Psalm 34:8-18 | Exodus 14:19-15:21 | Matthew 22:15-22

My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cis-terns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13

Christ says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Forgiving God, we confess our failures to serve you and our decisions to openly sin against you, others, self, and your good creation. We claim your forgiveness as we seek rest from the burdens produced by our sinfulness. Amen.

Exodus 13:17-18 | “When the king of Egypt let the people go, God did not take them by the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought, ‘I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight.’ Instead, he led them in a roundabout way through the desert toward the Red Sea.

God wanted the Israelites to commit. To commit to the fight. Not just with the Egyptians who were now chasing them. But their own fight. The one that would be happening inside themselves. Because God knew, at the first sign of trouble, they would want to give up. “Maybe freedom isn’t so great! It was better being slaves! We would rather be slaves and alive, then free and dead!”

They needed time to taste the sweetness of freedom. The shortest, quickest route would not do. They needed time to remember all that God has done. Time to remember all that God is bringing them to. Time to learn how to live as new, free people. The journey takes time and God wanted to make sure they couldn’t turn back.

Turns out they needed a lot of time.

And God was with them the whole way. Leading them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God the King was in the midst of his ragtag battalion.

And then Moses says something so powerful it blows my mind. So much so that it may take me 40 years of wandering in the desert wilderness to really get it. “The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still.”

God wants you to experience freedom and God is doing all he can to bring you to freedom. All you have to do is keep still. Pay attention to what God is doing. And take a step into it. Doing is actually being. Doing is being one who is on a journey. Doing is being one who God is working on and in. The doing is up to God so that you may be the person God is leading you to be.

And it takes time. Don’t turn back. “The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still.”

Psalm 34:1-7 | Exodus 13:1-14:18 | Matthew 22:1-14

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17

From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Romans 11:36

Almighty, omnipotent God, we adore you and we praise you. You inspire awe within us as we contemplate the magnificence of your creative ability joined with the splendor of your unconditional love for us, your creatures. What a glorious combination! Amen.

How do we go about producing the proper fruits? We want breakthrough. What do we need to do? What’s the math look like?

Psalm 33:16-18 | “A king does not win because of his powerful army; a soldier does not triumph because of his strength. War horses are useless for victory; their great strength cannot save. The Lord watches over those who obey him, those who trust in his constant love.”

The balanced equation is this. Obedience = Trusting in God’s constant love. Any other way won’t add up.

Psalm 33:12-22 | Exodus 12:21-51 | Matthew 21:33-46

May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him. Psalm 67:7

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3

Generous God, you have so generously blessed us in manifold ways. How can we be but grateful? Forgive us for taking that grace for granted and lead us into deeper thankfulness. Amen.

Psalm 33:6-11 | In the beginning, God created, saying, “Let there be….” When God speaks, things happen. God doesn’t just describe, God causes. For God, talking the talk is walking the walk.

As in Exodus 2, where God restarts the year, today is a new day. Because God says so, today is a new start for you.

What else is God saying to you (and, thereby, doing)? Whatever it is, it all starts with God saying, “You are precious. You are mine. I love you.”

Psalm 33:6-11 | Exodus 11:1-12:20 | Matthew 21:23-32

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God said, “I will be with you.” Exodus 3:11-12

It is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends. 2 Corinthians 10:18

As we recall in a common Advent hymn: “Not in our own strength, Lord, we move; your kingdom falls not when we fall, but forward presses day by day until your truth is known to all.” Dear Lord, remind us always that it is only by your grace that we have been justified. Amen.

Second Sunday in Lent

Watchword for the Week – God says, “I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations.” Genesis 17:7

Genesis 7:1-7,15-16 | Psalm 22:23-31 | Romans 4:13-25 | Mark 8:31-38

You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

God of justice, we confess our lack of compassion for a world in need. Continue to confront us with the needs that exist all over the world and, as a part of our own Lenten pilgrimage, guide us in our responses. We wish to be faithful representatives of Christ to the hurts and pains experienced by so many and fulfill our part of the covenant. Amen.

Matthew 21:12-22 | It was the time of year for figs. Why were there no figs on the tree? Something was keeping the tree from being fruitful, from being what it was created to be and do. It seems to me that Jesus simply recognized this and spoke the truth, “You will never again bear fruit!”

What season is it for you?

Are you in a season of fruitfulness? Or are you, rather, in a season of pruning? Are you being pruned back for the sake of greater fruitfulness? Are there things that have been weighing you down or holding you back that you need to leave behind? Are they familiar, comfortable ways? Are they even ways that have been successful, things that are currently growing in abundance? Or, are you in a season of abiding, of rest, so that your roots may grow deep and strong? A season of taking the time to be fed and watered? Or, are you in a season of growth, finding life in new endeavors, anticipating the buds that will soon be breaking through?

What needs your attention? How might you tend your life and your relationships before it’s the case of never again bearing fruit?

Psalm 33:1-5 | Exodus 10 | Matthew 21:12-22

You, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth. Psalm 74:12 (NIV)

Wherever Jesus went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. Mark 6:56

God of healing power, we intercede today for all in illness of body, mind or spirit. Give comfort in their dis-comfort, ease in their disease, rest in their restlessness and strength in their weakness. Above all, assure each one of your presence. Amen.

Psalm 32 | Exodus 9 | Matthew 20:29-21:11

It’s a call to be honest. Not only honest, vulnerable.

Jesus asks the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”

To name what it is you want for Jesus to do is to name where you come up short, where you are in need.

Our culture has taught us that that sort of honesty is weakness. Act strong. Act like you’ve got it all together. Keep up appearances. You’ll go far!

In fact, that sort of honesty, that sort of vulnerability is actually strength.

It allows us to stop. To stop playing the games. To set down the weight we are carrying. And to turn. To turn from all that was in our way or holding us back. To turn and look honestly at ourselves. And then to begin to see ourselves the way God sees us. You are beautiful in your weakness.

This turning is what it means to repent. Turn, return. Give up your agenda. Put on God’s agenda.

To lay down all the things we carry is to admit that we don’t have the power to carry them. We’re not that strong. It’s exhausting. Admit it, you can’t do it.

It is then that you’ll see that God can. And is.

Surrender to the power of the kingdom. The kingdom is here.

Psalm 32 | Exodus 9 | Matthew 20:29-21:11

God knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. Daniel 2:22

Whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. Mark 4:22 (NIV)

Revealing God, we know your intent is always to open yourself to us in every way imaginable. Help us to have the ears to hear and the eyes to see the truths that you are constantly laying out before us. Guide us to live in accordance with those truths. Amen.