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Pretending to be sincere…. (devo reflection)

Luke 20:20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.

The phrase “spies who pretended to be sincere” jumps out at me from today’s scripture. In today’s society, false faces seem to be the norm, but Jesus doesn’t want us to pretend with Him. He wants us to be honest, open, and authentic in our dealings with Him.

Luke 20:21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

Verse 23 tells us that Jesus knew that the spies were duplicitous. He can tell when we are posturing or pretending. He wants us—all of us, the real us, the messy, inconvenient, uncomfortable bits included. We are His beloved children, fiercely loved exactly as we are, and He wants us to draw closer to Him.

Luke 20:22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Lord, Forgive me for the times when I pretend to be sincere. Sometimes I’m frustrated, sometimes exhausted, sometimes distracted, but I don’t ever want our time together to be insincere. Help me to always be present and honest with You. And thank You for Your fierce love, even when I’m not at my best. Amen.

Luke 20:23 He saw through their duplicity….

Have a blessed day.

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Praying you through…. (devo reflection)

Mark 2:2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

To know that you are deeply, fiercely loved by the Creator of the universe even when you don’t feel like you have any value, to know that God is making a way in your wilderness, even when you can’t fathom any way out, these are important and powerful truths. So when I offer to pray for or with someone, these are the primary things I want to remind them: 1. God loves you. Period. Full stop. 2. He is in control. Even now. 3. He’s making a way, a perfect way through whatever wilderness you are facing, even if you can’t yet perceive it.

Mark 2:3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.

Saying that I’ll pray for someone is a promise I take very seriously. My sisters and I call it “praying you through,” and I’ve seen the power of prayers for others more than once, and I know that when I’m at the end of myself, the end of my faith, just knowing that others are lifting me up, praying me through, is incredibly powerful.

Mark 2:4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.

Lord, Thank You for the power of prayer and for the ability to lift each other up to You in prayer. Thank You that the ability to pray each other through the trials of life is one more way that we can glorify You and encourage each other in this life. Help us never to forget the power of prayer. Amen.

Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Have a blessed day.

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A beautiful example…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 21:23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

Commentary says of Jesus in this section that he does not engage in their argument. Something about the word engage really captures me here. As a society, we are all about engaging in the argument these days. A quick look on any social media platform will show copious examples. And the heart of each is about pride. “I’m right. You’re wrong. Let me destroy you publicly.”

Matthew 21:24-25a Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

Jesus knows He is right. He avoids the Pharisees’ trap, and He leaves them with their dignity. Commentary says, “…He does not clamor for the pride of winning a debate.” Pride. There it is popping up its ugly head. Again.

Matthew 21:25b-26 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

Lord, Thank You for reminding me to keep my pride in check. Thank You for providing me with a beautiful example of how to glorify You without engaging my prideful nature. Help me to lay my pride at Your feet and to glorify You in all things. Amen.

Matthew 21:27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Have a blessed day.

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I don’t understand, Lord. But I trust You with my life…. (devo reflection)

Mark 11:20-21 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

Today’s scripture is hard for me because I truly don’t understand. Jesus curses a fig tree for not bearing fruit—even though it wasn’t fig season. Why? Then He says that if we believe hard enough, if we pray without any doubt, we can have whatever we pray for. What?!?

Mark 11:22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.

I’m pretty sure we all have things we’ve prayed fervently for that did not come to pass. I can’t believe in a God who sees fervent prayer, yet says, “Nope. She quit praying 5 minutes too soon. No granted prayer for her.” So what’s going on here?

Mark 11:23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

Lord, You tell me to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and all these things will be given to me (Matt 6:33). Jesus teaches me by example to say, “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). You assure me that Your thoughts are not like my thoughts and Your ways are far beyond anything I could imagine (Isaiah 55:8). I don’t understand, Lord. But I trust You with my life. “Not my will, but yours be done.” Always. Amen.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Have a blessed day.

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The beginning of wisdom…. (devo reflection)

John 12:27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Jesus was fully human and fully divine. He knew what it was to struggle. Yet when He struggled, He always turned back to God, back to God’s will for Him. In verse 28, God even speaks, affirming and supporting Jesus. And yet the people don’t (won’t? can’t?) understand.

John 12:37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.

I can be pretty cynical at times. There are absolutely situations that I’m an “I’ll believe it *when* I see it” type of gal. As easy as it is for me to shake my head at these unbelieving Jews, I know I can be just as bad. Hopefully, that humility is the beginning of wisdom.

John 12:42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;

Lord, Some saw and did not believe. Some believed but were too afraid to openly acknowledge their faith. Help me to see, to believe, to openly live my faith, to comfort Your people, to bring You glory. Always. Amen.

John 12:43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

Have a blessed day.

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Drawing near…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 21:12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.

I have read these verses for years and never thought too much about them. Of course Jesus is angry. They turned a house of worship into a place of commerce. But commentary posits that Jesus gets so angry in this passage because the tables, benches, and merchandise mean less space for the people to draw near to Him.

Matthew 21:13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

What makes Jesus angry enough to turn over tables? Protecting our ability to draw near to Him. Once He clears the space, the blind and lame come to Him and are healed.

Matthew 21:14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

Lord, Thank You for protecting my ability to draw near to You. Help me never forget that You make sure there is room for me, but it is up to me to draw near and be healed. Amen.

Matthew 21:15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

Have a blessed day.

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“If you…had only known…what would bring you peace….” (devo reflection)

Luke 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it….

What strikes me in today’s reading is 1. Jesus’s tears and 2. His words: “If you…had only known…what would bring you peace….” Jesus wants them to have peace. He tried to show them what would bring them peace. And yet, they didn’t see, didn’t understand. And He wept over the city.

Luke 19:42 …and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.

What strikes me is that I “have” Jesus—I know Him. I claim Him as Lord of my life. I seek Him and spend time with Him—and yet, peace often eludes me. I *know* what will bring me peace—total surrender to, total trust in Jesus. And yet I hold on to fear and doubt and worry. Jesus, help me.

Luke 19:43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.

Lord, Thank You for loving me so much that You bring these issues of trust (I need to trust You fully) and control (I need to let go of control so that I can trust You fully) to me again and again. I know what will bring me peace—only You. Help me, Lord. Amen.

Luke 19:44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Have a blessed day.

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Both a hope and a promise…. (devo reflection)

Luke 19:35 They brought [the colt] to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.

The crowd thought Jesus was the antidote for the oppressive rule they endured. Their praise was honest and sincere. Not only did they trust that Jesus *would* save them, they thought they knew *how* He would save them. And when it doesn’t happen the way they expect, their cries become “Crucify!”

Luke 19:36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

Lord, I see myself in this fickle crowd. My trust in You often feels conditional: “I will trust *if* You work in this way.” That did not work for the crowds all those years ago, and it won’t work for me. Thank You for the humility to see what I am doing. Forgive my prideful attitude. Help me, Jesus.

Luke 19:37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

Lord, You are calling me to complete trust in You. Your thoughts are nothing like my thoughts. Your ways are far beyond anything I could imagine. That is both a hope and a promise. Help me to let go of my fear and to fully trust You with this life You have given me. Amen.

Luke 19:38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Have a blessed day.

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“She did what she could.” (devo reflection)

John 12:2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

The three gospel accounts of this meal very slightly, but there are consistencies throughout: the expensive nard used to anoint Jesus, the woman who does the anointing, the disciples’ outrage at the wasted money that the nard represents, Jesus’s rebuke of the disciples’ attitudes and defense of the woman’s actions.

John 12:3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Jesus even says in Mark 14:8 “She did what she could.” That really strict a cord. I have choices every day about what I do and how I act. I want to hear my Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when I meet Him face to face. But the reality is that I don’t always do what I can. Jesus, Help me.

John 12:4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected….

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that I am the one in charge of my attitude and my actions. Help me to do what I can, every day, to bring You praise and glory, to honor You, and to comfort Your people. Amen.

John 12:7-8 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you,but you will not always have me.”

Have a blessed day.

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More than beautiful language…. (devo reflection)

Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.

Who is God? Where is God? What’s His role in heartbreak and in hope? I think these are questions we need to ask if we are to have a personal, intimate relationship with Christ. And I don’t think the answers are static and fixed. I think they change and evolve, just like we do.

Acts 17:25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

God gives life and breath and everything else. He is not far from any one of us. In Him we live and move and have our being. Everywhere. Always. He is never far from us.

Acts 17:27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

Lord, The language of these verses is beautiful, but we need more than beautiful language in difficult times. Help us to seek You, to know You, to trust You. Amen.

Acts 17:28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Have a blessed day.