Nothing Is Lacking; God Is Enough

Today is Tuesday, the thirtieth of March, 2021, in Holy Week.

Peace be with you!

Day 23,028

Five days until Resurrection Sunday!

I don’t have any newsworthy items, this morning, and time is rapidly getting away from me. Actually, this is not correct. Time is moving at the same pace it always moves. Apparently, I am dawdling. Anyway, on to:

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS

“Enter, Lord Christ–
I have joy in Your coming.
You have given me life;
and I welcome Your coming.
I turn now to face You,
I lift up my eyes.
Be blessing my face, Lord;
be blessing my eyes.
May all my eye looks on
be blessed and be bright,
my neighbors, my loved ones
be blessed in Your sight.
You have given me life
and I welcome Your coming.
Be with me, Lord,
I have joy, I have joy.”
(Celtic Daily Prayer)

But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!
Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
(Psalms 68:3-6 ESV)

Today I am grateful:

• to be alive and breathing
• for the joy in my spirit, as I exult before You
• for prayer, my best defense against temptation
• that the way of Jesus is not the way of violence
• that nothing is lacking; You are enough

Scriptures and Prayers from Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year

LENT – DAY 36

INVITATION

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29 NIV)

I am pausing, here, to quietly reflect on our Lord, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.”

BIBLE SONG

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
(Psalms 22:1 NIV)

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
(Psalms 22:15-19a NIV)

BIBLE READING

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
(Luke 22:39-53 NIV)

DWELLING: SILENCE AND MEDITATION

As I rest in the presence of the Lord, this morning, there are portions of these readings that move my spirit.

Once again, I am struck by the accuracy of David’s psalm. Hundreds of years before the crucifixion, he wrote of hands and feet being pierced. Then he wrote of clothing being divided between people, and dice being rolled for some of that clothing. We know from the Gospel accounts that Jesus had a robe that had no seams. The soldiers did not want to rip it to divide it among themselves, so they “cast lots” for it.

There are two things in the Luke passage to which I am drawn. First is Jesus’s admonition to His disciples to pray, so that they will not fall into temptation. I believe this admonition stands with us, today. One of our primary defenses against temptation is prayer.

It is not a formula, of course, and prayer does not necessarily guarantee that we will not fall into temptation, but it is our best defense, I believe, followed closely by meditation on and memorization of God’s Word.

The second thing is Jesus’s response to Peter cutting off the servant’s ear (Peter is not named in Luke’s narrative, but, as far as we know, he is the only one who had a sword).

In all of my favorite translations, Jesus says, “No more of this!”

Enough violence. It is not necessary. For one thing, this had to happen, in order to fulfill what had to be fulfilled. For another thing, it simply was not Jesus’s way. And it should not be our way.

Violence is never the answer. There will be times when action is necessary. But even in those times, prayer must always come first. Then action, and the action must not be violent.

Father, I praise You for the truths presented, this morning. Thank You for the privilege and responsibility of prayer. I thank You that it is my primary defense against temptation. I confess that I do not use this defense often enough. I also praise You that the way of Jesus was/is the way of peace. I know that Paul commands us to, as far as it is possible, be at peace with all men. Help me to live that out today, and walk in peace in Your kingdom.

Crucified Lord,
this week help me to remember how you sustained,
in body and soul,
the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race.
Thank you for standing in my place,
setting me free from eternal condemnation,
and gaining for me God's grace,
righteousness,
and eternal life.
Amen.
(Heidelberg Catechism 37)

BLESSING

In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
(Revelation 5:12 NIV)

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
(Psalms 23:1 NIV)

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
(Matthew 6:26 NIV)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28 NIV)

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:19 NIV)

I’m going to spend some time, this morning, meditating on these Scriptures. Nothing is lacking; God is enough.

Father, You are enough; Jesus is enough for me. Is this really true? Sadly, there are times in my life when it is not true. But it is my heart’s desire that this would be truth for me every minute of every hour of every day in my life. Make it so in me, today, that Jesus is enough for me. Christ is enough for me. Nothing is lacking; You are enough! You are my Shepherd, and there is nothing more that I need.

I pray, this morning, Lord, that we would heed Your calling to serve and follow Jesus in our homes, our neighborhoods, and our workplaces. May we let Your light shine! I pray that we would have more and more capacity to selflessly serve the “common good.” I lift up those who work in service to others, today.

I pray for peace in our nation, peace in our world. I pray for racial injustice to end, and I pray for the pandemic to be over. Above all else, though, I pray for Your will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Let nothing disturb you,
let nothing frighten you,
all things will pass away.
God never changes;
patience obtains all things,
whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.
Amen.
(St. Teresa of Avila)

Grace and peace, friends.