Lent - Day 37 - Consolation

 Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2024

18 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 
John 15:18

A consolation prize is often given to the runner up or to the winner of the “losers’ bracket” in a competition. It is given to, at least partially, console an individual or team for not winning the top prize.

Sometimes I think that is how we view faith and the Holy Spirit. Our hearts get set on a life filled with all the joys this world might have to offer: good health, financial security, fulfilling relationships, personal success, recognition and approval from others, and no strife. When those things don’t fall in place, we may treat faith, salvation, and the Holy Spirit like a consolation prize. “There was so much more that I hoped for, but at least my faith and the Holy Spirit can help me through the difficulty of not receiving what my heart desires.”

It seems Jesus wants the disciples to see the Holy Spirit as a completely different consolation. He is about to win the ultimate victory through his death and resurrection. Through this, the disciples are going to be champions with him because he makes his victory their victory. This will not eliminate their experiences of brokenness in this world. In fact, because they are Jesus’ disciples, the world will attack their faith and heap on more trials. Jesus reworks the hearts and minds of his followers. Their consolation is not in the platitudes and praises of men, nor in the pleasantries or possessions of this world. Those things are not true victories, but only work to pacify us in the midst of a sinful world. Instead, Jesus gives to all his disciples (including each of us) true consolation for our sin-broken lives. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, helps us cling in faith to the victory which is ours in Christ Jesus.

Prayer: 

Lord, 

        Let me not be discouraged by the trials in this world nor when attacked because of my faith in You. Instead, send your Holy Spirit as a help and comfort to keep me steadfast in true faith. Amen.

Reading Further - John 15:18-16:15

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

A Loyal Faction

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.

2nd Corinthians 4:1-2 NLT 

Have you ever met anyone who was hardcore about something? For the most part, it has a negative connotation. It is usually used when referring to someone who seems to be too far gone and will never change. However, the first dictionary definition is; The most dedicated, unfailingly loyal faction of a group.  Roget's Thesaurus lists dedicated, faithful, intense as interchangeable options for hardcore.

Oh, that we would be hardcore for Christ!

Excerpts from further in the chapter where our text for today begins:

 ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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.

 ⁷ 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.

 ⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

 ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

¹⁰ 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.

¹³ 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.”

¹⁴ We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 

¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ 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!

¹⁸ 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.

Oh, that we would be the most dedicated, unfailingly loyal faction for Christ - that He would return and find us dedicated, faithful, and intense for Him.

Prayer:

Father,

          Let us not confuse hardened hearts with being hardcore for Christ. Instead help us to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work You have prepared for us, Lord, knowing that in You our labor is not in vain. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

When In Doubt

How I love you, Lord! You are my defender.  The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe. I call to the Lord, and he saves me from my enemies. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 18:1-3 Good News Translation

The enemy of our souls is always trying to defeat us, demean us, distract us, trying to get us to be disappointed in God our Lord. And when we try to be strong, fighting in our own strength, we lose. And when we lose, it just seems to reaffirm satan's lies. 

We've talked before about what standards we use to conduct ourselves. For Christians, the ultimate standard IS the Word of God, the Bible. It is applicable for every situation, every circumstance, in other words, for EVERYTHING.

If you find yourself in tough circumstances right now, you can praise your way out of them by praying His Word back to Him. Isaiah 61:3 tells us to put on the garment of praise to overcome the spirit of heaviness. Charge the atmosphere proclaiming His goodness to you and for you. A plethora of declarations is readily available in David's psalms. Avail yourself of them. His Truth wins out every time.

Prayer:

Father,
           I will sing to You as long as I live; I will sing praise to You while I have my being. I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings, I sing for joy. You, Lord, are my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in You, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song, I shall thank You and lift You higher. In Jesus' Name

Friends' Favorites - What Lies Ahead

And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
Acts 20:22-24 NLT

Paul had his priorities completely in order. Nothing else mattered to him except to do the will of God. Whatever it took, his life included. Throughout the Book of Acts, we read of the confrontations, the averted confrontations and the escapes. His companions didn't want anything else bad to happen to him. They'd seen him stoned and whipped and imprisoned. In the next chapter, they beg him not to go to Jerusalem, but he could not be deterred. Paul was as dogged in his mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus as he was in his former pursuit and persecution of Christians.

