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Lent Devotions
February 20, 2016: Naaman
None of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian (v. 27).
As Jesus burst upon the local scene and quickly became famous throughout Galilee, how proud his neighbors and friends and relations were of him!
But it didn’t last. He saw through their excessive praises to their hard, unbelieving hearts. In the early part of that synagogue service in Nazareth “all spoke well of him.” We can imagine the approving nods, nudges, and whispers around the congregation. They were puzzled by what he said about those verses from Isaiah, but it sounded good. When, however, he turned their attention to an earlier part of their Scriptures, the stories of Elijah and Elisha, their real attitudes were exposed. For their own Bible demonstrated how often God’s blessings had been rejected by his people Israel and given instead to gentile outsiders, like the Sidonian widow who fed Elijah, and the Syrian general Naaman whom Elisha healed. Likewise, Jesus’ own neighbors were in danger of losing out to people they despised.
We too need to beware of enjoying the nice bits of Scripture and rejecting what makes us uncomfortable. But we can also put ourselves in Naaman’s shoes rather than those of the Nazarenes, and be hugely thankful that the gospel’s blessing has come to us, outsiders who had no claim on it.
Prayer: Lord, is my attitude to the good news more like Nazareth’s or like Naaman’s?
Today’s devotional was written by Michael Wilcock, a retired pastor in the Church of England. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit www.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 19, 2016: Who Told You About Jesus?
The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor (v. 18).
Who told you about Jesus? Somebody did. Maybe a parent sat at your bedside when you were a child and read Bible stories to you and prayed with you. Maybe a college roommate shared her faith with you. Maybe you heard a sermon and you felt the preacher was talking just to you, as though you were the only one in the room. And you were changed. You may not remember the day or the person. But know this: somebody, somewhere, at some time, told you about Jesus.
Whom have you told? I hope you’re not keeping the good news to yourself. You may think that everybody’s already heard, that there’s nobody left to tell. But there are millions who haven’t heard, and many who once heard have forgotten and need to hear it again.
When Jesus stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth and read from the Isaiah scroll, he said: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news.” Jesus was anointed to preach—to proclaim good news. For two thousand years, people have been telling other people the good news, until finally somebody told you. And now it’s your turn: whom will you tell?
Prayer: Lord, make me a witness.
Today’s devotional was written by Lou Lotz, the pastoral leader of Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visitwww.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 18, 2016: Teachers Change Lives
He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone (v. 15).
When my son was in elementary school he would come home from school saying, “Mrs. Johnson said…” and he would proceed to relate some insight, some nugget of truth, that his teacher had implanted into his little noggin. Often, this new truth was something I had already told him a hundred times. But I was only his father. Mrs. Johnson was his teacher.
You’d never know it by their salaries, but teachers are powerful. Teachers change lives. They open our eyes to worlds we didn’t know existed—Shakespeare, geometry, music, economics. Is there anyone, anywhere, who hasn’t been affected by a teacher?
The title most often applied to Jesus was rabbi, or “teacher.” Luke says that Jesus began his public ministry by going to the synagogue to teach. Shortly thereafter, Jesus went to Capernaum, and Luke says the crowds were “astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority” (4:32). Jesus was a teacher.
We all need a teacher to teach us, to impart some life-changing truth we don’t know, or did know once but forgot—that God loves us, unreservedly and completely, now and forever.
Prayer: Teach me, Lord, what I need to learn.
Today’s devotional was written by Lou Lotz, the pastoral leader of Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visitwww.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 17, 2016: Tempted
…for forty days he was tempted by the devil (v. 2).
When I reread the story of Jesus’ temptation, two things seem obviously true and a third seems inconveniently true. The first thing that is obviously true is that we have an adversary whose intentions for us are no good. When Jesus had fasted forty days and was famished, it was just then, at that precise moment, that “the devil came to him.” The devil’s timing is impeccable!
