a devotional resource for prayer, reflection and rememberance

LENT 2017

“Hosanna! Blessed is hewho comes in the name of the Lord!”

JOHN 12:13

LENT 2017

“Hosanna! Blessed is hewho comes in the name of the Lord!”

JOHN 12:13

ASH WEDNESDAYFacing the Mess pg 3

LENT WEEK ONEFacing My Sin pg 5

LENT WEEK TWOFacing My Frailty pg 7

LENT WEEK THREEFacing My Greed pg 9

LENT WEEK FOURFacing My Blindness pg 11

LENT WEEK FIVEFacing My Mortality pg 13

GOOD FRIDAYFacing My Shame pg 15

EASTERFacing the Resurrection pg 17

Table of Contents

Facing the Mess

ASHWED

WEEK

The rhythm kept the house in pretty good shape most of the time, but after a year of living in a house, there are always plac-es that get ignored or neglected. There are always those for-gotten corners of the house, like that catch-all drawer that’s in every kitchen, or windows and screens that you just can’t clean every week. Sometimes you just need to do some spring housecleaning.

The winter forces us inside and we try to keep things livable and sanitary, but then when spring hits, we want to air out mat-tresses, clean out closets, and tackle the garage so we can en-joy every square inch of our house.

Lent is the Christian tradition of doing some spring-cleaning; not just maintenance stuff, but deep cleaning in our souls. You know, going for those areas of life that we keep hidden and find so easy to just pass over from week to week as we maintain our busy lives and often neglect our souls.

Over the next six weeks we are turning our faces toward Jesus, and with His help, we’ll be facing some pretty big messes in our lives: areas of our hearts that we often just don’t want to deal with and can’t deal with effectively without His help.

ASH WEDNESDAY: FACING THE MESS pg 3

Saturday morning was usually house-cleaning day when I was a kid. Sure, early morning

cartoons and donuts for breakfast got our day started, but soon we were in the rhythm

of putting away the junk that was left out during a busy school and work week, getting all

the laundry off the bedroom floor and placed in the hamper for washing, getting out the

broom and mop to spruce up the house for company and for another week of living.

EACH WEEK We will be using some time-honored tools to turn our faces toward God:

1. Fasting (from food)2. Abstinence (from luxuries/non-essentials)3. Self-denial (foregoing your preferences for the good of another)4. Positive disciplines (adding enriching things to our lives)

Gather your family or some close friends and let’s begin.

Facing the Mess

ASHWED

WEEK

ASH WEDNESDAY: FACING THE MESS pg 4

ASH WEDNESDAYOn this first day of Lent we face the shocking reality that it isn’t just bad things that we do that can damage our souls and interrupt our fellowship with God. The alarming truth is that we can develop such dependence on the good things He provides that we allow them to come between us.

God warned his people in Deuteronomy 8:12-14:“...when you have eaten and are full and have built good hous-es and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery...”

It isn’t wrong to have good things. They are gifts from God. But we have to face the reality that these good things can occupy our attention so much that we forget God. We grow depen-dent on the gifts and neglect the Giver.

Lent is the Christian tradition of doing some spring-cleaning; not just maintenance stuff, but

deep cleaning in our souls.Hundreds of years later the Prophet Isaiah penned these words:“Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet;declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.

What is their sin? What is it that is so shocking?

“‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we hum-bled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fightand to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.”

They were fasting, they were seeking God, but for what pur-pose? To get more stuff! They didn’t want God; they only want-ed more of what God could give them.

They took time off to “seek God” but they forced their laborers to keep working, they were fighting and arguing out of envy for what others had, willing to hurt others to get what they craved.

This attitude didn’t open the doors of heaven; it closed them.It looked good on the surface. They were able to convince themselves that their religious behavior should get God’s at-tention, but it didn’t.

Why? They were only seeking more stuff to crowd God out.God didn’t say, “don’t fast!” Instead, He describes the effect our fasting should have: seeking the good of others!

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wick-edness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” Isaiah 58:6-7

It’s time to do some house cleaning.

