Category: Lenten Devotions

Monday in the First Week of Lent

Exodus 6:2-13

Make a Promise; Keep a Promise

There is none holy like our God; there is none righteous as He.  There is nothing that can compare to Him; there is no one who is His equal.  This truth is breathed throughout the Old Testament, especially the Psalms and the Prophet Isaiah.  Only He is the Creator; everything else is creature.  Only He is eternal in the heavens, only He lives forever, only He cannot die.  He takes the name of the LORD, “I Am,” because everything else takes its being from Him.  Because He is, we are; and it is never the other way around.

This passage begins and ends with God’s declaration, “I am the LORD.” (6:2, 8).  Literally, God is saying, “I am ‘I Am.’”  His declaration of His name is His way of placing an exclamation point at the beginning and the ending of the passage.  He is speaking of His truthfulness, His faithfulness, that what He has to say is credible.  Credible.  Oh, what an understatement!  His declaration is Law.  His word is His will.  What He says is done.  How different are we!  Our words vanish into the air and achieve nothing; they create nothing.  Our words are meant to conform to truth by declaring the truth we have heard from God.  Our words conform to reality by rightly and accurately describing as best we can what we experience through our senses in God’s world.  Of course, our words can bless or curse, but these are commands we give which may or may not happen according to the tractability of that which we seek to command.  Not so with God.  Nothing lies intractable, immovable, before Him; for He created all things, and by His will they were and are created (Revelation 4:11).

In between God’s declarations of His divine name is His affirmation of His covenant with the children of Israel.  He made a covenant with their fathers–Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob–to give them and their descendants the land of Canaan.  He reaffirms this covenant declaring that He will deliver them from bondage to the Egyptians.  He claims them as His people, and declares to them that He, the LORD Himself, will be their God.  God has spoken: They will be redeemed, they will be His people, and they will know that He is the LORD their God; they have only to wait upon Him, trust, and obey.  May we gain assurance knowing that our God has spoken, He has redeemed us through His Son, and He has promised us eternal life.  He is LORD!

The First Sunday in Lent

Exodus 5:1-6:1

Tempted to Faithlessness; Tempted to Quit

The desert monks from centuries ago believed that one thing a Christian can depend on is that he will have to endure temptation even to the day of his death.  But we take heart that we experience no temptation that our brothers and sisters haven’t experienced, that we are never tempted above our means, and that God prepares ways for our escaping (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Of course, God uses temptations for our edification; the devil uses them to trip us up.  No one enjoys them, but we must endure them.  So let us determine to become athletes of the spiritual life, always remembering that if we would discipline ourselves, the Lord would not have to do it for us (1 Corinthians 11:31-32).

The people of Israel were not happy with Moses.  So, needless to say, Moses was not happy, either.  He and Aaron had appeared before Pharaoh to proclaim God’s word, “Let my people go.”  And as God had forewarned Moses, Pharaoh would not comply.  He even made the oppression of the people worse because of Moses’ request, forcing them to gather their own straw while not reducing the number of bricks they had to make.  Moses’ words to God sound of complaining, and understandably so.  Moses felt that he had fulfilled the errand God had sent him on, yet God had not acted to deliver the children of Israel.  It’s enough to tempt one to quit.

Our Lord understands trial and temptation.  The Bible tells us that “since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things,” and that “he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:14-18).  And, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).  You are not alone.  All of the great saints endured temptation; all of them wanted at different times to give up, or at least give way.  But our Lord, our Champion, conquered on our behalf.  He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:14).  Cry out to him, as Moses did; and be delivered, as Moses was.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Exodus 3:1-22

God Reveals His Name, Himself

It’s a great thing when God reveals Himself, especially when you live in a time before any holy book was written.  We take God’s revelation for granted since we have his infallible word written before our very eyes: The Holy Bible.  But not Moses – he hadn’t written it yet.  That would come later when the Holy Spirit would breathe His words through him so that he could write those books which came to be called “the Law,” that is, Genesis through Deuteronomy.  No.  Moses didn’t have the Bible.

But Moses had God, or God had Moses, we should say.  So when Moses one day spied a burning bush that wasn’t burning up, he turned aside to see what for.  That’s when God revealed Himself, and the divine “gotcha,” otherwise known as a “call,” came to Moses.  God explained to Moses that He had heard the cries of His people, knew their sufferings, and intended to send Moses to Pharaoh with the news, “Let my people go!”  Pharaoh, of course, would decline.

