Lent: Monday, March 5, 2007

Old Testament Lesson

Jeremiah 1:11-19

Jeremiah may be one of the greatest heroes in the Bible to me, for the Lord called him to something, and it was not something that was great, it was something that was not going to be accepted, it was something that was going to cause him pain and hurt. God called him to prophesy to the people, but He told him, they will not listen, they will not respond, they will not change their way. But, you preach to them anyway.

As a preacher, just the thought of that mission would be too much to bear, and it would be for Jeremiah, but for this. The Lord said that He would stand with him. The Lord said He would empower him and would give him the strength. So, we must remember that even when we don't know what God is doing, even when it might not make sense, even when we don't know why He has called us to something, we must remember that if He has called us, He will give us the strength to complete the mission He has called us to.

New Testament Lesson

Romans 1:1-15

Paul says that he longs to come to the Roman church and strengthen them. Part of what we are to do is that we are to do all that we can to strengthen each other. We are all the church, we are one body, we have one mission, we have one goal. In that, we must remember that we are on the same team, and we must work together. We must do all that we can to strengthen each other.

Some of us are strong, some are weak. Some of us have been in the faith a long time, some a short time. But, regardless of these, we each need each other. We must work together, and strengthen those that are tired and weary, for our Lord has commanded us and as Christians, we need to serve one another.

Gospel Lesson

John 4:27-42

In our lives, we need someone to preach and share with us what the Lord has done for them. We all need someone like the Samaritan woman to come to us and share with us. But, we must also be like the people of that village. It is not just enough for us to hear from others, we must see for ourselves.

You have heard the gospel form others. Do you know it and live it yourself? It is not just enough to hear. You must know it, and believe it on your own.