Contrite

Luke 18:9-14

Lynne Roots

Remember those kids from high school who joined every club and activity so their photo in the yearbook would have the most stuff next to it? Well, they are probably still up to their old tricks. Only now they are into charitable donating, sitting on boards, volunteering, tithing, chairing this or that event….and because they do more and give more, they are the best. And they make sure everyone knows it. Did you read Luke 18:9-14? They are the Pharisees.

During the time we lived in Alaska, I was privileged to work with a number of community organizations. As the wife of an oil company executive, lots of doors were open to me for fund raising for these organizations. I had the best time over five years chairing the museum gala, raising money to build a new public broadcasting television station, chairing this ball and that. The list is long and impressive. It didn’t make me think, however, that what I was doing made me better or more worthy than those who chaired before me or those who would come after. But it sure was tempting. It was tempting to think like the Pharisee. It’s hard to look at a monument you were responsible for getting funded and constructed and not think, “Yea me! I did that”. I do think there is a difference between being proud of what you do, what you give, and where you serve, versus wanting/needing to lord it over others or think that what you did was better than the last guy. A fine line for sure, but a line all the same. I think the difference in which side of the line you are on has to do with humility.

Not that I am all that humble a person. I am truly proud of what was accomplished in Alaska. Not because my name was the one listed as chair or project coordinator, but because of the ultimate benefit to the community. The reality is that I didn’t really do that much. God provided the opportunity, opened the doors and gave me the skills to see the projects through. I was just the vehicle He used to get the job done.

God doesn’t keep a tab of all we accomplish here. So we don’t need to either. Our “tab” isn’t our ticket to heaven. God accepts all of us, whether we build monuments or not. But when the time comes, He may have an extra smile for the humble tax collector.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us see that what we do and what we have are by your grace. Help us to think and be more like the tax collector and not the Pharisee. Please give us the wisdom to understand that being humble is a strength; not a weakness. Amen.

Gardener

Hosea 14:2-10

Donna Kiffe

Over the past several years, the Pastors and Church Council have allowed my sons to landscape the Church grounds by creating gardens as Eagle Scout projects to beautify the area. One of these was envisioned to be a meditation garden, with plants and flowers specifically noted in the Bible. To do this, Geoff took his Confirmation Bible and made a list of all the trees, plants and flowers he could find in its pages. He shared this with the landscape architect who was advising him on the design. She helped him place these plants and choose others from the same family, if those plants weren't available or wouldn't do well in this climate. You can see the small placards for "lily," "rose," "cypress," "myrtle," etc. that now dot the garden between the rear church doors.

Over the years, my sons and I have spent a lot of time as gardeners, helping all of these plants to grow and thrive. We have noticed the calming effect of working in the gardens and the serenity of listening to the birds serenade us as the sun sinks beneath the roofline. Sometimes there is a bonus…songs from the organ inside the Church drifting over the grounds while we work. Even when deer eat the buds, it cannot outweigh the joy of watching perennials bloom magically, year after year in the spring.

Plants and people are good for each other. Geoff just finished a college biology class, and we were talking over his break about how respiration in humans and photosynthesis in plant life are opposites, so as to support each other. We need the oxygen and energy that plants create. Humans then transform these products into carbon dioxide and water, which plants need to survive. This relationship is captured in stories throughout the Bible. It is not surprising that, in this passage, the discord throughout the rest of Hosea "dissolves into a series of serene images" (an analysis from his Confirmation Bible) of what Israel can become. These images are filled with trees and flowers…the very plant life to which mankind has been interconnected since the Garden of Eden.

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, We don't always show it, but we appreciate the unbelievable beauty of everything green around us. Your world is so meticulously planned and perfectly executed that all living things rely on all other living things to survive. You have left us in charge of the stewardship of this planet we call home, our "Garden of Eden." Give us your guidance to do what we can, whether it is discovering fuel alternatives or planting a backyard garden. The sum of all our deeds will make a difference.

Submit

Luke 11:14-23

Victoria Wagner

Well, well, well … another story about Jesus performing a miracle, in this case to a mute (and probably blind, too, according to the Book of Matthew). And the people refuse to recognize it. How many of us read this account and think to ourselves, “Well they were just fools ~ of course, I’d know better!” Would we know better? Would we allow ourselves to submit fully to God so as not to miss the miracles that occur around us every day? It’s a thought-provoking question … I challenge you to submit fully to God during this Lenten season and allow yourself to see the beauty in submission. Allow God to do His work through you. He can and does do wonderful and marvelous things ~ not just in Bible times, but today, too. I invite you to join me ~ let’s submit to God and allow Him to use us. After all, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” Can I count you in?

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, Speak, for your servant is listening. I submit myself to you, Lord, to serve as your vessel in this place. I trust, I submit, I am yours, Lord. I believe. Amen.

