2023 Holy Monday “

Matthew 21:18-22

JESUS CURSES A FIG TREE

¹⁸ Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. ²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Building upon 40 Days of Devotion we begin Holy Week. After 40 days of sacrifice, and repentance we are now faced with the prospect of an even more difficult task. Some might say we come out of the frying pan and jumped right into the skillet. Yesterday we had a moment to exhale, to celebrate. Palm Sunday reminded us that every now and then people get it right. Jesus enters humbly into Jerusalem but he is welcomed like the King he is. The people greet him with shouts of save us and blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. For just a moment it seems like things are going to get better. Still Jesus did not get caught up in the hype. Instead of relying on the emotions of the people to dictate his future actions, Jesus continue his pursuit to the cross. Jesus chooses the Hope of eternity over the hype of humanity.

Our text begins the next morning. After the hoopla of yesterday Jesus is on his way back to the city and sees a fig tree. Upon seeing the tree there is the expectation there would be figs on the tree. Jesus is hungry and is anticipating a breakfast of figs and fellowship. What he finds is an empty tree. Looks good but producing nothing. How often are we like this fig tree. We look good on the outside, we have our bibles, and we have memorized some key verses. We know “church talk” and can be seen in some of the “right” places. But upon closer inspection, we are full of sound and fury signifying nothing. There is no substance to us. Far too often we focus on our shell and neglect our soul. Jesus expects fruit and finds fakery. He then utters what I sense to be a scary utterance. Jesus says “may you never bear fruit again”. Wow and owww. The first law GOD gave creation was be fruitful and multiple. For Jesus to say be no more fruitful is to take away its purpose. Immediately the tree withers. Life without purpose is death. When I read this I can imagine what it would be like if all hope were gone. Even further when I read this I sense Jesus challenging us on being true to fulfilling our purpose. We are called to do more than look good and talk the talk. When we are fig trees in a world that is hungry, we are intended to bear fruit. Not just leaves, but fruit.

Jesus challenges us on bearing fruit and also uses this experience as a teaching moment for the disciples. Jesus replied to the disciples amazement by saying, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” When we pray we are exposed to an unlimited supply of power. Jesus helps us to unlock a treasure of incalculable value. Faith without doubt. The power is not in the praise of people but in the presence of GOD.

Today I am encouraged to be intentional about bearing fruit. The hype of should should not dictate the life we live. Beyond the hype, the work for the kingdom must still be done. Do not grow weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap a harvest i we faint not. #livebig

POint to Ponder: How will You choose hope over hype? Who have you hyped up only to find they disappointed you? Would you rather be loved for people pleasing  or respected for telling it like it is?

Lent 2023 Day 30 “Being Present”

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Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20130;%20Ezekiel%201:1-3,%202:8-3:3;%20Revelation%2010:1-11

                                                          Psalm 130

¹ Out of the depths, I cry to you, Lord; ² Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy. ³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope.
⁶ I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. ⁸ He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Present In The Presence

Tick tock, tick tock, Waiting….Waiting….Waiting. Is there anybody who enjoys waiting? Most people I have met will describe waiting as one of their least favorite life situations. I recently observed myself and my phone have a closer relationship when I am waiting. The moment things slow down my phone comes up. Its almost a habit. Checking messages, looking at the gram, anything to pass the time. When we are waiting, our minds tend to fixate on the not yet and the things we would love to be doing. The growth opportunity exists in bringing our full attention to the present moment and identifying GOD in our midst. It is easy to grow agitated and disturbed when we are having an “out of being” experience. When I say “an “out of being experience”,  I am thinking on the lines of Being a Human being and not just a human doing. An “out of being” experience occurs when our bodies exist in one place but our minds are running all around town. Every moment of anxiety while waiting in a line, at a stoplight, at the doctor’s office can indicate an out of being experience.

In the writing of this Psalm, we connect with the writer in an intimate moment. The writer expresses the cry of the soul for help. He writes, “Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD…Be attentive to my cry for mercy. I can feel this. During the most challenging times of my life, I have found myself laying prostrate at the altar of the church I pastor with my face down and a full agonizing cry to GOD. (I do this when alone, so I don’t alarm anybody). In the moment of this cry, I am fully present. My mind is not wandering, I am totally focused on experiencing GOD and GOD experiencing me. At this moment like the Psalmist, I confront my role in my situation. Either through neglect or arrogance sin has crept into my life and I need forgiveness. My situation cannot totally change until I change. Carrying guilt locks me into living in the past. Knowing I am forgiven liberates me to live in the present PRESENCE. When we are forgiven the residue of sin can be washed away and we become new creations in Christ. Forgiveness allows us to breathe again and to begin the practice of being fully present in the moment. This is the challenge of waiting.

When we are able to say my whole being waits for the LORD, we are able to lose the illusion of time and see ourselves in the context of eternity. It is always now in the context of eternity. To wait with our while being takes practice. Imagine pausing the next time you find yourself waiting, and focus on your breathing. Drop your shoulders, exhale, de-stress and know you are blessed. Place your hope in the word of the LORD who plans to prosper you. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and put your hope in the unfailing love of GOD. Sometimes the wait is a Divine delay while GOD is preparing a great blessing for us. Instead of stressing through the stretching of waiting, Be Still and chill. GOD is with you and that’s all we need.

PRAYER: LORD we confess we want you to hurry up. We want to escape the waiting time and just get to the bottom line now. We want the joy of Easter without the pain of Calvary. Help us to wait with our whole being. AMEN

Point To Ponder: Where are you now? Are you fully present? Today when you find yourself waiting, don’t fiddle with your phone, or get distracted, but whisper a prayer for someone near you. Pray for your pastor or president. Breath and Be…

Lent 2023 Day 29 “Delighted to Serve”

Daily Scriptures: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=328

Psalm 40:5-10
40:5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted. 40:6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 40:7 Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. 40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” 40:9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 40:10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

Delighted To Serve

Have YOU ever been on the grind? Have YOU lived daily going from one thing YOU had to do to survive to another? Living life scrambling from one hustle and bustle to the next. Few things exciting YOU and fewer things to look forward to. This is the grind. Living from paycheck to paycheck, scraping by if at all. This is the grind. The grind is not a bad thing when placed in context. There is a proverb that says when you get off your knees get on your feet. Grinding is so much better than giving up, and yet the grind can and will exhaust YOU. When all YOU do is what YOU “got” to do, YOU miss the joy and delight of what YOU get to do. Take a moment and think about what delights YOU.

Our text from Psalm 40:5-10 speaks of the deeds and actions that YHWH has done for the people of YHWH. These actions are multiplying exponentially. In return, YHWH does not ask for sacrifices or offerings. The blessings of YHWH do not come with strings attached. Being blessed is not a response to work put in, that would be a payment. Being blessed is not something we can pay for with anything money or status can buy. There is nothing the CREATOR needs from the creation that the CREATOR could not create. There is a response however that YHWH honors. Not one born from duty or obligation but from a loving caring heart. The writer of this Psalm responds to the wondrous acts of YHWH by saying, “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”  The writer encourages the reader and us to serve YHWH out of a desire not out of duty. To look forward to expressing the goodness of the CREATOR. To not hold back in sharing what YHWH has done and is doing. GOD does not need our stuff. Whenever GOD asks something of us it is not because GOD needs it but because we need to want to give it. Our giving and response is a status check on our heart. Where our treasure is our heart will be also, and still giving all our money and none of our hearts will not please GOD.

Lent 2023 continues to be a time to challenge us to grow beyond a transactional relationship with YHWH to a transformational one. We are called to respond with delight, excitement, vibrancy. Serving YHWH is not about the grind that is grueling but about the grace that is gratifying. Delight YOURSELF in the LORD and the LORD will give YOU the desires of YOUR heart.

Points to Ponder: What effect is the grind having on YOUR faith? Health? Happiness? How many blessings can YOU name in 30 seconds? Try it now………………. Now tell someone else about YOUR blessings and only share because YOU care.

Lent 2023 Day 27 “Self Sabotage”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20146;%20Isaiah%2059:9-19;%20Acts%209:1-20

Isaiah 59:9-19

⁹ So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
¹⁰ Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
¹¹ We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.

¹² For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities:
¹³ rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
¹⁴ So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. ¹⁵ Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased

that there was no justice. ¹⁶ He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. ¹⁷ He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. ¹⁸ According to what they have done, so will he repay
wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
¹⁹ From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along.

Self Sabotage

Who is responsible for all this mess? Everything is in shambles. All the trusted spaces and places that once brought joy and happiness are gone. If I ever find out who is responsible I am going to let them have it. This is ridiculous. I don’t even know where to begin to fix this, and what’s the use anyway. In the midst of a crisis and turmoil, most of us try to make sense of what we are going through. One of the main responses is looking for someone or something to blame. People are still trying to find someone to blame for the COVID 19 pandemic. Just take a listen long enough and you will hear the blame game being played over and over again. No matter how well we play the blame game it is not until we look inward that we may begin to realize the enemy may be the inner me. We may have played a role individually and collectively in sabotaging our own outcomes. I will also acknowledge that the blame game is a distraction from dealing with our dilemma. No matter who is to blame nothing will be done until we do it.

Isaiah is dealing with this in our text. In the verses preceding our text, the Israelite’s are despondent after returning home from being exiled and they have accused GOD. Isaiah the prophet points out that GOD is not the problem they are. This leads to the introspection we see beginning in vs 9. They articulate their feelings and then they realize it wasn’t YHWH who was the name for their pain but their inability to treat each other with justice. They really have sabotaged their situation. It is they who have turned their backs on YHWH inciting revolt and oppression. They have engaged in rebellion and treachery against the LORD. As easy as it is to blame someone else they had to bite the bullet and be accountable. The result was a disaster of their own making. The good news in the midst of this mess is although YHWH is displeased, YHWH will step in and fix it, not because of them but in spite of them.

This resonates for me today because Lent helps me to be intentional enough to move the rocks in my life. When the rocks get moved unpleasant things that were hidden now come into the light. This light presents an immediate challenge that when dealt with will yield a harvest of blessings. We must be willing to confront our fragile egos and know that in the midst of our weaknesses and rebellion YHWH is still faithful and will provide. My friends keep the faith, face your fears and erase the doubts that lead to despair.

Points to Ponder: How have you sabotaged areas of your life? What responsibility do you have to address your indiscretions? What role has injustice played in YOUR breakdowns? How will YOU offer grace to someone in need today?

Lent 2023 Day 20 “Speak Less, Do More”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2081;%20Genesis%2024:1-27;%202%20John%201:1-13

Psalm 81:7 In your distress you called and I rescued you,
    I answered you out of a thundercloud;
    I tested you at the waters of Meribah.^[c]
8 Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—
    if you would only listen to me, Israel!
⁹ You shall have no foreign god among you;
    you shall not worship any god other than me.
¹⁰ I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

¹¹ “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.
¹² So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

¹³ “If my people would only listen to me,
if Israel would only follow my ways,
¹⁴ how quickly I would subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes!

Speak Less Do More

“You don’t hear me”. “You are not listening”. “I never said that.” “If YOU opened YOUR ears as wide as YOUR mouth YOU might learn something”. These or similar words have been uttered time and time again by people frustrated by how what they are saying is being ignored. The art of communication requires two active parties both engaged in the process. How frustrating it is when YOU are saying one thing and the person you are speaking to hears another. Think of a situation where YOU were not fully present as a listener. Think about how YOUR mind may have drifted or how YOU fixated on one thing and didn’t hear anything else. As these thoughts enter YOUR mind recognize how closed off YOU were to possibilities because YOUR mind was already made up. Instead of being open, YOU were tight as a drum.

The Israelite community is being referenced in the text from Psalm 81 as a hard-headed stubborn-hearted people.  YHWH has heard their cry and responded with deliverance. When they had cried out in despair YHWH heard them. Now its time for them to listen and suddenly they act like they can’t hear. The Psalmist says, ⁸ Hear me, my people, and I will warn you— if you would only listen to me, Israel! 

If only they would listen they would learn how to sustain the blessings they had received. If only they would listen they would know to open their mouth and let YHWH fill it. This is key. A mouth has to be open to speak but it also has to be open to eat. Metaphorically an open life is able to experience abundance when it is silent enough to chew. We learned as children not to talk with food in our mouths. The people of Israel had a habit of speaking out of turn.

Halfway through Lent 2023, we have a chance to listen or to talk. Communication with YHWH is best when we don’t do all the talking. If we will but listen and follow the path YHWH has for us, we may find out that YHWH  has already worked it out. Whatever YOUR situation, actively listening to YHWH is a step in the right direction.

Point to Ponder: Have YOU talked to YHWH today? Did YOU listen or do all the talking? Who have YOU been too quick to speak and too slow to listen with? Go and remember, We have two eyes and ears and one mouth. We are best when we look and listen twice as much as we talk.

Lent 2023 Day 14 ‘The Blessing”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20128;%20Isaiah%2065:17-25;%20Romans%204:6-13&version=NIV

PSALM 128

A song of ascents.

¹ Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
    who walk in obedience to him.
² You will eat the fruit of your labor;
    blessings and prosperity will be yours.
³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
    around your table.
⁴ Yes, this will be the blessing
    for the man who fears the Lord.

⁵ May the Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
⁶ May you live to see your children’s children—
peace be on Israel.

Blessings

If YOU do right, right will follow YOU. If YOU do wrong, wrong will overtake YOU. These words were spoken to me by one of my senior members during an early pastorate and they have stuck with me. Often times while seeking to live right we encounter challenges and setbacks. During these times it helps to remember that our lives are in response to a GOD that loves us and is fully capable of providing double for all our trouble.

The Psalmist shares a reminder for all who may listen. YOU may be working hard in efforts to make it all come together in this life. YOUR preparations may be impeccable and YOUR drive is undeniable.  Still, after all that YOU have done, it is not quite coming together like YOU think it should. The Psalmist reminds us that the blessing is not just a result of our efforts but a response from our heart. Blessed is the person who fears or reverences the LORD. In other words, they have their order of operations right. The put the will of YHWH over their will and then allow THY will to be done. When we are intentional about being led by YHWH we open the door to all YHWH has for us. And that is a lot. The Psalmist says We will eat the fruit of our labors and blessings and prosperity will be ours. As we broaden our understanding of prosperity we can cherish the blessings of presence more than presents. As our Lenten journey continues my prayer for YOU is that

The Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
⁶ May you live to see your children’s children—
peace be on Israel.

Points to Ponder: In what ways do YOU reverence GOD daily? How have YOU experienced the blessings of GOD? How can YOU be a blessing for someone else?

Lent 2023 Day 8 “Guilty”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2032;%20Exodus%2034:1-9,%2027-28;%20Matthew%2018:10-14

Exodus 34: ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” ⁸ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹ “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

Guilty

A few days ago I was in traffic court and was asked, “How do you plead?” In that moment I wanted to give every reason and excuse I could think of to say I didn’t do it or “You see what had happened was…”. I wanted to say these things, but the truth was my taillight was out. Knowing this, it was hard to admit but I was guilty as charged. At that moment I was at the mercy of the court. Gratefully I can say GOD is a lawyer in a courtroom and I was graced with a minor fine because I had fixed the problem.

In our text from Exodus, Moses is being given a second chance to deliver the 10 commandments. The first time ended in him angrily breaking the tablets after seeing the golden calf and the people dancing around it.  Moses had lost his cool and he knew he was guilty. Even so, GOD was compassionate and gracious and gave him a second chance. Even though Moses was guilty, he was forgiven.

Through this Lenten season, we have an opportunity to examine our lives and identify areas that we have missed the mark. Each day through our reading of scripture and intentional prayer we are able recognize we have fallen too easily and lingered in self pity too long. We are guilty. We have slipped and fallen and although we want to give excuses, in the end, we know the truth, we have messed up. As it was in court so it is with GOD. When we come clean and acknowledge our sin we are at the mercy of GOD. The awesome thing is GOD is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and forgives wickedness. We may not always get it right but I encourage you not to compound your mistakes by being unaccountable. Moses advocates for GOD to not only be merciful to him but also to the people. This I also do for each reader. GOD has grace for your guilt.

Points to Ponder: How have you missed the mark? In what ways has guilt affected you? How can you advocate for someone else today?

Lent 2022 Day 10 “Mind Matters”

Philippians 3:17-20 New International Version

¹⁷ Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Mind Matters

It is day 10 of our journey toward consecration and today we draw attention to our minds. I remember a slogan from a few years ago that said a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Nothing could be more true. The mind is like a super computer that can lead to success or failure, happiness or hatefulness, peace or pain. Our minds are in the drivers seat of how we engage life and its myriad of subtleties. You are choosing to engage your mind right now as you read this and determine its value moving forward. Understanding the value of our minds on our life’s outcomes, it is critical to pause and assess what we are taking in. Like the body the mind feeds on input. If we eat junk we function less efficiently. If we consume mental junk we limp through a life we could be leaping through.

Our text from Philippians 3 highlights the effect of having a mind that is focused on the temporary and not the eternal. Paul speaks of those who are enemies of the cross because their focus is on earthly things. Paul encourages the believers at Philippi to focus their attention on those who are pressing toward the goal to win the prize for which GOD has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. In short focus attention on those committed to Christ-like behaviors. The intention to execute in our lives is to nurture our minds in a way that is grounded in our awareness of our citizenship in heaven. The believer is working to live out the model prayer where Jesus teaches us to pray “THY Kingdom come THY will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Adopting a kingdom mindset gives us comfort in crisis, courage in conflict, and compassion in confusion. We know that this world is not our final home and YHWH is in charge of our outcomes.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Whats on your mind? I encourage you to set your mind on things above and not below. Trust that through these 40 days your mind will be more focused on your spiritual journey and your outcomes will be heavenly.

Points to Ponder: How and what are you feeding your mind? How is that working out for you? What do you intend to do moving forward that will build your mindset?

Lent 2022 Day 7 “Rescued and Restored”

Zechariah 3 New International Version

3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. ⁴ The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” ⁵ Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. ⁶ The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: ⁷ “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. ⁸ “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. ⁹ See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes^[b] on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. ¹⁰ “‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Rescued and Restored

It is day 7 of our dedication to consecration. After a week I pray you are not getting weak. One of the things that we address through consecration is an awareness that we have been the recipients of grace. Think of a time where you knew you were out of control. You may have fallen into some bad habits and they consumed every thought you had. After a while you became so identified with your frailty that you forgot who you truly were. Like a garment that never gets changed you wore the residue of your recklessness and it weighed you down. Without consistent care we become fragile, fractured, and fallen. This happened to Israel and led to their exile from Canaan and it almost led to their extinction until YHWH extended grace.

In our text from Zechariah 3 we have the writer writing Joshua the priest as a representative of Israel. Joshua like Israel is being accused and judged by satan for his sin. While in the midst of this the LORD rebukes the accuser and reminds the accuser and us, We are like burning sticks snatched from the fire. The LORD has rescued us from the fire and we are no longer to carry the penalty and punishment for our actions. In short we are granted a second chance. We were frail and fractured but the LORD says we are still functional. The thing about fire however is it leaves a residue. The residue is like a reminder of where we’ve been. Knowing this the angel of the LORD instructs Joshua’s filthy clothes be removed. By doing this we learn to move on we have to leave the past behind.

On this 7th day of consecration I encourage you to leave the past behind. Take off your filthy clothes from the fire and put on your best clothes. You have been through the fire and even though you may have set the fire, the LORD, the ALMIGHTY CREATOR, has rescued you from destruction and you are restored.

Points to Ponder: How are you confronting the residue of what you’ve been through? How are you showing grace to others? How will you move forward in the confidence of your new garments?

Holy Saturday “Symphony of Silence”

Daily Scripture: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=36

Matthew 27:57-66 (NIV)

The Burial of Jesus

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

A Symphony of Silence

How do you feel in stillness? How do you respond to being alone, intentionally silent? No phone or tablet, no newspaper or radio? Many people are uncomfortable in silence? On one Holy Saturday I had an hour of silent meditation at the church. No sound, just silence. At the end one of my elders said, “I cannot do this again, the silence was deafening”. Our present society is filled with distractions and often we miss the subtle moves of GOD in our midst. Historically Jesus is in the tomb today. We wait in silent expectation for the unknown. How can we live in the tension between pain and promise? How can we listen to the symphony of silence and hear hope?

Our text depicts the entombment of Jesus. A guard is placed outside the tomb and the savior is silent. When the savior is silent we should be too. Moving without direction and inspiration is like being a ship without a sail. Like a leaf in the wind. Holy Saturday is not just a day to put the finishing touches on the new outfit, but the time to be still and reflect on what it is like to be still. Slow down today, take an extra moment to smell your surroundings, listen to the stillness and experience the presence of GOD on the most solemn of days. #LIVEBIG

Point to Ponder: What do you hear when you are fully here?