Weekly Devotions

“Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.” Mark 15:5, NIV

Just for a quick inventory – what do you hear at this moment? Listen.

Where I am, it’s the hum of my fridge with the occasional ice dropping in place, birds blended cacophony outside, a buzz on my phone after I started a Lauren Daigle song.

Silence is a challenge in the 24/7 audible, visual, sensory loaded script of our world. Recently a Lent reading brought a silent pause. Mark’s story in chapter 14 tells us of Jesus’ arrest and the entire Jewish Council presenting him to Pilate. Jesus responds once to Pilate’s questions. And so Pilate says *“Aren’t you going to answer anything? That’s quite a list of accusations.” Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed.

In the midst of deep trouble, betrayal by both disciples and religious leadership, Jesus is secure in his purpose and silent in his response. And this surprises and impresses Pilate, who really wants to let Jesus go free. But you know, public opinion wins out.

Pondering the silence of Jesus, has me thinking. Has there ever been even one occasion when my silence impressed someone, leaving curiosity, a hope, a longing for understanding?

Silence is more likely to be my response when I miss (should I say betray) the opportunity to speak of Jesus, give a word or take action in His truth or His comfort, or His love. Silence often needs to be the choice to make when I’d rather argue, give my opinion, or justify my action.

We have a glimpse of our Silent Savior in this part of God’s Story. We know before The Word became flesh, creation was spoken and the redemption plan was in place. Jesus came using words, often full of mystery, to show us God’s Kingdom. The silence of God in that mock trial, the abuse and crucifixion didn’t mean weakness or failure. God was still working. It impressed Pilate, a dying thief, a Roman Centurion. And centuries of others!

Maybe in this season of your life, or someone you know, God is being silent. Hold on to hope. Today, may you be mysteriously impressed by the silence of Jesus. And may you be Jesus’ impression in your noisy world.

*Copyright 1994 by Eugene Peterson, The Message

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17, NLT.

“Writers are quirky people.” This I was told when attending my first writers conference a few years back. While I was surprised that quirkiness is an “epidemic” among writers in general, a dear friend had already identified this as one of my personality traits during one of his visits to my home; by the end of this writing, you will probably agree with my friend.

Before I understood that God instills within each one of us a leaning toward either “logic” or “creative” thinking, I knew which of these traits came more naturally to me. In the classroom, while everyone else focused on the lesson at hand, I was the student reprimanded for daydreaming out the window. Little did I know that with a little “harnessing,” something positive might come of my daydreaming. For example, I see biblical analogies when reading headlines and billboards.

Okay, now that I have made my confession, on to the point.

The following headline comes from a magazine ad: “Blueprint basics—Knowing how to read plans makes the building process easier.” When reading this, my mind went immediately to the Bible passage from 2 Timothy. Isn’t this true about the “blueprint” of God’s Word? I thought to myself. If we study and learn how to read Scripture as God’s way of building us into the people He wants us to be, doesn’t it make the process easier?

The Bible is rich with instruction to make us strong in character, loving in how we treat others, and wisdom in leaving the world a better place for having been here. I pray that you and I will take the time to open God’s Word and build upon His solid foundation.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.” Psalm 130:5, NKJV

Young children find waiting on anything almost unbearable; the older we get and the more experience we acquire from the act of waiting, the more patience we also tend to gain. Who has never heard the question of a child, “are we there yet?” when taking a family road trip? As adults in the world of instant messaging, mobile phones, and communicating with others, most of us wonder, “Why isn’t he/she answering my call?” Waiting is hard!

The Bible often references “waiting” throughout Scripture. Most of the time, we are waiting on God, such as in the verse from Psalm 130. How are we to wait when God is silent? Perhaps the answer reveals an area within our spiritual growth needing exercise, such as:

Patience without gratification

Forgiveness without an apology

Trusting without seeing

Hoping without evidence

Loving without being loved

Giving without receiving

The list above is by no means exhaustive, as I am sure you can think of other ways one might be found waiting in his or her lifetime for something we feel is important. Jesus Christ is the Ultimate example of right attitude and action during a time of waiting. Did you know that God must also wait on you and me at times in our lives?

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8, NKJV.  

If you have not asked Jesus into your heart to be Lord and Savior, even though he has already died for you, God is waiting for your answer.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

I want to be at peace.

I’m always worried about something. I haven’t been to visit my friend who is in the nursing home. What if I get COVID? I need to take a casserole to our neighbor whose Dad just died. I have obligations in many of the nonprofits I am part of. Oh, and what about that thing I committed to at church? Should I go on the mission trip to Guatemala this summer? What if my daughter doesn’t find a new job in a timely fashion? I need to raise funds for the benefit next month. What will I fix for supper? And on and on and on.

And all of that is personal. What about the discord in our country? Will the debt ceiling be increased? Will I lose my Social Security benefits? Did I retire too early? What about Medicare? Will our hospital reach an agreement with my insurance company? And I can’t bear another mass shooting.

