Christian Reflection and Prayer

"Die in Your Sins"

Lenten Devotion

"Again Jesus spoke to them saying, 'I am the Light of the world.'
 ..." (John 8:12a).

 Read John 8:12-30.

Jesus' enemies want Him dead. Has He pressed too hard? Is it
time to lighten up or compromise to find common ground? No!
Jesus knows there is only one way for them to be saved. So
He presses even harder. He declares, "I am the Light of the
world."

Instead of backing down Jesus draws a line in the sand and
says, "Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life." But to those who reject Him, He says,
"I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in
your sin."

Their hearts should be stirred, but instead they stubbornly
refuse to listen. In idle curiosity they ask each other if Jesus'
talk of "going away" means He will kill Himself. Jesus answers,
"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will know that
I am He."

When they lift Him up and nail Him to the cross, they will
know who He is. The miraculous signs at His death: the
darkness, the earthquake, the torn curtain in the temple and
His glorious resurrection will make it clear to them that Jesus
is the mighty Son of God, the promised Messiah.

Which side of the line are you walking on? Are you truly
walking in the light of Christ or the darkness of this unbelieving
world? Jesus warns all of us that our time is short. Don't wait
for tomorrow. Today is the day to live in Christ through faith,
rather than die in your sins.

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, bring me out of the darkness of my sin to
the light of Your Son Jesus Christ. I pray in His Name. Amen.

Written by Rev. Wayne Palmer

"Caught in the Act"
By Rev. Wayne Palmer


Lenten Devotion

"... 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of
adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone
such women. So what do You say?'" (John 8:4b-5)

Read John 8:1-11.

Unable to arrest Jesus in front of the crowds, His enemies
look for a chance to turn those crowds against Him. They
bring a woman caught in adultery and set their trap,
"Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what
do You say?" Certainly the crowd is ready for a stoning.
Jesus will lose popularity if He stands in the way.

Jesus answers them. "Let him who is without sin among
you be the first to throw a stone at her." He was the only
one qualified to be her Judge, the only one who has the
right to throw that first stone. One by one they drop their
stones and walk away.

Jesus tells her, "Go and from now on sin no more." She
can walk away unpunished because He has taken her
guilt and sin upon Himself, along with the punishment she
 deserves from God for that sin. She goes away free while
He prepares to suffer in her place on the cross.

We don't like to admit it, but each of us is a sinner like
that woman. God catches us in every single one of our
sins, and we deserve something far worse than being
stoned to death. We deserve the fires of hell under the
wrath of God.

But Jesus Christ steps forward to take our condemnation
on Himself and pay the full price for our sins as He suffers
and dies on the cross. On Judgment Day we will walk away
free. He will not condemn us either.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, You set me free by being condemned in my
place. Help me show true gratitude by forgiving others and
sharing Your salvation with them. Amen.

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.