Lenten Devotional, Day 26

When Jesus comes into Jerusalem, he comes as a Shepherd/King. His triumphal entry hymn is the hymn of David (Ps. 118:26): “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Jesus is the new David coming to Jerusalem to give his life for the sake of his people. He is the true Shepherd of Israel (Ps. 80:1).

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

When the psalmist says, “You shall not want,” it’s not a promise that we shall never lack materially, rather it’s a promise that Israel’s shepherd will give his entire body for the sake of his people. His sacrifice will not be incomplete, rather, Jesus gives himself entirely at the cross, which means that our salvation lacks nothing. We are not as the pagans wanting or in need to atone for ourselves through worthless sacrifices; no. We are true Israel covered and protected by the total Christ. We shall not want.

Prayer: Blessed Christ who gave himself for us on a tree and who atoned for our sins, we praise your name and beseech you in times of trial. Teach us your ways and conquer our hearts daily that we may truly know that we lack nothing. We pray this in the Name of our great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, amen.

Lenten Devotional, Day 25

For centuries, Christians have debated what happens after you die. Some traditions believe that those souls at death exist in a dormant stage until the resurrection from the dead at the end of history. But the larger biblical story indicates that when our mortal bodies die, our souls immediately enter into the presence of Jesus and the great cloud of witnesses. There, in that heavenly state, the saints of all ages praise the Lamb of God who died and rose again, and eagerly await the day when Jesus will destroy all his enemies and make all things new.

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Our Lenten hope is that the Cross of Jesus opened paradise and the second our earthly journey is over, our souls will rest in great hope and joy in the presence of God until Jesus returns. Death is not the period for the Christian, but only a comma that leads to an eternal state of glory.

Prayer: Our Father, our days are in your hands. We treasure every part of our lives as gifts from your hands. May we redeem our days and serve you by the power of your Holy Spirit, amen.

Lenten Devotional, Day 24

Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the Bible portrays in vivid language our Lord’s commitment to complete his earthly journey. No matter the adversary, no matter the temptations, the same journey that began in baptism will carry itself to completion at the cross. There is a profound exhortation for us in this narrative: just as Jesus completed His work, so too, we are called to complete our work by His strength. He who began a good work in us will complete it (Phil. 1:6).

Since this is the case, God has given us means to strengthen our journey in this world. He gives us his gifts of grace in Word, sacraments, community, prayer, and many others. We do not journey with only the clothes on our back. Lent teaches us that in Christ all things are given for us. We journey with his gifts.

Prayer: O merciful Jesus, your faithfulness to the end alleviated us from carrying so great burdens in our own earthly journey. Instead of misery, we live in abundant joy. Indeed there is no greater joy than knowing you, the only True God, amen.

Lenten Devotional, Day 23

God is for us because of the cross of Jesus. “He is for us!” Say those words out loud today. Like a father is for his child; like a mother who praises her daughter; like a satisfied teacher with his student; yes, in those ways, but so much more. He is for us even though it cost the life of his very Son. He is for us even though it would shake the very universe he created. He is for us even though we were not for him: while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

To answer Paul’s rhetorical question, nothing! There is nothing to say to these things. God’s glorious grace made us new. His electing love justified us and now we have nothing to say, except to boast on that glorious tree all our days. God is for us in the cross of Jesus!

Prayer: Our Father, you did not spare your own Son for us but delivered him up for our salvation. We cannot answer you for our words would be too shallow to compare to the glories of your wisdom and power. But alas, we answer with our lives by serving you all our days in the knowledge that you are for us in Jesus Christ our Lord, amen!

Lenten Devotional, Day 22

Romans 12:11: Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

You know that on a journey you don’t have the luxury of bringing everything you want. You may not be able to take those cherished books or favorite snacks. The season of Lent reminds us that Lent is about bare minimums. What do we truly treasure in this life? Am I loving the wrong things? Where do I see myself at the end of this journey? What kind of person will I be? What kind of person am I now? What areas have I indulged that has not brought me closer to Jesus but taken me farther away? This is a season of self-examination. Don’t end this journey the same way you started. Journey to Easter emptier in worldly fashion, but richer in the treasures of Jesus. Do not lack in zeal to serve the Lord and your neighbor.

Prayer: O, Father, I am selfish in so many ways. I seek only after my well-being before that of my brother and sister. Change me to see that my pride is destroying my relationships and my communion with you. Bless me and enrich me with zeal for your service through Christ our Lord, amen.

Lenten Devotional, Day 21

“Do not be misled: God is not mocked. For whatever a man might sow, that also he will reap.”

We cannot deceive the omniscient One. He is not mocked which is a short way of saying God does not take shortcuts to dissect you. He prefers to carefully observe your ways and see how far you are willing to stray and how long it will take you to call on his name. The reason God does not judge you immediately when you get on the boat to a place far away is that you would learn your lesson too quickly without much knowledge gained. You must get on the boat and believe that you are truly distancing yourself from the God who comes near; to trust in your escape routes among the prostitutes of the prodigal or the waves of waywardness. God waits to see your ship almost breaking to act. He waits in perfectly executed timing for you to see the cause and effect of your sins, to be at the mercy of pagan mariners. Then, God pierces your soul like a two-edged sword and meticulously brings you back to life like a skilled surgeon.

