March 23, 2019 Lent Daily Devotional: The Copper Scroll

The Copper Scroll

Don’t store up treasures here where they can erode away or may be stolen. Store them in heaven where they will never lose their value, and are safe from thieves. ~ MATTHEW 6:19-20 (TLB)

Many of us have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, containing 900 ancient manuscripts found in 11 caves by a Bedouin (desert dweller). In 1952 in Cave 3, a rare find consisted of two stacked rolls containing a manuscript. Not on papyrus or leather, the rolls of the scroll were inscribed on thin sheets of almost pure copper. This indicated contents of extreme importance. One roll measured 7 feet long and 1 foot wide. The other was 2 feet wide. This is one of the largest metal documents ever found.

To be read, the copper scroll had to be cut into 23 metal strips to prevent it from crumbling and to preserve the original content.

The message was a complete surprise. There was no scripture, but instead it contained an ancient “treasure map.” It inventoried the temple’s treasures and the vessels associated with the temple. The scroll speaks of over 4500 talents of precious gold and silver. In today’s standards, that would be over 60 tons of treasure, beyond belief. This listed treasure probably spanned the history of Israel from Exodus to the Babylonian captivity.

But there is one problem. The landmarks that indicated where the treasure was buried are all gone. Every single landmark pointing to the treasure has long since disappeared.

Most of the instructions and descriptive addresses appear to be so vague that they are deemed useless by scholars and treasure hunters of today. But real-life Indiana Joneses are still searching for the Copper Scroll’s treasures today. The treasure of treasures still goes unfound to date.

Luke 12:21 tells us, “Every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven.”

Therefore, if you are looking for real treasure, look no further than 1 John 5:11-12: “And what is it that God has said? That He has given us eternal life, and that this life is in His Son, so whoever has the Son has life, whoever does not have His Son does not have life.” Your search is over. Not an X marks the spot, but a cross. Now that’s “real treasure.”

Father God, thank you for your Son Jesus. We thank you that Jesus is our own personal treasure and that we can spend eternity in a mansion especially prepared for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

AL ZAPPOLA

March 22, 2019 Lent Daily Devotional: The Ultimate Smartboard

The Ultimate Smartboard

Teach the wise, and they will become wiser;
inform the righteous, and their learning will increase.
The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord;
the knowledge of the holy one is understanding. ~ PROVERBS 9:9-10 (CEB)

I was excited to get a new smartboard installed in my classroom recently. A smartboard is a large, interactive device similar to what TV weather people use on the news. It’s a great teaching tool I’ve used for many years, so I looked forward to learning to use the new, updated version with all of its bells and whistles. The first few days of using it, I knew only enough of the basics to get by. I could use it, but I realized there would be so much more I could do with it after I received training. After the training, I put in more time to practice and get used to the things I could do with the smartboard that would enhance my instruction to my students.

I thought about how God is similar to a smartboard. There is so much about God that I do not know or understand. I could get through life just knowing the wonderful basics — God sent His Son to die for my sins, and by believing in Him, I will spend eternity with Him. However, if I am willing to go further — to continually take the time to explore and learn more about God, to learn from others about God, and then practice what I learn — then my whole life will be enriched. Only then will I be able to do what God wants me to do, be who God wants me to be, and love and serve God and others in the way God created me to do.

The school board provides what I need to do my job teaching our students. My responsibility is to learn to use the tools they provide to the best of my ability. God has provided all the tools I need to do the job He wants me to do. I have to live my life always willing to learn what God wants to teach me, and to use that instruction to do the best job for Him that I can.

Father, thank you for providing all that we need to do the job you want us to do. Help me to be willing to use what I have learned in ways that glorify you. Amen.

BETH PRICE, ZION COMMUNITY CHURCH

March 21, 2019 Lent Daily Devotional: Turn on the Light

Turn on the Light

... God called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ~ 1 PETER 2:9 (TLB)

Like many of you, I am getting excited as the days are getting longer. Daily we see increasing amounts of light. Light is a wonderful creation of God and one that is important for our happiness and survival. Without light to guide us, we can have many difficulties and challenges.

Lent reminds us that there are many dark corners in our world and perhaps in our own lives. On a spiritual level, Lent invites us to “open the curtains” and allow the light of God to show us areas of our spiritual life that need to be addressed. In the darkness we can’t see the dust and dirt, but when the light is shining, we have a completely different picture and the opportunity to make things clean again.

Scripture reminds us that Jesus is the Light (John 8:12). He came into the world not to condemn but to bring life (John 3:16-17). When those dark private corners of our lives are exposed, spiritual cleaning can take place. The Light helps us realize everything may not be as neat and tidy as we thought. It offers us the opportunity to stop pretending all is good and to make our “spiritual houses” clean.

Our faith reminds us that we matter too much to God for Him to ignore the dirt. This is why God offers us the Light that reveals the dirt and dust in our lives. He also uses the Light to clean it away. The prophet Isaiah anticipated this when he wrote, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18a). The simple message of the Gospel is this: Jesus died on the cross so that we could be made new and clean.

The Lenten season is a time for preparation and for reflection. Christ wants to clean the dirt and dust hidden away in every corner of our lives so we may serve Him fully and freely. Once our spiritual house is clean, we are free to enjoy the “abundant life” Jesus promised (John 10:10) and to become all that God has called us to be! Let’s turn on the light and receive God’s cleansing grace.

God of light and love, we ask that you would shed your holy light into our lives, allowing us to see those areas that need a spiritual cleaning. Shine your light on the paths of our lives that we may continue our journey, reflecting your light for all to see. In the name of the One we call the Light of the World, amen.

PASTOR JAMES BOLTON, PITMAN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

March 20. 2019 Lent Daily Devotional: Angels in Our Lives

Angels in Our Lives

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. ~ PSALM 91:11

Miraculously, God places “angels” in our lives to help us along the way on our personal and sometimes solitary path. I can count many angels in my life and think you can too. My cousin Louise guides me as my heart angel. Louise and I were born eight days apart. We have been best friends all our lives. Even from birth we were connected as more than cousins in so many wonderful ways, but we didn’t appreciate it as much as we do now. We have received a gradual and extraordinary gift from our Father in Heaven.

Every day we celebrate our relationship by communicating through email. We talk about everything girls of all ages talk about. We support each other and are always there no matter when, no matter what. We laugh, we cry, we reassure, and we celebrate our love for the Lord and each other.

My angel and I are now 76 years old (but don’t tell anyone because we don’t look it). We have found over the years that we are almost identical in our personalities, our thoughts, our preferences, and our hearts. We’ve talked through childhood traumas together and rejoiced as young adults and as senior citizens. We manage to get sick together and have the same experiences, thoughts, and feelings. At first this was more than a little strange, but now we are used to this gift, and it is wonderful. We live alone, but not really, because we always have each other. Louise lives in Arizona and I live in New Jersey, but somehow we have traveled the same paths no matter where they have led us, even across 3000 miles. God has given these two single, senior, cat-loving ladies a very special life gift. Thank you, God, for my angel cousin, Louise.

Look for your angels in your life and treasure them each day.

Give your worries to the Angels. It’s time to heal your heart. Every day’s a new beginning Where love and hope can start. Give your worries to the Angels. Release your doubt and fear. Trust in God to always be there With Angels always near.(Angelstar Worry Stone poem)

ELIZABETH CHIPMAN, TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

March 19, 2019 Lent Daily Devotional: Serious Fishing Competition

Serious Fishing Competition

Then He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ~ MATTHEW 4:19 (NKJV)

I enjoy fishing, but I have never been in a fishing competition or tournament. I refer to all my fishing equipment as “underachievers.” You see, I usually don’t catch many fish. But I tell my wife, Judy, that I catch the smart ones; the ones that are the hardest to catch.

You and I are expected to follow the fishing instructions Jesus gave to Simon, Andrew, James, and John. That is, we are to be “fishers of men.” Unlike regular fishermen, Jesus does not want us to use bait or lures to catch potential recruits for Him. Instead, He tells us to “cast a net,” the Gospel, over those we encounter. During that time of sharing the Gospel, we should also give our own personal account of what Jesus has done in our lives.

No one said all this would be easy. What makes it more difficult is that we are competing against Satan, who is also fishing. Satan is not about casting a net; he is all about using baits and lures to entrap us and pull us away from the way Jesus wants us to live. Satan is constantly fishing. In 1 John 2:15-16 (NRSV), John tells us the three baits that Satan uses to entice us. These are (1) desire of the flesh, (2) desire of the eyes, and (3) pride in riches. Satan doesn’t need to use any other bait because those three have worked well for thousands of years.

As long as we concentrate on being fishers of men every day and remain diligent of Satan’s methods, we can better equip ourselves. We will also be better able to instruct others on how to be strong in their faith. Remember, the competition is constant.

As fishers of men, we are not restricted to certain areas or times of the year. The fishing area (mission field) is right outside our front door and everywhere else, and it’s open season all year long. When Jesus ascended into Heaven, it then became our job to continue His work on earth. So cast your net as Jesus told us to do. And if you get nothing in your net, keep trying. As fishers of men, imagine if each of us could successfully cast a net over one or more people each year. Fishers of men are greatly needed — no bait required.

Lord, you have equipped us to be fishers of men. Lead us daily along your paths and away from the ways of the evil one. Show us where to cast our nets. Amen.

TED FRETT, TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

March 18, 2019 Lent Daily Devotion" New Wine

New Wine

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins. ~ MARK 2:22 (NLT)

My late wife was diabetic and wore an insulin pump. During her final week in the hospital, the nurse removed the pump, put it into “suspend mode,” and handed it to me saying, “Kim won’t be needing this.” Every 15 minutes, the pump beeps to remind you that it’s in suspend mode.

Over the past 31⁄2 years since Kim passed away, I’ve kept fresh batteries in the pump to keep it going. Its “beep BEEP beep” has a strange way of occurring at pointed moments, often when I am praying or reading the Bible. When one of these moments occurs, I usually record it in my journal.

In August, I was reading Mark 2:22, “... new wine calls for new wineskins.” As soon as I read the words “new wineskins,” the pump added an exclamation point by beeping.

After entering this event in my journal, I glanced upward to an entry I had written in April. The pump had beeped when I was reading Luke 5:37, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins.” Was it “coincidence” that the pump “happened to beep” on these two parallel passages from two different books, months apart? I don’t think so!

In the preparation for this Lenten season, we remember that God makes all things new, filling us with the new wine of hope. But we can’t see (or hear) the hope unless we keep our “spiritual batteries” fresh. And we can’t receive the hope unless we’re ready to change — to become “new wineskins.”

Losing my wife and becoming “single again” is constantly bringing change into my life. Some of these changes are especially difficult, and I tend to resist them. And yet my faith keeps growing. I’m grateful for God’s patience in molding my life into “new wineskins” and for His grace in pouring “new wine” into my life.

Gracious God, thank you for your patience. Even as we cling to our “old wineskins” and fail to see the hope that you offer, you keep knocking at the door of our hearts. During this Lenten season, help us to “renew our wineskins” so that we can receive the new life that you want to pour into us.

LARRY BAKELY, PITMAN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

March 17, 2019 Lent Daily Devotional: Legacy of Faith

Legacy of Faith

Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. ~ PSALM 119:111 (TNIV)

As a young girl growing up in Kentucky, I traveled with my family most summers to a Holiness camp 12 hours away in Georgia. The camp lasted for 10 days during the second week of July so it was always hot and sticky with no air conditioning to be found. While this may not sound like an ideal family vacation to you, I’m glad that my parents thought it was. You see, it was there in a sweltering tabernacle at a dusty altar that my 11-year- old heart accepted Jesus as my Savior.

Now, I grew up in a Christian home, and we attended our small Methodist church whenever the doors were open. But there was just something special about getting away from the distractions of home, friends, and the ordinary that allowed the Holy Spirit the freedom to speak to my heart. By example, my parents showed us that Christians (no matter how long you’ve been a believer) need to spend time learning more about God and being in fellowship with other Christians. Those 10 days became a priority for our family, and the place became holy ground. It was there I was exposed to godly teaching, to missionaries from around the world, and to Asbury University (where I later went to college and met my husband). The friend- ships and memories made have been life lasting.

Even now when I smell pine trees on a hot summer day or drink a glass of sweet tea, I’m transported to that holy place. I’m thankful for the legacy of faith, and I rejoice in the godly heritage I’ve been given.

Do you have special memories of a time or place when God met you in a significant way? Are you passing on a legacy of faith to your children (or a friend’s children) or grandchildren so they have the opportunity to grow in Christ? If not, today is a good day to begin. Why wait?

Father, thank you for those in our lives who by example have shown us how we can come to know you better. Help us pass on this legacy of faith so others may share in this rich inheritance.

DORENA SMITH, TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

March 16, 2019 Lent Daily Devotional: Hello, Is It Really You God?

Hello, Is It Really You God?

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. ~ PSALM 5:3 (NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ~ PHILIPPIANS 4:6 (NIV)

As children, we learn that God answers prayer. We question how God will answer us. Will He call on the telephone, or maybe send a letter? As we mature in our faith journey, we come to realize there are many ways God speaks to us.

For example, I have personally experienced visual pictures and have witnessed visions come true. I have received pictures to confirm a vision. However, what I did not understand at the time was the storm that was to come from my visions. I was reminded in Isaiah 41:13 that the Lord God will take me by my right hand and not to fear; He is with me. I felt encouraged to continue with a particular prayer request I had been making. Repetitive prayer is good. God never gets tired of hearing from us.

After a period of time I began to suspect that God was sending me messages again. My dilemma: Was it really God or was it my mind playing tricks? How was I to know? I began to question my faith. Not in God, but in my interpreting the message, because it was so important to my prayer request and I wanted the message to be from God, not my imagination.

Then, on the way home from a visit with friends in late September 2017 as I was gazing out the window (I was not driving), a very large billboard came into view. The picture message on that billboard was clear to me, and I felt God saying, “Hang in there. I know we have a deadline; all is well.”

A few more weeks went by. On a Thursday evening about 8:30, our telephone rang with a message that God had answered my prayer. On the following Monday around 1:00 p.m., I received a picture via text message from my daughter, and later that same day I held our answered prayer in my arms — our new granddaughter!

God reminded me again: “In my time.” You just never know if, how, or when prayer will be answered.

Thank you, God, for the privilege and blessing of prayer. We ask that we may understand the answer, no matter how it is delivered.

BONNIE HACKNEY, ZION COMMUNITY CHURCH