“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

This Lenten season we have been focusing on the heart, which we define biblically as “the ‘basket’ term for our mind, our will, our emotions, and our conscience.” We are describing the pathway by which our hearts respond and therefore change from rebellious to renewed during the remainder of these Lenten devotionals.

The first step on the pathway is recognition, which means that we see our sin the way God sees our sin. Only God’s viewpoint is totally objective as He is the standard of true righteousness.

The second step on the pathway is responsibility.

Have you ever noticed when someone at a prominent level apologizes for something that went wrong—they say something like “Mistakes were made”? That is NOT an apology. That is not an admission of any personal responsibility.

• Remember what Adam said when God confronted him about the apple: “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree.”
• Remember what Aaron said when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai to find the Israelites worshipping a golden calf? Read Exodus 32:17-24 for a sadly amusing example of abdicating responsibility for blatant sin. And we are still dealing with the disastrous consequences.

“Maybe we say, I don’t know how that happened, it is so NOT like me!” Well guess what: it is just like you. Jesus tells us In Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”  Our reactions to our environment and circumstances reveal what is in our hearts.

Only a responsible heart will take ownership and therefore be broken because of sin. A broken and contrite spirit goes beyond confessing. Confession is rooted in the knowledge of sin. Contrition is personal responsibility for sin. David had a contrite heart. He wrote in Psalm 51:17 –

“My sacrifice, O God, isa broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

In the literal sense, contrition means crushing. Have you ever had that realization of the crushing nature of your sin? Can you identify with David when he realizes the truth of Nathan’s charge against him, “You are that man!” Count the personal pronouns in Psalm 51 (I counted 36 times in 19 verses). This psalm was written by a man who took personal responsibility for his sin.

When we blame others, then nothing changes. But when we accept responsibility, we can run to God, begging for his forgiveness, and he will not withhold. This is the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of recognizing and owning our sin. Praise the Lord who is a loving and forgiving God.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

In Christ,

Judy

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

This Lenten season we have been focusing on the heart, which we define biblically as “the ‘basket’ term for our mind, our will, our emotions, and our conscience.” Week One we talked about God’s heart. Last week we talked about our hearts, and how they cannot initiate any good thing but only respond to God’s love. During the remainder of these Lenten devotionals, we are going to identify the pathway by which our hearts respond and therefore change from rebellious to renewed.

The first step on the pathway is recognition.

Recognition means that we see our sin the way God sees our sin. No other viewpoint matters—not our own, not the other party’s viewpoint, not any onlooker’s viewpoint. All those are subjective viewpoints, and often uninformed. Only God’s viewpoint is totally objective and totally informed, as He is the only standard of true righteousness.

We often want to make excuses or rationalize our sin. We jokingly say, “The devil made me do it.” But seriously, when we sin, our sinful nature tries to make excuses for our actions without recognizing that it is really our sinful nature that is the culprit. When Peter got to know Jesus as the righteous God, he then recognized the extent of his own unrighteousness and proclaimed, “I am a sinful man.” The tax collector said “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Notice he did not say, I am sorry for the sinful things I have done; instead, he recognized that he himself was sinful and asked the only one who could offer the only thing that would deliver him: Mercy.

When David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he could have blamed her for taking a bath on the roof where he could see her. He could have rationalized that as the king, he could/should have anything he wanted. When he had Uriah killed, he could have said he was going to die anyway since they were at war. In fact, it was not until David was confronted by the Nathan who used a story to help David to understand the extent of his sin that David said, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:11).

Then, David wrote in Psalm 51:3-4, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight….”

Don’t we have similar tendencies? When we are angry, we blame the person who provoked us. When we exhibit greed and gluttony, we blame our circumstances. On a good day, we will tell the person to whom we were rude how sorry we are, but we might just go as far as to say, “I’m sorry you were offended.” How is that an admission of guilt? So, it is their fault we responded unkindly? Perhaps we blame our inappropriate conduct on the fact that we were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but whose fault was that? It all comes back to the fact that “I am a sinful man.”

This goes against so much popular psychology where the goal is to protect our self-esteem. Popular psychology would have us to affirm ourselves, even our sinful selves, rather than recognizing the real root of the problem. How can this bring healing? When we do not confront the real problem, how can we ever progress along the path to healing and renewing our hearts?

Our sin separates us from God, but the good news is that the Gospel brings us back into relationship. The good news is that our sinful nature can be covered by the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we believe. Although Peter did not feel worthy to be in God’s presence, notice in our key scripture where he positioned himself—at Jesus’ knees. That is where we also belong.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

In Christ,

Judy

Today is the first day of the season of Lent in 2022. While this season is not observed by all denominations–including mine–I like to observe it because it gives me a time for focus and preparation leading up to Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A good starting point for this time of preparation is to meditate on God and his character, his heart.

In this case, the heart is more than the organ that pumps blood. Biblically, the heart is our soul; it is “basket” term for our mind, our will, our emotions, and our conscience. When we say, “I know her heart”, this is what we are referring to—the mind, will, emotions, and conscience. So, how can we learn about God’s heart? A good way is to read the Psalms, especially those written by David. We know that God considered David to be “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). When we read David’s Psalms, we learn about David’s heart; and therefore, we learn about God’s heart.

Here is one of my favorites: Psalm 103. We can learn so much about the character and heart of God from meditating on this Psalm of David.

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,  and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹ The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.

In Christ,

Judy

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:8-10).

This temptation that Satan presented Jesus with is what you and I deal with every day. Satan is the master of targeted marketing! He knows what we want, and he makes every effort to hand it to us on a silver platter. He makes it look so easy, so beautiful, so tempting. For example, he knew that Jesus had come to serve as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, so Satan offered him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. What Satan did not seem to understand was that Jesus was already supreme ruler of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. Why would he give that up to worship Satan? But Jesus knew that he did not need anything Satan had to offer. He was, and is, our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

What do we want? What is our weak spot? Is it desire for more stuff, more popularity, more power, more recognition, more security, more thrills? My temptations are not the same as yours, but Satan knows what will make each of our mouths water for more and he is dishing it up on a silver platter. Once you are aware of this, it is more obvious. Satan is asking us to exchange the truth for a lie. He is asking us to worship something/anything that God created rather than the Creator Himself.

What we as believers must realize (and continually remind ourselves) is that we are already everything we want to be in Christ, and we already have everything we need in Christ. Of course, we are progressing in sanctification, and the journey is not easy. Jesus was already perfect, so he had different reasons for going through his trials. He was paying the price for our sins so that, despite all our efforts, we would not otherwise come up short. Without the work of Jesus on our behalf, we would never be able to throw off our yoke of enslavement to Satan. Although the reasons for our trials and testing differ from Jesus’s, they are vitally important to our relationship with God, both now and forever. “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only” (Matthew 4:10).

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” (Deuteronomy 5:6-7)

In Christ,

Judy

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3).

Jesus had already been in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. He had been fasting. The Scriptures say he was hungry. I know I would be.

I used to be a runner (please do not act too surprised). Back in 1999 and 2000, I trained for a marathon, so I ran some fairly long distances. My goal, which I accomplished, was to complete the first Country Music Marathon in Nashville in April 2000. I developed a training plan, and I was very faithful to this and to my goal, so most weeks I had at least one long run that got progressively longer as the weeks went by in preparation for the ultimate 26.2-mile event. I ran in all types of weather. And it never failed that about halfway through my run that I began to think all kinds of negative thoughts, such as “Why am I doing this?” “You don’t have to do this,” “You are crazy to be doing this,” “You can quit now, and no one would blame you.”

I doubt if these negative messages were coming from the devil, because my goal was not part of a ministry or Christian maturity effort. However, I do understand how easy it can be to be persuaded to stop doing something that is difficult. I do not know if I could have l lasted 40 days and nights all alone in the wilderness without food, knowing I had the power to create food or the ability to just walk back into town and find a meal.

Jesus is both fully God and fully man, and in his humanity, he was tempted. He had those same voices telling him that he did not have to go through this ordeal. Just turn these stones into bread. He was not being tempted with prime rib or cheesecake, just some plain bread, right? But Jesus was in this time of testing as an act of obedience to God, and he knew this was the devil tempting him. What was Jesus’ response to the devil? “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).

Jesus knew that he had not just fasted 40 days and 40 nights to wind up giving in. He had a purpose to accomplish, to prove that he could overcome the temptation of the devil, to prove his power over the devil and so identify with humans in our challenges to overcome temptation. To accomplish this goal, Jesus had to do several things.

1. Jesus had to have a purpose and a plan. Whenever I walk into a situation that I know could include temptation, I know I need a plan. For example, if I am going to an event with a buffet, I know I cannot stay near the buffet table without grazing. If I am going to stay on my diet, I need to have a purpose for my attendance at the event that does not include going near the buffet.
2. Jesus had to be in communication with God. It is amazing how the Spirit answers our prayers when we call on him to ask for guidance and strength to overcome.
3. Jesus had to know that it was the devil talking. It was going to be either God or the devil advising him. James says we are tempted by the desires of our heart, so a foundational goal for us is to align our desires with those of God.
4. Jesus had to know the Word of God. This is the only way to accomplish that alignment referenced in #3 above. By studying the Scriptures, we can learn what is of God and what is of the devil.
5. He had to confront the devil with power. As the Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:10-17, to effectively battle the devil, we must put on the full armor of God which includes  the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Brothers and sisters, we can overcome the temptation of the devil. We just need to follow Jesus’ example and have a goal of obedience, call on the Holy Spirit to conform our hearts to His, pray for guidance and strength, study the Word of God, and boldly call His Name. We need to ask forgiveness when we fail, and then keep on trying. In this way, we will be blessed.

For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18).

In Christ,

Judy

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matthew 4:1-2).

Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  In last week’s devotional, the topic was testing; today we will talk about temptation.  Understand that temptation is not the same as testing in the biblical sense. Temptation comes from the devil and it is for our harm. Testing is from God, and it is for our good. So, you may ask, why would a good God who is all-powerful allow us to be tempted? It all goes back to the Fall, when Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lies rather than God’s truth. The consequences have been severe. Our world is corrupted, and we are corrupted. Even when we accept Christ as our Savior, as long as we live in this fallen world we will continue to be subjected to temptation. But remember is not God who tempts us. As James writes, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. (James 1:13-14).

This does not fully answer the question of why, though, does it? For that, we need to continue to explore the Word of God, and the answer comes in observing Christ in the wilderness. As the verse above states: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” This event was an intentional and critical time in the life and ministry of Christ to prove his power over the devil. In the same way, God allows temptation to occur in our fallen world so that we can learn to be like Christ. Learning to overcome temptation is part of our maturing process, preparing us for ministry.

Although God allows us to be tempted, he does not leave us alone in our temptation. As the Apostle Paul writes: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

So, I think I know what you are thinking, because it is what I am thinking. This is all well and good, but unlike Christ, I have not been 100% effective in overcoming temptation. He is sinless. I am not. I have veered off the path and made some pretty bad decisions in my day. And that does not take into account all my daily actions, thoughts and words that are not Christ-like. So, what does this mean for my maturity and ministry, and yours?

Praise God that Jesus was sensitive to the fact that we are not perfect, and he gives us guidance.

• Jesus advises in the Lord’s prayer to pray to God: “do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).
• He also advised us to remain diligent:“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

But because we will not be 100% perfect until we achieve our glorified state after our physical death, God has been gracious to provide for us a way through the mess we sometimes make of our lives.

• Speaking through the Apostle Paul, we know that “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
• And we know that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
• “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
• All we must do is to accept, believe, and receive what Jesus did for us. “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9).

This is the good news of the Gospel that believers celebrate all year long, but especially during Easter. Jesus Christ died for us, and his death paid the price of our sins. And we can rest assured that no matter how we fall short, we are overcomers through Christ. Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).

In Christ,

Judy

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matthew 4:1-2).

Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  Our topic is testing. We will talk about temptation next week; but know this, temptation is not the same as testing in the biblical sense. Temptation comes from the devil and it is for our harm. Testing is from God, and it is for our good.

When we are given instruction, whether it be at school, at work, or in life in general, we should be tested to see what we have learned. When we fall short, then we know what we need to work on. God tests our faithfulness from time to time, and when we fall short, guess what? We find out what we need to work on. God’s desire for us is that we be found ready when he comes to take us to our final home. God is testing us for our good.

There are many examples in the Bible of God testing his people:

• In Genesis 2:16-17, God gave Adam an instruction: “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” This was a test; Adam and Eve failed.

• God promised Abraham that he would be the father of the nation of Israel. Then, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,” (Hebrews 11:7). Also, reference Genesis 22:1. This was a test; Abraham passed.

• When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, “He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you” (Deuteronomy 8:16).  In Hebrews 3:8, we learn how the Israelites performed on this test: “Do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness.”

• In Judges 3:1, we learn that “These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan.” Have you ever considered that wartime could be a test imposed on us by God?

• In the New Testament, when Jesus was faced with the crowds of hungry people, hungry for his Word and for food, his asked one of his disciples, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” (John 6:5-6). And of course, we know that Jesus fed the five thousand with the five loaves and two fishes, with food left over.

• The Apostle Paul, who endured many trials and obstacles in his missionary work, acknowledged that God tests our faithfulness. “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

These are just a few examples. Perhaps if we have this perspective on the tests and trials that come our way, we will be more eager to demonstrate our obedience and faith so as to be found pleasing to our Master. And as we continue to grow in faith, perhaps we can even model the psalmist, who in his wisdom writings communicated his desire to be conformed to the character of God by praying intensely for testing, examination, and trials.

“Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind” (Psalm 26:2).
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23).

In Christ,

Judy

P.S.:

For more on testing, go to this link for the January 1, 2020 Chaplain’s Corner, which obviously was written before our lives were impacted by Covid 19, a testing of epic proportions, right? (no pun intended) https://wp.me/p26cEq-FA

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” (Matthew 4:1-2)

It seems like we have just celebrated Christmas and the arrival of the New Year with all the associated festivities. We have been experiencing a typical Tennessee winter with some moderate days along with some snow and some pretty cold days. We praise God for his supreme sovereignty over the seasons and his promise that Spring is on the way with milder temperatures and the greening of the grass and trees and the arrival of flowers (my personal favorite). During Spring, we celebrate Easter and proclaim the resurrection of Christ. For the forty or so days before Easter, we may also celebrate a special time on the formal Church calendar called Lent.

By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians remember Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. Lent is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities. Lent officially begins today, Ash Wednesday, and ends on Easter Sunday, April 4. In case you are doing the math, the forty days of Lent include all the days except for Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. During Lent, we are celebrating Christ’s resurrection, and since Christians celebrate resurrection every Sunday, Sundays are not included in Lent.

Many denominations do not formally recognize Lent, and you will not find it referenced in the Bible. Some people think of it as a time of fasting, and more especially giving up something you love, like chocolate or coffee as a personal sacrifice (or perhaps to lose weight or kick a habit, and typically following a blow-out celebration on the day before called Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras in French).

Despite what modern culture might make of Lent, it is intended to be a season of reflection and preparation before Easter, which is the most solemn and significant season of the year. The culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry was his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, which we celebrate during Easter. Jesus prepared to begin his earthly ministry with this time of temptation in the wilderness. It was intense, and he tested himself to the limit to prepare himself for the trials that were to come his way.

In only three short years, Jesus started a movement that changed the world. The number of Christians grew by approximately 40% per decade during the first and second centuries. As of 2020, Christianity is still the largest religion in the world with 2.382 billion adherents. Islam is next, with 1.907 billion, and a category called “secular/nonreligious/agnostic/atheist” is third with 1.193 billion. * Jesus began his public ministry when he found John the Baptist and asked him to baptize him. Here is the story, chronologically:

1. Matthew 3:16-17: ^“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’”
2. Then Matthew 4:1-2 records that “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^] by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
3. After his time of temptation in the wilderness was completed, he withdrew to Galilee. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 4:13, 17).

By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians commemorate Jesus Christ’s withdrawal into the wilderness for 40 days following his baptism by John the Baptist, as he prepares for his active ministry. In the weeks ahead, we will explore more regarding Jesus’ time in the wilderness, his testing and temptation. We will learn how we can model Jesus to overcome temptation.

As we commemorate this act of Jesus, let us seek to set aside during this time of Lent to meditate on God’s word, with time for reflection, confession, and repentance. I will be posting a Lenten scripture of the day if you would like to use these verses for your daily meditations.

“’Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing — grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.”  (Joel 2:12-14)

In Christ,

Judy

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations

“Love the Lord With All Your Heart, Soul, and Mind.”  I don’t know about you, but I struggle a bit with this, the first and greatest commandment according to Jesus (Matthew 22:36-38).  I want to love God, I say I love God, but am I really loving God the way He wants me to?

Among all the attributes we know about God, one is that He is a God of emotion.  God he delights, and he grieves.  For example, Jeremiah says this of God in Jeremiah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”  And Psalm 78 is a description of what God has done for us in spite of our disobedience.  Verse 40 reads: “How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland!”

We are made in the image of God, and that is also why we have emotions.  We delight and we grieve.  For example, I have seven grandchildren, and I dearly love them all.  Among those grandchildren are two sets of sisters.  One set of sisters absolutely adores each other.  They look out for each other, they run to each other’s aid, they are very affectionate with each other.  To witness this makes me very happy. The other set of sisters fight like cats and dogs. They are sometimes hurtful to each other and complain about the other endlessly.  This makes me so sad to see and hear.

Consider this:  As an imperfect human, if I can love my grandchildren as much as I do, how much more does my heavenly father love them?  And even though I love them, if their actions can either delight or sadden me to such a great degree, how much more so will our heavenly father be delighted or saddened to see them act like they do?  What is the application for us?

I challenge you, during this season of Lent and forever after, to put into practice an effort to make all your actions (thoughts, words, deeds) delight God and to eliminate all actions (thoughts, words, deeds) that would make God sad. This is one important way that you and I will demonstrate that we love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds.

Blessings,

Judy

Today is the beginning of Lent which represents 46 days before Easter, not counting Sundays, when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Some denominations formally observe Lent; however, most Protestant denominations do not.  We often hear people say with satisfaction, “I’m giving up thus and so for Lent.”  While fasting is a recommended spiritual discipline, Jesus says that we should fast in private: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward<https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-Lent.html> in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen” (Matthew 6:16-18<https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt%206.16-18>).

The key to observing Lent is to focus on repenting of sin and consecrating oneself to God. Lent should not be a time of boasting of one’s sacrifice or trying to earn God’s favor or increasing His love. God’s love for us could not be any greater than it already is.

So should we observe Lent?  Personally, I recommend observing the Lenten season as a way to increase our focus on our daily walk with God.  But rather than eagerly waiting for Lent to be over so that we can resume our “normal” ways, hopefully during our Lenten observance we will grow to a “new normal” resulting in a stronger walk with God for the remainder of our lives.

For the last few years, and for this year once again, I will read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.  It has 40 chapters, and I read one chapter per day which takes me through most of Lent and for me is a wonderful guide, along with God’s Word, for my personal spiritual journey.

Blessings,

Judy