Way too many people have a hard time with God as our Father.  On one hand, it’s understandable if they had dads who were always gone or always drunk. Maybe their dads were not involved in their upbringing or education.  There are some who were separated from their fathers due to death, military service, or divorce.  In any of these cases, the hurdle to see God’s discipline as anything good is doubly difficult because the first barrier is God as Father.

For those who know God as the loving Father He is, we make that hurdle because we know that God would never leave us to be feral children, growing up with neither standards nor boundaries.  God disciplines us for our good so that we will be able to stand strong as men and women of God, fully confident of His love, and fully desirous of our being holy to be a joy to Him and joyful in ourselves.

Hebrews 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?…10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

Discipline done well is a powerful parenting tool.  It reinforces behavior that elevates and brings no shame.  It crafts the person to know why boundaries exist and when they can be safely stretched for growth and creativity.  We learn the rules of the game so there may be order and goodness. Training makes us strive for excellence in all we do. 

But just like weight training or distance running or physical therapy, it involves pain as we grow, stretching our spiritual muscles, learning self-denial and self-control, as well as developing character and perseverance to prepare us for the journey of adulthood and the challenges ahead.

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.  13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.  14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.  15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Too many people want the glory without the preparation
or the prize without running the race. 
Let’s be those who value the boundaries and instruction that discipline teaches.

Father God, we praise You that You are a loving God, One who cares about us as Your children, One who is gentle and merciful, yet holy.  Make it clear to us why we are enduring discipline so we might ask the proper question of what we are to learn through the process.  Give us discerning minds to know conviction of sin which is loving discipline versus condemnation which brings only shame and fear of punishment.  Help us to know discipline’s goodness so we might bring glory to You through our actions.  Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

As we approach the final days of our devotional series “But God…” and come to know the peace of God even as Kingdom citizens of a foreign land called the City of Man, we can experience gratitude that God didn’t leave us with the Law.  God didn’t leave us with earning impossible social credits required to prove our worth.  Instead, God gave us grace in the form of our Savior and a New Covenant in Jesus’ blood.

Jesus is the One who earned this covenant.  He’s the one to mediate it.  Hebrews 8:6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

How were these promises better?  Well, the Law could only lead us to recognize sin.  Jesus can forgive it.  The Law required effort on the part of imperfect people.  Jesus required only His own perfect effort.  In the end, the Law could never save because that wasn’t its purpose.  Jesus saves because that’s why He came. 

Hebrews 8:7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. 

The Law was a placeholder until God sent a Savior who would perfectly embody and keep the Law.  Even better, the Law never disappeared, though it will happen “soon” which Matthew 5:18 lists as the point when heaven and earth disappear and “everything is accomplished.”

When Jesus returns, we will no longer need the Law.
Jesus will be enough.
If you ever worry God has left us alone,
consider how blessed we are to be in this moment of history.
Would God who brought us all the way from Eden, through a flood,
through exile and slavery, through occupation,
only to send His Son Jesus to die on a Cross
at the hands of the ruling Jews and Gentiles alike,
then raise Him from the dead leaving nothing but an empty tomb…
seriously would He suddenly decide to call it quits?  After all that?
No, He’ll see us all the way to His Return! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Thank You Lord for this new covenant!  Thank You that it can never be taken away!  Thank You that covenants that You make are certain and trustworthy and that with You, a promise made is a promise kept.  In a world of false promises, a world in which people will say anything to get what they want, I praise You and thank You that this new covenant in the blood of Your Son Jesus Christ is certain and eternally good!  He shed His blood at the Cross for our benefit.  But not just ours because, Lord, You redeemed Your Image in fallen humanity.  We have already been rescued as Image-bearers from the spiritual dark forces arrayed against mankind.  Thank You Lord for this blessed time, this holy time, of Easter.  Remind us that Good Friday was when Jesus purchased our forgiveness at an infinite and horrible cost.  May we never take forgiveness lightly.  We give You eternal thanks in the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Few things are harder to accept than trying to play by the rules, live righteous and holy lives, do good to others, loving them even if they’re enemies, and yet to see your life fall apart.  Adding insult to injury, one wonders about God when one is suffering but evildoers still seem to flourish. 

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced a season when God dealt you blow after blow, deaths, losses of all kinds, all while you were trying to do what’s right, but having experienced that in my own life, I’ve learned some things.  God knows you’re confused.  God sees you wrestling with it.  God sees the pain and the frustration.  God understands how circumstances can create doubt.  But God honors our perseverance in trusting Him.

Job knew better than most how confusing it is when only God sees the full picture and we only see a part. 

