Daily Devotionals for the Third Week of Lent

For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Reflection: Have we been a stiff-necked people (33:1-6)? Note the sarcasm “the people you brought up”. Note God remembers his Promise to Abraham. Note that He will even send an angel, but He will not go. Observe the sadness of the people; and God’s estimation of them: stiff-necked. The removal of their ornaments was permanent.

Ornaments they were given in Egypt on their departure were used to fashion the Golden Calf.  

The ornaments were an enabler to their sin.

The sin always causes sadness and regret. Some would see here the mandate not to wear jewelry. That is not the issue here. The issue is that anything which causes you to sin, strip off that ornament. Is it alcohol and drugs? Strip off that ornament.

Is it gambling? Strip off that ornament. Is it an illicit attraction? Strip off that ornament. Is it plagiarism? Strip off that ornament. Is it indifference with your spiritual family? Is it laziness to better understand the Word of God? Strip off that ornament. Strip off any ornament that distances you from your Lord. That is the challenge!

If you want to go on your own, the Lord will let you. He doesn’t require that you lean on him. Would we go on, assuming our own self-sufficiency, and move forward without the Lord’s presence or approval? How many of us in our own lives go forward every day in our own strength? I am not a theologian. I just want you to think! Can you?

One of the most important aspects of fasting during the season of Lent is learning humility. As we give up objects of our affections in order to focus more on the infinite love of Christ, we try to not speak out too often about it. The reasoning behind this is so that we do not speak as though we are doing it because we are good people or because we are acting on our own behalf.

Instead of being boastful we are humble in our fasting and give glory to God. Sometimes though, in our attempt to be humble, we forget to speak of both ourselves and God. We do not give glory to ourselves but we still neglect to give glory to God. In Psalm 105:1-15 and 42 we see that we should be humble about how we act and should proclaim the great acts of God in our thankfulness and worship. In this time, where we focus so deeply on humility, we must not forget to praise God, sing to Him, and make His name known among the nations for all of His wonderful acts.

Take a moment and reflect on what God has done in your life, the way He has taken your heart of stone and made it soft, taken a sinner and made you a son or daughter and by His grace brought all who believe to Him so that we may be heirs with Christ. God deserves all of our praise and worship. No good thing can be done except through Christ including giving up the idols of our affection.

So we pray, we praise and we seek. Pray thankfully remembering that God did great things, does great things and will continue to do great things that we cannot even imagine and we are blessed enough just to be a part of it! Continue to ask Him to do great things. Pray boldly for His Kingdom to come and his love to come crashing into this world and our lives. Praise Him for these great things. Tell the world so that all can see the glory of God, His name will be made known and some may come to saving faith in Him through these proclamations. And always, continue to seek him and experience the amazing, beautiful, all fulfilling, all-encompassing joy that comes from knowing the God of the universe.

Lord of All the Earth, Give me the boldness to proclaim Your good works among the nations. When I speak to those around me, may they know that You hold my soul and that the only reason I have hope in my future and in this life is because of what You have done for me. Thank you for giving me the chance to glorify You in this season by giving up what I have and relying on You for everything. Thank you for loving me. Amen!

Loving God begins with Him—we love Him because He first loved us. When Lent began three weeks ago, and we entered the wilderness, we began denying ourselves a few things. Denying ourselves comforts does not come easily. This psalm of David was written while he was in the wilderness. Have you ever experienced the kind of longing for God David describes in the first verse? His soul thirsted for God. His flesh longed for Him.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus began His ministry hungry? And He ended His ministry feeling thirsty. In Psalm 63, David says he was thirsting for God, “in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” “Thirsting for God” does not mean that God can be purchased in 12 and 16 ounce bottles from soft drink machines. Did you ever watch a woman try to feed a spoiled child?  “Please eat this, honey.” “No!” What she ought to do is take the food away and not give it anything until the next meal. Then the child would eat, because the child would be hungry and thirsty! Thirsting for God means we seek God. We are seeking both knowledge about God and an encounter with the living God. A person who is hungry and thirsty for Christ will find Christ every time!

It is now Lent, a time of self-denial. We have gone with Jesus into the wilderness. It is in the wilderness, where we have nothing materialistic, that we experience the presence of Jesus in amazing ways. Jesus Christ is leading us into a spiritual wilderness. Will you follow Christ?

Almighty God, give us the strength to do your will. We are longing for Your Presence and Power. We seek your Grace and Love. You are our hope and our reason to keep pressing forward. In Your Name, we pray. Amen!

Several years ago I underwent emergency surgery to repair a hole in my thyroid cartilage that had been torn during a medical procedure and become infected. Once the ear, nose and throat specialist to whom I had been referred had completed his tests he told me I needed surgery and I naively said “When?” His reply was “Immediately.” Five hours later I found myself in the ICU where I stayed for 11 days my body infused with antibiotics and unable to speak because of the tracheotomy that had been performed in addition to the thyroid repair. Perhaps, like David in Psalm 63, I was in my own personal desert during this experience. Like David, my comfort and peace through all of this was found by focusing on God.

Even though he was king of Israel at the time, David found himself in the wilderness of Judah fleeing from those who sought to kill him. Even in the midst of these difficult circumstances, David’s focus was not on himself but on God. David says: “earnestly I seek you”, “my soul thirsts for you”. He knows something of the character of God too: “you have been my help” and “your right hand upholds me”. He has most likely come to know God in a personal way as he had seen God work throughout his life.

What is your “desert?” Is it disappointment in a failed relationship? Is it in not getting the service assignment you had been striving for? Is it in facing a serious illness? During this Lenten season as you face your own “deserts” follow the example of David who, even in the midst of his desert experience turned to God in confidence and hope.

Lord God, Holy Father, help us to keep our eyes on You as we face our own personal deserts in life. You are our help and Your right hand will sustain us just as
it did David. Amen!

In case there was ever any doubt, while reading the Isaiah passage we know that God loves us. In fact, this passage shows how He first loved us! God tended to the nation of Israel by first giving them everything they could possibly need to flourish. He gave them fertile land, clearing it of threats through His servants Saul and David, and providing them with clear instructions on how to lead lives in His service through His Word. Yet the Israelites continued to serve idols and disobey God’s instructions.

This was the land and the times King David grew up in while he was only a shepherd boy. The same David – in between shepherd boy and king – wrote today’s Psalm when he found himself in a barren desert. While finding himself in the barren land, David longed for God’s presence, peace, and power. David’s earnest desire for the reassurance provided by God dictated how he conducted himself: and this is what the prophet Isaiah means by fruits in today’s scripture.

David acted like someone who knew and longed for God even when he felt God might be far away. But trees do not need the gardener to be present for the fruit’s growth. So David produced good fruit, because the Gardener had planted a good tree in him, and provided it with everything he needed, despite the barren land.

As you go about today, check yourself and see what kind of fruit you are producing for the world around you to consume. Make sure that you are still the same good tree that Christ planted in your life while you wait for the Return of Christ. After all: “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45b), and the world should be able to see the joy Christ has brought into your life whether you are in a time of trial or on the mountaintop.

Father, “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night… I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.” Thank you for giving me the light of eternal life. Thank you for giving me the grace to share it today with others around me. You mean more to me than life and I long for your presence in everything I do today. Work in me and allow me to make room for your work in my life today. Amen!

I have a confession to make. I like food. I love food. It is part of my Louisiana heritage to enjoy Cajun delicacies. As I spend my Navy career in exile from the homeland, I often dream of the food of my youth that is not readily available outside South Louisiana. During my trip home over Thanksgiving I returned to Annapolis with an ice chest full of smoked sausage to be ready for the gumbo season.

What do you desire? We all have cravings. Some are good as long as moderation is practiced. Others are not and must be resisted in totality. The real question for us today is how strong is your desire for God? The Psalmist in today’s reading reflected “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Do you truly yearn for God as you would for water on a parched summer day with not even an oasis in sight? Do you go to the same effort to spend time with God that you do to fulfill other desires in your life? Even worse, do you desire evil that darkens your heart? Paul warned the Corinthians of the people of old who were struck down because they turned to idolatry or sexual immorality rather than desiring God.

I am reminded of God’s words through Jeremiah 2:13. “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns than can hold no water.”

Ask yourself today, “Do I desire things that will leave me empty and unfulfilled, or do I desire God with all of my heart, and soul, and mind, and strength?” Let your prayer today be, “Oh God, You are my God; I will earnestly seek You every day of my life.”

Heavenly Father, Reveal to me the broken cisterns in which I place my trust. Forgive me for desiring things of the flesh rather than desiring You. Forgive me for seeking temporal pleasures instead of Your presence. Forgive me for misplaced passions and desires. Guide me today. As I sleep and as I wake, may the meditation of my heart be on You. Renew me. Restore me. Oh God, You are my God. I praise you and seek You today. Amen!