Cars nowadays are loaded with modern conveniences. With the push of a button,
we can turn on our favorite music, wash that bug off the windshield, open our
windows to let in a cooling breeze or turn up the heat. Our cars seem to just give,
give, give whatever we ask at any moment. The only problem is that we need to
keep our cars happy by keeping their fuel tank full and maintaining all their systems.
Do you ever feel like your spiritual fuel tank is low? Is there only so much that you
can sacrifice to help others? Do you catch yourself saying, “sorry for being short with
you but…” If our spiritual fuel tank is running low, could it be that our priorities are
not focused on God’s love? Jesus became true man to live a life of sacrifice. He
confirmed that loving God above all else is the greatest commandment and that
loving your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest.

God’s steadfast love keeps our spiritual fuel tank full so that we can lend a helping
hand, give a kind word, or just be there when someone needs us. We do not need to
want for anything else but the gift of God’s steadfast love. Jesus has given that to us
so that we are able to keep on giving. His ultimate sacrifice on the cross fulfills
God’s promise of salvation. The only emptiness we see should be the emptiness of
the tomb.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, keep my spiritual fuel tank full. Help me to never tire of spreading your love to
others. Help me to treat others with Christ like love. Amen

One of the greatest joys I have as Pastor is that there are times where I can visibly
see an idea or concept regarding the faith click with someone. You can almost see
the light bulb go on in their brain! One such occasion happened in talking with
some of our Confirmation students about the word sacrifice. When I asked what the
word sacrifice means, I learned that we must have some baseball fans in our
congregation, because the first thing they thought of was a sacrifice fly. I actually
love this analogy, because it teaches us that a sacrifice is not done without an end
goal in mind. A batter sacrifices his opportunity to get on base, with the goal of
advancing one of his teammates to the next base or even home plate.

​Jesus’ sacrifice was not in vain, but it served a purpose. That purpose was to forgive
the sins of the world, and as written in Hebrews 9, to save those who now wait for
Him to come again. Once is enough. God had a plan with an end goal in mind, and
while we do continue to eagerly await the second coming, God has left us no doubt
that the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I give you thanks, this day and always, for your sacrifice on the cross. Thank
you for the forgiveness of sins which you have so lovingly blessed us with, and preserve us
in faith as we eagerly wait for you to come again. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Vinegar Boy,” by Alberta Hawse is a book that I like to read to my students during the
lenten season. It is about an orphan boy who had a birthmark that covered half of his
face that was abandoned in the mountains by his parents, and taken in by the
commissary steward. He wouldn’t let the steward adopt him until his birthmark was
gone.

Vinegar boy was on a mission to find Jesus to heal his face before Jesus’ resurrection,
but he also had another mission as well. He was to deliver the vinegar wine to
Golgotha.

The book takes you through the events that lead up to the crucifixion, the crucifixion,
the resurrection, and post - resurrection. The boy learns many valuable lessons and has
many disappointments along the way thinking that “today” was supposed to be “his
day.” Jeremiah 29:11 often pops into my mind as I read this book because he had many
plans to find Jesus and ask him to heal him, but there was always something that got in
the way of his plans and that led to disappointment for him.

In the end, he realizes that the commissary steward loves him for who he is and is
proud to adopt him and call him his son. We all have scars, burdens, wounds, and may
feel rejected by friends or loved ones, at times. We may try to find ways to get rid of
those burdens on our own, but we cannot. Jesus suffered, was ridiculed, mocked, and
despised all for us and by his wounds we are healed just as the vinegar boy found
healing and realized that he was loved and cared for even with his birthmark. Jesus
loves and cares for all of us, no matter how dirty our past is; just like Nicolas loved and
cared for Vinegar boy, despite the ugly birthmark on his face. Thank God for His love
and care for all of us.
​
Prayer:
Dear Lord God Heavenly Father, We thank and praise you for Your divine goodness and
mercy in our lives. Please forgive us for the times where we try to take matters into our own
hands. Help us to turn to You and seek You with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of
our mind. Amen

“Don’t forget!” This is something I say a lot. Whether it be to my daughters, my
students, or even to myself. Isn’t it interesting how God is reminding us in this verse
to do good and to share what we have with those in need? It seems simple; we learn
to share when we are in our early school years. We can share with everyone around
us and do good for others. Often if we help someone in need, we are only going to
do it if it is convenient for us, right? Whatever is the easiest for us, maybe cleaning
out our closet of the clothes we no longer wear or giving the extra $20 in our
pocket. But is this a sacrifice to us? Is it an inconvenience?

A sacrifice is something that we give that causes a discomfort or pain for us. We
usually measure our giving by what we can give materially, but really the best gift we
can give, is the gift of ourselves. Offer a friend or neighbor your time, helping
around their house or yard when they are unable or are overwhelmed. Offer a prayer
or a listening ear, sacrifice yourself and your time to help someone in need. Jesus did
this. He made a sacrifice for us, his own life. He loved us so much that he made that
sacrifice for us, because we were the ones in need. We need to be more like Jesus,
sacrifice our personal time to help someone in need. Put someone else’s needs before
our own. When we put someone else’s needs before our own, we are pleasing and
worshiping God. So, “Don’t forget,” this Lent season to sacrifice your personal time
to do good and help someone else, because this is truly pleasing to God.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to not forget to be loving and helpful to my neighbor. Give me a
heart of service and sacrifice for you. Amen.

According to the internet the average person looks at themselves in the mirror
between 30-50 times during the day. The likelihood of a person forgetting what they
look like is probably slim to none. Now, when it comes to following God’s word that
we hear every week in church or during our personal devotional or prayer time, do
we conveniently “forget” to do what is right?

James 1:22-24 says, but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who
looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away
and at once forgets what he was like.

So, as we go about our Lenten journey and we reflect upon Christ dying on the cross
for our sin we need to focus every second of every day to follow God’s word and be
doers of the word not just hearers.

​Prayer:
Heavenly Father, remind us during Lent to look to the cross and to spend time in your
Word. May we be a reflection of you always. Amen.

Like all good newly married couples in the 90’s I owned a bread machine. It was a
marvel. You would simply put your ingredients in to make a hole for your yeast and
set the time and in a few hours or less your home would fill with a delightful aroma
of freshly baked bread. I loved to surprise my husband with a loaf at dinner and
hear his comments of delight. Well, one night I prepared my favorite recipe and
waited for the delicious results. The house began to fill with a delightful aroma and
I heard the machine beep. I went over to the machine only to find a hard flat
mound. No delicious bread would be had that evening, my yeast, without knowing
it had gone bad.

This is just like us as Christians isn’t it? We have just left the joy of Christmas and
turned back to our ways of grumbling about the weather, our jobs, or other
Christians. Our leavening has gone bad. We need to once again cleanse out the old
Adam and prepare ourselves for the greatest sacrifice our Lord and Savior will
make in a few weeks. Just like there are ways to keep your yeast fresh we too need
to keep ourselves fresh in His Word. Let us cling to His sacrifice and stay FRESH
in His Word this Lenten season.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, As we prepare for your ultimate sacrifice pull us closer to you in
all we say and do. Allow us to be refreshed in your Word and be able to fight off the
schemes of the devil. Amen

Have you ever thought about how many times a day you eat? If you are like most
Americans, you can easily say 3-6 times a day you pick up something to eat. How
many of you would be comfortable eating just once a week?

In these verses Paul tells us that clearly, we should be teachers by now, reading and
teaching the truths of scripture. But many of us are still like babies being bottle-fed
the word of God. We don’t even pick up the word on our own to read, learn and
draw near to God each day. Instead, we go to church once a week and wait for our
feeding to begin and then eat nothing until next Sunday.

If you are reading this thinking, it’s odd -- it is! How often do we complain that we
don’t get enough out of the sermon. We didn’t get enough out of the worship. The
music didn’t move us.

Paul wants us to think more about what we are putting into church. If you aren’t
“getting” enough maybe we need to look at what we are “giving” in our worship
lives. In Jeremiah 17:13b, Jeremiah says of God, Lord, you are the spring of living
water. If we go to Him each day, we will find that we are renewed and can become
teachers of the word, trained to distinguish what is good and what is evil.

