A Series of Meditations on “Renewal” During the Season of Lent.
February 14 / Day 1
ROMANS 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
REFLECTION
The spiritual practice of Lent traditionally begins with the service of Ash Wednesday and a reminder that “All are from the dust, and to dust all return.” This is the starting point from which we undertake a journey of introspection, repentance, and renewal. And each step along that path is intended to draw us closer to the Cross and ultimately, on Easter morning, the empty tomb. This series of devotionals will be focusing on the perhaps less discussed aspect of Lent – renewal. For that is the promised reward of repentance and faith!
There are two key words in Paul’s letter to the Romans from today’s scripture: conformed and transformed. The original Greek word used for the former is best understood as malleable. To be conformed in this sense means to be easily shaped…but just as easily reshaped. The person that is conformed to this world changes their opinions, beliefs and philosophies with the winds of the times.
On the other hand, the Greek word translated as transformed has a very different meaning! This is not a shifting or vague outward form but instead a way of being that is at the very core of our being. The transformation Christ offers leaves us with both feet planted firmly. This is a renewal that makes us proof against the shifting winds of social fads or the “common wisdom” of the age.
Paul is speaking about the renewal of our minds in which we change our world view, becoming less and less distracted by the fashions and shifting morals of the world. This renewal shifts our focus to the eternal and unchanging morals, truths, and promises of God. It is also a spiritual gift that helps us perceive the world around us, not by the standards of the crowd, but by the perfect standard of God’s righteousness.
PRAYER
Creator God, source of truth and existence, we come to you today with open hearts. We look inward and see ourselves shifting like the sands of a beach with each incoming wave of change in this world. Please renew us and establish us on the solid rock of Christ. Give us new minds so that we might look up from the world, seeing and seeking your kingdom. Transform us so that we might emerge into more Christlike lives of trust and faith. AMEN
February 15 / Day 2
EPHESIANS 4:20-24
“But that is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
REFLECTION
Here is the tricky part of renewal – something(s) must be removed to make room for the new thing(s). A garden must be prepared before planting. A mind must be cleared to learn. And good habits must replace bad ones – they can exist alongside each other.
Paul tells the Ephesians in chapter 4, that to become “renewed in the spirit of your minds” it is necessary to put off the old self. The old self which was corrupted by our evil desires (which are our sin nature). That is one of the chief goals of the Lenten season – the seeking out and struggling to remove those old habits, opinions, biases, and behaviors that have hardened our hearts.
That is the only way we can know the renewed mind and being that God offers us through Jesus: a new self that both sees and seeks “righteousness and holiness”. And this is not a thing that we can accomplish ourselves! It is only through the grace of God that can trust in his Son to strip us of our old darkness and clothe us in the bright clothes of new life. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can begin to hunger and thirst for right relationships with God and with each other…which will make us whole and holy.
PRAYER
Lord, our desires have deceived us and led us into darkness, leaving us without hope or direction. We thank you for the gift of your Son, who leads us out of the darkness of this world and renews us with the spiritual food and drink of heaven. Strengthen us with the resolve to keep shedding our old selves and accepting the garments of righteousness which you offer. AMEN
February 16 / Day 3
2 Corinthians 4:16
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
REFLECTION
Three cornerstones of our faith are salvation, justification, and sanctification. It all starts with a call by God to new life in Jesus Christ (salvation), immediately followed by a forgiveness for our sin and being relieved from the cost of that sin nature (justification). What follows is the long spiritual paths we are called to walk as the Holy Spirit guides us into a Christ-like nature that bears good fruit.
During Lent, it is useful to remember that the journey of faith in Christ is never-ending, but that the process of renewal in spirit is a relentless one in which God pursues us and molds us into a right relationship with God and with our neighbors. The beauty of this process of sanctification is that, while our bodies decline towards the grave…our spiritual self can become younger and more vital, day-by-day, to the very end.
PRAYER
Lord, I am a broken child of God living in a broken world. Having experienced your gracious offer of salvation and the forgiveness of my sin, I now seek you every moment so that I can continually grow from the branch which is Christ and bear good fruit. Thank you for renewing my very being every moment I draw breath. AMEN
February 17 / Day 4
PSALM 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
REFLECTION
This Psalm is an individual lament by King David after he has sinned and been convicted by the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 11-12). The psalmist desires to be forgiven and restored in his relationship with God…but realizes that his sin cannot be simply blotted out. What is required is a not just a clean slate, which will allow him to easily slip back into sin, but a completely new slate.
David recognizes the need for God to create a new heart, clean and righteous, in which the gracious work of renewal can happen in David’s life. In a similar way, we too are required to not only forgive those who sin against us, but to also offer grace, mercy, and love. These allow not just forgiveness, but even more: the restoration of relationship and renewed hope for the future.
