Nineteenth Day of Lent

 Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!

A Lenten Devotional Guide

By Rev. Richard Evans 

An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all – he is the greatest.”
Luke 9:46-48

The nominations for the 2005 Academy Awards have been announced and guess what! Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ was not named in any major category – Best Picture, Best Actor or Best Director. It was nominated in three lesser categories: Makeup, Cinematography and Original Score. The response from many corners of the Christian community is one of outrage. I haven’t yet heard a comment from Gibson.

But should we be surprised – that the glitz and glitter of Hollywood passed over the sensitive and gruesome depiction of the last twelve hours of Jesus’ life on earth? I’m almost relieved. What a contradiction it might have been to see a golden “Oscar” beside a scene showing the battered body of Christ hanging on a cross.

Millions of people saw The Passion of the Christ. It was a box office “success.” And the graphic portrayal of the suffering and death of Jesus undoubtedly strengthened the faith of many of his 21^st century followers. But Jesus’ admonition to his 1^st century followers who wanted to come after him was to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow him (Luke 9:23). That is certainly the message of the film. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in the release of their nominations, also has helped us to better understand these paradoxical words of Jesus: “For he who is least among you all – he is the greatest.”

You continue to remind your people, O God, that the Way of the Cross is not the way of the world. Help me to be faithful always as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort

Eighteenth Day of Lent

 Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!

A Lenten Devotional Guide

By Wallace Nave 

[Some] seed fell into good soil and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great…. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Luke 8:8 NAS

Many of the most profound lessons of my life have been learned in the yard or digging in the dirt. Until I got sick, there was no place I would rather have been than planting and pruning and weeding. I enjoyed seeing the lawn flourish and the beds bloom.

In Kentucky, I had a troublemaker in my garden called Johnson grass. Try as I would, there seemed no remedy for the stuff. The more I pulled, the more it grew. One day I dug and dug until I reached the end of a particularly persistent blade. To my amazement, when I had it out of the ground, I found that the green shoot on top of the ground was about three inches high but the roots were about two feet in length! Suddenly I knew why I could not rid my garden of this pest!

I took that piece of grass into the house and showed Pat. We talked about the fact that the grass is so hearty because its roots are so deep and sustaining. We both knew that we wanted to be like that grass —not too much showing on the top but growing deep in the Lord and His Word so that we would be so strong that we could not be uprooted! Cut down. Burned. Cursed. But not destroyed. 

Lord, thank you for causing the seed of your Word to fall on good ground in my own life. Thank you for the desire to nourish that seed much as I have done the seeds in our yard. Thank you for teaching me all that you have about who you are, what you have done for me, how you lived and died that I might live and not die. Thank you for deep roots of faith – roots that hold me firm this Easter and cause me to rejoice in life! Amen

 

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort

Seventeenth Day of Lent

 Monday, March 8, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!

A Lenten Devotional Guide

By Betty Eldridge

 

The one who is righteous will live by faith.
Romans 1:17b; Habakkuk 2:4b

When I was a young Christian, I struggled to understand this Scripture. When the light bulb finally went on, it became one of my favorite passages.

Who can stand before God in his own righteousness? None. But God has provided our righteousness through His Son, Jesus Christ. God hates sin, but we may stand before Him free from sin because of Jesus. All we have to do is believe.

This faith will develop into a living relationship, which shall produce a meaning and purpose for our lives. As we grow, through Bible study, prayer, and sharing with other Christians, the Lord will open many of His Secrets, enabling us to serve and understand Him better.

So when we are made righteous through our faith in Jesus, we will at that time begin to live eternal life.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for allowing us to belong to you. Amen.

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort

 

Easter is Coming!

 Sunday, March 7, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!

A Lenten Devotional Guide

 

 

Sundays are not counted in the 40 days of Lent.

Worship well today.

 

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort

Sixteenth Day of Lent

 Saturday, March 6, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!

