Lenten Devotions for the coming week
Posted: February 27, 2020 Filed under: Bishop's Blog Comments Off on Lenten Devotions for the coming week
Sisters and brothers in Christ,
Today I offer more devotions from the students of our Wesley Foundations across what will be the Tennessee Western Kentucky Conference. I hope you find them helpful.
Thursday, February 27
“Up on Your Feet and On Your Way!”
Read: Jonah 3:1-10, Psalm 51
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. -Psalm 51:10 (NRSV)
In Jonah 3, God calls Jonah to travel across Nineveh, which was a three-day walk, and proclaim God’s message. This is the second time God commands Jonah to go, and after him running from God the first time and ending up in the belly of a whale, he obeys. I really like the Message translation of the first two verses. It says, “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh!” Sometimes I feel like life is kind of like this. I sense God nudging me to do something or use me in a way that feels uncomfortable and I push back on it, not wanting to take the risk and step out of my comfort bubble. Often, this lands me in a figurative whale’s belly, but the cool thing is, God doesn’t just give up on me or leave me in the belly. God challenges me again, tells me to get up on my feet, and leads me where I am called to go.
I also catch myself doubting my ability to successfully follow God. Oftentimes I don’t feel equipped to carry out God’s mission or confident enough in my own faith to make a difference. When I am in these lows, I find comfort in praying Psalm 51, asking God to renew my heart, grant me a willing spirit, and deliver me from sins of the world. It is in these moments of crying out and blindly trusting God that the greatest transformation is experienced in my life. I want to get up and go on my way to sing the praises of the Lord now and forevermore.
Thought for the day: God wants me to run alongside God. Not away, against, or into, but with.
Prayer: Lord, open my heart and mind to follow You when I am called. Blanket me in grace so that I may live my life in an abundant way that glorifies You. Call me and I will follow. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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- M. Hudson (Belmont Wesley)
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Friday, February 28
Transgression Met with Compassion
Read: Jonah 4: 1-11; Psalm 51; Romans 1:8-17
“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt of erings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” – Psalm 51:16-17
Jonah 4:1-11 Like Jonah, I can let worldly inconveniences cause me to be angry. When God shows his love and compassion I resist and insist on staying in my dark mood. Jonah tells God in verse 3 “please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” but God doesn’t work by our commands. The Lord doesn’t wish for Jonah to suffer or to die, instead, He shows his kindness and compassion. Whenever faced with opposition or anger, a response in kindness and love prevails. You cannot fight anger with more anger, just like you cannot fight hatred with more hate. God taught Jonah the importance of trusting in His prevailing love.
Romans 1:8-17 Paul reflects on how he’s accepting of all and will not hold back the Gospel from anyone who will listen. He’s unashamed of his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. In our world of instant messaging and endless exposure to marketing, we as Christians must remember our priorities. Paul’s priority is to live out his passion for spreading the Gospel. He knows that “in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed” therefore he is just the messenger. We often take on the weight of worrying if our words will bring others to Christ, but this is a reminder from Paul that God will prevail.
Thought for the day: Our time on this Earth is finite, spend the precious moments with those you love and show love to strangers even when it seems uncomfortable. The Lord sees all and most importantly, your heart.
Prayer: Lord, let my life be a beacon of Your Goodness and compassion for humanity. I pray that my disposition for kindness and love will resonate with every soul I come across in my daily life and forever. Amen.
Prayer focus: Someone with unresolved anger.
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- C. Collier (Belmont Wesley)
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Saturday, February 29
“Moving into Consciousness”
Read Psalm 51
“About that time… “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven”… What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.” – Matthew 18: 1-7
Thought of the Day: God wants me to be aware of my actions during the day.
When I was 5, my twin sister and I were in a Chinese restaurant with our family after the Christmas Eve service at church, and they had some of those coin machines that you could get those little floppy sticky hands that you could throw against something and it would stick to it. We didn’t have any money, and couldn’t convince any family members to give us any, and so we made the decision to take quarters out of a St. Jude’s donation display. The reason I tell this story though is not to point out the obvious sin that came in that moment, but to point out the bad decision that led to the sin.