PRAYER
Lord, we return to you during this season, not seeking forgiveness alone, but true renewal in heart and spirit. Washed clean by the blood of our Lord, help us to accept the new garments of righteousness and new life. Open our eyes and hearts those around us and then use your Spirit to forgive and renew those relationships as well. AMEN
February 19 / Day 5
COLOSSIANS 3:9-10
“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”
REFLECTION
There are three important Greek words/concepts in this verse from Paul’s letter to the church in Colossia: edkuo (put off), enduo (put on), and epignosis (profound knowledge). The first two words could refer to the taking off and putting on of clothing. But Paul is using them in the deeper, more permanent sense: the removal of our old self like a set of clothes, and the new self that we are clothed in for the rest of our lives.
We once wore our selfish, proud, and self-loving outfits for all the world to see. But now we have a new self…and new way of being, that is new clothing in which the Holy Spirit covers us and teaches us how to wear with humility and grace. We are but dust, and to dust we will return. But the extravagant love of God holds us together and renews us, give us a profound knowledge of our own creation in the image of our Creator.
PRAYER
Lord, help us to see that we walk through life not in the pretentious clothing of our old self, but in the humble attire that you have graciously provided. Open our hearts to the wisdom you offer – greater and deeper than any knowledge of this world. We thank you that we no longer have to deceive ourselves or others about our nature and being, seeking daily to more closely resemble our Lord, Jesus the Christ. AMEN
February 20 / Day 6
LAMENTATIONS 5:21
“Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old – ”
REFLECTION
Our personal sorrows run the gamut from disillusionment and frustration to deep grief and a sense of hopelessness. The author of Lamentations is experiencing all of those emotions…and more. The city of Jerusalem has been conquered, the temple destroyed, and everyone of any worth to the Babylonians has been carried away. All that is left is devastation, famine, and homelessness.
In the midst of all that suffering, the writer does not reach out to God for personal help, for the defeat of the Babylonians, the restoration of the temple, or the rebuilding of Israel. The only thing he cries out for is restoration – to God! It is a powerful reminder for us that God alone can redeem, renew, and restore us to a right relationship with God. We must never forget that our desires for renewal are not a work we can perform, but a holy gift from God alone.
PRAYER
Lord, there is much we would turn away from in our desire to turn back to you. We run in your direction but easily tire out. We look for you all around us, but our vision is weak. You alone can return us to yourself, Lord. And so, we place our faith in you, trusting in your loving mercy to renew our relationship with you and saving us from ourselves. AMEN
February 21 / Day 7
TITUS 3:5
“…he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”
REFLECTION
God creates humans to be in a right relationship with our Creator and each other. No matter how hard we try to “act” right we always fall short though (Romans 3:23). Our only hope is Christ, who offers us the “regeneration and renewal” of the Holy Spirit that Paul is telling Titus about. What we can never achieve on our own is possible by being born again (John 3:5-6) of water and the Spirit.
We can try again, start over, work harder, and practice every spiritual discipline we can find…but we can only return to our Creator and be restored in all of our relationships if we come to the foot of the Cross and admit our brokenness (Mattew 5:3). And even then, we must lay down our lives and take up the Cross of Jesus for him to abide in us and us in him.
PRAYER
Lord, we seek new life, abundant life, in you alone. We hunger and thirst for a right relationship with you and with our neighbors. This work of renewal is beyond us, but not beyond you! Regenerate us with new life and new minds in Christ so that we may be both blessed and a blessing. AMEN
February 22 / Day 8
PSALM 103:2-5
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
REFLECTION
The Hebrew word ga’al in verse 5 means to buys someone’s freedom from bondage, or to redeem them. God redeemed all of Israel from slavery to the Egyptians (Exodus 6:6). We can neither escape our bondage to sin nor buy our own freedom; only God can accomplish this through his Son, Jesus.
The Bible uses the eagle as a symbol of power and independence. When we are renewed “like the eagles” we are not only restored to our former selves but, rather, to our most vital and strongest spiritual version of ourselves! During this season of Lent let us look to God to redeem us and free us to live in Christ and take wing by the power of the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER
Lord, you have broken the chains that once bound us to our old sin nature. But like the Israelites who mistook their chains in Egypt for security, we too sometime fail to take wing and live the abundant life you have give us in our restored state of freedom in Christ. Help us to not look back or long for the familiar bonds of sin, but to believe we are forgiven, freed, and restored to our youth as children of God. AMEN
February 23 / Day 9
HOSEA 6:1
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”
REFLECTION
During Lent we challenge ourselves to repent, seeking ways to shed our old lives of idolatry and sin and accepting the new life of righteousness that God offers. But what if we didn’t even try to figure out what to prune, change, or alter in our lives…but left those decisions and that work to the Lord?
That is what Hosea suggests in today verse: that we let God do the demolition of our old habits, thoughts, and expectations – all so God can then do the work of restoration. What trust and faith: to give up our futile efforts at goodness and allow God to break us…all so God can then bind us up and heal us!
PRAYER
Lord, we throw ourselves at your feet, seeking your wisdom and not our own understanding, of what needs to be torn from our lives. Because we trust you to also restore us to new and better selves. Create a new heart within us Lord, that is both whole and holy. AMEN
February 24 / Day 10
ISAIAH 40:30-31
“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
REFLECTION
The first 39 chapters of Isaiah consist largely of a warning about the judgement we face if we put our trust in secular things rather than in God. Beginning with Isaiah 40 the tone shifts to a promise of redemption for people who are experiencing the judgement the prophet warned about previously. The world will lead us astray, but God is ever willing to restore us.
Even in our youth, full of strength and stamina, we eventually faint…growing weary and finally exhausted. Our physical prowess is finite, of course, but the source of strength from the Lord is infinite. Isaiah promises us that we will take flight like eagles – whether we sprint or stroll, we will have endurance far beyond anywhere natural energy could more us.
PRAYER
Lord, there will eventually come a time of exhaustion and collapse. The flesh is weak, but the Spirit you have gifted to us is limitless and never grows faint. Remind us that when we turn from the idols and false gods of the world and trust again in you alone, we will be once again able to run, fly, and endure in ways we could not even in our youth. AMEN
February 26 / Day 11
2 31:25
“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”
REFLECTION
This world is not our home, we are simply passing through on the way to eternity (1 Chronicles 29:15). But what a journey! No matter our circumstances or outward comforts, our soul will know weariness and unfulfilled desires. This deep need to be made whole in spirit leads us to either God, idolatry, or hopelessness.
For those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, the path is narrow…but clear. We must acknowledge our own brokenness and incomplete nature and seek God for relief and healing. It is only when we leave the broad road that leads to destruction and turn back to our Creator that we can find the satisfaction and replenishment that makes life manageable in our darkest hours.
PRAYER
Lord, we keep moving through day after day, but our souls sometimes fall into exhausted weariness. Our feet and hands continue moving but we are often at a spiritual standstill. Remind us to not around ourselves for relief in the world, but to raise our eyes to heaven for true renewal and the replenishment of our deepest needs and hopes. AMEN
February 27 / Day 12
ZEPHANIAH 3:17
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
REFLECTION
As we continue our Lenten journey in search of spiritual renewal, it is easy to forget that what we seek is not only a blessing for ourselves, but more importantly, a blessed relationship with our Creator. God is not only able, but willing, to save us from ourselves and restore us to right relationships with God and with each other…and then to celebrate with us.
Listen to what God says through his prophet: our Savior wants to rejoice with us, quiet us, and exult over us! What a friend we have in Jesus! It is Christ within us, expressed through the Holy Spirit, we are filled with gladness, love, and loud singing that we can share with God and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
PRAYER
Lord, we turn back to you not only for our salvation, but also for the joy we would share with you and all the saints. Renew our hearts and minds so that we can rejoice, love, and sing loud praises together. Gather us together as often as possible so that we can experience your presence in holy fellowship. AMEN
February 28 / Day 13
2 CORINTHIANS 4:15
“For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”
REFLECTION
The renewal we are seeking is only available through the grace of God. No number of self-help books, therapy sessions, or philosophical studies can restore us to our true nature as children of God, designed in his own image. And that new life God graciously offers is multiplied when we give thanks with others.
This is all to the glory of God, of course. It is through uniquely spiritual mathematics that the increasing number of believers, united through the Holy Spirit, and expressed as the body of Christ, that God is glorified as the only true light of this dark world.
PRAYER
Lord, help us to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who do not know you, your Cross, and your empty tomb. Let us multiply our voices, raising our thanksgiving and praising the name of God as disciples of his only Son, our Savior. AMEN
February 29 / Day 14
HEBREWS 6:7-8
“For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”
REFLECTION
Spring rains restore the green growth and fresh fruits of the fields. In this way the Christian is continually sanctified by God’s Word and Spirit…being refreshed by the living water and light of the Son. Conversely, the soil that receives these same blessings yet yields only worthless thorns and thistles can only being restored by burning it down and starting over.
As Christ’s disciples, we hunger for the bread of heaven and are drawn towards the light of truth like sunflowers turning their faces to the sun. We trust God to bear good fruit in our lives and bless us. But woe to anyone who has shared in the body and blood of Christ yet turns away from that communion and back to the world. They may yet be restored though burning, but the if they fail to repent they will face judgement and final destruction.
PRAYER
Lord, we have a deep need for the living water that can only be found in your scriptures and in your Son. We desire to drink in your mercy, justice, and grace and then to bear the fruits of the Spirit which you promise. We know that, in our mercy, you can renew us, whether by blessing or by fire. Help us to soak up your light and rain in faith. AMEN
March 1 / Day 15
GALATIANS 6:1
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
REFLECTION
Brothers and sisters: have you ever considered the role we play in the restoration of the body of Christ when another member gets caught up in sin? Much of the God’s grace is displayed not in miracles, but in the simple work of relationships in which the Holy Spirit can do the work of Christ in seeking the lost sheep and returning it to the flock.
Our desire for renewal should extend to the universal church! Being human, we tend towards tribalism, an “us vs them” mentality, that tempts us to judge othesr rather than seek reconciliation…especially with other believers. However, we know we have planks in our own eyes that cloud our vision of another’s transgressions and can make it nearly impossible to help the sinner see more clearly. This is why we must be gentle, meek, and loving as we call the lost to return and be restored.
PRAYER
Lord, our deep desire is to be renewed in our spiritual walk with Jesus. We long too for the fragmented body of Christ to also be renewed in unity and faith. Help us to show your love, mercy, and forgiveness to our beloved when they stray from your path, letting you call to them through us to return and be restored. AMEN
March 2 / Day 16
2 CHRONICLES 7:14
“…if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
REFLECTION
There are several short readings in the New Testament that serve as “mini gospels”, which encapsulate the good news (e.g. Ephesians 2:3-5). God’s word to Solomon serves as a mini-Lenten devotional. Notice the four key words: humble, pray, seek, and turn.
We are humble when we seek God wisdom rather than rely on our own understanding. Prayer acknowledges a God who hears, cares, and active today. Seeking is the experience of hungering and thirsting for something this world cannot provide. And turning back to God is the foundation of the spiritual journey through Lent…a journey that seeks renewal on Easter morning.
PRAYER
Lord, help us turn back to you: admitting our brokenness and insufficiency, calling to you in hope and faith, and trusting in your providence and will in our lives. Forgive our sin and make us and our communities both whole and holy again. AMEN
March 4 / Day 17
PSALM 23:3
“He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
REFLECTION
In this beloved Psalm, David calls on God as his shepherd. Like sheep, we easily stray and struggle to find our way back. The Lord always knows when we have gone missing and never hesitates to seek us and lead us back (Luke 15:3-7). The safest way through this world is on God’s own paths and among Christ’s flocks.
If, in our lost wanderings, we have been hurt…or hurt ourselves, our Shepherd drives off those that would kill our soul (Matthew 10:28), binds our wounds, picks us up, and carries us home. Listen for the call of our Lord! We know his voice and he knows where we are. Do not keep wandering but return to the flock and be restored.
PRAYER
Lord, we are often lost in the dark and evil of this world. Call us by name to follow you to the green pastures and living water of your kingdom. Find us, return us, and protect us, as you have promised and for the sake of your holy name! AMEN
March 5 / Day 18
JAMES 1:5
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
REFLECTION
What if what our spirit thirst for is not deep understanding…but simple, profound faith? Jesus tells us we need the faith of a child (not childish but deeply trusting) to enter his kingdom. In our search for spiritual renewal where can we look to find that sort of faith?
Scripture offers three opportunities to develop this faith: wise and godly counselors (Proverbs 11:14), contemplating God’s creation (Psalm 19:1), and simply asking God to supply his wisdom. This is not the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20) but the infinitely higher wisdom of God, which he promises to give us abundantly and without reproach.
PRAYER
Lord, help us to turn aside from the so-called wisdom of our culture and philosophies and turn instead to your true wisdom, which a child can apprehend and trust with a pure heart. It is our lack of wisdom that we mourn and our broken hearts that we seek renewal for, and the name of Jesus that we call on. AMEN
March 6 / Day 19
PSALM 51:12
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
REFLECTION
One of the most powerful examples of parable in the Bible is Nathan’s condemnation of king David after he sinned with Bathsheba. Crushed and repentant, David wrote this Psalm seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness. He knew the joy of salvation and is full of remorse at its loss. David desperately wanted that joy restored to his life.
During Lent it is common to “give up” some bad thoughts, words, or deeds. But a much more powerful and effective approach is to yield to the Holy Spirit within us who will not only lead us into righteous living…but fill us with a willingness to bear good fruit. All to glorify God and restore our joy!
PRAYER
Lord, we are seeking to turn back to you in repentance and living hope. We try and fail and lose our way, no matter how hard we want to be good and be in right relationship with God and our neighbor. Humble us and calm our hearts. Pour out your peace that we might stop “trying” and simply be filled with a willing spirit, trusting the work of sanctification to you. AMEN
March 7 / Day 20
JEREMIAH 17:14
“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.”
REFLECTION
Jeremiah was called as a prophet of God to the people of Israel to speak God’s judgement and warning to the people. Since the death of king Josiah Israel had begun a time of spiritual, moral, social, and political decay. Yet, even as Jeremiah warned of the coming war and suffering, he took time to abase himself before the Lord as a sinner in need of forgiving and salvation.
There is no cure for sin…but forgiveness. It can not be excised or medicated. But the healing that God offers through his Son is perfect healing: sins forgiven and forgotten, hearts washed clean. Even as he proclaims prophetic doom for the people, he turns in faith to the renewal of his own life through being made whole, and holy, by God.
