Christian Reflection and Prayer

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.

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Read John 7:14-24.
(Jesus said) "... 'Why do you seek to kill Me?'" (John 7:19b)

Lenten Devotion- The darkness of unbelief hangs like a thick
blanket over the temple grounds. For the first half of the
festival it looks as though the darkness has driven away the
Light -- Jesus is nowhere to be seen. But midway through
the festival He steps into the temple courts and begins
shining His light for all to see. Jesus immediately addresses
the reason He stayed away for the first half of the festival. He
asks the religious leaders why they want to kill Him for doing
a good deed.

Unaware that Jesus is talking to the Jewish leaders, the
crowd thinks He is talking to them. Since they aren't seeking
His death and are unaware of their leaders' thoughts, they
reach a false conclusion: they accuse Him of being demon
possessed!

When He hangs from the cross they will reach another false
conclusion: Jesus was a fake and God is using the cross to
show the world Jesus of Nazareth is not His Son. They will
have no idea God is giving His only-begotten Son to die for
the sins of the whole world.

Judging by appearances and jumping to conclusions is
something we often do too. We are offended by our neighbor,
so we condemn him before we even learn his reasons. Jesus
warns, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right
judgment."

Stop a moment and reconsider Jesus Christ. Did you start
this Lenten season thinking of Jesus as only being meek and
humble? Have you begun to see His strength, commitment
and courage? Stick around, because as Jesus once told
Nathanael,"... You will see greater things than these"
(John 1:50b).

THE PRAYER:
 Father, forgive me for judging by appearances. Open my eyes
to see Your Son as He is -- my powerful Lord and Savior. In
Jesus' Name. Amen.