Daily Devotionals for the Second Week of Lent

John lays out the purpose of his letter in verse 1: “that you may not sin. And if anyone does sin, we have an advocate in the father...” It is a call to holy living and a reminder of our justification. John doesn’t want us to sin because of the gross ramifications of our actions – separation from the one true God. As we see in 1 Chronicles, David has to deal with the sobering reality of his disposition toward sin and God’s reaction to it. Here we see God bring wrath upon Israel because of the sins of David. We are not called to live in sin but in holiness. As believers, God call us to account for the sin in our lives. He hopes that we will repent of our fleshly desires and come to him.

BUT, there is a second part to John’s purpose statement! That is, if we do sin, we have an advocate in Jesus Christ before the Father. What good news! John is aware of our ungodly nature and understands our struggle with sin. He does not want us to be ridden with guilt, but he wants us to be able to rest in the reality of our salvation. We have been justified by Christ and invited to live in eternity with the Lord. Our sins do not go unpunished since Jesus graciously took that punishment for us on the cross. We can now repent and rest in the sacrificial death of Christ when we slip up. John says earlier chapter 1, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What a promise!

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.” Luke 21:34

In the Scriptures we are warned about being those who have ears but do not hear and have eyes but do not see. Of being like the people of Israel who made idols while in covenant with the one true God. Of being like one of the thousands who heard Jesus speak truth and saw him act in love and power, yet left with unchanged hearts. These people experienced God - the Creator, the Truth, and the Savior of the world. They saw him and his works with their eyes. They heard his word, the word that created the world and longs to bring life to our souls. Yet they did not recognize him. They heard, they saw, and they left unchanged. And we do this too.

It takes a callous heart to not recognize the one who created it, the one who loves and redeems it. In Psalm 17 David describes these people as “those of this world whose reward is this life.” In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us that it takes a conscious effort to stay attuned to God in this world because anxiety and drunkenness in the pleasures of this world are more common to the human heart. The proud heart, the anxious heart, the fulfilled heart – in none of these is there room for God. So they pass by unmoved by the truth that is spoken to them, by the salvation offered to them.

So what shall we do? Surely this is sin. We love and have faith in things that are not God, to the point that we no longer recognize His voice. In all this we need grace. Only grace can open our eyes and ears to these defects, can change a calloused heart, can set the sinner free. Unwarranted, un-repayable, completely redeeming grace. Grace like this cost much – the life of God himself as Jesus died to take our shame and sin on the cross.

Jesus died and rose again so that we could hear, see, and enjoy a relationship with God. A God that knows us and loves us all the same, that takes our calloused, anxious, proud hearts and makes them soft. So we come to Jesus in prayer again and again to experience the abundance of love and grace that keeps our hearts free, that reaches beyond the depth of any worldly pleasure or anxiety that our hearts could know.

Genesis: Abram and Lot are on one plot of land that is too small for their possessions.

Philippians: Paul speaks of his old life in comparison to his new life in Jesus. He counts all he has gained as a loss in light of Christ. Psalm: David looks to the Lord for his light and salvation in the midst of trouble and is not shaken. Times get hard and we wonder whether God is truly as faithful as He said He is.

When the skies turn gray and God feels far from us, we must always remember that He always keeps   His promises. His promises lie outside of our roller coaster experiences and emotions. His promises are constant. When you come to the end of yourself and realize that you are in need of a Savior, His offered promise to save you from your sin still remains. At times we must wait for His promises, but nonetheless, He has promised and He will never break his promises.

Dear Father, I pray that you help us to remember who You are, even in the midst of trying times. Help us to hold on to You when we feel like we are about to buckle under the pressures of this world. Please remind us of the glory that is waiting for Your children so that we can stay hopeful. Amen!

As we continue our journey through Lent, we focus on Christ’s conquering of sin and death through His sacrifice on the cross. This keeps us in joyful anticipation for His coming (Phil. 3:20). Daily, we wage a war on sin and temptation; but if the Lord is our light, what will we fear (Ps. 27:1, 3)? The greatest enemy we will ever have to face is death which Christ conquered. Therefore, nothing is unconquerable for Him.

