Mark 1:14-15 | After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, help me to turn towards you.

DAILY THOUGHT: THE DOORWAY OF REPENTANCE
The first invitation Jesus gives when he begins his ministry is “Repent”. From then on it is his most consistent message. Almost always, and in almost all situations, his advice to his followers is to repent. For Jesus repentance is the doorway into life with God. It is the only way to begin the journey. What does this repentance involve? At the very least, it means turning towards the Lord as honestly as we can and to begin living with the intention of learning how to follow him in our daily lives. We will think more about the meaning of this word tomorrow.

DAILY PRACTICE:
Pray the daily prayer request. Read slowly the biblical passage for the week (Mark1:14–15). Notice the content of the main message of Jesus. It was all about the availability of the kingdom of God to ordinary people like you and me. His gospel invites us to begin to live in this kingdom right now, wherever we are. Notice also that repentance is the doorway into this new life. Make a decision today that, every time you walk through a door, you will seek to be conscious about turning towards God.

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

Ephesians 1:4-5 | For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

John 1:35-39 | The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, rekindle my longing for you.

DAILY THOUGHT: THE ECHO WITHIN
Perhaps the most important thing we can say about our longing for God is that it is an echo within of God’s longing for us. There is in God’s heart a passionate longing for each one of us that nothing can take away. All our reaching out for God, all our hoping to know God, all our desires to be with God, all these things are there because of God’s longing to be in intimate friendship with us. Whenever we find ourselves wanting to start again with God, the place we begin is the awareness that the Spirit of God has been at work in our lives wooing us back into intimacy with God again.

DAILY PRACTICE:
Pray the daily prayer request. In your quiet time today, consider God’s longing for you. Think about it in these words from the Bible: “Long before God laid down the earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. What pleasure he took in planning this. He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved son” (Ephesians 1:4–5 The Message). Can you sense God’s longing? Share your response with God as these words touch your heart and mind.

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 14:8 | Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

John 1:35-39 | The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, rekindle my longing for you.

DAILY THOUGHT: ACTIVE LONGING
In our Biblical passage for the week, when the disciples tell Jesus what they want, he instructs them, “Come and see.” Notice that once they have expressed their longing, he invites them to follow up on their asking with some deliberate action. They need to do something. There is a lesson in this for us when we ask God to rekindle our longing. Asking by itself is not enough. Few things obstruct progress more in our journey with God than mere passivity. We must also “come and see’ by taking whatever necessary action we must do to follow up on our longing for God.

DAILY PRACTICE:
Pray the daily prayer request. Read once more the Biblical passage for the week (John 1:35–39). Allow this passage to help you again to engage with the Lord around your deep longings. Today think especially about one thing you can do in order to show that you are taking your longing with real seriousness. Talk with the Lord about this and seek to put into practice whatever it is, as soon as it becomes possible to do so.

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 14:8 | Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

John 1:35-39 | The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, rekindle my longing for you.

DAILY THOUGHT: HOLLOW SUBSTITUTES
Often we try to satisfy our longing for God with substitutes. These substitutes range from food to sex to success to religious activities, and the list goes on and on. There is nothing wrong with these things when they find their proper place in our lives. But when they become the most important desires in our lives, we always end up in an empty place. They simply cannot fulfill those eternal longings that God has placed in our hearts. Lent is a time to face up to these substitutes for God in our lives?

DAILY PRACTICE:
Pray the daily prayer request. In the silence today ask the Lord to reveal to you how you try to fulfill your longing for God with lesser substitutes. Speak with the Lord about whatever comes to your mind. Listen to what the Lord may say to you.

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 1:35-39 | The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, rekindle my longing for you.

DAILY THOUGHT: OUR LONGINGS
Lent invites us to pay attention to our longings. Jesus asks us as he asked his first disciples, “What do you want?” This question invites us to stop, to consider the longings of our hearts, and to share these with the Lord. We don’t often do this in our fast-paced everyday lives. The consequences are tragic. We rob ourselves of living a life of wonder and depth and passion. We find ourselves skimming along on the surface of life. We miss out on experiencing in-depth relationships with God and with others. Can you see why taking Jesus’ question is so important?

DAILY PRACTICE:
Begin with your new daily prayer request. Take some time to read slowly the gospel story for the week (John 1: 35–39). Imagine Jesus asking you the same question he asked the two disciples. Listen to the longings of your own heart, find words for them and share them with the Lord. You may also want to be quiet for a few moments to become aware of how the Lord responds to you.

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