Week Five for March 22-28 leads us toward the final week of Lent - Holy Week

Preparation to be with Christ in his suffering  

Daily Prayer: I ask God that You open my mind and heart to know and to feel a deeply felt knowledge of the Lord Jesus made human for me. Help me move beyond my familiarity with the stories and be present with Jesus. Help me feel what He felt that I might know, love and follow Him more closely. Help me to see more clearly what is important to Him and observe his habits and the way He relates to others in humility, mercy, courage, trust and obedience to God.

Day One: A prophet without honor Read these passages and try to be present with Jesus-how did he feel? What was it like?

John 1:10-11 Jesus came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

John 6:66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

Mt 16:13-17:13 Jesus asked his closest followers, “Who do men say that I am?” then he asked them, “Who do you say that am?” Could Jesus have been looking for support from them? Following Peter’s pronouncement that He was Messiah, God’s Son, Jesus told them that He was about to suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders leading priests and teachers and that He would be killed but rise on the third day. Peter rebuked him and the disciples did not understand what Jesus was talking about.

DAY TWO

Reread whichever verses stand out to you in these passages and try to be present with Jesus but this time ask yourself how you feel? What action or response will you have?

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DAY THREE

The crowds mostly follow him because he multiplies food, heals them, works miracles, casts out demons, teaches them in stories they can relate to and authority that is different than the Pharisees, treats them with mercy, and He walks and lives among them just like them-poor, meek, lowly in heart.

All of us have felt rejection or loneliness. Some of us have been abused or feared for our lives. Jesus not only experienced all our temptations but also our human weakness and pain.

Hebrews 4:15 he faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. Heb 5:7 While on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud voice cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death… 8 though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

Are you drawn to him in his loneliness as He prepares for his passion and realize you share in his suffering? Can you realize he has shared your pain your whole life long. What is it like for you to identify with his humanity and suffering?

Day Four: HELPS AND HINDRANCES

Over the past five weeks we have listed both helps and hindrances to meditating on our union with Christ.

If you have a list review hindrances (too busy, lack of desire, anger at God or unbelief that God will speak to you or work in you as you meditate, unconfessed sin or holding onto resentment or unforgiveness, etc)

Have you asked God for grace to help recognize when your heart is not responding to God?

What helps have you employed (like praying in the spirit, asking for help, starting a new holy habit of set time/place each morning and/or evening)?

Finish your week looking at these eleven times Jesus tried to prepare his friends for his coming passion (suffering). Remember that this coming Sunday is Palm Sunday (March 29 Holy Week).

Mt 16:21-23; Mk 8:31-33; Lk 9:22

Mt 17:22-23; Mk 9:30-32; Lk 9:44-45

Mark 10:32-34; Mt 20:17-19; Lk 18:31-34

Jn 3:13-17 (The Son of Man must be lifted up… God so loved the world… 

Looking ahead to Palm Sunday Jn 12:12-19;

Jn:23-33 Whoever loses their life for my sake shall find it…Now My soul is deeply troubled… when I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself.

How did the disciples respond? Imagine how you might have felt and responded?

Peter told Jesus, “No, Lord!” What question might you ask Jesus if you had been there? What response do you imagine He would have?

Lent has one more week after this week. The more grace we receive to know and love Jesus them more we will be impacted by his love as we approach Good Friday.

And the greater will be our celebration on Resurrection Day. The more we identify with his death the more we will share in his Life.

Consider these ways to know him better and identify with him this week and Holy Week:

• Pray with fasting of food and or media or other earthly comfort.
• Give to the poor by sharing your resources of time, talent or treasure.
• Repent of hindrances to his love, his word and his heart being in union with yours.
• Meditation in his word (and contemplation if God will give you this gift of your mind and heart being joined to his even for a brief time

What have you done that has helped you respond to Jesus? What will you do?

-PD

 

The Power of Disagreement: Union with God is Disunion with Evil

The Power of Disagreement: 

        Union with God is Disunion with Evil

By Dwight Cunkle

Olympic runner Eric Liddle refused to run in a qualifying heat on Sunday but turned around and won a different race and medal the next day. He put God first.  Jesus said that we cannot serve God and stuff, not even "good stuff."

"He who honors Me, the Father also will honor."  How am I honoring God, so that his name is hallowed, made holy, as He taught us to pray, "Hallowed be (or make holy and bring honor to) your name.

Last week Pastor Richard preached his third message in a row on Union with God. He said that during this our "engagement and betrothal period as the future bride of Christ, we prove our fidelity, our faithfulness and love to him. Our flesh, the world and the devil compete with Jesus and his kingdom. Why are our hearts prone to wander in selfishness and disobedience to his commands? Union with God is disunion with sin. What choices from moment to moment hinder our union with God?

"Love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves."

Practical ways to grow toward perfect union with God in his divine love:
1. Give thanks to God all day. Try thinking of God and acknowledging Him over and over.
2. Talk with him and ask for him to show you his love and holy angels at work in you and in those around you.
3. Ask his grace to open His word to you in the Scripture and give you his thoughts in your mind and heart.
4. Serve Him by serving others.
5. Ask for help from His Holy Spirit and the good angelic spirits to strengthen you and others through the day.
6. Sit quietly to contemplate God. "Be still and know that I AM GOD."
7. Ask his help to detach from the things (especially good things) that hinder his thoughts and peace and love and joy in you, so that you can embrace suffering, hardship, misunderstanding, deprivation, hunger and thirst, etc… in order to share in the sufferings of Christ for his Beloved and for the salvation of the world.

Growing in these daily practices until they become habits and part of our character will bring us into more union with God and more victory over the world.
 Remember that all is a gift from God. All is by His grace, rather than by our effort and ability. Embrace suffering as a gift of His love because He suffered for us.

And approach each momentary duty with self-abandonment to God. Grace in each moment and each thing. God grant us faith, hope and love to detach from our demands and expectations and seek to simply walk with Jesus, through each moment of the day. This is the path of holiness and union in the divine love of God. Beloved, let us love God and love one another.

"Blessed be The Lord who gives and who takes away." (Job)

"Blessed be The Lord who gives

and who takes away." (Job)

By Dwight Cunkle

What can we say about God in response to death, loss and hardship and suffering in the aftermath of these storms? Worship is always the best first
response. Can we say, “God is good.”

We need wisdom to represent God's mercy mixed with judgment; then bring comfort to people who are suffering. “‘If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. Lev 26:20-22
“What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this.” Ezra 9:12-14

Jeremiah  lamented over the destruction and
judgment of Jerusalem: "It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed. His favors are never
exhausted. They are new every morning." (Lam 3:22-23)

Joseph's faithfulness overcame false accusation and captivity declaring that God used what was "intended for evil to bring about his good purpose."
Even when the devil works his worst God holds the
injury in his skillfull hand to bring good in the soul of those who will turn to Him. So, let us turn to HIM!

(Paraphrased from Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence by J P de Caussade.) Our God is so good that he is careful to fit all things to our position and character. We do out part and trust God to do what He alone can do in us and in all things. His design makes what is needed such as air and water
accessible to us (though we pollute the air and many suffer malnutrition and scarcity of clean water).

His grace also places within easy reach of all
people holiness, fidelity and loving action, though the world, the flesh and devil work together to
hinder these too. We have to exhale the bad air and breathe in the good. Likewise we exchange our sin for his goodness. “What has God required, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.” Micah 6:8

First, we ask the grace to have faith and see God’s goodness and help us do our duty to God and neighbor in each present moment.

Second, we abandon ourselves to God's love in all things whatever we suffer. God is good and will bring good. Let us be his good hands and praise his goodness, while we accept affliction in the dark night and mystery of His Divine Providence.

From Rebecca Petrie's Journal

God of Covenant, we ask for greater awareness of the daily grace you 

bring to us—especially in suffering and in the mysteries of daily life.

From Rebecca Petrie’s journal on the tenth anniversary of 

her accident becoming a paraplegic, Oct 6, 2001

In Paul's own weakness he cried out to the Lord, the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient... My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9). I wonder if I have allowed His strength to be made perfect in me. I don't really think so, but I leave that with Father. I don't think I really know what it means. At times I get a glimmer and then it fades. I do understand though that His grace is the under-girding of His Person enabling me when there is nothing I have to give. 

In my Bible, the commentary on chapter 12:9 says this, "God's grace becomes His enablement or empowerment to achieve His plan, endure hardship, or access Him".  

In our need "God gives us grace, the supernatural ability or miraculous facility to sustain, endure, or maintain our call. If there is strength out of this weakness it is surely a work of His grace.      

Father, I pray that today You would enable me to access Your grace to allow You to be Yourself in me, and love through me. 

I can respond to grace    

Are you aware today of weakness, are you in pain, are you lonely? Run to Him, oh, run to Him! Sometimes we are tempted to be angry with the very One who loves  us and will turn our pain and weakness into His strength and purpose.

This week is Thanksgiving. Give thanks and pray for our   nation—for a great awakening resulting in us rising up in courage and love and God’s power as REFORMERS.

Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent (the four weeks of reverent worship of Jesus, The Word made flesh to dwell among us.

God reveals himself and restores us through covenant:

T       Worship God who is Transcendent (above all)
H      Follow Christ and his representative-Heirarchy
E       Build fellowship-Ethics-love one another  
O      Be good stewards-Oaths-agree with God’s consequences
S       Join him in Co-Mission-Succession for the future


-PD