Lenten Devotion 2023

REFLECTION: (written by Brandon McEntyre)

Have you ever lost something truly irreplaceable? I’m not just referring to belongings with great sentimental value. Sure, it would be devastating to lose all your material things in a disaster, but material possessions are largely replaceable. So, let me ask you to consider again – Have you ever lost something truly irreplaceable on this side of eternity?

Almost everyone has. A friendship, a relationship, a dream, a marriage, maybe even a child? You may have even travailed through seasons defined by multiple trials far greater than any one single loss. Maybe you even know what it’s like to lose the last thing you have been clinging to – Hope.

I am certain this is where the grieving mother in Luke 7 found herself. She was a widow, already having suffered the pain of losing her husband. He was surely her best friend and partner in life, her worldly protector, and her provider. Next, this widow watched as her only son died, leaving her even more alone and vulnerable than before. Her only son was assuredly her advocate, her defender, and her pri- mary worldly hope for the future. It seems that this woman’s life was littered with immeasurable losses.

That is exactly where Jesus finds this hurting mother. As Christ’s tenderness and compassion collided with the mother’s pain and sadness, a beautiful display of His resurrection power and His authority over death acted to reunite a grieving mother with her son. When Christ resurrected the young man in the middle of his funeral procession, relationship, dreams, and hope were restored for his grieving mother. This passage foreshadows a promise made to those of us who have accepted Christ as Savior and choose to live in a posture of surrendering our will to Him. We have been promised that we will experience and live in the ultimate restoration of God’s creation. Christ is actively “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Never again will there be a loss of friendships, marriages, family, or hope. It’s His promise to us.

We may not be there yet. We may still face seasons of pain and loss, but if our hope and trust is in Christ, we can choose to live in eternal confidence that we are not overlooked, and the bier upon which our burdens are loaded can be touched by the tenderness of Christ as well.

RESPOND:

1. Where have you encountered irreplaceable loss in your story?
2. What would it look like for you to trust the tenderness of Jesus to intercede on your behalf?

PRAYER:

Jesus, if we experience the pain of true loss, if we feel what we were once so assured of begin to slip away, or should we begin to feel the emptiness left in our heart where hope once resided, may your tenderness fill and renew us once again. May our eyes return to You and our hearts meditate on Your eternal promises as we trust in You alone for the outcome. Amen

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist

ARROWS (I Will Be With You) by We the Kingdom

Lift up your eyes, child
Don’t be afraid
I hold the world in the palm of My hand

Lift up your eyes, child
I’m calling your name
My love for you is greater than the grains of sand

I will be with you
There’s nothing to fear
Wherever you go
I will be there
When all you see is arrows
I’ll be your shield
I will be with you
There’s nothing to fear

Come, come away, child
I’ll keep you safe
I’ll cover you with peace like a riverbed
If you feel like you’re sinking
Sink into My grace
Come find yourself in the love that will never end

Lay down in the green, green pasture
I will restore your soul
Lay down where the still waters flow

When you’re walking through the midnight hour
Darkness all around you
I’m right there where you are
Even if you don’t see it, even if you can’t feel it
I am with you, My child

So cast your burdens onto Me
Cast your cares onto Me
Because I care for you
Everything you do

Oh, how I love you, child

RESPOND:

1. What do you hear expressed about the tenderness of Jesus in these lyrics?
2. What does it look like for you to receive these words as Jesus’ tenderness towards you?
3. How can you invite others into finding rest by following the tender ways of Jesus?

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist

SCRIPTURE:

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Matthew 8:3

TESTIMONY: (Written by Regina Aycock)

My mother had the most wonderful mother. I called her Mamaw. One of the warmest, sweetest memories of my childhood happened in Mamaw’s kitchen. She had a huge, round oak table where we would sit and sip hot tea from little China cups. She would tell me stories that taught me and made me laugh. We would look out her kitchen window and talk about the birds. Oh how she loved them and their Maker! The red cardinal was her favorite. “Regina,” she would say, “Just look at those birds. The Father feeds them each day. And look at their coloring. He clothes them beautifully.

They have no worries. You and I shouldn’t either. He loves us much more than the birds.”

So, all through the years of my life, I don’t see a cardinal without thinking of Mamaw. And my mother. They were her favorite too. I have seen them both in my yard, as well as flying right in front of me as I drive. However, the most memorable one was the cardinal who visited daily during an extremely difficult year of my life. He would come each day and sit at my family room window. Sometimes he would tap on the window, but mostly he’d just sit there. A friend once commented that she didn’t know how I withstood that bird at my window each day, but I told her I felt honored he was there.

Two years ago this month, Jesus called my precious mother home to be with Him. I was blessed to have her in our home, to care for her, to hold her hand, and to be with her both day and night during the last week of her life. Although I would never wish her back, the circumstances around her death made it very difficult. Oh, how I ached. But because of the loving- kindness of our Father, and having my precious family by my side, I was able to get through. The burial had to be one week after her service.

The morning came and it was 23 degrees outside. Everyone in my family had a stomach virus with a fever, and I had to go alone. It was windy, and it was cold, and it was sad. I sat shivering and prayed with all my heart: “Jesus, please hold me.” Flowers couldn’t be left due to restrictions at the time, so I had to go back later that day to take them. “Jesus, please carry me.”

The next day I went back to work. I was nowhere near ready, but I had missed many days and needed to get back. One of our dear teachers and her sweet daughter came into my office and said, “ Ms Aycock, we have always felt the cardinal is a messenger and Ellie wanted to paint this for you.” It was a beautiful, red cardinal. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and after I hugged and thanked them, my Principal told me to please go home and take a few more days. I drove home and walked into the house feeling weary. I went to the kitchen sink to wash my hands and looked out my window. There were no leaves on the trees that cold, dreary day, but there right in front of me, sat one of the most beautiful red cardinals I’ve ever seen. More tears. Jesus knew. He had reached out to touch me. I willingly stood and allowed Him to tenderly cover me. To heal me. I thanked Him. I praised Him. And I lay down to rest.

Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Because He first loved me.

RESPOND:

1. What do you hear of the tenderness of Jesus in this story?
2. How are you invited to receive His tenderness for you this day?

PRAYER:

Gracious loving Father, thank you for seeing each of your children just as we are. Thank you for meeting us and for going ahead of us each day. Lord, form yourself in us. The tenderness which you offer us, let us have the courage to receive it, and God, as we receive it, ensure that we are formed and transformed by your loving-kind- ness in such a way that the world around us is also touched by your loving kindness through us. Amen

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist

SCRIPTURE:

²⁰ “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹ She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’ ²² Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed at that moment.” Matthew 9:20-22

REFLECTION:

“If only I touch his cloak” . . . can you hear that desperate cry? Maybe you know that desperate cry? Maybe you’ve said it, maybe you’ve grown weary from saying it.

On crowded streets, bumping of shoulders, voices loud, there is the silence of a woman, a woman who is unclean, unwanted, and desperate. Desperate for a touch of the cloak, desperate for a healing touch.

I wonder if the cry of the heart in this scene is “I’m unclean . . . I’m unwanted . . . everyone stay away . . . don’t come near me.” I wonder if she thinks, “What could I do to go unnoticed, to be out of the way in this crowd, and yet to be healed? If it means crawling where feet stomp on me, where I’m kicked and pushed further to the ground, I’ll go. I’ll do whatever it takes to just touch Him, even the hem of His garment – that’s all I need.”

She inches closer and closer to the robe, now in sight, until finally, her hand touches

the hem. Suddenly, she feels eyes on her. Movement slows and stops, and her heart seizes.

“Am I seen? Am I noticed? I certainly will be ridiculed. I will cause a scatter as they all run from me. My heart hushes as I stare at the eyes gazing back at me.”

“Take heart, daughter . . . your faith has healed you.” He speaks words that fill my heart and soul.

“I have been seen. Without speaking a word, I have been heard. I have been healed. Who would give the time to see me, the time to heal me? Who would call me their own? Yet, He called me Daughter. He has healed me!”

There is stillness in these moments, while crowds move on, and the noise continues as they follow Him. The woman remains. Stunned. Watching Him as He moves on, His gaze finds a way to her heart. The imprint of Jesus is burned into her soul. His tenderness, His willingness. She has been healed. He called her His own. He’s healed her sickness and He has made her clean.

The eyes of Jesus, who sees this woman, sees you today. Right as you are, His tender voice is calling you, His heart reaching towards you, His hand making a way. Turn, see the one who sees you. Live in the healing He has brought you. He has made you clean!

RESPOND:

1. How have you been met with the tenderness of Jesus?
2. To the woman He speaks, “Take heart daughter, your faith has healed you”? What does He speak to you?
3. What does it look like for you to live out the tenderness of Christ?

PRAYER:

Lord, have mercy on me. Ensure my eyes meet your gaze, and ensure my ears hear your call. Ensure my heart receives your healing. Form yourself in me, Jesus. Ensure I know of your ways in my inner being and that you are made known through me. Praise and glory to your name. Amen

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist