Thursday, March 28, 2024

Holy Renewal Through Listening Part 2

 



By: Donna Bucher


This is the second in a two-part series on holy renewal through listening, if you haven’t read the first part you can do that HERE.

After moving slowly through holy renewal listening to the rhythms of the first three days of the Holy Week narrative, we pick up Day 4:

The Rhythm of Teaching, Conspiracy and Betrayal

During what we deem as Holy Week, Jesus spent time visiting his closest friends, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, but He also spent time teaching.

As per His custom He taught the people, most notably, He gave His Olivet discourse on the end times (Luke 21:5-36) in addition to several debates with religious leaders. (Mark 11:27-Mark 12:44)

Sadly, during the time of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry to the close of the Temple debates, religious leaders conspired for the demise of Jesus. Judas, a ready participant agrees to a betrayal at the close of the Passover meal. (Matthew26:14-16Luke 22:5-6)

Foretelling His betrayal, sentencing and crucifixion, Jesus prepares not only His disciples, but us for the true Hope of holy renewal hidden in the teaching, conspiracy, and betrayal.

The Rhythm of the Upper Room

Prior to the Passover Feast, on Thursday of Holy Week, Christ celebrates the Last Supper with His disciples in the Upper Room. The intimacy of the night begins with the washing of the disciples’ feet illustrating love and forgiveness for all, including Judas.

Giving what is perhaps Jesus’ most intimate words to His disciples, He prepares them for His coming departure and a future void of His physical presence. (John 14:1-John 16:33)

Savoring the intimacy in the Upper Room invites us into a deeper understanding of the true Hope of holy renewal in Jesus’ departure.

The Rhythm of the Garden

Most poignant of all the stops of Holy Week, we witness the greatest battle in the Garden of Gethsemane. For there, Christ wrestles in every facet of His human form with His impending suffering and death; asking if the cup might pass.

But there in the garden, our Great High Priest becomes the sacrificial Lamb of God and willingly submits to becoming the atonement for His people once and for all as the true Hope of holy renewal.

The Rhythm of Crucifixion

The final stop, we witness the slaying of the Final Passover Lamb of God per tradition, at precisely 3:00 pm on what we call Good Friday.

Found “blameless” by Pilate, He nevertheless is offered as the Final Atonement for the people who rejected, mocked, and forsook Him.

Soaking in the scene of the crucifixion, we receive the true Hope of holy renewal in the precious blood of the Perfect Lamb of God which tore the veil of separation in two.

Ultimately accomplishing what the blood of bulls and goats could never do: present the people of God holy and blameless before the Throne.

This week, slowing down allows you time for stilling the distractions keeping you from God’s Word, God’s voice, and God’s Ways.

Instead, choose a final week of listening, reflecting and intimacy rooted in Love.

Because, when you slow down, reflect, and seek the rhythms of holy renewal through listening to the events of Holy Week, you find more of God.

More of God than you saw yesterday, and as much of God as you make time to see. Positioning you at the tomb not as one who mourns, but as one whose Hope emerges victorious.


Reflection:

Which particular Rhythm spoke most deeply to you?

Which Station of Holy Week do you need to spend more time visiting?













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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Quiet Time Envy

By: Jenifer Metzger

Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
Psalm 1:2 CSB

We've all seen it. You're scrolling through Instagram and you come across the perfect quiet time picture. Someone who has a candle glowing, a mug of coffee steaming, the perfect Bible highlights, detailed journal notes, all on a clean table with the morning sun shining through the window. It's lovely.

Then we think back to our last quiet time and suddenly, envy kicks in. Our quiet time didn't have a candle. Our mug of coffee had gone cold. Our highlighted lines weren't straight. Between the coffee drip and messy handwriting, our journal was a mess. The table was dirty. The kids were screaming. It wasn't very lovely.


This morning, honestly most mornings, my quiet time was full of dogs barking and wrestling. And before you think that's cute, three giant dogs with deep barks and one senior dog that can't hear or see but tries to stay in the game is not very cute. I also never light a candle and never have coffee. And many mornings I finish up with grandbabies by my side.

Friend, I want you to lean in close and hear me well. Your quiet time does not have to be picture perfect. Burning candles, steaming coffee, aesthetic highlighters, none of those things matter. All that matters is you taking time to be with Jesus.

God doesn't look down on us and say, "Oh, she didn't light the candle today. I can't listen to her," or "That quiet time isn't very quiet, I don't want to join her." No! He cares more about our heart. He cares about us pausing and spending time talking with Him and reading His Word. God desires time with us.

Our quiet time doesn't have to be in a special chair or on a clean table. It doesn't have to be in the morning sun. We can spend time with God sitting in the car on our lunch break, on the couch while the kids are watching Bluey, on the porch while the kids play in the yard, in bed before we've showered, on the floor of our closet, anywhere and anytime. When my kids were younger, my boys shared a room, so to have a quiet, alone space, my son would go into the bathroom and sit in the empty bathtub with his Bible. Now that isn't very picture perfect!

Now, all those things -candles, blankets, coffee, all the pretty things- are not bad. It's okay to want a nice space. While most mornings my quiet time is loud and sometimes messy, I have had days where it is a little more picturesque. I like pretty things and I like clean spaces, so naturally I would want my quiet time to be the same. But too often we get wrapped up in the pretty and perfect that we fail to remember what a quiet time is really about.

We need to remember two things. First, what you see on social media isn't always real. Many posts are staged for a picture, and even if they aren't, that picture perfect scene likely isn't the norm. We don't see what is going on behind the camera and we don't hear the noise. And second, we need to keep our focus on what really matters -time with our heavenly Father. The pretty and cozy might happen from time to time and that is okay. But the mess and loud might be more our norm and that is okay too.

Whether your time is quiet or loud, clean or messy, simple or aesthetic, spend time with God. He desires that time with you. 

Discussion:
1. What does your quiet time typically look like?
2. Do you struggle with quiet time envy?




Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Jesus and Our Priorities: The Tuesday of Holy Week

 By: Rebekah Hargraves



Photo Courtesy Of: Ch_pski



“And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.” ~Matthew 22:1-10



“The country people have their farms to look after, about which there is always something or other to do; the town’s people must tend their shops, and be constant upon the exchange; they must buy, and sell, and get gain. It is true, that both farmers and merchants must be diligent in their business but not so as to keep them from making religion their main business. Licitis perimus omnes—These lawful things undo us, when they are unlawfully managed, when we are so careful and troubled about many things as to neglect the one thing needful. Observe, Both the city and the country have their temptations, the merchandise in the one, and the farms in the other; so that, whatever we have of the world in our hands, our care must be to keep it out of our hearts, lest it come between us and Christ.” ~Matthew Henry



Being a podcaster, blogger, author, and business owner, I operate in circles where it is very common for folks to talk about striving, hustling, and “getting ahead”. Making your dreams come true, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, and taking courses designed to help you gain thousands of online followers are all popular focuses of people in my kind of shoes. The problem with this, however, is that it is all steeped in self-help rather than in the help and direction of the Holy Spirit. 


The result is that priorities get out of whack, workaholism runs rampant, and the legitimately important tasks of work and ministry become idols raised up in place of time spent with God and a focus on Him as our number one priority. When we forget this one thing that matters most - our day-in, day-out relationship with Him - we are in dangerous territory, one step away from falling into the same issues that Martha found herself all tied up in. 


On the Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus shared with His disciples a multitude of parables, answered questions regarding the resurrection, and discussed what the greatest commandment is. When trying to decide which of these many teachings to zero in on with you today, I felt compelled to choose this parable of the wedding. After all, Lent is that forty-day season wherein we seek to shut out the distractions of this world, cease our striving, and focus on the Lord. That is precisely what Jesus is teaching His followers to do in this passage from Matthew. 


When we place anything ahead of our time with God, anything ahead of obeying Him, and anything higher on the list of those things which interest and delight us, we are becoming guilty of idolatry. This is, sadly, precisely what is happening in this parable Jesus told.


Jesus tells the story of a king whose son was getting married. It is said that in this parable, God the Father represents the king, Jesus represents the son, and He is marrying the church. As the wedding in the parable is being planned, the king’s servants are sent out to invite people to come to the celebration and the subsequent feast that will follow (sounds like the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation, doesn’t it?). 


The problem, however, is that the people invited just don’t see the wedding and wedding feast as being all that big of a deal. In fact, they “made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.” What did they view as being more important than the wedding celebration? Their homes and businesses. 


How often do we behave this very same way? Sure, we may be professing believers and followers of Christ, but how often do we actually live as if that is a true description? How often do we seek the Lord in His Word and prayer? How often do we seek the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit? On the flip side, how often do we spend time instead scrolling our phones, binge-watching Netflix, or working all hours of the day and night? 


Sadly, this is a vicious cycle. The more we give into our phones and our TVs and our work, the less interesting prayer and Bible study seem to be in comparison. Then we crave our entertainment even more and as the length of time increases between ourselves and the last time we were in the Word or prayer, the increasingly less likely we are to choose to turn to those practices. 


As discouraging as that might sound, the opposite is also blessedly true. The more we choose to be in the Word and prayer (even if, at first we don’t feel like it!), the more we will yearn for that communion with our Savior. We will find the Bible, replete with its stories of intrigue, danger, love, history, overthrown kingdoms, wisdom for the ages, and recipes for right living, come alive in an increasingly interesting way the more we pour over it. The more we pray, the more we will want to pray, wanting to always be in communication with our God all throughout the day. 


Truly, this is the key for us not growing lackadaisical or complacent in our view of the glorious good news of the gospel - choosing to live in light of it, choosing to be in the Word and in prayer, choosing to walk by the Spirit, even when we don’t feel like it.