The second thing that is obviously true is that Jesus has gone before us to show us what to do when we are tempted. What a kind and gracious Savior we have! So how did Jesus respond to temptation? Not once, not twice, but three times he repelled the devil with the Word. And let me remind everyone that he wasn’t carrying a Bible with him. He repelled the evil one with the word hidden in his heart. The most basic of all spiritual disciplines is the discipline of scripture memorization.
The one inconveniently true thing is that the devil has a kind of steadfast devotion of his own. “He departed from him until an opportune time” (v. 13). This is why Peter counsels us in his first epistle, “Discipline yourselves, keep alert…your adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Until our journey on earth is done, we must necessarily deal with this enemy at home, at work, and at play! Discipline yourselves; keep alert!
Prayer: Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Today’s devotional was written by Tim Brown, president and Henry Bast professor of preaching at Western Theological Seminary. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit www.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 16, 2016: Adam
He was the…son of Adam (vv. 23, 38)…
Simeon and Anna cherished the promises made to Israel far back in the past. But as Luke begins to describe the adult life of Jesus, he goes even further back. Matthew’s Gospel traces Jesus’ genealogy back to Abraham, the ancestor of the Hebrew nation; Luke’s traces it right back to Adam, the ancestor of the whole human race. (John’s goes even further, back to the eternity in which the divine Son was with the Father: “Before the world was created, the Word already existed.”)
Even though you probably just skimmed this list of names, your eye may have caught some of them. David, Jacob, and Abraham are all real historical people. Jesus comes on the scene as an equally real person, and one who belongs, like them, in the history of Israel. But more than that, Luke wants us to see him as a member not just of the Hebrew race but of the human race. He was born as a person, in order to save humankind.
Out of the Jewish background (that is Matthew’s emphasis) grows something intended for all nations (that is Luke’s emphasis). None of us can say, “This is not for me.” As Luke’s friend Paul puts it, all who are in Adam die, but all who are in Christ will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Today’s devotional was written by Michael Wilcock, a retired pastor in the Church of England. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit www.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 15, 2016: Jesus Changes People
John’s task was to “prepare the way.” Jesus’ task was to be “the way.” John’s task was to call people to repentance, to change on the outside. Jesus’ task was to invite people to relationship with God and to change on the inside.
A little girl had been naughty. Her exasperated mother finally told her to sit in the corner until her father came home. The little girl stomped over to the corner, folded her arms defiantly across her chest, pouted angrily, and refused to sit down. At this point her mother came over and literally forced her to sit. When the father arrived home he asked his daughter what she was doing in the corner. She replied, “On the outside I’m sitting, but on the inside I’m still standing.”
We can relate to that. On the outside we can make changes, but until we are changed on the inside it makes little difference. Jesus changes people from the inside out. That’s what excited John the Baptist! That’s why John called Jesus “the One more powerful.” That’s why John pointed away from himself to Jesus, the one sent from God to set people free from self-centered living. Jesus is still in the business of transforming lives from the inside out. Open your heart to the master and he will shape you into the beautiful person he knows you can be.
Prayer: Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Today’s devotional was written by Anthony Vis, a retired pastor in the RCA. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit www.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 14, 2016: Are You Listening?
John the Baptist was on a mission from God. He was a prophet, a man totally consumed by the things of God. He didn’t see things as others saw them; he saw things through the eyes of God. When John spoke, he spoke for God. And he could speak for God because first he listened to God. Says Luke, “the word of God came to John…in the desert.” In the desert—the lonely, desolate desert where John had gone to meet with God, where John had gone to be quiet before God, where John had gone to listen for the voice of God.
In Irving Shaw’s play, “Saint Joan,” Joan of Arc hears voices from God. The king, who will one day condemn her to death at the stake, is irritated by this. “Oh, your voices, your voices,” he says. “Why don’t your voices come to me? I am the king, not you.”
“They do come,” replies Joan. “They do come, but you do not hear them.”
What about us? Are we choosing to hear? When the voices speak today—and they do still speak—are we listening? When the prophets of God sound the alarm today, are we choosing to hear? God’s usual method of speaking to us is through the Bible. We must read so we can hear him speak.
