Jesus Your Name

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Day Twenty-Nine

Have you ever refused to reveal your name to someone?

Chances are if you answered, “Yes,” it was because you had absolutely no desire to establish even the slightest bit of familiarity. Whether it’s an over-zealous guest at a party, or a telemarketer, or some other person who is trying to insinuate themselves into our world uninvited…choosing not to reveal your name to another person is a way of preventing a connection that is unwanted.

Names are essential to relationships. Revealing our name to another person is somehow psychologically and emotionally connected with revealing part of who we are. It’s a step of unmasking and a step towards intimacy. When we tell someone our name, we are opening the door to being known.

What does it mean, then, to know the name of God?

It was to Moses that God first revealed his name:

“But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”—Exodus 3:13-14

Moses had been tasked with something that seemed impossible—delivering the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. By revealing the divine name to Moses, God is revealing himself as the one who by his very nature stands at the center of creation, the one who is able to accomplish what to humans may seem beyond comprehension. He is essentially saying, “Take me at my word. I will not fail you.”

What an amazing thing that the sovereign and holy creator of the universe has chosen to reveal his name to us, thus inviting us into a relationship with him! Not only that, but God invites us to call upon his name, and he also promises to respond to that call. He desires a relationship with us that is built on trust and intimacy. He wants us to call out to him by name, to join our voices with the psalmist:

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”—Psalm 20:7 (NIV)

At the cross of Christ the depth of the intimacy God desires with us comes into new and powerful focus. The blood of Jesus removes every barrier to that relationship, and we are able to know him in a way that even Moses didn’t enjoy. And we have a new name by which to call him: Jesus, a name which means so many things: savior, healer, redeemer…friend. Peter spoke to the power of this name when under accusation for healing a lame man at the temple:

“…let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing here before you healthy. This Jesus is

‘the stone rejected by you builders,
which has become the cornerstone.’

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”—Acts 4:9-12 (CSB)

No other name by which we must be saved. As we make our way to Jerusalem, we praise God for his revealing of the name which alone brings us out of sin into relationship with our creator.

Jesus Your name, when the whole world shakes
Jesus Your name, I will ever praise
My battle cry every night and day
I'll sing Your name over everything
I'll sing Your name over everything

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

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Questions for Reflection:

1) Here are just a few of the different names given to God in scripture. Which stand out or speak to you? Why?

Most High God
Lord of Hosts
Everlasting God
The God Who Heals
Creator
The LORD Our Righteousness
Sovereign Lord
The God Who Sees
The LORD Will Provide
Abba Father
Emmanuel
Christ
Lord
Redeemer
Sustainer

2) What does it mean for you to “trust in the name of the LORD our God?” How do we trust in a name?

3) In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus instructs to say, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.” (Matthew 6:9, NIV) Other translations say “uphold,” “honor,” and “keep holy.” Spend some time contemplating this line of the prayer and what it might look like to live it out in your life.

4) There are many hymns and worship songs that speak specifically to the name of Jesus as being worthy of praise. Are there any that come to mind as being particularly meaningful or that resonate with you personally? Here are links to a few:

No Other Name

What A Beautiful Name

Wonderful Name

I Am

Jesus Messiah

All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name

5) Read and reflect on these verses. Let them lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”—Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)

Be Still My Soul

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Fifth Sunday

As our Lenten journey enters its final days, we see the city of Jerusalem in the distance and we know what is coming soon. Like Peter, we may feel the impulse to avoid what lies ahead (Matthew 16:22), but we know it can’t be avoided. Jesus is resolute. He invites us to be the same.

But before we continue our journey, today is Sunday, another “mini-Easter” break in our 40 day fast of meditation, repentance, and remembrance. On Sundays we are reminded that the journey to the cross does not end at the cross, and we rejoice in that truth with all that we are.

On Sundays, as is appropriate and biblical, we are also invited to cease our laboring. It is a “Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9), a time of refreshing in the presence of the one who loves us most. But we don’t always enter into that rest, if we’re honest. We may find it hard to embrace at any time of year, but perhaps it’s even a bit harder during Lent. Our desire to be resolute and committed can be hard to switch off and put aside. In fact, if we’re not careful, Sabbath-keeping can become the very last thing it was meant to be: a burden.

In her article, “Reclaiming Sabbath Keeping: Sabbath Celebration” writer and teacher K.C. Ireton wrestles with her understanding of Sabbath rest, realizing that God is inviting her to expand her view of this amazing gift. And it’s the idea of “gift” she first has to embrace:

“I often act like Sabbath is a reward for a week of hard work, the day I get to take a nap in the middle of the day because I’m not allowed to work anyway, and dang it, I’ve earned that nap!”

And from there she allows herself to move beyond a “base-level” understanding of what Sabbath really is:

“But that’s not what Sabbath is about, not really. No work and a nap are probably a good start, but Sabbath is so much more. Sabbath is a way of being in the world on days other than Sunday. Sabbath is margin and gift and joy. Sabbath is soaking myself—or rather, letting myself be soaked—in the unmerited, unmeritable grace of God.”

Sabbath is soaking ourselves—or, rather, letting ourselves be soaked—in the unmerited, unmeritable grace of God. That is a good truth to embrace during Lent, one which, if we let it sink in deep, will impact our experience of Sabbath at any season of the calendar.

It is also a good truth to embrace in light of the past year. In many years, so many of us have been in a “forced Sabbath” during these troubling days, and the irony is that times of inactivity or unwanted stillness may be some of the hardest in which to find true Sabbath rest. Another unfortunate reality is that in times of hardship and despair, when we perhaps need Sabbath rest the most, we are often most likely to ignore its call and gift.

Today, wherever you may find yourself, you are invited to soak in that gift, in the Sabbath rest to which God calls you. Below you will find a few different versions of the song “Be Still, My Soul,” from solo worship to choral to instrumental. For our reflection afterwards the lyrics will provide an opportunity to reflect on your own understanding and experience of Sabbath and rest.

Today you’re invited to hear spoken to you the same invitation Jesus gave to his disciples:

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”—Mark 6:31(NIV)

Be still, my soul! for God will undertake
to guide the future surely as the past.
Your hope, your confidence, let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be clear at last.
Be still, my soul! the waves and winds still know
the voice that calmed their fury long ago.

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Best of KariJobe: https://goo.gl/nHPb73Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/b5t98xMusic video by Kari Jobe performing Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest) [Lyrics]. (P...
Provided to YouTube by CDBabyBe Still My Soul · David TolkGrace℗ 2008 David TolkReleased on: 2008-01-01Auto-generated by YouTube.
"Be Still My Soul" Hymn | Sisters Singing A Cappella Our lovely mother requested this song, so we decided to record. Link Up!Instagram- https://www.instagram...
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Prayerful Reflection

Read each verse slowly and prayerfully, perhaps even reading them out loud. Consider the situations each verse speaks to, and the ways we are invited to “be still” and rest in the grace and faithfulness of God. Which of these lyrics speaks most intimately to the cries of your heart, and how might God be calling you to respond in quiet, faithful trust?

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best, your heav'nly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: your God does undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Finish your time of reflection by reading and reflect on these verse. Let them lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”—Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

Alabaster Heart

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Day Twenty-Eight

During Lent we can sometimes get overwhelmed by the invitation to self-reflection, and in doing so we can forget what’s really going on. If we’re not careful it can turn our gaze completely inward, rather than using our self-reflection as a first step to looking upward. In the midst of that danger there’s an important truth we need to hold on to:

Taking up our cross and dying to self is an act of worship.

In our modern church culture, which tends to think of “worship” as only being gatherings we attend or songs we sing, the kind of self-examination we take part in during Lent is often not understood for what it really is. The Apostle Paul understood, though:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”—Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Most scholars agree that while Paul used the word “bodies” (to stay within the image of Old Testament sacrifice), what he is referring to in this verse is an offering of our entire being to God as an act of worship. It is a sacrifice in every real sense of the word, because in the act of sacrifice something dies in order that something else might come to life. Christ died so that we might have new life, his is the perfect and ultimate sacrifice. Our response is in turn: we die to ourselves as an act of sacrifice so that the new life Christ offers might reign in our hearts.

And that is worship. We often forget that the Old Testament sacrifices, as strange to us as they may seem, were conducted in the context of worshiping God. They were “an aroma pleasing to the LORD” (Lev. 1:9), a statement of complete and utter dependence on him. When sacrifice is made, and lives stained by sin bow in submission to the God who makes them clean and transforms them, God is honored and glorified. That is what Paul means by “true and proper worship.”

The gospels give us a beautiful portrait of this kind of worship in the days just before Jesus is arrested. Matthew records it in chapter 26 of his gospel:

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”—Matthew 26:6-13 (NIV)

This “beautiful thing” is an act of sacrificial worship. In her extravagant gift we find an echo of David’s pledge to not offer to God that which costs nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). Jesus not only commends her, but says her example will live on in the gospel story…which, of course, it did!

As we, too, prepare for Jesus’ burial, there is a continual call for us to offer all that we are, all that we have, and all that we hope to be to God. We die to self as an act of sacrifice, and that sacrifice becomes worship. Our gaze is not only inward…it is ultimately outward and upward to the only “worthy King of Kings,” who gave himself as a sacrifice for us. How can we respond any other way?

Let it rise like incense
My whole life a fragrance
Every ounce here broken at Your feet
Every breath an offering
My heart cries these lungs sing
Over You, my worthy King of Kings

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Provided to YouTube by Catapult Reservatory, LLCAlabaster Heart (feat. Davy Flowers) · The Worship Initiative · Shane & Shane · Davy Flowers · Adam Westlake ...

Questions for Reflection:

1) Have you found this intentional season of reflection sometimes causing your gaze to turn exclusively inward? How might you embrace in a new a deeper way the kind of worship to which Paul exhorts us?

2) How do you respond to the idea that our “dying to self” is an act of worship? How does that ring true for you, or if it doesn’t, what kind of questions or points of resistance surface as you consider it?

3) Some translations render “true and proper worship” as “reasonable service.” What can that phrase teach us about offering ourselves as a living sacrifice?

4) Verse 2 of today’s song includes these words:

There’s a lifetime worth of worship
In the nuance of Your names

Prayerfully spend some time pondering that lyric. What names for God most inspire you to worship?

5) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”—Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV)

Scars

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Day Twenty-Seven

There’s a little-known but well-accepted truth in the annals of film fandom:

The best scene in “Jaws” doesn’t feature a shark.

If you’ve seen the movie, you probably remember the scene: after a tense encounter with the great white that’s been terrorizing the area, our heroes Quint, Hooper, and Brody retire to the boat’s cabin to relax and unwind a bit. As the evening unfolds it turns into an exchange of bizarre one-upmanship between Quint and Hooper, who share the history of scars they’ve received from various ocean creatures (and other encounters). It comes to a chilling conclusion when Quint tells the true and tragic story of the USS Indianapolis, the sheer weight of which brings their competition to an abrupt close. It’s a powerful scene that reveals a bit about each character as they exhibit how their pasts have left a physical mark: their scars tell a story.

We tend to treat scars with a hint (and sometimes more than a hint) of shame. We hide them when possible, and when it isn’t possible we sometimes spend a good deal of money to have them removed. Scars are seen as blemishes, things that mar us in ways that we’d rather not think about. And truth be told, some scars tell unbelievably difficult stories of horrific abuse and pain, and their presence can be crippling to the victim. Scars are reminders of what has taken place, and they often mark the darkest moments of our lives.

Earlier in this Lenten season we spent some time meditating on the way the wounds of Christ tell the story of our salvation, how his scars mark the darkest moment of human history…yet speak to its greater meaning and victory. As we spend time at the foot of the cross we are also invited to consider our own woundedness, to think about the way our scars tell a story as well. Whether physical or emotional, we all bear scars that speak to how we have been hurt in the past, and at the cross we are reminded that we are not alone in our pain. Christ knows our suffering because he has lived it himself. He is a “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:30), and he weeps with us because he knows what it is like to be one of us.

