Thirty-Second Day of Lent

Thirty-Second Day of Lent

Thursday, April 6, 2017

And he took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Luke 22:19-20

When I was a girl – long, long ago – I remember writing a little rhyme in the autograph books of my friends. (If you, too, remember autograph books, you have just told your age!) “I’ll not ask to be remembered. I’ll let your memory rest. I’d rather be forgotten than remembered by request.”

Jesus did not agree with that rhyme! He was about to do the most important thing of his whole life – reconcile man to God – and he didn’t want us to forget! Do this in remembrance of me, he said. I can almost hear him saying, “Remember what I have taught you.”

·        Remember this last evening together.

·        Remember this tomorrow when the Lamb is slain.

·        Hold this tangible bread and wine for a moment; later remember how it felt and know this moment was real.

·        Remember that I never asked you to remember my birth, but is important that you remember my death.

·        Remember when I am not with you physically that this bread and wine evidence how much I have loved you.

Memory is one of God’s loveliest gifts. Jesus knew how important memory was going to be to them – and to use. He asked to be remembered! Memory would keep us focused on the kingdom and on being kingdom people!

Prayer: Father, we hold these precious reminders – bread and wine. We do remember. Never let us forget. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

 

Thirty-First Day of Lent

Thirty-First Day of Lent

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Take it; this is my body. . . . 
This is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many.
Mark 14:22b-24a

I like to try to imagine what this last supper with Jesus was like for the twelve. That “upper room” probably had no covers over the windows, no panes of glass to keep out the night air and the night sounds. And what was going on in the city?

People had come from all around to celebrate Passover. They had brought their lambs with them for the Passover meal, and the priests had lambs for those who had none. All those little animals in their unfamiliar places probably were confused and not quiet, so the sounds of their bleating must surely have drifted up to the windows. They were going to be sacrificed. They didn’t know it, but the disciples did! Their blood was going to be shed.

Then Jesus said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant.” Some of them may have been present when John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Did they make the connection between those little lambs outside and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world seated at their table? Did the awful realization finally come that he had been telling them that he was going to die? Did they just take the cup and bread casually – as we often do – without realizing what it all meant, or did they realize that he, like the lambs outside, was going to die?

Prayer: Father, we can’t hear the lambs outside, but we know that you have told us that Jesus is our Passover Lamb. We praise you for this sacrament that we celebrate to remind us of the sacrifice of our Lamb. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

 

Thirtieth Day of Lent

Thirtieth Day of Lent

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Stay here and keep watch with me. . . . 
Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?
Matthew 26:38, 40

Jesus has told the disciples in every way possible that he is going to die. His feeling that he is overwhelmed with sorrow surely showed in his face. And what does he ask of the disciples? One hour of prayer. But the small request was more than they could give. Perhaps they got distracted. Perhaps with good intentions they began to pray but fell asleep. Whatever the reasons, he returned from his agonizing struggle in prayer and found them sleeping.

What’s our first response? How could they? Why didn’t they pray together so that they’d be focused? Were they so oblivious to his needs that they did not see his grief? Why didn’t they offer to go with him and to pray with him? Whatever the questions, we find no answer. So let’s question ourselves.

Have there been times when we have promised ourselves – someone -- the Lord – that we would pray about something and didn’t? Have we begun in good faith to pray as we were lying in bed and waked in the morning to realize that we had not completed the prayer and had gone to sleep? Have we sensed some great need in the world – in our family -- in the church – and known that the Lord wanted us to pray but we did not?

Guilty! We’re no better than they!

Prayer: Father, forgive us that we are so insensitive to the pain of Jesus, not only as he faced death but as he views the pain in the world around us today. Make us a people who will watch and pray. Amen

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

Twenty-Ninth Day of Lent

Twenty-Ninth Day of Lent

Monday, April 3, 2017

A woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume. . . .  She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another,
“Why this waste of perfume?”

