Lent Devotional - Day 10

Read John 5:16-47

We see Jesus break traditions by working on the Sabbath. Even though what Jesus has done was a good thing and a miraculous thing, it did not fit within the religious model they grew up with. They begin to persecute the very one they had been hoping for.

What religious traditions or models are you so married to that there is no room and space for Jesus to work in your life?

Jesus confronts us with the startling truth that we can be “church” people and diligently study the Bible, but not have the love of God in us, not be able to hear his voice, nor have the word of God dwell in us. Jesus is not a subject matter to study and behold from a distance, but a person to meet and have a relationship with.

If we are not becoming more like Jesus in our actions, thoughts, and speech, then we clearly are not spending enough time with him. We then have to ask ourselves: Who is Jesus to me? What does my daily actions reveals about what I really believe about Jesus?

If Jesus is truly our Lord and Saviour, then we must listen to him and obey him. More than anything else, we need to spend time with Jesus, get to know his heart and have his heart in us.

Some of us only try to encounter Jesus at church on a Sunday, when he might not be there. Jesus spent most of his time serving the needy more than he spent time in the synagogue. Jesus might not be at “church” but will be with the poor, needy, and helpless.

Maybe it’s time we join Jesus where he is, rather than asking him to always come to us.