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Multimedia Lent Devotional – Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

March 30, 2025

2025:

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent:

  • Scripture (Dawn Roberson) – John 4:43-54
  • Reflection (Candy Davidson)
  • Prayer (Michael Sculley)
  • Videos: John 4:43-54
  • Music: “Live Again” (ONE HOUSE) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNxqSPMc0zs

2024:

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent:

Amos 5:14 – “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.”

When God created all that there is, the first chapter of Genesis includes this refrain six times: “God saw that it was good.” The last verse of that chapter summarizes: “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” So, evil is not a thing that God created, because everything that exists was created by God, and everything God made was very good. Just as we can describe darkness as the absence of light, evil can be described as the absence of good.

Today’s scripture is an invitation to experience more of the fullness of life, more wholeness, more flourishing, more delight, all of which are tucked in the promise of shalom when we seek that which is good, which is to seek God’s highest and best in every possible way. For 2000 years, Christian theology has identified four cardinal virtues upon which all other virtues hinge: wisdom, justice, courage, and restraint.

To seek evil is to focus our attention or our actions on things in which the good is absent. For some, filling our minds with lightweight entertainment could be pulling us away from the pursuit of wisdom that is for our good. Maybe reading or watching too much news makes us feel hopeless and helpless and ends up pulling us away from the pursuit of justice that is for our good. Too much isolation from a vibrant faith community might be pulling us away from the pursuit of courage which is for our good. Perhaps giving in to our appetites or cravings is pulling us away from the pursuit of restraint that is for our good. Remember this precious promise in today’s scripture: Seek good and live, in the eternal embrace of God, a place of wholeness, flourishing, and delight!

2023:

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent:

  • Scripture (Jim Roberson) – Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
  • Reflection (Karen Sculley)
  • Prayer (Theresa Mayhue)
  • Videos: Matthew, Luke
  • Music: “Amazing Grace” (Andrea Bocelli)

Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 – “For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith . . . For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’), in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ . . . Therefore ‘it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’”

There are so many huge concepts tucked into today’s verses, including faith, grace, sharing, the presence of God, life, existence, law, and righteousness. It’s good to grow in our understanding of these things, but it’s even more important to remember that Scripture is far more than a collection of theological concepts or rules to follow – it’s first and foremost the story of God. Through God’s gift of his written word, which we call the Bible, we are invited to discover who God is, the Trinity, an exploding community of love. We are invited to discover who we are and to find our place in God’s story, the most wonderful story of all. We are invited to discover that together we are invited into abundant life and love, with God today and forever. This is why Christ Jesus came – fully God, fully human, God with us. Jesus, because of his love for us, made a way for us to be made righteous, right with God, welcoming us into the exploding community of love for which we were created, by taking upon himself the consequences for every poor, bad, or downright evil choice made by every single person who has ever lived, past, present, and future, and initiated the undoing of all of those consequences along with the restoration of all things. God can do anything – he gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist. No matter where you’re at today, no matter who you are or what you’ve done, God is calling you into abundant life and love by calling you to surrender all that you are to Christ Jesus. Will you join me in saying “yes” to God with everything you’ve got – all of your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy?

Each short Multimedia Lent Devotional is an invitation to set aside time each day during the season preceding Easter. Lent is a solemn 40-day period we observe as we seek to draw near to God prior to the great celebration of Easter. During Lent,

  • we intentionally practice sober reflection, serious repentance, and sincere restitution, in which we more fully recognize our brokenness as humans, looking always to Jesus Christ as our Savior and sanctifier;
  • we seek to live lives marked by simplicity, self-denial, and surrender, in imitation of Christ Jesus, who fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before He began His public ministry;
  • we look for ways in which we express love for neighbors and nations in need in practical ways through generously giving of our time, talents, and treasures.

This collaboration is brought to you by Liberty Vineyard Church

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