Lenten Word 40: Resurrection

This is the word that has to end our Lenten Journey, resurrection. Coming back from the dead with new life. It is the hope of the ages that in Christ Jesus at long last the expected one, the Messiah, anointed by God to bring deliverance from those things that oppress us, had finally appeared. This is the 40th day of Lent. Lent ends tonight at midnight. Our prayer should be that what we took up during this time stay with us. What ever you gave up you can resume tomorrow if you truly need it.

The time of Lent should have drawn us closer to God and to God's Son, Jesus Christ. Our prayers, our scripture time, our worship time, our fellowship with believers, all should serve to remind us that God loves us and journeys with us throughout the entirety of our lives. Such is God's nature and such is God's love for you and me.

The best way to celebrate Resurrection is among believers in the House of God, where we can rejoice and give thanks for God's greatest gift to the world, His Son. Chief among our celebrations should be that which Jesus did to show us that God has power over sin and death.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for this 40-Day journey. Thank You for the blessings and peace that has come my way and that I have shared with others. I pray that as we await tomorrow we would still have new life and new hope for our lives. And this in faith, in the strong name of Jesus our Lord, amen.

Lenten Word 39: Darkness

"It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon," (Luke 23:44)

Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness has come to symbolize a lot of things, usually bad. The actions of a lost, sinful world brought on that darkness on that Friday when Jesus died for us all. The writer of Luke shares the testimony of those who were there and experienced the absence of light after all the pain and cruelty that Jesus suffered for us.

You and I have been in places of dark brought on by our thoughts or actions, places so dark we've even thought that our prayed could not pierce that darkness. But we have been wrong. If nothing else this Lenten Journey should have taught us that God hears and answers all prayers, even those offered at the bottom of the ocean in the belly of a whale. There is no darkness that God's light cannot pierce.

PRAYER: God of love and light, pierce through what the world sees as defeat to the light of victory; a victory over sin and death, even my sin and my death. In the Name of He who is worthy, Jesus my Lord, amen.

Lenten Word 38: Singing

"Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting." (Psalm 147:1 ESV) When our girls were little, one by one, each would learn to sing. They learned from worship in church, from hearing songs played on the radio, and seeing kids sing on shows they watched on television. Yet, their singing was the result of a joy they felt in their heart. The younger they were the more innocent the song, sometimes just humming with a true melody; later actual hymns or songs they had learned, but always bringing joy to Nellie's and my hearts.

This day is the day associated with Maundy Thursday, the day Jesus celebrated Passover with the disciples, the night He washed their feet, the night He was betrayed, and the night in which He started the Last Supper or Eucharist. After the supper was over the twelve and Jesus sang a hymn and left the upper room for prayer in the garden of Gethsemane.

I wish I knew what hymn that was, but like almost all ancient hymns, and I'm talking about those hymns written during Jesus' time, have disappeared for the most part. Though for many our Lenten Journey has been somber, the joy of the Lord continues to be our strength. What we have done during these 40 days has brought us closer to the Lord and there is no sadness or sorrow in Jesus' presence. May we lift our voices high in praise today at every opportunity we get; maybe even in worship tonight!

PRAYER: Loving God, author life and song, bring a new song to our hearts that tells of Your steadfast goodness and love towards us. May we make a joyful noise in praising You always. In Jesus we pray and sing, amen.

Lenten Word 37: Betrayal

Ouch. We have been there. Betrayed by someone we love. It might have been we shared something with them and they told someone else and we got into trouble. Or we trusted someone and they betrayed us. It is something we can hold for the rest of our lives, but realize this; the longer you do, the longer your prison sentence in that jail you've made for yourself.

This is the day associated with Judas making plans to betray Jesus. They were in Jerusalem and preparing for the coming of Passover, and Judas slips away and meets with Jesus' enemies and sells Him out for thirty pieces of silver. What makes the story even sadder is that the sign of the betrayal would be a kiss.

Our lesson for the Lenten Journey is one really about forgiveness and faithfulness. We should not betray anyone. And if anyone betrays us, we should forgive them and move on. Jesus knew that betrayal was coming and even encouraged Judas to go and do what he needed to do. Jesus forgave Judas. Judas did not forgive himself. If we should betray someone we need to ask forgiveness and we should especially forgive ourselves.

PRAYER: Lord, for this day in my Lenten Journey I ask strength for faithfulness and for showing forgiveness. The model of Jesus is the model I want and need to be more Christ-like in my life. I pray in His name, amen.

