Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Draw near in confidence and find mercy and grace, especially in a time of need.  Take it to the Lord in prayer.

This fourth Sunday in Lent Jesus calls us from sinful selfishness to selfless service. We can view the world from the perspective of selfishness or selflessness. Selfishness puts self before all and leads to favoritism, sinful pride and envy. Repentance, however, means despairing of self, trusting in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice and leading lives of selfless service modeled after our Savior who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for us and for the world.

In Christ you are new. In Christ, you are set free. In fact, Jesus says you are salt, you are light.  You are the light of the world, so be light for the earth. You are the salt of the earth, so be salt for it. This is gospel-driven living. You are blessed, in Christ. Let your light shine! Our calling as sons and daughters of God means our lives will reflect our new status, and the world around us will be blessed by us. Our prayer is that God would help us to believe and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. Alive in Christ, you are set free to do just that.

You are illuminated by the Light! Jesus appears as the light that shines in the darkness. Dark places remain covered in the shadow of sin and unbelief. Now there are, however, bright places, too, and there you find God’s children. Jesus shines his light by preaching repentance and the good news of the nearing kingdom, and he invites us to follow him to a life illumined by him. God has made you new in Christ. Following him means living in the joy of freedom and walking in the light of love for God and neighbor. You are illuminated by the Light!

Jesus appears as the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Anointing is how God prepared Jesus for his mission. Since the days of Othniel (Judges 3:10), the Spirit of the Lord empowered God’s heroes to do his saving work. At his baptism, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power and declared this son of Mary to be who he always has been, the Son of God—the one anointed to be the Savior of mankind. And yet there's still more! -- You are empowered by your baptism into Christ!