It’s time to face our unquenchable thirst for more stuff by starv-ing it out and developing our appetite for more of God.

NEXT STEPS1. Pick a day this week to fast (read the article on fasting). When you feel hunger pangs, let it help you desire God and His ways more deeply.

2. Calculate how much you would have spent on meals today and donate it to a local food bank.

Far from diminishing you and making you less effective, God’s promise is that you will actually have a bigger, more fruitful life from seeking Him and serving others than from striving to get more for yourself! (Isaiah 58:11-12)

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENIf you have kids in the household and you would like for them to participate this first week of Lent, here is an alter-nate activity to fasting:

Plan a simple meal around tortillas and beans. Let every-one at your table share an idea for helping hungry people. Ask God to help you carry out one of these ideas. Read 1 Timothy 6:18-19.

Facing My Sin

WEEK

LENT WEEK ONE: FACING MY SIN pg 5

EACH WEEK We will be using some time-honored tools to turn our faces toward God:

1. Fasting (from food)2. Abstinence (from luxuries/non-essentials)3. Self-denial (foregoing your preferences for the good of another)4. Positive disciplines (adding enriching things to our lives)

Gather your family or some close friends and let’s begin.

1. Have someone read Psalm 32:1-11 out loud.One of the biggest threats to our happiness is un-confessed sin. Notice how much turmoil the Psalmist’s heart is in because he refuses to admit when he has done wrong.

2. Fold a blank piece of paper long ways down the middle. On one side have someone write the benefits of confession. On the other side have them write down the hardship of staying stubbornly silent.

3. Read James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

5. Read Psalm 32:9 again. How is your stubborn silence about your sin keeping you from enjoying relationships with God and others?

One of the hardest phrases to utter in the English language is: “I was wrong!” It just seems

to stick in our throats. We recall axioms like: “Confession is good for the soul, but bad for

the reputation” and suddenly the words that we know we need to say can’t seem to make

it past that huge lump in our throats.

Facing My Sin

WEEK

LENT WEEK ONE: FACING MY SIN pg 6

NOTES

One of the hardest phrasesto utter in the English

language is: “I was wrong!”

NEXT STEPSThe positive discipline of confessing our sins relieves us of the relational brokenness we feel with God and with others. It brings healing, joy and restoration.

This week as we look to Jesus, his death, burial and resur-rection, we have confidence to open our lives up to oth-ers because we are all in need of the forgiveness that He purchased for us.1. Deputize a trusted friend who will listen to you and pray for you. Commit to keep short accounts with your sin and confess to them when you sin.2. If a friend comes to confess to you, listen empa thetically (you also have sin that you’ve had to confess) and pray for him/her compassionately.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENPractice the language of forgiveness.1. Child 1: “I’m sorry I have wronged you. Please forgive me.”2. Child 2: “I forgive you because I have been forgiven in Christ.”

Facing My Frailty

2WEEK

LENT WEEK TWO: FACING MY FRAILTY pg 7

EACH WEEK We will be using some time-honored tools to turn our faces toward God:

1. Fasting (from food)2. Abstinence (from luxuries/non-essentials)3. Self-denial (foregoing your preferences for the good of another)4. Positive disciplines (adding enriching things to our lives)

Gather your family or some close friends and let’s begin.

1. Have someone read Psalm 121 aloud.We try so hard to convince ourselves, and others that we are strong and that we have a handle on life. But notice what the writer of this Psalm actually does, “I lift my eyes up...” From that point onward, who is the one taking action?

2. Have someone read Romans 4:19. “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.”

I know we think of Abraham as great in faith, but look at the human frailty of this man. Like the Psalmist, his biggest contri-bution to the blessing that God provided in his life was that he looked to the one who was his help.

We all look to things to get us through our day. It could be looking forward to the

next like on Facebook or having someone retweet something we said. Maybe it’s simply

looking forward to our next meal. All of these things point to our weakness. We are

looking to something else to fill a profound need that we have for approval, meaning,

or even food.