What is most significant about this passage is the way God revealed Himself to Moses, the way he described Himself.  He comes to Moses calling Himself “the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  One might argue, “What other way was there that God might use to tell Moses who He was?”  Perhaps.  But I think more is being said about God here.  God wants us to know that He is not some God who just showed up on the scene.  He is the God of our fathers whose plan of redemption He laid before the foundation of the world.  He has claimed not only us (we have such short memories and tend to be arrogant about our own generation) but previous generations as well, and will not save us without them (Hebrews 11:39-12:2).

And then he revealed to Moses that wonderful personal name: “I Am,” otherwise known as “Jehovah” or “Yahweh,” depending on transliteration, or simply “the LORD” in most Bibles.  “I Am.”  Why in the world, out of all the personal names God could have chosen for Himself, did He pick this one?  Actually, it’s a perfect name for God.  Why?  Because He just simply, well … is.  And the rest of us are, only because He is.  It’s a way of expressing that only He has life in Himself, and is eternal, infinite, holy, beyond all of our puny attempts to describe Him.  He was, is, is to come, and ever shall be.  Upon whom else will you cast your burden, your faith, your salvation?  He is.  Hallelujah!

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Exodus 2:1-25

God Begins to Execute His Plan to Save His People

God has a plan.  This, we must believe, otherwise, we are going to become very disappointed in this life.

The amount of time the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt is hard to tell, for we do not know how much time elapsed between the death of Joseph, the multiplication of the people of Israel, and the rise of a Pharaoh “who did not know Joseph.”  The people were already being oppressed when Moses was born, and as Moses was nearing eighty when he was later called by God to deliver the Israelites, they must have been slaves for well over a century, and probably much longer (Genesis 15:13-14).  They were in Egypt for a total of 430 years (Exodus 12:40).  God’s promise to their father Abraham that they would inherit the land of Canaan must have seemed like a distant dream (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:12-21).  So there they were: strangers in the land of Egypt, slaves of Pharaoh, and worst of all, subject to a genocidal policy as their newborn baby boys were decreed to die (Exodus 1:22).

But God still had a plan.  We must remember that God is very patient, far more patient than us.  His promise to Abraham that he would father a son took twenty-five years, that his offspring would inherit the land took another six hundred years, and that all the nations would be blessed through him (the promise of the coming Messiah) took two long-suffering millennia!  Indeed, many promises we never see fulfilled simply because we didn’t live at the appointed time.  But whatever the case, God is working His plan to His desired ends and we must trust Him in the meantime.

So often we say things like, “God has a plan for my life.”  He certainly does.  But we seem to place the emphasis on “my life” or “your life,” which is all fine and well when talking to children, I suppose.  But when we grow up, we learn that the emphasis is not on “my life” but on God who is working the plan.  And God will work His plan with or without me.  We read that the children of Israel groaned under their slavery and cried for help.  God heard their cry and was already at work in the life of their Deliverer, Moses.  But many generations of Israelites came and went before God ever sent Moses to Pharaoh.  Similarly, we will endure many struggles in this life before we finally throw off our oppressors (our flesh, the world, and the devil) and know the ultimate peace and safety of heaven.  Until then, we must remain true.  And through God’s grace and mercy, we can.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

 Exodus 1:1-22

The New in the Old No Longer Concealed

There is an old saying that is quite true and informative about the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.  It goes like this: The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.  And that’s what you see in the Bible.  We are accustomed to seeing the Old Testament explained by the New Testament.  In so many places, we find in the gospels something like: “And this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet.…” Then we can draw the line.  We’re not as accustomed to seeing the New Testament in the Old.  But actually, the New is throughout the Old.  Indeed, we are to see the gospel everywhere in the Old Testament, and to read it in the light of Christ.  Our risen Lord said as much when, in what was no doubt the greatest Bible lesson ever given, he explained to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).  And now the New Testament shines forth in the Old, no longer concealed but revealed.

So we take up the Old Testament (specifically the Law) during the Season of Lent, beginning with Exodus, in hopes of discovering Christ.  But first, remember that Lent is about self-examination.  And self-examination happens when we place our lives under the magnifying glass of the Law.  It’s not pretty.  We see things about ourselves that we don’t see when we have our self-respecting blinders on – which is about all of the time!  The Law forces me to compare myself with God’s righteous standards, indeed, His holy nature.  And if I am honest with myself, I am forced to take my place alongside Job and say, “Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:6).  The purpose of the Law is to drive us to Christ as we despair of our own righteousness (Romans 7:7-25; Galatians 3:19-29).

So here in Exodus, with our spiritual ancestors, the people of Israel, our pilgrimage both as the people of God and as sinful individuals begins.  We see ourselves as slaves in Egypt, oppressed by the iron fist of Pharaoh.  Pharaoh is our flesh, the world, and the devil and his demonic hosts.  To these we are held captive; from these we must be freed.  And we are utterly unable to deliver ourselves.  We become complacent under our cruel taskmasters, and accustomed to our humiliating servitude.  Such is the one blinded by sin.  Eventually, we will even prefer slavery to sin to the glorious freedom of the children of God.  O how we need a Savior!

Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 58:1-14

What Is a Real Fast?

And so the Season of Lent begins.  It goes back to the early centuries when baptismal candidates fasted two or three days before their baptism on Easter Sunday.  By the fourth century, it was variously observed throughout the empire by the Church for forty days before the Easter celebration, forty being taken from our Lord’s time in the wilderness, but also Moses’ time on the “the mountain of God” (Exodus 19-32) and Elijah’s trek across the desert (1 Kings 19:1-8).  Later on, the first day of Lent was dubbed “Ash Wednesday” because of the imposition of ashes upon the forehead of the believer in a sign of mourning for sins and a desire to repent.

Lent is associated with self-examination, repentance, almsgiving, and fasting.  In our day, fasting has all but fallen into disuse.  It is a great pity.  The early Church understood that fasting was the way to teach oneself self-control.  And self-control in eating spilled over into self-control in other areas of life, such as holding the tongue and other sinful habits and impulses.

But, as the passage of Scripture above indicates, our Lord has another definition of fasting, one that includes but also goes beyond the surface.  Fasting while one continues in sin is worthless.  Fasting while one takes advantage of one’s neighbor is wicked.  Fasting with the idea that one can thereby make God a debtor is abhorrent.  No.  Fasting that God delights in is fasting from sin, taking care of the poor and homeless, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and relieving the oppressed.  Our God desires that we learn self-control and humility through self-denial and the millennia-old practice of fasting – a needed corrective for our compulsive society.  But our God also desires that while we fast, we remember the poor.  Indeed, fasting puts us in mind of those who are without, as we voluntarily go without.  But let us not do so only in spirit.  Let us see to it that as we volunteer to go without certain of life’s necessities that we likewise volunteer to see that others go with them.

Then shall we see wonderful promises fulfilled: “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily … And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach.”

Introducing Lent to Evangelicals

The purpose of the Church Year is to give regularity to Christian devotion and worship by moving through a cycle.  Through the cycle of the year, we are forced for half of it (December through May) to focus on the life of Christ – his birth, life, passion, resurrection and ascension – and then to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.  This aids us in keeping those most important events in the life of the Church regularly before us, and those most important events have to do with the person and work of our Lord.  Many churches observe special days during the latter half of the year (June through November).  However, it is primarily the first half of the Church Year in which the major events in the life of our Lord are observed or celebrated.

I am not recommending the use of a lectionary, though I certainly do not condemn it.  I am simply advocating using the regularity of the Church Year as a guide to preaching.  Thus I preach through gospel texts surrounding the life of our Lord from Advent through Pentecost, about half the year.  During the summer, I take up a letter of the New Testament, and in the fall, spend time with an Old Testament book, until I come back around to Advent.

The Church Year begins with the Season of Advent in which we prepare for the coming of our Lord.  It begins the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day, thus giving us four Sundays during Advent.  The Christmas Season is the celebration of our Lord’s coming and lasts twelve days, December 25 through January 5.  January 6 marks Epiphany, the manifestation of the Christ-child to the gentiles, using the text of the visitation of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12).  The next major season is Lent, which begins with Ash Wednesday – forty days prior to Easter, not including Sundays.  Lent ends with Easter, which is also a season, lasting fifty days, Pentecost being that fiftieth day – the seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday.  And since our Lord ascended forty days from his resurrection (Acts 1:1-3, 6-11), that day is celebrated as the Ascension of our Lord, ten days prior to Pentecost.  After Pentecost is that time I spoke of already which is the other half of the Church Year.  So, we have:

Advent (four Sundays prior to Christmas); Christmas (December 25 through January 5); Epiphany (January 6); Ash Wednesday begins Lent (forty days prior to Easter, excluding Sundays); Easter Sunday (the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the Spring equinox on March 21, a season lasting fifty days); Ascension (the fortieth day of the Easter season, always on Thursday); Pentecost Sunday (the fiftieth day from, and including, Easter Sunday).