​Look at your life and see how often you digest the word of God. May this Lenten
season be a blessing to you, draw near to the one who sacrificed everything for you.

​Prayer:
Father God, we know we often forget to consume your words found in scripture. Help me
this day to take time to dig into your word so that I may grow and share the gospel of your
salvation to those around me. Thank you for gifting me with wisdom to know you and to
do your will. Amen.

Discerning the will of God is no easy task. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if He would
just clearly tell us what He wanted? If it was that easy, we wouldn’t have to be renewed
in our minds. We could go on conforming to this world without being transformed.
Instead, what is good and acceptable and perfect takes refinement. This means dying
every moment of every day to our worldly desires. The plans we make based on our
talents and dreams can be glamorous and self-fulfilling. However, to truly discern what
God is saying we must consider what our human hearts want to deny: Our desires,
dreams, and goals are not completely in line with God’s will.

By the mercy and grace of God, in his infinite love for us, we have been pulled out of
the dark and into the light. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we are saved. God’s love for
us is unfathomable to our human understanding, and He knows in every moment what
we need. Given this, the only way to discern His will is to let Him lead. We must bow
our heads in humble submission and accept the call. His Word tells us everything we
need to know. The rest of the complications and worries that crop up in our lives come
from the endless struggle of our sinful and worldly desires. So where are you right now?
What are you overlooking as you strive for something else?

​We are called to be a living sacrifice, and it is no easy feat. To walk with Jesus is the
ultimate transformation that continues for the rest of our lives. This means every day,
there is a battle of submission to God. If we let Him lead as our lives unfold, the
renewal of our minds will blossom into the discernment we crave.

​Prayer:
Dear Lord, let us practice submission this Lenten season. Jesus was Your ultimate sacrifice for
humanity, and because of your love and grace we can worship you with our trust. Help us to
sacrifice our human desires, Lord. Guide us to let go of anything that is getting in our way of
being fully immersed and invested in your plan. We know we can never be perfect, but
because of Jesus we can foster a beautiful relationship with You as we grow in faith, letting
You lead the way. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I have two sons. As with any family, each son has their own likes and personality. One of
my sons is a little calmer, a little more introverted, and doesn't love the great outdoors
and working with his hands like his brother. He’s more into computers and games, reading
and indoor time. The other son is quick-tempered, outgoing, and loves hard work. He
tells us that he wants to grow up and work out in the sun doing construction. If I were to
ask them to bring me their laundry, one would collect their hamper willingly, the other
would do so with more of an attitude. If I was to point out the difference in the way they
did so, the quick-tempered child would complain that I always put him last and blame his
brother. We see this same situation play out in the Old Testament. In Genesis 4, we see
Cain and Abel, God’s children bringing sacrifices to him. Cain and Abel were different in
their personalities and preferences just like my sons. Abel was more of a gentle son, caring
for sheep. Cain liked the hard work, working in the fields, and clearly quick-tempered.
Cain and Abel remind us that if the sacrifice is not done from the heart, out of our love
for our creator, then the sacrifice is not pleasing to the Lord. One of the brothers gave
from their heart, one didn’t, do you remember the outcome?

During Lent, I ask you to examine yourself. Where is your heart when you are making a
sacrifice for God? Do you stop to examine why you’re making that sacrifice? Are you
quick-tempered like Cain, or do you bring offerings to God with a glad heart. The
Psalmist urges us to sacrifice with thanksgiving and to call upon God in times of need.
Lent is a time of both sacrifice and sorrows. We see our Lord and Savior, Jesus, brought
through heart wrenching trials and he pays the ultimate price. He too calls upon the
Father in his time of need, and he carries out God’s plan willingly. During this season we
can reflect upon our own trials, maybe even making sacrifices for the season. Will we
remember to call upon God and praise him with thanksgiving? Or will we forget who our
sacrifices are for? We can be assured that when we sacrifice with our heart, when we call
upon God, He is there for us!

​Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we praise, thank, and glorify your name. Thank you for being there for us in
our times of trouble. May we come to you with glad hearts, making all sacrifices out of love for
you. In Jesus name. Amen.