A Lenten Devotional: Merchandising Truth

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there.

Matthew 21:12

We read in the Gospel how Holy Week began with Jesus entering the temple and driving out all those that bought and sold. He then rebuked the vendors of doves: "Get these things out of here!" He was so crystal clear in his command that it was if he said, "I have a right to this temple and I alone will be in it and have control of it." What does this have to say to us? The temple God wants to be master of is the human soul, which he created and fashioned just like himself. We read that God said, "Let us make man in our own image." And he did it. He made each soul so much like himself that nothing else in heaven or on earth resembles him as much. That is why God wants the temple to be pure, so pure that nothing should dwell there except he himself.

And that is the reason why he is so pleased when we really prepare our souls for him. When we do this, when he alone dwells in our hearts, he takes great comfort. But who, exactly, are the people who buy and sell? Are they not precisely the good people? See! The merchants are those who only guard against mortal sins. They strive to be good people who do their good deeds to the glory of God, such as fasting, watching, praying and the like--all of which are good--and yet do these things so that God will give them something in exchange. Their efforts are contingent upon God doing something they ardently want to have done.

They are all merchants. They want to exchange one thing for another and to trade with our Lord. But they will be cheated out of their bargain--for what they have or have attained is actually given to them by God. Lest we forget, we do what we do only by the help of God, and so God is never obligated to us. God gives us nothing and does nothing except out of his own free will. What we are we are because of God, and whatever we have we receive from God and not by our own contriving. Therefore God is not in the least obligated to us--neither for our deeds nor for our gifts. He gives to us freely. Besides, Christ himself says, "Without me, you can do nothing." People are very foolish when they want to trade with God. They know little or nothing of the truth. And God will strike them and drive them out of the temple. Light and darkness cannot exist side by side. God himself is the truth.

When he enters the temple, he drives out ignorance and darkness and reveals himself in light and truth. Then, when the truth is known, merchants must depart--for truth wants no merchandising! God does not seek his own benefit. In everything he acts only out of love. Thus, the person who is united with God lives the same way--he is innocent and free. He lives for love without asking why, and solely for the glory of God, never seeking his own advantage. God alone is at work in him.

As long as we look for some kind of pray for what we do, as long as we want to get something from God in some kind of exchange, we are like the merchants. If you want to be rid of the commercial spirit, then by all means do all you can in the way of good works, but do so solely for the praise of God. Live as if you did not exist. Expect and ask nothing in return. Then the merchant inside you will be driven out of the temple God has made. Then God alone dwells there. See! This is how the temple is cleared: when a person thinks only of God and honors him alone. Only such a person is free and genuine.... And what does Jesus say when the soul has been cleared? His word is a revelation of himself and everything the Father has said to him.

He reveals the Father's majesty with unmeasured power. If in your spirit you discover this power, you will possess a like power in whatever you do--a power that will enable you to live undividedly and pure. Neither joy nor sorrow, no, nor any created thing will be able to disrupt your soul. For Christ will remain and he will cast aside all that is insignificant and futile. When Jesus is united with your soul, the soul's tide moves back again into its own, out of itself and above all things, with grace and power back to its prime origin. Then your fallen, fleshly self will become obedient to your inner, spiritual self, and you will in turn have a lasting peace in serving God without condition or demand.

Excerpted from: Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter

Lenten Devotional - He Came and Found Them Sleeping

Jesus came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come." (Mark 14:37-41)

Near Gethsemane there is a cave where some believe the disciples were told to wait while Jesus went into the olive grove to pray late that night. Perhaps he did not want them to see him in his greatest distress. But before going into the garden, Jesus asked his three closest companions, Peter, James, and John, to go with him. He revealed to the three of them just how deeply grieved he was. He asked them to "stay awake with me" (Matthew 26:38) and then asked them to remain in the garden as he went just a little farther to pray by himself. Jesus fell to the ground to pray; but then, after a period of time, he went back to Peter, James, and John. He repeated this pattern—praying alone and then returning to the disciples—three times before Judas arrived with the Temple guard to arrest him. Some have suggested a parallel between these three occasions and the three temptations Jesus experienced at the beginning of his ministry.

The fact that the disciples had fallen asleep each time points to their own temptation and, more importantly, to the temptation of his followers ever since to sleep when Christ most needs us. At times as a pastor I have been "asleep on the job." On the day I was writing this devotion, a member of my church died, someone about whom I truly cared. I knew that he was ill. I had spoken with his wife earlier in the year. I pastor a very large church with a team of pastors and laypeople who provide care for our members, and he was cared for by others in that group. However, when I received notice about his death, I was stunned and grieved. I called his wife to convey my condolences. But I felt such sadness that I had missed the chance to be with him in the days leading up to his death. I had been asleep on the job. In the New Testament, "being awake" is a phrase used to describe being spiritually ready, most often for the return of Christ, but also ready to do what the Lord needs whenever he needs us. It entails a watchfulness and a way of paying attention to what is happening around us, to the needs of others, and to the direction of the Holy Spirit. We are meant to stay awake and keep watch.

Have you ever, like me, and like those first disciples, fallen asleep when Christ truly needed you? Lord, many times my spirit has been willing to do your will; but my flesh has been weak. Help me to stay awake—to listen for your voice and to be used by you to care for your people. Amen.

Excerpted from: 24 Hours That Changed the World Daily Devotions by Adam Hamilton

A Lenten Devotional - Two Gardens

There was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. (John 18:1)

Not what I want, but what you want. (Mark 14:36)

John's Gospel begins with these words: "In the beginning..." John chose these particular words as a way of pointing to the meaning of the gospel. With them he intended to take us back to Genesis. The story of Adam and Eve serves as the backdrop of John's Gospel. Adam and Eve were given a garden in which to live. God planted the garden and then called them to tend it. There, before a tree, they were tested and tempted. They succumbed to the tempter, turned from God's way; and Paradise was lost. Their story is, of course, our story. Each of us has known the will of God; but at some time, at some level, we have turned away from it. We have eaten the forbidden fruit. John alone tells us that the place where Jesus prayed on the night he was arrested was a garden. Matthew and Mark do not tell us this; they only tell us it was the place of the oil press. (This is the meaning of the word Gethsemane.)

The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives but is no more specific. John alone tells us that Jesus went to a garden to pray. In this garden Eden was being reversed. Jesus' public ministry began with the temptation to lay aside God's will and to accept all the riches of the world from the hands of the devil. And now here, at the end of his life, Jesus was in a garden, facing the temptation to save himself and flee. I wonder what the serpent whispered to him that night: "Did God really intend for you to suffer and die?" Or, "Surely you don't believe that if you die, anything will change." Or, "What good will you be when you are dead?" Or, "Do you really believe that this band of misfits you call disciples can carry on your mission? Look at them—they're sleeping! It's not too late, Jesus. Run!" Two gardens. In one, Adam and Eve were warned that death would come if they disobeyed; and they still could not resist the forbidden fruit. In the other, Jesus was told he could avoid death if he would only disobey. How different were the responses to temptation between the first Adam and Jesus (whom Paul calls the "second Adam"). In the first garden Adam prayed, "Not thy will, but mine be done"; and Paradise was lost. In the second garden, as the disciples slept and the Temple guard made their way across the Kidron Valley, Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but thine be done." His prayer was central to the restoration of what had been lost in Eden.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, popularized the following prayer, meant to help those who use it to follow in Jesus' steps, surrendering to the will of God:

I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what you will. Rank me with whom you will. Put me to doing; put me to suffering. Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full. Or let me be empty. Let me have all things. Or let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. Amen.

Excerpted from: 24 Hours That Changed the World Daily Devotions by Adam Hamilton

Lenten Devotional - Father, Let this cup pass from me

And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me." (Mark 14:35-36)

At the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem stands the Church of All Nations, also known as the Basilica of the Agony. It was built in the early 1900s atop the ruins of two previous churches, one dating to the time of the crusaders and the earliest dating back to the fourth century. The Church of All Nations is, for many, one of the most moving places to pray in the Holy Land. In front of the altar is what remains of a limestone rock outcropping that tradition says was the place where Jesus came to pray. Stars adorn the ceiling of the dimly lit church, taking worshipers back to the night when Christ prayed in this place. Pilgrims are invited to kneel around the exposed bedrock, touching it while praying as Jesus did nearly two thousand years ago.

Somewhere near this place Jesus threw himself to the ground that night and prayed, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me" (Mark 14:36). In essence he was praying, "Father, please find another way to accomplish your plans--a way that does not involve the rejection of the priests, the cries of the crowd, the torture of the soldiers, the humiliation and pain of the cross, and the darkness of death." On this night Jesus resisted the path that was laid out before him. He struggled with what he believed was God's will. He was not the first to have struggled in this way.

Read Exodus 4, where you will find Moses giving God excuses as to why he could not return to Egypt to confront Pharaoh. Or consider the story of Jonah, who refused God's command and only obeyed after three days of soaking in a great fish's gastric juices. Have you ever found yourself struggling with God? Was there a path God would have you take that you wanted to avoid? Was there a risk that seemed too great or a price that seemed too high? Have you ever prayed with Moses, "Lord, send someone else"? Have you ever run with Jonah in the direction opposite where God was calling you to go? Have you ever knelt with Jesus in the garden, saying, "Remove this cup from me"? Pursuing God's will is at times costly. Jesus said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Are you willing, even grudgingly, to go where God calls and do what God asks, regardless of the cost? After arguing with the Lord, Moses relented and returned to Egypt, risking death to lead the Israelites to freedom. Jonah, in the darkness of the great fish's belly, finally said, "OK, send me!" And Jesus, despite praying for the cup to pass from him, accepted it when Judas handed it to him and drank from it, laying down his life for God's mission.

