Author Archives: smcalhoon
Lent Devotions: Day 19
Read: Psalm 115
Impotent Idols
Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them. (v. 8)
We’ve heard it before: even though we don’t keep figurines enshrined in the corners of our houses, we still worship idols. We trust in investments, pensions, and the belief that, with elbow grease and a savvy broker, anyone can be a millionaire. We worship idols of health, nutrition, and beauty. Or we believe that our salvation comes in the technology that enables us to know right now what’s happening all around the world and to text our family and friends all day long.
But the psalmist argues that all of our idols are impotent; they are powerless to give life. The machines that assemble our stuff have “hands,” but can they feel? Siri, the iPhone’s intelligent personal assistant, has a “mouth,” but does she speak deep truth? A reporter’s pocket recorder has “ears,” but can it detect echoes of the gospel? More significantly, if we trust in idols of consumption and information, we also lose our powers of real speech, sight, hearing, movement, and touch. We fall under the power of sin.
The good news is that the God of Israel, who does whatever he pleases, was pleased to send his Son to free us from our captivity to idols. By Christ’s death and resurrection, we are new creations, with eyes for what’s real, ears for truth, mouths to proclaim the gospel, and hands to join in God’s work. When we trust in the Lord, he is our salvation. —Grace Claus
Prayer: Savior, we trust you, not our idols, for salvation
Lent Devotions: Day 21
Read: Lamentations 2:5-8; Jeremiah 52:12-23
Center-less and Structure-less
He has destroyed his tabernacle. (Lamentations 2:6)
As a student, I find structure and identity in the weekly rhythms of reading, writing, and studying. I like having a syllabus to order my schedule and a constant flow of assignments to work on. During breaks this can fall apart, and it takes a lot of energy to return to the set rhythms of school.
In a similar way, the temple of God provided structure for Israel’s life. It was seen as the throne of God and the place where the people of God were reconciled to him and to each other. When the temple was destroyed, the center of life crumbled and Jeremiah felt as if the world had lost its gravity. At the same time, the walls of the city were also destroyed (Lamentations 2:8). Without walls, Jerusalem was defenseless. The city had no protection from external threats and no structure for internal order. Imagine how difficult it was for Jeremiah to find hope amid his ruined city.
At the cross, we feel Jeremiah’s same de-centered, de-structured agony. The crucifixion of Jesus was a crisis: once again God’s dwelling place was taken violently. Living on this side of Easter, it is easy for us to jump over the anguish and desperation the crucifixion must have caused. Part of our Lenten journey is getting in touch with the center-less and structure-less feelings between the crucifixion and resurrection. —Cody Raak
Prayer: Lord, help us find our center at the cross, and our identity in the suffering of your Son.
Lent Devotions: Day 18
Day 18 Read: Luke 14:12-24
Who Will You Invite?
Come; for everything is ready.” (v. 17)
My favorite parts of family gatherings are the meals. Thanksgiving feasts with all the fixings, Christmas buffets of sweets and snacks, three-course Sunday dinners: delicious! I was raised in a home where hospitality always involved food. Having company, whether friends or family, meant making a big “to-do” of it, and this is still how I play host.
Because I love hosting, I find the Parable of the Great Dinner compelling. The parable asks, who should you invite to your table? “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you” (v. 13-14). If I will get something back for my efforts, then this isn’t really a kingdom feast; only when I invite those who can’t repay me do I “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19).
Lent, however, is rarely a feast. If anything, Lent is a season of fasting, of giving up something. But this parable reminds us that the kingdom is like a man throwing a banquet, even during Lent. Hear today the Master’s invitation: “Come; for everything is ready” (v.17), and accept his invitation to experience Lent as a table shared with “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,” and in this sharing, dare to discover yourself as one of them, truly in need of the Lord’s gracious hospitality and entirely unable to repay him.
—Cody Raak
Prayer: Gracious Lord, host us at your table this Lent, and let us see your other guests clearly.
Lent Devotions: Day 17
Read: Luke 18:1-8
Asking
Will he delay long in helping them? (v. 7)
Christmas and birthday wish lists have a curious effect on me. Before I write a wish list, I don’t really want anything. But as soon as I add something to my list, I find that I cannot go on without it. Are you like me? After I put together a list like that, I truly hope to get what I have asked for.
The widow in this parable is an asker, too. She seeks justice, not something trivial like new clothes or a new gadget. She has only one way to get what she needs. She’s not posting a few hints on her refrigerator door. Her pleas are a ceaseless, even embarrassing display of distressed need, and the judge can only take so much. “Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming” (v. 5).
Jesus tells this story to teach us that God answers prayer much more quickly and more fairly than the judge in this parable. The judge gives in to get rid of a nuisance. How much more will a loving God do? God hears our Lenten prayers, our laments of distress, of waiting, and of injustice. “Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice” (v. 7-8).
I write wish lists expectantly; I pray even more so.
—Cody Raak
Prayer: God-Who-Provides, listen to our prayers this Lent, and answer speedily.
Lent Devotions: Day 16
Read: Psalm 13
Praising God
I will sing to the Lord, because
he has dealt bountifully with me. (v. 6)
Often, at the end of a psalm of lament, there is a moment of praise. Praise may seem out of place in a prayer of lament. After all, a lament is a cry to God for help in times of need. But it is precisely here that the psalmists find reason to praise. As we bring our troubles before God, we know that God both hears us and cares for us, and this is reason to praise.
God not only hears us but promises more: to be with us. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus states, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Whatever difficulties you may be facing in life, you are not going through them alone. God does not exist distanced from the daily events of our lives. Instead, as we proclaim so often at Christmas, we worship Immanuel: God with us. This truly is a reason to praise. We are not alone in our pain. God promises to never leave us nor forsake us. As you pray today, praise God for the very fact that God loves you enough to be with you always.
