Lenten Devotional

I will be on my way to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya for a while. 
In the meantime, Here is a Lenten Devotional- day by day 2/13- 4/1. 

The theme of the Lenten Devotional is "Bearing Fruit and Finding Peace." 
It has a focus on the Fruits of the Spirit. 

Please say a prayer for Dr. Sloan and the Trinity Presbytery South Sudan team as they minister to the South Sudanese in the refugee camp in Kenya.  Pray for them to bear fruit and that there will be more peace in the camp and in South Sudan too. 

Note: Ash Wednesday (2/14) there will be a worship service (sanctuary) at 7 PM
Each Wednesday there will be a meal and a worship service in the Fellowship Hall.
Blessing will be at 5:45, worship 6:20, Programs 6:30 nursery and children's program provided. 

Holy Week we will have our meal and worship on Maundy Thursday 3/29 worship at 7. 

Fat vs. Shrove Tuesday

2/13/2018 FAT TUESDAY AND LENT EVE

1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself. (Galatians 5:1,13-14)

Thoughts: Mardi-Gras, Fat Tuesday is one of the biggest parties in the world.  1.2 million (twice the normal population) will swell New Orleans.  There’s a whole lot of over indulging, and purposefully forgetting of identities.  But ironically it is a decayed piece of Lent.  The Roman Catholic idea was that you were supposed to fast and repent during Lent, so many took that as meaning you do the opposite on the day before Lent.  It is, they would say, the last chance to over-indulge, be overtly consumed with the things of the flesh.  For some, the 40 days of Lent are spent regretting the one night of Mardi Gras!  This is one of the reasons Calvin and Zwingli did not like Lent.  Christians are supposed to be Christian not just during Lent/Easter or Advent/Christmas.  All time and all life belong to God.  Jesus certainly taught nothing that insinuated we should only be holy or seek to follow God at certain times.       Shrove Tuesday (from Shriving Tuesday) got its name from eating up all the foods that would not last the forty days of Lent- especially food with fat in it (Thus the French "Fat Tuesday").  But while this idea may have had religious significance, it came to mean the feast before the fast- or the party before repentance.
      "Shrove Tuesday" gets its name from the English "Shriving": the practice of going through the house and eating up the food that would not last the 40 days of Lent.  This would especially include foods with fat in it (thus the French "Fat Tuesday"= "Mardi Gras").  Obviously even such pure beginnings became corrupt.  So that it evolved/decayed into the feast before the fast- or the party before the time of repentance.  Calvin and Zwingli especially winced at the abuses that went on in the name of religion here. 
     In the passage above that introduces the Fruit of the Spirit it speaks of real freedom.  Real freedom does not mean giving into sin- which we will regret later.  Real freedom means to love.  The Christian view of love stands in stark contrast to the world’s selfish view of love as a type of selfish pleasure.  So, here’s a thought- prepare for Lent by having a little fun.  Come out and support our youth with their pancake dinner (raising money for the Youth Facility Renovation- “The Cove”).  Look for a way today to do something for someone else as you prepare for a time of thinking of the Fruit of the Spirit. 

Prayer:  Lord, may your love that sets me truly free, fill me today.  May I grow in love with you and neighbor every day of the life you give me. 

[Below- Folly and Death at a Mardi Gras festival] 

Moses Prepares to Go to Pharaoh

27The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.

29Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. (Exodus 4:27-31)

Thoughts: Moses got his father-in-law's permission to go back to his people.  Moses got his wife's permission- and showed it by her willingness to circumcise their son.  Moses then met his brother Aaron who would help him speak to Pharaoh.  Then he met the elders and got their backing.  You see that Moses will go through the due process.  The momentum is building and will batter down the gates of Pharaoh's hardened heart.  The Lord is at work. 
    Sometimes to do God's work we have to jump through the hoops and visit the right people. For something important, we need to do things the right way. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to know how to do your will in the best way possible.  Help me to get going and do your work.   

I am sent us

13Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

14God said to Moses, “I am who I am.^c This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I amhas sent me to you.’ ”

15God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,^d the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,

the name you shall call me

from generation to generation.