Lenten Word 36: Greed

Mine! It is a word learned early by infants and one used easily when something is perceived to be theirs and someone, usually another infant or teasing parent, tries to take that thing away. Mine! Greed is a self-centered desire born in the heart and mind, to have as much as one can possibly have to fulfill no other need except that which is based in one's ego. Psalm 10:3 says "He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD." (NIV) There is no room in the heart of the greedy for God; for God is a generous God who gave His only begotten Son.

The message for this Lenten Journey should be: Give up greed for Lent. Give! Give of yourself to God and God's people. Give of what you have and as Jesus taught of those things of which you have two, you can give away one.

Prayer: Loving God who blesses all, help me to bless others by not being greedy. Let my life be one of giving. Amen.

Lenten Word 35: Sacrifice

We see in our Lord the life of one who surrendered to God and allowed Himself to be our sacrifice. Jesus gave up whatever self-interests and self-centeredness He had,to live among us and die for us. Jesus was the Pascal Lamb, the one to die for our sins. The idea of dying for sins comes from the Old Testament, where we know the wages of sin is death, and early on the use of lambs as the object of sacrifice is introduced. Thus the term sacrificial lamb.

We were born with the notion of self-preservation, doing everything and anything to stay alive. Much of our lives we have placed ourselves first just to get or be where we are. Sacrifice goes against that. Sacrifice is realizing that sometimes we have to give ourselves for others. You may have grown up in a home where food was limited and we wanted the best serving of the meal being offered and we may have even seen one of our parents give up their portion so that we could eat. That was sacrifice. We read about those who give up an organ for their child or for a friend, or even for a stranger so they can live. That is sacrifice.

We're only four days away from the day we call Good Friday, when a man died for us after suffering much. That was the ultimate sacrifice and our model for how we should live our lives. May this Lenten Journey teach us about what we truly have yet to give up for the sake of God and God's people.

Lord, teach me about giving in my living, especially sacrifice living and sacrifice giving. In the name of He who gave all for me, Jesus the Christ, amen.

Lenten Word 34: Servant

A servant is one who works for others, often doing what others hate doing or will not do for themselves. There is no dishonor in being a servant, in fact, the word of our Lord says the opposite. "If anyone serves me, they must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor them." (John 12:26 (ESV)).

Our Lenten Journey should be one of growing in humility, knowing that all we do, we should do for the sake of God being made greater in our lives. Every time I preach I pray that God would empty me of me and fill me with Him. This humility should also lead us to doing more for God and God's people than worrying about ourselves and what gain we might get from our actions.

Jesus was the model of servant leader, doing what others might never dream of doing themselves, humbling himself to wash the feet of the disciples, healing, touching, and making whole all who were in need. As God's humble servant He willingly went to the cross and died for us.

What are you doing for God that others hate doing for themselves? What are you giving/sharing for the sake of the kingdom of God?

PRAYER: Loving God, as I journey with you during these forty days, let one of my lessons be to learn to a servant, leading when I must, but always following You. Let me do for others. As Paul wrote to Timothy I seek to be "one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handing the word of truth," and serving You above self. This I pray in the name of He who is my Lord, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Lenten Word 33: Truth

The famous scene between Jesus and Pilate as recorded by John (18): 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." 38 Pilate asked him, "What is truth?"

Jesus' declaration about Himself and His purpose did not faze Pilate. Jesus states His kingdom is not from this world and had it been the fight would be great to keep Him from being handed over to the Jews. Pilate asks, "Are you a king?" Jesus responds that God has sent Him into the world "to testify to the truth," and that "Everyone who belongs to the truth listen to (His) voice." Pilate can only think to ask, "What is truth?'

It is part philosophical, part no-clue. Jesus' truth is the reality, power, strength, and love of God, and those who enter into a relationship with Him become part of the truth and should testify to the truth. Ours during this Lenten Journey is to get deeper into the truth of God and not wander off asking "What is truth?" The truth is that those who do not know the truth live a lie and if not careful die in that lie. Ours it know, love, and trust God and to tell others about God's love. That is truth.

PRAYER: Loving God, gracious and loving are You. Great is your truth as shared by Jesus Christ. May we seek to grow deeper in that truth so that our lives give witness to You in love, spirit, and truth. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Lenten Word 32: Anguish

Luke 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done." 43 [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. 44 In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.]

Facing what He knew was coming was not easy. At His disposal were the armies of Heaven and the power of God in Him, yet Jesus humbled Himself for paying the ultimate price for you and me. This short prayer gives Him away: Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me..." is enough to know the fear and anguish that Jesus is feeling at that very moment. Add to it that as He prays more, his sweat becomes like great drops of blood falling to the ground. Yes, an angel appeared and gave Him strength, but the anguish remained.