God's Law

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

Gale Bobzien

God chose this devotional topic for me. You see, God and I have an on-going dialogue about wisdom. It started years ago when I took the Spiritual Gifts class. I wanted wisdom as one of my gifts. God had other ideas. God prevailed. He continues to remind me of this in various ways and at various times. When I bought the book, Proverbs for Teachers, which has a Proverb for each day of the year, I immediately looked up the Proverb on my birthday. I laughed when I read Proverbs 8:11. Yes, it talks about wisdom. When selecting a Lenten devotional, one of the first words that caught my eye was wisdom. I looked no further.

From these periodic reminders, I am learning to listen more to God, and I’ve needed lots of reminders. What does God want me to learn from this scripture reading? Maybe He is trying to redefine my concept of wisdom. The theme of this devotional is, “We do not reach wisdom in power, but in witness and obedience to the truth.”

In these verses in Deuteronomy, God is trying to teach the Israelites the importance of obedience as they enter the Promised Land. By obeying God’s statutes, they (and we) show wisdom and discernment. Disobedience has consequences. This is a timeless message. But God goes a step further. The importance of obedience is to be made known to our children and our children’s children. Parents and grandparents take note. We have a responsibility to future generations. Let us live our lives to be a witness to obedience and give the gift of God’s wisdom to our children and our children’s children.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank you for Your gentle reminders that help us learn and grow. Teach us to hear Your voice. Help us to be still and know that You are God. Grant that we may grow in wisdom through witness and obedience to Your word. This we pray in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Brothers

Matthew 18:21-35

Scott Miner

We all need to breathe a little deeper, stay a little calmer, and learn to forgive sooner. It doesn't matter if it's with someone in your family, a friend, or a stranger. It's okay to get upset. Just don't hold a grudge. Don't be vindictive. And don't stay mad. It'll just stress you out and hurt your health in the long run any way. We need to get better at forgiving as well as asking for forgiveness. God loves us all, and he wants us to care for each other. Learn to treat situations where disagreements arise as an opportunity for you and your "brother" to become closer together.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, teach me to learn to have patience with my "brothers". Whether they’re friends, family, or complete strangers, give me the courage to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others. Amen.

Put to Death

2 Kings 5:1-15

Susan Boroff

The story of Naaman’s healing from leprosy is full of human actions and reactions that are unexpected. First of all, you wouldn’t expect that Naaman, a great man and commander of an army, would have leprosy. You wouldn’t think that an Israeli servant girl, held against her will, would be willing to offer healing for her captor’s leprosy. We wouldn’t expect the king of Aram to willingly agree to allow Naaman to go to see the Israeli prophet and to send a letter on his behalf to the King of Israel. (You see, Israel and Aram were at peace, but border skirmishes still continued and the king was a non-believer in the one true God.) And who would have expected the king of Israel’s reaction of tearing his robes and thinking that the king of Aram was picking a fight with him? The one behavior that stands out as “expected” is Elisha’s, the great prophet, who immediately tells the king to allow Naaman to come to see the prophet. Naaman expected that he would actually see the prophet and went away angry when he could not. He expected magic and instead got a very simple command: “Go wash seven times in the Jordan.” Not what he expected at all! Was it an unexpected twist that Namaan’s non-believing servants would encourage him to follow the prophet’s command? And did Naaman really expect his leprosy to be healed by following God’s command? Would you??

Did we really expect the savior of the world to come in the form of a baby? Did we really expect his first apostles to be fisherman? Did we really expect his ministry to be one of self-sacrifice and humility, loving the unlovable, the unworthy, the lowly? What kind of king were we expecting? One that would eventually be put to death??? It was completely unexpected that he would be raised from the dead!

God works in mysterious ways, and we are called as believers to have hope in the unseen. Just like Naaman. Can we expect the same type of healing when we obey or listen to God’s word? Sure, but be open to the unexpected ways in which healing comes! It might not be what you think.

PRAYER: Creator and sustainer of the universe, help us to hear your word as it comes in unexpected ways. Help us open our hearts and minds and free us from obstacles that block our ability to see your presence in all things. Guide us on this mysterious journey we call life and help us imitate your son’s ways of humility, self-sacrifice and unconditional love. Create in us a thankful heart in knowing that this is accomplished only through your transformational love.

Eyes of Faith

1 Corinthians 1:22-25

Bob Hummel

What is the message of the cross? Indeed, why a cross? And why in Jerusalem? Why two thousand years ago? What was so important that He had to walk among us, and suffer on the cross?

It is hard to understand. Can Paul explain it? Perhaps there is a sign that will give me trust. Or perhaps, if I am smart enough, I can figure it out. After all, God gave us wisdom. He gave us a marvelous world. And we think we are so smart. Most of the time. So if I don’t understand, is it because I am not as wise as God thought I should be? Did I miss something about the message of the cross?

Not all the answers can be based on logic that we comprehend. Not all the signs, nor all the words in the Bible, can give us the strength and power of God. Ultimately, we must believe, because we are like children who are still learning: Learning basic things, but never learning so much as to understand everything. Indeed, if economists can’t understand the economic behavior of humans, how can I know the wisdom of God’s universe?

PRAYER: Lord, we know that Christ died for our sins, so that whoever believes can trust unconditionally in your everlasting love, as conveyed in Your Word, and in Your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.