The Road Leading to Easter
(NRSV) 1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
As we enter into another Lenten season, we have yet one more opportunity to reflect on the love God showed us by sending His Son to seek and save the lost. There was only one way that sinful man could be restored to a holy God and that way was Jesus.
Have you ever considered that Jesus’ road to Calvary did not begin with His final entry into Jerusalem, but instead extends all the way back to Bethlehem? From the moment He took His first breath, accompanied by an angel chorus and followed by the praise of shepherds, Jesus had one final earthly destination. From the cradle to the cross, Jesus walked one pathway. There were no detours.
So, during this season of remembrance and repentance, I invite you to join me as I explore the road leading to Easter. May we determine in our hearts today to acknowledge and repent of our sins as we focus from now until March 31 on spiritual disciplines that will draw us closer to the cross:
1. Reading the Bible daily
2. Praying the scriptures
3. Tending to the needs of others
These spiritual disciplines are not works leading to salvation, but rather works springing from salvation. May we each be prepared to learn more, to love more, and to serve more as we approach Easter.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Light of the World
(NKJV) Matt 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
What are some of the attributes of light? Light exposes, it warms, it enables growth. Light can be direct or indirect, bright or dim, comforting when it diminishes the darkness but glaring when the sun almost blinds us while driving.
As a child, hiding one’s light under a basket became a metaphor for not utilizing one’s God given talent for the church. As an older adult I have to wonder about the wisdom of putting a lit candle under a woven basket.
Rather than being concerned about the light being diminished or even obliterated, I would be much more concerned with starting a fire.
Jesus included the light in one of His “I am” statements. In John 8 Jesus said, (NKJV) 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Remember, these are not evangelical statements. Jesus is speaking directly to believers. If we have the light of Jesus in our hearts, then won’t good works follow? And whenever we take part in good works, won’t those works and the people we help glorify God?
I offer this devotional to encourage all who read it, and in the memory of Val Carr, whose life will be celebrated 2/17 at 10:30 at Asbury UMC. May we each understand that our light cannot be extinguished by death.
So shine on, into the sunset
Shine on, into the night,
shine on, sweet one, for we will never forget
The warmth of your God given light.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Beatitude Attitude, Part 6
(NRSV)Matt 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Well, friends, we have reached the end of our study of the Beatitudes. Persecution is not a pleasant topic. Persecution means ill treatment of a person or group, especially on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender, religion or ethnicity.
People sometimes believe because they are Christian and because they have experienced persecution, that they are the subject of religious persecution. However, we must be careful to look at persecution objectively. Sometimes we make poor choices, and it is our choices, not our association with Jesus Christ, that causes us to be persecuted.
Persecution does not necessarily measure whether we are Christians, but rather how much we are behaving like Christ. For instance, if we retaliate against those who malign us, then we are allowing our human nature to prevail over living according to Christian principles.
Christians in the United states have been so fortunate to escape, in large part, the persecution that has been reported around the world. But, there is growing concern over religious intolerance even here in America as our country becomes increasingly secular.
I have read of home churches in China that have to meet underground. They do not have enough Bibles to go around, so they tear pages out of a Bible and disburse them, with instructions for each person to memorize the scripture and then pass the pages to someone else.
There are other stories of churches being burned to the ground, sometimes with people still inside. Since 2009 over 50,000 people have been murdered in Nigeria by Islamic extremists.
So how can persecution be positive in the church? Persecution gives us an opportunity to grow: grow in grace, grow in sanctification, and grow in our Christian witness. Persecution drives us to God like nothing else. Remember how the book of Acts records that the early church would grow in one day by 1000, 5000 and even more? If we can return love to those who persecute us, then our Christianity is proven sincere, and not shallow.
Jesus turned the religious community of His day on its ear as He tried to change the perception of what it meant to be blessed. Whenever Jesus used the phrase “you have heard it said, but I say…” Jesus was trying to correct misunderstanding and misapplication of the Law. No longer should the idea prevail that the rich were being blessed by God while the poor were living under a curse. Instead, Jesus taught the need for all people to recognize their great need for a Savior.
Likewise, Jesus broke down cultural barriers when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. He tore down gender barriers by elevating women beyond their station in the patriarchal system. Mary the sister of Martha was allowed to sit at His feet in the traditional Rabbinic student position of learning and when Martha complained, Jesus responded that Mary had chosen the better part. Was Mary learning from Jesus for her own edification, or so she would be prepared to teach others?