As Christ walks with us in our suffering, we find that our scars are not shameful at all. They are, like the scars that brought Thomas to his knees (John 20:28), a testament to what God has done. They give us a story to tell to others who travel similar paths, “…so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Cor. 1:4, NIV) Author Linda Hogan latched on to an important truth when she had a character in one of her novels utter these words:

“Some people see scars, and it is wounding they remember. To me they are proof of the fact that there is healing.”—Linda Hogan, Solar Storms

For some of us the wounds are too fresh to see how God is bringing about that healing. The scars have yet to tell their story. Even then, the place of woundedness is holy ground if we will let it be. One day the story will be clear, but for now we fall on our face and ask God to meet us in our pain. And we ask him to begin not only the work of healing, but the work of using our woundedness for his glory. “Even here,” we pray, “May you be known and glorified.”

That is the prayer of Calvary. And as we meditate on the cross, it becomes the prayer of our own woundedness as well. May God use our scars to tell the story of his healing power and love.

Darkest water and deepest pain
I wouldn’t trade it for anything
‘Cause my brokenness brought me to You
And these wounds are a story You’ll use

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Song: Scars by I Am TheyLyric Video by Camwin128Made with Adobe Premiere ProNOTE: I don't own any rights to this song nor did I make it! This is for entertai...

Questions for Reflection:

1) How has God used the scars of your life to tell a story of his power and grace? How has he used the scars in another person’s life to speak power and grace to you?

2) Are there scars in your life that still cause you to struggle with shame or regret? How might you offer these to God and acknowledge that struggle? Is there a trusted friend, family member, or another person that you can invite into that conversation?

3) Brokenness can bring us to God, but it can also cause us to try and hide from him. How can we “stand in confidence” trusting in his strength, faithfulness, and healing power even when we are tempted to hide?

4) Are you in the midst of a season of woundedness even now, with pain that is still raw and yet to find healing? How might this season of meditating on the suffering of Jesus allow even this time to become “holy ground?”

5) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”—2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (ESV)

Jesus Paid It All

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Day Twenty-Six

There’s a particular feeling that comes over you when you feel a conversation slipping away from you, when the other participants seem to be speaking a different language because the subject matter has taken a turn into things out of your realm of knowledge and understanding. When that happens to me, and the others eventually turn to me expecting input of some kind, I have a go-to response:

“I’ve got nothing.”

It’s a humbling feeling, one that assaults our understandably human desire to be in-the-know and in control. We don’t like to admit when we have reached the end of our usefulness, when we literally have nothing of value to add to a situation. It’s dispiriting. It’s difficult. It’s diminishing. At least it is as far as this world is concerned.

In a spiritual sense, though, being brought to the end of ourselves is a good thing. When Jesus says, “Take up your cross,” he is not saying, “Show me what you’ve got. Impress me.” No, he’s saying the opposite: “Abandon yourself to me. Stop relying on your own strength. Lay down all of your claims to self-sufficiency and embrace the life I came to give.” He made that clear when he went on to say:

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”—Mark 8:35 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul echoed this when he wrote:

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”—Colossians 3:3 (NIV)

We are, in the words of the hymn-writer, “children of weakness.” But that is not a bad thing. When we acknowledge our weakness, we open ourselves to his strength. The works of the flesh will ultimately fail and be exposed for their emptiness and folly, but when we lay down our lives at the foot of the cross and put to death any confidence we have in our own strength and cleverness, God is able to work in us and through us in ways we can’t even begin to imagine.

Nowhere is the bankruptcy of the flesh made more evident than at the cross of Christ. We come to the cross acknowledging that “all our righteousness is as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6, MEV), and we are brought to our knees with the realization that the righteous one has taken all that filthiness upon himself. What can we say in response to this? Three words come to mind:

“I’ve got nothing.”

It’s true. The cross humbles and silences us. We have nothing we can offer in return, at least in our own strength. But when we instead offer our hearts and lives to the crucified one, putting to death any claims of self-sufficiency, he proves over and over again that he is our “all in all.” He has paid the price we could not pay…so that we might live the life we could not otherwise live.

I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small!
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Jesus Paid It Allby Fernando OrtegaFeatured on the album "Fernando Ortega: The Ultimate Collection"From iTunesLyrics:I hear the savior sayThy strength indeed...

Questions for Reflection:

1) How has Jesus shown himself to be your “all in all,” and how has that transformed your understanding of yourself and God?

2) Even the Apostle Paul, a well-studied religious leader, realized that apart from the power of God he would not be fruitful in his ministry. In 2 Corinthians 3 he said: “Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering presence.”—2 Corinthians 3:5 (TPT) Spend some time reflecting on this truth and your response to these words. Pray that God would reveal even more of his “empowering presence” to you.

3) In what ways do you possibly still resist the title, “child of weakness?” What are you holding onto that needs to be brought to death, so that the life of Jesus might dwell in you more deeply?

4) In what ways right now might God be calling you to “watch and pray?”

5) Read and reflect on these verses. Let them lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”—2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV)

Deeper Water

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Day Twenty-Five

Followers of Jesus live within an interesting tension when it comes to the subject of contentedness. On one hand, we live in the place of contentment that comes from knowing God and resting in that relationship, assured that he is sufficient for every need: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1, NKJV) God has given us everything we need for our life and our spiritual growth (2 Peter 1:3), and knowing that is a place of deep peace and gladness.

But there is also a very real sense in which we are never fully content, because there is always a deeper place to go in our relationship with God. The Apostle Paul called the riches of a relationship with Christ “unfathomable,” (Ephesians 3:8), and in his second letter Peter called disciples to “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV).

As we live in that tension, there are two simple prayers that can express both our contentment and our hunger:

“Thank you, Lord.”

and

“Take me deeper, Lord.”

We express to God the gratitude that comes from knowing we have been reconciled to him, that our sins are forgiven, and that he has called us to himself and graced us with every good and perfect gift. And we also express our desire to know him more fully, to love him more deeply, and to be shaped more and more into the image of Jesus.

Thank you, Lord…take me deeper., Lord.

Language like “deeper” and “unfathomable” calls to mind an ocean that is vast and inviting…and we are standing in the shallows, listening to the voice that calls us more and more into its mystery and majesty. It also calls to mind the words of Jesus in John 7: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38, ESV) The image of this “living water” is a continuous stream, illustrating the Spirit’s ongoing work of revelation and transformation in our lives. We are invited to the river to drink deep and find all that our souls need in the inexhaustible love of God. In this life, we can never plumb its depths completely. We can only respond with a surrendered life and a trusting heart.

As we make our way to Jerusalem with Jesus, it is a good time to be reminded that he is always calling to us, always willing to show us more and more of his love and his desires for our life. We can rest content in the knowledge that we are deeply loved, and we can open ourselves more fully to its unfathomable depths.

Thank you, Lord…take me deeper, Lord.

All I want is living water
Take me deeper, take me
All I want is living water
Take me deeper, take me

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Provided to YouTube by DistroKidDeeper Water · Ry CoxLove Unending℗ Lux WalksReleased on: 2019-05-17Auto-generated by YouTube.

Questions for Reflection:

1) Spend some time meditating on these verses from Scripture that speak of the sufficiency of God and the contentment that comes from knowing him. As you read and pray, offer to God words of gratitude, your “Thank you, Lord.”

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”—2 Corinthians 9:8 (ESV)

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:19 (ESV)

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”—John 10:14-15 (NIV)

“A single day in your courts
is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.”—Psalm 84:10-11 (NLT

2) Spend some time meditating on these verses from Scripture that speak of our call deeper into the heart of God. As you read and pray, offer to God words of surrender, your “Take me deeper, Lord.”

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”—Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”—2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

“As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.”—Psalm 42:1-2a (NRSV)

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith invChrist—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”—Philippians 3:7-11

3) The song for today recalls three people who encountered Jesus, and how those encounters changed their lives. Imagine Jesus has come to you, and like he said to the blind man in Mark 10, he looks at you and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” How would you respond? What is the cry of your heart as you reflect on your relationship with Christ?

4) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”—Hosea 6:3 (ESV)

Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days

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Day Twenty-Four

Today we begin our reflection by reading the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, the 40 days upon which the season of Lent are modeled:

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’

 and

‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1-13, NRSV)

What an extraordinary gift, to have been given details about how Jesus was tempted. Jesus, having been alone in the wilderness, must have later disclosed to at least one of his disciples the ways in which he was tested. Such a disclosure is an intimate one and gives us a beautiful picture of Jesus entering into the fullness of our humanity. Make no mistake: this was a wrestling match in the desert as Jesus fought the temptations to turn aside from God as his ultimate good and to choose instead the gods of self-sufficiency, wealth, and honor. In fact, the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus suffered when tempted. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18, NIV)

Is that your picture of Jesus in the desert, that the temptation narratives are stories not only about his victory but about his suffering?

He was tempted by the devil.

Let those words find a deep resting place within you. Jesus heard the enemy’s insinuations about God not being trustworthy. He heard the appeal to pursue his own comfort and security. He heard the promises of power and dominion, heard the enticement to turn aside from wholehearted worship of God. These were temptations designed to lure the Son of God away from single-minded obedience to the Father.

Temptation, by its very definition, must carry with it the power to hook us, to entice us. Put a plate of succulent seafood in front of me when I’m fasting, and I’m not tempted by it. I don’t like seafood. But set before me a plate of steaming hot bread fresh from the oven, and the battle is on.

Jesus wasn’t merely swatting flies in the desert. The tempter knew what had the potential to hook God’s beloved and assaulted him not just for a fleeting moment, Luke tells us, but for forty days. And Jesus’ battle with temptation didn’t end there in the wilderness. The tempter, having been defeated, withdrew until another opportune time when he could try to turn Jesus aside from the way of the cross, away from the path of humiliation and suffering. “This must never happen to you!” Peter protested when Jesus predicted his suffering and death. And in those words from his friend, Jesus recognized again the snare of the devil. Jesus was practiced in discerning the stumbling blocks the enemy was prone to place in front of him.

Are we?

During this season of Lent, keep company with Jesus in the desert. Let him mentor you as he discerns his temptations and overcomes each one through the power of the Spirit and the truth of God’s Word. Take comfort in the fact that Jesus was tempted. And because he was tempted, he is able to help you when you are.

Lord, who throughout these forty days
For us did fast and pray,
Teach us with you to mourn our sins,
And close by You to stay.

As You with Satan did contend
And did the vict'ry win,
O give us strength in You to fight,
In You to conquer sin.

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Advent Birmingham is a diverse group of musicians who lead worship services in song on Sundays at Cathedral Church of The Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. They...

Questions for Reflection:

1) What temptations routinely assault you? What are the lures that have the power to turn you aside from wholehearted devotion to God?

2) Do you notice any particular theme or pattern to the temptations you find yourself regularly dealing with? Bring that theme or pattern prayerfully before God, asking if there are deeper roots that need healing and forgiveness.

3) Imagine yourself in the desert with Jesus. What do you notice about the way he battles temptation? Offer what you notice to God in prayer.

4) Do you have trustworthy companions to whom you can confess the ways in which you are tempted, fellow travelers who can give you the gift of prayer? If not, ask God to bring to mind someone who might become that sort of faithful friend to you.

5) Meditate on these words from the Apostle Paul:

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:13-14, ESV).

What are the ways of escape that God is providing you so that temptation doesn’t become sin? How are you relying upon God for deliverance? Let the truth of God’s faithfulness and provision lead you into prayer and grateful worship.