Lent 2023 Day 37 “Deliver Me”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2031:9-16;%201%20Samuel%2016:11-13;%20Philippians%201:1-11

Psalm 31:9-16

⁹ Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
    my soul and body with grief. ¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
¹¹ Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. ¹² I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. ¹³ For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life. ¹⁴ But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” ¹⁵ My times are in your hands;   deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. ¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.

                                                                   Deliver Us

Have you ever been Under Attack? Have you ever lived life and Everything seemed “complicated”? Your best intentions and efforts are met with a snicker or a sneer. YOU smile and the response is a stare. YOU work overtime for underpay and everybody acts like that is what YOU were supposed to do. Life is filled with a constant barrage of Being under attack and that is frustrating. People are “going through” and looking for answers. We need a deliverer to deliver us from this turmoil we are in.

The writer in Psalm 31 is under attack. The whole Psalm is pointing to getting help from GOD. The writer speaks of rescue, refuge, and resilience. The writer, like us, is experiencing challenges and simply wants it to be over soon. feeling unjustly attacked,  the writer calls on GOD to come quickly and rescue him from the shenanigans of shame. The writer exclaims, ^{9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.}  The writer is in turmoil. The pain is evident and those who read this text can read and identify. With mass shootings, recovering from a pandemic, and increased mental health challenges, people are crying out, “LORD have mercy”. Like the Psalmist many of us are at wits end begging YHWH to cut us some slack and grant us relief. Whereas there are those who are playing the blame game I encourage you to know blame never fixed anything in the moment. Deal with the situation. Deal with YOUR feelings. As long as we can blame somebody else and ask GOD for help to defeat an enemy, we can easily overlook the enemy and the friend of me in the inner me.

Lent provides us an opportunity to be introspective and identify how we may be complicit in our own struggles and also take back our power by being honest with ourselves. YHWH already knows all there is to know about us so the only deception is of ourselves. Take the time today to look deep and ask GOD to deliver us from evil and shine down the light of endless love upon us. Friends we need mercy, grace, and and a whole lot of love.

Point to Ponder: How are you feeling. How are you dealing? What did you do today that you can celebrate?  What can we do to identify our traps and blind spots in our faith?

Lent 2023 Day 31 “Turning Around”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20130;%20Ezekiel%2033:10-16;%20Revelation%2011:15-19

Ezekiel 33:10-16

⁰ “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of^[a] them. How then can we live?”’ ¹¹ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

¹² “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ ¹³ If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. ¹⁴ And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— ¹⁵ if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.

Turning Around

Have YOU ever been weighed down by the things going on in your life? Have you ever faced an obstacle so large that you were intimidated and felt there was nothing you could do? Have YOU ever missed the mark so bad that YOU saw no way to fix it and that thought made you feel like YOU were wasting away? I’m sure most of us have. This is the sin effect. We mess up and know we’ve messed up. We aimed right but went left. We knew better but we missed the mark anyway. We fear we may have fallen so far that not even YHWH can reach us. Our thoughts turn inward and we start getting distressed and depressed. This is followed by low energy and bad choices to make us feel better. We forget that we can turn around. Just because we have fallen does not mean we cannot get back up.

The text today from Ezekiel addresses the Israelite community who have started to recognize they have messed up. They are consumed by their thoughts of failure, feel weighed down, and wonder how can they live. The prophecy comes to them “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’”  In essence the writer is saying, Why would you choose death when you can be alive? To choose to live is to choose to turn back from evil. This verb, “to turn” is used repeatedly in this passage as a reminder of the physical understanding of repentance. YHWH offers the opportunity to get it right from here on. No matter what we have done, we did it in the past. We do not have to be defined by who we were and what we’ve done. We can turn around.  YHWH recognizes where we have been and what we have done and offers the opportunity to move on. We can get on the right track and the choice is up to us.

The Lenten season is helping us to connect to the complexities of being a believer. On one hand we must be accountable for our actions and inactions and on the other we must embrace the fact that we can be forgiven. Our destination is not destroyed by our current situation. We can get it right, but we will need help. Jesus  and the Holy Spirit is that help. Whatever has caused you to miss the mark, Build a bridge and get over it. Live In Victory Every Day.

Point to Ponder: What action from your past are you allowing to crash into your present? What does repentance mean to YOU? How will YOU grow from here?

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 28 “Look And See”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20146;%20Isaiah%2042:14-21;%20Colossians%201:9-14

Isaiah 42:14-21

¹⁴ “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.
¹⁵ I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.
¹⁶ I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. ¹⁷ But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.

¹⁸ “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! ¹⁹ Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the Lord? ²⁰ You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.” ²¹ It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness
    to make his law great and glorious.

Look Around

Have you ever been riding in a car on a road you usually drive on? Have you ever noticed the different things you see when your vantage point has been changed? Many people find themselves asking the question, “Where is YHWH”? A crisis is a particular season of life that causes us to start to wonder if we have an absentee Deity. A crisis will grab our attention and make us more attentive to detail. Look around. I mean really look around. Think about what you begin to see when you focus on seeing. Details start popping up and the whole terrain changes. Could it be that we cannot find YHWH anywhere because YHWH is everywhere? Look around.

Our text in Isaiah 42 addresses Israel and it’s overlooking the presence of YHWH in their midst. Day by day they would look for YHWH but they missed YHWH in their midst. Isaiah writes, ¹⁴ “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,I cry out, I gasp and pant. The text gives us an idea that YHWH was always in their midst even when they looked but did not see. Too often we get caught up in just wanting things to move faster and faster with no regard that we may be truly missing the MIGHTY ONE in our midst. In the movie The Color Purple, there is a line that says, “I think it upsets GOD when we walk by the purple color in a field and don’t notice it. This applies to the children of Israel and us today. As chaotic as things appear YHWH is here. Vs 20 says, “You have seen many things but paid no attention. YHWH is working and yet we are oftentimes so preoccupied with minutia that we miss the marvelous and miraculous. The reality is YHWH is hiding in plain sight which is not hiding at all.

The discipline of Lent is intended to slow us down long enough to recognize YHWH all around. The grind can cause us to lose the desire to pay attention. To move beyond looking and into seeing we may have to slow down. We are tasked to grow from listening to hearing. We are encouraged to be fully present in as many moments as possible. When we pause and pray we may see that YHWH was working it out while we were still trying to figure it out. YHWH is in our midst.

Points to Ponder: In what ways have YOU longed for something you already had but didn’t recognize it? How often have YOU been on auto-pilot paying little or no attention to YOUR environment? Wherever YOU go, YHWH is already there, go boldly.

Lent 2023 Day 18 “Sabbath”

Daily Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2095;%20Exodus%2016:27-35;%20John%204:1-6

Exodus 16:27-35

²⁷ Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you^[a] refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? ²⁹ Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day. ³¹ The people of Israel called the bread manna.^[b] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’” ³³ So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.” ³⁴ As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. ³⁵ The Israelites ate manna forty years until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. 

Quarantine

Stay where you are. Your mobility is being monitored and as much as YOU want to go about business as usual, YOU cannot. What will you do? How will you handle this time in seclusion? Many people have become addicted to moving. We resonate with the rapper Rick Ross when he says, “Every day I’m hustlin’. This is not the DIVINE plan for the children of YHWH. Far too often we have become humans doing forsaking the call to be human beings.

Our text in Exodus 16 continues the discussion on trusting GOD to provide. The word sabbath here is from the Hebrew word shabbat meaning “to rest from labor”. Rest is so important to humanity that YHWH builds it into the ten commandments. The Israelites have violated once again the plan of GOD. They have gone out and tried to gather manna on rest day. GOD admonishes them to not only not work but to not even go out. Essentially Sabbath is a weekly quarantine.

Rest requires trust. As we grow through this Lenten season I encourage YOU to rest. So much potential has been buried within us because we haven’t slowed down long enough to listen to the still small voice of GOD. We have trusted in ourselves and many of us don’t know what to do with unscheduled time. Instead of resisting the quiet I encourage you to embrace it. Spend time with you and GOD and learn to appreciate this time alone with GOD. Many people nearly lost their minds when we were forced to quarantine. It did not have to be so bad. So much life gets drowned in the sound of busyness. Through this Lenten season choose “Sabbath rest to reflect and rejuvenate. Sanctify this time and KNOW that GOD will provide.

Point to Ponder: How do YOU celebrate not just tolerate sabbath? Spend some time being creative. Reconcile with an old friend. What would happen if you didn’t answer every text and email in no time flat?

Lent 2023 Day 15 “Feeling The Pain”

Daily Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20128;%20Ezekiel%2036:22-32;%20John%207:53-8:11

Ezekiel 36 ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. ³² I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!

Feeling The Pain

Whew! You dodged the bullet. YOU know deep down inside YOU have messed up and yet the full weight of the consequences has not been felt. YOU have escaped a punishment that YOU deserved. Now what? Do YOU bask in the glory of escape or do YOU do the hard work of getting YOUR life together and avoiding the pitfalls that swallowed YOU in the first place? So often in our lives, we move on without any reflection. We just act like the blessings we have received we somehow had earned.

Our text in Ezekiel 36 addresses. The word of the LORD comes to Israel that GOD is about to move on their behalf. A blessing is on the way that will erase the shame they have been experiencing. The LORD is moving and yet Ezekiel is told to remind them this move of GOD is not because of them. Nothing they have done deserves anything but punishment. The LORD is going to bless to preserve the LORDS name which the Israelites have profaned.

Lent is a time of reflection and this scripture challenges us to truly count the cost of our blessings. Instead of the arrogance that makes us believe we deserve all the good and none of the bad, we need to see that we can disappoint the CREATOR so badly that the CREATOR has to rescue us from ourselves. We cannot unlive the past but we can learn from it. The challenge for us is to reflect not deflect. Reflect on the unwarranted blessings and allow ourselves to take responsibility for our disobedience. Vs 32 says Be ashamed and disgraced oh people of Israel. I am convinced the intent of this shame is not for us to wallow in our pain but to feel it so deeply that we course correct and don’t make the same mistake. The writing in John 8 speaks of a woman who escapes a death sentence for adultery and is admonished by Jesus to leave her life of sin. Today face YOURSELF and leave YOUR life of missing the mark (sin).

Point to Ponder: In what ways have YOU been unaccountable for YOUR actions? When counting YOUR blessings can YOU identify the pain YOU may have caused GOD? Commit to go and sin no more.

Lent 2023 Day 13 “Between Here and There”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20128%3B%20Numbers%2021%3A4-9%3B%20Hebrews%203%3A1-6&version=AMP;NIV

^{NUMBERS 21:4} They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,^[a] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; ⁵ they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

⁶ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Impatient

Any parent who has ever driven on vacation with a young child is very familiar with the following mantra, “Are we there yet”? “Are we there yet”? The more exciting the destination or long the trip the more the question gets asked. Many of us as children of GOD have been in a similar situation with GOD. We, like the child on a long ride start to get anxious. We want what we believe has been promised to us to come and come quickly.

The Israelites in our text are in the wilderness on the way to the promised land. What an exciting destination. The challenge is the way to the promised land is through the wilderness. Going through the wilderness is more than a notion. The wilderness is often a dry and untamed land. Rugged and rocky. Going through the wilderness requires strength, dedication, hope, and perseverance. To top it off sometimes you have detours and delays in the wilderness. While in the midst of a detour the Israelites grow impatient and grumble. They start giving GOD and Moses the attributes of Pharoah. It is Pharoah that would have them die yet GOD has promised abundance. The Israelites lose focus and their faith falters.

One take away for us today is knowing the way to our most desired outcome may be through the wilderness. There is no instant success. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. The wilderness helps us to work through our delusions of self-reliance and inspires us to trust in GOD even when we cannot track GOD. This Lent we may be desiring closeness with GOD and we may have to feel alone and deserted to get there. Every snack we forsake or soda we give up is a sacrifice that we do in hopes of reaching the promised land of more intimacy. And we may grow impatient when it feels like GOD is farther away than when we started. I encourage YOU to not give up on GOD because GOD has not given up on YOU. It takes hot water to get the best flavor out of tea and it may take a wilderness to get the best out of YOU. Keep the faith.

Point to Ponder: Would YOU sacrifice freedom for security? Is death better than bondage? In what areas of your life are you growing impatient?

Lent 2023 Day 9 “Keep Your Head Up”

^{PSALM 121} I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;  indeed, he who watches over Israel    will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; ⁶ the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; ⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Keep Your Head Up

Have you ever climbed a hill or tried doing a rock climbing wall? One thing that becomes clear after just a few moments is the impossibility of climbing effectively with your eyes looking down. It is hard to climb and move forward when your eyes are not looking in the direction you intend to go. Life, like climbing, is best lived when we keep our heads pointed in the direction we intend to go. When I write keep our head up I mean it in a spiritual, emotional, and physical sense.

The Psalmist encourages the hearer to Look to the hills. As we know hills and mountains are on a higher plane than we are. By lifting our heads we gain a broader perspective of the terrain. This in turn reminds us that there is more than meets the eye if we walk with our head down. We are also reminded in the Psalm that the LORD is an ever present help. The LORD does not sleep or slumber and therefore watches over us, 24/7/365.

To spiritually keep our head up is to in all situations and circumstances seek first the kingdom of heaven. To keep our spiritual head up is to know that YHWH is always in control, even of the direction the wind blows and when it blows. Things may seem grim, but with an uplifted spirit we know our helper is ever-present. Our GOD does not slumber or sleep. From an emotional standpoint, to keep our head up is to recognize that when we are down we can choose our response. We may not be able to control the things that happen in our lives, and we may not have control over our thoughts about what happens, but we can control our response. Emotionally looking up means seeking in all things the blessing in the lesson we are learning. To look up is to say LORD I stretch my hand to you, no other help I know. In this, we trust that every ending is also a new beginning. We may have sadness in our lives but sadness does not have to control us.

Physically when we look up we set our sight-lines higher. One will get nowhere fast focused on their feet. The posture we maintain affects our ability to climb and move on. We are on a journey and it will feel like drudgery if we cannot focus on our destination not just our location. Lifting our heads opens us up to more possibilities and opportunities to prosper. The Psalmist covers all of these in this short Psalm. Keep your Head up.  Tupac wrote in the last verse of the song Keep Ya Head Up these words,

To all the ladies havin babies on they own
I know it’s kinda rough and you’re feelin all alone
Daddy’s long gone and he left you by ya lonesome
Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want em
Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I’m sure
And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more
Cause ain’t nuttin worse than when your son
Wants to know why his daddy don’t love him no mo’
You can’t complain you was dealt this
Hell of a hand without a man, feelin helpless
Because there’s too many things for you to deal with
Dying inside, but outside you’re looking fearless
While tears, is rollin down your cheeks
Ya steady hopin things don’t all down this week
Cause if it did, you couldn’t take it, and don’t blame me
I was given this world I didn’t make it
And now my son’s getten older and older and cold
From havin the world on his shoulders
While the rich kids is drivin Benz
I’m still tryin to hold on to survivin friends
And it’s crazy, it seems it’ll never let up, but
Please… you got to keep your head up

Sisters and Brothers, Keep your head up and the LORD will watch over your coming and your going from this day and forevermore.

PRAYER: LORD when the cabinets are bare, and we cry out into the air, remind us that you neither slumber nor sleep. Keep us focused in the midst of our stressing on the confidence that you have a blessing for those who don’t give up. Help us we pray, to Keep our Heads Up.

Points To Ponder: What does it mean to you to keep your head up? Who have you witnessed keeping their head up that you draw strength from? What lesson do you have for someone in a struggle?

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 37 “Blessed Brokenness”

Psalm 31:9-16 New International Version

⁹ Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
    my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
    my soul and body with grief.
¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
    and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,^[a]
    and my bones grow weak.
¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
    I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
    those who see me on the street flee from me.
¹² I am forgotten as though I were dead;
    I have become like broken pottery.
¹³ For I hear many whispering,
    “Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
    and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
    deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
    from those who pursue me.
¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your unfailing love.

Blessed Brokenness

Day 37 is here. As we drive toward a new beginning some may be having mixed emotions. On one hand we have sacrificed certain habits and that has awakened within us a renewed strength. On the other hand we may have found the weaknesses that plague us. Often times these weaknesses wear us down and we start feeling unworthy and ashamed. In order to address these emotions I am reminded of an Indian proverb. A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you”.  The bearer asked, “Why? What are you ashamed of?”  The Pot replied, “For these past two years I am able to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you don’t get full value for your efforts”. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion, he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” At the end of the journey the bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

The Psalmist in our text seems to mirror the sentiments of the cracked pot saying, 14 “I have become like broken pottery. The Psalmist is in distress and his entire countenance is brought low. Some of us can relate. When we are weighted down by the baggage of past missteps we find it hard to go on. In these times it is helpful to hear the Psalmist say. “But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” ¹⁵ My times are in your hands;…¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. GOD has an unfailing love for humanity and because of that, at our worst GOD gave the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. There is value in us that can be hidden when all we focus on is our faults and failings. What we miss when we choose to judge ourselves is the fact that we belong to GOD. We are the clay and GOD, the POTTER, knows us and chooses to love us and use us as we are. Our life and light are only to be compared to OUR purpose. Every one is unique. Like the water bearer in our story, GOD can use cracked pots for GOD’S glory. Embrace who you are, cracks, crankiness, wrinkles and all.

Point to Ponder: How have you judged yourself too harshly? How have you overlooked opportunities to be a blessing due to not feeling worthy? Think on the possibilities that loving who you are as you are can turn cracks into carnations.