Facing My Frailty

2WEEK

LENT WEEK TWO: FACING MY FRAILTY pg 8

3. Read Psalm 121:8. “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”

Going out and coming is the language of armies going to war. You might expect God would just leave it to these strong and talented warriors. If anyone should have a grip on life it’s these guys. Nope, they were human. They were weak. They need God to keep them. So do we!

We try so hard to convinceourselves, and others thatwe are strong and that we

have a handle on life.

NEXT STEPSJesus came and made Himself weak and poor on our behalf. He denied himself so that we might experience His riches.

Make a list of things you do to get through the day, or week. Deny yourself one of those things to meet the needs of someone else. For instance: take the day off of social media and use that time to: • Take a friend out to eat • Have a conversation with your kids (parents)

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENDeep clean your bedroom. Give unused toys and/or cloth-ing to a charitable organization.

Facing My Greed

3WEEK

LENT WEEK THREE: FACING MY GREED pg 9

EACH WEEK We will be using some time-honored tools to turn our faces toward God:

1. Fasting (from food)2. Abstinence (from luxuries/non-essentials)3. Self-denial (foregoing your preferences for the good of another)4. Positive disciplines (adding enriching things to our lives)

Gather your family or some close friends and let’s begin.

1. Have someone read Exodus 17:1-7

2. Have someone read the following:“The need for clean water is clear to us. You won’t survive very long without it. But they didn’t just have a little desire for some-thing to drink; their desire was inflated. This inflation of desire is called lust.

In their deprivation, they began to grumble. God had been providing for them every step of the way, but now their hearts began to be greedy. They were ready to kill Moses and they believed that God had forsaken them.

“In their greed, the Israelites in the wilderness put their own desires at the center of the universe and demanded that God, Moses, and the wilderness revolve around them. But such boundless desire can never be satisfied on human terms and was never meant to be. Only God gets life on His own terms.” —Mike Wilkerson, Redemption

What could be so wrong about gardening? It seems like such a safe, productive, wholesome

sort of hobby. But my friend couldn’t get enough. More beds, more plants and more time…

there was never enough. Uncooperative weather created a thunderstorm of frustration. It

seems like when we have an abundance we get greedy and when there is lack we grumble.

Facing My Greed

3WEEK

LENT WEEK THREE: FACING MY GREED pg 10

NOTES

The inflation of desireis called lust.

3. Have someone read Mark 4:18.“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceit-fulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (NIV)

4. Have someone read the following:“Notice that it isn’t desire for bad things that Jesus says makes us unfruitful. It’s an over desire for good things. Simply put, “the desires for other things” robs us of the joy and fruitfulness that Jesus intends for us to have.

NEXT STEPSLuke 12:15, “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

1. One of the best ways to combat greed is by tithing. Here’s how to start: make giving a priority, a percentage and make it progressive.

2. The practice of abstinence is to voluntarily give up something that is a pleasurable, but non-essential to life. Give something up for a day or for the whole week for the purpose of finding greater enjoyment of God.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENGive thanks instead of grumbling: When you start to com-plain about something, stop yourself and say three to five things that you are thankful for instead.

Facing My Blindness

4WEEK

LENT WEEK FOUR: FACING MY BLINDNESS pg 1 1

EACH WEEK We will be using some time-honored tools to turn our faces toward God:

1. Fasting (from food)2. Abstinence (from luxuries/non-essentials)3. Self-denial (foregoing your preferences for the good of another)4. Positive disciplines (adding enriching things to our lives)

Gather your family or some close friends and let’s begin.

1. Have someone read John 9:1-41 (It’s a longer passage, but well worth the time to read it.)

2. Have someone read this quote: “None so deaf as those that will not hear. None so blind as those that will not see.”—Mat-thew Henry

3. Have someone read the following:The inability to face our blindness, the darkness of our hearts and minds causes us to lose our sense of wonder and awe. Learning only becomes a pragmatic concern so that we don’t embarrass ourselves by exposing our ignorance.

The Pharisees in this story had all the answers and were ask-ing all the wrong questions. There was no sense of wonder at the miracle that the man who was blind from birth now had his sight. They were defensive because this healing defied the way they saw themselves, creation and God.

Pride is so blinding. “We are blinded by our own self-interest and we just have a hard time

saying these three little words: “I don’t know.”

Facing My Blindness

4WEEK

LENT WEEK FOUR: FACING MY BLINDNESS pg 12

NOTES

The inability to face our blind-ness, the darkness of our hearts and minds causes us to lose our sense of wonder and awe.

4. Ask: How is your sense of wonder growing or diminishing?

5. Would your friends describe you as curious, or indifferent? Why, or Why not?

NEXT STEPS“The best thing in this world is honest feedback from someone who cares about your success and well being.”—Judy Harberkorn, President of Consumer Sales and Ser-vice, Verizon

This week, have coffee with a trusted friend and ask for honest feedback. Listen carefully and thank them for their honesty. Here are some questions:• What do you think I’m good at?• Based on my behaviors, what do you think I value most?• What is one emotion that you think best describes me? Why?

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENPractice the 3 C’s. Give 3 compliments a day to the people you are close to: parents, friends, teachers,...

Facing My Mortality

5WEEK

LENT WEEK FIVE: FACING MY MORTALITY pg 13

EACH WEEK We will be using some time-honored tools to turn our faces toward God:

1. Fasting (from food)2. Abstinence (from luxuries/non-essentials)3. Self-denial (foregoing your preferences for the good of another)4. Positive disciplines (adding enriching things to our lives)

Gather your family or some close friends and let’s begin.

1. Have someone read Romans 8:6-11.

2. Have someone read the following:The thought of death stings us. We try so many ways to avoid, mask and numb ourselves to the reality of it. We look to work, entertainment or medication to numb or distract us. We give ourselves to good causes, or to great sins just to feel like we are alive. We can even try to bury our fear of death under a mountain of possessions.

What we fail to do is to face it. The Psalmist cries out, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”Psalm 90:12

It’s actually wise to consider that this life is a vapor. It pass-es quickly. It’s wise to give concentrated effort to how we can make these days count.

Many have quipped that the mortality rate is somewhere near 100%. You would think

that equipped with such knowledge we would be able to face our own deaths with

more grace, but there is something within us that makes us recoil at the thought of

an expiration date.

Facing My Mortality

5WEEK

LENT WEEK FIVE: FACING MY MORTALITY pg 14

NOTES

The thought of death stings us. We try so many ways to avoid, mask and numb ourselves to

the reality of it.

Tombstones have two dates that bracket our lives on this earth: born on — and died on. Whether you live 18 years or 81 years the question we all have to answer is: what did we do between those dates?

NEXT STEPSIn our fast paced culture, silence and solitude can feel like death to us. But these disciplines are necessary to re-move the noise and distractions of this world so that we can hear from God.

Carve out thirty minutes this week to be alone with noth-ing more than this devotional, a blank sheet of paper, and a pen. Start with two minutes of complete stillness and silence. Then read Psalm 90:12 and ask God to help you to consider how you should be using your time this week. Write down what you sense God saying. Close with two minutes of silence. Share what you get with a trusted friend.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENGive up “whining,” arguing,” “not listening,” or “bothering” people who are on the phone.

Facing My Shame

GOODFRI

GOOD FRIDAY: FACING MY SHAME pg 15

EACH WEEK We will be using some time-honored tools to turn our faces toward God:

1. Fasting (from food)2. Abstinence (from luxuries/non-essentials)3. Self-denial (foregoing your preferences for the good of another)4. Positive disciplines (adding enriching things to our lives)

Gather your family or some close friends and let’s begin.

1. Have someone read Psalm 22.

2. Have someone read the following:Maybe you have experienced feeling silly because you have misplaced your keys for the umpteenth time. Worse yet, you feel worthless because you have committed the same sin again...and again.

Shame is different from the guilt we feel. Guilt is an appropri-ate sense that we did something wrong and need to make it right. Shame is a feeling that we are somehow diminished: less than human.

