Tag: Devotions

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The Latter Rain: Celebrating Lent, Day 2

He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:3

Life is full of contrasts; black and white, hot and cold, up and down, in and out. These contrast point out something very important to us. They give us a standard by which we can measure things as they are supposed to be. Take coffee for example. Hot coffee should be served hot. Iced coffee should be served cold. 

If we want to enjoy the pleasure of such a drink, it is always best to drink it as it is supposed to be served. Those of you who drink coffee know what I mean. There is nothing worse than room temp coffee that is brewed to be served hot. Or how about an iced coffee from Starbucks served with no chill? No thanks.

Psalm 1 offers a clear picture of how life should be lived if we want the best experience possible. The psalmist writes of a contrast between the righteous and the unrighteous, the blessed and the wicked. Several modern Bible translations have changed the pronoun in the psalm from the singular ‘he’ to the plural ‘they’. While this does help us to see this psalm calls everyone to righteousness, the change causes us to miss the most important point in the psalm – Jesus is the ‘Blessed Man’. His life is the standard by which we should live.

So what is the secret to such a blessed life? To live with our roots planted deep by the streams of water. When we plant ourselves deeply in God’s word and Spirit, we draw our strength from the stream of Living Water – Jesus.

Lent offers us a time of concentrated effort to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We too must walk through the desert of life to appreciate the blessings and provisions of our Father along the way. The way of Jesus is the way of suffering and sorrow, yet it is also the Blessed way. The life rooted deeply in Jesus produces the fruit of righteousness. In His streams of Living Water we draw all that we need to conquer the wicked ways that masquerade as fun and pleasure, while robbing us all the while of true life itself.

As we begin our celebration of Lent together we are wading out, step by step into the stream of Living Water that is our God and His Word. Our Lenten journey is one best taken together. So, as you read this today, take hold of the hand of someone near you and invite them along on your journey. Take a walk in the latter rain…the shower of blessings we call Lent.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

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The Beauty of the Ashes: A Poem for the beginning of Lent

ash-wednesday

For the beauty of the Ashes,

For the glory they once revealed,

In these no words could ever capture,

God’s highest work in me He sealed.

 

For the beauty of the love that fills the world,

Even though in anguish with devils filled,

Let not my heart ere be defeated,

For all is thus, as God has willed.

 

For the beauty of Creation,

That sings a hymn of love so free,

May it join my heart as it proclaims,

This song of love, all for Thee

 

Because your beauty hung on a tree,

I sing of Thy goodness, and I sing of Thy sorrow,

For all You suffered, and for all I can see,

What ere befalls, I shall sing of the ‘morrow.

 

The ‘morrow when all is at last fulfilled,

No more by faith, but Thy face I will see,

So, give me today upon my brow,

The beauty of the Ashes, to be seen in me.

 

 

Brad Riley

 

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Raised From the Ashes: Week One, Thursday

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?”

Matthew 6:30

Read Matthew 6:27-33

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

When I was a younger man I made my living as a Haberdasher. That’s a cool way of saying I was a retail, ‘clothing salesman’. I sold men’s suits for a living, expensive ones. I literally worried about what I was going to wear. After all, you only get one chance to make a good first impression and I was totally wrapped up in making sure people thought I was a success. Well, let’s just say I’ve grown a lot since then. I still think about those days. It was fun wearing all those expensive clothes. However, when it was all said and done, I didn’t feel ‘expensive’ on the inside.

What are you worried about?

You see, in those days I was worried about all the wrong things, superficial things like looks, and what other people thought of me. But, what I’ve grown to learn as a follower of Jesus is when you realize you’re a child of the King, you should realize how expensive you really are. God puts infinitely more value on you, than the flowers of field, which He adorns so beautifully. Yet, knowing that God treasures we humans as infinitely more valuable than the beauty of creation, we still worry about how our lives are going to turn out. Even in Bible days they worried. They worried about what to wear, what to eat, and how their lives would end up. Doesn’t make much sense does it?

Last night I went to church and had an ashen cross smeared on my forehead. As he put the ashes on my head, the minister reminded me that I was mere dust, and that one day I will return to the dust from whence I came. Perhaps you had a similar experience? As a minister, I too was placing ashes on the heads of others. I wondered what the people felt as they heard those sobering words about our mortality. Then it was my turn and I realized in that moment with just me, the minister, and the Holy Spirit, that I was worried about far too many things in this world that really don’t matter in the real scheme of things.

What I really need to worry about

The one thing I really need to worry about is how I can learn to live in the truth of God’s love for me. If the Father clothes the flowers of the field with beauty and splendor, and yet tomorrow they’re gone, how much greater are his plans for our lives? God loves all His children, but those who choose to love Him back can rest in the knowledge that He knows what we really need. Why should we worry about how things will turn out? St. Paul reminds us if God is for us, who could be against us? (Rom 8:31)

As we set out on this Lenten journey, won’t you turn your worries over to Him at the start? Don’t carry those burdens, it’s wasting away your energy, and robbing your hope. Won’t you listen today to this song from David Crowder? The words call us to lay down our burdens and shame, and come to our Father just as we are. You are His child, His most prized of all creation. There’s one person you’ll never have to worry about what He thinks of you – and His is the only opinion that counts. You are special, believe it.

Click Here to listen to “Come as You Are”

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