Dear Family and Friends,

Today is Holy Week Monday.

It’s now been a year since I stopped sending weekly short stories and life lessons. Wouldn’t you agree that much has changed in a year?

There have been many changes in the Saito Family. My guess is much has changed in your life as well.

But not everything has changed. Covid, which started a little over a year ago, is still with us.

What else hasn’t changed since last year? The fact that Jesus was, is, and forever will be the way, the truth and the light.

***

We all recognize by now that this year’s Easter will again be very different. All the familiar events of yesteryear have been put on hold; no Easter egg hunts or Easter Sunday brunches and no big Easter service.

But that doesn’t mean Easter is any less important. It’s actually more important today than ever before. Easter represents our source of hope.

To keep us from going stir crazy and to help us focus not on the virus but on Jesus, I will send you a devotional each morning this Holy Week. Together, we will spend time following Jesus through that final week, as recorded by John. Hopefully you will enjoy them.

***

I wonder how many of us view this pandemic as a huge inconvenience, one that has totally disrupted our routines, our jobs, our freedom, and our lives. May I suggest that instead of being a huge pain in the you know what, this pandemic presents us with an unprecedented opportunity?

Curious? Let’s start with God’s word for today.

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.” John 12:27-30

God doesn’t speak out loud much. So, when He does, doesn’t it seem logical that people would listen?

This passage tells of the third and last time we find God speaking audibly to His Son in the Gospels.

In this passage we find Jesus at the temple. This was The Place To Be during Festival week. And that year, Jews and Greeks had come not only to worship, but to see the person everyone was talking about. Jesus was a rock star. He was The Messiah, and everyone wanted to meet Him.

So, with everyone assembled, God spoke. At this most public of places, God confirmed that this man, Jesus, was His Son – the Son of the Living God. God was giving them one last chance to believe.

I wonder how we would react if we “heard” God speak? Would we be like the crowd at the temple? “Was that thunder? Was that an angel?” they all asked. Or like many Christ followers, would we say, “I have never heard God speak. What does He sound like?”

If either of these sound like you, let me simply say that God yearns to converse with us – all the time. Our Father has such a loving relational nature.

Perhaps the reason is we are not listening. Reasons range all the way from disbelief to cynicism to just not recognizing His voice.

As we enter our second year of this pandemic, many of us are still staying and working from home. Many of us have exhausted all the movies we ever wanted to watch on Netflix, etc. Many of us have memorized all the great scenes and lines from Friends. Many of us have gone crazy trying to find new ways to fill the void called – quiet time. 

Can I share a thought on how to fill that void? Rather than searching for distractions, can I encourage you to spend some of your quiet time listening for God’s voice?

I am sure you’ve heard Him. God doesn’t always use His booming voice like in John 12.

Sometimes God speaks with His still small voice. It may even sound like your own voice.

It’s that still voice that tells you to keep going when you feel like giving up.

It’s that small voice that suggests you call that old friend you haven’t thought of in years.

It’s that small voice that assures you that I Am and I care for you.

Listen carefully for His voice. Let’s overcome this pandemic by redeeming it for good.

In love always,