John 12:27-28 - (Jesus said) “Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!”

Have you ever thought how easy someone else’s job looked? Ever gotten the feeling that somebody thought you really had it made in your job? These conclusions are usually based on things we observe from the outside.

I can recall times when I’ve thought, “Yeah, you think so? Maybe you should try actually walking in my shoes for a day.” We likely never really do understand what others are going through.

We don’t have a detailed account of what Jesus did minute by minute during the week he died, but there are a number of times we get a glimpse of His agony—the suffering Jesus is going through even before the actual physical punishment begins.

Jesus’ burden isn’t any easier or the pain any less real because He is God’s Son. This sacrifice, His agonizing death, is all very real. Plus, Jesus is carrying the burden of all our sins. In today’s verse he even speculates about an easier way out: “ … and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?”

Thankfully, Jesus didn’t take an easy way out. As He said, “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!”

THE PRAYER: Jesus, as we meditate during these final days, help us to appreciate the
great love You have for us that brought You to bear the punishment that should have been ours. Thank You for the price You paid that we might spend eternity with You in heaven.
Amen.

1 Peter 4:7-8 - The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

We’ve traveled a long way through these weeks in Lent. I hope as we enter Holy Week
you know God loves you deeply. His love for you is what brought Him to earth and to this week in which He will suffer and die for your sins. The instruction above, to “love each other deeply,” is meant for us. It is the example God set for us as to how He wants us to act toward one another.

Ever have someone pick up a check? It’s a good feeling when someone covers the tab for us. “You’re covered,” means everything is taken care of. There’s nothing more you need to do.

Through His sacrifice, Jesus is saying exactly that: “you’re covered. Everything is taken care of, and there’s nothing more you need do.” Now Jesus calls on us to share this same love with others because love truly is the one thing that covers all sins.

Is there someone who needs your forgiveness? I pray God’s Holy Spirit will enable you to say to them, “You’re covered. There’s nothing you need to do. I forgive you for Jesus’ sake.”
THE PRAYER: Lord, thank You for the forgiveness that is mine through Jesus. Give me the strength to share that same love and forgiveness with others. Amen.

Romans 5:6 - You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

It’s said that “timing is everything,” and there are lots of applications to that saying. In baseball, a split second may mean the difference between a home run and just a long foul ball.

We may look for “just the right time” to approach someone on a matter of business. Maybe we need to ask for a day off. Perhaps we’re trying to share some difficult information, like a report isn’t going to be finished on time.

Do you recall an instance when you searched for just the right time to do something?

When did God choose Jesus to die for you? Scripture says, “At just the right time, when (you) were still powerless.” You see, it is no accident God sent His Son to die for you or that you are at this current place in your walk with Him. God’s timing is perfect; His plan for you is without flaw.

God didn’t wait for us to do something right or in some way measure up; He sent Jesus to die for us when we had nothing to offer in return, while we were totally powerless and without any worthiness.

The timing is perfect. It’s all on God and His grace and mercy.

THE PRAYER: Father, thank You for calling me at this time, helping me to know that it is for me and all sinners that Jesus died. Amen.

Isaiah 63:9 - In all their distresses He too was distressed, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Jim was a good neighbor, a really nice guy, and I don’t want you to get any wrong ideas from this story. I needed a favor. I needed Jim’s help with something I did not feel able to do on my own,and his involvement had to be kept confidential. After listening, Jim told me why he felt it would be better for me to handle this on my own. Yet, he understood my awkward feeling with this particular situation and agreed to help in some way.

Before our conversation ended, Jim let me know there might come a time in the future when he might need to call on me for something. This favor wasn’t going to come without strings attached. Like I said, don’t get any wrong ideas or think less of Jim. He was just conducting business as many of us might do, nothing wrong or illegal. He was helpful to me, but he was also a shrewd administrator, and the world had taught him to get something in return for his efforts.

Jim was a good neighbor, but he didn’t love me as a father might love his child or a husband a wife. He certainly helped me out, but he also held out the possibility he might expect me to do the same. God saw us in our distress, and He too was distressed. He lifts us up; He carries us. In His love and mercy He has redeemed us, and there are no strings attached to that promise.

