Engaging with God

Day 37 - Wednesday  March 31 Surely he has borne our infirmities     and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken,     struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,     crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole,     and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray;     we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him     the iniquity of us all.   Isaiah 53:4-6 Writing six hundred years before the time of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah foretold that one would come who would save Israel by taking upon himself the sins and suffering of the people. This "Suffering Servant" would represent all of the people, and by his own suffering and death he would bring healing and new life to them. It is nearly impossible to read these ancient passages without seeing a prediction of Jesus and his suffering. There is a great mystery here - the scriptures don't tell us exactly how this ...

Day 36 - Tuesday  March 30 Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written,'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."   Mark 11:15-17 One of the first things that Jesus does after his "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem is to enter the temple and begin driving out the moneychangers and those selling the sacrificial animals. Some gospel accounts indicate that Jesus is offended by the corruption of the system, while elsewhere it seems that he is disturbed by the intrusion of the commercial activity into the sacred place of worship. But in any case, this scene has historically been described as the "clea...

Day 35 - Monday March 29 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,"Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!"   John 12:12-13 What we call "Holy Week" began with Jesus' dramatic entry into Jerusalem. His reputation preceded him and a large crowd gathered to welcome him with royal honors, hoping he was the Messiah who would restore their kingdom. Jesus goes along with the crowd, receiving their honors and accolades while at the same time challenging their expectations. Yes - he is the Messiah sent by God to save Israel and the world. No - he will not lead an armed mob and take the city by force. Jesus is the humble Messiah who saves the world by laying down his life for us. By coming in peace and rejecting violence, Jesus defied the expectations of the people. How does Jesus continue to surprise...

The secret of dealing with a riptide, as signs posted at the beaches will tell you, is to relax and let it carry you outward; once you're out a bit from shore, you can swim sideways, parallel to the beach, for a short distance, and the same tide will actually bring you back into shore .

The crowd that so enthusiastically welcomed Jesus into the city either melted away or turned against him. He was apparently just one more failed Messiah. 

The largest and most long-lived things in our world – think of the giant sequoias – are born from the tiniest of seeds. But the seed itself will not do anything on its own if it remains what it is, just a seed. It is only by dying to what it is that it becomes something more, what it is intended to become. It was only through death, and being "buried" like a seed, that Jesus burst forth from the tomb with the power of new life.

Numerous statements throughout Jesus' teachings challenge our natural understanding about the way that life works . "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Just as Jesus had to die in order for resurrection and life to take place, so also must we.

If we are to truly be not only believers but followers of Jesus: the servants must be like the master, loving and serving as he did, and trusting that it is in the laying down of our lives that the life of God is born within us. 

Dear PBPC Friends, Blessings to you as we continue through this season of Lent.  Please  CLICK HERE  for  Week 7  of our PBPC Lenten Devotional, in case you want to print out the daily readings for the coming week. I will also email the readings to you each day. In Christ, Pastor Chris

Day 34 - Saturday March 27 Whom have I in heaven but you?     And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail,     but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;     you put an end to those who are false to you. But for me it is good to be near God;     I have made the Lord God my refuge,     to tell of all your works.   Psalm 73:25-28 In the midst of challenges, trials, and the storms of life, God is our refuge. We are promised that even when everything around us is lost and even our own strength fails, our relationship with God will last forever. This is more than a great insurance plan; the Lord who promises us eternity also promises to be with us throughout our life on this earth, and in fact, eternal life is described in scripture as knowing God . God invites us right now to come near to him and to make him our refuge for all time.  To Do Take time today to rest in the refuge of...

Day 33 - Friday  March 26 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.   John 15:5-6 Again in this passage we see the theme of life and its source. Jesus has already told his disciples that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Now he illustrates how we can share in this life that he offers us: by being connected to Jesus as a branch is connected to the main trunk of a grapevine. Jesus is the source of the everlasting life that God wants to give us; it flows from Jesus into us. Branches that are not connected to the vine whither away because they are not connected to the source of life; they are thrown into the fire because they are dead. The good fruit that God wants to produce in our lives comes directly from our connection to the vine. To Do Reflect: How are you ma...

Day 32 - Thursday  March 25 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   Hebrews 4:14-16 The role of the high priest of Israel was to represent the people before God, to offer prayers for forgiveness and blessing to God on behalf of God's people. Jesus Christ fulfills this role as mediator in a way that no other human being ever could because he is the only person who is without sin. Rather than being set apart from us, Jesus' humanity draws him closer to us; he has experienced what we experience and he has been tempted as we are tempted. Jesus understands what it is like to be human, and he sympath...

