Lenten Devotion 2023

REFLECTION: (written by David Hazelip)

Thousands of out-of-town visitors came to the Temple during Passover, and they were charged excessive fees to exchange their foreign money for local currency to pay the Temple tax. Because of the long journeys, many travelers could not bring their own animals, and many of those who did bring their own had them rejected for imperfections. As a result, the people were charged exorbitant prices for sacrificial animals by the merchants. When Jesus entered His Father’s House, He found no room for worshipers in the Court of the Gentiles because of the dishonest money changers and greedy merchants. Jesus was grieved. In His grief, He acted

His actions in the Temple were motivated by a heart of righteousness. In righteous indignation, Jesus cleared the way for dignity to be restored to all people, and He cleared the way for all to enter into His father’s House

RESPOND:

1. How does God call us to respond when injustice and sin in our world cause harm to others?
2. How might God be calling you to advocate for the marginalized and persecuted?

PRAYER: 

Lord, thank you for blessing us every day in so many ways. As we study during Lent, please give us the wisdom to understand the love and grace that You bestow on us. Protect us from anger and instead, help us to give love and grace to others, to fight evil with goodness, and to be a light in the darkness. Come, Holy Spirit, come! In Jesus’ Holy name, we pray, Amen

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist

TURN THE TABLES by Caroline Cobb

You exploit the ones who would worship
Use devotion to make a dime
Sell the sacred to turn a profit
Make the holy into merchandise

When all the world tries to get in the building
They can’t get in the door, ‘cause it’s
Overcrowded with goods and salesmen
In the holy house of the Lord

Jesus comes in, turning over tables
Flies into a righteous rage
Makes a whip and drives out the idols
He’s jealous for his Father’s name

When all the world tries to get in the building
He’ll stand like an open door, ‘cause in
Three days gonna raise a signal
This way to the house of the Lord

Turn the tables, turn the tables over
Turn the tables, turn the tables over

Do you want to make a cut on the story
Do you want to see your name in lights
Do you want a percentage of the glory
It’s not something you commodify

Don’t you know that your heart is a temple
He’s knocking down your door, so
Let him in and he’ll turn over tables
Make your heart a house for the Lord

Turn the tables, turn the tables over
Turn the tables, turn the tables over
Turn the tables, turn the tables over
Turn the tables, turn the tables over
Turn the tables, turn the tables, turn the tables over
Turn the tables, turn the tables, turn the tables over

RESPOND:

1. What words or phrases resonate with you in these lyrics?
2. Which tables is Jesus turning over in your heart?

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist

SCRIPTURE:

¹² “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ ‘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.’” Matthew 21:12-13

TESTIMONY: (Written by Jay Cabassa)

Being a lover of music and experiencing the industry on both a local and professional level, I have been able to encounter different sides to it. As a child, my love for singing was an innocent one and a gift that I didn’t embrace until I was in high school. My intentions were not really centered on God; I just knew that I loved the arts and I wanted nothing else than to succeed in it. I was given opportunities to travel professionally and even had opportunities to perform with the likes of Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton, and Alicia Keys. However, I never recognized the Gift-Giver, just the gift.

It wasn’t until I gave my life to Christ that I recognized the Gift-Giver. I was using my talents for the world, and I was exploiting my gifts and my desires for me and not for God. A lot of times we are robbing ourselves of what our gifts were truly intended for by operating in a selfish mode of what we feel is best and in turn, we rob God from the true blessing he called us to be in His world. When Jesus entered the temple, he saw nothing but selfish people trying to profit and gain, not for God, but for self. They were not thinking of how they could best serve, but rather how much they could gain and profit from others.

Mark 8:36 says, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

RESPOND:

1. Where is your heart today?
2. What are your goals?
3. How are you incorporating and including the Father into your plans, goals, and future?
4. Are you just passing through life or are you truly seeking the will of the Father?

PRAYER:

Jesus, I believe that if we hold you as the single most important factor in our lives, then we will care about the will of our Father. Today that is my prayer. That we will be in the Father’s will and that it will please you Jesus. Amen

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist

SCRIPTURE:

¹ “Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’ ⁴Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent. ⁵He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.” Mark 3:1-6

REFLECTION:

How is this so? With hearts steeped in stubbornness, the Pharisees were more desirous of the law than the heart of man, than the heart of God. Jesus, taking note, grieved in His own heart, distressed at the responses He sees. He speaks, He questions, and He restores and heals those in need. Is there anything that can be done to turn the Pharisees back to the truth? They have made their decision and Jesus . . . He’s made His.

Is it possible that I too thought I was obeying and abiding, only to realize that I have been seeking the way more than the Way Maker? Is it possible those
representing the law of Christ have been seeking to obey rules before seeking the One who Rules? So quick. It happens so fast and suddenly, that I find myself leaning on the law in my supposed pursuit of Jesus.

Where have we turned and where are we going? Injustice enrages us, and then suddenly we become a people that, in anger, hold grudges and prove points. Listen to Jesus in this scene, even here in anger, Jesus chooses to redirect, restore, and heal. He gives points of truth but holds no bitterness. He grieves and He keeps moving in the way of love and Truth.

RESPOND:

1. How do you respond in righteous anger?
2. How can your anger become a response of love in action?

PRAYER:

God, for all the ways the world has gone wrong, use your church to restore, to be agents of healing and righteousness. Grieve our hearts for what grieves yours, and let it first begin in us. Ensure we deepen our relationship with you, and in turn, respond to those around us with the righteousness of you Jesus. Forgive us for all the ways we choose law over love, and lead us to love as you love. In Jesus name, Amen.

Sanctuary Lent 2023 Spotify Playlist