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your unconditional love that is ours through Jesus our Savior. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Science is not my strong suit. It’s a subject in which I often get things backwards. Our Bible verse describes the cross of Jesus in a similar manner. By most standards of common sense and worldly wisdom, the cross as the way to salvation appears backwards or just plain foolish.

In my quest to become a better science teacher, I took some courses to increase my understanding. I soon found that Bernoulli’s Principle (air pressure) could explain many scientific concepts.

Take a glass laboratory funnel for example. Turn it upside down, covering a ping-ong ball atop a book, and invite kids in a chapel service to see if they can make the ball rise inside this glass cone and stay there when the book is removed. Your first volunteers will always be the oldest kids in the school, usually boys. No problem, just suck on the skinny end of the funnel, like a straw, and watch the lightweight ping-pong ball rise.

Over the years of teaching this lesson, not a single junior high kid has ever made the ball rise inside the funnel. I really confound them when I invite a young child to come forward and instruct the little one to take a deep breath and then blow. As they blow down into the funnel, the ball rises and I remove the book. Amazing! Well, not really. It is similar to the concept of an airplane wing. Air passing over theball creates a low pressure, causing air underneath to push upward—a high pressure rushing in under the low and causing lift.

What appears to be utter foolishness results in amazement. Such are the amazing ways of our God who sent His only Son to die for us sinners.

THE PRAYER: Father, thank You for Your amazing love for us in Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 26:48 - Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them; “The one I kiss is the man; arrest Him.”

“Dad, will you take a picture of us?” It was Jenny’s eighth-grade graduation banquet. She, Julie, and Nathan were standing under the arbor set up especially for capturing the evening’s picture memories. “Dad, count out loud and snap it on three.” Uh oh! Poor Nathan. I know these girls and have no doubt what is coming. “One, two…” SMACK! Terrific athletes with perfect timing, the girls got on tiptoe, turned, and Nathan received a kiss on each cheek just as the flash went off. I felt like I had betrayed him.

In the case of the graduation banquet, things worked out all right. Jenny, Julie, and Nathan are great friends. Nathan’s parents even requested a re-enactment, but they had to settle for a copy of my picture.

Judas’ kiss was much different. I can’t recall another time when such a sign of love and affection was used in such a terrible way—to betray a close friend. In this case, it was Judas’ own teacher, his Lord and Savior. Yes, I said Savior. Remember, the once-and-for-all sacrifice? Jesus died for all, even Judas.

The sad part of Judas’ story isn’t that he betrayed Jesus but that after returning the blood money to the Jewish leaders and trying to undo what he had done, Judas did not turn to Jesus to seek forgiveness. Instead, he hung himself. He missed accepting Jesus as his Savior, a Savior who would forgive even that kiss in the Garden.

Is there something you are carrying that you feel is too big, too terrible for Jesus to forgive? I invite you to turn it over to Him today.

THE PRAYER: Dear Savior, I bring all my sins to You, especially those heavier burdens. Send Your Spirit to guide me and bring peace to my troubled heart. Amen.

John 12:35-36a - Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” …

At the end of our block is an electric company substation. My first thought was that all those metal boxes, towers and wires were a lightning rod for every passing storm, but in time I realized that our neighborhood loses power even when the weather just threatens and becomes overcast. We’ve lived here 20 years, and I’m still not convinced the substation does not have something to do with our frequent outages.

Whatever the case, we’ve learned to keep light sources handy—battery operated lights, crank lights, kerosene lamps, even some propane camping lights—except for that first night, that is. Yep, the day we moved in a terrible storm hit, and with tornado warnings up, Diane ordered us all to the basement. Do you have any idea what it is like to spend your first night in your new home, a totally unfamiliar place, in complete darkness?

As we draw closer to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, He is speaking about Himself as the light. In another place, John records Jesus as saying, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5b). Jesus goes by many names, each of which describes an important role He plays in our lives.

The life without Jesus is even more lost than being in the basement of a strange house without electricity in the middle of the night. “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light” (John 12:36a).

THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You are the Light of the world. Thank You for bringing safety and comfort to me in a world that is dark with sin. Amen

John 12:23-24 - Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

By now, you pretty well know I grew up in Chicago, but the first place I taught was in rural Michigan, the Saginaw Valley, or what is commonly known as Michigan’s Thumb. That was a neat experience for a city boy. Grandpa grew up on a farm in Austria. Coming to the United States when he was 19,he lived most of his 83 years in Chicago, where he always had a large garden. I was eager to live in a farming community, and he was excited for me to have this opportunity and experience.

Gardening, however, is apparently not hereditary. No, I never have been a very successful gardener. Enjoying what comes from the garden, cooking and even canning fresh garden produce has been great; I’ve always been a good consumer, but not a good producer.

Have you ever seen a wheat field? It is amazing how those tiny grains can produce a field so thick and lush, a beautiful thing to see when it turn colors as harvest approaches. Jesus tells His disciples above that the planting time is at hand for Him, the time when He will fall to the ground and die. Jesus understood where this journey was taking Him, and we will hear more about this during the days of Lent to come.

THE PRAYER: Jesus, thank You for the sacrifice You made on our behalf. Help us to continue planting the seed of Your Word, that Your harvest of souls might indeed be full and beautiful. Amen.

Philippians 2:5-8 - Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

The sign at the end of the driveway read, “Purse Party – Public Welcome.” Had I not been blessed with a daughter I would be ignorant of such terms as LV (Louis Vuitton), Burberry, Coach, Dooney & Bourke, and other fashion designers. The public purse party, however, was for knock-offs, imitations of the expensive designer line of purses.

Usually we think of an imitation as something bad or less than authentic. But imitation can also be a form of flattery, a compliment if you will. We are called to imitate Jesus, to be like-minded, having the same selfless attitude as Him, setting aside things that perhaps place us over others and to become more Christ-like,a servant.

The really wonderful thing about Jesus is that He is no imitator. Jesus is the real thing, true God just like his Father, but He didn’t consider His “equality with God” something He had to hold on to tightly. Rather, He willingly set it aside for a time, making Himself nothing and becoming like us, humbling Himself even to the point of death on a cross for our sake.

God invites us to be like Christ. On our own, we couldn’t even manage a cheap imitation, but through the power of the Holy Spirit we can indeed become imitators of Christ, spreading His message by word and deed to others who do not yet know Him.

THE PRAYER: Father, bless me with Your Holy Spirit that I may become like Your Son, Jesus, humbling myself and for His sake, becoming a servant to all. Amen.

Good morning, everyone! I want to thank the many of you who have continued with the journey even through Lent. I know I have dropped the ball a couple of times and forgotten to post the LHM devotional for the day. My sincere apologies. It is harder than I thought to remember to post something that I haven't written myself.

Have a great day...
Pastor Aaron

Deuteronomy 32:39a - See now that I Myself am He! There is no other god besides Me. …

My favorite restaurant sits next to a marina, and many of the boats docked there during the summer are worth several times more than my house. The boats in the yacht club harbor, a bit closer to Lake Michigan, are larger yet and even more expensive.
Most days during the summer, those boats don’t move. They are used only occasionally by weekenders who drive up to our community. Sometimes I sit and wonder just how much
money a person must have to own such an expensive boat and use it so little. And, when I’m not careful, I begin to envy what I see or imagine.

In today’s Bible verse, God reminds us that only He is God. He warns His people about putting their trust in other gods and even challenges them with these words about other gods:

“Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter!” (Deuteronomy 32:38b).

Sort of like me, I guess, when I begin imagining how wonderful life must be for someone who owns one of the luxury boats in the marina. There’s certainly nothing wrong with having a lot of money or owning a beautiful boat. The danger comes when these things become our god, the thing in which we put our trust. Or, when like me, you begin to envy someone for what they have.

THE PRAYER: Father, forgive me when I put my trust somewhere other than You. Remind
me daily that You are the only true God and that through Your Son, Jesus, I have all I need. Amen.

Psalm 4:8 - I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

“What are you doing up?”

It was late, the middle of the night, and Jenny was very young. She found me in the living room watching an old movie on TV and …

“The cookies were calling me. Didn’t you hear them?”

So began a long tradition with my daughter, Jenny. It wasn’t the last time she found me eating cookies in the middle of the night. Ever since that first night, I don’t think Jenny ever found me up in the middle of the night when she hasn’t asked, “Were the cookies calling you?” And I know for sure she’s never found me up in the night when there haven’t been cookies and a glass of milk on my table next to me. As Jenny got older, not only did she faithfully continue asking about the cookies calling, she often began asking, “Are you okay?”

The late night milk and cookies aren’t a frequent occurrence anymore, and whatever has caused my restlessness isn’t typically very serious. Sometimes Jenny and I may chat, nothing too heavy, but in those couple of minutes I think God is reminding me that He does care about me, and He sends Jenny to deliver the message. I finish up my cookies, head back to bed and sleep well.

It sounds like the writer of this Psalm may have been familiar with losing a bit of sleep, but in today’s verse he lies down in peaceful sleep because he knows that in the Lord he is dwelling in safety.

THE PRAYER: Lord, thank You for those people You have placed in my life to remind me of Your love and protection. Amen.

Isaiah 43:18-19a - Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? …

“I can forgive them, but I cannot forget,” she told me. That said, the friendship cooled and an estrangement set in that lasted for years. While the relationship was eventually repaired, sadly, nothing could replace the time lost.

Forgetting is an essential part of forgiveness. Without it, the person above merely said she would forgive, but no true forgiveness had really taken place.

When God talks about forgiveness, here is what He says: “For I will forgive their wickednessand will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34b). Odd, isn’t it? Forgetfulness is a human shortcoming few of us can escape; yet the person above states she cannot forget the wrong done to her. And then God, who is perfect, says
that He indeed does forget when it comes to our sins.

Again, we learn how God’s way is different than our way. I’ll never quite understand how God who is all knowing cannot remember something, but I’ll take Him at His Word,
especially since it’s my sins He promises not to remember. Is there something you are holding on to that you need to let go of?

THE PRAYER: Lord, help me to forget those former things that need to be forgotten. For Jesus’ sake, enable me to forgive others as You have forgiven me. Amen.

Luke 15:1-2 - Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear Him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

I told you that harmful, even hateful words would be spoken about Jesus. In this case, it is the Pharisees and teachers, the so-called “good people” who are talking about Him in a hurtful way. Actually, they were muttering. You know—-that kind of quiet grumbling we sometimes do about others. All the while, however, these religious leaders were really hoping the words would come around to hurt Jesus. He heard their muttering and responded, but that is tomorrow’s devotion.

The reason for their muttering was that these good people were upset that Jesus was dining with bad people. Remember “Good Better Best”? The religious leaders didn’t approve of the company Jesus was keeping. But look who is muttering, and look who is listening. These so-called sinners and tax collectors are gathering around Jesus to hear Him. They don’t presume to tell the Lord of the creation and the Savior of the world anything. They gather to listen.

Are you in the company of Jesus today? You are the company that He would like to keep. I pray your heart is open and you are listening to His words of comfort and forgiveness. He wants to dine with you.

THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, speak to my heart today. Open my ears to Your message; guide my steps in Your path. Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

It doesn’t always take a lot of words to say something powerful. Sometimes when I got in trouble as a kid, my dad, an ex-Marine, would look at me and say, “I’ve got just two words for you, and they ain’t happy birthday.” This always got my full attention rather quickly. That being said, Dad was a great guy and, thankfully, I never did hear those “two words.”

Today’s Bible reading contains two very powerful words—“for us.” Jesus was born and God made Him who was sinless to be sin (to bear the world’s sins) for us. There was no other reason for Jesus to suffer as He did and die except to do so for us.

But why suffer and die? There are two more important words—“so that.” Why did Jesus die for us? He did this so that we might become righteous in God’s sight. Justice demands payment for sin, and God knew we certainly weren’t able to pay for our own
sins or to save ourselves. I’ve actually got four words for you: for us so that.
THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for becoming sin for us so that we might become “the righteousness of God” and spend eternity with You in heaven. Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17; 20b - So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! … We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Wow! Can you imagine no longer looking at people “from a worldly point of view”? The guy who blares his horn at you while driving or the person who is impatient or rude with you—what about them? Just imagine for a moment not responding to them with equal rudeness, repaying evil with evil. Kind of tough to imagine, isn’t it?

How is this accomplished? It’s not by our willpower, that’s for sure, but through Jesus who has reconciled us to God. Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins, God responded to our sin in a way that is the opposite of how the world would respond. Instead of punishing us for our sin, God sent His Son to provide us with the free gift of forgiveness.