Prayer:


Lord, You know how easily distracted I am. I love my work, want to get ahead, want to accomplish great things. Then I need to unwind at the end of a busy day, and You know how often I turn solely to entertainment for that. But, in the midst of activities that might be great and which might be a blessing to my family, help me not lose sight of the true goal, the one thing that will be a blessing to myself and my family more than anything else - spending time with You. Help me to remember the truth of what Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, that it is the Word that equips me for every good work in this life. This Lenten season, help me to cease my striving in areas that are unimportant and instead focus on the truly most important things, knowing that everything else will flow from there just as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:33. In Jesus’ name, Amen.



*The above devotional is an excerpt taken from my book, Finding Our Fulfillment in Christ: A Lent Devotional Study for Women.




Reflection Questions:


1) Hustle, hurry, and over-scheduling are the enemies of an ever-growing relationship with the Lord and appreciation for His gospel. Is the Lord maybe calling you to take out your calendar and mark off some things that are not truly necessary or beneficial? 



2) Could you take out your to-do list for this week and do the same thing? Fill that newly-discovered free time in with time spent with the Lord. Then watch your relationship beautifully grow and deepen as a result!





Monday, March 25, 2024

Talent: The Gift We Give Back to God

 By: Joanne Viola

 

“Talent” has been defined as “a special natural ability or aptitude” (dictionary.com). We have each been entrusted with a talent, or two. Some have several talents, some have one. Some talents are visible to many, and some are hidden only to be seen by God.

For it is just like a man about to go on a journey,
who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.

To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one,
each according to his own ability;
and he went on his journey.

(
Matthew 25:14-15, NASB)

In the parable as told by Jesus, each of the slaves did something different with what had been entrusted to them.

Upon the master’s return, the one who had been entrusted five talents had gained five talents more to return back to his master.The one who had been entrusted two talents did likewise, gaining two talents more. The one who had received one talent had a different response:

And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said,
‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow
and gathering where you scattered no seed.

And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground.
See, you have what is yours.’ “

(Matthew 25:24-26, NASB)

This slave returned to his master exactly what he had been given. He did not utilize what had been given him. He made no investment, he merely protected what had been given.

God has dispersed talents to each of us by His wisdom and grace, not wanting to overburden or overwhelm any of us. He knows just how much we are able to do and gives us only what we are able to handle.

With those talents, God will give to each of us opportunities to use them over the course of our lives; for what we do with these abilities is our gift back to Him.

May we not hide or bury our talents but use them to enrich the lives of those around us. When our talents are well used, we make Jesus known to others, bringing Him glory and honor.

“Our lives are like the talents in the parable of the three stewards. It is something that has been given to us for the time being and we have the opportunity and privilege of doing our best with this precious gift.”

(George Vaillant)

Talents and abilities – the precious gifts we give back to God.
May we use them wisely.

 

Reflection:
Do you think you are using your talents and gifts to the best of your ability? What is holding you back from making full use of your abilities?

 

Image by Comfreak from Pixabay


 

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Spring Cleaning Your Spiritual Life | Dust off the Devotionals and Let Your Faith Bloom

 

By: Paula Short

Spring has sprung! The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and that fresh spring air is begging us to fling open the windows and chase away the winter blues. But have you considered giving your spiritual life a good spring cleaning, too?


Just like our homes can accumulate dust and clutter over time, our faith can become stagnant. Maybe your daily devotional has become a chore, or Sunday service feels routine. Perhaps worries and anxieties have crowded out your sense of peace.


Just like a good spring cleaning can leave your home feeling bright and renewed, a spiritual spring cleaning can refresh your faith and bring you closer to God. Here are a few areas to consider:


1. Declutter Your Devotional Routine:  Be honest with yourself. Are those daily devotionals gathering dust on your nightstand? It may be time to find a new devotional that speaks to you in this current season of life. There are fantastic options online, in apps, or at your local Christian bookstore.


2. Dust off Your Prayer Life:  Does your prayer life feel stagnant? Reinvigorate it by finding new prayer spaces or postures. Try praying while walking in nature, journaling your prayers, or incorporating creative elements like art or music.


3. Weed out negativity: Spring cleaning isn't just about throwing things away; it's also about letting in the light. Are there negative influences or habits that are blocking your spiritual growth? It could be a critical friend or unhealthy media consumption. Acknowledge these and choose to surround yourself with positivity. This includes cleaning out your own negative thoughts.


4. Plant Seeds of Growth:  Now that you've cleared some space, what new things can you plant in your spiritual garden? Is there a new Bible study you've been wanting to join? Perhaps volunteering or mentoring opportunities can deepen your faith.


5. Open the Windows to Grace:  Spring cleaning is all about fresh air and sunshine. Let God's grace fill your life by practicing forgiveness for yourself and others. Remember, God's love is abundant, and you are worthy of it.


Spring cleaning your spiritual life doesn't have to be overwhelming. Start small, with five minutes of focused prayer each day or by reading a devotional passage that speaks to you. As you clear away the clutter and open yourself to God's grace, you'll be amazed at how much brighter and more joyful your faith can become.


Let's Reflect

Remember, this is just a starting point! Feel free to adapt these ideas to your spiritual practices and what resonates with you. So, grab your metaphorical cleaning supplies – your Bible, your prayer journal, and an open heart – and get ready to refresh your spiritual life this spring!