Reflect, Repent, Renew: Lenten Daily Devotional Week 2

Lenten Daily Devotional, Week 2: February 15-21, 2016

The Christian season of Lent has traditionally been set aside by the church as a time for reflection, repentance and renewal. It lasts forty days, plus Sundays, and is meant to mirror the forty days of Jesus in the desert. We are called to take on new disciplines, new ways of thinking, and partner with the Holy Spirit to more clearly see who we can be in Christ as we embrace what our Savior has done for us. This devotional guide can help you in this journey.

How to use this devotional guide: You may choose to use this for individual use, for small groups, or for use during family time. Each day there are readings from scripture – several psalms, another Old Testament reading, a reading from the Gospels, and from the New Testament epistles. We encourage you to read one or more of the passages and meditate on them. Some of the scripture passages are obviously connected to the season, while for others the connection may not be so obvious. The devotional writing for each day is in response to one or more of the scripture passages. We have left room for your personal notes and reflections.

If you find the devotional writing to be a blessing or help, please let the author know. After all, you will see them in worship – and how often do we get to thank an author in person?

In addition to the printed version available each Sunday for the next week, they are also on the church website, www.avongrovenazarene.org. Click “Connect,” then click “Pastor’s Blog.”

Writers:

Kris Guertler is the wife of Jim and mother of Jamie. She serves as director of our women’s ministry, on the Academy board and music ministry. She is a school nurse in the Octorara Public Schools. She lives in Parkesburg.

Heather Hyde is the wife of Jackson and the mother of Hadley. She serves as our Associate Pastor. She lives in Chatham.

Becky McGehean is the wife of Jay and mother of Maddy and Mackenzie. She is an administrator at Avon Grove Nazarene Academy and a member of the church board and youth staff. She lives in West Grove.

Jay McGehean is the husband to Becky and father of Maddy and Mackenzie. He serves as our youth pastor, and is a health and physical education teacher at the Avon Grove Charter School. He lives in West Grove.

Justin Reed is a senior at Avon Grove Charter High School, a leader in our youth group and involved in music ministry. He lives in Cochranville.

Clara Saxton serves as director of Kingdom Kids, our Wednesday evening program for children, and is a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway,  Fox and Roach Realtors. She lives in Kennett Square.

Esther Schutz is the wife of Mike. She serves as our Minister of Worship Arts and Administrative Assistant and teaches music lessons. She lives in Penn Township.

Mike Schutz is the husband of Esther. He serves as our senior pastor. He lives in Penn Township.

Beckey Williams is a recent graduate of West Chester University and serves as director of the after school program and a teacher at Avon Grove Nazarene Academy, and is a member of our music ministry. She lives in Oxford.

Monday, February 15

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 41, 44, 52; Genesis 37:1-11; Mark 1:1-13; 1 Corinthians 1:1-19

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, ² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: ³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— ⁶ just as the testimony of^[c]Christ has been strengthened among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰ Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. ¹² What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”¹³ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

¹⁸ For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”   1Corinthians 1:1-19

There is something about the way Paul writes that I have always found captivating.  Maybe because like a good leader he leads with love and a softness where you feel valued.  However, just as you get comfortable he slaps you across the head with a “wake up” call.    

Paul’s issue here with the people of Corinth is that they were becoming a church divided over the views of their leaders.  They became distracted and, in doing so, they lost focus on their mission to spread the word of Jesus.   Sometimes we get distracted by our own priorities, sometimes it’s our views on things and sometimes we allow others to be a distraction.  This can happen both inside and outside of the church.  Church should never be a distraction.  

This season of Lent let us focus on what is truly important.   Let’s focus on the cross and share that great story of love and sacrifice with those in our lives.  In doing so, there will be some who won’t understand the importance of the cross.  They don’t want to hear about the cross as it has no value to them.  This is a shame because for the rest of us it is where we pull our strength.  It is where we receive our value, where we receive our mission and our purpose.  

