I have struggled with writing this Lenten Devotional. I mean, REALLY struggled. I think I started and stopped at least seven times, woke up in the middle of the night multiple times, and jotted down side-bar notes while supposedly taking notes at a staff meeting (sorry—not sorry) when an idea was triggered. It seems like I just can’t land on a topic, theme, or point that I want to make, or, more rightly, that I perceive God is wanting me to make. Nothing seemed to fit.

It occurs to me that life, and perhaps more so the last year, has been a lot like this. Starts and stops, interruptions, detours, derailments. Times of trying to listen but just not hearing. Things not fitting properly.

And yet…

And yet, if nothing else, with all that happened in 2020 and all that is to come in 2021 and future years, at the very bottom of it all, God is faithful. He has been faithful, He is faithful, He will be faithful. In all things, in all circumstances, in all situations, He is faithful.

One more time: He. Is. Faithful.

No matter the storms, no matter the changes, no matter the sorrow, no matter the joys, no matter the quiet…God is
faithful.

Nothing added, nothing extra, nothing else but, in the fullness of the promise of His Own Word, God Is Faithful.

Lord, in the midst of life, help us to deeply, without question or reservation, know Your faithfulness to Your people. May we move in confidence, serving You as we step forward in faith. Amen.

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.”
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, Thomas Obadiah Chisholm

After a year like 2020, we need to have a little humor in our lives. While not trying to diminish the severity of what a lot of people went through (and still are going through), I think it is important to be able to smile and even laugh out loud once in a while.

Humor is described as the ability to see or show the funny or amusing side of things.

In a search through the Bible, humor is used more than eighty times. Who but God could use a talking donkey to get His point across (Numbers 22:21-34)? So I hope these few bits of humor make you smile today.

A girl was visiting her friend who had acquired two new dogs. She asked, “What are their names?” The friend replied, “This one is Rolex and that one is Timex.” The girl replied, “Who ever heard of someone naming their dogs those names?” “What’s wrong with it?” said the friend, “They are watch dogs.”

Why did the man put his car in the oven?
He wanted a hot rod.

Why did Humpty Dumpty have a great fall?
To make up for a bad summer.

What did the left eye say to the right eye?
Between you and me, there is something that smells.

What is brown and sticky?
A stick.

My prayer is that, just for a moment, you found reason to smile.

(Read Deuteronomy 14:18 to understand the title!)

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 

perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

(Romans 5:1-8)

by Chris Thomas

I think if I hear that phrase one more time, I’m going to throw up. It was inspiring the first 200 times we heard it but now it’s one of those phrases that you want banished from the earth, like “Y2K”, “reach out”, or “transparency”.

So. I’ve decided that from now on when I hear that phrase, instead of getting angry, I’m going to let it remind me to think of the things that I AM certain of. Like, my health is good, my job is great, my home is safe, my family is healthy, my friends are the best, and my salvation is secure.

What’s certain in these uncertain times? No matter what is happening down here, God is still on His throne! Jesus is alive! He is risen! He’ll be back! I am glory-bound! God is in control. 

Wait. What do you mean, God is in control? If that’s the case, why is all of this happening? Because we live on earth, not in Heaven. Because Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Because He gives us free will. Because it’s a fallen world but fortunately, we’re falling right into His hands. (That’s helpful only if we let Him catch us!) I am certain that whatever I go through, He is beside me. He laughs with me and He cries with me. He is ALWAYS there for me. And you. He will use our choices, good and bad, to bring us closer to Him, and to bring Him glory. There may be pain along the way, but with God in your heart, it will always end well.

Be aware of what is happening in the world today. Don’t hide from it or agonize over it. I have memorized and lean on Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I also find comfort in Romans 15:30: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

No, “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”

And of that, I am certain!

by Keith Bortner

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.’” (Matthew 16:24)

There’s a passage in C.S. Lewis’s book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, in which Susan, speaking of Aslan the Lion, asks “Is he — quite safe?” In this allegorical story, Aslan is the King of Narnia and, as such, represents God.

And so the question stands: “Is he safe?” Is our God safe? We like to think so. We have numerous songs, devotions, and sermons talking of being safe in His arms and resting safe in Him. While those things are true, it’s also true that sometimes following Him isn’t safe. Sometimes following Him means going out of our comfort zone and talking to someone we wouldn’t normally talk to. Other times it might mean turning the other cheek and not retaliating in an attack, leading to personal physical harm. Many have followed our Lord and have endured hardship and death.

Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter. He had the power and means to command legions of angels to put an end to everything he was going through, but He didn’t. He chose what was most unsafe, to endure the beatings and whippings, to endure the suffering of the cross, and to ask His heavenly father to forgive those that injured and then killed him.

Is He safe? In Mr. Beaver’s reply to Susan, Lewis answers that question better than I ever could. “Safe? …Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. May we be willing to follow him that far.