Devotions
Next Monday is Memorial Day in the United States. Originally this day was called Decoration Day. This name came from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags in honor of those who lost their lives fighting for this nation. We will all pause from our regular routines to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Jochebed, remember her? Her name means, the “the Lord is Glory.” She was the mother of Moses, the man who led the Israelites out of Egypt. Little is known about this woman’s background, but no one can miss her deep and abiding trust in God. When Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all the Hebrew boys, Jochebed took desperate measures to protect her son. She put her son in a basket, coated with tar and pitch, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile? Surely there were crocodiles in the Nile. Was this abandonment, child abuse, child neglect?
Have you ever seen a hen protecting her young? She gets vicious. When she senses a threat to her chicks, she puffs up, spreads her wings, and clucks to alert her young ones to shelter under her protective feathers. That’s what a mother does. She protects. On this Mother’s Day, we stop collectively to honor the phenomenal women who protected us in the womb and then gave us life. They did not just give us life, they cradled us, nurtured us, continued to protect us, disciplined us, taught us, prayed for us, and hopefully pointed us to, or led us to Christ. In the end that is all that counts.
From time to time, we all need a break from the dizzying pace of modern living. I realize, this is not a prudent thing to say on a Monday morning when many of us have just returned from the weekend. However, the break I am referring to goes much deeper than physical rest. It is a reflective rest, like that which Jesus took on many occasions in the gospels.
In a world that is running short on truth, here is an indisputable truth, Jesus is Lord and Christ. This is the greatest confession we could ever make. Jesus has dominion and supremacy over any other god. He is Lord of all. He is not just one of the variety of ways to get to heaven as some false teachers would have us believe, Jesus is the only way, because he is the risen Lord and God has made him Lord and Christ.
If we had been there, when the arrest of Jesus was made, when the persecution became physical, when the taunts and humiliations grew in intensity, perhaps we would not take his offer of peace too lightly. If we had been there when they nailed Jesus to the cross, offered him vinegar to drink and pierced his side, perhaps we would appreciate the value of the peace he offers. If we had been there when he breathed his last, and when the curtain was rent in two and he declared “It is finished,” perhaps we would accept his offer of peace.
In John’s account of the crucifixion, Jesus utters three simple, but powerful words, “It is finished.” In Greek this is translated, “Tetelestai,” which is an accounting term that means, “paid in full.” This was a common, everyday term used in society. It was often stamped on bills to indicate there was no more debt as everything was settled. When Jesus utters this term on the cross, it was to indicate that the debt which humanity owed God on account of Adam’s sin was finally paid in full.
As we begin Holy Week, all eyes are focused on the biblical events leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I am moved annually by the significance of this week, and the reminder of what true Christianity is all about. It is not about promoting one’s brand or achieving worldly greatness. It is about dying to sin and dying to self.
Have you ever owed someone some money? It weighs on you does it not? Think about a car loan, mortgage, home improvement loan, or a college loan; at the end of the month, it must be paid and when your bank balance is a little tight, this causes anxiety. However, think about the opposite scenario. There comes a day when the loan is ‘paid in full.’ Remember the joy, the testifying, and the feeling of freedom? It is a joy and relief like no other.
Psalm 23 is a deeply moving Psalm. We memorize it because we recognize that this is not just poetry or right theology; this was David’s authentic confession and testimony of God as his personal Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd who led him through green pastures and quiet waters. Perhaps you have experienced good times like these. When the business or promotion comes through. When you find money to send your child to school. These are times of blessing and everything is working in your favor.
What is faith? Faith is believing that which is not yet seen. It is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). When David faced the Philistine Goliath, he did not allow any doubt to thrive in his heart. He confidently proclaimed that which he hoped for. He proclaimed that God would give him victory. His trust was fully centered on God’s power.
Earthquakes, floods, family and political tensions, murders, suicides; faltering economies. Every day, we are bombarded by headlines and situations that cause distress, dismay, fear and uncertainty. During Lent, Christ invites us to explore these feelings of unrest, and seek restoration in his abiding and enduring strength.
David wrote this Psalm at a time when God had anointed him to become King over Israel. At the time, he was surrounded by many enemies, including Saul who sought to kill him. David reveals that at times he was so overwhelmed with fear, he felt as if, “the cords of death entangled him.” But David calls out to the one who was worthy of praise, and who had delivered him from all his enemies.
Have you ever attempted the “trust fall?” This is purportedly a trust-building game where one person deliberately allows themselves to fall backwards, trusting that other members of the group will catch them. I must admit that this would be an extremely challenging exercise for me. Just thinking about it causes my spine to tense up. Sometimes this is how it is between us and God. We blithely say we trust God, but when we begin to fall, fear kicks in and we instinctively grasp at other earthly things to steady ourselves, ultimately proving that we only trust ourselves.
Everyone loves payday Friday. It means money is coming in for bills, for food, and for other life necessities. It also means your employer recognizes your contribution to the company you work for. On the internet, there are various memes that capture the joy and exuberance of payday Friday. There are memes of people dancing with abandon on the streets because they are “rolling in dough.” Their joy is only temporary though.
Every new day presents us with choices; some complex and some simple. This morning you probably had to choose what to wear, what to eat, and what to do first when you arrived at work. Life is all about choices. And yet amid these choices, there is one that stands above all else, and we ignore it at our own peril.
The beginning of any new venture is always exciting. This is why we have so much energy and motivation at the beginning of a new year. It’s a chance to turn our back on the old and the mundane. It is a time to begin new practices and habits and leave what’s not working behind. But one of the things we cannot really change is work. It beckons to us whether we are at the office or at home. One of my mother’s favorite sayings about work was, “Work is a loyal friend. No matter where you go, it will be there waiting when you return.”
Someone shared a story about a woman named Pam once worked in downtown Chicago. Every day on her way to work she encountered a heavy-set, middle-aged woman in a shabby coat, soliciting spare change in front of an old brick church. She greeted everyone with a smile and a pleasant, “Good morning!” Pam almost always gave this woman some change. After almost a year of this routine, the woman in the shabby coat disappeared. Pam wondered what had happened to her.