Let your mission this season be one of Love!  I don’t want to be a follower of man, I want to follow Christ.  Will you follow Him with me? – Jay McGehean

Tuesday, February 16

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 45, 47, 48; Genesis 37:12-24; Mark 1:14-28; 1 Corinthians 1:20-31

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. ² For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. ³ He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. ⁴ He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.  ⁵ God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. ⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. ⁷ For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. ⁸ God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. ⁹ The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted. Psalm 47

Upon the completion of the Super Bowl, when football season is officially over, I begin to anticipate post-season hockey and basketball games. Now, I know our Philadelphia teams haven't been all that great recently; but, isn't it exhilarating to watch your favorite team advance? Although the sports analyst, officials, and fans make predictions and may have good reason behind the team expected to win, the reality of the game’s outcome relies on the players themselves.

This passage of scripture reminds us that God is in complete control. Unlike an unpredictable sports game, in the game of life, God has already won the ultimate victory. The scripture reads, "For God is the King of all the earth… God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne." We all know the feeling when our favorite sports team gets defeated by their rival, that same feeling after a tough loss. Contrary, with God, we continually sit on the winner’s side.

The challenge is changing the way we think and live out our lives knowing God cannot be defeated. Along with validation that God has already won, this passage calls on us to clap our hands, shout, and “sing praises to God.” Rejoice in knowing that God is fully in control. – Beckey Williams

Wednesday, February 17

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 49, 53, 119:49-72; Genesis 37:25-36; Mark 1:29-45; 1 Corinthians 2:1-13

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts; there is no one who does good. ² God looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. ³ They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one. ⁴ Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? Psalm 53:1-4

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. ³ And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. ⁴ My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. ⁶ Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. ⁷ But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

¹⁰ these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. ¹³ And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:1-13

                It is one of the challenges and blessings of Lent. We have the opportunity to admit that we don’t understand it all, that we don’t have it all together, that we are often more foolish than wise, and more like the unbelieving world than like the great saints of the faith. Ironically, it has always been the great saints of the faith who understood this about themselves most clearly.

               

This is why the spiritual disciplines are so helpful – and often seem so defeating, at least at first. When do I realize I am scattered and easily distracted?  – when I try to pray. When do I see most clearly that I am a slave to my desires? – when I try to fast. When do I find myself most in need of affirmation and even superficial conversation? – when I attempt to spend more time with God by spending less time on Facebook and Twitter.  When do I realize my priorities are all out of focus? – when I try to tithe.

As C.S. Lewis wrote,

"Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and

ambition when infinite joy is offered us...

We are far too easily pleased."

               

                This is what Lent is for: to remind ourselves once again that pretending to be wise, pretending to be holy, pretending to have it all together, pretending to be a saint, is just foolish. We need Jesus, we need community, and we need to be reminded that the great disease needs the great cure. In the words of the classic Charlie Peacock song, “I’m still a man in need of a Savior.” – Mike Schutz

Thursday, February 18

Scripture Readings: Psalm 19, 46, 50, 59, 60; Genesis 39:1-23; Mark 2:1-12; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:15

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; ³ though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. ⁵ God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. ⁶ The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;  he utters his voice, the earth melts. ⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. ⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. ¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” ¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah Psalm 46

Psalm 46 has always been a comfort during life's difficulties and the unknown.  It reminds me of God's great presence as we face uncertainty.  There's no doubt that within those verses of comfort there are commands included to help us persevere through the present trial.

"I am your refuge and strength, help in times of trouble."  A refuge is a place of safety.  He is our escape but that doesn't mean we are running from our problems. We run to him to rest and relax when the heaviness of life is trying to overwhelm us.

"Be still."   It's important to take extra time to sit and listen to our Father during difficult circumstances. Sometimes he wants to share his wisdom with us, mostly he wants to share his peace and comfort.