16“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ (Exodus 3)

Thoguhts: God tells so much about Himself in this calling of Moses to bring his people back to faithfulness and the promised land.  He says that He is the God of their fathers.  He is not a strange God, but an intimate God who has cared for their family in the past. 
   He tells them that He has watched over them.  He has multiplied their numbers.  He has also seen their misery.  He remembered the promise of the promised land- as part of His love and His plan.  

He says his name Yeh weh= Yahweh- I am who I am.  He is the meaning of being- the reason of being. He is the one who was, is, and is to come- all tenses of the verb to be.  We are alive because the God who gives life also sustains life.  So let us also trust in Him and follow Him. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to trust and follow you to the fulfillment of your promises. 

Moses Excuses

7The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^b will worship God on this mountain.”

13Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

14God said to Moses, “I am who I am.^c This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

15God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,^d the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ (Ex. 2)

Thoughts: Moses had killed an Egyptian, and fled to the desert for a long period of exile.  He had been alone and learned the life of the Bedouin/desert people.  God called Moses to back and make a difference.  Moses gave various excuses to not go. 1) He said, “Who am I” or “You’ve got the wrong guy.; 2) “I’m not ready yet” He felt he didn’t have enough know-how- God said, “This is what you are to say.”  3) I might fail- what if they don’t believe me? God showed his power;  4) I don’t have the skills- I am slow to speak- stutter; 5) Someone else will do it- Moses says, “Please send someone else.”  Anyone can say this about anything. When we look at what Moses did, we say, “How can you possibly say that you were the right person at the right time for the right calling.” 

Let us not give excuses, but give ourselves tot he Lord without excuse.  Lord, let me believe in you and your call to me. 

Prayer: Lord, give me ears to hear your voice calling me.   

Moses- Drawn from the Water

22Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

 1Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket^a for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

5Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

7Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

8“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother.9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses,^b saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Thoughts: The Egyptians were trying to cut the Hebrew population down bu killing the boys (infanticide).  Judeo-Christian religion has always valued life and did not believe in child sacrifice, or in infanticide.  Moses' mother loved him but had to protect him by hiding him and then floating him down the mighty Nile river in a basket.  Pharaoh's daughter found the baby and adopted him.  She named him "Moses" which meant "Drew" , for she drew him out of the water.  Moses' sister, Miriam made sure Moses was nursed by his own mother. 
    Moses was not only saved and nourished by God, but he was being groomed to free his people.  

He would be in the palace of one of the greatest kingdoms in the history of the world.  He would learn to be a leader and to read and write.  He would have the education of a prince, and the knowledge to lead his people. 
    Sometimes a terrible environment can be a place where we can grow and be used by God.  

Prayer: Lord, may your love lead me through the hard times of life, trusting you.  

From Joseph to Moses

6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

8Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.9“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

11So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13and worked them ruthlessly. 14They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. (Exodus 1) 

Thoughts: In 400 years the people of Israel increased from 70 to around 2.5 million (600,000 men Ex. 12:37-38, Nbrs. 1:46).  God had indeed blessed them in the land of plenty in Egypt.  Rameses was a magnificent stone city built by slaves.  Both Pithom and Rameses were in the northeast section of Egypt near Goshen (the settlement of the Israelites).  The number of Israelites scared the Egyptians.  They obviously did not assimilate into the Egyptian culture- keeping their language, customs, and religious faith.  The Egyptians enslaved them out of fear.  In our day of much debate about immigration, we should remember the folly of the Egyptians.  We should also recognize this is not a new problem- it has been around for thousands of years.  

Prayer: Lord, let me trust in you and remain faithful to you, even if all around me do not believe.    

Joseph at the End

15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

18His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

19But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:15-21)

Thoughts: Joseph showed an amazing amount of grace.  He had gone from a proud dreamer who was his father's favorite to barely escaping death, to being put in a hole in the ground, sold to slavery, falsely accused, put in prison.  But he never waivered in his faith in God and God lifted him up.  Jospeh realized he was lifted up not just to help Egypt but to help save his own family. 
   He knew he wasn't God but saw God's hand.  He believed God had led him through the valley and up the mountaintop to save his family.  He not only didn't take revenge, he provided wealth and land for his family in Egypt.  This is the gospel- mercy and grace rolled up by God's power.  

