Introduction for Lenten Devotional Guide

Tues, Feb 28, 2017

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem . . . .

Lenten Devotional Guide
2007

Introductory Thoughts
by Patience Nave

In my Christmas journal for you, I wrote about verses I found after having asked God not to allow Christmas to be usual. He and I visited day after day as I read his words about what he was going to do and what he did that first Christmas, not expecting to share my thoughts with anyone. You may remember that I changed my mind, and printed a little devotional for all of us.

Several suggested that I do that again, this time for Lent. Thank you for the encouragement, for you have made me once again look closely into Scripture and have refreshed my mind about this critically important time in the life of the church – Easter. It has been a great journey for me.

This time I consciously focused on finding things not for myself. I thought about all of us and asked God to help me find verses and think thoughts that would encourage us.

There are so many passages, and I had trouble choosing. My hope is that what I have written will whet the appetite, cause you to read the whole passage from which I chose a verse, and lead you to find others that relate to what I have written.

I didn’t plan this, but when I finished, I realized that the verses fell into a pattern, almost like little categories. So, as you read, you’ll see verses that promised a Messiah, that tell about what he did and thought, that tell us about the kingdom of God, and finally that are what I call “after-Easter thoughts.”

I was amazed at how many times he said, “It is written.” (such as Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) Kind of reminds me of raising children and how often we say, “How many times do I have to tell you . . . . “ Just like a patient parent, he tells us over and over and over again!

Easter and Good Friday are the most important events in history! God tells us over and over that it is going to occur. He goes to great length to prepare us for it in the Gospel accounts, he reminds us of it in the early church history and today he continues to call us to the foot of the cross so we won’t forget. Paul says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:18) Gaining a better understanding of the importance of Easter is important to our spiritual health. You challenged me to this task and I am grateful.

I pray that God will help us think thoughts we have not had before, so that when Easter dawns, we’ll cry out in amazement, “Oh, my! He is really alive!”