Devotionals

Psalm 32: 8-9
8–9 
I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!”

Pause in his presence

Lenten Reflection: Responsiveness to God’s guidance is essential if we are going to enjoy all God has in store for us. He wants to take us where we would not go on our own.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
    and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
    for those who love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9)

Our stubbornness can get in the way of the gentle guidance God desires to exercise over our wills. He has perfect vision and knows who he created us to be. If we resist the guidance of God, we find ourselves facing times of testing and trials. Not because God does not want to share his goodness and fellowship with us, but because we are resistant to the direction he desires to guide our lives. It is painful to pull away from God’s love and care.

Prayer: Lord, I want to be responsive to your voice; to be guided into your will for my life. So, please help me grow. I am pressing in to learn from you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 32:6-7
6 
This is what I’ve learned through it all:
All believers should confess their sins to God;
do it every time God has uncovered you
in the time of exposing. For if you do this, when sudden storms of life overwhelm, you’ll be kept safe.
7 
Lord, you are my secret hiding place,
protecting me from these troubles,
surrounding me with songs of gladness!
Your joyous shouts of rescue release my breakthrough.

Pause in his presence

Lenten Reflection: God’s beautiful mercy and forgiveness boosts our confidence when approaching him for fellowship. He is our safe place; he rescues us from evil. When we commune or fellowship with God, we find ourselves in his protective care; in the shelter of the Almighty. We were created to enjoy perfect security with God. If we lack a sense of security, it is because we have forsaken God’s offer for intimate fellowship, by pridefully living outside his holy boundaries. To think God will bring the resources of heaven and join us in sinful living is deception and a lack of respect for his holiness.

Prayer: Lord, in your presence is fullness of joy, so I confidently run to your throne of grace today in order to receive mercy. I desire to be surrounded by your goodness and the gladness you alone can impart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 32: 5
5 
Then I finally admitted to you all my sins,
refusing to hide them any longer.
I said, “My life-giving God,
I will openly acknowledge my evil actions.”
And you forgave me!
All at once the guilt of my sin washed away
and all my pain disappeared!

Pause in his presence

Lenten Reflection: Restoration is God’s perfect work. He awaits those moments when we come before him and stop hiding what he already knows about us. In fact, God does not hold back blessings from us. We hold ourselves back from God’s blessings by our failure to be genuinely repentant and trusting of his instruction and care. When we repent, we are not simply praying, “I’m sorry, Lord…” Repentance is a spiritually deep and sincere prayer, “I acknowledge my sin against you and your gracious love, Lord, and want to turn from sin so I cease to grieve and dishonor your name.”

Prayer: Lord, you are my life-giving God; I hunger for the abundant life only you can give me. Therefore, every day I need forgiveness that I have not earned, but by grace can receive. I know this is true, because I have experienced and felt your grace bring restoration to my life many times. Continue to take me to the deep places of your heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 32:1-4 TPT)
1 
How happy and fulfilled are those
whose rebellion has been forgiven,
those whose sins are covered by blood.
2 
How blessed and relieved are those
who have confessed their corruption to God!
For he wipes their slates clean
and removes hypocrisy from their hearts.
3 
Before I confessed my sins, I kept it all inside; my dishonesty devastated my inner life, causing my life to be filled with frustration, irrepressible anguish, and misery.
4 
The pain never let up, for your hand of conviction was heavy on my heart.
My strength was sapped, my inner life dried up like a spiritual drought within my soul.

Lenten Reflection: In Hebrew, the word “forgiven” is translated “lifted out.” The burden of sin has to be lifted off from our souls or it weighs us down, restricts our freedom, and diminishes our spiritual power. Only our merciful God can do the lifting we need through the blood of Jesus. Sin can take the form of rebellion, failures from selfish living, and acts of twisting God’s righteous standards (corruption). Our confession removes the penalty and pain we experience when we live in hypocrisy. Pause in his presence.