Prayer: Lord, open our eyes that we may see Jesus. Open our ears that we may hear your still, small voice speaking words of truth, comfort, and direction. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Today’s devotional was written by Anthony Vis, a retired pastor in the RCA. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit www.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 13, 2016: Simeon and Anna
…salvation…which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples (vv. 30-31).
In his Gospel, Luke will later show Jesus reaching out to “all sorts and conditions of men,” to use a phrase from the Book of Common Prayer. However, first he wants to introduce two more Jewish people, Simeon and Anna. They are old, like Zechariah and Elizabeth, and like them they are steeped in the old faith of Israel, harkening back to God’s ancient promises.
But so far from being stuck in the past, these two are now looking to the future. Mary’s son, Jesus, has been born, and it is the baby Jesus that Simeon and Anna encounter on this unforgettable day.
God has given them the spirit of prophecy, both to see and to say what is really happening. God’s people have long been awaiting the “consolation of Israel” and the “redemption of Jerusalem,” and now here he is! More than that, he will be “a light for revelation to the gentiles” as well as “glory to your people Israel.”
The great hope for the nations, for the people of every kind and background whom Luke will be describing, is in this child alone. How indebted we all are to God’s Old Testament preparation for his coming.
Prayer: Thank you for this light from the past that still illuminates the path ahead of us.
Today’s devotional was written by Michael Wilcock, a retired pastor in the Church of England. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit www.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 12, 2016: Finding God in Unexpected Places
Luke 2:1-7
And she gave birth to her firstborn son (v. 7)…
I wonder how Mary felt when she looked at her newborn child the way mothers do—studying every hair on his little head, every crease on his wrinkled face. I wonder if she understood the enormity of what had happened. The promised Messiah had been born at last, and there he was, cradled in her arms.
God’s handiwork is nowhere more difficult to see than when it occurs in your own life. Our own lives are too familiar, too common, to sense the mystery of God pulsing through them. But Mary knew that God had acted in her life, and there in the manger was the proof of it.
Mary understood that God is at work in unexpected places. And from Mary you can learn that God is at work in the most unexpected place of all—your life. Your marriage. Your job. Your family. Your church.
“She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger…” Would you ever have expected to find God in a manger—a feed box for animals? No. But you’d never expect to find God in your own life, either. Yet that is where God is.
God acts in the lives of real people. Like Mary. Like you. And Christmas is the proof of it.
Prayer: Lord, be in my life.
Today’s devotional was written by Lou Lotz, the pastoral leader of Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visitwww.woh.org.
Lent Devotions
February 11, 2016: Sing, Christian, Sing!
Luke 2
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude (v. 13).
Christians sing, and the five songs punctuating the opening chapters of the Gospel of Luke are a kind of pitch pipe to prompt ours. The first of the five songs is the angel’s announcement to Mary of the coming birth of Jesus, known as The Annunciation. The second is Mary’s praise-filled response, The Magnificat. The third is the heart-swelling song of joy sung by Zechariah, called The Benedictus. The fourth is the praise of a multitude of angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest,” The Gloria. And the fifth is Simeon’s satisfied song, “Lord, let now thy servant depart in peace,” known as the Nunc Dimittis.
You may certainly forget the formal names of each of these songs, but please don’t forget what they represent: the centuries-old practice of Christians to sing! Christians singing is one of the evidences of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:19), a witness to unbelievers (Acts 16:25), and the occupation of those gathered around the throne of God in glory (Revelations 5). Christians sing!
Some dear friends of the ministry of Words of Hope, and of my wife Nancy and me as well, are Stephen and Margaret Kaziimba. They live in difficult conditions in Uganda, but you would never know that by their remarkable practice of singing. Often when we are with them, they will simply break into a song of praise. I think they are living examples of this instinct of the Gospel of Luke. Christians sing!
Prayer: Give us tongues to sing your praises, Lord!
Today’s devotional was written by Tim Brown, president and Henry Bast professor of preaching at Western Theological Seminary. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit http://www.woh.org.
St Croix Reformed Church 
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