Psalm 51:5 says “For I was born a sinner, yes from the moment my mother conceived me.” I think for a lot of us, the word sin is hard to define. For me, sin comes from the decisions that we make that end up causing harm to others or more importantly ourselves. What Matthew 18 is trying to convey is that unless you become aware of what causes the decisions that lead up to the sin, you can’t ever fully move away from the pain it causes. The temptation of sin that the passage talks about is the moments that lead up to the “sin”. To stop the temptations and the loud thoughts that run through our unconscious brain, we have to become aware of ourselves consciously in the moment. To be able to see and understand what is causing those decisions to be made. For my sister and I, those moments leading up to stealing the money weren’t full of conscious thoughts of stealing from sick children, but instead of unconscious thoughts of what we wanted in that moment and of reassurance that it was the right thing. We didn’t think about the way we were hurting others.
In our daily lives there are things that we do that can hurt others and hurt ourselves, and it comes from the temptations of our own brain. It’s the unconscious thoughts that we let run wild in our heads that can tend to override the transition into conscious and purposeful thoughts that drive our actions. To truly move away from the bigger sins that this passage refers to, we have to become aware of ourselves and the way that our actions can cause pain. We have to chose in that moment, to fight the unconscious thoughts to become present in the moment, and to choose to let the conscious and rational thoughts drive the way we come into a better way of living.
Prayer: Dear God, help me to move into my conscious thoughts in moments that are tough, so that I can move away from the temptations of my unconscious self. In your name, Amen.
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- A. Mink (TTU Wesley)
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Sunday, March 1
The Daily Examen
Read Psalm 32
The prayer of Examen is a spiritual practice that trains us to still our hearts and minds, reflect on the day/week/month/season that has just passed, and reset for the time to come. We have sprinkled this practice throughout this devotional guide to assist you in your journey through the season of Lent.
- Become aware of God’s presence: Lookback on the day and note the times you felt God was with you, assisting. Feel God with you now and ask to become more conscious of God’s presence. It may be helpful to repeat a phrase like, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), or any other prayer that connects you to a Higher Power.
- Look back with gratitude: Review the past 24 hours and notice what you’re thankful for. What happened to make you feel blessed? Take a moment to give thanks to God for providing you with these blessings.
- Take an honest look at your day: Note everything that happened over the course of the past 24 hours, your interactions with others, and your emotions. We often rush through each day, not pausing to reflect. Doing a deep, honest reflection of the past day causes us to learn more about ourselves and improve our future actions.
- Choose one part of the day, and pray about it: From doing your review, you might find something God is directing you to work on – an emotion, a relationship that needs mending, an unpleasant situation. Pray for it, ask God’s guidance to resolve it.
- Pray for tomorrow: Ask God to guide you tomorrow leading you to your highest purpose. Send love and light to tomorrow, praying for wisdom and strength. Feel deep gratitude, knowing God has already answered your prayer and tomorrow is already blessed. Take some deep breaths, and know that all is well.
Monday, March 2
Fear Meets it Maker
Read Psalm 32
Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 3Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. -1 Kings 19:1-8
Ever since I was a small child I was scared. I was scared of talking to new people, trying new things, speaking up for myself, taking risks, and even cutting my own food. I was and still am constantly afraid and nervous, just as Elijah was so scared for his life that he asked God for him to die. Yet God told the man to get up off his but and eat, just as he tells me everyday to get up and to speak for myself and others. Just as God tells all of us to go out and show those who despise us love, courtesy, and respect. Just as God tells us to go and serve those who are lacking, whether it is with money, housing, food, or love. No matter how scared we are at taking those risks, God tells us to go on out and go on our journey, just as Elijah did.