When something bad happens, we always want to know why. If it happens to someone we know, most of us think it isn't right or fair. Human nature always seeks the path of least resistance. However, the truth is that there is no strength built unless there is resistance - something to push against - both in the natural and in our Christian walk.

Oftentimes, it is our greatest struggle that becomes our greatest testimony and an even greater witness to those around us. We don't always know what lies ahead, but God does. And He is trustworthy.

Prayer:

Father,
We pray as Jesus prayed, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to stay focused on YOUR purpose for our lives while on the earth. Help us to see past the circumstances to Your perfect will, no matter what lies ahead. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Let It Grow! Let It Grow!

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
James 1:2-4 NLT

You know it's easy to serve the Lord when everything is going well. It's easy to be kind. It's easy to be loving. It's easy to be patient - in the good times. It's really easy to have great joy when everything's good. Would you agree?  

We've talked about it before - there are times I still struggle with considering troubles as opportunities for great joy. I can lose sight of the joy when the mountains of obstacles overwhelm me on every side. That is the test of our faith - the opportunity for our endurance to grow. (Some translations read patience for endurance.) So, how important is that, anyway, to let our endurance grow?

In Matthew 24:13, Jesus tells us just how important, But the one who endures to the end will be saved. I don't want to have made it this far only to give up when we're so close to the end, do you? As the writer of Hebrews exhorts us in 12:1, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

So let's join with James, and Jesus, and the great cloud of witnesses, and do as Peter says, So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. (1st Peter 1:6 NLT)

Prayer:

Father,
          Thank You for the opportunities for great joy! Thank You for the faith-building endurance training. Thank You for strengthening us to to be able to endure to the end, just as You have said, so that we will be saved. Let us be found faithful to the end. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Hope in God

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
Psalm 42:7 NIV

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you  from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon - from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; 
all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”
My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42 in its entirety

Prayer:

Father,

           All of my hope is in You. All my sins are forgiven and I've been washed by the Blood of Jesus. For these and so much more, I will yet praise You, my Savior and my God. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

* Miracle In the Making

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.
1st Peter 4:12-13 The Message

There are times when life is hard. It seems like trouble comes at us from every side. Sometimes, life feels like an illustrated sermon for 2nd Corinthians 4:8-9, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed... but it feels like we're getting mighty close to it.

Ever been there? How many times have we prayed for a miracle?

Let me explain something to you. Miracles don't happen for normal. Miracles are required for extraordinary circumstances - extreme needs - seemingly hopeless cases. Have you ever thought about that? Commonplace, ordinary, every day normal doesn't require miraculous intervention... well... for SOME of you, it might, but not normally. Pun intended.

The point is - count it ALL joy. No troubles in your life - praise God! Big troubles  - praise God - you're in the breeding ground for a miracle in the making.

Prayer:

Father,
        Help us to see You are always in our business. You orchestrate our lives and the many steps we can take if we keep our focus on You and follow where You lead. Give us clear direction, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

An Encouraging Word +

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Luke 22:31-32 NKJV

I am often surprised that we (myself included) allow ourselves to be deluded into believing that since we are Christians, nothing is supposed to touch us. That we can be shocked and confused when something less than wonderful comes our way… or when we fall down… Let me encourage you in the Word because we are to encourage one another while it is called Today.

Proverbs 24:16a - The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

Job 5:19 - From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you.

Selections from Psalm 37:

²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall,
      for the Lord holds them by the hand.

 ²⁵ Once I was young, and now I am old.
      Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
      or their children begging for bread.

 ³² The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,
      looking for an excuse to kill them.
 ³³ But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed
      or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.

 ³⁴ Put your hope in the Lord.
      Travel steadily along his path.
   He will honor you by giving you the land.

 ³⁹ The Lord rescues the godly;
      he is their fortress in times of trouble.
 ⁴⁰ The Lord helps them,
      rescuing them from the wicked.
   He saves them,
      and they find shelter in him.

Jesus said, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.

Prayer:

Father,

          I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that they will be strong in the power of YOUR might – that they will lean on Your arms and not trust the strength of mere man. Let that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and now resides in every follower of Christ RISE UP and cause us to be the overcomers You intend for us to be! You’ve done Your part – the shed Blood of the Lamb. Give us Your strength to do what You have planned for us to do. I pray for everyone reading this, whether on the Promise list or forwarded by a friend, for a renewing and a reviving of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Pour in, Father. We need more of You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen