Some days are full of weariness.  How can we move from weariness to joy?  Let’s consider Hebrews 12:1-3.  This chapter comes right after the listing of all the great heroes of the faith.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

These verses would suggest that focusing on Christ and his sacrifice on my behalf, allows me to throw off the things that burden my heart and my life and keep me weary and joyless.  Knowing what Christ suffered on my behalf refocuses my priorities and brings me new perseverance and hope.  Isn’t that what our Lenten journey is all about?  Ponder these verses today and endeavor to focus on Christ and see if your weariness does not leave and your joy return.  He wants us joyful and running the race of life He has given us not weary and defeated on the sidelines.  Reach for the joy today and rise out of weariness to victory with Christ.

Prayer:  Father, help me to stay focused on Jesus today.  Fill me with perseverance and purpose so that I will not be tangled up in worldly things and will be able to throw off the weariness and embrace the joy you have for me. Through the power of Jesus, Amen.

Looking to shed weariness and receive joy,

Linda

Yesterday we encountered Jesus saving a woman by asking the crowd to look at their own sin first.  That story reminded me of how easy it is to slip into bitterness and blame others for what happens to us.  Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”  I am reminded that bitterness can ‘spring up’.  Those thoughts against others, of wrongs done to you, lost opportunities, soured relationships and in general the hard things of life that can make us bitter.  It would seem that author of Hebrews is saying it is a choice and is encouraging us to live with an awareness of what bitterness can do to us and to those around us if we allow it to fester and grow.  It can deprive us of the grace of God as well as others.  It can pollute the atmosphere around us and cause others to be bitter.  So today I will consciously choose to be tenderhearted as described in Colossians 3:12 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility , meekness and patience.”  I will choose to leave bitterness behind today.  Join me in leaving bitterness behind and walk with forgiveness in your heart through the Grace of God trusting Him to erase the hurt and fill it with love.

Prayer:  Father, show me where bitterness is springing up in my life and help me to confront it with forgiveness and put it behind me.  Ease the hurt and the claim bitterness has had on me and help me to walk in your Grace.  Your favor is all I need to overcome bitterness as You promise that your grace is sufficient for all my needs and that You can use me even with my weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Thank you Jesus.  Amen.

Desiring to live for Jesus without the baggage of bitterness and to be -,

Linda

Make the Sunday’s during Lent special in some way- pray a bit longer, fast, sing praises, attend worship, gather with friends… Seek to honor God and THANK Him for sending Jesus to save us from our sinful state and restore us to a place of relationship with Him.

Psalm 100  “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the LORD is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his;   we are his people the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for the joy you put in my heart and your tender loving care. You alone are faithful and I can depend upon  you each day.  Amen.

Rejoicing and praising Faithful God,

Linda

During our Lenten journey, we want to look at the cross of Christ and ask what does it show me about God?  I see His Grace right away.  His Grace in giving me what I don’t deserve no matter what I do.  His Grace in providing a way of salvation so that I may be restored to a right relationship with Him.  There is no way to earn God’s grace- it is something He freely gives us through Jesus.   Ephesians 2:7-10 says “in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God-not by works  so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

As you consider God’s Grace today, know that His grace is sufficient, it never runs out. No matter what we do or where we go, God’s grace can and does cover us.  Praise God!  Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  2 Corinthians 12:9  Repent and seek God’s Grace- it will cover you today.

Prayer:   Thank you Father for you unending grace.  Your sacrifice on the cross opened the floodgates of grace for me.  Help me to walk worthy of your calling and strive to do good works in your name.  Amen.

So thankful for His Grace to me,

Linda

Yesterday I attended a celebration of Life for a dear friend.  He always seemed to reflect Jesus in his actions as he would go out of his way to help others.  He showed love to others by offering a helping hand or a kind word whenever he saw you.  On days that I would see him, I was always encouraged and uplifted by our encounters.  He left a legacy of Jesus’ love in his wake.

Showing Love for others is a command.  “My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.”  John 15:12   “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”  John 13:34-35

As we seek to be more like Jesus and think about things that need to be corrected or adjusted in our deeds and attitudes- how about love?  Is it part of your everyday interactions with others?  Do others see Jesus’ love coming through your words and actions?  Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we follow Jesus’ command.  Ask Him for power to show love to others today.

Prayer:  Father, give me love in my heart for others.  Cause others to see you in my life because of the way I show your love to them.  I desire to be your disciple so through the power of the Holy Spirit let me see your way of love today. Amen.

Seeking to reflect God’s love to others,

Linda

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”  John 15:1-2

Our Lenten journey is a time when we seek God’s correction (pruning) in our lives.  We seek his direction and correction so that the habits or actions that are offensive to God can be eliminated from our lives.  He promises in these verses that His pruning will help us to produce more fruit for Him.  Submitting to His ways and not ours brings joy, peace, hope and allows us to be used by God in a mighty way.  Isaiah 58:11 describes the one who is bearing fruit this way,  “The LORD will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”  

Prayer:  Lord, take my heart and mold me so that I can bear much fruit for you and that my life will be pleasing to you.  Show me the things, ways, habits in my life that need to be cut out so that I can better reflect Jesus in my life.  Create in me a garden that is well-watered and fed by the living water – Jesus.  Amen

Seeking to be well-watered and fed by Jesus.

Linda

Today as you spend time in prayer, reflect on your state before God without Jesus.

“There is no one righteous, not even one  There is no one who does good, not even one.  There is no fear of God before their eyes.”  Romans 3: 10b,12b, 18

For the next 40 days,  we will be taking stock of our attitudes, actions and our total dependence upon God.  Without Jesus, we would remain in our unrighteous sin-filled state before Righteous Holy God and be condemned for our sin.    Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death.”  Thankfully in this verse there is a BUT and the verse continues “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross made it possible for me to be clean before God.  What an amazing sacrifice for me!

Here is a verse of praise for today.  “For all have sinned (yes,that is me too) and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified (Jesus made me righteous before God) freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (His death on the cross).”   Without God’s amazing grace I would be condemned.  BUT  I am redeemed in Jesus and made whole and clean! 

Prayer:    Father, Reveal to me during this time of Lent those things you would have me put away, eliminate, eject from my character.  Show me a better way to act, love, and think as I mediate on your Word and pray.  Help me to begin each day with a new appreciation and thankfulness for your atoning sacrifice.  Amen.

By God’s Grace I stand,

Linda