23rd Day in Lent (Monday)
Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for Him. I wrote you to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.” 2 Corinthians 2:8-9 (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our sufficiency’. When put to the test, what is it that you need? Not want, but need? Backpacking through Europe for many months in the early 90’s I soon learned what I needed and what I wanted and what was sufficient. I needed a bed for the night so that was always my first stop of call to the nearest youth hostel. I needed to make sure I was safe, so I always travelled with other backpackers. I needed food, but a fancy meal was not needed so bread and cheese were sufficient for many meals. I wanted to see and experience so many things so I allowed myself to say, ‘Will I regret it if I don’t?’ But the decisions were always surrounded by what was sufficient. Easter is a time of mixed emotions. I am grateful for Jesus dying for me and know that He needed to to assure my salvation and forgiveness in the eyes of God, but this way is not what I wanted. When I read the accounts in all the Gospels, horror and guilt wash over me as I read about the flogging, the cruel nails and whipping and then hanging on a cross, bleeding out. Was all this needed? Could just a severe scolding by Herod be enough? But no, all this had to be gone through for it all to be sufficient for your and my salvation. God gave us His one and only Son to bear the brunt of the world’s sin and disobedience. This doesn’t seem quite fair. But through this, God’s grace became ever more evident that He was giving His everything to make us holy in His sight and wash us clean through the sinless blood of His Son Jesus. God tells us through Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” [NIV]. Because we can’t do what we need for our salvation, God had to do it through His Son. Prayer: My loving God, you knew that I couldn’t save myself, so you sent your beloved Son to do it for me. Help me know and understand that your grace is sufficient for me. Amen. 3
4th Sunday during Lent
Read 1 Peter 1:3-12 “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, … It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you,” 1 Peter 1:10, 12a (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our serving’. A story is told that during the bombing of a city in World War II, a large statue of Jesus Christ was severely damaged. When the townspeople found the statue among the rubble, they mourned because it had been a beloved symbol of their faith and God’s presence in their lives. Experts were able to repair most of the statue with its arms outstretched, but its hands had been so severely damaged that they could not be restored. Some suggested they hire a sculptor to make new hands, but others wanted to leave it as it was. It was decided to leave the hands off and at the base of the statue the townspeople added the sign: ‘Christ has no hands but yours.’ Every Christian is a minister of Christ. The work of the church, or meeting the needs of people, is the responsibility of all believers. God has created us for service, through His grace He has gifted us with so many gifts to share and tell others of His love. The greatest gift we have been given is that of faith to respond to the Good News about Jesus. A response to that incredible gift is to serve in whatever way we feel called – read the list of gifts Paul has written for us in Romans 12:3-8. St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) wrote a poem similar to the above story: “Christ has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes within which He looks in Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are His body.” Use your gifts to praise and bring glory to God! Prayer: Lord Jesus, use my hands in service to you. You have gifted me with so many talents to use for you. Help me to be willing to serve you in grace-filled service. Amen
22nd Day in Lent (Saturday)
Read Colossians 4:2-6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our way of speaking’. Have you ever forgotten to put in salt when making something special only to have it taste anything but special? Once when making bread in my bread maker I forgot to add the salt. The bread took 2 and a half hours with the smell permeating the house. The family was hanging out for this hot bread to have with melted butter. Slice. Butter and then the taste – YUK! Without salt, bread doesn’t even taste like bread. It tastes like cardboard. Even with a lovely homemade jam the bread tasted like nothing. I was assured that by adding salt after the fact would work, but it was more like having a salt lick. Cookbook author Samin Nosrat says, ‘If food isn’t salted properly, no amount of fancy cooking techniques or garnishes will make up for it.’ (Salt Fat Acid Heat, p.27) Food needs to be seasoned from within not without. Paul says in the above verse that believers’ speech needs to be seasoned with salt, it should be flavourful to the hearers’ ears. Therefore, Paul is saying that we should aim to have our speech Word-saturated, Gospel-infused every chance we get. This salted speech comes from the Word and Christ dwelling inside of us. No matter how the conversation is responded to, we owe it to them to share the love of God’s grace and goodness. A believer’s manner of speaking needs to be different from the unbeliever. The Holy Spirit will work through your salted words, and those who are hungry for the truth will eat up the Word that is spoken in love. Our world needs words seasoned with God’s grace and love and so many are longing for forgiveness. Words can warn, be truthful and seasoned with love. We are reminded by Paul to use speech which is ‘gracious’, a word that is defined as courteous, kind, and pleasant. God’s grace is a gift so be liberal in your sprinkling of His salt. Prayer: Lord Jesus, you told the people of your day what they needed to do and be followers of you. Give me the boldness and courage to use words filled with grace and love to bring others to know you. Amen
21st Day in Lent (Friday) Read Colossians 2:6-12 “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace…” Hebrews 13:9a (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our strength for living’. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower for the Pisa Cathedral in Italy. The foundation was first laid in 1174 AD but was completed in stages over the next 199 years. It has a nearly 4-degree tilt which is the result of only a three-metre-deep foundation that was set in weak, unstable subsoil. This structure has been stabilized a few times in its history to stop it from toppling over. An interesting fact is that the tower has withstood at least four strong earthquakes since 1280. The fact that it has remained standing is due to the soft soil in which the foundations were laid. This same soil that caused the leaning and almost had it collapse several times, has also helped it survive. Our lives can be likened to the Pisa Tower soil. The first story was built straight and strong with our baptism, but over the years our lives become a bit soft around the edges, causing a bit of a tilt. There are so many strange teachings and ideas that we are subjected to through our lives and living in a secular society it is hard to keep our foundation strong and secure. In the book of Hebrews (above), the writer tries to bring the Hebrew people back to the teachings and grace of Jesus. God strengthens us daily through His Word and His gift of grace to help us withstand all sorts of earthquakes. There are seven bells hung in this Tower of different sizes and tuned to a musical scale. They used to ring out over the town until the last century when engineers became concerned that their movement could cause further leaning and damage. So, they stand silent, not being used for the purpose for which they were created. In Christ, we have our firm foundation. So let us live as God has created us to be - ringing joyfully to God’s glory. Rely on God for strength as we live each day covered under His grace and love. Prayer: Heavenly Father, you stabilise my life with your Word and keep me secure in your love. Work in and through my life to keep me strong and true to you. Amen.
20th Day in Lent (Thursday)
Read 2 Timothy 2:1-13
“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” 2 Timothy 2:10 (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our holiness’. John Charles Ryle, Anglican bishop of Liverpool in the 19th century speaks of holiness. He says, “It is not knowledge... nor great profession... nor doing many things... nor zeal for certain matters in religion...” He continues that holiness is not “morality and outward respectability of conduct, nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers, nor keeping company with godly people. These things alone are not holiness. A person may have any one of them, and yet never see the Lord.” I had to read through the above quote a few times to understand what then is holiness. Holiness is the ‘state of being holy – living a life of total devotion to God.’ To live a life of total devotion is to rely not on our ability to try to become holy, but rather to rely on the Holy Spirit to work in and through our lives to help us live our lives in devotion to God. Holiness sounds hard to obtain and impossible to earn, but with the grace given us through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we can be given this holiness through the washing clean of all our sins in baptism and opening our lives to be filled with His love. Holiness is to access the true person of holiness – Christ who is in you – to live His holy life through you. As we walk in the Spirit each day, we take the provision of Christ’s life to obey His will. The ‘fruits of the Spirit’ are then shown through the holy person we have become, and then gifts are given to others through us – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) I am now holy because of what Jesus did for me on the cross. This holiness is a true gift from God by His grace. Live out your state of holiness through Jesus! Prayer: My dear loving Saviour, thank you for making me holy through your death and resurrection. Help me to live in total devotion to you and in so doing spread your love to others through me. Amen.
19th Day in Lent (Wednesday) Read: Romans 5:12-17
“These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7 (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our living’. The Lord’s team was playing Satan’s team in a baseball game. The Lord’s team was at bat, the score was zero to zero, and it was in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. The Coach and the Lord stood by observing the game. As they watched, a batter stepped up to the plate whose name was LOVE. Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because “love never fails.” The next batter was named FAITH, who also got a ingle because faith works with love. The next batter was named GODLY WISDOM. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass…. ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked, because Godly wisdom never swings at what Satan throws. The bases were loaded. The Lord then turned to Coach and old him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped GRACE. Coach said, “He sure doesn’t look like much.” Satan’s whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen. But Satan was ot worried, as his centre fielder let very few get by. He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground. Then it continued over the fence for a home run! The Lord’s team won. The Lord then asked Coach if he knew why LOVE, FAITH, and GODLY WISDOM could get on base but could not win the game. Coach answered that he didn’t know why. The Lord explained, “If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, faith and wisdom will get you on base, but only My GRACE can get you home.” (story by: Kraig Pullam) Living by grace through Christ gets us home to our Heavenly Home. Prayer: Lord, your grace is the only way I can get to my Heavenly Home. Jesus through His love has paved the way for my salvation. Your grace is sufficient for me! Amen.