A devotional thought I read from a few days ago refers to God as our "Supply."  I thought this was a new way of understanding how God wants to provide for us, give us energy and renew us for the next day.  We can rely on him with our greatest worry and he will supply our need. – Heather Hyde

Friday, February 19

Scripture Readings: Psalm 40, 51, 54; Genesis 40:1-23; Mark 2:13-22; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. ²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.  Mark 2:18-21

I have read Mark 2: 18-21 many times and thought, "Well, that's nice"...and I move on not really thinking about its meaning.  This time I asked myself, "What is Jesus really saying here?"  The Pharisees and teachers of the law questioned Jesus about fasting.  He responds with the parable of the new cloth and the new wine skins.  In other words, he makes it clear that the old and the new simply~don't~work~together.  No longer are we bound by the weight and burdens of the past.  He nails the written code to the cross and makes us alive in him.  He sets us free.

With Jesus there is no need to turn back to what was; to that which was comfortable, stale and static.  If we find our relationship with him to be static, it is only because of us.  Jesus wants nothing more than our relationship with him to be growing, vital and dynamic...just like the waves of the sea.

With courage, we should ask, "What is it, Jesus?  Show me the new...every day in every moment.  Take me to the place where you are."  2 Corinthians 5:17 the apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."  

Are we experiencing and living the new?  If we are stuck or really don't know, invite Jesus to define what new life really means.  He loves to teach us.  There is no better time than now to begin.   - Kris Guertler

Saturday, February 20

Scripture Readings: Psalm 55, 138, 139; Genesis 41:1-13; Mark 2:23-3:6; 1 Corinthians 4:1-7

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. ³ You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. ⁴ Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. ⁵ You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” ¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day,  for darkness is as light to you. ¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. ¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! ²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. ²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? ²² I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. ²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139

I think we all have people in our lives who know us well.  I’m not talking about the people that know us on the surface.  I’m talking about the people that REALLY know us.  Maybe it’s a spouse, parents, siblings, or a best friend.  These are the people in our lives that know all the colors and layers of our personalities.  These people know how we are really feeling, and we can never fool them.  These people are the ones who make us feel seen, heard, and noticed when others don’t see, hear, or notice us.  

Psalm 139 is a fairly well-known Psalm, and I know I have always loved it.  It is a beautiful song of praise to a God who cares for us more than any human being could.  God ALWAYS sees, hears, and notices us.  He is the best friend and most loving Father we could ever imagine.  In this Psalm, David almost seems overwhelmed by God’s care for him and knowledge of Him.  In The Message, verses 4-6 say:

“You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in!”

Be thankful for the people God has placed in your life who really know and treasure you.  They are a human reflection of God’s overwhelming love.  Be even more thankful for a Heavenly Father who is always there, always listening, and always loving completely. – Becky McGehean

Sunday, February 21

Scripture Readings: Psalm 8, 24, 29, 84; Genesis 41:14-45; John 5:19-24; Romans 6:3-14

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” ¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, ¹⁸ when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. ¹⁹ After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. ²¹ But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. ²² “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. ²³ After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. ²⁴ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.” ²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same.God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. ²⁷ The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. ²⁸ “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. ³¹ The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. ³² The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. ³³ “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. ³⁶ This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” ³⁷ The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. ³⁸ So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. Genesis 41:14-45

God gave Joseph a great gift; he was able to interpret the dreams of those around him. While in prison he received notoriety for interpreting the dreams of one of the other inmates. Eventually word of his gift made its way to the Pharaoh, and when he began to have unexplainable dreams he called upon Joseph. Joseph explained to the pharaoh that the dreams came from God warning him that after seven years of abundance there will be a seven year famine; he suggests that Pharaoh take the dream seriously because God has set his mind on it, and indicated it through the use of two dreams. After revealing the meanings behind the dreams Pharaoh rewards Joseph by putting him in charge of overseeing that the land of Egypt will take a percentage of their harvests every year in preparation of the coming famine. 

This story speaks to me because it's a reminder that God has a plan for each of us, and he has given us the gifts to succeed. God works on a very different timeline than us, and seems to call on us when we're least expecting it; like he did with Joseph while he was imprisoned. We have to be willing to wait and listen for God, because only he knows the plan he has for us. Joseph waited, and was rewarded in the end for it, so we should make sure we're ready when God calls. – Justin Reed