Day 32: Sat., March 21
Masculinity
John 15:1-13 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
In our culture, “being a man” is considered the same as being the loudest voice in a room, the one who makes the most money, or the type of person who never shows vulnerability. But the Gospel of John gives us an entirely different way of viewing masculinity. Jesus defines the “good man” not by what he gathers or hordes, but by what he is willing to give away. To “lay down one’s life” does not mean we must show an epic moment of undeniable bravery; for most of us, it involves the quiet, daily death of the ego and pride that hardens our souls. It’s choosing quiet instead of bluster, it is choosing to serve your family when you’re exhausted, and being there for your friends when they most need you.
Strength isn’t measured by our independence, but by our capacity for sacrificial love. Becoming a better man isn’t about checking things off of some invisible list; it’s about a heart-level shift to a selfless desire to give, protect, provide and care.
“Lord, grant me the courage to lay down my pride and the strength to love others with the same selfless
grace You have shown me.”
Russell Matthews – Murphy, NC
Make a list of your blessings and give thanks.
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Day 33: Sun., March 22
If Only
John 11:21 “Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’”
Mary and Martha teach us so much about ourselves. In this story, Martha expresses her “if only” grief, followed by faith: “Yes, Lord, I believe.” Meanwhile, Mary’s “if only” trails off into tears.
Thomas Merton suggests that when we meet Mary and Martha, the invitation is not to identify with one or the other but to consider how these inseparable sisters reveal the inseparable tendencies in each of us—to hope and despair, faith in what we cannot see, and grief because of what we can. Can you relate?
Often, we tend to talk about how our faith gets riddled with doubt, or our discouragement breaks our
hope. I’ve been moved by how Lauren Winner, in her book, Still, wonders if it’s not doubt that fractures our faith, but if it’s doubt, in fact, that is shot through with faith. Perhaps in our brokenness, the light and hope of God might break through. Jesus doesn’t give us anything close to a “bumpersticker theology” that neatly addresses the reality of all the struggles we face. What he gives us—what He gives Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus—is Himself.
Lord of Life, as we walk the stony, unstable roads of our own lives, steady us with your faithful presence.
Help us draw courage and comfort from you, who knows exactly what it is to walk in the way of suffering and death; and whisper to us words of redemption and resurrection. Amen.
Rev. Wil Posey – Murphy, NC
Forgive. Grudges hold us back. Second chances give us more life.
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Day 34: Mon., March 23
Warmth during the Winter
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
During winter months most of us are stuck inside, eager for the warmth to make its
appearance. Winter might bring more trials and tribulations to some. Even during the winter, the Lord shows warmth. The warmth that the Lord brings is full of sunshine, blue skies, and birds chirping. Winter may bring dreary days, but the one warm day during winter brings us hope. Hope that the dreary winter is ending soon and spring is near.
Spring is new growth and new life. As the warm day gives us hope that spring is near, spring reminds us that Easter is near. Easter’s promise of eternal life is through the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus shows us hope and warmth as children of God.
Bridget Killian – Murphy, NC
Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change.
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Day 35: Tues., March 24
John 8:1-12 “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’ Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'”
A lot of questions arise from the reading of John 8:1-9. The Law of Moses, according to Deuteronomy 22:22 and Leviticus 20:13 require both participants in the adultery be stoned. How hypocritical of the Scribes/Pharisees to test Jesus without the man? Jesus knew they were corrupt and did not respond to their interruption instead he began writing in the dirt. What was Jesus writing with his finger? Was Jesus writing the verses in Deuteronomy and Leviticus? Or the 10 Commandment were, “. . . inscribed by the finger of God.”. Exodus 31:18. Was Jesus writing the Ten Commandments? Maybe Jesus was reiterating the new covenant? Or was he writing a prayer for the profound words he was about to speak to these Scribes and Pharisees who were trying to ensnare him? Then Jesus spoke them, “if any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” The Bible is very succinct, so why
add those last two words? Jesus’ 19-word revelation effectively ended the death penalty prosecution of the adulteress, and he began writing in the dirt again. John 8:9, “Convicted by their conscience”, why did the older ones leave first? And why were these passages not included in the earliest manuscripts of John?
So many questions. It is all a bit ambiguous, but what is crystal clear is the grace that follows.
When Jesus asks the woman where her condemners are, she responses none are left. John 8:11 “. . .’Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.'”
The opposite of grace is disgrace. Through minimal words Jesus separates himself from the disgrace of the Scribes and Pharisees’ hypocrisy. He distances himself from the disgrace outlined in the Old Testament of retribution and punishment. He departs from the disgrace of sin and opens the door to forgiveness,
acceptance, hope, and enduring love. Also known as grace.
By defining grace through disgrace, Jesus issued the perfect segue into John 8:12: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'”
Meditation Point: John 8:11. As beloved children of God we are not condemned – so let us go and leave
our lives of sin.
Dear Heavenly, Gracious Creator, Thank you for your grace. Please show us your grace in a way we
understand and help us share your grace through our actions with our neighbors. Help us to understand
and thrive in it so that we may share it with others as we strive to uncover the truths in your Word. Give us the light of life so we will not walk in darkness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Sarah-June Ely-McCollum – Murphy, NC
Is your glass half-full or half-empty? Fill Up!
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Day 36: Wed., March 25
Earlier Than Spring
Tried to write my own
devotion
But it caused so much
commotion
Since I didn’t have a notion
‘Bout what to say.
Till I saw a crocus blooming
Magnificent yet unassuming
Then I knew what to be
doing,
Ponder on the coming Day.
Not quite time
for serviceberry
To remind us not to tarry
Singing under flowering
cherry
At the Chapel where we
pray.
Dr. Dan Stroup – Marble, NC
Look for signs of Spring today!
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Day 37: Thurs., March 26
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
As Jesus walked to Gethsemane with the disciples, he was increasingly in anguish and agitation. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:36) This indicates that during this entire time, he was surrendering his finite will over to the care of God. Jesus demonstrated surrender is a process. In order to surrender, we are invited to look deeply within. (copied)
AFFIRM: I am willing to relinquish all to be free and soar the highest heights.
Forgive. Grudges hold us back. Second chances give us more life.
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Day 38: Fri., March 27
Peace in My Heart and In the World
John 16:33 “‘I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!'”
I am the peace I wish to see in the world. I aspire to spread peace, one act of kindness at a time. Keeping my heart and mind centered on God lessens the stress of schedules and obligations in my life and gives me grace to see the light within each person I encounter, responding with kindness and compassion.
As I write this, a group of Buddhist monks are nearing the end of a nearly 2,000-mile walk to promote the “awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world”. What a great mission! As I invite the flow of God’s grace through stillness and prayer, I am committed to living intentionally and making this planet a better, kinder and more peaceful place.
Linda Ray – Murphy, NC
Learn. Learn from someone. Listen to someone’s story, learn how someone does something, and be teachable.
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Day 39: Sat., March 28
About Suffering . . .
Luke 9:51 “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
Suffering is not something that we like to talk about in our culture. If anything, much of our everyday life is about avoiding it. We set our thermostats to comfortable temperatures, put on our seat warmers, and so much of want we want is not only accessible, but immediate.
Suffering isn’t like that. It’s…inconvenient. And it seems to take a long time. Ask anyone who started working out again recently.
But what if our modern culture has inoculated us from something that should be key to our faith when it comes to suffering? What if being Christian was to…suffer?
After all, Jesus died on a cross and the first Christians not only interpreted this as saving for them, but as the example to follow. The cross then is not just the SOURCE of our salvation, but the SHAPE of it.
That means to choose to suffer for others, with others, or on behalf of others IS what it means to be a Christian. In a church, in a marriage, in a job, in a family, in a community, in the checkout line at Wal-Mart, standing over the dishwasher that needs to be emptied, even choosing to NOT have the last word sometimes.
Everywhere becomes a place to be shaped into our salvation. To choose suffering love. To become more like Christ. That’s really what Lent is about. To turn our face toward suffering, be it in us, or in the world, and to move toward it, trusting that God will lead us through it to Resurrection.
That’s the Jesus way. The way of Easter. And Lent is the road that takes us there.
“To suffer patiently is not specifically Christian– but freely to choose the suffering is.”—Soren Kierkegaard.
Rev. Dr. Adam Daniels – Blairsville, GA
Rev. Dr. Daniels is Chaplain at Young Harris College and recently served as guest preacher at our church.
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Continuing into Holy Week . . .More Devotional Readings
Sunday, March 29
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
John 12:12-13 “The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!'”
My grandson is nearly three years old, and he’s at the age where he is full of energy and loves to play in an aggressive and physical way. I’m sure if I handed him a palm branch, he would immediately start
hitting people with it in joyous abandon.
Just as a three-year-old comes to a parent with all of their weaknesses, we need to remember to turn to Jesus with all of our weaknesses. Are you feeling angry? Wanting to strike out, to get even, to do something with the anxiety you feel?
When we feel consumed with emotions that we find hard to deal with, remember that Jesus is with you. Learn to lean on the Lord and rest in the comfort of his presence.
Lord, remind us that nothing is impossible with you, Our Shepherd. Turn our anxieties and troubles into shouts of Hosanna! Amen.
Marji Hill – Murphy, NC
Visit Someone. Give your time to those you care about and show them that they matter to you.
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Mon., March 30
Great Weekend . . . .But Tough Week Ahead
Luke 19:45-48, Amplified Bible “Then He went into the temple enclosure and began to drive out those who were selling, telling them, ‘It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a cave of robbers.’ And He continued to teach day after day in the temple porches and courts. The chief priests and scribes and the leading men of the people were seeking to put Him to death, but they did not discover anything they could do, for all the people hung upon His words and stuck by Him.”
As we do a deep dive into Monday of Holy Week, we find Jesus entering Jerusalem from Bethany. It’s
significant that he has spent Sunday night with his close friends, Lazarus and Mary and Martha, in their home. This is the family of ‘that Lazarus’ he called back from the dead after three days in the tomb. He knew them, and they had a rich connection with Jesus. With the three siblings with whom he had spent such significant moments, he found rest and the peace necessary to have a quality night of sleep in
preparation for the day and week ahead.
On this Monday we find Jesus doing three things which the Gospel writers find important enough to document. First, Jesus seeks out figs and, finding none on a specific tree, curses the tree. I’m quite unsure of all the layers of relevance and meaning in this behavior toward the fig tree. Suffice it to say, from a layman’s point of view, for Jesus to have made this a priority on his final week of ministry there must be more than ‘hanger’ motivating him as his disciples observed this incident.
The second behavior is quite dramatic for the reader. In all three Synoptic Gospels, we find Jesus “turning over tables” in His Father’s house. While Jesus was in ministry three years, this had never been his behavior. We have references galore to his speaking to the religious elite and individuals in power. Many times during Jesus’ interaction with the high priests and scribes he would have been in close proximity to the money changers. However, in this final week of his earthly ministry this side of Calvary, he chooses now to “clean house.” And, isn’t it significant that Jesus, the Son of God Almighty, is doing the cleaning in this manner?
Finally, the third priority of Jesus, this Monday of Holy Week, was to teach all who came to him for instruction. Whether layperson or the occasional priest or scribe, Jesus made time to invite all into communion with the Father. Whether through parables or sharp reproof of those who should have known better, His welcome was of such significance that “all the people hung upon His words and stuck by Him.”
