"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 28

Saturday, March 20th 

     “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.”

                                               2 Peter 1:5-7

     A life of faithful Christian Discipleship requires a daily commitment.  It is the moment-by-moment process of choosing to follow Jesus over the myriad of other options competing for our allegiance. 

     A life of Christian Discipleship is a daily decision.  Every decision, every choice plays a role in shaping who we are.  The decisions we make either serve to support an authentic life of discipleship or place stumbling blocks in our way. 

     If we will follow Jesus well, we will choose the good.  We will seek to build up rather to than tear down.  We will work for justice.  We will stand with the oppressed.  We will care for the sick and for the impoverished of body and spirit. 

     Followers of Jesus make the world a better place.  They foster understanding and offer hospitality.  They love easily and forgive freely, and they are generous with their time, talents and resources. 

      Find authentic followers of Jesus and you will see the unmistakable fruit of goodness in their lives.

     

Prayer

     Christ of the cross and empty tomb, we give you our thanks and praise for every 

     expression of goodness we know and have known.  We thank you for all your faithful and 

     caring followers whose lives have crossed our paths, bearing witness to your love and

     grace.  Forgive us for the times we've made choices that are not aligned with God's    

     purposes for us.  Empower us to be agents of your goodness in the world, to your glory.  In 

     your holy name we pray.  Amen.   

     

     

     

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 27

Friday, March 19th

    “Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”

2 Timothy 1:13-14

     There are many things that influence us throughout our lives.  The voices of those around us that we assign greatest credibility, our life’s circumstances, our political leanings and our religious upbringing to name a few.

      We look to the basic teachings of our faith to provide grounding for us, to serve as an anchor in the sea of swirling opinions and quickly changing currents. 

      The teachings that have brought us to faith in Christ and opened us to God’s grace in Jesus are the work of the Spirit enabling us to love God and neighbor and to live lives of justice, mercy and compassion, while empowering us to extend forgiveness and model kindness and generosity.  It is the Holy Spirit living in us who shapes and molds us in the image of Christ, nurturing and developing the good treasure with which we’ve been entrusted. 

        Let us hold fast to every morsel of sound teaching that helps us be faithful reflections of Jesus Christ. 

Prayer

     Dear Christ of the cross, we humble our hearts before you in worship, adoration and praise.

     We thank you for the sound teachings we have received which reveal to us your eternal and

     abiding truths.  Thank you for the faithful saints who have been your witnesses in our lives,

     who have mirrored your love and helped us hunger to be more like you.  We give thanks for 

     the precious gift of our faith.  Help us hold fast to the sound teachings that immerse us in your

     faith and love.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen. 

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 26

Thursday, March 18th

     “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” 

                                             2 Timothy 3:16-17

     Today we ponder the value of the Bible in developing our Christian character and for strengthening our Christian discipleship.  Regular reading of the Bible won’t guarantee a life of holiness, but the pursuit of a life of holiness and righteousness is unimaginable without a commitment to the study of the Holy Scriptures.

     Perhaps it’s not an overstatement to suggest that the vast majority of people who self-identify as Christian are not as committed to reading the Bible as they believe they should be. 

     The Season of Lent invites us to engage in time-honored practices that speak to the human soul, those spiritual disciplines that can serve to order and advance our lives toward Christ-likeness and Christian maturity.

     Today, a gentle reminder.  We simply cannot grow in our faith without a commitment to searching the Holy Scriptures. 

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, we seek to know the truth you embodied as the Word made flesh.  We turn 

     to the Holy Scriptures in search of God's living word for us today.  We acknowledge that too

     often we lack the discipline to spend appropriate amounts of times in prayerful reading and

     reflection in the Holy Scriptures.  We pray for a deepening hunger for God's truth.  Help us

     to grow in our love for God's word in the pages of the Bible, finding in those inspired words

     the Word, Jesus the Christ.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen. 

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 25

Wednesday, March 17th

      “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith….”

                                                                   Hebrews 12:1-2a

      Today we pause to take a look around as we travel the dusty road.  Pilgrimage can be tiring.  The journey of faith can be exhausting.  The road is often rough, and the terrain can be treacherous. 

       And though there is an unmistakable inner focus to our Lenten journey, today we remind ourselves that we are not alone.  There are other pilgrims on the road.  The strong faith of some of our fellow sojourners inspire us.  The pain we see in the faces of others fills us with compassion.

       We also remember that Jesus walked this lonely road before us, and in the company of believers we embrace the mystery of his abiding presence with us still.  And so, empowered by that blessed assurance...

      …we walk on.

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, as we continue our spiritual pilgrimage to the cross we confess how difficult our

     faith journey can sometimes be.  We acknowledge that our faith ebbs and flows, at times 

     strong and at other times weak.  Today we give you thanks for the follow pilgrims who have

     journeyed with us through the years, our sisters and brothers of faith who have encouraged,

     nurtured and supported us.  Thank you for your presence that we have experienced through

     the company of believers.  In your name we pray.  Amen. 

     

        

        

      

     

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 24

Tuesday, March 16th

     “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

        Galatians 2:19a-20

     Christians have been bought with a price.  To come to faith in Christ and to accept by faith the atoning work of Jesus on the cross is to recognize that our lives are no longer our own.  To receive Jesus as Savior is to serve him as Lord.  To be saved by faith in Christ is to become a herald of God’s good news.  To receive God’s grace through Jesus, is to become a vehicle of God’s grace in the world. 

     To embrace by faith the efficacious nature of Christ’s death on the cross is to die to sin and self, and to be raised to new life in Christ. 

      And to be alive in Christ, means Christ is alive in you!

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, we give you thanks for the life you lived and the death you died for our 

     salvation.  Teach us what it truly means to be crucified with you.  How do we live in such a

     way that the marks of your redemptive death are made visible in our day-to-day living? 

     Grant us a witness that is bold and unwavering.  Help us to die in you, in order that you 

     will live in us.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen. 

      

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 23

Monday, March 15th

     “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

   Colossians 3:1-3

      As you go about your day today, receive this invitation to reflect on the nature and fruit of a life truly hidden with Christ in God.  Consider the manner of conversation that might emanate from such a life.  What would be the fruit of its compassion, the commitment to justice, the capacity for love?

     To follow Jesus is to claim citizenship in an unseen land.  Christian Discipleship requires allegiance to the kingdom of heaven, an alignment with the purposes of God in the world. 

      What would a full and complete surrender to Christ and his cause look like in your life?  What if you cast your gaze away from temporal things that are fading away, and reoriented your life’s focus toward things eternal?

       What if you fully lived the new life you’ve been given?

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, as we make our spiritual pilgrimage to the cross in these days of Lent, give us

     eyes to see and ears to hear your kingdom truths.  Grant us an eternal perspective that 

     we might more fully seek the things that are above.  Raise our gaze beyond the cares 

     of this present day.  Enable us to live the fullness of life you offer.  In your holy name we 

     pray.  Amen.  

      

                  

 

     

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 22

Saturday, March 13th

     “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself…”

                                                                     

                                                                                                                Philippians 2:5-7a 

     Today, we ponder the Christ who willingly emptied himself of all rightful honor, prestige and power, to become lowly, despised and weak on our behalf.  We consider the mystery of the Word who spiraled down into the stifling limitations of human flesh.

      In our world where power, status and success are passionately pursued and highly favored, the downward mobility of Jesus stands in stark contrast. 

      But we do not stand gawking at the ancient pages of the Bible as if we have come to a quaint exhibit in a museum.   We cast our gaze upon the Christ who became small, because we are small.  He became weak, because we are weak.  He came to us in our lostness, in order to lead us home.

      And today we are reminded, to let the same mind be in us.

Prayer  

     Lord Jesus, you emptied yourself of what was rightfully yours in order to enter fully into our 

     broken humanity.  You call us to a life of humble service, modeling for us a manner of living

     that is marked by humility and compassion.  Give us eyes to see and ears to hear your 

     message of love and grace.  Reveal to us every stumbling block our self-serving egos have 

     placed between us and you.  Help us to heed and faithfully respond to the words of the 

     Apostle Paul, that the same mind would be in us, that was in you.  In your name we pray.  

     Amen.