DHP Lent Devos 2021

Mar 5 - Ron Hedgcock

Jonah 3:6-10

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. ⁷ This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

“By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. ⁸ But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. ⁹ Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

¹⁰ When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Yesterday, I talked about how in the repentence of the Ninevites we see the same ability to open our minds and hearts to what God has for us as we can have every day as we live in Christ. This passage continues on in Jonah 3:6-10:

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

In this passage, we see a king repenting for his Kingdom and God responding to the specific response of Ninevah in a particular way. While God himself is unchanging, I love that the creator of the universe is still relationally dynamic. He responds to varying situations in different ways! This may not always feel right, but when we examine ourselves as humans, I think we can see how sometimes as humans we can make different types of decisons based upon a concrete set of values.

We see this ability to be dynamically relational even more so in the person of Jesus. The unchaging God of the world literally became a human who changed physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially as he got older. To me, this is a beautiful reality. God knows what it is like to live in the messiness of the created world around us and to have to not have a one-size-fits-all approach to everything, yet is also an unchanging rock upon which our feet can stand on solid ground.

As you go throughout your day, reflect on what it means to worship and follow a God who is somehow both consistent and adaptable and who can both meet your unique needs while also doing so out of a steady desire to fill our lives with love and truth.

Mar 4 - Ron Hedgcock

Mar 3 - Daniel Alexander

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds - Matthew 4:23-25

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 4 is full of action. Over the last few days, you have read about Jesus facing down temptation, the relatively quiet (to what happens in these verses) beginning to his ministry, and Jesus picking up the last few members of his crew. Que Jock Jams circa mid-1990s. Jesus is ready and, honey, it’s game time. I’m imagining a montage of blind people gaining sight, severed fingers regrowing, lepers’ spots disappearing from their skin, crowds cheering and worshiping in awe of what is happening in front of them, the disciples doing something along these lines with each miracle, and Jesus being Ice Cold in the middle of all that is happening around him. “Come at me, Evil,” is what I hear Jesus saying in these verses.

So, maybe my imagination is running wild, or maybe the energy of the “great crowds” matched what we see today in major sporting events. I grew up hearing, “If you are more excited during a Saturday football game than a Sunday Morning worship service, then you may need to check your priorities.” I always hated hearing this as a kid. What’s to get excited about when we sing the same 20 hymns, talk about the same bible stories, and hear this old guy talk about things from this old book every Sunday. “Can we go home yet, mom?” I would ask as noon struck and the pastor was only on his second point.

However, I do believe Saturday mornings in the South, where College Football players are deities, Stadiums have turned into Houses of Worship, and the games themselves worship services are an easy metaphor for what we crave and long for as humans. I am not shaming fandom of sports teams, but I do want us to examine what the excitement, drama and strong opinions around each team points towards. What are we seeking? (As a Tennessee fan I just want a winning season!)

Maybe sports aren’t your thing. Maybe it’s a Netflix series, romance novels, or a hobby. What gets you really ramped up? What keeps you up or gets you out of bed at 4 AM? I know I have several things that occupy this space in my life. As I said, please do not feel shame for these things, but know the deep longing and desires won’t be quenched by a Championship, just ask Tom Brady, or the perfect twist at the end of a movie or book.

Today, as you are moving through this season of contemplation and repentance, ask yourself, “What moves me the way the crowd following Jesus was moved, and why does it have this effect on me?”

Mar 2 - Eli Bachali

Matthew 4:18-22

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Immediately

Here is the question: when you are invited into an opportunity, what is your immediate response? Questions? Legal contract and compensation package? Maybe you just need some time to think and process? Today’s passage, Matthew 4:18-22, displays the powerful yet somewhat startling invitation that Jesus gave to his disciples, and their equally startling response.

Here we are, walking around the Sea of Galilee, the heart of Jesus’ ministry. I’d imagine he walks with confidence and excitement – he has just endured the brutal testing in the wilderness and has even begun teaching his powerful message; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And he knows that he is the reason the kingdom has come near!

But as we will see later on in Jesus’ ministry life, so core to who he is as a teacher is not just to the crowds following him, but to the twelve he calls to walk every step alongside him. This is a powerful message going all the way back to Genesis – it is not good for man to be alone. Often you and I see that as a call to marriage, and it is. But it is also a call to both married and single to live in close community. It is a desire of our hearts, a need deep in our being. And Jesus, being fully human, has that need too.

So when I read here Jesus’ invitation to two sets of fisherman brothers, “Come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people,” I wonder first what was wrapped up in that invitation, and then how did Peter, Andrew, James and John here it? Culturally, being invited to follow a teacher, a rabbi, was an honor for the astute and scholars in the making. The next generation of pharisees, Sadducees, and other men of religious importance were the ones chosen to follow and learn. Not common fisherman, who quite possibly had little to no education whatsoever. The passerby of this scene would have been astounded, if not disconcerted at the sight of those men being asked by Jesus to follow him.

And on the side of Peter, Andrew, James, and John, how odd to hear such an invitation? They were common fisherman, scrapping by for a living and not at all called to something greater than their humble calling to fish and feed. What did fishing for people even mean? Jesus’ invitation must have felt somewhat startling.

Yet here is the beauty of this story: all four left their nets, their life, and their families IMMEDIATELY and followed Jesus. The Lord had obliviously been working on these men ahead of time, preparing their hearts to receive and audacious invitation and to not even pause in doubt – they left immediately.

When God calls you and me, how do we respond? Do we doubt our worthiness? Do we count the costs and the benefits? Or do we recognize the call as something we’ve been prepared to accept? Even with questions about the call, do we step out in faith knowing being in step with the Spirit is the best place to be? Some questions for us as we reflect on calling…

1. What is God preparing me today to say yes to tomorrow?

2. Do I doubt the invitation based on how I view myself?

3. What baggage am I carrying around that would slow me down in saying yes immediately to God?

Mar 1 - Kylee Davidson

Feb 28 - Aaron Jalovec

Check out our Advent Devotional from last year at advent.dalehouse.org.