PRAYER
Lord, there is no hope for our broken lives other than the hope of your forgiveness. Wash us clean and bind us together for your own name’s sake. Save us from this world and from ourselves and then restore us to yourself. In Christ’s name we pray. AMEN
March 8 / Day 21
EZEKIEL 36-26
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
REFLECTION
In John 3 Jesus explains to Nicodemus that he can only see the kingdom of God if he is born again, of the water and the Spirit. We do not try to negotiate with God for better outcomes or new life…that is what the pagans do. Rather, we lay down our lives at the foot of the Cross and pray for God to give us new hearts and new spirits.
We all have hearts of stone when we live according to the wisdom and the idols of the world. Dead hearts that draw us towards the grave and destruction. It is only through faith in the grace of God and the name of Jesus that our hearts can be regenerated, and our spirits restored to the condition God created us to possess. Hearts of flesh that long to serve, to love, and to bless others.
PRAYER
Lord, our lives were once weighed down by our hearts of stone – sinking into the darkness and hopelessness of this world. But you have given us new birth, new life, and a new heart! We praise you and thank you for this gift and seek to now live as renewed and restored children of God, following our Lord, your Son. AMEN
March 9 / Day 22
ISAIAH 61:3
“…to grant to those who mourn in Zion – to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”
REFLECTION
The original Hebrew translated here as, “a beautiful headdress instead of ashes” may be hard to visualize for modern people. Picture Job sitting in ashes and mourning all he has lost: a common expression of grief in ancient times was the sprinkling of ashes on your head.
“Blessed are those who mourn” Jesus assures us (Matthew 5:4). There is much to mourn in this life – from the acute loss of loved ones to the general brokenness and pain that surrounds us. God created us in his image and one aspect of that is love…which is a requirement for grief when love is absent or lost. Isaiah promises that God can, and will, replace the ashes of our grief with a beautiful diadem…just as Jesus washes away our sin and replaces it with salvation.
PRAYER
Lord, there is no escaping the grief and mourning that accompany this life. But we do not have to live with the ashes and faint spirit forever, for you offer us a crown of beauty instead. We do not ask you to remove our grief, but to make it bearable through your unconditional love. Restore us in the joy of the Lord even as we walk though the darkness of this world. AMEN
March 11 / Day 23
March 12 / Day 24
ACTS 3:19-21
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago”
REFLECTION
Both Peter (2 Peter 3:12) and Paul (Romans 11:25-27) considered the possibility that Christ’s return could be accelerated if more people repented and returned to the Lord. Many in the early church expected Jesus to come again…soon! There has been endless speculation about the second-coming of Christ, even though he specifically warns against such predictions.
Have you ever considered that God is waiting on us? Perhaps the kingdom will fully return and earth will be like heaven when enough people repent and return to our Creator. The point of the gospel, though, is to confess our need to be saved and to repent ourselves. And then share the good news with others and pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives as it has in your own.
PRAYER
Lord, we long for the time of refreshing – for our souls and for all creation. Our Spirit groans through the trials and tribulations of this life. Our sin would weigh heavy if you had not blotted it out. We join together with all the faithful in repentance, with a living hope in the coming restoration of souls and your world. AMEN
March 13 / Day 25
2 PETER 3:10-11
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness…”
REFLECTION
The Old Testament prophets all point to the “day of the Lord”: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, and Malachi all prophesy about the end of this age and the beginning of the next. It is what we seek when we pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
This will not be a time of destruction…but of purification. When we confess our sin and repent, we honor God’s promise – not to destroy our old life, but to give us new life! We praise God for purifying us through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit because we believe that Christ will return again and we are in a hurry to be ready.
PRAYER
Lord, we pray for you to come quickly. Yet we do not wish to be idle in that hope! Fill us with a deep longing to prepare for the new age by being transformed daily into the image of Jesus, who is both our Savior and our Lord. Help us to repent and turn back to you, looking for your return with our whole being. AMEN
March 14 / Day 26
PSALM 94:19
“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”
REFLECTION
During these times of Lenten reflection on the renewal God offers us, it is useful to remember that source of that power and its limitless nature. The same God who creates us desires to recreate us…restoring us in nature, spirit, and relationship. We can neither measure nor comprehend that potential but can, in faith, grasp it.
In our brokenness, God offers consolation. Our physical damage and disease are temporary things as we pass through this world to an eternity of perfection. In our grief we are reminded that it is light compared to the new joy of the one we lost. And the anxieties and discontent of our daily lives can be transcended by the joy of new life in Christ, who walks with us, enduring our suffering and sharing our burdens.
PRAYER
Lord, we are distracted as we walk through this life by the pain, heartache, and loss that this broken world, and our broken nature, inflict upon us. Lift our eyes from the ground and our struggles and set them on heaven, where Christ prays for us. Pour out your consolation through your Spirit, so that we can find courage and strength that we could never imagine to face today and every day with renewed joy. AMEN
March 15 / Day 27
JOB 14:14
“If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.”
REFLECTION
Let us live as though we are dying…and then die as if we are living. During Lent, we remember that our struggles and hopes are in vain, if they are not to the glory of God. Jesus tells us, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” What makes our service hard is the conflict with the values and expectations of the world.