Prayer: O God, thank you for softly killing us daily and mightily raising us daily to new life and new mercies. May we learn much from our wayward ways and return to your promises which are yes and amen in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Lenten Devotional, Day 20

Death is painful, but you know what is more painful–going through death trusting a false god. Jonah’s theology comes through in this prayer of repentance inside the belly of the creature (Jonah 2). He knows that the Ninevites pay regard to vain idols. He knows that without Yahweh their death experience will be filled with misery. He knows that their death will have no resurrection to life. And by living in such a way, the Ninevites have abandoned any hope. But Jonah is hopeful, and Yahweh remembers Jonah in his affliction. And Jonah remembers God.

“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”

Lent ought to bind our lives to the steadfast love of God. Idols cannot bind us to true love. Any earthly possession can be lost, but the love of God is treasured in God himself who is love. Jonah sought out an unwavering love in his deep distress and love rescued him.

Prayer: O God of love, too often I do not seek you in my affliction. Too often I seek refuge in vain idols to cheer me up or to reward me. But I know I am never content apart from your steadfast love. Do not leave me, O God, but in my affliction, I will pray to you and seek your favor through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Lenten Devotional, Day 19

God’s judgment is a great comfort for the Christian. God’s voice is a great comfort for the Christian. In this Lent, we need to give thanks to God for not allowing the monologue of evil to triumph.

“Our God comes and will not be silent.”-Psalm 50

In God’s world, the voice from heaven silences the speech from hell. The crucifixion appeared to be a sign that God’s voice was finally silenced by the seed of the serpent. But Easter’s voice came three days later like a thunderous proclamation and declared once and for all: Our God comes and will not be silent.
Lent prepares our voices to join in the chorus of the empty tomb.

Prayer: Our Father, hallowed be your name! You do not leave us without your voice. You speak and we listen. You speak and life emerges. We give thanks for speaking into our lives by the power of the Spirit and guiding us daily by your word through Jesus Christ our Risen Lord, amen.

The Role of Worship in Exile

Another week begins, and the topic is universally the same in coffee shops (if you still frequent those), the workplace and worship spaces. The #Coronavirus is trending more frequently than your favorite five celebrities put together. Our culture has exchanged TMZ stories for the primacy of the geeks who once made their living in the privacy of their laboratory. These are now our modern-day celebrities. It’s safe to say the experts surrounding this topic will probably consume the news cycle for the foreseeable future.

Since this is the general trend, Christians must ask, “How now shall we live?” Recently, I encouraged pastors to preach the Word on the Lord’s Day without allowing the trends to dictate the church’s agenda. The Church should be the last place where people come to educate themselves about any virus or plague. The church should be that one place where we immunize ourselves against such cultural ubiquity. What the church must provide in this time is a heavenly normalcy that affords Christians a glimpse into the holy as they experience the unholy of disease and death in the world.

Whatever the future holds, and I forbid myself from acting like a prophetic epidemiologist, we know that the future belongs to Jesus. After all, he has lived and reigned over every imaginable pestilence and plague throughout history. He was Lord then and is Lord now. Christians often forget that reality in times of crisis. It is a real danger. There is no more excellent opportunity to flex our monergistic muscles than a scenario where we envision ourselves as experts and when we can quietly act as lords over human despair.

Of course, it is right and prudent to take measures, but it is even more crucial to take good and necessary measures towards our daily actions and reactions; to honestly examine ourselves in Lenten fashion to see if we are living as Christ would have us in our day. One inevitable temptation is the predicament of tomorrow. The anxious person will worry about everything until he gets one thing right. He will worry about a thousand things, and when that worry is finally validated, he will use that event to justify his fears about the next thousand things. It’s an unhappy cycle. If the things of today are sufficient (Mat. 6), then there are sufficient things to occupy our faith today. In sum, opportunities abound in living out our faith in times of peril. Our habits and rituals can be changed; our view of the world and others can change, and we can discover in such a time of transition that our priorities have been wrong for a long time.

In many ways, we lived exilically before any of this came into being. But back then, there was no all-consuming Corona-Virus news; there was just the mundane. Back then, many of us lived flippantly and apathetic toward our Christian rituals. Times of peace more often than not provide rationales for complacency. Thus, in times of uncertainty, we must remember that usually, the best period for the church to sharpen and hone her worship skills and practices is now. Biblical history bears this out. We can think of Israel’s wilderness wandering as a time of exile. Israel had left Egypt and was preparing to enter the Promised Land. But what was Israel doing for those 40 years? She didn’t have any real cultural influence since she had no homeland. She was just a nomadic community moving through the wilderness without the certainty of tomorrow. Still, faithful Israelites carried the tabernacle with them through the desert so that corporate worship became their constant focus.      

While we may not know what tomorrow brings, we do know who controls time and space and viruses. For the Christian, this is truly an opportunity for communities to find refuge in one true city. Whether we are worshipping together or in limited numbers in seven days, God’s gift of worship is ours. Whether in exile, free from alarm or in between the times, worship is always ultimate. So, let the Christian see that the only worthy trend in this world is not the #Coronavirus but the worship of the Triune God.