1 Corinthians 8:6 | …yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Oh, Father

Do you ever take a moment to pray but feel like you stumble out of the gate? Do you have trouble finding the words when it comes time to bow your head? Remember, the One who hears your prayers is your Daddy. You don’t need to wow him with eloquence.

Jesus downplayed the importance of words in prayers. We tend to do the opposite. The more words the better. The better words the better. We focus on the appropriate prayer language, the latest prayer trend, the holiest prayer terminology. Against this emphasis on syllables and rituals, Jesus says, “Don’t ramble like heathens who . . . talk a lot” (Matt. 6:7 God’s Word).

Vocabulary and geography might impress people but not God. There is no panel of angelic judges with numbered cards. “Wow, Lucado, that prayer was a ten. God will certainly hear you!” “Oh, Lucado, you scored a two this morning. Go home and practice.” Prayers aren’t graded according to style.

Just as a happy child cannot mis-hug, the sincere heart cannot mis-pray. Heaven knows, life has enough burdens without the burden of praying correctly. If prayer depends on how I pray, I’m sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, and if the One who hears the prayer is my Daddy, then I have hope.

Prayer really is that simple. Resist the urge to complicate it. Don’t take pride in well-crafted prayers. Don’t apologize for incoherent prayers. No games. No cover-ups. Just be honest—honest to God. Climb into his lap. Tell him everything that is on your heart. Or tell him nothing at all.

Sometimes “Daddy” is all we can muster. Stress. Fear. Guilt. Grief. Demands on all sides. All we can summon is a plaintive “Oh, Father.” If so, that’s enough.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.

Philippians 3:10-11 | I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. W

John 12:24 | Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

GOOD FRIDAY

DAILY THOUGHT: DYING WITH CHRIST (JOHN 12:24)
Though Jesus’ death is unique, he invites us to die as well. Like a seed that is planted in the ground and dies, Jesus invites us to die to ourselves in order to bear good fruit. We are asked to lay our lives down in love so that we may be raised into new life. The breath-taking good news of Good Friday and Easter Sunday is that life comes out of death. To embrace resurrection-life we need to learn how to die. The big question facing us today as we journey to the Cross and the Empty Tomb is: “What do we need to die to today in order to enter more fully into the new life that Christ wants to give us?”

DAILY PRACTICE:
Begin with the daily prayer request. Commit the verse above to memory. Write down your answer to the question above on a small piece of paper, tear it up and bury it into the ground. Speak with the living Christ about what you have done and listen to what he may say to you. In your own words, tell him that you want to die with him so you may rise with him into new life.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. W

Mark 14:17-26 | When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, may we know you more clearly, love you more deeply and follow you more closely.

DAILY THOUGHT: BETRAYAL (MARK 14:17–26)
Few experiences can be more painful than betrayal. Many of us know this from our own experience. In this unholy week leading up to his crucifixion, Jesus also experiences betrayal. Peter denies him. Judas sells him out. His friends desert him. Because of these betrayals Jesus’ enemies capture him. From that moment Jesus enters his passion and faithfully fulfils his calling as the Servant-King who lays his life down for all. Could not our betrayals also become for us moments to live more passionately into our calling as Christ-followers? What would it mean for you and me to move beyond our anger and bitterness towards those who have betrayed us?

DAILY PRACTICE:
Pray the daily prayer request. Read the story of Jesus’ betrayal in Mark 14:17–26. What strikes you most about the way Jesus responds to his betrayals? Bring today the pain of your own betrayals to God. How is God calling you to live with them? Consider your own faithfulness to others. Have you ever betrayed someone else? Talk about this with God and listen to what God may be saying to you. Realign your life again with the vows and promises that you have made to others.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. W

Mark 11:15–18 | On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, may we know you more clearly, love you more deeply and follow you more closely.

DAILY THOUGHT: RIGHTING WRONGS WITH CHRIST (MARK 11:15–18)
The Jesus we meet in the Gospels is not always gentle, accepting and self-effacing. Sometimes he got really angry, especially when confronted with evil. One such moment was when injustice was taking place in the temple courts. You can read of how he took a whip, upset the tables and drove out the moneychangers in today’s Gospel reading. The idea that we should be quiet and passive in the face of evil is not the way of Christ. Of course, we cannot take on all the evil around us. But we can look around our communities and places of work and ask God to guide us and to show us where to take action.

DAILY PRACTICE:
Pray the daily prayer request. Read slowly Mark 11:15–18. What strikes you most about Jesus in this encounter? How do you respond to him here? What would it mean for you to resemble your Master where you live and work? Think about one area of evil that concerns you very much. It may be a personal vice that concerns you greatly, a corrupt situation at work, an injustice in the community that demands action. Talk with the Lord about it and ask him to show you how you can offer a faithful gospel response.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. W