Lenten Devotional...March 1

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

(Luke 21:33)

Yesterday brought an unusual observance. Leap Year happens infrequently enough that we take notice of it as a rare event, occurring every 1461 days or so. Rarer still, is the blooming of a white star magnolia tree in this area in February. The picture above was taken yesterday in the courtyard at Westwood, just outside the sanctuary. The bloom looks a bit wilted because of the rain, but it is coming into full bloom. Normally, the tree would be in a dormant state waiting for the warmer days of spring...not the warmer days of winter!! Even the usually predictable patterns of nature are at times interrupted by unexpected changes in climate.

Most of us experience the unexpected on a regular basis, perhaps even daily. The ability to be flexible in an often changing world enables one to adjust to these changes and find joy in the midst of life's "shifting sands". Jesus reminds his followers in our text today that change is an inevitable characteristic of our human experience. Earlier in this twenty-first chapter of Luke, the disciples are enamored with the beauty and strength of the temple structure and of the gifts given that sustain it. Jesus tells them that such a structure cannot endure, for it is built of temporary materials. He also tells them that relationships they depend on may be called into questions because of their faith in him...once again the uncertainty of something so significant in their lives. "Heaven and earth will pass away," Jesus says, "but my words will never pass away." "What or who can I put my trust in?", we find ourselves asking from time to time in frustration and disappointment. Jesus reminds us that his words are trustworthy and that his promises are eternal.

Many things around us change unexpectedly, yet the living Word, Jesus Christ does not change. In our sin, the Word is ever faithful. In our doubt, the Word is ever encouraging. In our worry and struggle, the Word is ever present. The beauty of the temple in Jerusalem would someday be lost in a pile of rubble. The white star magnolia in bloom in the courtyard will most likely return to its dormant stage when the expected course of winter returns again in a few days. The living Word, however, will remain and that is our hope in the midst of the unpredictable.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...February 29

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

(Mark 1:35)

"alone, without companions; unattended"... These are defining terms for the word, "solitary," as given by Dictionary.com. Unless you're sitting on the Beltway at rush hour, standing in the middle of the opposing team's student section after their star player makes the winning shot, or suddenly feeing the gaze of everyone in a crowded room because of something embarrassing you just did, you may view the term "solitary" with some contempt. We think of solitude at times in association with loneliness, perhaps even a friendless existence where hours and minutes are marked by a longing to be embraced and accepted by others.

Though that kind of loneliness can be devastating, there is a solitude that is good for the soul as highlighted by our text. As news of Jesus's teaching and healing spread through the countryside, he found it difficult to move about without attracting a crowd. On several occasions, after healing someone in miraculous fashion, he instructed them, sometimes quite sternly, not to tell others about the source of their healing, but some could not keep such news to themselves. In the preceding verses of our text, word has gotten out that Jesus is at the home of Peter and as a result, the whole town gathered at the door and Jesus brought healing to the hurting and broken. There had to be moments when Jesus wanted and needed to get away...to find a solitary place where he could pray and find respite from the noise and demands of the world around him.

We do not spend our days miraculously healing the sick, nor do crowds flock to see us as neighbors and strangers tell about our great and wonderful deeds. But you and I do live in the midst of a busy world where there is often little escape from the demands that press in around us. Jesus embraced the significance of solitary moments that helped him experience again and again a closeness with his heavenly Father. Dare we hint that our busy lives leave little or no room for such connection?

The Psalmist wrote, "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him." (Psalm 37:7a) The season of Lent is a very appropriate time to heed the admonition of the Psalmist and the example of Jesus.

Prayer: God of storm and stillness, at some point today, may we walk a solitary path with you where your Spirit moves like a gentle breeze and your presence is felt like a welcome friend. Amen.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...February 28

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

(Proverbs 15:1-2)

Perhaps it has never happened to you, but most of us have had that experience along the way (some of us, several times along the way!) where we have said something that, almost immediately, we wish we could retrieve as if the words had never been spoken. Sometimes we speak from ignorance on a particular subject, sometimes we are misunderstood, and sometimes our anger in the moment gets the best of us, causing us to say something hurtful that threatens to disrupt or even break relationship with another. Have you been in that situation where, as the wise writer of our text says today, your mouth..."gushes folly"? Maybe that sounds extreme, but some of the things we say to others would surely qualify as such.

English author, Dorothy Nevill, once wrote, “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. “ The last part of this quote is perhaps the most difficult part of managing our words and conversations, particularly in the context of argument. The desire to make our case, or worse, to have the last word, opens the door for escalating conflict and gushing folly. Jesus called his followers to an active identity as peacemakers in Matthew 5. This is an intentional approach to relationship with others that makes our words, and the attitudes behind the words, take on new significance. Instead of stirring anger through harsh words, we are to choose our words wisely so that we might be a part of the solution in conflict instead of stirring up anger.

I am not a big proponent of "giving things up for Lent." We too easily identify something that probably means little to us as an indicator of our willingness to sacrifice. Instead, I would challenge you, as I challenge myself, to consider an intentional choice to become a peacemaker in the context of conversation, to purposefully choose our words, motivated by the love of Christ instead of our own shortsighted emotional responses. Maybe it would be good to remember the words of the Psalmist whenever we open our mouths to speak..."May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14, TNIV)

Prayer: Living Word, touch our hearts and our tongues with your gentle Spirit, that we may speak words that help and heal. Amen.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...February 27

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
(Psalm 103:13-14)

Parents see their children through very unique eyes. These are not objective eyes, but eyes that will always view their particular child in a different light from other children. The reason, quite simply, is that the child is their own. Now this doesn't necessarily speak to possession because children are not possessions to be handled, but gifts to treasure. The Psalmist reminds us that God looks at us with very unique eyes because we are God's children. Through compassionate eyes God recognizes our frailties, and loves us still...he knows how we are formed, he remembers we are dust."

Of the subject of love, C.S. Lewis writes, "On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him." The Psalmist's words would seem to reinforce this truth. For the compassionate love of the One who has created us and knows everything about us...even the dusty, dirty parts, let us give thanks.

The words of twentieth-century British poet and novelist John Oxenham, perhaps give us a glimpse of the compassionate father who generously gives of himself, again and again.

Love ever gives.

Forgives, outlives,

And ever stands

With open hands.

And while it lives,

It gives,

For this is love's perogative--

To give, and give, and give.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...February 26

Then Jesus cried out, "Those who believe in me do not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When they look at me, they see the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

(John 12:44-45)

A Sunday School teacher gave her first-grade class a few minutes at the close of the hour to color anything they wanted. She noticed one little girl working quite diligently on her picture. She asked the little girl who the picture portrayed, and she quickly responded, "God." "No one knows what God looks like," the teacher said, to which the young artist responded with confidence, "They will now."

Jesus sought to show the world his heavenly Father. "When they look at me," he said, "they see the one who sent me." As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to help the world see Christ in us. "Let your light shine before others," Jesus said, "that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." You and I are painting God-pictures whenever someone else sees Christ in us. Give careful attention to detail, allow the light of Christ to shine through you in everything you do, and the world around you will see the One who sent you.

Prayer: Help us Lord, to allow your light to shine through, that others will be drawn to the picture of Christ at work in us, Amen.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...February 25

"Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed are those whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit." (Psalm 32:1-2)

A Sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted to make sure she had made her point. She said, "Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?" After a brief pause, a voice was heard from the back of the room as a little boy said, "Sin." This simple story tells a significant truth about who we are, but more importantly, it tells us about who God is. Sin is not a creation of God, but grace and mercy certainly are. Therefore, blessing comes to the sinner whose transgressions are covered by God's mercy, whose failures are not counted against him. The apostle Paul said that this grace is not a license to sin, but a continual reminder of God's love.

One could argue that without sin, there could be no forgiveness. To the one who has experienced the undeserved grace and mercy of God, however, the argument turns on the initiation of God's forgiveness made flesh in Jesus Christ, who as we said in yesterday's devotional, became sin "so that we might become the righteousness of God." The forgiven...that's you and me, are blessed indeed.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for not keeping count of the sin that marks our lives. Through Christ, we find forgiveness where sin is remembered no more. Amen.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...February 24

"We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (II Corinthians 5:20b-21)

Paul gives us a unique perspective on the depth of God's willingness to bring redemption to his human creation. He tells us that Christ was willing to become the very thing that condemns us,,,sin. Now this does not identify Christ as a sinner. Indeed, the writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that though Jesus was tempted in every way, he did not sin. Yet, Paul says that God "made him to be sin" for our sakes.

David Livingstone, nineteenth century Scottish missionary to Africa, wrote about the supposed sacrifices he had made for the gospel. "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us."

Livingstone died in a small African village in May, 1873. Though encouraged to return to great Britain to seek medical attention, he chose to remain among the people and country he adopted as a missionary for Christ. Some believe he died a martyr, unwilling to save himself if it meant leaving the people of Africa, yet he considered his sacrifices nothing when compared to the sacrifice Christ made in becoming sin "so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

We talk of sacrifice during this season, often in the context of the little things we will "give up" for Lent...chocolate, caffeine, movies, sports, etc. The sacrifice Paul talks about as Christ becomes sin for us exposes the arrogance of our tiny and momentary deprivations. Perhaps we would do well to hear Livingstone's words once more..."Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us."

Prayer: Gracious Redeemer, Living Christ, who set aside perfection to become sin so that we might know righteousness through You, we give you thanks. Amen.

Jim Abernathy