Lent Devotions 2021

Read: Mark 3:31-35 Reflect: I always thought this passage shows a bit of a rebellious side to Jesus. Or maybe that He is anti-family. I don’t think so anymore. I see two groups of people in this passage: those who stayed outside (Christ’s mother and brothers) and those sitting inside around Jesus. It is the latter that Jesus calls his family; those who chose to be with Him. It reminds me of Mary and Martha and what Jesus says about Mary having chosen ‘what is better…’ (Luke 10:42). May we too choose to sit with Christ in humility, rather than call for Him while waiting outside, and in choosing what is better, be called brothers and sisters of Jesus. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you that I have an open invitation to be with you. Help me to approach your side in humility and openness that I might be called your sister/brother. Amen. Remind: ”Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from you - your relationship with God.” ~Rick Warren~ Photo by   Sandy Millar   on  

Read: Mark 3:13-15 Reflect: In today’s reading Jesus calls to Himself those He wanted (not all who followed Him). Then He chose twelve (not all who went up the mountain) and sent them out. I find it encouraging that not everyone was called to do the same thing. There was a whole auxiliary team that supported Jesus during His time of ministry on earth, each one faithfully serving where they were. Like loved pieces on a chess board. This story sums it up nicely: In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He asked Prior Richard at a local monastery to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. "Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, "do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king." "I understand," said Henry. "The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you." "Then

Read: Mark 3:9-10 Reflect: In my late 20’s a friend and I went to see an international band play live in Cape Town. We were happy to be further from the stage near the back of the hall where it was less crowded. At one point in the show the drummer did an incredible 6-minute drum solo, which was pretty impressive. Unbeknownst to anyone the lead singer sneaked around to the back of the hall during the drum solo and got onto a raised platform with a microphone and a guitar  just behind where my friend and I were standing. Suddenly everyone noticed and a sea of people just swarmed towards the makeshift stage, catching us in the current. It was a stampede of people just wanting to be near this musician. Reading today’s passage I have this picture in mind: a sea of people just swarming to wherever Jesus was. And though Jesus knew every one of them (Psalm 139:16), not all of them knew Jesus. It’s easy to get swept up in a crowd (as we see just before and during Christ’s crucifixion), but it’

Read: Mark 2:27-28 Reflect: Working from home more has been an interesting experience. I’ve found that, even though I do not ‘commute’ further than a couple of meters from our kitchen to my desk and back, I still struggle to show up on time for meetings. Even though we have no need to travel to school, our daughter still logs onto Google Classroom a couple of minutes late. I have also noticed that there is a distinct blurriness between the so-called ‘work life’ and ‘home life.’ These two often distinct aspects of life frequently merge into a gray area of uncertainty and stress. That is why getting good rest is so important. God knew we would need rest long before the pandemic; from the start of creation. So He created the Sabbath (a day of rest).  Unfortunately this can also be skewed from its original intended use. Jesus says that ‘the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ He highlights the danger of making the Sabbath rest another rule to follow rather than a time of re

Read: Mark 2:21-22 Reflect: As with all religious activities and traditions -however good and helpful they may be- fasting can sometimes become a badge of honour. Unhelpfully so, I think. When religious activities are more about following the rules or doing something “holy” to get something (blessing, favour, forgiveness, healing, etc.) it completely defeats the purpose. God never wanted his children to merely follow the rules, but to follow Jesus , and to walk more closely with Him every day. I am reminded of Psalm 51:16 where David recognises God’s desire for intimate relationship rather than religious offerings. Doing religious activities for any reason other than becoming more intimate with God is about as helpful as patching old garments with unshrunk cloth, or pouring new wine into old wineskins. You’re basically trading one problem for another, solving nothing. What God desires is you. All of you. As you are. Start there and in time you will find religious activities like fastin

Read: Mark 2:15-17 Reflect: Comparing oneself to others is so often a very unhelpful thing to do. One can either feel significantly inferior to others, or significantly superior. Both are unhelpful because both are false assumptions of worth based on the people around us.  Compared to Christ (the true measure of holiness) we’re all unholy. In Romans 3:23 Paul reminds us that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’  Fortunately Jesus came to help us. To heal us. All of us.  The Pharisees thought too highly of themselves. They needed a ‘doctor’ just as much as the sinners Jesus was having dinner with. They just didn’t know it yet. May we all recognise our need for the Saviour, and accept His help and forgiveness in order to live freely and love openly. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you that you came to help and save us all. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Amen

Read: Mark 2:9-12 Reflect: Not far from New York there is a cemetery where there is a grave which has inscribed upon its headstone just one word—"Forgiven." There is no name, no date of birth or death. The stone is unembellished by the sculptor's art. There is no epitaph, no fulsome eulogy—just that one word, "Forgiven." But that is the greatest thing that can be said of any man, or written upon his grave, "Forgiven." Jesus has the power to forgive. However, the teachers of the law didn’t think so because they didn’t recognise Jesus as divine. They thought it was impossible for a human to forgive sin. They must also have thought it impossible for a paralyzed man to be healed. How wrong they were on both counts. Maybe you are finding it difficult to accept God’s forgiveness for yourself. Maybe you are at a place where it seems impossible for anyone (especially God!) to forgive you. If that is the case, here is a timely reminder that Jesus indeed ‘has au