Saying “The Lord has dealt bountifully with me” does not mean we get everything we want. It means that what we have is enough. Immanuel, God with us, is enough. As we pray, we do so knowing that God is truly with us and will never leave us.
—Jeremy Kreuze
Prayer: Oh Lord, we praise and trust in you alone!
Lent Devotions: Day 15
Read: Psalm 55
Day 15
God Hears our PrayersEvening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint
and moan, and he will hear my voice. (v. 16)
Prayer is more than just a way to get what we want, and calling out in prayer to God is more than just a way to send him a message. To pray is to be in relationship with God; the one to whom we are praying. Through prayer we are able to come before God honestly and directly. The Bible assures us that God listens to our prayers and cares for us more than we will ever understand.The awareness that God listens to us is a comforting thought. Listening seems almost a lost art in our world where busy people have a hard time slowing down enough to pay attention to what others are saying. We are too often distracted and think about what we are going to make for dinner, the email we need to respond to, or what time we need to go someplace to pick up the kids. We are so focused on our internal dialogue that we fail to really listen to one another.
As we lament to God, we are assured that God pays attention. David repeats often in the Psalms that when he cries out, God hears his voice. Having addressed God in prayer and having voiced our petitions, we can be confident that God listens to us. Today, pray knowing that you are conversing with God who loves and hears you. —Jeremy Kreuze
Prayer: Oh Lord, thank you for being a God who cares enough to truly listen.
Lent Devotions: Day 14
Bringing Our Requests to God
2/25/2013
Day 14
Read: Psalm 71:9-13
Do not cast me off in the time of old age, do not forsake me when my strength is spent. (v. 9)
As we lament, we bring our complaints to God. We open ourselves and hopefully realize we can trust God as we reflect on the ways God has been faithful in our past. From this place of trust we move to bring our requests before God.
We bring our requests to God as we ask God to enter into our circumstances. In some cases, our requests may be the result of our statements of trust in God. As we reflect on the ways God has been faithful in our past, we ask God to continue to be faithful in the future. In other cases, our requests may involve asking God to right a wrong we are experiencing. Our prayers may flow out of our beliefs about God. As we trust that God is love, we can pray that God’s love be made known in the midst of trouble.
Jesus invites us to ask God for the things we need in life (Matthew 7:7-11). Our requests do not indicate a desperate lack of faith or trust in God, but a clear desire for God to intervene. We recognize that in our fallen world, things are not as they should be, and so we ask God to help. We ask God to come into our lives and deliver us. –Jeremy Kreuze
Prayer: Oh Lord, continue to be faithful as you so often have been before.
Trusting God in Lament
2/24/2013
Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Fund: Donate today and save a heart!
Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Over 350,000 people will suffer from sudden cardiac arrest this year . It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere and at any age. An AED is the only effective treatment for restoring a regular heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest and is an easy to operate tool for someone with no medical background.
Time is of the essence:
The average response time for first responders once 911 is called is 8-12 minutes.
For each minute defibrillation is delayed, the chance of survival is reduced approximately 10%.
Special donation envelopes with red hearts will be available at the church for your donation.
Lent Devotions: Day 13
Trusting God in Lament
Day 13
Read: Psalm 13
But I have trusted in your steadfast love. (v. 5)
After addressing God and offering their complaints, the psalms of lament often turn to statements of trust. How can that be? Isn’t the psalmist contradicting himself by asking, “How long?” on the one hand and then saying, “I trust God” on the other?
Addressing God in prayer and bringing forth complaints actually implies that we believe God can do something about our situations and will help. By opening ourselves to be vulnerable before God, we can see our situation differently. We are reminded that we are not alone. God is with us, even in our times of pain and trouble.
Also, as we reflect on our trust in God, we are reminded of the ways God has brought us through difficulties in our past. Reflecting on the way God has been faithful in the past is a way of helping us trust that God will continue to be faithful in the future.
Praying out of lament both implies trust and requires humility. When we pray out of lament we understand that we cannot remedy our situation alone. The trouble in our lives is more than we can bear. We are totally and utterly dependent on God. It is at this stage in the prayer of lament that we trust God and rely fully on him. As you pray today, voice your trust to God as you remember the ways he has been faithful in your past. –Jeremy Kreuze
Prayer: Oh Lord, in the midst of the difficulties in life, I
Lent Devotions: Day 12
God’s Powerful Deliverance
2/23/2013
Day 12
Read: Psalm 114
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob. (v. 7)
Try to recall the wildest weather you’ve experienced. I remember a summer storm in the Midwest, the black sky streaming a torrent of rain, the ground resonating with the growling thunder, and six months’ worth of lightning bolts bursting into a single evening’s sky–a display simultaneously majestic and terrifying.
But even the strongest hurricane and the most explosive volcano are no match for the power of God. Today’s psalm records the earth’s response to God’s mighty act of deliverance. Fed up with Egyptian bondage, the Lord sets Israel free. Knowing better than to stand in God’s way, the sea splits in two, and the mountains leap like animals. God takes deliverance seriously. When he desires to deliver his people from sin and evil, all of creation had better tremble and make way.
God uses his power not to destroy but to redeem. During Lent, we look toward Good Friday and Easter Sunday, two days marked by dramatic events in nature. When Jesus Christ is crucified, the sun hides and the earth shakes so deeply that graves break open. When he rises from the dead, another earthquake accompanies the coming of the angel of the Lord to open the tomb. The earth dares not impede the salvation of the Lord. No power on earth exceeds the power of God. –Grace Claus
Prayer: Almighty God, we tremble at your strength and thank you that you wield it for our salvation
St Croix Reformed Church 
You must be logged in to post a comment.