Monday, March 23rd
All of us are on a journey of faith, of some sort. In today’s reading, a Gentile official came to Jesus and asked Jesus to heal his son. The amazing thing is that at this point in John’s gospel, Jesus had never healed anyone but had only changed water into wine. Based on that miracle alone, this man had the faith to come to Jesus and ask for him to heal his son. Then on his journey of faith, back to his home, the man was met by servants who bolstered his faith. In this spiritual journey we are all on, sometimes we are the person whose faith needs bolstering, and sometimes we’re the servants of God who bolster others’ faith. But in the end, we’re all walking and striving to grow into the people God is calling us to be.
Sunday, March 22nd
The disciples, upon seeing a man born blind, asked Jesus why this man was blind: because of his own sin or that of his parents? “Neither,” Jesus says. Rather, this man was blind so that the works of God would be manifest in him. In today’s devotional, I talk about how being healed from his blindness allowed this man to point to Jesus and give Jesus glory. In the midst of everything going on in our world now, some might want to point and say that the corona-virus is God’s punishment on us for our sin. I don’t think that. But I do think that there are ways that God can and will use this challenging time to unite us and to bring glory to himself.
Saturday, March 21st
As we go about our spiritual habits, it’s easy to let habits become more of a routine rather than devotion and then to be able to lean on our own strength to do them, instead of leaning on God. This can then lead to our trusting in ourselves for our righteousness, more than we trust in God, which can then take us down paths of sinful pride, contempt for others, and a lack of love in general. Today I give a few pointers for how we can strive not to let spiritual habits become routine and thus learn always to be leaning and trusting on God for our righteousness.
Friday, March 20th
Jesus was approached by a scribe and asked what the greatest commandment was. Jesus answered that we are to love the Lord with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. With this answer, Jesus is showing that in God’s mind, those 2 things are truly linked. To love God is to love our neighbor, and without loving our neighbor, one could question if we truly do love God. In this time, there are ways it may be more difficult to show that love, and there are ways it may be easier. As people of faith, it is our joy to strive to show others how much we and God love them.
Thursday, March 19th
Joseph was told in a dream that the child within Mary was from God and that he should stay with Mary and name the child Jesus. This would not have been how Joseph envisioned his life, and yet despite this unwelcome change, Joseph had to roll with the punches and determine how to live a faithful life. This coronavirus scare is, likewise, an unwelcome and unwanted change in our lives, and so we too must seek out ways to be faithful to God in the midst of our changing circumstances, because God is still in control and God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Wednesday, March 18th
Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. And what is the fulfillment of the law but to live out its greatest commands to love. In this devotional I challenge us to live out our faith, and our love, in action, because love doesn’t just say but instead, love does.
Tuesday, March 17th
The law required someone be forgiven three times for an offense, so Peter likely thought he was being super spiritual and magnanimous when he offered to forgive someone up to 7 times. Jesus then countered that by saying we have to forgive 77 times. The point is unlimited forgiveness. Holding unforgiveness in our hearts has a way of corrupting us and spoiling our love, not just for the one we’re having trouble forgiving, but for everyone. This is why forgiveness is so very much at the heart of the gospel, and why Jesus emphasizes that if we want God to forgive us, then we must forgive others.
Monday, March 16th
In this story, the people get upset when they are reminded of how, in the past, God has shown love and grace for those who were not a part of Israel, not a part of the “in-club.” God is a God of such love and grace that he still is showing love and favor to those whom we may not have chosen, or of whom we may not approve, simply because such is the character and heart of God. The question becomes, if God has chosen to show love to another group that we might exclude, do we really have the right then to exclude them.
Sunday, March 15th
Note how easily Jesus shares about himself in this story, as he shifts from talking about his physical thirst to how he is the living water. We too can share our faith in ways that are just as simple and organic. When God is an important part of our lives, if someone wants to know us better, then hearing about God and what God is doing in our lives will naturally come about in conversation, in ways that are not offensive or off-putting. We should be striving to find ways to tell others about Jesus, so that they too may be inspired and perhaps come to know God better.
Saturday, March 14th
In this well-known parable, we hear of God’s love for all of God’s children, both the younger, rebellious son, as well as the elder, faithful son. But in many ways, both are lost and need to be found by God. Praise God that our father is always ready to receive us with open arms. If you’d like to hear more about this parable, a few years ago I explored it in greater detail in a sermon series, found here: https://secondstaunton.com/prodigal-god/.