There are things in our lives or even during this Lenten Journey that have caused us great anguish, but Jesus remains the example of faithfulness to God. Notice that after He asks that the cup be removed He says, "Yet, not my will but yours be done." C. S. Lewis wrote that Hell is filled with those who said, "Not Thy will but mine," and Heaven is filled with those who said, "Not my will, but Thine." Notice the difference. To ask that our will be done just to remove our anguish is to ask to be placed in an eternal place of anguish.

PRAYER: God, not my will, but Thine. Amen.

Lenten Word 31: Pain

The movie "The Passion" was one I could only see once. It was a movie that did too good of a job in portraying the suffering and pain of Jesus. It hurt me to see it because I was the reason for all that pain that my Lord endured.

The Lord suffered not only physical pain but emotional pain. I remember hearing older people saying their heart broke or songs about heartache, and it wasn't until I went through it that I completely understood that sort of pain. Yes, life has pain and sometimes there is nothing we can do about it, but as we have journeyed with the Lord during these 40 days we know that with Jesus with us, we can endure and conquer all things.

Time heals all pain is not a universal truth; time may mask our pain and we'll be able to move forward and onward, but the memory what caused the pain visits us and we'll cry again or feel sad again. Yet, we move on. Hope moves us forward even in the midst of deep pain.

The prize is in sight: Jesus' victory over sin and death, pain included. Blessed be His Name!

PRAYER: Loving God, for Your presence in the midst of our pain, we are thankful. For Your suffering of anguish and heartache for our sake, we are deeply thankful. Journey yet with us towards the Passion of Your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Lenten Word 30: Endurance

"I think I can, I think I can" leads us to that point where it changes to "I know I can I know I can," and finally to "I knew I could, I knew I could." For the believer that refrain is made easier if we add "With God's Help...." God is part of the solution towards our endurance in all things especially a time of fasting and reflection. Many who have given up things, especially foods, have already given up. Some endure to the very end only with God's help. They think on what they are receiving by having given up these things, not on what misery they are in for having abandoned precious things, like chocolate.

Paul says in his letter to the Romans, "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope." (5:3-4). During our Lenten Journey our faithfulness to the very end will produce endurance and as Paul adds, and our endurance will produce character and character hope.

Never give up. Never. Never. Never. Words attributed to Winston Churchill during the Siege of London by the Nazis, to the people of London. Those words apply to all who seek to endure.

May it be so.

PRAYER: Lord, only with your help can I endure. This is my prayer asking that Your strength be mine so that as I seek to know You more I can know my limitations and Your greatness. This I pray in Christ Jesus, amen.

Lenten Word 29: Examination

Just typing this word made me cringe a little as I remembered its meaning while a student. Examination meant a test, which meant a significant part of my final grade in whatever class or course I was taking. The professor or teacher wanted to know how much I had learned and that painful process of taking an examination was the best way to measure my having received or learned their teachings.

During Lent, examination means our giving our spirits and minds a test. How deeply committed and connected are we to God? The purpose of our Lenten Journey has been to draw closer to God, and we're pretty near the end of the 40 days. What better time to ask ourselves how much closer we truly are to God and to ourselves. An examination of ourselves may reveal that we are not the person we have been thinking we are. And the good thing about an examination, like one in a doctor's office, is that we draw closer to a correction for our lives if we find we have missed the mark of where we should be.

The psalmist wrote these words in Psalm 26:2-3: "Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth." (NIV). May it be so with us today.

PRAYER: Loving God, examine my heart and my mind; if you find me lacking in anything, help make me right. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Lenten Word 28: Others

Being self-centered is not a way to live. Thinking more highly of oneself always is not a good attitude towards God or God's people. Yet, we know that sometimes we feel that way or we encounter those who believed they were God's greatest gift to humanity and we're just lucky to be in their presence. The Gospel teaches different; Jesus said in red letters, "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31). We call this the Golden Rule and it is a great rule with which to live. The Rotary Club's motto is "Service Above Self." I have shared before this story of my "fireside chat" before entering the San Marcos Rotary Club. The man giving us this chat, required of all new members, was in his late 80's and he had transferred to the SM Club from the Manhattan Club, at one time the world's largest Rotary club. He shared that the motto of service above self ideal was brought home to him when he had to sit at the Birthday Table. All who had a birthday that week had to sit at one big table. He said it was his good fortune to sit between two men whose name you may recognize, James Cash (J.C.) Penney, and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. He said the two talked to each other and him, and finally they told him that that next Friday to meet them at a certain New York corner for they were going on their weekly service above self outing. He said they did not ask him if he wanted to, they told him. And he added, "If J.C. Penney and Norman Vincent Peale tell you to be some place, you will!" These two famous and influential men every Friday would go to Harlem to be big brothers to poor children of that neighborhood and take them to the movies. As much as God blessed these two men, they were not complete until they thought about and did for others.

