Running in Faith is an electronic devotional guide written by members of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church to help readers take their Sunday faith into weekday lives. Each Devotion represents the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent Abiding Presence Lutheran Church. Permission is granted to link to this page and to use the Devotions for personal, non-commercial purposes only.

Devotion for the week of March 5
Submitted by Pastor Don M.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me."
Psalm 51:10

The Season of Lent is a time of preparation. As we prepare to celebrate the final days, death and resurrection of our Saviour, these words from the Psalmist (believed by many scholars to be the work of the young shepherd boy, David, who later became King) remind us of our need to change direction and be put right with God.

C. S. Lewis was one of the greatest Christian apologists of the 20th Century. He was a professor at two great English universities and wrote many novels as well as theological treatises. During the Second World War, one of his most famous books was entitled "Your God is too Small!" Recently, one of his famous novels, "The Narnia Chronicles" was made into a movie. It is filled with Christian themes and messages not often readily understood and/or appreciated by the general reader.

During Lent, we need to assess the direction we are going. Lewis reminds us: "If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the one who turns back soonest is the most progressive person... And I think if you look at the present state of the world, it is pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistakes. We are on the wrong road. And if that is so, we must go back. Going back is the quickest way forward." While Lewis was describing his world in the l940s, isn't it ironic how timely his message is for us today!

Gracious Father, in this Holy Season help us prepare to worship You aright. You have promised to care for your people, "if" they turn to you. Forgive us for our failures of the past and help us now to turn our thoughts, our hearts and our actions toward You. Bless each of us with the gift of a "new and right spirit" that the world may see the good that we do and give the glory and honor to You. Amen.

Devotion for the week of March 12
Submitted by Helen Y.

For I will restore health unto thee,
and I will heal thee.....saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:17 KJV

The world outside our door is no longer knocking -- It has seeped into most of our homes. The computer, the modern telephone system and so many other communication alternatives have combined to link life in the USA with people all over the world. We learn of problems in countries around the globe in our newspapers, watch "breaking news" on our televisions and contact people by phone thousands of miles away in a matter of minutes. This means we become concerned about a very, very large global family. We hope to become informed, but are "dragged down" instead of feeling joy.

It is a leap from the relative quiet and peace of my grandfather's farm in the 1940s to the realities of today's world. While many suggest ways to curb anxiety, the majority of the world still worries. Many more people literally become ill. This anxiety can be manifested in headaches, high blood pressure, and more; indeed, it can cause the health of some already sick people to worsen.

Since physical and mental health are often linked, one way to help ourselves at any age is to accept God's offer to restore health and heal us by reaching out to him.

Remember a few of the many hymns that convey the means to God's help, such as; "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear ...", "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound ...", and "Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; ...". These can be a prayers or we can combine them with our own words. If we have faith in God and turn our anxieties and physical plights over to the Lord, God has promised to aid and heal us.

Sometimes we may think we are not making progress, but progress requires Faith, our own diligent work, and acceptance of movement -- no matter how small. Only God can implant the patience and peace needed to heal.

If death comes in spite of prayers and faith, we need to pray for the sick person to "go with God," and ask God to guide us on with our own lives. He has promised to restore health and heal us, as told in Jeremiah 30:17. We need to trust him.

Now the season of Lent is here and we will reread the Bible stories of Christ's trials. Our faith is tried through the coming weeks 'til we reach the darkness of Good Friday and await the brightness of a risen Christ on Easter morning. Do not be afraid; he has promised this time will come!

Devotion for the week of March 19
Submitted by David M.

For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens. That is why you must take up all God's ARMOR, or you will not be able to put up any resistance on the evil day, or stand your ground even though you exert yourselves to the full. So stand your ground, with truth a BELT around your waist, and uprightness a BREASTPLATE, wearing for SHOES on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace and always carrying the SHIELD of faith so that you can use it to quench the burning arrows of the Evil One. And then you must take salvation as your HELMET and the SWORD of the Spirit, that is, the word of God.      (Ephesians 6:12-17 NJB)

A call to arms! Paul, the great apostle and founder of the early church calls you! Calls you to what? To holy war, crusade, a Christian jihad, if you will? WRONG! Just the opposite, in fact. Let's go over it bit by bit. First, Paul says we are not fighting people, but principalities, ruling forces, evil spirits. What are they? They are the 'powers' referred to elsewhere in the Pauline epistles, powers such as Mammon (money), Mars (war), Eros (love of the flesh), idols such as nation, political systems, economic systems, glory, esteem, worldly success. Why do we fight them? Because as masters of darkness, they convince us to follow them instead of following the True God.

Mammon tells us money equals security, Mars tells us the way to peace is by war, Eros tells us to gratify our every carnal desire, the nation tells us it is deserving of our ultimate loyalty (you know, like the language about the ultimate sacrifice), politics tells us it can solve all our problems if we just trust the right party, the Market tells us a portfolio equals security, the world tells us a good name, the right neighborhood, the right friends, the right school district is what matters. How do we fight them? Not with force or violence. That is playing right into their hands. That is the language they know and understand.

Psychologists will tell you if are ever confronted with a situation of personal danger, and you don't have an option to flee, the smartest thing to do is to get the attacker off guard; do something weird, say something unexpected. Many people have talked themselves out of a potentially threatening circumstance this way. In the same way, if we fight the powers with force, that is something evil understands, they will just fight back harder.

Paul is saying: do something unexpected. Respond with the "weapons" of the gospel. He is subverting the violent use of the trappings of war and substituting a non-violent one: the belt (girding oneself for battle) of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes (which none but the wealthy or the soldier would have had in the 1st century) of the message of peace, the shield of faith in Jesus Christ, the helmet of salvation by God, and the sword of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Paul says that even if we fight physically with all of our might, we are doomed to failure. Rather, if we use the armor God provides us through his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, we can defeat the evil powers of this world. Unfortunately, this victory may not always happen in the manner we expect. Jesus was victorious over the powers through his death on the cross.

Considering the cost of discipleship, Dietrich Boenhoffer said, "When Christ calls you, he bids you come and die." Jesus said, "For those who want to save their life will lose it. But those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it." (Mark 8:35) Paul echoes the message of Jesus: "Do not resist evil violently", (Matthew 5:39a) "Repay no one evil for evil." (Romans 12:17) Let us echo the life of Jesus ourselves in the way we respond to the "powers" of this world.

Father, provide us with your armor, your Word of truth, that we can combat the powers of this age, not by fighting in the way the world understands, but in a third way, the Way of your Son Jesus, a way of active non-violent resistance to the evils we see around us: war, hunger, oppression, disease, hopelessness. We do it so that not our will - but your will - be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Devotion for the week of March 26
Submitted by Pastor Richard H.

"God so loved the world that He gave His only Son,
so that everyone who believes in Him
may not perish but may have eternal life."
     John 3:16

    Thanks be to God, for instead of forsaking His creation or abandoning sinful human beings, God drew near in His Son to save. Rather than setting the universe adrift, disengaging Himself from the plight of His people and allowing them to perish in sin and death, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)