Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Lent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Old Testament Lesson

Deuteronomy 9:13-21

We see here Moses telling the new generation about their sin and the golden cafe. Deuteronomy was written after Exodus and Leviticus, it is the second giving of the law. During the wilderness, the older generation died off and a younger one would be the ones to take possession of the land. Because of this, the law is restated so that it will be fresh on their minds, and it will be theirs as well.

And, part of this is a retelling of their sin. It is good for us to remember not just the good, but to also remember the times when we have messed up. Why? It keeps us humble, and it reminds us how we are here only by the grace of God. Steven Curtis Chapman has a song entitled "Remember Your Chains", and I love the chorus of that song:

Remember your chains
Remember the prison that once held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember the place you were without grace
When you see where you are now
Remember your chains
And remember your chains are gone

Today, remember who you are, by God's grace.


New Testament Lesson

Hebrews 3:12-19

We see here in Hebrews what had happened to those that hardened their hearts in the wilderness. They never entered into God's rest of paradise. And, we are warned, don't do the same. They knew better, yet they hardened, their hearts. They knew better, yet they choose sin. They knew better, yet they turned away from God. And, they suffered great consequences for it.

We too, know better. We know to choose right over wrong. We know to choose God over sin. We know what is right, we know what to do. Do we do it? Do we choose what God would have us to do? Or do we choose our way? They choose their way, and wandered in the wilderness. What will we choose?

Gospel Lesson

John 2:23-3:15

We see that our life comes not just from flesh and blood, but must come from above. We must be born again in terms of belief. We have a birth in terms of life upon the earth, but there must come a time when we have to have a spiritual birth, where we claim what God has done for us as our very own. Some of the moments can be very dramatic, some can be very laid back. It can happen in church, it can happen at home, but for each of us, there must be a moment where we realize that salvation comes not from ourselves, but from God has done for us through Jesus Christ, and we choose tobelieve in that.

Today, we are all alive, but are we spiritually alive? Have we believed in Him and allowed Jesus to be the leader of our life and our very king. Today, do we have that second birth?

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