Facing temptation can be intimidating and frightening, but if we live a life in imitation of the Apostle Paul, who lived in imitation of the Lord, we envisage both the suffering of the Lord and His resurrection (Phil 3:17). Renouncing our earthly possessions removes many of the distractions that take our mind off Him. Do not let yourselves be one who loses focus and whose end is destruction (Phil. 3: 19). When we dwell in His presence and practice a life in imitation of Him, He will hide us in Him who has conquered sin and death (Ps. 27:5). Blessed is He who has delivered us from sin, and who has delivered our foe into our hands (Gen. 14:20)! Rejoice, and recognize the good things he has done for us!

Heavenly Father, you are glorious and everlasting. The psalmist sings for the Lord to deliver him from his foes; likewise, we must humbly ask that the Lord deliver us from evil and lead us not into temptation (Ps. 27:12). We sing to the Lord, praise Him in all circumstances and humbly pray that you keep our eyes focused on You. Amen!

On this Saturday in Lent, let us find security and comfort knowing that the Lord is our eternal shield. In the face of evil and malice, He will keep us safe; He will give us courage to outlast fear; He will give us asylum in His grand wonder. By His love, those who seek to do us wrong will stumble and fall. He shall not only be our shelter but our guide and our strength. For this we will seek Him, learn from Him and be lead on the simple path past our enemies. We will have courage, knowing He will forever fill our hearts with strength. (Ps. 27)

All those who praise Him and come forth in His name shall be blessed for we share the house of the Lord and the light He shines upon us. He offers up His light to us and joins us all in his love. We give thanks and praise to the Lord our God, for He is good, merciful and enduring (Ps. 118:26-29).

Those who wander astray from the Lord and refuse to accept His love will not see His face and will be left alone in their desolate homes. Let us rejoice, open our hearts, and exclaim, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” He is merciful, patient, and kind and will love all those who express love for Him. Come under the wing of the Lord and be unified, be loved and be enlightened. (Matthew 23:37-39).

Dear Lord, in times of darkness You are our light. In the face of evil Your love is our shield, Your kindness our armor, and Your mercy our sword. In You we find strength, courage, peace and blessing. In You we love and trust until all may be lead from the darkness and gathered in Your house. This we pray. Amen!

Fasting, Prayer, & The Coming Kingdom. Traditionally Lent is a time for fasting and prayer in preparation for the celebration of Easter. Through prayer and fasting we put off the desires of our physical selves, the concerns of earthly endeavors and look toward our future hope, rooted in the expectation of Christ’s return, a future glory as citizens of heaven. In the Philippians passage, Paul calls us to do this very thing in following his example. Paul was faithful to the cross of Christ and lived as if the world had been crucified to him and he to the world; (Galatians 6:14). In fact, Christ was Paul’s only glory and not the physical selfishness of the world, (see verse 21), and his mind was set only on heavenly things, (verses 20-21), rooted in his clear understanding that he was a citizen of a different kingdom from this world, the Kingdom of Heaven, (verse 20).

This is not an easy thing to do! It is hard to imagine something that has not yet become a present reality. It is hard for us to focus upon something that has not yet become evident. This is especially true in the face of all the clearly visible difficulties and distractions we face every day. These difficulties often challenge our faith in Christ or lead us away from following him. It is easier to focus our minds on the present, on the things that are immediately before us, on our physical needs and earthly desires. But the Apostle Paul in the Philippians passage challenges us to set our minds upon our true citizenship in heaven and deny our earthly pain and humiliation.  

And we accomplish this through prayer, with thanksgiving, and the denial of our earthly desires (e.g., fasting). When we do this we not only reorient our lives to the reality of our heavenly citizenship, we are comforted with the peace that surpasses all understanding; (Philippians 4:4-9).

Heavenly Father, in the glory of the cross Your Son embraced the power of death and broke its hold over Your people. Now in this time of repentance and fasting, draw all Your people to Yourself, that we who confess Jesus as Lord may put aside the deeds of death and accept the life of Your kingdom. Help us to see past our humble state to the reality of our true citizenship in Heaven. Amen!