spend time with God – Page 2

Mark 2:18-22 – What About Fasting?

Read Mark 2:18-22

You might be thinking, “What is fasting in the first place?” It’s definitely more than just a diet! While fasting involves abstaining from food and/or drink, fasting also needs to include spiritual renewal, from shutting out the world to spending time in God’s presence. This is not a community event but a personal one between you and God. You can pray, read Scripture, sing praise songs, or sit quietly and listen. Always be listening for God’s voice whether you’re fasting or not.

What did you think about the contrast between Jesus’ followers and those of John the Baptist? John’s followers, along with other religious leaders, would lean toward the side of piety and following rules. It seems that Jesus’ followers were less focused on those “traditions,” and this verse brilliantly tells us why. The more pious would have been looking down on what Jesus’ followers were doing.

Malachi 1:6-14 – Shortcuts * Part One

Read Malachi 1:6-14

Have you ever taken a shortcut to lessen your load? Apparently, these priests sure have. The LORD is not happy with them at all. I’m not sure I’d be that lazy or disrespectful to take a shortcut where honoring God was concerned.

But don’t we all do it from time to time? We rush our devotion time because something more pressing or important is crowding out our day. We sometimes skip our quiet times with God all together. I don’t think I’m the only one who has.

John 12:1-8 – Extravagant Worship

Read John 12:1-8

We are approaching the beginning of Holy Week 2023. During this time every year, we remember the sacrifice and miracle that took place because of how much God loves us. Beginning with Palm Sunday, we’ll walk together with Luke and the other gospel writers through some of the events of Jesus’ last week. It’s our special time to reflect on the immense sacrifice Jesus made to pay for our freedom from sin and death.

Our reading today sets the scene for what is to come and challenges us in our own worship practices. The Passover celebration was about to start, and little did the folks attending this dinner party know these were Jesus’ final days. Jesus knew, and his startling words about his burial must have shocked his friends.

Hebrews 4:1-11 – What A Gift!

Read Hebrews 4:1-11

God’s rest is meant to be a gift! This is especially good news if you are one of those people (like me) who have a hard time sitting still. You want to be doing something, always keeping your mind or body in motion. The gift of rest is meant to slow us down – spend more time in God’s presence. The Preacher even says we ought to “tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.”

This rest is so much more than the Sabbath rest mentioned here briefly. Do you find it difficult to cram everything you need to do into six days so that you can have your Sabbath on the seventh day? Having Sabbath rest is the ideal God intends for us. Consider how God offers us that day of rest as a gracious gift pointing to our ultimate rest in God’s presence. But often we fall short. That’s probably why when we read about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, for example, we have a hard time fathoming the seriousness of his actions.

Jeremiah 19:1-15 – Like a Smashed Pot

Read Jeremiah 19:1-15

I marvel again at Jeremiah’s obedience to God. Each time God uses him for a new teachable moment Jeremiah continues to listen and follow. Those are two great ways we can stay connected with God. We need to listen and follow!

The visual God used this time was a shattered pot. Part of the message was seeing Jeremiah smash the pot to make a point. God’s intention was to give the people a surprise hoping that would catch their attention. It would have been a bit of a spectacle to have a man ranting and raving and then breaking a jar. Whether people saw him as crazy or not didn’t seem to matter. Jeremiah obeyed God.