Out of Action for two weeks

Hello friends in Christ!  I will be out of 'action' for two weeks beginning Monday March 1st with knee replacement surgery.  Please pray for my wife and me as I undergo surgery and the recoery therapy.  Thank you in the healing Name of Jesus

Lenten Devotion - Saturday February 20

Hebrews 9:11-14, “But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!” 

Being born again because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us is an amazing if not wondrous act of love. What do we do with His act of love? How have we responded? What do we now believe? In this letter to the Hebrews we encounter the negation of blood sacrifices as essential to eternal life. Once Jesus gave His life upon the cross our eternity is written with His and the Father and the Holy Spirit. We have the choice to accept or refuse Jesus’ act of grace and mercy on our behalf. How we choose determines what we will ‘do’ about our sin and guilt. If we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior then we must confess our sin, ask God through Jesus to forgive us and repent. When we have experienced God’s grace and forgiveness it will be our longing to live as Jesus lived in holiness.

Prayer: Eternal and loving God thank you for seeking us constantly and redeeming us through Jesus Christ. Hear my prayers Father and forgive me I pray. In Jesus’ holy Name I pray. AMEN.

Lenten Devotion - Friday February 19

Matthew 11:20-24, “Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Jesus speaks to nations, cities, and communities regarding their faithlessness and sinfulness. It wasn’t a phenomenon of Jesus rather God had been speaking in this same manner through His prophets and He continues through His Son. Each nation, city and community is comprised of individuals who have a duty to relate to God through Jesus Christ and with one another. When nations, cities and communities fail to be obedient that failure begins with the individual who refuses to be obedient to God through Christ. The only way for a nation, city or community to return to favor with God through Christ is for each individual to confess, seek God’s forgiveness and repent. It is here that we begin.

Prayer: Father thank You for today and the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Help us fall to our knees in humility. Let us once again see Your Divine will for our lives. Forgive us we pray in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Lenten Devotion - Thursday February 18

Jonah 3:4-9, “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

What an amazing and wonderful thing to witness that the prophetic message that sent Jonah to Nineveh to deliver was heard and being heeded not just by its inhabitants but by its leaders as well. Wouldn’t it be a miraculous act of God that the leaders of our Nation and the world suddenly turned her or his heart to God through Jesus, confessed their sins, asked God to forgive them and repented – sinning no more? Would you believe it if it happened one day? God has that kind of power and that kind of influence. We must be carriers of God’s truth as Jonah was and be willing to go into ‘Nineveh’ where danger certainly awaited him to deliver the message of God’s real hope of eternal life. We must never stop seeking out ways to share the great good news of repentance and eternal life.

Prayer: Father forgive our weakness and lack of faith. You have been amazing in Your anticipation of our faith. Strengthen us in faith, help us confess our failures, lead us in Your Holy Way. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Ash Wednesday

Daniel 9:3-6, “Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love with those who love you and keep your commandments, we have sinned and done wrong, acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.”

Daniel knew that he needed to devote himself completely to God - so he began his prayer time with God by fasting, wearing sack cloth (burlap cloth) and his exposed flesh covered with ashes. All these are signs of humility, submission and obedience to God. As we begin this Lenten time we too come forward with fasting and ashes as a reminder that we must clear our hearts and minds of the distractions of daily life that cause us to turn away from God slightly or completely. When we are distracted from God we lose focus on what it is that God would have us do. Daniel teaches us again how we must approach our renewal by preparing our hearts to confess, receive forgiveness and repent – starting and our relationship with God and one another.

Prayer: Father I confess that I have not You and one another with my whole heart; I have not been faithful to Your church; I have not kept my covenant with You and with my neighbor another. Forgive me I pray in the Name of Jesus who saves me. AMEN.