A Lenten Devotional Guide 

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Luke 2:52 NAS 

As I read about the last days in Jesus’ life, I am keenly aware of his wonderful maturity. As a young person, I often excused myself from thinking deeply about some of the things that he faced that were difficult by saying, “well, HE could handle that because HE was God.” I failed to remember that though my mind cannot totally understand how this is possible, he was both 100% God and 100% man. So when he “handled” things, I must take into account that “the man side” was facing things similar to those that I face.

So he “increased.” I think that I accept without any serious consideration that the stature was expected. He was a baby and he became a man as he aged. But what about “in wisdom?” He really didn’t always know everything – especially as a baby and a young  boy. That is a huge thought to me, and it means he had to study his Bible, talk to his Father, and learn spiritual truths. By doing that he actually grew in favor (as King James says) with his Father, for through it he learned – as a man – exactly what his Father expected of him. And he increased in favor with men, as he was loyal to his disciples, providing for them the role model that would be so important to them – as they walked together and in their ministry after he had returned to heaven.

Isn’t God amazing?! That he would know how important it would be for us to have a real, live human being to relate to so that we could know what he expects of us.

Father, thank you for this wonderful Savior whom you sent to us and for the example he is to us in his life as well as in his death. Help me to grow in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with you and with men. Amen

 

Hallelujah! He is Risen!

prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida

Spring 2011

compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

reproduced and edited by Patience Fort

Fifteenth Day of Lent

 Friday, March 5, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!

A Lenten Devotional Guide

By Jan Wise 

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him…. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:2b, 3b NIV

As a mother of teenagers, I was deeply involved with the kids’ program at church. One summer two college-aged interns came to help with the summer activities. As they were introduced, I did a personal evaluation of their potential effectiveness. I knew the good-looking guy would be a great asset. But of the young woman, I thought, “Bleached blonde hair and painted fingernails – I don’t think she’ll bring much spirituality to our kids.”

As I write this 30 years later, with bleached highlights in my own hair and with nails shiny with polish, I’m ashamed of the way I evaluated those fine young leaders by their physical appearances.

Jesus didn’t look like a king and didn’t do things most of the Jewish people – especially the religious leaders – wanted him to do. A Messiah who would be born in a stable, grow up in a carpenter shop and die on a cross didn’t fit their idea of the one God would send to save them. So they rejected him.

How many times do we miss God’s coming to us because we don’t like the way God “packages” his message? A bloody, beaten Son of God, skewered to a cross with cruel spikes, was God’s ultimate expression of love to us. This Easter season let’s look beyond the cruel appearance of the cross and meditate on the heart of the One who so loved the world that he gave his Son to die for us. Only then will we be ready to experience the joy of resurrection morning. 

Father, I know Jesus said, “Stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgement.” Help me to look beyond what outwardly turns me off and into the heart of what you want me to see from your perspective. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort

 

Fourteenth Day of Lent

 Thursday, March 4, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!

A Lenten Devotional Guide

By Clarence Kohler

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his Glorious Presence without fault and with great joy….
Jude 24 

During this Lenten Season, it is good to look back and see what a difference Jesus Christ has made in our lives. I have been doing that – looking back and remembering.

I remember working long and hard so that I could provide for my family. In addition, I was starting a small business.

The business became successful, but I knew we would have to continue in it at least another five or six years in order to be ready for retirement. What I hadn’t figured seemed to happen overnight. My strength and health were suddenly gone, and I didn’t know what to do.

Then in the span of two or three weeks, by chance, or so I thought, two parties approached us about buying our business. I struggled over this opportunity but didn’t see how I could sell. After a couple of days, I finally understood the Lord was showing me a way out, and we sold the business.

Some time later I returned to church and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

What a joy to know we can always trust our Lord and God and lean on his understanding instead of our own!

Lord God Almighty, I give thanks that we can trust in you yesterday, today and forever. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort