Category: lenten blog

A Great Place to Start- God Almighty

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Let our Lenten journey begin as we look into the names of God from His Word. How does God refer to himself or how do others see Him? What can we learn about Him from these names and what impact can it have upon our daily lives through the eyes of Jesus?

The name I will start with today is El Shaddai (Hebrew word) translated God Almighty, Lord of the Mountains, All-Sufficient One. This first appears in Genesis 17:1 where God is speaking to Abraham. “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,” This term is used to refer to God 30 times in the Old Testament and 9 in the New Testament. It is an important distinction for us that God is the mighty one. He is the one to whom we can turn and the one who will provide for us. I love the verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” All aspects of God are sufficient to meet our needs. There is nothing or no one who is greater or mightier to whom we can turn.

Another place El Shaddai is used is in Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” This verse is particularly meaningful to me as I think of my friend Bob when I see or hear it. He was a WWII veteran who flew bombing missions during the war. He said this verse was the SOS or 911 verse for servicemen who were headed into danger. They could hold onto the truth that if you know Jesus you are under God’s wings of protection. I love that thought and image.

What does the mightiness of God and his All sufficiency mean to you? Do you claim His promises and depend upon His strength each day? Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we have assurance of His love and protection. Jesus said, in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” 1 John 5:18 “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” Lean into God’s love and protection today as you thank Him for His great provision in Jesus!

Linda

Are you ready for Lent 2026? See my focus.

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Lent is fast approaching and I have been praying and asking God what HE wants me to use as my guide this year during Lent. I was surprised that my answer came from an unexpected pdf that was provided on the names of God by the Bible Recap group. After I printed it out, I realized that it could very well guide me through the Lenten season and reinforce the blogs I did at Advent where I looked for God in all of the Christmas story. I love blogging about God, his names and his attributes as they give me insight into the depth of God’s love and care for me.

Take the challenge with me and join me each day for a short plug-in to God’s character and see if it does not enrich your Lenten journey. Since I did not grow up observing Lent, I have taken it on as an add to my life and not what I can give up. How can I add something meaningful that costs me personally so I can identify more fully with the Lord Jesus.

I welcome your company in this journey and pray it will be beneficial to you each and every day until we reach Easter Sunday!

Linda

Easter, The Best Promise Yet!

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After 40 days of promises the Bible still has more. One of the most significant promises Jesus made comes from Matthew 12:40 “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” The scribes and Pharisees had just seen Jesus heal the man with the withered hand and were still demanding signs to prove who he was. They did not understand his promise to rise from the dead after 3 days. His disciples remembered it later after his crucifixion.

Luke 24:5-7 tells of the scene at the tomb where the women encounter the angel. “And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” Later in that same chapter Luke 24:34 the men on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus and quickly returned reporting to let the disciples know. Eleven of them were gathered and when they heard their story they agreed “saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

The ultimate sign or proof of who Jesus was, the Son of God, came with his fulfillment of his promise to rise from the dead. If he had not been risen we would not be forgiven and would still be dead in our sins. The sacrifice on the cross is meaningless without the victory in the resurrection! Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am free from sins bondage and victorious with Him.

Jesus promised to rise from the dead and He did! He is risen indeed!

Have a glorious Easter celebration as you worship Him.

Linda

Are you ready to stand before God?

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God promises that we are declared Not Guilty of sin and can stand before Him pure and holy because of our faith in Jesus. God does not see our sin as we are covered in the blood of Jesus. What a wonderful way God transforms us though our faith in Jesus!

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,  I am holy and blameless before God.  The New Living Translation makes this point very clearly in Colossians 1:22 ” Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”   What a privileged position we are in before God because of what Christ did for us on the cross.  His blood has washed us clean so that we are without sin before God, pure, holy and without guilt.  Many of the old hymns talk about ‘there is power in the blood’.  The blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness. “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

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What now?  David wrote of being blameless and what that looks like in Psalm 15:1     “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?  Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?  Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,  speaking the truth from sincere hearts.  Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.”  Again he wrote in Psalm 18:31-33 “For who is God, but the Lord?  And who is a rock, except our God?— the God who equipped me with strength and made my  way blameless.   He made my feet like the feet of a deer  and set me secure on the heights. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:20 “The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,  but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.”  Christ has made us blameless before God through our faith in His work on the cross, but walking daily with Him requires us to do what is right, speak the truth, be sincere of heart, refuse to gossip or speak harm to others.  God promises to equip us for this work and give us strength through His indwelling Holy Spirit.  We will be secure in Him at all times.  Walking with Jesus, brings purity and holiness into our lives and pleases God.

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I’ll end today with Jude 24-25.  May it resonate with you all day and help you as you strive to walk humbly with Jesus.  He did it all and then equips you to go out to show and tell others of His transforming power.  “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,  to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen“

Thankful for the transforming power of Christ!

Linda

Love for Me = Jesus on the Cross

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One of God’s greatest promises to us is that He loves us. Today being Good Friday, we can remember evidence of His love as He sent Jesus to die in our place due to our sin. He wanted us to be able to commune and live with Him but we needed to have a way to rid ourselves of our sin. Nothing we can do is enough- we can’t be good enough to erase our sin.

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am loved by God.  Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was motivated by God’s great love for me and you.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  Love was what caused God to come up with a plan to save us as He desires to be in relationship with mankind and wants us to live with Him eternally.

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God repeatedly tell us in the Bible that He loves us.  Jeremiah 31:3  The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:  “I have loved you with an everlasting love;  I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”   Paul describes God’s love for us in Ephesians 2:4-5  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”  God saved us because He loved us and through His grace and mercy He sent Jesus.  

How do you feel today?  Do you feel loved by God or are you letting the cares, worries and circumstances of life block God’s love? As you think about God’s love today, let your mind be transformed by the love of Christ.  He died for you and me.  Know that He loved us enough to die for us.  God loved us enough to send Jesus to bring us into a relationship with Him.  Know you are loved by God as the proof is in His sacrifice on the cross.

As you look at the cross today, feel cherished and loved by God,

Linda

Justification- a Big Deal!

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God promises that our faith in Christ will redeem us from our sins and leave us pure and holy. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can claim be presented to God as justified and free from sin. Wow! that is a big deal and a good deal for you and me!

Why is this so important to you and me?  To be justified means to be declared ‘not guilty’ and to be acquitted of wrong doing or shown to be innocent. Because of our sin nature we are guilty before God and can do nothing to help ourselves.  We can’t do enough good works or be really good and earn enough ‘points’ to be declared worthy or clean before God.  All you have to do is look around you to see that people do wrong things all the time even when they don’t really mean or want to.  Romans 3:23, “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” is pretty plain that all mankind are sinners.  However, let’s look at verse 24, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”.   We are all sinners but saved by Jesus because He declares us ‘not guilty’ though His work on the cross.   It is a gift to us through His grace when we believed in Him.  We did nothing to deserve it.  Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   Our faith in Jesus brings us into a relationship with God that is peace filled and free from the guilt and burden of our sin. Martin Luther declared many centuries ago that we are saved by grace alone, in Christ alone and by faith alone.  Christ did all the work to save us and justify us before God.

justifed by grace

As I think about this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  Jesus saved me from condemnation and declared me ‘not guilty’ before our heavenly Father.  I will no longer be subject to the penalty I really deserve for my sins which is eternal death.  I am also now open to God’s peace and can let it fill me each day as I rest in His eternal redemption. Praise God!  How about you?  Are you resting in Jesus?  Let these final days of Lent be a time of peace, filling as you praise to Jesus for his sacrifice and His declaring you Not Guilty before God.

Eternally grateful for His justification and peace,

Linda

The Depths of Forgiveness

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Have you given much thought to the forgiveness you have in Christ? One of God’s promises is that our sins are totally forgiven through our faith in Jesus. What would life be like for you if you had no way to get rid of your guilt over the things you do wrong? They could be simple slights to others, a harsh word said in anger or ‘bigger’ sins like murder and stealing. There are no degrees of sinfulness with God- sin is sin no matter how big or small and it separates us from holy God.

One of the most important things I receive from Christ is forgiveness.  It is not just a little forgiveness for everyday sins but total forgiveness for all the things that I have done and will do because of the sin nature I was born with.  Jesus paid the price required by God for my sin and yours,  “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 3:23.  Through His death on the cross the penalty for my sin and yours was marked paid in full.  “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ” Hebrews 10:10.   This sin nature I was born with is evident in my life each day.  The Apostle Paul said it best in  Romans 7:15  “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” It seems while in this world we are constantly susceptible to our sin nature.  I am so thankful that Jesus provided a way for me to be redeemed from sin, a way for me to be victorious over sin, a way for me to rise above the sins that would entangle me, and a way for me to live each day by His grace and mercy.

As you consider Jesus’ sacrifice and your sinful nature, consider Colossians 1:13-14 in the Amplified version.  13 For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,14 in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty].