“But I’m a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and de-spised by the people.”— Psalm 22:6

We have all had those moments where our cheeks burn with embarrassment. We

should have known better, we should have done better, but we didn’t. Now, we just

want to dig a hole and bury ourselves in it.

Facing My Shame

GOODFRI

GOOD FRIDAY: FACING MY SHAME pg 16

NEXT STEPSThe Biblical idea of meditation is not emptying your mind, but filling it. The Bible’s imagery of meditation is to mull things over. Through the remainder of Lent spend some time meditating on Hebrews 12:2. Write down your thoughts and share them with a trusted friend.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENBlessings Jar: use a clean jar to keep blessings that hap-pen throughout the week. Have a pencil and paper close to your jar to write down when a blessing happens to you and place it in the jar. Take time at the end of the week to read each of the blessings and give thanks.

NOTES

3. Ask: What does my internal voice say when I do something wrong? a. “I’ve done something wrong. I need to confess and make it right,” or b. “I’m so stupid! How could I have done this again? I can’t tell anyone.”

4. Have someone read Hebrews 12:2, “...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seat-ed at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Guilt is an appropriate sense that we did something wrong and need to make it right. Shame is a feeling that we are somehow diminished: less than human.

5. Notice that Jesus faced the cross, the place of deep shame and humiliation by focusing on the joy of what lay beyond the cross, and despising (looking away from) the shame of the cross.

6. Read Psalm 22:24, “For he did not despise or abhor the af-fliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.” He does not despise you. He is not ashamed of you. He hears your cry of desperation.

Facing theResurrection

EASTER

EASTER: FACING THE RESURRECTION pg 17

But today, Easter Sunday, we get to celebrate the good news of the gospel, that Jesus Christ was raised for the forgiveness of our sins! Rather than seeing the thorn scarred, tear soaked and blood stained face of our Savior, we live in the hope that we will see our glorious, resur-rected Savior face to face forever!

Gather your family, or some close friends and let’s begin.

1. Have someone read Matthew 28:1-10.

2. Have someone read the following.“But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified...”

If you wanted to start a new religion in the first century, there are several things that you probably would not do. You wouldn’t have the hero be from such a questionable

background. You wouldn’t have the hero crucified. And you would not include women as the foundational testimony to such a glorious triumph as the resurrection.

It is the inclusion of these factors that actually make the Gos-pel plausible. These facts would not have been included unless they were true.

3. Have someone read 1 Corinthians 15:16-17, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

4. The foundation of the gospel is that Jesus rose from the dead. If He didn’t then there is no hope for the forgiveness of our sins and there is certainly no hope for a life beyond death.

5. This good news is too good to keep to ourselves: “So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.”

For the past six weeks between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday we have turned our

faces toward Jesus, and with His help, we have faced some pretty big messes in our lives:

areas of our hearts that we often just don’t want to deal with and can’t deal with effective-

ly without his help.

Facing theResurrection

EASTER

EASTER: FACING THE RESURRECTION pg 18

NEXT STEPSThe first women to witness the empty tomb did not initial-ly see Jesus. As they were hurrying to tell others about the resurrection, Jesus stopped them and allowed them to experience Him with all of their senses (Matthew 28:9). Then He commissioned them to go and tell the others.

Share the good news of the resurrection with someone this week. Invite them to experience forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDRENSorry Bin: write or draw something you are sorry for on a piece of paper. If you don’t want to write it down, just hold the paper and imagine it. Say sorry to God and ask Him to forgive you. Wad the paper up and put it in the bin to show that God has forgiven you and thrown the sin away.

Read this: Acts 13:37-38, “but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, broth-ers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”

Rather than seeing the thorn scarred, tear soaked and blood stained face of our Savior, we live in the hope that we will see our glorious, resurrected Savior

face to face forever! 5. Notice that Jesus faced the cross, the place of deep shame and humiliation by focusing on the joy of what lay beyond the cross, and despising (looking away from) the shame of the cross.

6. Read Psalm 22:24, “For he did not despise or abhor the af-fliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.” He does not despise you. He is not ashamed of you. He hears your cry of desperation.

NOTES