As said in Psalm 32, the Lord will protect and defend us as long as we admit and acknowledge our sins and mistakes. This applies to us falling short of delivering peace, love, and service to those that we think to have wronged us. We need to acknowledge that we fell short and admit that we failed due to our fears and anxieties in order for us to grow past them and for us to properly serve our communities. Once we are able to come to terms with our own shortcomings and misfortunes we will finally be able to properly use the strength God has always provided us. It is only when we keep silent and fail to speak up that we fail ourselves and our community, but we can always come back from it due to god’s love and patience.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for your everlasting patience for when we feel scared and lost. Through you and our own acceptance, we can find the strength and courage that we need to get through the day, as well as helping others through their own days.
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- L. White (Austin Peay Wesley)
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Tuesday, March 3
The Daily Examen
Read Hebrews 4:14-5:10
The prayer of Examen is a spiritual practice that trains us to still our hearts and minds, reflect on the day/week/month/season that has just passed, and reset for the time to come. We have sprinkled this practice throughout this devotional guide to assist you in your journey through the season of Lent.
- Become aware of God’s presence: Lookback on the day and note the times you felt God was with you, assisting. Feel God with you now and ask to become more conscious of God’s presence. It may be helpful to repeat a phrase like, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), or any other prayer that connects you to a Higher Power.
- Look back with gratitude: Review the past 24 hours and notice what you’re thankful for. What happened to make you feel blessed? Take a moment to give thanks to God for providing you with these blessings.
- Take an honest look at your day: Note everything that happened over the course of the past 24 hours, your interactions with others, and your emotions. We often rush through each day, not pausing to reflect. Doing a deep, honest reflection of the past day causes us to learn more about ourselves and improve our future actions.
- Choose one part of the day, and pray about it: From doing your review, you might find something God is directing you to work on – an emotion, a relationship that needs mending, an unpleasant situation. Pray for it, ask God’s guidance to resolve it.
- Pray for tomorrow: Ask God to guide you tomorrow leading you to your highest purpose. Send love and light to tomorrow, praying for wisdom and strength. Feel deep gratitude, knowing God has already answered your prayer and tomorrow is already blessed. Take some deep breaths, and know that all is well.
Wednesday, March 4
GOD the Father
Read Exodus 34:1-9, 27-28; Matthew 18:10-14
“Blessed is the one who’s transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered…. Therefore, let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found… You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance…. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” ~Psalm 32
At the beginning of the spring semester, I received a word written on a paper star at the first UT Martin Wesley Foundation worship service. We talked about epiphany and the magi who were enlightened and came with frankincense, gold, and myrrh. At the end of the service, I received the word comfort. This word brings back memories of home, snuggling up to my mom and dad with baby sister in tow to listen to them read bible stories when we were little. It’s nostalgic, homey, and comforting. I’m reminded of my parents’ rules as I grew up and how I often found them unfair and compared my friends’ house rules to mine. Now that I’m older, I know that was a way to show me their love. They wanted me home safe every night and out of trouble. For that, I am immensely grateful.
Still today, I’m learning repeatedly of God’s love, protection, and comfort he provides for us as a Father would. I’m reminded of the Ten Commandments, which He gave to the Israelites and what we still follow today. And even as I, or we, may wander and compare God’s inbreaking Kingdom versus the consumerism of our world today, God is looking—calling—for us like in the parable of the lost sheep. He constantly leaves the ninety-nine in search of the one and rejoices when he finds him/her and brings His sheep home.
In this season, I remember how Jesus Christ taught and discipled faithfully for three years, walking his way to the cross to make way for His sheep to come home and receive grace and mercy. When trials and failures come, remain strong in his grace and mercy, the path is not meant to be easy. Come home and be comforted, share God’s love, protection, and comfort with others. Exercise his grace and mercy by opening your fists, receive and be fed. Then, when the time comes, go and feed others and rejoice.
Prayer: Dear God, our Father who protects, loves, and comforts us, we pray that You may open our fists and we may come home. May we remember the grace and mercy You offer us now and forever, and may You guide us as we feed Your sheep, and remember Your sacrifice as we walk our way in this season to the cross. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer focus: Comfort, feed and be fed.
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- L. McGranahan (UT Martin Wesley)
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Greater Things Are Yet To Be Done 