God's forgiven

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can say with absolute assurance that I am totally forgiven through the power of Jesus’ blood.  Now that we have it- we need to claim it and live like we are forgiven!  Let go of the guilt and shame brought on by sin.  Don’t let Satan entangle you with guilt- he is a great liar and deceiver. He wants us bogged down by our past.  Pray and give it to Jesus- know that you are forgiven once and for all though Jesus!

Living forgiven, praise Jesus!

Linda

The Mind of Christ

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Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can have a mind that thinks and understands like Christ. The promise of a mind that can know and understand the things of God is a huge gift from God through our faith in Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians Paul is talking to the Corinthian believers about wisdom and how we can know and discern the things of God.  “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”  1 Corinthians 2:14-16  With our natural mind we can’t know the things of God but with the indwelling Holy Spirit we can understand God and know Him.  The spiritual person is not to be judged by the opinions of unbelievers who consider the things of God to be foolish.  We are only held accountable to God, His standard of conduct is the only one we need consider.  We are assured that the indwelt believer has the mind of Christ.

So what does that mean to you?  As I pondered that thought, James 3:17 came to mind, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere”.   Having the mind of Christ would mean we have access to godly wisdom as described here.   We could have pure thoughts, a spirit of peace in our words, gentle presentation of our thoughts to others, reasonable thoughts not prone to wander or be self-serving,  thoughts filled with mercy,  thoughts that produce good things for ourselves and others, thoughts without bias and thoughts that are always sincere not fake in any way.  I know that having the mind of Christ is a growing process and does not happen overnight.  As we draw near to God we are promised in James 4:8 that God will draw near to us.  The closer we walk with Jesus the more we can think and act as He would.  A mind that is governed by Jesus would be glorifying to God and produce a vibrant and whole life for us.  Consider the words of James today as you go about your daily routine.  What part of the mind of Christ, the wisdom that comes from above, are you seeing in your life?  Where do you want to grow?

guidance

Promise: God promises that through faith we can know Him and have a mind that understands the things of God. Thank you Jesus!

Linda

I am sustained by Christ!

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This last week, Holy Week, before Easter, I want to continue exploring God’s promises about things we have in Christ. What we have goes beyond the things we’ve discovered on the Sunday’s during Lent- Salvation, Christ’s Righteousness, a heavenly home to look forward to, the ability to approach God’s throne and being Sealed by the Holy Spirit. This week we will explore a few more of the things we have because of Christ’s willing sacrifice on the cross and his victory over death.

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Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am sustained by Christ. This assurance of faith is one of my favorite promises stated in Philippians 4:19.  “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  God knows what I need and Jesus reminded us that He will provide for us in even greater measure than the sparrows. Luke 12:6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.  Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”   We are valued by God and He will take care of our needs.  Jesus said this in Matthew 6:28-30 “And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

loves and cares

So it would seem that God will take care of us because he loves and values us.  Why do we worry over our needs?  Being human it is difficult to set aside worry and replace it with trust in God.  God desires to take care of us and He loves us.  1 Peter 5:7 says “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  Jesus said in John 16:27 “for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”   How will you show your trust in Jesus today? 

Promise: God promises to sustain us in Christ.

Prayerfully present your needs to God and then leave them with Him.   Let Him do the heavy lifting and care for you.  Be encouraged today- He will provide!

Learning to trust in Jesus more and more each day,

Linda

The Sixth Sunday of Lent, 2025, Palm Sunday

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Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week before Passover and His death on the cross is a wild an joyous event.  I have walked the Palm Sunday Road and it is a very steep hill leading down from the Mt. of Olives that leads to the eastern gate. As I walked that road, I could see this scene in my mind that is included in all four gospels.

Matthew 21:1-11    Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

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6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Blessings today as we usher in the final week of Jesus’ life on earth with Palms, Shouts of Hosanna and Praises to Messiah, the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can rejoice today at who Jesus was and is and is to come!

Linda

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Jesus entered into the city through the eastern gate that is now closed.  In later times the gate was blocked to keep Messiah from entering,  not realizing that Jesus had already come that Palm Sunday so long ago.

Suggestion:  As you praise God today in worship, choose an attribute of God that you are most thankful for and let God know what it means to you.  Consider- Savior, His Grace and Mercy, Sovereignty, Faithfulness, His Hope, His Assurance of Salvation in Jesus, His granting Freedom from Sin, His Provision or His great and precious promises to you.  Praise His Holy Name!