“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” —Luke 13:24

What does a prophet do? A prophet tells us what we don’t want to hear, but need to hear. A prophet communicates the brutally honest truth about us. Before attending Pastor Jason’s sessions on Luke last fall, I didn’t think of Jesus as a prophet. In my mind, Jesus wasn’t anything like those Old Testament, judgmental types. After all, he didn’t come into the world to judge it but to save it, right? I took that to mean his teachings essentially replaced all of those fire and brimstone laws and rules: the “thou shall” and the “thou shall not”! With this line of thinking, no matter what I did or how I acted, everything would be fine because Jesus forgives and I benefit from his love and grace.

While all of this is true, those fall sessions helped me gain a better understanding of what Jesus expects of me. What I found in Luke, particularly in chapters 11 through 13, is that Jesus has pretty high standards for us to meet as believers. He uses dark parables and makes very challenging statements about us needing to have a strong, active faith. The message I got was that my faith shouldn’t be like cramming for a test at the last minute when I should have been studying weeks ahead of time or knowingly jumping into quicksand and then screaming my head off for help.

To sum it up, I think that Jesus doesn’t replace the law but adds love and grace to those laws. It adds a whole new meaning to Jesus’ declaration that he did not come to abolish those Old Testament Laws but to fulfill or complete them.

Dear Lord, you sent your son to save me, but you also sent him to hold a mirror up in front of me and tell me those things that I want to ignore. Help me to take all of your teachings to heart, not only the gift of eternal life that you gave me, but also the expectations you have of me and the way you want me to live my life here on earth. Amen.

Curt Hohman

“Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” —Isaiah 35:3–7

When you think of a prophet, what comes to mind? Wise old man? Long gray beard? Soothsayer? There is some truth in all of these images. Isaiah for instance, told of what was to come for the exiled people of Judah. Yet deeper than “future-teller,” a prophet’s whole reason to be is to bring the Word of God to the people’s ears, which will do much more than predict—God’s word goes out and accomplishes what it says. So Isaiah tells of the promise given to Judah, and the world. He reminds us that the promise is not found in our own personal striving, but solely in the person of Jesus Christ.

In this way, while the prophet Isaiah is used to spread the word, Jesus becomes truly the last and ultimate prophet—because he brings himself, the Word of God (John 1), to us. He is both the message and the delivery, showing up on the world’s scene just in time to give sight to the blind (I once was blind but now I see) and hearing to the deaf (open our ears Lord!).

So now, the work that was once prophecy of what was coming has become proclaiming the work that has already been accomplished. So let me point you to Christ—not in what is to come, but to what has already happened on the cross! The world was judged, and found sinful. Yet Jesus died to save it anyway. And then he was raised so that you too might be raised up from your sin and death. During this season of Lent—when the early spring air can still feel awfully dry—hear the promise that gushes forth living water in our wild places, which streams through our dry, crackled deserts: “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus is the culmination of all the prophets—the one who fulfills all prophecy, and he has come for your sake.

Pastor Jason Burggraff

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 4:6–7

Not too long ago, I was struggling with anxiety, fear and depression. I was trying so hard to keep everything together and perfect—motherhood, marriage, career, household, health, volunteer responsibilities, friendships, and even religion. Not only was I failing miserably, but I was missing out on God’s great gift of grace.

It is through this grace, I have learned, that we can truly have a peace that surpasses all our human understanding. God’s love for us is immeasurable, and there’s nothing we can do to earn it. He didn’t send his only Son to die on the cross so that we would eke out an existence of fear and overwhelming helplessness. Quite the opposite! Jesus died on the cross so that we may live abundantly. He is with us every single day and is constantly revealing the joy he has to offer. We just have to quit relying on ourselves so much and open our hearts to him.

Dear God, thank you for the grace you offer me at this moment. Deliver me from self-doubt and fear. I lift it all up to you, Lord. During this season of Lent, help me remember what Martin Luther said, “A man must despair of himself completely to become fit to obtain the grace of Christ.” Amen.

Shannon Peterson