Day 31 - Wednesday  March 24 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.   Deuteronomy 30:19-20 From the very beginning, the story of the Bible presents us with the choice between life and death. God is the Creator and the Lord of life. Death entered into the story because of the pride and disobedience of Adam and Eve, who decided that they wanted to be the masters of their own destiny. Death is the natural and inevitable result of a life lived apart from God. Yet this is not what God wants for human beings to experience; God desires that we should have life, and have it abundantly. The choice is before us: will we receive God's gif...

Day 30 - Tuesday  March 23 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.   Philippians 3:7-9 Before he became a follower of Jesus, Paul was a highly regarded religious leader of Israel - a Pharisee. He knew the scriptures, taught them to others, and was respected by the people. All of this he gave up when he gave his life to Christ. Not only was he willing to give up his achievements and respect in the eyes of others, but he considered these things to be "rubbish" (the original Greek word actually means refuse or dung .) Paul considered everything in his...

Day 29 - Monday March 22 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.   Matthew 6:31-33 Having enough to eat and to drink and having clothing to wear are important things; we should never believe that God doesn't want us to have what we need. But God does not want our lives to be characterized by worrying or striving for these things. To strive means to make great efforts to achieve or obtain something, to struggle or fight vigorously. The Gentiles are the people who do not know God, and their lives are filled with worry and striving because they have no trust in God's care for them; their efforts are all that they have. When God's people allow worry and s...

Dear PBPC Friends, Blessings to you as we continue through this season of Lent.  Please  CLICK HERE  for  Week 6  of our PBPC Lenten Devotional, in case you want to print out the daily readings for the coming week. I will also email the readings to you each day. In Christ, Pastor Chris

As a child, we still carry with us the thought that life isn't supposed to be interrupted or abruptly ended.

Jesus didn't delay in spite of his love – he delayed because of his love. We may wonder at times why God doesn't answer our prayers in just the way that we ask or think that he should.

Through Jesus we see what we might describe as the humanity of God – that God is not detached, aloof, and far away, but that God is with us and his heart is broken by our pain. 

Jesus demonstrates that his words are true: "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." This Jesus has the power of life in his hands. And his final sign will be his own death and resurrection.

Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." Do you believe this?

Day 28 - Saturday March 20 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.  1 Corinthians 3:10-15 The apostle Paul is using the metaphor of a building to describe our life in Jesus Christ. Anyone who has given their life to Jesus now has him as the foundation of their life. Now it is up to each o...

Day 27 - Friday  March 19 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,     the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them,     mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God,     and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;     you have put all things under their feet.  Psalm 8:3-6 This scripture provides an interesting contrast, first expressing wonder that the Creator of the universe is mindful of human beings, and then describing us as "a little lower than God...crowned with glory and honor." This contrast actually captures what is perhaps the central paradox of human existence. We are created in God's image, with the ability to think and plan and exercise our free will; we are given dominion over the rest of creation, and we are made for relationship with God and with the potential for eternal life. And yet… in our pride ...

Day 26 - Thursday  March 18 "With what shall I come before the Lord,     and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,     with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,     with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,     the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" He has told you, O mortal, what is good;     and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,     and to walk humbly with your God?   Micah 6:6-8 During Lent, as we focus on repentance, often people will give up something for the duration of the season. We are reminded in this scripture passage, however, that God is not interested in having us offer up any sort of "sacrifice" for the purpose of either making up for our sins or for earning God's forgiveness. God has no need of anything that we can offer him, and God does not want to be appeased. Rather than sacrifice, wh...

Day 25 - Wednesday  March 17 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Matthew 18:1-5 There is no shortage of paintings showing Jesus welcoming little children into his presence. While these images evoke pleasant feelings for us, it is important for us to realize why it was noteworthy. In the culture of the time, children were not considered important. They were powerless, had nothing to offer, and were not worthy of honor. A great person or leader would not be expected to acknowledge a child, and as Jesus' own disciples demonstrated, the presence of children was considered an unwelcome disruption. Jesus, however, sto...

Day 24 - Tuesday  March 16 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.   Romans 12:1-2 Sacrificial offerings in the Old Testament included bringing the best one had - the best herd animals or the firstfruits of the harvest - and offering them to the Lord in worship. This was a way of saying, "All that I have is from you, Lord, and now I offer back to you the first and the best, because you are more important to me than any of it, and I trust you to provide." In the New Testament, the apostle Paul calls us to take a much more radical step: Offer your own body to God as a living sacrifice . From this point forward, your body will belong to God and will be used for God's ...