March 23, 2023

website admin2023 Lenten Devotional

Prompt thought of the week:

We too often look for security (love) in powerful figures, sure that they can “fix” things for us. It was no different for the people of the First and Second Testaments. They were looking for Kings, Saviors, and Liberators who would offer peace and security in uncertain times. And they often looked “in all the wrong places.” The Pharisees just can’t believe that this trouble-maker, rule-breaker named Jesus is the One, the Son of God and Savior. Time and again, Jesus uses the metaphor of a Shepherd to teach us how we ought to love and care for each other. No wonder; the Shepherd does what is needed when it is needed, regardless of the “rules.”


I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. – Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

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Dear Lord – As a child of God, I know you are there. 

I know you are there when I am alone even though I forget to ask. 

I know you are there when I make mistakes because you forgive me. You send me family and friends who love me unconditionally and you send a new day that gives me a chance to start over. 

I feel your presence in the warm sunshine, when the daffodils bloom, when my kids laugh. You are everywhere I look. 

And when I forget to call for you I am somehow reminded of you – through the Pastor’s sermon, a cross, a check-in from another member in our congregation. You call for me and I hear you. 

Your love reminds me that I am not alone. 

I see others who call on you. I see you walking alongside of them. I see them persevere through their struggles and it gives me hope. Hope knowing that sometimes it’s okay just to be still because the stillness allows others to be called in to help, support and show their love. Through this exchange comfort creeps in. 

Sometimes we do the calling and sometimes we are called. And if we take pause and just look, you are there, everywhere. 

Jenny Latona