Tag: Lent devotions

Posted in Devotions, Lent, Ministry

2020 Lenten devotion #6 – Water into blood (part 1)

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Henry Be on Unsplash

“If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” (Exodus 4:9)

So Moses has to convince an entire nation, all of Israel, that he is to be their leader who will bring them out of slavery. Not an easy task.

No problem. God will give you a few tools, a few impressive feats to convince them. A staff that turns into a serpent. A hand that becomes leprous and then whole again. And water from the Nile that turns into blood. You got this Moses!

You had me at “staff into serpent.” You have that kind of power at your disposal? I’m all ears. When do we leave? What should I pack?

Well, maybe. How did he do that? Is this for real? In a world of lies, fake news and scams, who do you believe? Who’s telling the truth? Who should you listen to? We’ve got scripture, history and eyewitnesses to shape our faith. Israel had ancient legends, bedtime stories and desperate prayers. We still have our doubts. So did they.

One way or the other, God was going to deliver his people. It didn’t matter whether or not they believed. It didn’t matter if Moses had to pull out all of the tricks God gave him. These folks were not going to stay in Egypt. They were going home. And they would know that it was God who made all the travel arrangements.

Drops of blood on the ground where Jesus was flogged and where he was crucified testified to the power of God to save us. Travel arrangements, right? Because of that blood, we’ll get to go home, too.

Chances are you’ll pour out some water today and it will turn into coffee, tea, lemonade or soup. We take those things for granted, but it’s really amazing when you think about it. Maybe one of those things will remind you to recall the powerful things God has done and the travel arrangements he’s made for you for eternity!

Thanks for the tickets to go home, Lord. Amen.

Posted in Devotions, Lent

2020 Lenten devotion #5: A day of reckoning

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash

Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood” (Genesis 42:22).

Reuben and his brothers are in big trouble. All but one of them traveled to Egypt to buy some food. But now they are accused of being spies! They must leave a brother behind and bring their youngest brother back. They are convinced they are reaping the consequences of selling their brother Joseph to a caravan many years before. They don’t know he’s alive. They don’t know he’s standing right there in front of them. They think it’s their day of reckoning for his life. That day still haunts them after all those years.

I’ll bet all of us can identify some bad choices, decisions and sinful behavior that we believe we are paying the price for today. Getting into debt, words that destroyed a relationship or an arrest on your record. A lie, a purchase or a hasty decision you now regret. We know there will be a day of reckoning. Sometimes it feels like that day is today.

Never forget that your day of reckoning was that day when Jesus was nailed to a cross. That’s when God dealt with your sin. Jesus stood in for you and took the punishment. It wasn’t pretty. It was bloody. But it means that it’s over. Today might be hard. It might be painful. It might be a nightmare. But it’s not payback. It’s life.

We all have regrets. We all wish we could go back and do it differently. But we can’t. What a blessing to know that when it’s all said and done, God still loves us. He still cares, protects. preserves and blesses us. Yes, I will have seconds of his grace!

Thank you, Lord, for being there for my day of reckoning. Amen.

Posted in Devotions, Lent

2020 Lenten devotion #3: Blood is life

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jose Murillo on Unsplash


“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.’”  (Genesis 9:4-6)

In the wake of the flood, God somberly charges Noah and his sons with responsibility for the lives of others. That is a serious charge. But God is serious about life. He knows that once blood is shed, more blood will be shed. Rather than a world of bloodshed, God wants us to look out for each other. “From his fellow man (and even from the beasts!) I will require a reckoning for the life of man.” 

That’s not my natural instinct. I am prone to look out for myself much more than the lives of others. Clearly, I shouldn’t do that. My life is tied up in the lives of others. We’re in this together. If I’m not concerned about those around me, I can’t complain when something happens to me. 

If you can’t stop the bleeding, someone is going to die. As long as the heart pumps blood through our bodies we are alive. If my heart can no longer do the job, I die. Blood is necessary for life. 

Jesus was born into a world where life was cheap. Get in the way of a Roman soldier and you would soon experience the sword. It doesn’t bother them at all. They won’t lose any sleep. Your life had little value to them. 
But our lives are precious to God. You see, we were created in his image. When someone takes a life, from the unborn to a family next door to a hospital patient or an enemy in war, it is an affront to him. You are taking a swipe at God himself. Of course, it doesn’t harm him. But it hurts him deeply. He loves you that much. 

So never forget how precious life is. Never take life for granted. God doesn’t. 

Lord, teach me to value life as much as you value mine. Amen.  

Posted in Devotions, Lent

2020 Lenten devotion #2: The blood of Abel

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by geralt on paxabay.com

Photo by geralt on paxabay.com
“Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.”

“When they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.’” (Genesis 4:2-5,8-10)

Like a glass of red wine spilled on a light-colored carpet, a scratch along the side of a car or a welt across a slapped face, some sins cannot be hidden. There is no hiding Cain’s murder of his brother Abel in a field where no one sees. Heaven can hear the screams. 

How does God respond? He simply asks, “What happened?” Of course he knows. But he wants Cain to say it. To speak the words. To confess. Why? Because “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us” (1 John 1:9). God has always been that way. Drops of blood from his own son’s whipped back, thorn-crowned head, nail-pierced hands and feet and spear-pierced side have also splattered on the ground. With the assurance of forgiveness, his blood drowns out the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:24) and the stains, scratches and scars of all my sins, too. 

There may not be a chalk outline on the ground for each one of my sins. But God knows. So do I. Amazingly, he always listens when I tell him what I’ve done. Even more amazingly, he forgives. 

Thank you, Lord, for drowning out the voice of my guilt with your words of grace and forgiveness. Amen. 

Posted in Ministry

2020 Lenten devotion #1: Garments of skin

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A quick concordance search shows the word blood appearing nearly four hundred times in scripture. Blood is part of life and death in God’s creation. It is part of God’s covenants. It is spilled, sprinkled, poured out, and consumed. It justifies, redeems, reconciles, purifies and conquers. This year’s Lenten devotions focus on the drops of blood we find on the pages of our bibles, leading us to the cross of Christ and beyond. 

Photo by Adrian Ordonez on Unsplash

When “the eyes of [the man and the woman] were opened…they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (Genesis 3:7). “And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). 

While the word blood does not appear in these verses, God is the first to take the life of some animal to use the skins to cover up the naked first couple. That’s right, God draws first blood. 

Adam and his wife have listened to the serpent, have responded to their own desires and have eaten from the tree forbidden to them. Now they must try and cover up their nakedness, shame and guilt with a few leaves. Mercifully, God provides a better covering, but it will require the shedding of blood. It is the first hint of many that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). It is the first indication that we will hear much about blood in the story of God’s people about to unfold in the ages to come. 

Why do we wear clothes? Sometimes for protection from the elements. To stay warm or cool. They may be a uniform that identifies our profession or company. We may wear them because we like to look good and impress others. Or to fit in with the people around us. 

Whatever the reason, clothes serve as a reminder of our sin and shame and also our Savior. As hard as we try, we can’t cover up all our faults. But our Savior’s love, sacrifice and blood can. “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1). 

Gracious Lord, thank your for covering my sin with the holy precious blood of Christ. Amen. 

Posted in Devotions, writing

Five things I learned writing daily Lent devotions

Posted on by William Douthwaite

glenn-carstens-peters-203007-unsplash
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

A week before Ash Wednesday (February 14 this year), I cast a line via my weekly email into the congregation announcing that I would be writing daily devotions on Mark’s version of the passion of our Lord during the forty-six days of Lent (I included the Sundays). About twenty replied and received a daily early-morning email devotion. This was a new project for me, and here’s what I learned from the experience. Continue reading “Five things I learned writing daily Lent devotions” →