We’ve got a full week ahead of us. Many of us have spent the last many days in a posture of preparation for this week’s road to Calvary. Like Jesus, find time and a place for necessary rest and reflection. We look forward to sharing the rest of this week’s events with you here at Murphy First.
Prayer:
Holy and loving God, In these final days of Lent, let us experience the significance of your sacrifice for us.
May we come to know, in a greater way, the love which compelled You to such a surrender, and in coming to know you greater, be witnesses of that same love to a world seeking love that you so freely make available to all of humankind.
David Lamb -Warne, NC
Say “Thank you” today.
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Tues., March 31
Never Too Late
John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’. “
John 3:5 “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'”
It is probable that Christ leaned toward baptism as a means toward the end. Both John and Jesus used this to fulfill the regeneration of the spirit by cleansing the spirit as well as the body.
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE. Case in point…When I was entering the third grade I began to live with my maternal grandparents. They were kind, gentle, hardworking. They kept busy during the hard times–such as the Great Depression and WWII. They believed in God and lived by Christian edict.
However, they were not church-goers. When they retired, they turned to the church. Grandmother, a self-taught artist, panted a mural surrounding the baptismal font of a local church. She followed with a huge mural of the “Last Supper” on a wall of another church. Then, Grandaddy, who had worked fifty years for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, decided to be baptized. This was accomplished by immersion in the old font beneath Grandmother’s beautiful mural. Yes, indeed, IT’S NEVER TOO LATE!
Thank you, Lord, for all of our many blessings. Thank you for showing us how to live. You gave us the knowledge and understanding. Thank you for physical water and living water that you provide. May all that we do be favorable in thy sight. Amen.
Tom Payne- Murphy, NC
Practice five minutes of silence today
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Wed., April 1
Choosing Life
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly.”
During Lent, I’m reminded how easy it is to slowly give pieces of my life away — to distraction, worry, busyness, or fear — without even realizing it. Not all loss comes in obvious or dramatic ways. Sometimes it happens quietly, through the things that drain our joy, dull our faith, or pull our attention away from God. Jesus’ words make me stop and ask: what is stealing life from me right now?
Jesus doesn’t offer survival. He offers abundance. Yet I often settle for less, living guarded, rushed, or spiritually tired. Lent invites me to notice that and to turn back — to loosen my grip on the things that don’t give life and open my hands again to the One who does. Real life, full life, isn’t found in doing more, but in staying close to the Shepherd who came to give it.
Prayer / Closing: Jesus, show me what is stealing life from me, and lead me back into the fullness of life You promise.
Grant Corrigan -Murphy NC
Volunteer-Serve. Find a good cause you care about and give your time to it.
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Maundy Thurs., April 2
John 13:6 “When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’”
John’s gospel is the only place we read about Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. In fact, it is John’s gospel that spends the most time on the final evening Jesus spends with his closest friends. He teaches them not only with his words but also with his example, kneeling at their feet, washing, and drying them. Taking the role of a servant, Jesus embodies a humility that Simon Peter doesn’t want to practice. He
resists being served by Jesus. Most of us likewise resist being served by another, because it places us in a posture of vulnerability. We might be happy to serve, but to be served invites a humility we struggle to
practice.
Serving others can allow us to feel we are in control. We get to decide who to serve and how to serve. However, such service does not emulate the humility with which Jesus served. Jesus washed the feet of Judas, whom he knew had betrayed him, and the feet of Peter, who would deny knowing him. Jesus’ example shows us that humility leaves no room for us to judge who is “worthy” of our service.
Maundy Thursday reminds us that to be like Jesus we are to love one another, and that love cannot be practiced without humility. With humility, we receive fully the love Jesus gives us, and with humility, we give love to others, holding back nothing. Love flows like water poured into a basin used for washing
feet. “What wondrous love is this, that caused the Lord of life to lay aside his crown for my soul.” ~ (USA folkhymn)
Ann Smith – Marble, NC
Today, replace worry with positive expectation. You have the Christ light within. Your life makes a difference!
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Good Friday, April 3
Mary, Mary, Mary
John 19:25 “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
In John’s gospel, we are told that three women (all named Mary!) stood near the cross as Jesus was dying. While I have often pondered the immeasurable suffering that Jesus endured for us, I also find myself pondering his mother’s anguish. As a woman and mother, I cannot imagine the trauma that his
mother Mary endured as she stood near him through it all.
When I was a young child in New Jersey, I frequently stayed with my maternal grandmother on weekends. My “Baba” was a devout Catholic and went to church almost daily. I loved going with her, and I still hold the sights and scents deep in my memory. I also hold a memory of a little statue she had in her small apartment. It was a tiny, plastic replica of Michelangelo’s Pietà, but I didn’t know that then. All I knew was that I had to know the story. “Who is that man?” I asked, “and why is that woman holding him?” And she told me “The Story,” in her simple way. And my little 7-year-old heart was forever changed.
While it was artistic license for Michelangelo to sculpt the Pietà (which means pity or compassion), that scene of Mary holding her son’s lifeless body opened me up to compassion that would eventually lead me to seek and find a life-changing relationship to Christ. Each time I read these passages, my heart breaks open again as I think of the Christ’s sacrifice for all of humanity. I guess I would be worried if it didn’t.
Prayer: Holy Lord, help our hearts to break with compassion as we read and contemplate your sacrifice
on this Good Friday. Don’t let us gloss over the cross, but help us to stay close by your side. And may it make us more compassionate and loving for your sake.
Sue Corley–Murphy NC
Be Kind.
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Holy Saturday, April 4
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
The darkness had won. Jesus was dead. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had taken his lifeless body,
wrapped it in linen cloths, myrrh, and aloe, and placed it in a tomb.
The darkness had won.
The powerful remained powerful.
The status quo was preserved.
Political and religious leaders had exercised their might and won.
The problem of Jesus and his movement had been resolved. Jesus was simply another dead body, a poor, powerless prophet who was ultimately crushed under the boot of empire.
The darkness had won.
We may call it Holy Saturday now, but to Jesus’s friends and followers, it was a dark day indeed. In grief and despair, their hope had died. Their dream of a world where, as Mary had sung, the rich were sent away empty-handed and the powerful were unseated from their places of power was just another dream. Can you, on this Holy Saturday, place yourself with those who thought that this was the end of the story?
Can you still yourself and imagine that as the tomb was sealed, your hope was extinguished by the darkness?
“Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?”(African-American spiritual)
Ann Smith – Marble, NC
Keep Your Promises. People look to you for consistency.
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Easter Sunday, April 5
John 20:15-16 “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ . . . . Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’”
Oh, what joy! What relief! What surprising grace!
Early in the morning Mary went to the tomb where they had laid Jesus’ body. She went looking to find him still there, wrapped in cloths, lying in the tomb. Yet the tomb was empty. He was risen! She went to the tomb looking for death and found life. She went to the tomb expecting to reflect on an ending, but found a new beginning. She went to the tomb in grief and disbelief, and left in joy and faith!
Don’t you love Jesus in this moment? He’s a bit cheeky isn’t he, somewhat playful. Mary thinks he’s the gardener, and, like a good friend might, he lets a moment of mistaken identity (thick with irony and humor) linger a moment before he breaks character and calls her by name.
He calls her by name, and calls her to life!
What have you carried with you into today? What/who are you looking for? Listen for Jesus in the midst of your searching. He is calling you by name, and calling you to life.
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!”
Risen Lord, we praise your name! You deliver us from despair and death into hope and life, and you spread before us the promise that those who live and believe in you will never die. Today, we rejoice in your victory over the grave, and sing your praise! Alleluia, Amen!
Rev. Wil Posey–Murphy, NC
CELEBRATE!