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DAILY BIBLE READING: JUDGES 9-10 LUKE 5:17-39 ABIMELECH'S CONSPIRACY THE DOWNFALL OF ABIMELECH Abimelech ruled over Israel 3 years. God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. TOLA AND JAIR Tola judged Israel 23 years then died. Jair judged Israel 22 years and died. FURTHER DISOBEDIENCE AND OPPRESSION Idolatry continued in Israel. They forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. God sold them in the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites who crushed and oppressed Israel that year and for 18 years. God said: "I will save you no more, Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen, let them save you in the time of your distress." The people of Israel begged: "We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day." They put away the foreign gods and served the Lord. JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC Jesus was teaching, while Pharisees and teachers of the law sits there, the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Some men were bringing a paralyzed man to Jesus. They let him down from the roof. Jesus saw their faith and said, "Man, Your sins are forgiven you." "…that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" The paralytic was healed, went home and glorified God. Amazement seized all and they also glorified God. "We have seen extraordinary things today." JESUS CALLS LEVI Jesus said to him: "Follow me." He left everything, rose and followed Jesus. Levi made Jesus a great feast in his house with a large company of tax collectors. Some grumbled, Jesus said: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." A QUESTION ABOUT FASTING Jesus said: "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." "The new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, "the old is good".

GALATIANS 4:13-15 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.

INSIGHT Christianity was birthed from Judaism. As more and more gentiles became believers in Jesus, the role of Judaism in the Christian faith became an issue. Judaizers, a group of Jewish teachers, taught that believers in Jesus must convert to Judaism and be circumcised to be saved (Galatians 5:2-6; 6:12). Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians to counter and condemn this false gospel (1:8-9), reminding them that “a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ.” He said, “No one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law” (2:16 nlt) because “the righteous will live by faith” (3:11). Paul makes a personal appeal, reminding them how they had lovingly welcomed him and embraced his teachings fully when he first brought the gospel to them (4:13-14). The apostle warns them of the evil intentions of these false teachers in drawing them away from the true gospel (v. 17). By: K.T. Sim

BEAUTY FROM INFIRMITY The artist Degas suffered retina disease for the last fifty years of his life, switching from paint to pastel because the chalk lines were easier to see. Renoir had to have brushes placed between his fingers when arthritis made them clench like claws. And when surgery left Matisse immobile, he turned to collage, directing assistants to attach colored pieces of paper to a larger sheet on the wall. What followed in each case was a creative breakthrough: Degas’ Blue Dancers, Renoir’s Girls at the Piano, Matisse’s The Sorrows of the King, and other masterpieces. By adapting to their trial, beauty emerged from their infirmity.

In a similar way, Paul wasn’t planning to visit Galatia during his early missionary journeys. An illness forced him there (Galatians 4:13). Apparently, Paul sought a different climate, wound up in Galatia and, even though he was ill, started preaching. Ironically, the Holy Spirit performed miracles through him (3:2-5) and the Galatian church was born. This surprising outcome may never have happened without Paul’s illness.

What trial have you faced, and how did it change the direction of your life? By refocusing your gifts, you too may see God bring beauty out of your infirmity. By: Sheridan Voysey

REFLECT AND PRAY How have you seen God turn illness and other trials into opportunities for service? How are both Paul and those artists examples to follow in times of trial?

Dear God, You are genius at bringing beauty out of infirmity. Here are my trials and my talents.

THE MESSIAH MYSTERY: CLUES IN THE VINEYARD For 400 years, no one heard a single word from God. Not even a whisper of a clue was given. A cold case is when a detective’s search comes to a dead end. The once-obvious clues and tips abruptly stop. That’s what happened in the Bible. The once-hot hunt for the Messiah turned ice cold. Then, on the darkest of days, an angel broke the canopy of space and announced, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord … “ Thirty years later, Jesus of Nazareth began connecting the dots between the clues God had given about the Messiah. He was saying, I am the one who you’ve been waiting for all this time! I am the promised Messiah! In solving any mystery, what a person says about himself is always considered key evidence. Jesus told lots of stories which were full of clues. In one of these stories, Jesus told of a master who owned a vineyard (Matthew 21:33-42). He leased it to tenants and then left for another country. The master of the vineyard is God. He created the earth, created people, and then gave them responsibility to tend the earth and to live for Him. When it was time to harvest the fruit, the master sent servants to claim it. But the tenants beat one servant, killed another, and stoned another. After this happened again, the master sent his own son. But the tenants killed him as well. Did you catch the clue? The tenants killed the master’s son. Since God is the master, the son is Jesus. He was talking about His imminent death at the hands of power-hungry mankind.

So as you finish Lent, remember that Jesus is the Messiah, the long-awaited Savior foretold through all those clues in the Old Testament. Begin preparing your house and your heart to celebrate the pinnacle event of all time, Resurrection Day! Plan a grand party for your family or your neighborhood or your church. Make this Resurrection Day reflect the majesty of the Messiah, our hope of eternal glory!

Our Father in heaven, you are the Master and we are your vineyard, your children. We do not deserve your favor. Yet your arms are always open to welcome us, and so we come to you in gratitude for what you accomplished on the cross. Because of Jesus, whose victory we will soon celebrate. In Jesus' name, Amen.