Lent Devotional 2020

Reclaiming the Truth

“This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,


hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,


your will be done,
    

on earth as it is in heaven.

            Give us today our daily bread.

            And forgive us our debts,
         

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

            And lead us not into temptation,
           

but deliver us from the evil one.’” Matthew 6.9-13

Redeeming the Time

What do we pray for in a season like the one we are living in? How do we know what to pray or what to say? When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He taught them to pray communally. Notice the plurality in His prayer.

‘Our Father in heaven,


hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,


your will be done,
    

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

 And forgive us our debts,         

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,           

but deliver us from the evil one.’”

Our relationship with Jesus is personal; it’s never private. Love is never self-seeking, self-protecting, or self-serving. Love is always for the sake of others. In this season of scarcity and individualism, the Church intercedes communally. We pray together for each other. We pray “on earth as it is in heaven.” Not just for me and my family, but for us and His Family.

One of the most beautiful passages of Scripture that describes the early church is Acts 4.34. “… there were no needy persons among them.” Let’s be a church that is, “in Christ for the sake of the world.” Let’s engage the people around us, seeking out places where we can bless those who feel cursed, touching the wounds of the sick and inviting in the stranger.

Paul writes to the little church in Galatia, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 6.5)

Reflection

• When thinking about the Lord’s prayer, how often do you view it communally?
• What is your greatest temptation to make/keep your faith private?
• Love is never self-seeking. What’s one way you can fully love another today?

Resting in His Redemption

Today we’ll pray along with Ted Loder. Rest and receive – His presence is with us.

Lord,


plunge me deep into a sense of sadness


at the pain of my sisters and brothers
      

inflicted by war,
             

prejudice,
                  

injustice,
                         

indifference,


that I may learn again to cry as a child


until my tears baptize me


into a person who touches with care


those I now touch in prayer:
     

victims of violence
           

of greed,
                  

of addictions;
     

prisoners in ghettos,
           

in old age,
                 

in sexism;
     

people with broken bodies,
           

with broken hearts,
                  

with broken lives,


whom I remember now in silence before you


because I have too often forgotten them in the shuffle of my fretful busy-ness.

Reclaiming the Truth

“God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in our time of trouble.

Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change,

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

though it’s waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble its tumult. Selah” Psalm 46.1-3 (NSRV)

Redeeming the Time

There was no fear in the Garden. There was only peace. Fear happens because of brokenness. When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid. It happened like this.

            But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Fear is a primary response in our world. Fear comes. It happens, and it’s okay. What’s not okay is to be motivated by fear or paralyzed by fear. We “fear not” because our God is “with us.” The central promise of the Bible is that God is with us. When fear comes, and it will come, let’s remind ourselves and each other our God is with us. Our God is here.

Jesus said “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6.25-34

Just before Jesus ascends to heaven to be with His Father, He encourages His little band of world changers with one last truth, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28.18)

Let’s fear not and worry not. Our God is with us.

Reflection

• How are you really feeling about all that is going on in our world?
• If you feel fear, what are you afraid of?
• How do you need God to be your refuge and strength today?

Resting in His Redemption

Today we’ll pray along with Mark Roberts. Rest and receive – His presence is with you.

Gracious God, today I am profoundly aware of how much I need you. And I am profoundly grateful for the fact that you are there for me. You are not just available, but very present, a very present help in trouble. Thank you!

Fear seems to be everywhere right now, Lord: fear of disease, fear of death, fear of other people, fear of disruption, fear of economic ruin, fear of the loss of life as we know it. Without you, fear may well make sense. But if you are our refuge and strength, if you are our very present help, then we will not let fear overwhelm us. O Lord, may the truth of who you are keep our hearts from fear.

Today, Lord, we pray for leaders in business and government, in schools and churches, in families and neighborhoods. May they turn to you for strength and wisdom. May they have the courage to make difficult decisions for the sake of those they serve.

I pray especially for those who will read this devotion, that you might make yourself known to them right now. May they be reassured that you are their refuge and strength, that you are with them in this time of crisis, and forever. Guide them in their decisions. Help them to see what they need to see and bless them with your peace. Amen.

Reclaiming the Truth

“The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” – Revelation 8.4-5

Redeeming the Time

Something happens when God’s people pray. Something happens that wouldn’t happen if we didn’t pray. When John the Revelator is transported to heaven, he is stunned by what he witnesses. There, together on the altar, are heavenly incense and the prayers of all God’s people. Check this out: “The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.”