Our Lenten Journey should have us praying for, and living with, others. Our lives reach more meaning when we do for others and grow beyond thinking just about ourselves.

PRAYER: Loving and Amazing God, speak to my needs, especially the one that says I think too much about me and the things of me. Let me be all about others, not just today, but all days. I pray in Christ Jesus, amen.

Lenten Word 27: Joy

Many during this time of Lent think joy is not in the equation. Many face their fasting with somber faces and somber attitudes while forgetting that Jesus spoke of the opposite. "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matt. 6:17-18). And in the Old Testament we find these words about joy: "for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10).

Joy is a feeling of pleasure and happiness, and thus should be the by-produce of our Lenten Journey. Yes, it is hard to give up some things and it is difficult to focus on all that awaits Jesus during Holy Week, but to know that all that Jesus endured and suffered was for us, and that my friends should give us joy. The children's song says, "He gives me living water and that's my strength."

May this Lenten Journey satisfy all your needs. May the living water and the bread of life bring you joy. Then, share that joy with others.

PRAYER: God of living waters and the Bread of Life, speak to my heart. May my joy be complete in You. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Lenten Word 26: Thanksgiving

Our Lenten Journey should be one of thankfulness to God. The 40 days lead us to that great event that gave birth to the Church, Christ's Resurrection. What can we be if not thankful for a God that did not hold back His Son for us? A spirit of thankfulness is a generous, loving spirit that shows care and concern for others.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

During my internship as a minister many years ago, one of the things I dreaded was to visit a nursing home. I did not look forward to visiting this one home because the first thing that would hit me as I entered was the smell. It was not one of the nicest nursing homes. But that very first person I visited was a dear, sweet lady who blessed me with your attitude towards God and life. Hers was a life of gratitude who gave thanks in all things and I left being blessed. I thought I could go in and bless her with my pastoral gifts, but she was the one who held the blessing.

Do you hold a blessing for others because of your gratitude?

PRAYER: Living God, help me to be a blessing to You and Yours. I thank You for all You have shared with me and I ask that my life being a living testimony of that gratitude. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Lenten Word 25: Peace

Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace. What we don't know about the word is that it goes beyond wishing a life without conflict or war; it is a word that desires those to whom we share the word, a complete state of wellbeing and welfare. Peace is the blessing we can share with others to wish them the best; no conflict, no war, but the tranquility and calm that comes with that, but also from the knowledge of knowing we are being watched over and cared for, the needs of our life are being met.

In our Lenten Journey we strive for inner peace as we seek to realize who we are, who we have been, and who God called us to be. And the end result I pray is that peace, shalom, that can bless our lives. Our prayer time, our fasting, our scripture reading and what other disciplines we have been following serve to bring us that peace.

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (John 14:27). Jesus' peace is other worldly and it is one free from fear. May that be our prayer for ourselves and others for today and for this Lenten time.

PRAYER: Loving God, grant me Your peace. You know my needs and You have provided and for that I am thankful. Let me be a blessing in return to others; this I pray in Christ Jesus, amen.

Lenten Word 24: Doubt

"I believe only what I can see or touch" is a statement that you or I may have said at one point of our life and it echoes the one said by one of the 12, Thomas, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25b) It also resembles the famous cry of a man whose demon-possessed son was about to destroy himself, "I believe, help my unbelief!"

Doubt is the first cousin of faith once removed. Doubt is a struggle to believe in my opinion, and the doubter is one who has not yet fully given up but is seeking to believe. If you've been exposed to the truth in Jesus Christ, you'll still have doubts, we can build on doubt rather than let it be something that destroys. The doubter seeks answers and may come to the realization that faith is something we can't quite touch but the vision to see the things of faith help overcome that need to touch.

Our Lenten Journey will take us here quickly to that day when we ask, Why? And if you've seen movies about that Friday that we call Good, you'll weep and get angry and wonder, Why? And that's good to ask that especially if you know the answer; you! Jesus suffered what He did because of you, and because of me. Yes, we suffer from doubt, but let it be temporary. Faith is a great path on which to walk.

PRAYER: God of truth, speak to our unbelieving hearts when we doubt, but build on them the stones of faith. This we pray in faith in the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.