Christian Reflection and Prayer

"Our Resurrection and Life"

Lenten Devotion

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever
believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone
who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe
this?'"(John 11:25-26).

Read John 11:1-44.

Jesus is about to do one of His greatest miraculous signs.
He receives a frantic message to come to Lazarus who is
gravely ill. But Jesus remains where He is. His disciples
think Jesus is avoiding Jerusalem where the crowds had tried
to stone Him a short time ago. But Jesus waits two days
before finally heading out for Bethany, a small village near
Jerusalem. Thomas tells his fellow disciples, "Let us also go,
that we may die with Him."

Jesus finally arrives after Lazarus has been dead four days.
Martha says, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would
not have died." But Jesus had a reason for His delay. Jewish
rabbis believed a person's soul hovered over the body for three
days, and then finally departed when decomposition set in. By
waiting for the fourth day, Jesus would be performing a miracle
none of the Jewish leaders could deny.

Sometimes we get confused by the struggles in our life. Like
Martha we plead with the Lord to help, but when we need Him
most He seems to delay, or not to hear. But Jesus has a
purpose and a plan for everything He does for us.

Jesus told Martha "I am the resurrection and the life." Jesus
proved that by raising Lazarus from the dead-and by His own
resurrection on the third day. When we are discouraged, beaten
down and depressed, we can look to Jesus and know our future
is secure.

THE PRAYER:

Lord, give me confidence in Your victory during the dark days
when I need You the most. Amen.

Written by Rev. Wayne Palmer

"Don't Call Me a Sheep!"

March 14, 2015

Lenten Devotion 2015 cover

(Jesus said) "I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own
know Me." ... "and I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:14, 15b).

Read John 10:11-39.

In today's reading Jesus identifies Himself as our Good Shepherd.
This, of course, means that we are like sheep. That automatically
says two things about us: we are helpless creatures, and we have
powerful enemies against which we are defenseless. But are the
crowds willing to admit this-that they need Jesus to be their shepherd?

Jesus tells them He will freely lay down His life to save them from their
enemies. He will lay it down on Good Friday when He is nailed to the
cross and gives up His life for the sins of the world. But He will take it
up again on the third day when He rises in glorious victory.

The crowds hear this great news, and find themselves divided yet
again! Some say He has a demon, or He is insane. But others,
thinking how Jesus healed the man born blind, ask, "Can a demon
open the eyes of the blind?"

Jesus made some very bold statements about Himself and the work
He came to do. Few are as powerful or as comforting as these words.
Jesus Christ has been pleased to take us as His very own sheep, and
will guard us, protect us, lead us to good pasture, care for us in body
and soul and finally lead us through death to life everlasting.

Jesus stretches out His hand to you today. If you are His sheep, listen
to His voice, He will protect you from all enemies and guide you safely
home to paradise. He promises that nothing can snatch you out of His
hands.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank You for offering to hold me firmly and safely in Your
hands. Let me never wander away in unbelief. Amen.

Written by Rev. Wayne Palmer

Welcoming the Stranger

Last weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday”
Selma to Montgomery march, a historic moment for our country
as brave individuals marched toward the Alabama capital to fight
for the civil rights of African Americans to vote in the South. This
effort was met with violent resistance at the Edmund Pettus
Bridge as state troopers used teargas and nightsticks to beat
back the marchers.

This moment caught national attention and was instrumental in
passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which banned racial
discrimination in voting, and also helped pave the path for many
justice movements that continue to this day.

Whether our fight is for racial, economic ,or environmental justice,
we are committed for the long haul to resisting the forces that
disenfranchise communities and seek to limit the rights of people.
As we remember Selma and continue our march for immigration
reform facing the resistant forces of today, we must remember
the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “The arc of the moral universe
is long, but it bends towards justice.”

In faith,

The Sojourners Immigration Team