This season, we’re blessed with a set of Lenten devotionals by contributing author Lee Hinkle.  Find out more about Lee at the bottom of this article, or at hinkledownunder.com.

Reading

John 12:12-26 (ESV)

Meditation

Do you identify with those men and women standing along the roadway, shouting to Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey? Or do you sit back in judgement, thinking that you would never be one of them? Maybe a better question is, have you ever had someone you wanted to be like? Someone for you wanted to follow all that they did?

Bruno, better known as Bruce Willis, was my hero when I was young. He became a star in 1985 when I was 15 years old. He was the star of Moonlighting, a detective named David Addison, and I thought he was the best. I wanted to be David Addison. One of the first drinks I had was a Seagram’s Wine Cooler because he was the spokesman (sorry mom and dad). I changed the type of underwear that I wore because of him; He wore boxers on the show and I wore briefs, so I began to wear boxers because of him. I know too much information for a meditation. I even bought a cassette of his “Return of Bruno” album. What a fanatic. (Please don’t go look it up as something to listen to.)

We all have an idea of what we need for a Savior. We all think that we know what we need to be the thing that saves us. And if we see something that closely resembles what we think we need, then we will jump on the bandwagon. We think that is the messiah—But it isn’t. The Messiah is Jesus Christ, the one who is from God.

The reality is that the Messiah is something different than what we can think of. It is something beyond what we would hold as true. Jesus is the answer to every question. He is the one who knows what we need to hear before we ask the question. He is the one who will hold us when we fall short and rely on our own strength. We call out to a savior based on what we think we need, not on what we really need. Jesus is the triumphal entry; He is the one who will bring us to the place of understanding and love. He is the one who will take us to the place that He has prepared for us.

Prayer

Father, thank you for loving us and bringing us to a place of submission, It is only through you that we are able to hold on to the glory that is present in the appearance of Jesus Christ, It is only in you that we are able to trust that you have the best for us. You know beyond our selves what we need and you will provide it. You are the one you gives us mercy and grace beyond what we think we need. You are the one who will not hold back from providing what we need to be your children. Amen.

Lenten Action

Trust God to provide for you to know that He is the answer. Don’t trust on your own work but trust on the work that the Father has accomplished.
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Lee Hinkle is an American pastor who, with his family of 7, felt God’s call to pack up and plant a church in Fremantle, a town in Perth, Western Australia.  Last Summer, the Hinkles left Indianapolis and arrived in Oz to begin their work.  You can follow their adventures at hinkledownunder.com.