Cedar Ridge Community Church: Lenten Devotions: 03/18/09

John 3: 1-21 (New International Version)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

20th Day of Lent

Matthew 21: 12-14 (New International Version)
Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

Matthew’s account of Jesus “cleansing” the temple gives us some deeper insight. All the exchange of pagan foreign currency for temple currency and all the selling of sacrifices amounted to “robbery”. Prices were being deliberated marked up and exchange rates were taking advantage of foreign pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the Passover, Jesus “cleanses” the temple in order to make way for the “unclean”. The blind and lame and all manner of human imperfections were not allowed into the temple according to the religious law. But Jesus is turning over more than just tables. He is turning over the whole way we see God and revolutionizing how we understand he way God sees us!

What are the “unclean” or broken areas of your life? Can you imagine Jesus being equally passionate (turning over tables) to make a way for you to connect to God? Consider for a moment that perhaps your brokenness is what makes Jesus so passionate. Not passion to condemn but passion to love, accept and heal.

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