But we do not have to wait for the grave and the resurrection! Jesus also tells us, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The answer to Job’s is yes: we can live again! Born again of the Spirit and water, we leave our old life behind and walk with the Lord. God offers us renewal in this life as well as in eternity.
PRAYER
Lord, whether we are sitting in ashes and suffering, or in time of peace and plenty, this life is less than it could be if we are not followers of Jesus. It is through the redeeming power of the Cross that we are able to follow Christ – laying down our own lives and being born again into new lives of faith. This allows us to walk in joy and wonder until our last day, when we will fall to earth and then be lifted up again with our Savior. AMEN
March 16 / Day 28
JOB 19:25-27
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”
REFLECTION
In our search for renewal during Lent, there are two outcomes we are seeking to avoid: persistence in our current state…and utter destruction. It is a heart that hungers and thirsts for righteousness that is discontent with the wide path and longs to avoid the oblivion that waits at the end of that course.
In this life, God has promised us new life in Christ and a fountain of living water that will refresh our souls daily. It is for that purpose that we have been redeemed by our Savior and rejoicing in God is our response. And at the end of our days, as our flesh disappears, our spirit will return to our Creator, and we will be transformed once and for all eternity.
PRAYER
Lord, the world is calling us towards the easy road, the wide path to perdition. It is in our nature to go along with the crowd, steering a course through life that is spiritually lazy and morally impure. Yet, there stands the Lord, a brilliant light and holy voice, calling us to new life on the difficult path and by the narrow gate. Give us strength to choose the way, and the new life, that is in Christ! AMEN
March 18 / Day 29
REVELATION 21:1
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”
REFLECTION
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth” Isaiah prophesied for the Lord (Isaiah 65:17-18). From ancient prophecy to the last book of the Bible, we have had the blessed assurance that all this will pass, and this world will, ultimately, be like heaven.
We honor this sacred promise when we acknowledge our sin nature and turn back to God. That is where we find the renewal in our hearts and spirits that are but a tiny reflection of the final renewal of all things when Christ returns. Our repentance and new life in Jesus are how we prepare for, and show out faith in, the second coming of the Lord.
PRAYER
Lord, we have turned from the many doomed paths of this world and are seeking the path that leads back to you. Illumine our way and encourage our progress. Lead us into new life in our Savior that is but a foretaste of the ultimate renewal of all things in the life to come. AMEN
March 19 / Day 30
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
REFLECTION
There was a before, and there is a now. The incarnation of Christ made all things new: a new universe, a new covenant, and the possibility of new life for people who have been saved and justified through Jesus. What is hard to grasp is that the old…the things that are past, are gone forever. We do not slip into and out of our newly reborn selves.
Along with this understanding of the new creation, we must look around us and recognize the same miracle in others. For those who know Jesus as Savior and Lord, they too are recreated and our relationship with each of them is unique and holy as well. The spiritual renewal God offers in Christ is not a fleeting thing but a solid foundation for our very being. Once, new life was a hope…now it is the gracious gift of God to the faithful.
PRAYER
Lord, as your disciples we have left the dark of this world behind and entered new life and brilliant light as your adopted children. Our old selves are gone forever and the promise of eternity is our inheritance, which can never be taken from us. We thank you for the end of the old and all the blessings of the new. Help us to share this good news with those who walk in darkness and do not know Christ Jesus. AMEN
March 20 / Day 31
ISAIAH 65:17
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”
REFLECTION
The prophet Isaiah pointed repeatedly to how God judged the rightness of Israel’s behaviors, blessing or cursing them accordingly. This history of cause and effect was altered permanently when God’s plan of redemption came into being with the incarnation of Jesus. From that point forward salvation by grace, through faith, would be the operating relationship between God and mankind.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that either the saved or unsaved behave righteously now. But it does mean that God willingly looks away from our sin when we are born again in Christ. This is the good news of abundant life that God calls us to…made possible by the forgiveness of our sin. Just as a parent’s love is not diminished by the errors of our youth, God mercifully looks past our unrighteousness. What greater love could there be?
PRAYER
Lord, we wander from you and forget all the ways you bless us and guide us. Yet you look away from our sin and our lack of faith and love us perfectly anyway. We acknowledge that our sin is great and that we fall far short of Jesus’ teachings and example. We depend wholly on your mercy and grace, knowing that you are the source of our new life and living hope. AMEN
March 21 / Day 32
JEREMIAH 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
REFLECTION
Sadly, this verse is often misinterpreted as an answer to the question, “what is God’s will for my life?” This assumes that God desires us to take certain jobs, experience wealth, or find the perfect spouse. This is a pagan way of understanding God’s word through Jeremiah. The context of this declaration is to the people of Israel exiled to Babylon…and to us today as sojourners in this world.
The plans to prosper Israel were to return them to Jerusalem and restore them there. In the larger, Biblical sense, the plan for God to prosper us and protect us from harm is through the redemptive power of Christ. This is the good news which provides living hope and a future in eternity. Our hope in renewed life is not the fulfillment of desires, but to be filled with a desire for right relations with God and with our neighbors.
PRAYER
Lord, your plans for mankind have been from everlasting to everlasting. Our hope for the future is found in you alone. You have not left us to our false idols. You have rescued us from false prophets. Your plan is for our salvation through your Son, in whose name we pray. AMEN
March 22 / Day 33
JOHN 1:12-13
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
REFLECTION
When an orphan is adopted into an earthly family, their whole existence is changed. How much more so when we are called to leave our worldly orphanage and join the family of God. This utterly changes our identity…as utterly as being born again.
This is a gracious gift for God’s children, brought into the family of God by the action of God alone. It is the foundation for the renewal we seek and the restoration we long for as disciples of Jesus Christ. And as adopted sons and daughters, we are also inheritors of many blessings and a home with all the saints in the kingdom of God.
PRAYER
Lord, you call us from our lonesome isolation in this world. We have heard your call and know that we will never be alone again. Our new life is celebrated with our brothers and sisters in faith, and we know that Jesus walks alongside us as we pass through this world along the way to your kingdom. Adopted by grace, we praise the name of the Father, and of his Son, and his Holy Spirit, forever and ever. AMEN
March 23 / Day 34
MALACHI 4:2
“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.”
REFLECTION
The wicked have much to fear from the coming of the Lord. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.” (John 1:19-20). The incarnation of Jesus revealed the sin of mankind; his second coming will consume those who do not believe.
For the believers, though, there is renewal with the coming of the Son and the healing he brings into our lives. Our bodies will fail us one day, our minds may become clouded, and our fortunes may dwindle…but Christ within us brings joy with each new morning. For followers of the way of Jesus, our spirits can frolic, fed and watered by the Spirit, no matter the circumstances of our lives otherwise.
PRAYER
Lord, we praise your name and worship you in truth. We raise our faces every morning to receive the blessings you pour down upon us and to be warmed by your love and mercy. Having provided our daily bread, you lead us into green pastures to live lives of joy and freedom in Christ. Thanks be to God! AMEN
March 25 / Day 35
MATTHEW 21:12-13
“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
REFLECTION
For these last few days of Lent, known by most as Holy Week, we will turn from our theme of renewal and reflect on scriptural accounts of the days between Palm Sunday and the crucifixion of Jesus. Yesterday we remembered the Lord riding into Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of Hosanna! On Monday, he returned to the city and went directly to the temple and condemned the commercial activity there.
The story is familiar, but here are two things to consider: the selling of sacrificial animals and the changing of coins were recent changes…these activities had always gone on outside the temple precincts. The high priest in Jesus’ time moved those functions into the Gentile court, thus profaning the temple itself, and at the same time filling the space where non-Jews were welcomed to seek out God. When Jesus drove out and released the animals, then overturned the tables of the money-changers, these were at least part of what angered him.
Today we must resist the human urge to sin by making the church conform the world rather than the other way around (Romans 12-2). An example is the monetization of the gospel…which is a modern reflection of the very acts Jesus objected to on the week of his passion and death. Profiteering on the Word of God is similar to, and as objectionable as profiting on the sacrifices at the temple in 33 AD.
PRAYER
Lord, free our worship from the business of the world. Where some would sell access to God and try to profit from worship, give us the courage to protest and the will to resist. Let our sacrifice be our very lives, requiring nothing more or less than dying to our old live and being born again in Christ, who calls us all to purity of praise and a piety who’s only cost is faith. AMEN
March 26 / Day 36
MATTHEW 24:42-44
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
REFLECTION
Suspense is one of the key aspects of Holy Week. What happens when the cheering crowd is confronted by angry religious authorities? When Jesus braids a whip in the midst of the sacrificial animals and money-changers in the temple? When the Lord takes a towel and bowl of water and kneels before his disciples? When Judas leaves the last supper? When Pilate interrogates Jesus?
Now Jesus teaches us about the holy suspense we experience as we wait for his return. He warns us that we cannot guess the day, but tells us to be ready at all times. Even as his passion is played out during the coming days, Christ’s love for his disciples is expressed in this call to be ready! But how do we get ready for the second coming of the Lord?
In the next chapter we find out: by serving God with the gifts he has given us (25:14-30) and by serving others (vv.31-46). This is how we prepare for Christ’s return and the final judgement of the world. It is in keeping with Jesus’ answer to the religious lawyer who asked about the greatest commandment – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
PRAYER
Lord, help us to let go of this world and be ready for the next. Give us the faith to walk the whole way to the Cross. Let your Holy Spirit guide our feet to the temple courtyard, to the upper room, to Herod’s palace and then all the way to Calvary. Knowing your love through Jesus, strengthen us for the darkness before the dawn on Easter. Then guide us as we ready for the Lord’s return…soon, we pray! AMEN
March 27 / Day 37
LUKE 22:2-6
“And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.”
REFLECTION
In the cleansing of the temple, we saw Jesus react angrily to the commercial oppression that had developed around the worship of the faithful. Today’s reading reveals religious authorities who are anxious to protect their power and status using money to manipulate Judas into betraying his Lord. This is an old story of corruption, manipulation, and violence that are the tools of the worldly. But the real key to this story is temptation.
We are caught in a spiritual battle between God and the powers of evil (Ephesians 6:12). Our Creator calls us to holiness in our relationships; the Adversary tempts us to turn away from God and neighbor and betray the image we were created in. Judas was caught up in this spiritual war and succumbed to the temptation to betray Jesus. For those who belong in God’s flock, Satan cannot harm…only tempt us into self-harm. Disciples of Jesus are called to make earth like heaven though our faith in Christ. Satan was unable to oppose Jesus in the wilderness, even as he was starving and thirsty, but he was able to tempt Judas into betraying the Son of God.
PRAYER
Lord, wherever, however, and whenever we are tempted to betray you, call us back to your side. We are your sheep, and your voice is the only one we answer. Strengthen us to resist the voice of temptation with its idols and false promises. Help us to see all the ways we fall short of your great commission to share the gospel and heal the hurting. Do not let us become traitors, but rather, faithful witnesses to God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN
March 28 / Day 38
MARK 14:22-26
“And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
REFLECTION
The difference between a contract and a covenant is this: all parties anticipate the breaking of a contract. A covenant – whether a marriage contract or treaty between nations, is assumed to be holy, solemn, and unbreakable. Typically, a covenant would be dictated by the more powerful party to the weaker one (think conquering nations over their new subjects). With God, however, the infinitely more powerful party always sets covenant terms that are more generous to humans.
God has made his covenant with his chosen people throughout time…with Noah, Abram, Moses, Joshua, Jehoiada, Hezekiah, Josiah, and David. But these were all preliminary to the new covenant which Jesus pours out in his own blood at the last supper. This is the ultimate expression of God’s plan of redemption and will be possible for all people – Jews and gentiles alike. Just the nard poured on Jesus’ head was in no way wasted, the blood which the Lord will soon shed will not be poured out for nothing, but for the forgiveness of sins that will bring the hope of salvation to the whole world.
PRAYER
Lord, we are humbled by your service in washing the feet of your disciples. We are awed by your new covenant in your body and blood. And we are looking forward in faith to the day when we drink from the cup once again in your presence, along with all the saints at the great banquet in your kingdom. The bread of heaven and the cup of salvation are our refuge in this life and the hope of the next. AMEN
March 29 / Day 39
MARK 15:25-26, 37-39
“And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”…“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
REFLECTION
The ministry of presence. Wherever Jesus went, crowds gathered and departed. Along with the twelve though, we know that a group of women were also constant companions and followers of the Lord. They too heard Jesus teach about his coming trials and final death. They also understood that the kingdom of God had drawn very near with his Son. They were faithful in their support of Christ’s ministry and with their continued presence…to the very end.
The men who had been closest to Jesus were nowhere to be found on Good Friday. They had fled when Jesus was arrested. Peter had denied knowing Jesus, after promising to share his fate. James and John, who had sought to be on Jesus’s right and left in the kingdom, where not the ones beside Jesus on the crosses of their own. Only the women, who faithfully served Jesus by their continuing presence, were witnesses to his death, burial, and resurrection. Knowing about God is not enough…we must yield our lives to God and walk the whole path that leads to the Cross and the empty tomb.
PRAYER
Lord, do now let us be self-satisfied in our knowledge of God. There is no righteousness in doctrine and now holiness is the faith of assent. Give us the faith that leads us to leave our old lives behind, dying to our sin nature, and following the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus. Save us and fill us with the courage to stand at the base of the Cross and behold the Son of God, the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. AMEN
March 30 / Day 40
LUKE 23:55-56
“It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.”
REFLECTION
This is a day to ask yourself, what would the world be like without Jesus Christ? On the Saturday between crucifixion and burial and Sunday’s morning’s empty tomb, we are invited to reflect on a dead messiah and the (seeming) victory of darkness over the light. His body crushed and lying cold in a tomb, what would become of his mission and promises? What was today like on Passover in Jerusalem all those years ago?
The religious powers were relieved to have defeated Jesus’ challenge to their authority. The Romans barely noticed as they destroyed another minor threat to their power. The disciples were bewildered and broken. The women who followed Jesus were grieving and waited patiently throughout the Sabbath to tend the body of their Lord. All through that long Saturday, nobody was expecting the great reversal! Death has always been the tool of evil men and Satan…but with the dawn on Sunday that weapon would be broken, and new life would become available to all who claimed the Jesus as Lord.
PRAYER
Lord, we have spent this season of Lent preparing our hearts and minds to receive the good news of your resurrection and its promise of new life for all who would believe. We have stood at the foot of your Cross and looked into your empty tomb, and we are now witnesses that you have risen! For the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, we thank you, God. Guide us through the next year in faith, trusting in your mercy and ready to face your judgement when Christ returns. AMEN
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