Mark 14:3b-4

The intensity of Jesus’ teaching had been increasing. The day was rapidly approaching when he would have to suffer, and he knew it. The disciples were unaware of what was ahead, and Jesus had no other human to talk to about it – or so it seemed. When he tried to tell them, they didn’t grasp his meaning.

And then along comes a woman with perfume, expensive perfume! As she poured it on his head, it must have run down through his hair, even his beard. A lovely fragrance permeated the entire room.

Jesus must have been moved by this tremendous expression of love and appreciation. For so long he had been maligned, verbally challenged everywhere he had gone. He must have grown weary with being so misunderstood. He was tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15b) He must have been tempted to get discouraged, but he never gave in to the temptation!

The wonderful gesture of this woman must have encouraged him, until he heard those whom he loved the most grumbling about the waste! A moment of comfort and then the awful realization that his own disciples, his students, still did not understand.

That last week on earth must have been incredibly lonely for the Lord.

Prayer: Father, we know that Jesus went directly to you when he was discouraged and lonely. Help us to do the same. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

 

Memory Verse 2017 -- Week 14

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Trials and Temptations

 

The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

Spend the week focusing on this scripture: 

• Read the verse in your Bible. 
• Read the passage before and after it. 
• Write it in your journal. 
• Ask the Lord to show you how it applies to your life. 
• Put it on a piece of paper and post it in a prominent place in your home so that you can see it often. 
• Put the words to music. Make up a tune or use one you already know. Singing always helps in the memory process. It's a left brain / right brain thing. 
• Always memorize the scripture reference with the verse so you can remember where to find it in the Bible. 

Lenten Feast Day

Lenten Feast Day

Sunday, April 2, 2017

But about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said to you,
“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?”
He is not the God of the dead but of the living.
Matthew 22:31

The older I get, the more comfort I find in verses like this one. I know that young also die, but not as often or as inevitably as do we who are older. Once again, Jesus puts a new slant on death.

If God is not the God of the dead, then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be living! These patriarchs were not walking around the earth with the disciples, nor are they walking with us today. Only one answer. They must be resurrected, alive somewhere so that the God of the living could be called their God!

When Jesus spoke these words he was just hours away from his crucifixion. Knowing how little time he had to say important things to his disciples and even to unbelievers around him, I can’t help thinking that he wasted no time or words. This was an important fact for them and for us to grasp.

God is the God of the living! We may not walk on this earth anymore, but we will live. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. (I Corinthians 2:9) The God of the living has made more than generous preparations for those who love him, for those who will be resurrected to be with him after they pass through this thing we call death.

And Easter makes on-going living possible for all who belong to Jesus!

Prayer: Father, we love this life, but our hearts sometimes beat a little faster when we think about what is to come! Thank you for telling us about it now. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

 

Twenty-Eighth Day of Lent

Twenty-Eighth Day of Lent

Saturday, April 1, 2017

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
Matthew 21:14

Isn’t this a wonderful verse? Can’t you just imagine the lame, the halt, and the blind groping their way to Jesus, receiving the incredible touch of the Master’s hand, and running away jubilant at their healing?

We smile when little children come to the sanctuary to sing for us. Their innocent faces, their excitement at being a part of the worship service, their young voices bless us. Imagine that day when the children’s voices echoed throughout the temple area as they praised God.

Wonderful picture, right? Wrong! Not a wonderful picture to those in charge.

Those crippled people did nothing to enhance the order of worship and the dignified atmosphere so carefully created! Those little children probably didn’t even know what they were saying. There was surely no place for them in the temple!

Indignant! The Bible describes the chief priests and teachers as indignant! Heaven forbid that healing and wholeness should get inside the temple! Heaven forbid that spontaneous praise of God should come from children – inside the temple! There’s a right way to do things; this was certainly not the way!

Prayer: Father, please don’t let us get so regimented that we have no time in our service of worship for the voices of children. Please don’t let us get so convinced of how things are supposed to be done that we cannot rejoice with those who are healed – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator