Lent 2022

I just can’t get passed the first three words of Jesus in this passage, “Come to me…” He is always inviting us into life with Him!

A few years back, Becky and I got a cat. Bella stays outside during the day chasing all kinds of critters, but at night we always bring her into the house because of the coyotes that roam about. Around supper time, we call for her to come to us. Sometimes she’s out in the woods, sometimes up the driveway, or sometimes at the sidewalk right in front of the steps of the house. She’ll just stay where she is looking at us like we’re crazy, or that we’ve offended her… who knows what she’s thinking. We have food for her, shelter, and a place that’s prepared right next to Becky on the couch on a little blanket! But there’s great danger that she faces if she stays outside. Seems like she’s oblivious. Sometimes, she’ll come right in when we call. I’m always shocked!

How many times does Jesus invite us to come to Him, but it’s usually the last thing on our list. It seems many times we’ll go anywhere else and wait for a bad situation before we even think about coming to Him. There are many places we can find in scripture where Jesus gives the invitation to come.

Remember His invitation to the disciples? “Come, follow me…”

And there’s the invitation for His own people:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.” Luke 13:34 (NLT)

No wonder Jesus was known as a man of sorrows. He loves us with an everlasting love, yet many of us refuse His Lovingkindness. Why does He ask us to come to Him? I think one reason is we’re carrying things that were never intended for us to bear. Sin. Death. Things that others would want to put on us that are weighty. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.

Another big reason He calls us is to save us from ourselves. It’s the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Romans 10:13 says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD will be saved.” He has called us, and we can call upon His name. Here’s His Lovingkindness again!

I’m really looking forward to this next one. I believe this call will happen very soon.

“According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. (NKJV)

Jesus is saying to us, for so many reasons, “Come to me”.

Reflection:

1. Can you remember a time in your life when you heard the words from Jesus “Come to me”?
2. In what ways has He invited you to Himself?
3. How has coming to Jesus changed you?

Prayer:

Father, May we have spiritual ears to hear Your Spirit when You call us. Your sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. May we recognize that voice when He says “Come to me”. May we have ears to hear what Your Spirit says to this church. In Jesus’ name!

God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.

Lovingkindness in us! Yesterday we mentioned changing from our own mind to having the mind of Christ. How do we know this is actually happening in us? The Father’s lovingkindness brings us to repentance, we turn from being the god of our life, we receive Jesus payment on the cross for our sin, and we receive Jesus as our very life, our Lord.

Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (KJV)

He lives in me! He lives in you!

The author of the Word – The Bible, the One who spoke and creation came into being, the One who spoke and the seas calmed, the One who speaks to the dead and they rise to life, the One who with one word will end the battle of Armageddon and the 7-year tribulation. He has all authority! He is King of King’s and Lord of Lords! He lives in us! He lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. When He comes in, things change!

Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (NKJV)

He changes us from the inside out! I used to go to Metro Bible Study and remember Dan DeHaan teaching about Paul. Dan would help us to think about Paul in prison. He would imagine Paul’s voice in a very dim cell being heard by other inmates, singing truth about Jesus… as it echoed down the halls of the jail late in the night.

It’s no longer I who live now, But Christ who liveth in me…
It’s no longer I who live now, But Christ who liveth in me!
In me, in me, it’s Christ who liveth in me,
It’s no longer I who live now, But Christ who liveth in me!

And through tears and probably through pain, but with great joy, Paul would sing it! Maybe over and over again…. and the other prisoners would hear the infectious song of lovingkindness…and some would come to repentance. The same Spirit that lives in Paul lives in us!

Paul says in Galatians 5:22-25 that kindness and goodness is from the one who IS lovingkindness. His Spirit gives to us not only to live in kindness and goodness, but as we live it out in the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember Agape Love that we mentioned earlier?

Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

The hesed, the very love that The Father loves us with is the same love that we’re to love Him with, as well as our neighbors. We can’t do this without the Spirit living in us! He has given His fruit to us to glorify the Father. May there be such lovingkindness in our lives that others will see, repent, and receive Jesus as their all in all!

Reflection:

1. How have you seen the mind of Christ changing you?
2. Do you see how His Spirit dwelling in you gives you the fruit of His Lovingkindness? Has it made a difference in how you love your neighbor?