Recently, I visited the Basilica of the Agony, touching the stone before the altar where Jesus may have prayed. I was reminded of times past when a cup far less difficult and deadly was passed to me, and I refused to drink. Kneeling there, I tried to feel his agony. And I thanked him for the costliness of his grace.

Prayer: Lord, you understand my weakness and fear. You know the times I refused the cup you passed to me. Forgive me, I pray. Help me to say yes when you call me to pursue your mission for my life, no matter what the cost. Amen.

Excerpted from: 24 Hours That Changed the World Daily Devotions by Adam Hamilton

Lenten Devotional - God's Love for us

Sunday was a great day at NRN! We welcomed several first time guest to the church. On Sunday evening Sharron and I welcomed 23 people to our home for a 'birthday fellowship". Today I continue in my Lenten commitment to post a daily Lenten devotional. I hope this helps on your Lenten journey this year.

The peace of Jesus Christ is the cross. The cross, however, is God's sword on this earth. It creates disunion. Son against father, daughter against mother, housemates against the head of the house, and all for the sake of God's kingdom and his peace—that is Christ's work on earth. Is it surprising that the world finds him guilty of hatred toward human beings, him who brought God's love to human beings? Who, then, is apt to speak thus about the love of father or mother, about loving one's son or daughter, if not either the destroyer of all life or the creator of a new life? Who can lay such exclusive claim to the love and sacrifice of human beings other than either the misanthrope or the savior of human beings? Who will carry the sword into the houses other than the devil or Christ, the Prince of Peace?

God's love of human beings on the one hand, and human beings' love of their own kind on the other, are much too dissimilar. God's love of human beings means cross and discipleship, and yet precisely as such it means life and resurrection. "Those who lose their life for my sake will find it" (Matt. 10:39). This assurance is given by him who has power over death, the Son of God who goes to the cross and to resurrection and takes his followers with him.

Excerpted from: Meditations on the Cross By: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Worship at NRN on Sunday March 27 2011

On Sunday March 27, 2011, I plan to continue in the teaching series:

Today at NRN is going to be a great worship experience.

Here are the worship songs for our time together:

Lenten Devotional: The Path of God

Luke 4:5-8: Then the devil led him up a high mountain and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

We have again come to Passiontide, and again we must collect our thoughts that we may understand what it means. Christ on the cross—that was the proclamation with which Paul set out. That was his God. That was the God for whom the first martyrs died. It was the God whom Luther rediscovered. And it is the same God whom we today are about to understand anew; or better, the same God who seizes us today anew. Christ on the cross, Christ the hidden king of the hidden kingdom—that is the message of the Protestant Church. Christ the revealed king of a visible kingdom—that is the message of the Catholic Church. Hence it is important that we understand what Passiontide is about. The time of Christ's passion begins not just in Passion Week, but on the first day of his preaching. He renounced the kingdom as a kingdom of this world not just on Golgotha, but from the very outset. These are the ideas expressed in our story.

Jesus could have become the lord of the world. As the Messiah of Jewish dreams, he could have liberated Israel and led it to glory and honor. His entry procession could have been that of the visible king of this world. What a remarkable man this was, a man to whom dominion over this world is offered even before he begins his own work. And he is all the more remarkable in that he rejects the offer. So it is simply true, and not just biblically intended, that Jesus could have become the most splendid and powerful of all the kings of this world. He would have been honored; he would have been believed had he then dared to say he was the Son of God. After all, even the Roman emperors were believed when they said it. The world really would have become Christian. It would have had Christ as its king. It would have had the one who had been expected so long. The one whose power extends over all the earth, who establishes a reign of peace on earth.

So Jesus could have had all that. He realizes in this instant that now, high on a mountain, for a moment, he is gazing upon all the kingdoms of the world, knowing he could be their ruler. But he also knows that a price must be paid for such dominion, a price which he deems too high. Dominion would be his only at the cost of his obedience to God's will. He must bow before the devil, go down on his knees before him, worship him. And that means he would have become a slave, and would no longer be free. He would be a slave to his own ambition; a slave of those who want him so eagerly. But he remains the free Son of God, and recognizes the devil who is trying to enslave him. [...]

Jesus knows what that means. It means debasement, revilement, persecution. It means being misunderstood. It means hatred, death, the cross. And he chooses this way from the very outset. It is the way of obedience and the way of freedom, for it is the way of God. And for that reason it is also the way of love for human beings. Any other path—be it ever so pleasing to people—would be a way of hatred and of contempt toward human beings, for it would not be the way of God. And this is why here, then, Jesus rejects the devil. Because it is the way of God through the world, he chooses from the very outset the way to the cross. And we are going with him, as individuals and as the church. We are the church beneath the cross, that is, in disguise. Yet here as well, all we can do is realize that our kingdom, too, is not of this world.

Excerpted from: Meditations on the Cross by Dietrich Bonhoeffer