Lenten Devotionals: Power!

April 12, 2022

This easter season, we will be looking at some snapshots of Jesus' life during the week that led up to the cross:  

"And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came ... and said, 'You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.' But he denied it ... And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and [said], 'This man is one of them.' But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, 'Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.' But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, 'I do not know this Man of whom you speak.' And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, 'Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.' And he broke down and wept." (Mark 14:66, 67b, 68, 69-72 ESV)

Peter had power on his mind that night. The power of the guards to recognize him and arrest him. The power of the council to take away his life—just as they were in the process of doing for Jesus. No wonder Peter hid in the shadows!

But he didn't consider the small, powerless things—the servant girls, the rooster. He forgot all about them—until they turned his world upside down. And Peter forgot all about the guards and the council, as he broke down weeping. All he could think of was Jesus.

It seems to me that God likes to do that—likes to use the small, weak things to turn our lives around. After all, it is God's power working through weakness that saves us. A newborn baby, lying in a manger—a flogged, naked Man, nailed to a cross—the resurrected Lord who looked so ordinary that Mary mistook Him for a gardener. As Paul said, "We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, ... Christ the power of God ... for the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:23-25 ESV).

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for saving me through Your powerful weakness. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

* Tell about something weak that was unexpectedly powerful for you.
* Do you consider yourself weak or powerful?
* How has God used you to care for other people?

Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reprinted from Lutheran Hour Ministries

Announcements

The eight publications that will be appearing in this holy week, leading up to Easter, are part of a much larger series written by Kari Vo and published in 2021 in the Lutheran Hour Ministries. To access the entire, thought-provoking series, please click here. 

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