Christian Reflection and Prayer

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Lenten Devotion

"They (the Pharisees) replied, 'Are You from Galilee too? Search and
see that no prophet arises from Galilee'" (John 7:52).

Read John 7:32, 45-52.

The Jewish leaders hear the crowds wondering if Jesus might be the
Messiah. They decide it's time to act. So they send the temple guards
to arrest Him. But it isn't Jesus' time yet. Impressed by the authority
of Jesus' words the guards return empty handed. The Light will keep
shining a little while longer in the darkness.

Jesus is trying to break through the darkness of the Jewish authorities
through their temple guard. If these men are willing to listen to Jesus,
perhaps the chief priests and Pharisees will follow their example. But
the leaders harden their hearts and accuse the guard of being deceived
like the crowds who must be under a curse.

If they won't listen to the guards, perhaps they will listen to one of their
own. Nicodemus speaks up. He suggests they give Jesus a fair hearing
rather than blindly condemning Him. Instead, they turn on him with two
exaggerations. First, they claim none of the authorities believe in
Him-though at least Nicodemus does. Second, they claim no prophet
ever came from Galilee, but they overlook Jonah who was from Galilee.
They attempt to close ranks against Jesus through intimidation and lies.

We often plant our heels in the sand and refuse to budge no matter
what anyone might say, no matter what the church might say, no matter
what God's Word might say. But Jesus suffered and died for our
stubbornness just as He did for all our other sins.

God continues to work through His Word and Sacrament to break
through our persistent unbelief and move us to understand and accept
the truth.

THE PRAYER:

Lord, forgive my stubborn pride, and move me to true, sincere faith.
Amen.

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

"Jesus said, 'I will be with you a little longer. ..
.'" (John 7:33a).

Read John 7:33-44.

People are divided over Jesus. Some believe in Him. Others
don't. Many are undecided. Jesus warns them to make up
their mind: "I will be with you a little longer."

I learned that lesson the hard way when I was 19. One Friday
afternoon my boss handed me my paycheck on the way
home. A couple hours later he collapsed at his bowling alley
and died. My chance to talk to him, learn from him, and
reach out to him was gone forever.

Soon Jesus will be gone. He will die on a cross and be
buried. After three days He will rise again, but the vast
majority will never see Him again-only a few select believers
God will choose to be witnesses of His resurrection to the
world.

The clock is ticking for us too. Each of us has only a limited
amount of time before we die and our chance to find salvation
through faith in Jesus Christ ends forever. But often we are
content with the way life is going. Or we think it doesn't matter
what you believe, God will be satisfied if you just try to live a
good life.

But that is a false hope and a false comfort. God has provided
only one way to save us, and that is through His Son Jesus
Christ. Jesus satisfied God's holiness and justice by taking
our sins on Himself and suffering and dying in our place on
the cross. No one else could do it. Now is the time to come
to Him and walk in His light.

THE PRAYER:

Lord, draw me to You while there is still time. Shine in my life
that others may turn to the Light of the world, while they still
have time. Amen.

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Lenten Devotion-... When the Christ appears, no one will know
where He comes from" (John 7:27b). John 7:25-32.

Some of the Jerusalem folks think Jesus is paranoid. Others
won't even consider whether He might be the promised Messiah.
Why? Because He is from Nazareth, and no one is supposed to
know where the Messiah comes from. The funny thing is this:
they don't know. Jesus only grew up in Nazareth; He was born
in Bethlehem. But Jesus is the eternal Son of God who came
down from heaven and was born in Bethlehem to save us. Using
their little knowledge, they are content to write Jesus off and live
in the darkness of their thinking.

Being content with a little knowledge is dangerous. Consider
those who are content to know Jesus was born at Christmas
and died on a cross, but that's all they care to know. They don't
know that He lived and died to save them from God's wrath and
rose again to give them eternal life.

We live in a time where people believe-and try hard to persuade
us to believe-that reality is what we think it is. And what may be
true for you isn't necessarily true for me. Once I am satisfied with
my sense of reality I don't have to dig any deeper.

Being content with a little knowledge is not just a dangerous
thing-it's deadly! Each of us is a sinner who needs God's
salvation through Jesus Christ. He is the only Savior, the only
way we can escape God's eternal wrath and live forever in heaven.
This Lent God calls us to keep digging deeper and see the whole
story of Jesus' suffering and death for our salvation.

THE PRAYER:

Lord, forgive my being content with a shallow knowledge of My
Savior. Open my mind to want to learn more. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.