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
My Secure Anchor 35th Day in Lent (Monday) Read: Hebrews 6:16-20 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19a (NIV)
While living in Loxton we got ourselves a little runabout boat to tour the Murray River and to have some fun with inflatables that we pulled behind it. One weekend we took the boat out for a picnic to have on board with the children. We motored to a lovely inlet just off the main Murray (Katarapko Creek) and my husband put down the anchor. The Murray River is a dangerous river, for there are swift undercurrents as well as holes in the river floor. It is very important to wear a life jacket. We were not planning on swimming as the weather was cool. But… that was until our anchor became stuck and wedged on a tree root.
I volunteered to go in (with a life jacket) to untangle the anchor. We were close to shore, so I thought it wasn’t deep – that was before going in and finding the water over my head. My husband had a hold of my life jacket the whole time I tried to untangle the anchor. I finally got it free, and the boat started to drift off. But my husband kept ahold of me. I really love the analogy that Paul uses for God as an anchor. There are so many things around us that keep changing – circumstances with family, finances, jobs; but that is what is so wonderful about God – He will never let go of us in any circumstance.
This is the hope that we hold onto. This can encourage us when faced with seemingly calm waters, but underneath are huge currents and holes which can cause us to go under. God holds onto us in all and every situation. He is a firm and secure anchor! We are going through Holy Week. Yesterday we celebrated with the King entering Jerusalem, today we walk with Jesus towards the cross. For God to send His Son to the cross for our sake, sealed our salvation. God’s love for us is unwavering – He has promised us eternal life, and He sealed it for us forever with an oath. His sinless Son would take our sin upon Himself on the cross and then rise to glory. This promise for us is sure!
Prayer: My loving Father, thank you that you hold onto me and will never let me go. You love me with an unfailing love. Help me to share the hope of life eternal with you. Amen.
Christ Our Hero Palm/Passion Sunday Read: Hebrews 3:1-6 “But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.” Hebrews 3:6 (NIV)
Many have heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) for his unfailing faith and hope in His Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and expressed anti-Nazi sentiments during WW2 for which he was imprisoned for two years. Due to his resistance to the Nazi regime, he was hung for his beliefs in Flossenbürg Concentration Camp one month before the end of WW2 in Europe.
He was considered a hero of the faith, for he served as an example of faithfulness to his Lord. He never thought himself a hero, rather Deitrich emphasised that the greatest heroism and salvation comes from Jesus Christ. Today is Palm Sunday and we celebrate the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as a King. Later this week we see the sentiments change very quickly, with Jesus being sentenced to death as a usurper and troublemaker by the very people He was trying to save. But today we see Him being heralded as a King.
People saw Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a martyr of the faith, but really it is Jesus who Dietrich was defending who was the martyr. Bonhoeffer was faithful to the end, but Jesus has been faithful to His Heavenly Father from the beginning of time. Jesus returned to Jerusalem knowing that He was going to His death, but the people greeted Him with loud ‘Hosannas’ – He was coming to be their King and Saviour. The people of the time wanted Jesus as an earthly King to overthrow the Roman Government, but Jesus came to overthrow the power that sin and death has on everyone.
He came as a Heavenly King. This is the hope that we hold on to. We have a hope and confidence in Jesus as our Saviour. The Bible verse encourages all believers to hold tight to this hope and to remain faithful to the end. Bonhoeffer and other heroes of the faith were faithful to their Lord and Saviour which remind us to also hold fast to our faith and hope. Jesus Christ remains faithful to us, let us remain faithful to Him!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you love me with an everlasting love. Your grace and love bring me the hope of salvation and life everlasting with you. Hosanna in the Highest! Amen.
Eternal Hope 34th Day in Lent (Saturday) Read: Titus 3:3-8 “… so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:7 (NIV)
For his birthday, I gave my husband a subscription to the website – ‘My Heritage’. Since travelling to Europe last year and doing a pilgrimage through my family’s heritage towns in Poland and Harz Mountains, Germany and then Mark’s family towns throughout Denmark; even through all the Martin Luther heritage places, we have become excited about knowing more about our family history. Not only finding out their names and places and dates but also trying to find out who they were and about their faith. Why did our families want to travel a long and unknown journey to Australia and USA?
What drove them to leave their families and church? Mark has been able to trace one of his ancestors back to the 1600’s on the tiny island of Ærø, one of Denmark’s islands. Apparently, generations have lived there and grown up on this little island. We are the heirs of all our ancestor’s faith wherever they lived as families. Our faith has been passed down through the faithfulness of our ancestors who are now experiencing the eternal hope of life with God. Our ancestors were not perfect, nor did they have perfect lives and never sinned. But one thing that was passed on is that we are forgiven through the love of a loving Father who sent his Son and heir to suffer for us and bring us justification (forgiveness) for our wrongdoings.
God gave this to us freely because we are His children and he has made us heirs of His kingdom. All those faithful who have gone before us are enjoying their eternal home. We can also read of all the faithful people of God in the Bible. God saved them, not because He had to, but because He wanted all to inherit eternal life. Our God is a generous and loving Father wanting all to come to know Him. Help the future generations to come to know Jesus. They are also heirs, but they just need to know Him. Remember, God’s family extends beyond us… make sure they know!
Prayer: My dear loving Father, you have loved and cared for me before I was even born. Your love extends through generations. Help me to teach my family about the love of a faithful Father. Amen