you hiding from the world?  Or, what are you afraid to use for the risk?  

Second Friday in Lent: Lent 2014

Lenten Devotional

Matthew 23-24

As we come through the last chapters of Matthew' Gospel and as we enter into the retelling of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, we are given some teaching about the end times and the end of the temple.  Chapter 24 is full of information from Jesus on this event in the future.  People have used this and other parts of the Bible to determine when these last days will come.  Jesus does not want even the disciples to worry about guessing when it will happen.  They are only to look for signs and be ready.

This is the consistent message through the Bible and here especially in Jesus' teaching. He teaches that everyone should not worry about the days.  No one knows the hour.  The time will come to matter, and people will be provided by God in the times of hardship.  I believe this will be important even in times that are not the "end".  Jesus proclaimed there will be many false prophets and people claiming to be Him.

“Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matt. 24:4-8)

 At the end of the chapter, Jesus tells his followers to keep on the path.  They are told to keep following in the ways of God and the work set before them.  This is our best advice for today in a time when everything seems to be against the Christian faith.  Keeping faith in Christ will continue His work and keep the faith alive and moving in the world.  The words to His followers thousands of years ago seems to be the best advice for today.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Second Thursday of Lent: Lent 2014

Lenten Devotional

Matthew 21-22

We have entered the closing parts of most exciting section of any of the gospels.  We have come to the point where Jesus has made the triumphal entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem and started the week long path to the cross and His crucifixion.  Jesus makes sure that the controversy between Himself and the religious leaders is well established by the time we come to the trial.

There are a number of times Jesus has disagreements with the religious leaders, but the story that always seems to draw the most attention in these chapters is the actions at the temple.  Soon after His arrival in the city, Jesus enters the temple and throws out the sellers of goods and traders.  

“It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ (Matt. 21:13)

Why were these people in the temple to start with and why did Jesus call them thieves and making the temple a den of robbers?

The people selling and trading in the temple were providing a service to others at first.  People traveling from a far distance were not able to bring the necessary animals for sacrifices at the temple.  The merchants provided the appropriate animal to be purchased by pilgrims for the sacrifice.   The problem came when the people providing the animals realized they had a monopoly on the pilgrims.  The price for even the simplest of animals for sacrifice was unreasonable.  It came to a point where a person without means could not purchase the animals for the sacrifice.  This is what Jesus is fighting against.  People are being robed to provide for the religious needs of the day.  Greed over came assistance.

Has greed ever over taken a desire to assist someone?  I feel our society has become greedy in ways that hinder helping people.  Sometimes it is a two way street.  Some needing assistance have learned the receiving from the system and/or government is easier to working.  Others  see assistance as just a way to get breaks and keep more money in the long run through dedications on taxes.  This does not even begin to break into the religious goods industry.  The price of Bibles are a sign of this.  I do not think they should just be given away free.  There is a cost, but what is a fare tipping point.  At what point do we move past assisting people practice their faith and become a robber?

Greed is a powerful tool through the centuries.  It finds many different ways to show up in history and our lives.  This is why we must keep our prayers and studies to help us see where and when we a re moving from the path of Christ to greed.

Second Wednesday in Lent: Lent 2014

Lenten Devotional

Matthew 18-20

As I put down words for a multiple chapter reading in the Bible, I realize more and more that this is a daunting task.  In the gospels, the lessons may not always build as nice and neatly on one topic to the next.  It is a living story of situations and testing by people disagreeing with Jesus.  I would love for sections to focus on a particular subject, but that would not be true to the reason for the gospels, they are a way to tell the story of Jesus to the cross and beyond.  

So, I must focus on what I am being led to bring out in the passages.  Today the three chapters seemed to come together at Matthew 29: 26, Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

We use this passage many times in conversations about what followers of Christ can accomplish and what he church can do through God's power.  But I hope this will change a little.  We need to read passages in the context of the whole chapter, book and Bible.  This is not about generic situations in life that if we follow God, it will all work out because of His power.  This specific quote is about salvation.  I need to focus on that topic specifically.

The passages leading up to this statement are about what it takes to inherit eternal life.  A rich young man comes up to Jesus asking this very question.  He does not like Jesus' response and walks away sad.  Then a story is told of a camel passing through the eye of a needle being easier than a rich man entering heaven.  This is where Jesus comes in with the testimony of God's power.  

Jesus is telling His disciples and us today that there is nothing we can do for salvation.  We can only believe in Christ and that through his power we will have salvation.  All we need to do is follow. We must be willing to submit to God.  We must surrender to Him and not try and force our will on God.  This is much harder than it sounds.  Most of us a wired to fix problems on our by ourselves.  This is one thing we cannot fix ourselves.  Only God can fix and provide an answer.  

First Tuesday of Lent: Lenten Reading 2014

Lenten Devotional

Matthew 15-17

Today's reading I think is best summed up is with devotion.  Each and every story teaches us more and more about devotion to our King or Father.  It all starts with the religious leaders of Jesus time.  They want to test and get to the core of Jesus' teaching and followers.  They start with what seems to be a very trivial accusation of the disciples.  They are accused of not washing their hands prior to eating.  This is a very important aspect of the laws on cleanliness.  Even if the food is "clean" when eaten, it must remain "clean" as partaken, or so the belief follows.  Jesus refutes this on grounds that it is not what goes into the person making them clean, but what comes out.  IT is God who is in charge not the laws of people or the supposed interpretations of the laws.

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. (Matthew 15:9 quoting Isaiah 29:13).

This all continues through the readings as we come to the final reading in chapter seventeen where Jesus talks about the temple tax.  It becomes a question of who are we as people.  Are we the children of God?  If we are the children of God, why do we need to pay a temple tax?  God is King and ruler.  This is a tough lesson.  We need reminded over and over that we are God's children.

Are we willing to follow God as our Father and our King (ruler)?  The season of Lent calls us back to a path of following God.  Just as this week's readings taught the power of God and the compassion held for the Children of God, we need to be willing to accept who our Father is.

First Monday in Lent: Lent Devotional 2014

Lenten Devotional

Matthew 13-14

Today's readings has come of the most powerful information about the Kingdom of Heaven and the power of Jesus over the nature and power.  It opens with a list of parables on what the Kingdom of heaven looks like.  Each of these focus on agricultural picture to help people to understand the images.

There are many images in this reading, but I find the best I find is the parable of the mustered seed.  This parable demonstrates that the kingdom of heaven will start very small, it grows to the a large and very powerful tree.  This image is used else where to describe the faith need to make large acts.  We get to see here that the Kingdom will grow much like a mustered seed.  The other parables are much the same.

The end of chapter fourteen in a fantastic picture of Jesus and the natural world.  Jesus sends the twelve disciples ahead of him on a boat.  During the night he rejoins the disciples on the water by walking towards them.  This scares the disciples.  They believe they are seeing a ghost.  For proof, Peter the bold one tells Jesus that the proof would be if Peter can walk in water.  Jesus has Peter get out of the boat.  Peter takes a few steps but realizes that he is on the water.  Peter falls in.  Jesus pulls him into the boat.  It was a lack of faith on Peter's behalf.

I think we learn quickly that faith is the foundation of following Christ.  It does not require much faith as we learn from other passages of scripture.  The Kingdom of Heaven is already growing and moving, we need to maintain the faith to follow and know that Jesus will keep us upon the water.