Lent devotional

Be Reckless

Posted on by Betsy

The first time I heard Reckless Love by Cory Asbury was at a Youth Sunday worship service several years ago. Three teenage girls sang it, and I thought it was one of the most wonderful things I had heard in a long time. Those sincere young voices are in my heart today as we consider the reckless love of Good Friday.

Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.

Our Scripture today describes Jesus’ act of reckless love as he faced his final days on earth. He was speaking to a crowd of people as his death was drawing near, and explained reckless love like a grain of wheat, which must be buried in order for it to bring forth life and multiply:

John 12 (The Message)

24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

Truly his love for us is reckless. It is never-ending and overwhelming. Here he was in his final week, feeling storm-tossed about what was about to happen. But did he think of himself? No, he thought of you. He would not ask his father to get him out of it. Instead, he invited God to use his death to display his glory.

27-28 “Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.’”

”Father, put your glory on display.”

Jesus is committing to following through. He, who was present at the creation of the world, was willing to be falsely tried, spit upon, ridiculed, beaten, scorned, pierced, and nailed to a tree for us.

How can we possibly respond to this kind of reckless love? How can we honor Jesus’ death with our lives? This is a love that you can’t earn or deserve. This is a love that chases you down. This is a love that brings the gift of eternal life.

Are you ready to stop running?

26 “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.”

Then follow him.

Reckless Love by Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church

The Power of Broken Things

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever heard the old saying that in order to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs? People say this to comfort us when we are feeling broken by life. It suggests that in our breaking, we can become something new … a more refined version of ourselves, if you will. But breaking is hard work, and recovering is even harder. Good omelettes take time to perfect.

Now think about the broken bread that we receive at communion. There is such power in watching the loaf being torn in half! I bet you have received communion in many places and in many forms, from the casual retreat setting to the most formal of presentations in a church. I once took communion at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, which may count as the most elaborate setting for communion. But probably the most profound communion experiences I have had were the day I was confirmed in my childhood church in Gibbsboro, N.J., the first time I served it as a newly ordained pastor at my church in Peachtree City, GA, and the communion settings of the Walk to Emmaus retreats. Communion is one of two sacraments in the United Methodist Church and truly is the place where God meets us right where we are. I hope you feel the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit every time you receive the body and blood of Christ, given for you.

Our passage today marks the moment when the Last Supper became the Lord’s Supper for all eternity. Read it and feast:

Mark 14 (New International Version)

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 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.”

19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 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.”

22 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.”

23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “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.”

26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Amidst the disciples’ confusion, Judas’ betrayal, the ritual remembrance of the Passover (when God delivered his children from death at the last plague in Egypt),and the gathering of friends for one last meal, Jesus abruptly broke the bread and raised the cup, instituting the new covenant and the Eucharist. When we gather in our churches tomorrow night for Maundy Thursday services, we will remember this exact moment. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word for “mandate, command” and refers to the new commandment that followed this evening’s actions, as recorded in John 13:34-35 “34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

How well do we follow that new commandment? Do we live up to our communion invitation to participate in Christ by loving as he loved?

I hope you are able to attend a Maundy Thursday service. When you receive that broken body and shed blood, remember the new covenant.

Then go out and be the new covenant for the world. It is your mandate.

Take and Eat by Becca Ziegler

Missed Opportunities

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever regretted a missed opportunity? Listen to this story of a huge missed opportunity.

When the popular streaming service Netflix began in 1997, they weren’t a website yet. Do you remember how Netflix began? They mailed DVDs to their subscribers in red envelopes, hoping to encroach on the popular business model known as Blockbuster. For you youngins, Blockbuster was a chain of stores where you could go to rent a video tape to watch at home. I have fond memories of our every Friday night trip to our local Blockbuster where the kids would choose two videos to watch over the weekend. When Netflix started, Blockbuster had over 9,000 stores. As Netflix was moving from their DVD mailing service into the unknown territory of starting up a “dot-com” business, they made an offer to sell their operation to Blockbuster. The Blockbuster executives laughed at the notion and rejected the deal. Now Netflix is a $150 billion dollar industry and as for Blockbuster? Busted.

Some would say that this was one of the greatest missed opportunities in recent history.

In our Scripture today, the great prophet Jeremiah wept over Israel’s greatest missed opportunity. God had established them as the chosen people, had given them the fertile Promised Land, and had established them as a strong and formidable nation against their adversaries. Yet in no time at all, they turned their hearts away from God and worshipped the false idols of their neighbors. Thus God allowed Babylon to conquer them and carry them away into exile.

Jeremiah 8 (Common English Bible)

No healing,
    only grief;
        my heart is broken.
19 Listen to the weeping of my people
        all across the land:
    “Isn’t the Lord in Zion?
        Is her king no longer there?”
Why then did they anger me with their images,
    with pointless foreign gods?
20 “The harvest is past,
    the summer has ended,
        yet we aren’t saved.”
21 Because my people are crushed,
    I am crushed;
    darkness and despair overwhelm me.

Their rejection of God resulted in what Jeremiah poetically called an empty harvest and a dry summer, leaving them with nothing to sustain themselves. There would be nothing coming to heal them of their self-inflicted wounds: No healing balm would be made available as they suffered the consequences of their actions. God had offered them multiple opportunities to return, and they missed every one.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
    Is there no physician there?
Why then have my people
    not been restored to health?

Are you missing out on an opportunity to be saved? Is God offering you a way out that you are refusing to take? God’s saving action plans often come in the hardship of giving things up, walking away from toxic relationships, stopping behaviors that are detrimental to your life, and choosing God above all things. These are hard things to do. But if the opportunity is from God, don’t miss it. It may be your only way out.

There’s Always a Way Out by Kathy Schumacher

Unridden

Posted on by Betsy

Sometimes I wish I had named this blog “Things I Never Noticed Before”. I realize that is a clunky and uninspiring name, but it would have been a very accurate description of what happens every time I sit down to write a devotional. I start to read the Scripture and some small and often obscure thing jumps up and presents itself, forcing me to take notice. I have discovered over the many years of reading and writing that it is often the case that previously unnoticed things are full of rich meaning.

Today’s passage tells the familiar story of Jesus’ triumphal entry in to Jerusalem just days before his capture and crucifixion. We celebrate this story on Palm Sunday, as the people who gathered to welcome him waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Their jubilation was short lived, as this event was the catalyst for everything that happened leading up to his death.

The thing that caught my eye with the reading is the mention of the colt that was chosen for Jesus to ride. Notice that Jesus specified that the colt must be one that no one has ever ridden:

Luke 19 (Common English Bible)

29 As Jesus came to Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he gave two disciples a task. 30 He said, “Go into the village over there. When you enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘Its master needs it.’” 32 Those who had been sent found it exactly as he had said.

33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “Its master needs it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their clothes on the colt, and lifted Jesus onto it. 36 As Jesus rode along, they spread their clothes on the road.

This tiny detail and the few verses afforded to the colt are curious to me. The fact that Jesus instructed the disciples to respond “Its master needs it” was not too strange, as it was common for colts to be rented or borrowed. This suggests that an arrangement had been made ahead of time and Jesus was now just collecting his Uber. The fact that Jesus selected a colt over a horse is also not surprising. Kings arrived on war horses with a great flourish of trumpets and fuss. Jesus arrived in the manner of a man of peace, like a merchant or priest would have. He chose to humble himself in this moment even though the crowd recognized him for the king that he was. He was fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 which reads:

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion.
        Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem.
Look, your king will come to you.
        He is righteous and victorious.
        He is humble and riding on an ass,
            on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.

So, what can we make of the fact that Jesus requested a colt that had never been ridden? One scholar suggests that our Lord was looking for a seat of authority that was his and his alone. He wanted the undivided loyalty of this beast of burden as he rode into the cheering crowds and for all intents and purposes was riding to his death. I wonder if it is a nod to his mother’s purity. He was born of the Virgin Mary and so this critical mode of transportation and presentation needed to be alike with her. One would think that a colt that hadn’t been broken might have bucked and kicked but having the Prince of Peace as its first rider prevented that from happening.

37 As Jesus approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole throng of his disciples began rejoicing. They praised God with a loud voice because of all the mighty things they had seen. 38 They said,

“Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
    Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens.”

39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, scold your disciples! Tell them to stop!”

40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would shout.”

In any case, this passage invites us to offer our King a humble and pure act of service. This one single act of this little colt remains part of Jesus’ story for eternity. Is God calling you to a single act of humble obedience? Where can you be part of our Lord’s story? May we find our way today!

Hosanna Tree by Becca Ziegler



Fill the House

Posted on by Betsy

If your life was a fragrance, what would it smell like? Would it be scented with florals of joy and contentment? Would it be like the salt air rushing through a car window going at high speed? Would it be a calming botanical? Would it smell like fear and stress? We all carry a ‘scent of being’ that is perceived by others … not an actual “smell” but an experience of presence. I have a colleague whose ‘scent’ might be described as steady sandalwood. His smooth and unhurried approach to life makes people relax in his presence. What is your life fragrance?

Today’s passage takes us to a time when the scent of a fragrant offering filled an entire house. The physical smell came from a jar of expensive perfume. But look to see the other scents that arose from the compassion of Mary and the treachery of Judas:

John 12 ( Common English Bible)

12 Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Lazarus and his sisters hosted a dinner for him. Martha served and Lazarus was among those who joined him at the table. 3 Then Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She anointed Jesus’ feet with it, then wiped his feet dry with her hair. The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume. 4 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), complained,5 “This perfume was worth a year’s wages! Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” (6 He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would take what was in it.)

Mary’s love for Jesus was expressed in this extraordinarily expensive gift of pure nard. Both John and Mark use the adjective pistikos to describe this, suggesting that the oil had been extracted from the exotic pistachio nut. Perfumes and oils served as currency due to their value and portability. Mary’s act was a humble expression of her devotion to Jesus. When a guest arrived in a home, their feet were usually washed in water by a servant or slave. The head was then dabbed with a tiny portion of perfume. Mary’s extreme gift was given without any sense of self-consciousness: Jewish women never let their hair down in public, so her decision to use her hair as a towel was a true mark of her unabashed love for her Savior.

Judas, on the other hand, stunk of greed and deception. John carefully explained to us that Judas didn’t care for the poor but objected to the lovely act because he was a thief. The value of the perfume was one year’s worth of wages, 300 denarii, and we can imagine that with his objection he was calculating the cost of the waste and how much he could have skimmed for himself.

7 Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. This perfume was to be used in preparation for my burial, and this is how she has used it. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you won’t always have me.”

Jesus reminds them, and us, that we always have an obligation to take care of the poor. There will always be poor people who need our help. But he would not take away from Mary’s prevenient burial anointing. The fragrance of her gift filled the house as a witness and testimony to her adoration.

What fragrance fills your house today? May it be pleasing to God.

Filled with Fragrance by Kathy Schumacher

Do Not Dwell

Posted on by Betsy

I have a friend who is stuck in the past. She dwells over past hurts and injustices and patterns her daily choices based on things that happened to her decades ago. A lot of this behavior is unconscious. I was with her many years ago as she was just about to sabotage a wonderful relationship with a very worthy man. I called her out on it and after a lot of probing and honest reflection, she realized that she would get to a point in a relationship where she broke things off in anticipation of the fellow ending the relationship first. It had happened to her so many times before, so she did it naturally, defensively, and reflexively. She lived in fear of “getting dumped” so she did the dumping. She was able to push through that fear and I am happy to say that they are still together. Once she realized that she was dwelling on her past, she was able to move through it.

Do you ever dwell on your past to the point that it controls your present and prevents any forward motion into your future? I think a lot of us do. When that happens, we completely shut the door to any activity of God that might make things better and right. But God desires to make things new in our lives … if we have the courage to let him.

Isaiah 43 (New International Version)

This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
    the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

I admire how Isaiah establishes God’s credentials before he gives the startling prophecy that everything is about to change. He reminds the people of God’s saving activity in delivering the Hebrews from Pharaoh through the Red Sea. Then he shifts the reader’s attention to what is to come:

18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise.

This language is so beautiful. Isaiah’s words came to fruition with the advent of the messiah. When Christ was born, these words came true. But think about how they might apply to any situation you are going through where you are stuck in the past. God is ready to help you get unstuck.

Do you trust him? You don’t need to wander in your wilderness anymore. God always makes a way.

All Things New by Michelle Robertson

Ways to Pray

Posted on by Betsy

I was blessed to be asked to preach a sermon on prayer recently, and I developed this list of different types of prayer for that message. Even though we understand that praying is simply having conversations with God and can be just that, a two way dialogue, I find it helpful in my own life to alter how I pray in order to not get into a prayer rut. I think this list would be especially helpful to you if you are trying to increase your prayer life as a Lenten discipline. Take a look:

THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE PRAYERS: This is always a good place to start any prayer effort. When we articulate the things we are thankful for, it directs our minds to our blessings and allows God a chance to hear our gratitude. Even in the darkest moment, we can find something to praise God for if we start our prayer time with a little “Thank you Jesus” moment and offer these prayers throughout the day. Focusing on our gratitude helps us see what God is doing.