Read: Mark 1:35 Reflect: When I was young my dad used an Afrikaans proverb that I remember to this day. Directly translated it says “the daybreak has gold in its mouth,” and it means that if you get up early, you’ll get the blessing of getting lots done. Something akin to “the early bird catches the worm.” I must admit that I struggle to get up early. It seems that I especially struggle to get up early for two things: taking exercise and/or private devotional time. Jesus shows us a better way. He gets up early, leaves the house and finds a solitary place to pray. It is the very first thing He does in the morning. For Jesus, spending time with His heavenly Father really is the golden blessing before the break of day. Maybe it was the only time when He could find solitude from the crowds. Maybe He was more of a morning person than I am. Whatever the case may be, Jesus was intentional about spending time with the Father by Himself. So should we. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you for the 24 h

Read: Mark 1:32-34 Reflect: Throughout Mark’s Gospel we constantly find Jesus trying to keep a low profile. He orders most of the people He heals to keep quiet about it. He keeps the demons He drives out from speaking ‘because they knew who he was.’ In some sense healing someone is a very intimate and personal thing to Jesus. It’s not so much a tool to impress the masses as it is a private expression of love to the person being healed. However, when miracles happen, people notice and most of the time people want in on the action. Jesus lovingly obliges them by healing and freeing those who are brought to Him. In today’s passage we are reminded and encouraged to bring our worries, our concerns, our illnesses (both mentally and physically) to Jesus and just let Him love us. We don’t have to go far. We can just pray. Right now. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you that you care for us. Thank you that you are truly accessible to us and that you welcome us as we are. Amen. Remind: ”How sweet the

Read: Mark 1:16-20 Reflect: The words translated into ‘follow’ in the NIV are deute opiso which literally means to ‘come after.’ The English word ‘duty’ is also derived from the Greek word deute . It seems that Jesus gives the men He is calling a duty, but the duty is not first to be fishers of mankind, but to follow Him. The call is to follow Him first , and only then will He make them fishers of mankind. The call to follow Jesus is also a very important one. More important than the living we make (as Simon and Andrew shows us) and also more important than our family (as James and John shows us). Family and making a living is not unimportant to Jesus (as we see in Mark 1:29). The decision to follow Jesus will not always lead us away from our jobs or families, but it will always be the most significant decision we make every day. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you for calling me to follow you. Please give me the courage to follow you faithfully every day. Remind: ”If I am to wholly follow

Read: Mark 1:11-13 Reflect: There are lots of contrasts in the Bible: lots of exceptional highs followed by deep, deep lows, like in today’s passage. Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist, the heavens open up and God Himself publicly acknowledges Christ as His Son and tells everyone present how proud He is. Jesus is told in no uncertain terms that He is loved by the Father. And the very next moment Christ is whisked away into the wilderness. A time of trial and temptation follows. It almost seems like something is not right. How can God allow someone He loves to go through trials and temptations just after telling Him He is loved? I’m sure we’ve all asked that question in recent months. I’ve had to learn (and am still learning) that God’s love does not make us exempt from hardship. I also need constant reminding that God’s love is not influenced by hardship, but made tangible within it. As with Christ, God’s love for us will be the same whether we face trial, tribulation, temptation or

Read: Mark 1:1-4 Reflect: I decided to make a Sunday roast for the first time recently. It turned out okay, I think. (Our kids ate most of their platefuls which I count as a win.) Preparing for it started long before the actual meal, though. Looking through different recipes for roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings, getting all the ingredients and spices, working out what needs to go in the oven when in order to have it all ready and warm at the same time. Preparation was key in getting it done well. The same goes for preparing our hearts for Christ. It doesn’t always just happen by itself. Sometimes -mostly, I’ve found- I have to be intentional about ‘making straight paths’ for Christ. Not because He needs straight paths. I do. At times I have to put distractions like my phone or the TV aside. At other times I have to repent of sin and ask forgiveness first. Sometimes I just have to be quiet for a couple of minutes in order to still the multitude of voices around me. In this time of

In Lent we have a time to still our hearts and to be intentional about turning to Christ, whether we do it often or not. I worked on these daily devotions to help us focus our attention on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus through the Gospel of Mark. As such the aim is to read the whole of Mark during Lent. It is a Gospel that almost feels rushed in the way so much of Christ’s life is packed into so few chapters, but we’ll pace ourselves as we delve into the many significant interactions and conversations Jesus had with His disciples, His enemies and the people He ministered to. There are 47 devotions (40 days of Lent - Monday to Saturday - plus the 7 Sundays of Lent). Each day’s devotion has a reading, a short reflection on the passage, a prayer and a quote to reinforce the take-home message. Feel free to read through the chapters as outlined below, or just read the daily readings as suggested in the devotions. Week 1: 17-21 February - Mark 1 Week 2: 22-28 February - Mark 2-3