Lent Day 36: Scattered in every direction

Jesus said, “A time is coming when you will be scattered and go to your own homes. In fact, that time is already here. You will leave me all alone. But I am not really alone. My Father is with me.

"I have told you these things, so that you can have peace because of me. In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world.” John 16:32-33

You wouldn't think a pep talk would include, "you'll be scattered and leave me all alone." But Jesus never shied away from the truth. He knew exactly who his disciples were. People full of faith and sometime, people who acted in fear and doubt. 

The disciples were with him for three years. They saw the miracles, ate the bread he multiplied, and heard his teaching. But they would run away when they got scared.

Jesus knows who you are, too. When you can't summon any courage, when you wish you could sleep until this was over, or when you feel like all hope is lost?

Remember that God isn't going turn you away. He's waiting with his comfort and peace.

Will you turn toward to him, regardless of your failures and bad habits, your addictions and your sorrows? Will you trust him to love you even though he knows everything about you? 

Admit to him what he already knows about you so you can accept his forgiveness and his peace.

Popular posts from this blog

Lent Day 23: A life in hiding

Image
" You have been raised up with Christ. So think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God’s right hand.  Think about things that are in heaven. Don’t think about things that are only on earth.  You died. Now your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3 Where are you hiding? And what are you hiding from? What would happen if you believed God had raised you from the dead and you were focused on heaven? What is you hid behind God' power instead of depending on your own?
Read more

Lent Day 31, 2024: Pruning that profits us

Image
It's painful to lose things. Sometimes we have to wave goodbye to a friendship, a job, or a home. Sometimes it seems like God is angry with us or that it's our fault. But Jesus offers a different perspective. Jesus talks about the value of the hard times, when things are pruned away.  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.   He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful (John 15:1-2) ." Sometimes what you leave behind is something that has outgrown its season or taken energy away from your true purpose: a fruitful life. Other times we don't know why  we are being reshaped.  It can hurt.  The writer to the Hebrews notes: " No  discipline  seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11)." Challenge: Think of som...
Read more

Lent Day 39: Sentenced for your crimes and mine

Image
When the Pharisees and other national leaders take Jesus to the Roman governor, they are looking for the worst punishment they can inflict, a cruel and painful death . Here are the details, from  John 18:28-19:16: Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.  So Pilate came out to them and asked, ‘What charges are you bringing against this man?’ ‘If he were not a criminal,’ they replied, ‘we would not have handed him over to you.’ Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.’ ‘But we have no right to execute anyone,’ they objected.  This took place to fulfil what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. > This is hardly a trial that seeks justice. Rather, it is a conspiracy to execute someone who threatens the power base and status quo. The reli...
Read more