Lent - Day 22 - His Love Gave Everything for Us

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Matthew 13:31-58

Have you noticed how, throughout Matthew 13, the main character in each of the parables depicts God? Now look at the parable of the hidden treasure and pearl of great value. Typically these parables are explained to say that faith and salvation are such great treasures that we should give up everything else to receive it. But what if God is “the man” in these parables as well? If so, then Jesus is saying this is how the reign of God works: God sees a treasure or a pearl, and then gives up everything He has in order that He may have that treasure. If this is what Christ is saying, then do you see that he is trying to show us that we are that pearl? We are His treasure. This is the great love God has for us. Despite our unworthiness He values us so highly that He chose to purchase and redeem us. He gave up everything, even His Son, in order that we might be His.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, 

                           Thank You for Your overwhelming love. Help me to view my self-worth through the love You have already shown me. Help me also to realize the great treasure I have been given that I would not take it for granted but rather cling to it even if it means forsaking all other things. Amen.

Closet Hoarders

Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value.

Matthew 6:19-20 TPT

It's December and like most people in first-world countries, we are pulling out boxes, tubs, and/or crates of holiday decorations and lights. Lights typically represent something pleasant. As a whole, we're tired of Covid and lockdowns and vax/no-vax debates and just long for something good. The evidence is that for weeks, we have seen posts on social media of people who decorated their homes for Christmas long before Thanksgiving. 

As we finish putting away our Fall/Thanksgiving decor and bring out the Christmas/New Year/Winter boxes, I am struck with the reality of closet hoarding and what is my purpose in all this. Am I giving greater value to earthly treasures than to heavenly treasures?  Do I find my identity in Christ or is my identity found in how good everything looks for the holidays? I'm not in any way saying it's wrong to decorate, we just need to make sure our priorities in life are in the proper order. Is our first order Jesus?

As I was digging through a closet today, I wondered, "Are there closets in Heaven?" I'm inclined to think there are not. After all, what would we store there? What are heavenly treasures? I think they are things like the times we share the Gospel with a lost soul or extend the love of Jesus to a hurting heart or make provision for the least of these. How do you put those things in a closet? And what are we stuffing our closets with now - past hurts? Unforgiveness? It's time to clear out the junk and make room for those things that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value.

Prayer:

Father,

           Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what You would have us do for others in Your Name. Soften our hearts and clear our minds from the clamor and call of this world so that we only live and move and have our being in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Lasting

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26 NLT

We all remember stories that involve treasure chests. As children, we dreamed of finding one filled with gold coins or an abundance of jewels. Truth now - how many of us have ever kicked at a discarded bag or box on the off chance that there might be money in it? Have you ever allowed yourself to daydream of what you would do or buy or where you would go if you suddenly had a windfall of money?

Moses had it. He went from being a basket case to being the grandson of the richest man in Egypt (Exodus 2). They had the wealth and the best of everything. Money to burn and slaves to do their bidding for whatever they wanted. Someone to serve them hand and foot, do the cooking and the cleaning and fetching. Build a grand manor, etc. I would say, that could be pleasurable. However, it wasn't holy. 

Pharaoh's household were idolaters. They did not worship the true and living God. They worshiped gods of their flesh - sexually immoral, lascivious, gluttonous for the pleasures of sin. Yes, sin is pleasurable, but it's not lasting.

Pleasure is not eternal. However, the effect of sinful pleasure - the payoff - IS eternal. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Matthew 6:20-21 instructs us to ...lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, where will we be?  In a season or everlasting? We must choose.  

Prayer:

Father,
         Open our eyes to see the true treasure - the everlasting, eternal treasure of following You. Give us the wisdom, strength and courage to choose life - the life we can find only in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The Greatest Treasure

Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.
Luke 12:33-34 TLB

During the Christmas season, there are so many different emotions flying on a collision course with the world around us. Some people are like children, they can hardly wait and stars are in their eyes and they break into song at the drop of a hat or jingle of a bell. Others are so sad, remembering the family member or friend who did not live out the year and they break into tears without warning. Still others are angry and frustrated with the stress of trying to buy something for everyone on their list while wondering how they're going to pay for that AND the house bills.

Let me encourage you to take a step back and just breathe in - big breath - and breathe out. Again. Breathe in, breathe out.

Have we lost sight? Perspective? For God so loved the world that He gave... (John 3:16). Jesus loved us so much that He came to earth (Luke 2) so He could lay down His life for us (John 10). Why?!? Because God loves us - we are His treasure - He came to Earth because that's where we are.

Where's your heart? What are your thoughts? Where will your heart and thoughts lead you? Are you selling your inheritance for worldly instant gratification or will you hold fast to the greatest treasure ever given to mankind?

Prayer:

Father,
           Open the eyes of our hearts - we want to truly see You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Pleasure or Treasure

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26 NLT

We all remember stories that involve treasure chests. As children, we dreamed of finding one filled with gold coins or an abundance of jewels. Truth now - how many of us have ever kicked at a discarded bag or box on the off chance that there might be money in it? Have you ever allowed yourself to daydream of what you would do or buy or where you would go if you suddenly got a windfall of money?

Moses had it. He went from being a basket case to being the grandson of the richest man in Egypt (Exodus 2). They had the wealth and the best of everything. Money to burn and slaves to do their bidding for whatever they wanted. Someone to serve them hand and foot, do the cooking and the cleaning and fetching. Build a grand manor, etc. I would say, that could be pleasurable. However, it wasn't holy. 

Pharaoh's household were idolaters. They did not worship the true and living God. They worshiped gods of their flesh - sexually immoral, lascivious, gluttonous for the pleasures of sin. Yes, sin is pleasurable, but it's not lasting.

Pleasure is not eternal. However, the effect of sinful pleasure - the payoff - IS eternal. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Matthew 6:20-21 instructs us to ...lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, where will we be?  We must choose. Pleasure or treasure?

Prayer:

Father,
         Open our eyes to see the true treasure - the everlasting, eternal treasure of following You. Give us the wisdom, strength and courage to choose life - the life we can find only in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Keeping Treasure In a Jar

Straight from the Word - 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 4 NLT

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.  You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.

All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Prayer:

Father,

           Illuminate Your Word within us. Let our lights so shine to those around us that they will see the good works and glorify You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* What's Your Treasure?

Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.
Luke 12:33-34 TLB

During the Christmas season, there are so many different emotions flying on a collision course with the world around us. Some people are like children, they can hardly wait and stars are in their eyes and they break into song at the drop of a hat or the jingle of a bell. Others are so sad, remembering the family member or friend who did not live out the year and they break into tears without warning. Still others are angry and frustrated with the stress of trying to buy something for everyone on their list while wondering how they're going to pay for that AND the house bills.


Let me encourage you to take a step back and just breathe in - big breath - and breathe out. Again. Breathe in, breathe out. 

Have we lost sight? Perspective? For God so loved the world that He gave... (John 3:16). Jesus loved us so much that He came to earth (Luke 2) so He could lay down His life for us (John 10). Why?!? Because God loved us - we are His treasure - He came to Earth because that's where we are. 

Where's your heart? What are your thoughts? Where will your heart and thoughts lead you? Are you selling your inheritance for worldly instant gratification or will you hold fast to the greatest treasure ever given to mankind? 

Prayer:

Father,
          Open the eyes of our hearts - we want to see You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen