Good Morning Friends,
We are on a forty‑day journey of learning what it means to belong to God—to live as people joined to Him in love. If we want this season to shape us, we must enter it fully, remembering that our lives are meant to point others to the Door of the Kingdom: Jesus Himself. We are not responsible for everyone’s conversion, but we are responsible to encourage one another toward a living encounter with the God who created us. As we move toward the Passion and Resurrection, we face again the reality of sin and the invitation to pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as in heaven. Today’s question is simple but searching: Will we allow God’s love to make us sacred?
Scripture: See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death, and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before your life and death, blessings, and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (NRSV)
saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?
Luke 9:22-25 (NRSV)
“Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:9-13 (NRSV)
“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.’
Acts 7:30-34 (NRSV)
for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:16 (NRSV)
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1:1-6 (NRSV)
I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
John 10:9 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s scripture reminds us that God sets before us life and death, blessing and curse, and calls us to choose life by loving Him and walking in His ways. Jesus teaches that following Him means denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily, and trusting that losing our life for His sake is the only way to truly save it. The Lord’s Prayer centers us in God’s holiness and God’s will. Moses’ burning bush reminds us that ordinary things become holy when God is present. And Peter echoes God’s call: “Be holy, for I am holy.” Holiness is not something we create. A tool cannot shape itself; it needs a craftsman. Jesus gave His life so that we could enter a holy relationship with God, and God sanctifies us so we can help form disciples who form disciples. Our part is surrender—offering our lives in love, allowing God to transform what is ordinary or even profane into something sacred. Taking up our cross is not about burden but about love. It is the willingness to serve, to show compassion, to stand with the suffering, to forgive, to hope, to endure. It is learning to love as God loves—patiently, kindly, without resentment or pride. This is the love that makes holiness possible. This is the marriage of the Lamb.
And So, people, places, and moments become holy not because they are special in themselves but because God meets us there. The burning bush was still a bush; the Tabernacle was still a tent. What made them sacred was God’s presence—and our awakening to it. So, it is with us. God’s love, revealed in Jesus and poured out through the Spirit, is what transforms us.
Pray that we choose life. Pray that we repent and forgive. Pray that we seek God as a lover seeks the beloved. Pray that we embrace suffering with the right heart. Pray that we desire the growth of God’s Kingdom. Pray that we die to selfishness and rise in love. Pray that we awaken to the truth that God’s love is everywhere—and that our lives are priceless because God is in us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 