Prayer: :Lord, help me to be gracious because you have been gracious to me.  

Kings of Judah

10The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,^c

until he to whom it belongs^d shall come

and the obedience of the nations shall be his. (Genesis 49) 

Thoughts: This is part of Jacob's blessing of his twelve sons.  Here is a prophecy about Judah.  The scepter will not depart from Judah- means that Jacob forsees Judah as the ruling tribe.  Jacob predicts Judah will reign until the Messiah comes here.  All nations will owe obedience to the Messiah. It also implies that the Messiah will be from Judah's stock.  This, of course was fulfilled.  The last to claim Judean heritage (albeit through his wife)- King Herod the Great died when Jesus was born.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to trust in your word which comes true .   

Jacob Blesses Joseph's Sons

9“They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”

10Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

11Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”

12Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn. (Genesis 48) 

Thoughts: Ephraim became the ruling tribe of the ten northern tribes (that became the northern kingdom of Israel).  It is interesting how many times the normal human way is overturned in the providence of God.  So Jacob gets the birthright instead of the older son Esau.  Judah and Ephraim appear to be blessed though Reuben is the oldest.  Joseph tried to switch the hands of his father back to the oldest.  Jacob said he knew what he was doing.  Perhaps Jacob was thinking about getting his own blessing as the younger son.  So the younger Ephraim was blessed.  God does the unexpected.  God is knowable but He is also mysterious.   

Prayer: Lord, Keep me from thinking that the normal will always exist.  Give me a heart that allows you to surprise me. 

God Guides Jacob one More Time

1So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

3“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” (Genesis 46)

Thoughts: Jacob left the promised land before to get his wives.  He had set up an altar and offered sacrifices.  God promised him that He would bless Jacob, and Jacob said if he would he would tithe to him.  14 years later Jacob was blessed when he came back. 
    Now God is telling Jacob not to be afraid to leave the promised land.  God was guaranteeing that his family would come back and they would grow and be blessed.  It took 400 years and slavery, but over 3 million came back. God promised to not desert him, but be with him.  Joseph's own hand closed his eyes.  God's promises came true.  They brought Jacob's bones back to the promised land to Hebron.  Even at the end of his life, God was still guiding Jacob. 

When God clearly calls us to move or go (even to a retirement home), we should listen to His voice without fear.  He helps us in the transitions of life.  Trust God.  Let your faith lead you.  

Prayer: Lord, give me ears to hear your voice showing me the way that I should take.  

Eyes to See God

1Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.^a

8“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’ (Genesis 45)

Thoughts: The key verse of teaching here is verse 8- "so then it was not you who sent me here but God."  Joseph saw God's salvation more clearer than his brothers' sin.  The amazing thing is that his brothers' sin was more personal for him than his being in a place to save his brothers.  Joseph allowed his purpose to overcome his pain.  This is a good lesson for all of us.  Joseph had eyes of faith that could see God working despite pain.  For some, there is no meaning at all- or pain is always appearing greater than good.  The eyes of faith overcome evil with hope and purpose. 

Prayer: Lord, give me eyes of faith that see you at work in my life.  

Sacrifice for Peace

1Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. 2Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said....

10“Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”

11Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

14Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

16“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

30“So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, 31sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’

33“Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.” (Genesis 44)

Thoughts: Joseph planned for Benjamin to be arrested., to see what the brothers would do- if they had really changed.  When he was arrested, instead of deserting him, they all came back and Judah offered to take Benjamin's place.  He was willing to be a slave rather than go back without Benjamin. He sacrificed his peace for Benjamin and his father's peace.  It was right after this that Joseph revealed himself and the family was saved and  reconciled. 
      Of course Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself for us to make peace with God.  Peace cannot come without at least a willingness for payment and the swallowing up of debt, pain, and sin.  When true forgiveness occurs- someone has to swallow pride and be willing to sacrifice themselves.  Our calling is not to have our rights.  Our calling is to do all we can to make peace with God and others.  

Prayer:  Lord, give me grace to have peace in my life.  Let me follow in the steps of Judah who was willing to give himself for  his brother.  Let me follow in the steps of Christ who gave Himself for us.