An Explanation for What Follows

What lies before you are devotional thoughts centered around passages of Scripture which are of particular use during the Lenten Season.  The Lenten Season is that season of the Church especially given to self-examination in the light of Holy Scripture, meditation upon the life of Christ, prayer, confession, repentance, fasting, and almsgiving.  The Season of Lent originates from early Church history in which baptismal candidates (catechumens) fasted two or three days before their baptism on Easter Sunday.  By the fourth century, Lent was variously observed in different parts of the empire for the forty days before Easter (minus Sundays), the number suggested by our Lord’s forty-day fast in the wilderness (also Moses’ stint on Mount Sinai and Elijah’s trek across the desert).  Generally, they did not eat until the evening meal each day, but this rule was often relaxed in different periods of Church history (See F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingston, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 2nd ed., [Oxford University Press, 1974, 1983; rpt. 1993], pp. 810-811).

The purpose of these devotions is obvious enough: To read and meditate upon the same passages of Scripture, that the Lord may speak to the whole church as we repent and turn to him.  We intentionally turn to Him in the hope that He will give unto us a teachable and humble spirit, realizing that it was He who was turning us towards Himself all along.  I hope that what I have written may be of some help towards understanding, and perhaps point in some directions for further reflection.  The readings are from the Law, a very fitting place to begin when one is seeking to examine oneself, and a wonderful preparation for the healing, forgiving, and victorious message of Easter.  We must experience Good Friday that we may truly celebrate Easter Sunday.  And although we are saved once for all, seasons of personal reflection and self-examination are helpful in our sanctification.

It intrigues me that churches today will have “Fifty-Day Adventures” and such, and often just before Easter.  I wonder if they know that the Church has always had just such a period of time, called the “Season of Lent,” in which she focused her energies on specific Scripture readings, prayer, meditation, and self-examination.  And while I’m sure such “Adventures” are worthwhile, helping us find our “purpose” in life, I believe that the ancient and fifteen-hundred-year-old observance of Lent is far more edifying, especially given the topic: Confession and repentance centered around our Lord’s passion and resurrection.  Lent is not about us but our Lord as we focus on him, that we may truly find ourselves in him.

And now a word about fasting.  In ancient and medieval times, some Christians fasted until the evening meal.  That’s very difficult day after day.  A far better thing might be to fast from certain foods.  (Throughout history, this included meat and meat products, fish, and dairy products, but that is strictly up to you as a free person in Christ Jesus.  You may choose simply to go with smaller portions of what you usually eat.)  The point is to go without something, to make a small sacrifice.  You will earn nothing towards heaven; you will gain no rewards.  We have been rewarded enough.  But our Lord did say that we would fast after the Bridegroom was taken away (Matthew 9:15).  By doing so, we identify ourselves with the One who made the supreme sacrifice.  We also teach ourselves self-control.  The early Church Fathers felt that fasting was the best way, not only to control the appetite, but to control other passions of the flesh as well, such as, anger, gossip, and other inordinate sensual desires.  Intentional self-control in regards to the stomach spills over into other areas of life.  But do NOT be legalistic.  What works for others may not work for you.  If this is your first time, go easy on yourself.  Of course, if you have a medical condition, only do what that allows.  Remember, little sacrifices out of love for God.

The passages of Scripture chosen for this devotional are taken from the Liturgy of the Hours of the Catholic Church used by the priests for their daily devotions (with some of my own modifications).  It is the only tool I know that has readings prescribed for everyday of the year according to the season of the year, with the exception of the Anglican (Episcopal) Book of Common Prayer.   I hope no Baptist takes offense at this as the devotions are all my own; the Bible, of course, is the Bible regardless of which denomination orders the readings.  All of the passages in this devotional are taken from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.

It has been a blessing for me to write these things for you, and in no way a chore.  I hope that my reflections do not get in the way of your experiencing and understanding God’s word.  If they are a hindrance, then by all means set my musings aside for the pure word of God, which is meat and drink to hungry and thirsty souls.  May the Lord give unto us a spirit of repentance this Lenten Season whereby we are able to put off the sins which so easily beset us and rejoice in the glorious freedom of the children of God.  May we know His grace and forgiveness, and may such abound in God’s church that she may experience peace and concord in her midst, that God may use her to do great and mighty things for Him in these latter days before His coming.