Now, in Christ, God has made us a new creation, enabling us by the power of the Holy Spirit to react to others in a new—and Christ-like—way.

Is there someone who has wronged you, someone with whom you are angry? By worldly standards they may deserve your anger, perhaps even punishment, just as we deserve punishment for our sins. How is God calling you to respond in a new way, a way different from the worldly way of doing things?

THE PRAYER: Lord, thank You for the forgiveness that is ours through Jesus our Savior. Through our own reconciliation to You, enable us to be reconciled to one another. Amen.

Isaiah 12:5 - Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things: let this be known to all the world.

Today’s newspaper carried a story on local myths: “The Satanic Skater of Hickory Creek,” “The Monster of Sister Lakes,” “The Black Panther of Grand Mere,” and “Melon Heads.” The writer was making a connection between local legends and today’s urban myths of the Internet.

Have you noticed how quickly horrific stories or false information spread? Sometimes it seems that news about bad things circulates more rapidly than good news. Maybe that’s our fault. Do we perhaps show more interest in the prurient and the ugly?
Sure, some of the local legends’ stuff is good-natured kidding or just old-fashioned story telling, and I can appreciate that. But what about those things people say are false and truly harmful?

As we continue our Lenten journey, there will be many lies and hateful things said about Jesus our Savior, even though He had come to earth to accomplish wondrous things for us, and to save us from our sins.

Isaiah encourages us to “sing to the Lord” and declare the glorious things He has done on our behalf. He would have us tell the whole world!

THE PRAYER: Lord, bless our speech, that our words may be God-pleasing, that what we say builds up others rather than tearing them down, and that we share with others the glorious things You have done for us in Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Psalm 51:1-2 - Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love, according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Before moving on from the recent devotions about our sin, “worse” sinners, “better” sinners, and all that …

One of God’s most famous apostles, Paul, called himself the “the worst” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15b). I guess that would technically make him the best (i.e. worst) sinner ever. Paul wasn’t joking either; he knew his sins had even brought death to others, much like we learned about King David yesterday.

How deep is our sin? It goes to the core, all the way back to our conception and birth according to Psalm 51.

The verse above talks about “transgressions,” “iniquity,” and “sin.” You’d think
one word would be enough, but it’s not. It doesn’t cover it all. To transgress means to “step beyond” the boundaries. In King David’s case, it could be said he did that when he committed adultery or when he gave the order to station the husband of the woman he was having an affair with on the front lines, thereby increasing his chances of being hurt or killed.

But before David actually did anything, he had those sinful thoughts in his heart. Iniquity refers to this sinful state, which is our very nature. The word sin refers to missing the mark—as when we’re trying to do our level best and still fall ridiculously short.

Anyway you look at it—our very nature, our trying our best but falling short, and our
outright decision to hurt someone else—are all sin. But there are even more words God uses when describing how He covers our sins: mercy, unfailing love, great compassion, blot out, wash away, cleanse, create, restore, sustain,and more.

THE PRAYER: Father, have mercy on me, according to Your unfailing love, according to
Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Amen.

Psalm 51:1 - Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. (Also read Psalm 51:2-12.)

Having read our previous devotions about God’s love and forgiveness, have you forgiven others and accepted God’s forgiveness toward you? Today’s passage from the Psalms is actually a prayer. Quite likely it is the prayer King David prayed after being confronted by God’s prophet, Nathan. David committed adultery with the beautiful Bathsheba and then tried to cover up his sin by placing Bathsheba’s husband in the front line of a battle where he ended up being killed. Nathan called him to account.

Pretty bad stuff, isn’t it—adultery, murder, conspiracy? How terrible are your sins? Worse than David’s? Remember yesterday’s devotion about “worse” and “better” sinners?
King David understood that sin is sin, that all of us our sinners, and that all sin, no matter the severity,separates us from God.

God sent Jesus into the world to remove that separation, to heal the brokenness caused by our sins, and to renew our relationship with God through the sacrifice of His own blood. Let’s borrow a bit from David’s words and pray together:

Have mercy on me, God, according to Your unfailing love, According to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. My transgressions and my sin are always right here in front of me. I can’t deny them. Lord, cleanse me, and I will indeed be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow! Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Amen.