FLASH PRAYERS: These prayers are prompted by interruptions or distractions, like hearing ambulance or firetruck sirens, noticing people in line at Food Lion while you are waiting your turn, or even just by driving past neighbors houses and praying deliberately for them. Usually interruptions are annoying, but let God use them to call you into prayer!

LAMENTATIONS: In deep grief and overwhelming anger, God can feel distant. We may feel abandoned. But that provides fertile ground for prayer. We can feel comfortable telling God exactly how we feel! Trust me, he can handle it. Lamenting is always perfectly appropriate in our relationship with God.  

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS: To intercede means to stand in the gap for others. It is good to keep a list of people who need your prayers and pray through the list daily.

HEARTBEAT PRAYERS: These are simple, repetitive prayers that sound like a heartbeat. My favorite one is “Fix it, Jesus!!” I pray this a lot in the dentist’s chair.

CENTERING PRAYERS: A centering prayer starts with fifteen to twenty minutes of listening in silence. We start with saying “Fill me with your presence, Holy Spirit. Speak to me Lord” and then wait. After centering ourselves in this silence, we can then begin to pray. I confess that as an extrovert, this is especially hard for me.

LECTIO DIVINA: (Sacred Reading) Rather than pray in your own words, use a prayer book or online prayer resource. Read it several times or pray yourself or someone else into the Scriptures. The Psalms are great for this.  

EMBODYING PRAYERS: This involves actively using your body as you pray. I remember watching the Jewish men ‘dinking’ at the Wailing Wall, bowing from the waist with hands clasped before them. Getting on your knees, lying prostrate on the ground, lifting your arms, or opening hands to receive are ways to practice embodying prayer. Just make sure you can get off the floor when you’re finished!

PRAYING WITH OTHERS: This is probably my favorite way to pray: gather people around for prayer groups, prayer circles, or find one person to be your prayer partner. Remember what Jesus said: “When two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Matt 18:20   

May your prayer life flourish as you try new ways.

Prayer Rising by Michelle Robertson

Prayer Closets

Posted on by Betsy

How many of you have a quiet place in your house designated for being in God’s presence? Jesus suggests in our passage today that we have a special place in our homes where we can shut the door and shut out the world in order to pray. he was encouraging his followers to not be like the hypocrite Pharisees who make quite a show of public prayer. Instead, he invites us to the humble posture of private prayer in our place with God. How reassuring it is to hear that the Father is present in that secret place! 

Matthew 6:6 (Common English Bible)

5 “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 6 But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.” 

I love this concept. I have a favorite place in my house to read, write, and pray. My place is a chair that belonged to my mother that faces corner windows that look over the harbor in Colington. I easily lose the worries of the world as I sit there gazing at the geese, ducks, water, and boats. Almost everything I have written over the last twelve years has been written in that spot. God is there for me, and we talk continuously throughout the day. So while mine isn’t actually a closet, it certainly works for me. To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t dare try to pray in any of my closets because they are way too messy! I would end up spending my time trying to organize the mess and trying on old clothes.

Thomas A Kempis, a medieval priest and the author of “The Imitation of Christ,” writes lovingly of his own prayer closet:

“You will find in your “closet of prayer” what you frequently lose when you are out in the world. The more you visit it, the more you will want to return. If you are faithful to your secret place, it will become your closest friend and bring you much comfort. The tears shed there bring cleansing.”

I hope this beautiful language encourages you to spend some time in a place where you can shut the door and shut out the world. Remember, God will meet you in that secret place.

My Secret Place

Once and for All

Posted on by Betsy

It is a marvelous feeling when you are able to complete a project and know that it is finished, once and for all. I feel this way on Sunday mornings after I have delivered (for better or for worse) a sermon that I won’t ever have to look at again. After hours and hours of research, study, writing, rehearsing, and refining, I am ready to be well and truly done with it. I also look forward to that moment when I am able to hit “send” and submit a manuscript to my United Methodist Publishing house editor, knowing that it is finally off my assignment desk once and for all. The relief that comes when you know a task has been completed satisfactorily and won’t have to be attempted again is one of the best feelings in the world. Do you feel this way when you reach the end of a work project? I think we all do, which explains why everyone hates doing the laundry. There absolutely is no “once and for all” when it comes to doing the laundry.