When the COVID-19 hit Singapore, the Church responded immediately. The Church called on all Christians to pray. The created a prayer initiative called COVID – 19:00. The Church in Singapore believed their prayers mattered so deeply to the heart of God, that every day at 19:00 they would pause and pray. The Church in Singapore believed their prayers would go up before God and be interlaced with the fragrance of God; mixed with the fire from the altar and then thrown down to earth. The Church in Singapore believed the spiritual nature of their prayers are brought before the throne of God, mixed into the will of God, and then hurled back to the earth. They believe their prayers matter.  They believe their prayers make a difference in the heavenly realm and ultimately work themselves out in our material world. 

We want to invite you to participate in this same kind of prayer. We want to invite you and your family to pause and pray daily at 19:00 (7:00 p.m.). And then as long as we are able, walk through your neighborhood and pray for your neighbors and the nations. Pray for healing, wholeness and holiness. 

As you pray, know you are being joined by churches all across the country and in our world. At this writing, churches from Kenya, Ethiopia, North Africa, England, New Zealand, Cambodia, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Spain, Peru, Australia and the Middle East have agreed to join us as we pray. 

Let it begin in me. Right here, Jesus. Right now, Jesus. 

Reflection

• What do you really believe about prayer? Does it really make a difference? 
• When have you seen God at work through the prayers of His people?
• When have you been disappointed by not receiving what you asked?

Resting in His Redemption

Rest and receive the prayer of Jesus as recorded in John 17. 

“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

‘I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[ that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

 ‘I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

‘Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.’”

Reclaiming the Truth

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” – Ephesians 1.7

Redeeming the Time

One way the Israelites were reminded of God’s Great Love Story was through special meals that were full of symbolic food, prayers, story and song. 

During the Passover feast, Jews often sing the “Dayenu.” Dayenu is a Hebrew word that means, “It would have been enough.”

They would sing a line and then respond, “It would have been enough.” There are 15 lines of the song. Each line highlights a gift of God. And after each line is sung, everyone at the table would respond, “It would have been enough.” As if to say, if nothing else, if God hadn’t done anything else, the very first act would have been enough. 

Five Stanzas of Leaving Slavery 

1) If He had brought us out of Egypt.

“It would have been enough.” 

2) If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians.

“It would have been enough.” 

3) If He had executed justice upon their gods.   

“It would have been enough.” 

4) If He had slain their first-born.

“It would have been enough.” 

5) If He had given to us their health and wealth.

“It would have been enough.” 

Five Stanzas of Miracles

6) If He had split the sea for us.

“It would have been enough.” 

7) If He had led us through on dry land.

“It would have been enough.” 

8) If He had drowned our oppressors.

“It would have been enough.” 

9) If He had provided for our needs in the wilderness for 40 years.

“It would have been enough.” 

10) If He had fed us manna.

“It would have been enough.” 

Five Stanzas of Being with God

11) If He had given us Shabbat.

“It would have been enough.” 

12) If He had led us to Mount Sinai.  

“It would have been enough.” 

13) If He had given us the Torah.

“It would have been enough.” 

14) If He had brought us into the Land of Israel. 

“It would have been enough.” 

15) If He built the Temple for us.

“It would have been enough.” 

Reflection 

• What is enough for you? 
• What if things don’t go back to normal?
• What if you don’t get back to school?
• What if wages continue to be cut and you can’t provide like you want to or at all?
• What if you get sick?
• What is enough for you? When everything is stripped away and you are left with your questions, what one answer is enough? Is redemption enough?

Resting in His Redemption

The verse we began this devotion with today is found in the middle of some indescribably beautiful truths in Ephesians 1. We’ll read those truths here believing even one would be enough. Then, we’ll personalize these truths by writing your name in the blanks. Rest and receive His redemption today. 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1.3-14 (personalized)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed __________in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  

For He chose __________ in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. 

In love, He predestined __________for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given __________in the One He loves.

In Him, __________ has redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on __________. 

With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to __________ the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In Him ,__________ is chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. 

And __________ was also included in Christ when she heard the message of truth, the gospel of her salvation. When __________ believed, she was marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing __________ inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.