Job cried out, Job 23:2 “Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.  3 If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!  … 13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. 14 He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. 15 That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him. 16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.  17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.  Job 24:1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?

Do you feel like there’s no justice in this world?  Just hold on…

Lord, when we’re confused and don’t know where to turn, we ask that by Your mercy, You will be everywhere we look.  May we see evidence of Your loving care in every moment.  Help us to know it in our core as part of the very fabric of our lives and character.  Helps us not to give up hoping, never to give up trusting You, and desiring nothing more than wanting to know You more, and wanting to see righteousness prevail.  Help us to know You will make all things right and give us confidence to persevere even though we are afraid.  Help us not to question the Almighty or quarrel with our Maker.  Rather, give us rest and peace in knowing You.  Oh, that we would know the pure essence of trust.  For Your glory, Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

God knows the difference between sins committed intentionally, flagrantly, audaciously, or maliciously and those that were just a broken world getting in the way of people with otherwise good intentions. 

God offers grace in these situations of simple error. What types of situations, you ask? Ones such as a person having a heart attack while driving a car and unintentionally killing a pedestrian or a passenger in their car, or an unexpected electrical short causing a fire that ignites a neighborhood, etc. These are not planned or malicious in any way. Just a broken world.  Tragic just the same, but not rebellion against God.

As we continue our look at living with peace of God and having peace with God even while living in the City of Man, we can be thankful that God made provisions in His Word to guide our response. 

“However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.” (Exodus 21:13)

Without the fuller picture, being able to know the hearts of others, God instructs us to “Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5). It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t judge words and actions against the Bible’s clear instructions, but it does mean we should leave room for God to be the One who judges people, who judges their hearts, and who gives a final judgment.

Thank You, Father, that You are utterly trustworthy to know the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.  We thank You that provision has been made for error and sin that arose without intent.  Preserve us from being puffed up as followers of Christ, arrogantly believing ourselves to be more holy.  Help us to remember how You have put apostles and prophets on display as those “at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena.”  Give us words when we are slandered, so we will not repeat blow for blow, but rather answer kindly. When we are mistreated and bullied and ostracized, help us to remember that You are coming soon, and You know our hearts.  Remind us that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”  May we know more of You, Lord Jesus, and see Your power at work in our lives.  Amen. (Praying 1 Corinthians 4:5-20).

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Resurrection makes all the difference. 
It’s what can keep us hoping when everything seems dismal. 
It’s what keeps us persevering when persecution seems unbearable. 
It’s what keeps the flame of faith alive in the storms of life. 
It’s what makes this life worth living. 

No wonder the world’s faithless are among the least happy of the population.  Chronically angry at life.  Haters of those who seem to have it better.  Perpetual complainers, hopeless pessimists, and miserable scoffers who look for earthly rescue anywhere, from anyone, in the City of Man but it does not come.  Whatever weak rescue seems to come doesn’t last as old habits return, old ways press in, old thoughts consume and battle for our minds, and old sins tighten their grip. 

Without the resurrection hope, even death seems a greater tragedy
because this life is all too short and all too broken.

Ironically, death is the great equalizer.  It doesn’t play favorites.  It knows no moral boundaries or cultural laws.  It doesn’t look at skin color or gender.  It’s mean to everyone and doesn’t even try to appear nice.  It’s there…always in the background… as an enduring testament to Adam’s sin, for mortality cannot be explained any other way.

The Bible talks about this.  1 Corinthians 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Without resurrection, death comes knocking and every door is wide open for this enemy to have its way.  We’re all lost and hopeless. As we’ve been learning during Lent 2021, But God… didn’t leave us there. 

So with resurrection, there must first be death.  The Bible states this truth by analogy.  1 Corinthians 15:36 What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.  37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body… 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;

Thank You, Lord Jesus, the even though the natural world reproduces living beings, Christ is “the last Adam, a life-giving spirit,” and our only hope for rescue. He is the Giver of true life, eternal life!  Thanks be to God who gave us the victory through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Help us to always stand firm, letting nothing move us from a position of hope.  We believe, Lord. We believe and are grateful.  Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

This year’s Lent Devotional Series “But God…” resumes tomorrow after today’s Sabbath rest to meditate and worship.

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’

We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:10-21)

Today’s meditation focus:
The reliability of Scripture and the truth of God’s Word made flesh in Jesus Christ.

I’m not a fan of coerced unity.  We hear it all the time from politicians…unity, unity, unity…but on political terms.  You give up your principles and agree with me and then we will have unity.  Heads, I win.  Tails, you lose.  Anything to confuse you or distract you, so you won’t think about what it really means: subjugation by capitulation to someone else’s whims. 