Today we must still recognize the poverty of our spirit, mourn, become meek, seek righteousness, be merciful to others, become peacemakers, and love those who persecute us. When we can incorporate these principles into our daily living, including loving those who persecute us, we are living kingdom lives now and we can conquer anything the world throws at us.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Beatitudes Attitude, Part 5
(NRSV) 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
We should be noticing by now that the Beatitudes are really an outline for developing characteristics for kingdom living. These character traits do not just happen, but occur when we are in active pursuit of them, or what I call seeking holiness.
Most of us have known people who are drama queens. You know, people who thrive in chaos. They are often easily offended, and they feel compelled to strike back. But is the need to have the last word or to set someone else straight really the behavior Christ would have us model?
Lack of peace can be as personal as a lack of inner peace, or as global as a world war. Lack of peace leaves us restless, anxious, and robs us of energy. But what is the real root cause of a lack of peace? We lack peace because we have never made real peace with our Creator. We will never live in peace with one another until we live in peace with God.
I pray for the peace of Jerusalem every night because we are instructed to do so in (NRSV) Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.” Yes, I pray for peace, knowing that peace will never be achieved until the Prince of Peace is invited into the midst of the conflict.
The beatitude goes on to read, “…for they will be called children of God.” We may think to call ourselves children of God is better than we deserve. But I assure you the scripture in John says exactly that: (NRSV)John 1:11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us…
So seek out peace wherever you are, and boldly declare you are a child of the King. Think peace, talk peace, and leave footprints of peace everywhere you step.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Beatitude Attitude, Part 4
(NRSV)Matt 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Today we are taking somewhat of a turn on our path. While the first part of the Beatitudes deals with our relationship to God, now we are called to look at our relationship to one another.
Mercy can be defined as refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, persons in one’s power. God constrains us to go beyond mere sympathy for our fellow man, and calls us instead to display a supernatural compassion, which drives us to action. He demands mercy, but we are unable to give it unless He enables us to do so. What do we know about mercy?
1. Mercy is a grace gift (Rom 12:8)
2. Mercy is not natural to us
3. Mercy is bestowed upon us by God
4. We are all called to show mercy whether or not it is our spiritual gift
5. If we receive mercy, we must give it
Are you beginning to see the progression of the beatitudes? When we have the right attitude about ourselves, we can see the poverty of our spirits. When we have the right attitude toward our sin, we mourn. When we have the right attitude toward God, we become meek, and the more humble we become before the Almighty God, the more we seek after His righteousness. When we receive the righteousness of God, we begin to act like God.
Blessed are the merciful might well read, Blessed are those who give mercy over and over again, for they will receive mercy superabundantly above what they give, so that they can give again. Isn’t that wonderful?
Let’s look for a moment at the book of Lamentations in The Amplified Bible. Lamentations 3:22-24 It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. [Mal. 3:6.]
They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. [Isa. 33:2.]
The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. [Num. 18:20.]
We are assured by the prophet Jeremiah that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. If God can grant us new mercies each morning, then surely we can be merciful to others. Mercy requires mindfulness. Just as we need to go through each day with an awareness of what God has done and is doing in our lives, it is necessary for us to be aware of acts of mercy that we can offer to those around us.
The last beatitude we will look at today is Matt 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
How do we become pure in heart? We must allow God to change our hearts. So do we have any part in the change? Of course.
1. We must fix our eyes upon God
2. We must choose to praise Him in every circumstance
3. We must meditate on God
4. We must pursue holiness
Warren Wiersbe says “The pure in heart have nothing to hide, nothing to defend, nothing to explain. Their faces are unveiled…When you start to see God (from a pure heart) you also start to see what God sees. You begin to see yourself in the light of God’s glory.”
The pure in heart become transparent. Not only do we begin to see ourselves in a different light, we see others differently as well. The Pharisees saw the publicans as sinners, but the Jesus saw them as sick and in need of a Physician. Wiersbe goes on to say “The eyes see what the heart loves. If the heart loves God, and is single in this devotion, then the eyes will see God whether others see Him or not.”
I am always drawn to Psalm 51(NRSV) 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
David knew the dangers of allowing one’s heart to become defiled by the sins of this world. Pay attention to the language in these verses. David recognizes there is nothing in and of himself that can purify his own heart. He desperately needed God to create, restore and sustain in him all that is necessary to have a pureness of heart, and so do we.
Blessed are the pure in heart, whose hearts become so transparent that others see God in us. Blessed are they whose hearts are so transparent that they will see God first. Blessed are they.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Seeking Holiness 