Lent 2008 devotions

MARCH 23 - EASTER JOY

22 Mar 2008 09:36 EST

MARCH 22 - WE WAIT TONIGHT

21 Mar 2008 08:04 EST

MARCH 21 - EMERGING FROM GOOD FRIDAY DARKNESS

20 Mar 2008 10:41 EST

MARCH 20 - TRUST THROUGH ACCIDENTS

19 Mar 2008 22:32 EST

March 19 - A LIST OF THANKS

18 Mar 2008 08:51 EST

MARCH 18 - GIVE VOICE TO LAMENT FIRST

17 Mar 2008 16:43 EST

MARCH 17 - WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD

16 Mar 2008 14:51 EST

By Michael Sherer, director of Information Technology Services THIS WEEKâ€™S THEME: We have seen the Lord ---------- DEVOTIONAL: "Seeing is Believing" goes the old adage. We trust our eyes to validate our understanding of reality. And so it was for those who encountered the risen Jesus on the day of his resurrection. "I have seen the...

MARCH 14 - INTO THE DEEP HOLE

13 Mar 2008 12:00 EST

MARCH 13 - OBEDIENCE IN IMPERFECTION

12 Mar 2008 12:01 EST

MARCH 12 - POWER TO LIFT US OUT

11 Mar 2008 10:59 EST

MARCH 11 - GOD'S STEADFAST LOVE

10 Mar 2008 11:27 EST

MARCH 10 - INTO THE DEPTHS

9 Mar 2008 19:41 EST

By Susie Lambright, resident director THIS WEEKâ€™S THEME: Into the depths ---------- DEVOTIONAL: 2004 was a difficult year. My father passed away in June. His death was expected, the end to many years of health struggles, and a release from the pain of this world at the end of a life well lived. I grieved during the summer when life...

MARCH 7 - IN SPITE OF CHAOS

6 Mar 2008 09:50 EST

MARCH 6 - FLESH VERSUS SPIRIT

5 Mar 2008 12:26 EST

MARCH 5 - WHEN THE WORLD CLOSES IN

4 Mar 2008 08:37 EST

by Carl Helrich, professor of physics SCRIPTURE: Psalm 130 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. ---------- DEVOTIONAL: Each of us has known a time in which the world closes in on us. There we feel alone and even may despair. And the world only mirrors our emptiness. The words even of our closest friends, whom we love and trust...

MARCH 4 - LIFE BACK INTO BONES

3 Mar 2008 14:25 EST

MARCH 3 - INTO NEW LIFE

2 Mar 2008 17:39 EST

FEB. 29 - THE WORLD OF LIGHT

28 Feb 2008 17:41 EST

FEB. 28 - YOU ARE LIGHT

27 Feb 2008 11:20 EST

FEB. 27 - A PSALM OF HOLY SECURITY

26 Feb 2008 14:05 EST

FEB. 26 - UNCLEAR TO THE HUMAN EYE

25 Feb 2008 11:44 EST

FEB. 25 - INTO NEW SIGHT

24 Feb 2008 19:34 EST

By Keith Graber Miller, professor of Bible, religion and philosophy THIS WEEK'S THEME: Into new sight ---------- DEVOTIONAL: During the Lenten season last year, when my family and I were leading Goshen's first Study-Service Term in Cambodia, I became increasingly and frighteningly aware that my vision was declining. At first I noticed that, even...

FEB. 22 - TWO SIDES TO THE STORY

21 Feb 2008 10:25 EST

By Doug Schirch, associate professor of chemistry SCRIPTURE: John 4:5-42 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. ---------- DEVOTIONAL: This story in John 4 could inspire two sermons about what Jesus brings into the open. One notes that Samaritans and Jews were bitter enemies, and most Jews would have been scandalized seeing Jesus talk with a ...

FEB. 21 - BOASTING IN CHRIST

20 Feb 2008 15:01 EST

By Phil Schmidt, a senior Bible and religion major from Berne, Ind. SCRIPTURE: Romans 5:1-11 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. ---------- DEVOTIONAL: I invite you to reread today's Scripture passage one more time, this time focusing on the overall theme of Lent "Out of the depths" as well as the theme for this week "Into the open." As ...

FEB. 20 - A PURPOSEFUL CHOICE TO MAKE

19 Feb 2008 09:30 EST

By Char Hochstetler, associate dean of students and campus counselor SCRIPTURE: Psalm 95 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. ---------- DEVOTIONAL: What a great God we have to worship: a God above all other Gods, who made the earth and the sea, who guides us as a shepherd guides his sheep. Some days it's so easy to feel...

FEB. 19 - THE WATER WILL BE PROVIDED

18 Feb 2008 14:31 EST

By Tina Peters, a junior physics major from Yellow Springs, Ohio SCRIPTURE: Exodus 17:1-7 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. ---------- DEVOTIONAL: In today's passage, an absence of water on the road from Egypt caused the people of Israel to doubt Moses and God. Israel had trusted God to lead them out of Egypt into the Promised Land, but ...

FEB. 18 - INTO THE OPEN

17 Feb 2008 17:55 EST

By Malinda Elizabeth Berry, visiting scholar in religion and women's studies THIS WEEK'S THEME: Into new birth ---------- DEVOTIONAL: One of the classic themes I remember from my classes focusing on American women's history was the division of life into two spheres: public and private. What happens in our homes or behind closed doors versus...

FEB. 15 - TO BE BORN AGAIN

14 Feb 2008 13:48 EST

By Ann Hostetler, professor of English SCRIPTURE: John 3:1-17 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. DEVOTIONAL: What does it mean to be born again? In one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last speeches, "Where Do We Go From Here?" the great nonviolent leader retold the story of Nicodemus's night visit to Jesus. King interprets Jesus...

FEB. 14 - TO A PLACE WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE

13 Feb 2008 16:43 EST

By Bryce Bow, a junior physical education major from Muncie, Ind. SCRIPTURE: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. DEVOTIONAL: Imagine (Yes, I'm asking you to really focus, really use your imagination!). Imagine, right now, you are a homeless person, living under a bridge in, say, downtown Chicago. It's cold...

FEB. 13 - A QUIET CONFIDENCE IN THE MIDST OF DESPAIR

12 Feb 2008 17:30 EST

By Becky Horst, associate registrar and grants coordinator SCRIPTURE: Psalm 121 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. DEVOTIONAL: "Why are all these terrible things happening to me?" my friend asked. "I try to be a good person. Why is God allowing this?" My friend had reason to despair. Her little son suffers from asthma. She has multiple...

FEB. 12 - THE CHANGING OF PLACE

11 Feb 2008 15:31 EST

By Luke Gascho, executive director of Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College SCRIPTURE: Genesis 12:1-4a (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. DEVOTIONAL: What a move for Abram! Moving from the familiar to the unfamiliar is hard. The changes are beyond what we feel we can handle. The losses can be so stunning that the...

FEB. 11 - INTO NEW BIRTH

10 Feb 2008 18:23 EST

By Ross Peterson-Veatch, director of curriculum, teaching and faculty development for the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning THIS WEEK'S THEME: Into new birth DEVOTIONAL: Let the Spirit meddle in your lifeâ€¦ What is Lent for? As a child I grew up thinking that it was the season in the church year when people didn't eat chocolate...

FEB. 8 - NOT THAT KIND OF WILDERNESS

7 Feb 2008 21:24 EST

Amanda Beachy, a senior Bible and religion major from Kalona, Iowa SCRIPTURE: Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. ---------- DEVOTIONAL: This story represents a different kind of "wilderness" than I usually picture. Through childhood vacations, I was trained to view the wilderness as a place of beauty, hope and renewal...

FEB. 7 - EDEN'S LONGINGS

6 Feb 2008 21:04 EST

By Jim Brenneman, president SCRIPTURE: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture. ---------- DEVOTIONAL: The season of Lent invites us to reflect on those desires, some inherited, some learned, that lead us away from life's gardens into life's wildernesses. We, like Adam and Eve, desire to have our physical ...

FEB. 6 - OUT OF THE DEPTHS

5 Feb 2008 08:59 EST

By Bob Yoder, campus pastor WELCOME: Out of the depths. The depths of what? Does "out" assume that it's better than being "in" it? In these recent sub-zero days in Goshen, I'd rather be "in" the safe, warm buildings than "out" where my lungs burn from the chilled air and my nose reddens. However, many scriptural "depth" images do not...