18th Day in Lent (Tuesday) Read: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.” 2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our behaviour’. Smells to me are very important. I like a nice smelling house. So, I burn candles, put the fragrance sticks out that sit in an oil and put on my diffuser. The smells then tend to permeate the house, and anyone who enters is ‘blessed’ with a nice smelling house. It is interesting how a smell is able to spread far and wide and even after cooking fish the night before, the smell of fish is still evident in the morning. The free grace of God is a little like all these smells – a bit of grace given here, a bit there and soon the whole place has been influenced by all that it touches. How can grace do this? By acting through our actions and behaviours to others. When the Holy Spirit works in and through people, the fragrance of God’s grace spreads and with that, as it mentions in the Bible passage above: “… in Christ and through us spreads verywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.” (2 Corinthians 2:14b) God’s gift of grace and blessing to us is so powerful that our essence of behaviour is also affected to act in a way that glorifies God in all that we do and say. Just like the domino effect, the Holy Spirit works in and through every life that acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord of their life. “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love…” You may remember this song from the 60’s (or not), but it was re-released by Jars of Clay in 2005. Basically, the song was saying that there is something different about Christians that seems to permeate their entire being and behaviour. he Holy Spirit is always working in and through our lives to produce in our very being the essence of God’s grace. Fill your life with the grace and love of God so that your ‘smell’ will reach far and wide. Let your behaviour show your love of Jesus! Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for being a part of my life and very essence. Please help me to grow in your knowledge and grace that will bring others to know you. Amen.
Standing Before God 17th Day in Lent (Monday) Read: Romans 5:1-11 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1-2a (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our standing before God’. What does it mean to ‘stand before a King’? I enjoy reading the historical fiction books by Philippa Gregory. It is obvious in these books that there was a hierarchy in society in the Middle Ages. There was the upper class consisting of the kings/monarchs, nobles, knights, and clergy. Then the middle class tended to be the merchants, doctors, and those with important jobs; and then there was the lower class – the peasants and serfs who performed all the menial tasks and jobs. Firstly, to see the king you had to get through all the secretaries and make an appointment – only if you had an important issue. If it wasn’t important or considered necessary or beneficial to the kingship, there would be no way to stand in the king’s presence. Through the saving action of God in His Son Jesus Christ, God has allowed us to come directly into His presence and talk to Him freely. Back in the Old Testament times, the common people had to talk to God through the priests and offer sacrifices to make themselves worthy. Now we are reconciled with God. Reconciliation is talked about quite freely in society and between cultures and nations, but the essence of reconciliation is to bring people together with differences or conflicts and help them understand each other. Being reconciled with God means that He has come to us directly and made us clean through the act of Jesus on the cross. He opened Himself up for us to understand more of the nature of God. So, we can stand in His presence – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We don’t have to ask for an audience from a priest or secretary. Through the grace of God, we can stand in His presence and ask Him for whatever is on our minds. We can understand and accept the grace and love that He offers us every day. Jesus’ act of suffering allowed us to stand before God. Prayer: Dear Lord God, thank you for your reconciling love and act of grace toward me. Being able to stand in your presence is humbling, helps me always to be appreciative. Amen. 2
3rd Sunday during Lent
Read Philippians 2:1-11 “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our Christian Identity’. I was brought up in a Christian home. I was baptised in St John’s Lutheran Church, Ipswich, QLD at 10 days old. I went to Immanuel College, Novar Gardens, SA where I was also confirmed in 1979 in year 9 with about 30 of my classmates. I went to a Lutheran church – St Stephen’s in Adelaide for my formative years – Sunday School, youth, volunteering in the church. When I started teaching, I taught at Good Shepherd Lutheran School, Noosa; St Mark’s Lutheran School, Mt Barker; Golden Grove Lutheran School, SA, then moved to the USA to work for Lutheran Youth Encounter. I married a Lutheran Pastor moving to many congregations – Wodonga, Hampstead, Loxton and Noosa. Looking back through the above history, it is amazing to see God guiding and directing my life. Have I earned any of it through what I have done? No, I found my identity as a Christian through the pure grace of my God who entered my life in my baptism at 10 days old. The Holy Spirit has worked in and through my life shaping and moulding me to be the person that He wants me to be – a servant, blessed with many gifts and with a loving Christian family. God continues to work in and through me to guide me to bless others as I also have been blessed. Could I have done anything without God’s grace? No, His gift of love and mercy has shaped and formed me as He also does with each of you. I am sure that your life is also filled with blessings where God has guided, shaped, and moulded you to be the person you are today. We are who we are purely through the grace of God and the love He has and gives us every day. Look over your life. Make a list of what you have done and see how God fills each part of your life. Your life in Christ is pure grace! Prayer: My loving Father God, you have worked in and through my life and continue to do so – thank you. Help me always to bless others with your love as I have been truly blessed. Amen.