Tag: Ashes

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 32

“7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.”

 

2 Cor. 4:7

2 Cor. 4:1-12

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

Jars of Clay

Have you ever wondered why there are some things in life you just can’t seem to do, no matter how hard you try? Many people try to take on life all by themselves. No matter how hard things get, they never ask for help. It’s as if asking for help were some kind of sign of weakness to them. But, the truth is we humans have an inherent weakness – sooner or later, we break.

It doesn’t matter how strong you think you are some day you will come up against something too hard to do. At that point, one of two things happen; Either you fall down on your knees and realize that all the struggles of your life have been there so that you would learn to call upon the Lord, the one who made you… or you sink into despair, seeing no hope. I pray the first is what happens to you; it will if you begin to see the answers in Christ now.

No matter how tough we think we are, we’re all made of clay, and jars of clay break. St. Paul told the Corinthians that their struggles, yes even the death of their loved ones, were all there to show the great power of God. He knew that if they kept their faith, no matter what happened, even death, God would see them through. No matter how beat up or knocked down they felt, they were not destroyed, they were not forsaken (vs. 8-9).

It’s Still True Today

This great truth is for each of us today also. No matter what happens in this life, nothing can take away our life in Christ. Even if our jar of clay breaks, God has promised to raise it up again. On the last day, He will again give life to these mortal bodies. But, in the mean time, we always carry around with us the death of Jesus (Vs. 11). Carrying his death in us means that we know nothing can ultimately destroy us, just as nothing Satan and the world tried to do to Jesus could destroy Him.

What are you facing that feels like it’s about to break you? I can’t promise that your jar of clay won’t break, but I can promise you that with faith in Jesus, He will make it all right in the end. Until then, it is enough for us to know that since God is for us, nothing can come against us. Nothing can separate us from His love, not even death (Rom. 8:38-39). For when death comes, as it does to all eventually, we have His promise to raise us from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

 

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 24

37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”

Mark 7:37

Read Mark 7:24-37

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

The Astonishing Jesus

Jesus is astonishing, isn’t He? I think so, but so many people don’t. Jesus’ ministry was so astonishing because the people alive at that time had never seen God intervene in their world. It had been about four centuries since the last prophet spoke to Israel, and it was many centuries before that since God had miraculously intervened in the affairs the nation. Many people in Jesus’ day had lost hope of God rescuing them from their oppressors.

Then came Jesus. Touching hearts, healing the lame, the deaf, and the dumb. He even raised the dead! Everything Jesus did was astonishing. Do you see this astonishing Jesus at work in your world today? Do you see Him at work in your life? I hope so. All that Jesus ever was, He still is. And, all that Jesus ever did, He can still do – if we believe.

Can You See His Astonishing Work?

One of the things I love about the season of Lent, is that it offers me a special time to reconnect with Jesus in special ways. As I read the gospels during this season I relive the miracles Jesus did, and I am encouraged to see His miracles in my life too. Can you see any miracles in your life? They are there, I assure you. The miracles of Jesus recorded in the scriptures are but a fraction of what He actually did, I’m sure. But, the miracles are there to help us believe, to astonish us as well.

Lent is a season for deepening our faith. We are now more than half way through the season, and Holy week will be upon us quickly. How are you doing? Are you growing closer to Jesus? I hope so. If not, take a few moments to reconnect with Him today as you start this week. Think back on how you first met Him, and how you got to where you are today. I’m pretty sure there are some astonishing stories there if you’ll try to remember.

It’s good for us to remember. Photographs are a great way of remembering. Take a look through an old photo album you have. You will soon see that everyday has been a miracle. God has brought you through so much, and He’s not through with His astonishing work in your life yet. As you take your trip down memory lane, I think you will be astonished at the times God has raised you from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

 

 

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 21

 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”

Psalm 42:5

Read Psalm 42

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

Silence Is Golden

Silence isn’t always a bad thing, though in a world that is constantly moving and seemingly never sleeps, it’s sometimes a rare thing. If you’re a busy mother with little kids running around the house all day, you may even long for silence. However, when silence comes to us in our relationship with God, it is often misunderstood. When spiritual silence falls upon us we are quick to assume God isn’t listening. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.

In Psalm 42, the Psalmist is experiencing the silence of God. He isn’t feeling God’s presence and as a result his soul is feeling despair. His opening words speak of how much he longs for God’s presence, as much as a thirsty deer longs for a cool drink. It’s in that moment of despair, he asks himself the right question – why? “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?”

Don’t Stay In Despair

Despair is a natural human emotion, however, it’s not one we are meant to dwell in. In his despair and believing God to be silent, the psalmist actually hears from God; it is God who reminds his spirit that he will have hope again. He remembers the faithfulness of God. He knows God will not leave him alone forever.

God never leaves us alone. His promise from of old is that He will never leave or forsake us. When we feel alone, and despair that God is not with us, it is because of one of two reasons. First, God has not moved, we have. We have allowed ourselves to be drawn away form God by the world. Second, God’s silence can mean that He has a greater purpose for us, but we aren’t ready to hear it. Either way, God’s faithfulness is reminding us to hope in Him, even when that hope seems delayed.

God is always speaking to us, if we will stop and listen. Lent is a great time for listening to God, a time to slow down the busyness of our lives and meditate on Him and His Word. God’s Word is filled with what His Spirit wants to say to us, but like the children of Israel were not ready, so to0 we are not always ready to hear it.

Listen Through the Silence

“The Sound of Silence”, was a hit song in 1964 by the pop artists Simon and Garfunkel. The song had a kind of prophetic warning to it about the real nature of silence. The last verse says:

“The words of the prophets

 Are written on the subway walls

 And tenement halls

 And whispered in the sounds of silence

Silence isn’t always bad. In fact, sometimes it’s golden. Silence can be God’s chosen way of communicating with us. Sometimes we need silence to remind us to wait on God. Let’s face it, we can tend to get in a hurry and do things our own way.

I hope you’re finding times of intentional silence this Lent so that you can concentrate on God. But, if you’re silence is not intentional, if you’re feeling despair, and that God is silent with you…remember His promises. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He will always – raise you from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

 

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent Day – 20

 

“2 If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if one loves God, one is known by him.”

 

 

1 Cor. 8:2-3

Read Cor. 8:1-13

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

 

The Real Goal of Lent

Here, in St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians, we have the essence of our life in Christ. We are never as good and holy as we should be, and if we think we are, we have a long way to go. Holiness is best understood as an understanding of ourselves in proper relationship to God. The closer we get to Him, the less holy we feel. Or, as St. Paul says here, the more knowledge we think we have, the less we actually know.

Today we mark the mid-way point through Lent. By now, your choices for fasting and self-denial have probably become somewhat of a challenge to keep. I know yesterday I wanted something that I gave up so badly, my mind began to rationalize how it would be okay if I gave in just this once. At that point, I realized I was not growing closer to Jesus, but away from Him. I want to here His voice tell me, “I can do this”, not my voice saying, “I can’t do this.”

You see, we don’t grow closer to Jesus by giving up foods. Paul tells us in verse 8 that, “food will not commend us to God”; neither the eating nor abstaining is in itself holy. The heart is always what matters. God isn’t interested in our starving ourselves. However, He is interested in our learning to lay aside our own desires, for what He desires for us.

It’s All About Control

If, with the help of the Spirit, I cannot overcome my desire for a food I’ve vowed to God to deny myself for a time, how can I possibly avoid the greater temptations to sin? Food isn’t the issue; it’s all about what or who controls us. The church calls us to seasons of fasting, as during Lent, that through such disciplines we learn to hear the voice of God’s Spirit shaping our desires, rather than our own

During Lent we learn to know ourselves better. Our goal and our hope is that we discover our weaknesses, and in the process allow the Holy Spirit to mold us more and more in Christ’s likeness. In the process of such testing and learning, we can take comfort in the knowledge that the one who knows us best, loves us. And, His love isn’t conditioned on our response, or our passing the test of Lent perfectly. Rather, God’s love is with us no matter what. Whether we feel this Lent we are soaring with eagles, or if we feel we’ve already crashed and burned…He is always faithful to raise us from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 19

 

“5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief…”

 

Mark 6:5-6

Read Mark 1-13

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

 

 

Shazam Faith?

 

Marvel, what an intriguing word. It seems we seldom use it anymore except when talking about super heroes, comic books and movies. When I was a kid, one of my favorite super heroes was Captain Marvel, aka “Shazam”. He was the altar ego of a boy named Billy Batson. All Billy had to do was say the magic word “Shazam”, and he would turn in to Captain Marvel, a man of super human strength, speed and ability. Sometimes, we live out our faith with a “Shazam” Prayer life. We think we can just say a magic word and, “Shazam”, Jesus will do what we need.

 

Many of us are guilty, (me included) of having a “Shazam” faith at some point in our lives. Sometimes, we think because we know God loves us and wants to do what’s best for us, we can just ask and receive. In fact, sadly there are churches that teach such a name it, claim it, “word of faith ability”. But, that is not a faith at which Jesus ‘marvels’. In fact, that’s a very shallow faith.

 

There are two times in the New Testament that it says Jesus “marveled” at someone’s faith. One was the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8. He was a foreigner and a pagan, but he saw the divine in Jesus, and placed his faith in Him for the healing of his servant. Jesus marveled at his faith, a stronger faith than He’d seen in all Israel. The second, is in today’s gospel. But, instead of at faith, Jesus marvels at the disbelief of those who’d known Him all His life.

 

Faith Is Always a Partnership

 

Faith is always a partnership with God. He doesn’t do for us, what we can do for ourselves. In his book, Beginning To Pray, Anthony Bloom, of blessed memory (Click  Here to order the book-a must for every believer!), makes a statement every Christian needs to understand if they are to mature to a faith at which Jesus can marvel. He said, “It is absolutely pointless to ask God for something which we ourselves are not prepared to do” (p. 64). Jesus is much more interested in making a miracle out of our lives, than in doing the miracle for us. He would rather give us the power to overcome our temptations, than to just take them away.

 

Many years, as Lent begins, it seems I begin the process of learning to become a miracle all over again. Over the rest of the year I fall down in many ways. I sometimes slip back into old habits in my prayers, just wanting God to do something for me…something I know He wants to do. But, I need to remember He wants to do it in and through me, not just for me.

What about you? Do you have a “Shazam” faith, or a faith at which Jesus marvels? When we allow God to make us the miracle, not just ask for the miracle, He marvels at our faith. Then…we are raised from the ashes.

 

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

 

Pastor Brad

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 18

 

“But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.”

Mark 5:33

Read Mark 5:21-43

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

 

 

The Whole Truth

 

 

When we take the witness stand in a courtroom, we put our left hand on the Bible (or at least we used to), raise our right hand and say we swear to, “tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God”. The truth is of utmost importance in a court case. A judge and jury determine a person’s future. What a tragedy if the decision is based on lies.

 

When I was a little boy and my mother thought I had been doing something wrong (my face gave it a way every time), she would ask me to tell her the truth. I can remember her saying things like, “don’t lie to me” and “is that everything?”, as if I were holding back some of the details. Now, I did have an incentive to be completely truthful. I knew what the punishment was for lying. The “Father’s wrath”, was not just a biblical phrase in our house. The truth really did set me free – several times.

 

During Lent we are hopefully learning to be completely truthful with Jesus. We never have to fear pouring out all the details to Him; He already knows them. There is healing in our telling Jesus the details of life. In fact, that’s a good definition of confession, “telling it all to Jesus”.

 

Real Healing Is in the Details

 

We don’t know all the details in the life of the woman with the issue of blood. We do know that she worked up the courage to reach out and touch Jesus. As, Jesus turned to ask who touched Him, scripture tells us she fell down before Him and, “…told him the whole truth.” She had received a healing touch from Jesus the moment she touched him, but that was just about the medical issue she faced. When she told Jesus the “whole truth” about herself, He pronounced her well and imparted his peace to her (Vs. 34).

 

The Greek language of scripture speaks of being “made well”, as a wholeness, not just healed of an affliction. Peace comes to our soul not in the absence of disease, but in being whole in Christ as we are meant to be, and that only comes when we tell Jesus, “the whole truth”. The hardships of life can leave us feeling burned and defeated, but when we are truthful with Jesus, He faithfully, raises us from the ashes.

 

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

 

Pastor Brad

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 17

 

“For he himself knows whereof we are made; he remembers that we are but dust.”

Psalm 103:14

Read Psalm 103

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

He Remembers

Some people live as though they think they will live forever, as though they are indestructible. They never seem to live with eternity in mind. Their present lives are all that matters and they indulge in any and all behavior with no thought of consequence. Oh, how easily we forget that we are but dust.

We need times that remind us of our mortality. We are now sixteen days into Lent, a season given to us by the church to do just that, remember that we are but dust. But, there is someone who always remembers how fragile we are. Verse 14 tells us our Father always remembers that we are but dust. He created us from the dust of the earth, and knows that we will all one-day return to that dust.

The Purpose of Repentance

Remembering our mortality is easier when we live lives of repentance. In repentance we humble ourselves before our maker, so that He can raise us up to immortality. When we repent of our sins and failures, we experience the mercy and compassion of our God who does not deal with us as we deserve. And, in His forgiveness, He draws us near in His embrace to life in Christ.

The psalmist reminds us that our Father does not reward us according to our wickedness (Vs. 10), nor deal with us according to our sins. He always treats those who love Him with mercy and compassion. When we confess our sins, He is not only faithful and just to forgive us (1 John), but He also removes our sins, “as far as the east is from the west” (Vs 12).

Why We Need Lent

In the season of Lent, I’m reminded of my sinfulness not to make myself feel bad, but that I may know the love and compassion of my Lord. I love that. Lent is about remembering. We need to remember that we are dust. We need to remember that God forgets our sins in the sea of his forgetfulness, as the prophet Micah reminds us, “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Mic. 7:19) And, we need to remember that if He remembers we are but dust…we also can trust He will remember to raise us from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent, Day – 16

“But it is good for me to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge.”

Psalm 73:28

Read Psalm 73

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

The Chameleon

People are like Chameleons; we have a tendency to start looking like our surroundings. That’s why Lent is so important. We need strategic times when we spend more time with God. If we’re not careful we can get so busy in our daily life that we go through a whole day without spending any time with the Lord. One day leads to another and before long, we can find ourselves surrounded by desert and ruin. Then, we wonder where God is. The truth is God never moved, we were just spending too much time with the world.

Psalm 73 tells us that like the Chameleon, we too can choose to look like the world, because they seem to be successful and safe. The Chameleon is driven to change his colors by fear; it feels it must adapt to survive. The Psalmist said he, “nearly slipped” into the patterns of the worldly and wicked. He envied their prosperity (Vs. 2,3). The call to a Lenten spirituality is designed to keep us from falling. When we build into our lives, daily times of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving we are spending more time with God, and concentrating on growing our faith, not our worldly reputations.

Rhythms for Life

The Christian calendar offers a rhythm for us to connect with. Lent and Advent are seasons designed to help us reflect on our lives through increased repentance, prayer and fasting. They are seasons of rest and renewal. These two seasons prepare us to better celebrate the high spiritual days of Easter and Christmas, to celebrate the living God who has come among us. Then, there are other seasons such as Pentecost and Ordinary Time in which we allow the grace received in our times of renewal to grow even deeper roots for our spiritual lives.

Unlike the Chameleon, we don’t need to fear. God is our refuge and Lent is truly a season of refuge. We need to run to our God, to hide in his cross, to become more like Him not the world. We need to walk with Him through the desert allowing Christ to nourish and nurture our weary souls. Are you dry, and thirsty? Come to the water of life. Come to the spring that never runs dry. Won’t you reflect for a few moments today on the desert you may be journeying through? As you do, know that you are not alone. God is always near. In the desert we often dry up and turn to ash, but when we draw near to God, his living water raises us from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 15

“O God, why have you utterly cast us off?
why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture?”

 

Psalm 74:1

Read Psalm 74

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

 

 

Why?

 

 

‘Why’ is the most common question in all of life. It’s asked by toddlers, teenagers, and adults over and over. I guess you could say the question of why is asked because people are so inquisitive and wish to learn. However, in reality, the answers to most all our ‘why’ questions are obvious, but we ask anyway. Perhaps we don’t want to believe the answer we know?

 

Of all people, the toddler has the right to ask why; the child needs to learn. But, for the rest of us we’ve learned many things the hard way already, and don’t like the answers we’ve received. So, we ask why. Why did things turn out like this? Why did this or that happen? And, the really big one – why God? Why did YOU let this happen?

 

Lent Is Also for Contemplation

Another part of the Lenten season is setting aside time for meditation and contemplation. We need contemplative times in our lives to reflect on the way things are. We need to reflect in order to discern what God would have us learn. In our ‘why’ questions, we often blame God for things that are our fault. To realize and accept our own fault is to see the need to change, and sadly that’s often our last alternative.

 

Won’t you spend some time in contemplation today? Contemplation is the companion of prayer. Thursday is a day for remembering Jesus’ contemplative, prayerful time in the garden. In many ways, the season of Lent is our garden of Gethsemane. We are asking God to shape us after His will through our disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

 

God Always Answers

 

The psalmist often asked God why, because he didn’t want to admit that the problems he faced were consequences of his own sinful choices. It’s okay to ask God why. In fact, it’s a natural reaction in an attempt to understand one’s circumstances. If we are truly searching for answers, we can trust God to lead us to them. We can trust God to lead us deep into our own conscience to see how we have gone astray. Then, we can see the real question is not, “Why God?” but, “Why me?”. Why did I make those choices? And, most importantly, when we have humbled ourselves and repented of our sin…we can trust God to raise us from the ashes.

 

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

 

Pastor Brad

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

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Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 14

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

“Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?”

1 Cor. 6:7b

Read 1 Cor. 5:9-6:10

 

Why Not?

We definitely have an aversion to suffering in our culture. I know, nobody should want to suffer, right? Only a masochist would choose to suffer, right? Perhaps, but what of the person who chooses to suffer for the right reasons? The Corinthian people were doing what many in our world today are doing; they avoided suffering or being wronged at all cost. The truth is, there is cost at which it is better to suffer or be wronged. The question is, how do we know when it’s best to choose to suffer or be wronged?

In Lent, we choose to suffer in a very small way. We choose to deny ourselves some thing or activity we would otherwise indulge in, as a matter of discipline. Such discipline is to help us grow in resistance to temptation. But, that is a very small way of suffering. In just about every other way, we here in Western culture have done our best to eliminate suffering.

Have We Gone Too Far?

We have medical care that tries to eliminate or minimize suffering. We have passed laws that allow us to sue others when we feel their actions have caused pain and suffering. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not against medical care. I think it is given to us as the healing hand of God for our time. And, I’m not against laws and courts designed to protect innocent people. However, in our culture, we seem to have taken the problem St. Paul addressed with the Corinthians to a whole new level.

Our society encourages us to fight back no matter what. People sue other people for the wrongs they feel, far too easily. And too often, this is true among those who are in the church. If Jesus is our model for living, we shouldn’t we be doing a lot more turning the cheek and being willing to be wronged? St. Paul asked the question – why not be wrong? Why is it so important that we right every wrong

For me, a great part of my Lenten journey is learning to identify opportunities to become more Christ like through humility. I’m still a long way from where I need to be on the Humility Scale, but I’m thankful for the journey.

My Prayer for Your Journey

I hope your journey is giving you cause to practice your faith in ways that challenge you. While I pray nothing of harm comes to you, I also pray that the hurts and heartaches that are germane to our fallen world will give you hope to say with St. Paul…why not? Why not suffer and let it grow your character? After all, Romans 8:17 tells us we are heirs with Christ, if we suffer with Him. Why not let yourself be wronged rather than take vengeance? After all, vengeance is the Lord’s (Rom. 12:19). Why not let yourself die…and be raised from the ashes?

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6