Today is the 18th day of Lent.
 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.  
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”  
 
Today’s reading is from 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
 

I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 


The Apostle Paul is reminding us that we are a part of a much bigger story than we could imagine. Aren’t you in awe when we read the stories of what God did with those people? But Paul says, It’s not just their story; it’s your story. Those people who passed through the Red Sea, who followed the cloud, who miraculously survived in the desert on the way to the Promised Land, they didn’t know it at the time, but it was Christ who was with them. And the same is true for you and me today. In your journey from bondage to baptism, from wilderness to promised land, it is Christ who is there with you every step of the way. How does it make you feel to be connected to this story that lives through the ages?

As you hear this short passage again, ask God to show you the ways that he has been miraculously involved in your life up until now.

Think of someone you know who is journeying through life but doesn’t know Christ, or maybe they have lost their way in the wilderness. Maybe it’s been some time since they’ve seen God’s miraculous provision in their life. As we close our time today, pray for Christ to reveal himself to them.
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Music: The Name - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)