Scripture for the week: 2 Chronicles 34:1-8, 14-33
Instructions
Read the Scripture above and live with it for the week. The devotion may either be done by yourself or with someone else. Good conversations will almost certainly come from sharing this with someone else.
Devotion
This coming week will begin the 40-day season of Lent. Fascinating time. We hear the number “40” enough that it gets our attention: 40 days and nights the rain fell (Noah), 40 years wandering in the wilderness, 40 days Moses was on the mountain receiving the 10 Commandments, 40 days Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, 40 days after the resurrection when Jesus ascended.
It has become a popular thing to give up something for Lent. But why? What is the reason … other than that that’s just what people do? What is the benefit? I hear people talk about giving up chocolate, but how often do we really eat chocolate? If there is to be some sacrificial element to giving something up, is giving up chocolate really sacrificial?
Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Carnival and giving up stuff … has it created a “secular Christianity” – rituals based in Christianity that have ceased to have spiritual significance?
I don’t think we need to be against these things, but we can reclaim their spiritual significance.
If we begin from the position that God loves us and truly wants to be in relationship with us, then what good is giving up something for Lent even if it is “sacrificial”?
Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and repentance. A time to re-orient our lives to God. A time to grow with God. I do encourage either eliminating unhealthy or adding healthy elements to your life through Lent. Last week’s devotion focused on the Mind, Body and Spirit. Can I challenge you to do something for your spirit? The mind and body are easier to understand and measure. The spirit is more elusive.
For this week’s Scripture, I chose passages about Josiah’s Reform (2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35). Josiah was the king of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) after the fall of the Northern Kingdom. 2 Kings tells us that Josiah’s father and grandfather “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” so they must have had little interest in promoting and passing on the teachings of God. Josiah had the temple renovated and, in the process, they discovered scrolls from the book of Deuteronomy. Once King Josiah read it, he called all of the people together and had it read to them. The people joined together in repentance and they began to follow the ways of the Lord.
As you read and pray this week, consider the following questions. If you journal, these would be good questions to include in your journaling.
- How is my spirit today?
- Are there parts of my life that go against what God says makes for a good and healthy life?
- When I hear challenges to my way of living or thinking, I tend to …
- You may be feeling a call to repentance or to change something about your life. What are the main obstacles that prevent the change you believe God is calling you to?
- 2 Chronicles 34:3 says Josiah “began to seek the God of his ancestor David”. How well does our congregation encourage people who are young and people who are old to seek God?
Epicurious Lutheran 