LENT SEASON 2021

TODAY'S VERSE: 1/4/21 Day 38 “For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” – 1 Corinthians 11:23-25   TODAY'S DEVOTION: “Sorry, I’m too busy.” Have you ever said these words? Yeah, I have too. Sometimes we feel bad for not having the time. At other times, we wear it like a badge of honor. In fact, our society tells us we’re failing if we aren’t busy. We’re told we  should  work more than 40 hours-a-week, prepare organic-made-from-scratch meals for our family, and have our children involved in twelve different activities. If ...

TODAY'S VERSE: 31/3/21 Day 37 “He will wipe every tear form their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4   TODAY'S DEVOTION: You know that feeling when you wake up from a nightmare? For a moment, you wonder if it’s true – that you’re safe. Within a few seconds, an overwhelming sense of relief rushes through your soul because everything that was true in your nightmare came untrue. J.R.R. Tolkien puts it well in  The Lord of the Rings , when a wizard named Gandalf appears to one of his followers, Sam. Sam can hardly believe it because he watched Gandalf die with his own eyes. When Sam sees his leader… But Sam lay back, and stared with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last he gasped: ‘Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? God is in the business of making ev...

TODAY'S VERSE: 30/3/21 Day 36 “The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard Jesus’ teaching and began to look for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.” - Mark 11.18   TODAY'S DEVOTION: In divine revelation Jesus poured out teaching after teaching in the temple s they celebrated Passover the entire week. Jesus was on a mission to totally unveil his Lordship as his teaching pointed to his supremacy to define truth and love with justice and redemption in his heart. In this Holy Week we pause to contemplate our lives alongside the chief priests, teachers of the law, and the crowd of Jesus’ day. Where will you find yourself among these people? It’s probably easier for me to think that I would be in the crowd who was amazed at his teaching. But, for a moment, I also might consider if there is any desire within me to have my own sinful way apart from Jesus- and to what extent might fear rise up within me that wo...

TODAY'S VERSE: 29/3/21 Day 35 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:10-11     TODAY'S DEVOTION: As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what became known as Palm Sunday, no one missed what his actions where saying. Everyone from the religious leaders to the common person laying down palm branches knew that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah referred to in Zechariah 9. This Old Testament text was penned around 500 years before Jesus stepped foot on the planet, and Jesus was fulfilling it before their eyes. Holy Week is all about the same question the people of Jerusalem were asking that day: “Who is this?” Everyone has an opinion about who Jesus really is. Your answer to this question will determine everything for you. So how would you answer the question? No serious scholars and historians believe Jesus never existed. Some people thin...

TODAY'S VERSE: 27/3/21 Day 34 “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But it’s death will produce many new kernels- a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.” John 12:24-26   TODAY'S DEVOTION: Tomorrow marks Palm Sunday, the day when we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. It’s a strange thing to celebrate the day Jesus enters the city where he will die; but when Jesus entered Jerusalem that day he was welcomed by a crowd who had heard that he had raised Lazarus from the dead after 4 days in the tomb. They desperately wanted to see the man who could do such a thing and find out if he was the one to rescue the nation of Israel from Roman rule. As soon ...

TODAY'S VERSE: 26/3/21 Day 33 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” - Philippians 1:6   TODAY'S DEVOTION: Spring is here in all of its glory! I love it! I love spring break, spring training, the beginning of baseball, the emergence of green grass, getting to use the deck or patio, the Easter season … all of it! What I don’t love is having to take the time to remove the clutter that has accumulated over the winter. And let me tell you … this year was BAD! This year I spent four whole hours sorting through a massive pile of stuff that had accumulated since last November. There was dirt and grime, things I had been missing (like my son’s bike!) and stuff I didn’t even know we’d collected (apparently we stored someone’s soccer ball all winter). Heck, I even found the wrapping paper from our Christmas gifts that never made its way into the recycling bin. Af...

TODAY'S VERSE: 25/3/21 Day 32 For God in all his fullness     was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled     everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth     by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. - Colossians 1:19-20 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. - Romans 8:1  He personally carried our sins     in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin     and live for what is right. By his wounds     you are healed. Once you were like sheep     who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd,     the Guardian of your souls. - 1 Peter 2:24-25 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:27   TODAY'S DEVOTION: There is no Christianity where the...