If God prepares and preserves where He calls, part of that preparation is in the way He gifts each one of us.  We are different. We think differently and apply ourselves differently. But in Christ, we can get along. As we live between the City of Man and the City of God, we can experience His peace and be productive followers of Christ as we’ve noted in “But God…” our 2021 Lent Devotional series.

How can we have this peace and productivity?
By agreeing with His choice to gift us and His choice of where to employ us. 
And moreover, His choice NOT to gift us in certain ways
or His choice to deny our use in an area for which we were never gifted. 
It’s tough for Christians to swallow sometimes. 
Even harder for those who don’t know Christ.

I Corinthians 12:20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

No one is a Do-It-All-Christian.  We must depend on each other. 

Father God, thank You for Your great wisdom. You have chosen to gift the Body called the Church in the way that You know will lead to the best outcome. We praise You and thank You for the giftedness in our brothers and sisters in Christ. We thank You that there is no favoritism with You and that in Your perfect knowledge, the gifts are ours to be peace-filled and productive. To yield much fruit. And all of this, Lord Jesus, for Your glory. Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Narrow. Intolerant. Exclusive, not at all inclusive.
Misogynist. A 1950s white family religion. 
Not nearly woke enough for the modern mindset.
These are some of the criticisms of Christianity.
Yet the Bible paints a very different picture. 

Acts 10:25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” 27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”  

Read that last verse again. Christianity is the most racially and ethnically diverse (and come as you are, open to all humanity irrespective of any demographic category) faith tradition out there.  The only aspect in which it’s narrow is:  Jesus is God, Son, and Savior.

Peter learned from God Himself that traditions that kept the Jewish community pure until the arrival of Christ were never meant to replace faith in Christ or salvation of the world.  The Jewish community was always meant to be a light for the Gentiles not a fence around Messiahville.

Isaiah 49:6 God says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

God shows no favoritism when it comes to access to Him.  Do you?

Lord Jesus, thank You that You opened a way through the curtain so by faith and through prayer, we could enter the Holy of Holies and have access to You.  Thank You for the salvation You made possible because You so loved the world.  But for Your grace, we could not have hope between the City of Man and the City of God. Let our look at this mercy and grace during Lent stay in our hearts forever. Give us courage to share You with an unbelieving world and not keep You to ourselves.  Help us to have a missional outlook in obedience to the Great Commission.  For Your glory.  Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Being told your descendants would have an inheritance might seem really odd to a very old and very childless man.  As we focus on living between the City of Man and the City of God during Lent 2021, maintaining peace in God’s promises in the absence of God’s clear action is pretty hard to do. It happens only by faith and Scripture holds Abraham as a model this, credited as righteousness. He believed God.

Acts 7:5 God gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

No inheritance for Abraham.
Not even enough ground for one foot.
All he had was a promise from God and that was enough.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for…13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.    

Delayed gratification is an undervalued trait by the Want-It-Now generation
that can get anything at any time, delivered anywhere in the world,
even largely in spite of a pandemic! 
But unrealized promises and hope delayed can be the very soil in which faith grows.
There is a faith-building power in patience.

Romans 8:24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Lord Jesus, help us to wait patiently for the redemption You have promised.  Help us to hold the line in view of our friends and neighbors so they will see our faith and believe also.  We ask, Lord, that if it be Your will, You will come soon.  We watch and wait for You.  Lord Jesus, we love You. Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Genesis 50:22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees. 24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

With God, a promise made is a promise kept.  All the way back in Genesis 15:13 The LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.”  Joseph’s descendants were on the front end of that period of slavery.

God brought the slavery to pass and it was also promised there would be deliverance.  “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (Genesis 15:16)

But four hundred years is a long time. 
Some who were born into slavery never left it. 
They never saw the promise of deliverance fulfilled. 

The ”But God…” that we’ve been looking at throughout Lent, here identified as “will surely come to your aid” still hadn’t happened.  Waiting upon that four hundredth year must have been a very long wait.  Joseph believed God would surely do it before the time of enslavement even began.  That takes faith.  No wonder he’s commended for it.

What about you?  Is there something in your life that requires faith?  How’s it going?

Lord God, help us to see that You are reliable … You are dependable … You are faithful, even when our circumstances scream otherwise.  We know it in our core because the Bible says that it’s true.   Help us to keep our eyes focused on You even when it seems like You will never come through.  We believe, Father.  Help us to wait with patient expectation of Your fulfilling everything You have promised including the return of Your Son Jesus, riding on the clouds with the trumpet sound. Strengthen us for these last days, in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.