Prayer: Lord, you extend mercy to those who are honest. So, as I pause in your presence today, please help me to be honest with you about every aspect of my life and any sin you shine light upon. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 51:12-1
David’s Consecration
12 
Let my passion for life be restored,
tasting joy in every breakthrough you bring to me. Hold me close to you with a willing spirit that obeys whatever you say.
13 
Then I can show to other guilty ones
how loving and merciful you are.
They will find their way back home to you,
knowing that you will forgive them.
14 
O God, my saving God, deliver me fully from every sin, even the sin that brought bloodguilt. Then my heart will once again be thrilled to sing the passionate songs of joy and deliverance!
15 
Lord God, unlock my heart, unlock my lips,
and I will overcome with my joyous praise!
16 
For the source of your pleasure is not in my performance or the sacrifices I might offer to you.
17 
The fountain of your pleasure is found
in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you. You will not despise my tenderness
as I humbly bow down at your feet.

Lenten Reflection: God wants to speak truth into every area of our lives; no sin hiding under hardened or stoney wills and no rebellious or selfish motive left standing against the holiness of God. Our journey is about rising up to obey the Word of the Lord. Joy will invade our tender hearts and songs of praise will fill our mouths.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for my heart to grow in tenderness toward you and toward others. Unlock my heart and my lips, so I may passionately share with others about your amazing goodness that awaits them, too. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 51:7-11 (TPT)
David’s Cleansing
7 
Purify my conscience! Make this leper clean again! Wash me in your love until I am pure in heart.
8 
Satisfy me in your sweetness, and my song of joy will return. The places within me you have crushed will rejoice in your healing touch.
9 
Hide my sins from your face;
erase all my guilt by your saving grace.
10 
Create a new, clean heart within me.
Fill me with pure thoughts and holy desires, ready to please you.
11 
May you never reject me!
May you never take from me your sacred Spirit!

Lenten Reflection: God never created his children to live with guilty consciences. We were meant to live free in the pure love of God. Therefore, may God heal our brokenness and satisfy our sacred longings. May our desires please God and may we embrace a loyalty to him that cannot be diminished or robbed.

Prayer: Lord, cleans me from spiritual leprosy—selfishness and pride that tries to grow to destroy our relationship. I need you to bring an awareness—sensation—to when I try to live selfishly instead of in your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 51: 1-6 (TPT)
Pardon and Purity: David’s Confession
1–2 
God, give me mercy from your fountain of forgiveness! I know your abundant love is enough to wash away my guilt. Because your compassion is so great, take away this shameful guilt of sin. Forgive the full extent of my rebellious ways, and erase this deep stain on my conscience.
3–4 
For I’m so ashamed. I feel such pain and anguish within me. I can’t get away from the sting of my sin against you, Lord!
Everything I did, I did right in front of you, for you saw it all. Against you, and you above all, have I sinned. Everything you say to me is infallibly true and your judgment conquers me.
5 
Lord, I have been a sinner from birth,
from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 
I know that you delight to set your truth deep in my spirit. So come into the hidden places of my heart and teach me wisdom.

Lenten Reflection: If we want to experience spiritual renewal and restoration, we must call for grace—God’s favor—ask for mercy and invite the Light of Truth to reveal our inward needs. This is the work of wisdom—our Messiah.

Prayer: Lord, any sin in my life reveals my rebellion against you. Please forgive me and cleanse me. Bring me into wholeness as I surrender to your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Joel 2:12-13 (NLT)

A Call to Repentance

12 

That is why the Lord says,

    “Turn to me now, while there is time.

Give me your hearts.

    Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

13 

Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,

    but tear your hearts instead.”

Return to the Lord your God,

    for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

    He is eager to relent and not punish.

Lenten Reflection:  If we humbly and honestly look at our lives, we know we are in desperate need of the mercy and compassion of God. So, if we are wise, we will constantly put our lives before God and confess our need for the work of transforming grace.   In Hebrew, the heart is the center of thought, faith, and will; the core of one’s being.  God is not just interested in our external signs of repentance; he is looking for a change in our attitudes, growth in our faith, and obedience to his will.

Prayer:  Lord, over the next 40 Days help me to read your Word, meditate on it, invite the Spirit to reveal Truth as it relates to my life, and draw me closer to you. Help me fast from the things that are hindering my walk with you. Your presence is worth the sacrifice of my will. In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

2 Peter 1:16-19 (TPT)

On Sunday, we listened as the Word taught us more about the Transfiguration of Jesus. In our passage today, we see how Peter continues to witness to that powerful spiritual experience with God. Peter wouldn’t quickly forget that encounter because as he was speaking God overshadowed or subdued him with the powerful brightness of his glory and the authority of his Voice. Peter was talking and God interrupted him. What was Peter’s response? He fell down to the ground; Peter’s heart was subdued and he bowed.

From that moment on Peter had a story; he would tell what his eyes had seen, his ears had heard, and his soul had experienced. He would never look at Jesus the same way. Now, he understood the holiness of Messiah and the oneness of authority the Lord shared with the Father. Sometimes things in our lives may look dark, but when Jesus enters into the darkness everything is subdued by his holiness. He subdues the human heart and he will one day subdue the whole world. “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God’” (Rom. 14:11). Let his love captive and subdue you, today.

2 Peter 1:16-19 Jesus’ Transfiguration
16 We were not retelling some masterfully crafted legend when we informed you of the power and appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we saw his magnificence and splendor unveiled before our very eyes. 17 Yes, Father God lavished upon him radiant glory and honor when his distinct voice spoke out of the realm of majestic glory, endorsing him with these words: This is my cherished Son, marked by my love. All my delight is found in him! [Aramaic: in whom I am fufilled] 18 And we ourselves heard that voice resound from the heavens while we were with him on the holy mountain.

Prophecy
19 And so we have been given the prophetic word—the written message of the prophets, made more reliable and fully validated by the confirming voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration. And you will continue to do well if you stay focused on it. For this prophetic message is like a piercing light shining in a gloomy place[world or human heart] until the dawning of a new day, when the Morning Star rises in your hearts.[subduing all our hearts]

Prayer: Lord, every day is a new day, because you are always teaching me and transforming me. Thank you for captivating and subduing my heart! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Acts 7:30-34 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Earthy matters relentlessly try to capture our full attention; leaving little room for spiritual realities. That is why we need to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). Our flesh can try to hinder our hearts and minds from applying the Word to our lives. We may need to endure for a season, so we can receive the blessings God has in store for us. We are human beings and we need the work of the Spirit to clear the way for our spiritual maturity. Otherwise, we can find ourselves living by our flesh and in our own strength; rather, then rising in the glory of God.

In our passage today, Luke has us listening to a speech Stephen issues to the Sanhedrin—religious counsel—about the blessing of Messiah. Stephen shares about Israel’s strained relationship with God, but how God chose to remain faithful to love his people, anyway. Stephen retells the history of Moses and how God’s glory is seen in the burning bush; God mercifully hears the cries of his people and sets Moses aside to deliver them. God instructs Moses to take off his sandals; a symbol of removing earthly matters from his mind and heart in readiness to accept spiritual realities. As Moses removes his sandals, may we remove ours, as well. Prepare to receive the blessing in Messiah.

Acts 7:30-34
30 After forty years had passed, while he was in the desert near Mount Sinai, the Messenger of Yahweh appeared to him in the midst of a flaming thorn bush.

31 Moses was astonished and stunned by what he was seeing, so he drew closer to observe this marvel. Then the Lord Yahweh spoke to him out of the flames:

32 
‘I am the living God, the God of your ancestors.
    I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
“Trembling in God’s presence and overwhelmed with awe, Moses didn’t even dare to look into the fire.

33 “Out of the flames the Lord Yahweh said to him:
‘Take the sandals off your feet,[sign of respect]
    for you are standing in the realm of holiness.

34 
I have watched and seen how my people
    have been mistreated [tormented] in Egypt.
    I have heard their painful groaning,
    and now I have come down to set them free.
    So come to me, Moses,
    for I am sending you to Egypt to represent me.’

Prayer: Lord, may I place earthly matters under your spiritual realities; may you receive the respect and honor you are due. Rise up and be glorified in my life. In Jesus’ name Amen.