Peace.

It seems so elusive. Yet, Jesus told me not to worry. In fact, John 14:27 promises peace from the Prince of Peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

The world offers plenty of solutions to anxiety: Valium, alcohol, binge eating, meditation or psychotherapy.

But here’s what God offers: Himself.

God designed us to reach our full potential, to be powerful beyond measure, to have success and joy and abundance in our lives. No – he never said life would be a bed of roses. All He said is that He would help us deal with the thorns.

As daughters of Christ, we’ve been given an incredible gift: God’s peace. This means we don’t have to let fear trouble our hearts, we don’t have to let the unknown paralyze us. God is right there beside us; He’s seen it all before and He knows exactly what He’s doing.

Let’s trust God – He’s not worried about the debt ceiling, discord, donations, daughters or disaster. And when we turn to Him in prayer rather than grab a glass of wine or dose of Xanax, He will provide a peacewhich surpasses all understanding and which will guard our hearts and minds.

I want that kind of peace!

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;” . . . God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

I don’t know about any of you but when I look in the mirror, the reflection I see sometimes surprises me. Where did those wrinkles and gray hairs come from? When did my body shape become what it is today? When did all these (and other) changes take place?

But rather than focusing on the physical changes reflected in my mirror, I want to hold up a spiritual mirror and see the reflection there. How have I changed spiritually over the years? Do I resemble Jesus more and more?

“The expectation of Jesus is that if you follow Him you will be changed and conformed into His image.” John Ortberg

The Bible is full of verses relating to changing spiritually so that we look more and more like Jesus. 

God spoke of this change long before Jesus came to earth. He told the people of Israel, “For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45) Being holy is a part of being changed to be more like Jesus.

In Romans 8:29, Paul writes, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;” Change and conformity/ transformation are God’s plan for us. If it is God’s plan, why would I not want it/do it?

In Romans 12:2, he continues, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Peter tells us, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:16)

How are we changed and conformed to the image of Jesus?

First by renewing our minds. Paul’s letter to Titus tells us that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,´ (Titus 3:5) Am I willing to let the Holy Spirit do the work of change in my life?

Second by having the right focus. Colossians 3:1 tells us to “keeping seeking the things above.” What do I need to eliminate in my life that keeps my focus from being on God – television shows, music, books, websites?

Third when we understand our position with God. “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17-18) As slaves to righteousness, we grow to be like Jesus Who is our Righteousness.

Fourth by putting off our old self and putting on our new self. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Fifth when we ask God to help us and allow Him to do so. “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

As Christians, we can read all of these verses and know what God expects and still not be changed and conformed to His image. When we live life not wanting to or refusing to change, we miss out on what God has for us.

My prayer for us is that we will be willing to hold up the spiritual mirror and look at our reflection. The reflection may be beautiful some days and on others, it may need a lot of work. Just as the physical changes reflected in the mirror did not occur overnight, the spiritual changes take time as well. The best part is that we have a Savior Who wants us to be like Him and He walks alongside us as we seek to be like Him.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19

“But the LORD said to Samuel… ‘For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7, NKJV.

In the 1930s, two young men created the comic book character that has remained alive throughout the decades. With many iterations as of 2023, several movies have resulted from its popularity, and if I were to guess, reader, you have seen at least one version in your life. From the title of this writing, you have probably correctly guessed the character, Superman!

Of course, the Superman figure possessed all the qualities necessary for the title: superpowers, like extraordinary physical strength, taking flight from a standstill reaching warp speed in seconds, and the even more unique achievement, seeing through walls of steel. Superman was a hero figure, conjured up in the imaginations of talented, creative human beings.

When God told the prophet, Samuel, that he was being sent to the family of Jesse to anoint a new king for the people of Israel, Samuel naturally fell prey to his human misconceptions and began looking at Jesse’s older and physically strong in stature sons. Imagine Samuel’s reaction when God rejected each and all of Jesse’s sons until, as the last resort, Jesse pointed Samuel to his youngest son, David a shepherd tending the sheep. The story about the life of David is rich in meaning for the nation of Israel and for every person who gives his or her life to Jesus Christ. (For deeper reading: 1 & 2 Samuel.)

While it is fun to imagine a “superman” figure, human beings, even the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, and so on, with all their powers cannot know the depth of the human heart; only God can. This understanding may feel like a double-edged sword. Humans often lack words to express our love for God, so we hope He knows our heart. On the other hand, God even knows the intentions of the heart. The prophet, Jeremiah reminds us, that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV). Good news! Jesus lived, died, and rose from the grave and has overcome the human broken heart. Thank You, Jesus; You are my everlasting and eternal Hero. There is no one like You in all the earth. I give You praise and worship with a heart of thanksgiving. Amen.