Ten

Are you afraid of the dark?
The fear of darkness is called Nyctophobia and there are many people who struggle with this phobia. Night time, darkness, silence, fear - they all have their own combination of anxiety and unknowns, but it is often during these times that God speaks clearly to us.

“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs." - Matthew 10:26-27

Jesus promises to speak to us in the dark and to whisper his words of Grace for us. During this Lent season may we learn to listen in the dark.

Os Guiness writes - "Jesus does not say we will never walk in the dark, but that we do not wander in the dark or have a way of life at home in darkness. To anyone not knowing the anguish of such a situation, the distinction may sound trivial—the darkness appears as dark and the dilemma as agonizing. But neither is ultimate, for the outcome lies with God.”

Living in Grace
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Nine

Jesus takes delight in calling the Rif-Raf to himself. Those on the fringes; the outcasts; the marginalised and the broken - each one of them had been cast aside by the religious people of his day, but Jesus saw these people with different eyes. He saw them as they could BECOME and not as they were in the moment. He had the compassion to look beyond the dirty clothes, dirty lives and dirty souls - Jesus knew that if they chose to come to His Father, they would be changed for ever.

"While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” - Matthew 9:10-13

Let us take Jesus' words to heart this week and contemplate what it means to 'desire mercy' and 'not sacrifice.'

Question: Who deserves MERCY in your community/family this week?

Living in Grace
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Eight

 

“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases.” - Matthew 8:17

In his life and ministry Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies and this one in Matthew's gospel takes us back to some incredible words from Isaiah. He wrote:

"Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53

If you take a quick glance through Matthew 8 you will see words like 'heal', 'restore', 'calm' - all these teach us about Jesus' real motivation in coming to earth. He came to save and help. Even in the tragedy of the cross we note how Jesus fulfills prophecy and takes our sins upon himself.

May we also see LENT as a time of helping and drawing alongside others in their pain.

Living in Grace

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Seven

Have you noticed any planks in your eyes lately? Well, if not planks, then how about some small blocks of wood? Or a few tiny pieces of off-cuts from your garage floor? Any Sawdust?

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." - Matthew 7:3-5

Lent teaches us to look inward at our personal journey with Jesus and to ask ourselves the honest (but hard) questions. 

Do I notice the sin in the lives of others very quickly and then leniently overlook my own sins?
What could "the plank" represent in my own life?
Am I fairly judging those around me?

“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Living in Grace
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Six

Each day has enough trouble of its own.
These are the last words of Matthew 6 and they come at the end of portion where Jesus urges his followers not to worry about the trivial things in life.  It is not that these things aren't important for us - we do need food, shelter, clothing and so on - but I believe Jesus wants us to know that God is also concerned about these things too and God will make a plan for us. God will provide enough for us to get through each day.

That could mean - Enough food...
Enough shelter...
Enough love...
Enough strength...
Enough support...
Enough hope...
Enough comfort...

As you continue to make your journey to Holy Week reflect on these wonderful words from Jesus. God is enough. God will give us enough in order to sustain us for whatever we are facing.

^"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:33-34

Living in Grace
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Five

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." - Matthew 5:17

Ask a bunch of Christians to explain why Jesus died on the Cross and you will probably get an answer that makes some sense. However, on other issues of faith and Jesus's teachings you will find a divergent collection of opinions. In trying to explain His purpose to his followers Jesus wanted them to fully understand and not to become confused by all the frivalous talk. 

For this reason he uses the following words before each teaching in the Sermon on the Mount:

"You have heard the Law says...."

"But I say..." 

Tom Wright said of the Sermon on the Mount - "It's a royal announcement that God is turning the world upside down - or, rather, the right way up."

During Lent it is important for us to do our own studies of the Scriptures to get to the heart of the Gospel. We know that Jesus accomplishes his purpose through the Cross and empty Tomb, but we would do well to truly comprehend what this means for each one of us.

Questions to ponder:
1. Do we understand why Jesus came?
2. What does this mean for you?

Living in Grace
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Four

Our two greatest enemies are Death and the Devil. In Jesus' temptation in the wilderness He defeats the 3 strategic attempts of the enemy to try and distract him from God's plan. No matter how hard the devil tries, Jesus rejects his efforts.

^"Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." - Matthew 4:8-11

As we project forward to the Passion of Christ we should also remember that the second of our enemies is defeated at the Resurrection. Taking a look into the empty tomb reveals the greatest gift we could ever dream of. It tells the story that death will not be the end for us, but rather the transition from this world to God's home. 

Allow the knowledge of this victory to bring you LIFE today.

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." - Hebrews 2:14-15

Living in Grace
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