Our lectionary passage today teaches us about the best once and for all we will ever experience when we give our lives to Christ. He is the ultimate once and for all. With him, we need never go back to a wandering, wondering, sinful life, but instead are able to put ourselves under his authority and live according to his will.

The writer of Hebrews is anonymous. Scholars used to think that Paul wrote it but didn’t put his name on it, but other theories have arisen, including an interesting one that suggests that Pricilla (along with Aquila) wrote it and hid her identity because it would have been controversial to have a female writer at the time. (I’m glad we’re over that, once and for all!) In any case, the writer focuses on God and God’s imminently superior perfect sacrifice as it was embodied in Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 10 (Common English Bible)

4 because it’s impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Therefore, when he comes into the world he says,

You didn’t want a sacrifice or an offering,
    but you prepared a body for me;
6 you weren’t pleased with entirely burned offerings or a sin offering.
7     So then I said,
    “Look, I’ve come to do your will, God.
    This has been written about me in the scroll.”

You may recognize these words from our recent devotional about Psalm 40. Jesus is quoting that psalm as proof of his messiahship, which had been written about by the prophets. In his action on the cross, the old covenant was forever replaced with the new covenant of Jesus’ once and for all sacrifice.

8 He says above, You didn’t want and you weren’t pleased with a sacrifice or an offering or with entirely burned offerings or a purification offering, which are offered because the Law requires them. 9 Then he said, Look, I’ve come to do your will. He puts an end to the first to establish the second. 10 We have been made holy by God’s will through the offering of Jesus Christ’s body once for all.

Two things to mention about verses 8-10, which also give us our call to action today. First, Jesus sole and primary mission was to do God’s will. Second, all are made holy by God’s will through Jesus.

What is God’s will for you today? May you be made holy by following his will through Jesus.

A Pure Offering by Michelle Robertson

Deep Within

Posted on by Betsy

Somewhere in his childhood, my husband memorized the classic poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. We were watching a movie last week when someone started to recite it incorrectly and out from the depths of my husband’s soul came the correct version of this nonsensical poem from Carroll’s novel Through the Looking Glass.

“Twas brillig, and the slimy doves/Did gyre and simple in the wabe …” It was impressive to see how something buried deep within his mind could immediately come forth when needed. I have often stood before a congregation or sat in a church meeting and wished I could recite long pieces of Scripture from memory, but alas, I do not have that gift. How about you? Have you worked to memorize Scripture? One of the commentators of the original Disciple Bible Study once said that the only Bible you actually own is the one you can access in a foxhole: In other words, the one in your mind and memory.

David’s beautiful psalm today is a reminder of the importance of keeping God’s Word and God’s will deep within our psyche. He lays out the argument that God really isn’t interested in our animal sacrifices or thoughtless offerings, but rather God desires our obedience and trust.

Psalm 40 (Common English Bible)
You, Lord my God!
    You’ve done so many things—
    your wonderful deeds and your plans for us—
        no one can compare with you!
    If I were to proclaim and talk about all of them,
        they would be too numerous to count!
6 You don’t relish sacrifices or offerings;
    you don’t require entirely burned offerings or compensation offerings—
    but you have given me ears!

I think that in order to be obedient to God and to do his will requires a certain amount of studying, meditating, and then acting on his instruction. For that to happen, God’s instruction must be deep within us.
7 So I said, “Here I come!
    I’m inscribed in the written scroll.
8     I want to do your will, my God.
    Your Instruction is deep within me.”
9 I’ve told the good news of your righteousness
    in the great assembly.
    I didn’t hold anything back—
        as you well know, Lord!

David reminds us that a wholly sold out response to God is what God desires. Holding nothing back, we are invited to not only do God’s will but tell others about his faithfulness and salvation.
10 I didn’t keep your righteousness only to myself.
    I declared your faithfulness and your salvation.
I didn’t hide your loyal love and trustworthiness
    from the great assembly.

I am glad that you are reading Scripture with me in these devotionals and pray that you internalize God’s messages here and through your regular Bible study and worship habits. You never know when you might be called upon to jabberwocky some Scripture in the assembly!

Peace Deep Within