Prayer:

Father, may we hear You ever so clearly in our heart, through Your word, and in Your Spirit. May we always live in the power of Your Spirit, and always be aware of Your presence. You never leave us or forsake us! Thank You that Your lovingkindness is better than life. May we glorify You as we love you completely and fully, and may we know more fully how we’re to love our neighbor in that very way. In Jesus’ name!

God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.

Repentance: One day Becky and I were driving near the intersection of Barrett Parkway and Cobb Parkway. I realized I was in the wrong lane of traffic and if I didn’t move to the correct lane, I’d be heading in the wrong direction. I said out loud to Becky that I needed to get over a lane. Without hesitation, Becky replied, “Alright. Who’s Elaine?” I assured her that if I didn’t get over into the correct lane, we would be going in the wrong direction and I would need to turn around! In other words, I needed to go in a different direction. Especially in Becky’s mind!

It seems like we’ve heard a lot about repentance from John the Baptist and Jesus. We don’t hear a lot of people talk about repentance today. Here’s a definition of repentance from the Blue Letter Bible. If you don’t have this app, you should download it today!

Repent “to Change the Mind”: The word metanoeo, expresses the true New Testament idea of the spiritual change implied in a sinner’s return to God. The term signifies “to have another mind,” to change the opinion or purpose with regard to sin. It is equivalent to the Old Testament word “turn.” Thus, it is employed by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles (Mt 3:2; Mr 1:15; Ac 2:38). The idea expressed by the word is intimately associated with different aspects of spiritual transformation and of the Christian life, with the process in which the agency of man is prominent, as faith (Ac 20:21), and as conversion (Ac 3:19); also with those experiences and blessings of which God alone is the author, as remission and forgiveness of sin (Lu 24:47; Ac 5:31). It is sometimes conjoined with baptism, which as an overt public act proclaims a changed relation to sin and God (Mr 1:4; Lu 3:3; Ac 13:24; 19:4). As a vital experience, repentance is to manifest its reality by producing good fruits appropriate to the new spiritual life (Mt 3:8).

Repentance. From one direction to another. From death to life. A life without God to a life with God! A change of mind. From having a mind of our own to having the mind of Christ. In every one of these things, we see hesed! The Father’s lovingkindness through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

For you.
For me.

Reflection:

1. When was a time you realized you needed to change direction?
   • I could probably fill volumes of books on this question…
2. How has God’s lovingkindness brought you to a true change of direction?
3. Can you recall the time, or the season, when you passed from death to life in Jesus?

Pray through Romans 8:1-11. His lovingkindness brings us to life in Jesus!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.

Kindness: Becky and I have always been attracted to kindness. There’s something about it that draws us into relationship. Many people don’t expect a kind word or deed, but most folks seem to always appreciate it. Some folks try to “show kindness” so they can get something out of the other person. I think the majority of people can spot that a mile away!

Genuine kindness is selfless. Much like true love, true kindness is a way of life but comes from a place other than ourselves. The wisdom of God calls us to pursue kindness— but it goes much deeper than kind deeds. The ultimate worth of kindness is found in God’s kindness.

In the Old Testament, kindness is a word translated from the Hebrew word, hesed, which has no equivalent in English. Its meaning is broad and full! Proverbs 21:21 says, Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.”

Let’s look at how the Hebrew language describes hesed. At Hesed.com, we find this definition: “the consistent, ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, lavish, extravagant, unrestrained, furious love of our Father God!” Another way of defining hesed is in the word lovingkindness.

Psalm 63:3 says “because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.”

Agape love is God loving us with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. Sound familiar? That’s hesed! God’s lovingkindness to us! His lovingkindness is intended to bring us to repentance.

Reflection:

1. Think of a time, or times, that you’ve experienced God’s lovingkindness to you.
2. How does His lovingkindness affect you?
3. Has God’s lovingkindness affected others through you?

Praise our Father as you read Psalm 118:1-4 (NASB 1995).

Maybe you could write some verses of your own about His lovingkindness toward you.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Oh let Israel say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Oh let the house of Aaron say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Oh let those who fear the LORD say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalm 118:1-4