A Good Enough Lent

MAR 06 / Sunday – Read Romans 3:23 / Matthew 5:48 / Exodus 32

Overview: Ending the day focusing on God is a powerful way to prepare for sleep and the day to come.

07 / Mon – Just one thing  |  Read Philippians 4:13

Two months ago, many people were starting their New Year’s resolutions. By now some have failed and given up. The beginning of Lent is a good time to reconsider new ways you would like to grow in your faithfulness to Christ. Good intentions are only as effective as the actions that follow. What is one specific thing you could do in the next 6 weeks that would help you grow closer to the Lord? Remember, it doesn’t have to be something big. It just has to be regular.

08 / Tue – Change is a-comin’  |  Read Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) / Matthew 28:20

Over 400 times, the King James Version uses the phrase ‘and it came to pass…’ It means that one event is happening and it will pass into another event. One pastor applied this in a sermon years ago by telling the people to hold on during a hard time because ‘it will come to pass’ but also to be grateful for a good season because ‘it will come to pass’ as well. Are things good for you right now or is this a difficult time? Either way, Jesus is right there in the middle of it with you.

09 / Wed – The real deal  |  Read Exodus 20:4 / Exodus 32:1-6

Me? An idolator? Never! Moses was still up on the mountain and God was giving him the written laws we call the 10 commandments. Meanwhile the impatient people waiting below decided they needed something concrete to focus their worship on. A golden calf was the result. You may never worship a physical idol but is it possible you hold a view of the Sovereign Lord God different from or less than who he really is? That is a good question to ask the Holy Spirit to show you.

10 / Thu – So much to do, so little time  |  Read Matthew 6:33

Do you remember the story of the professor who gave his students a task to fill up a glass jar with a large pile of rocks and pebbles? The pile wouldn’t fit until he showed how the biggest rocks needed to go in first, followed by smaller pebbles. There was still room enough to add sand and even water. The jar represented a 24-hour day while the rocks/pebbles were all the things that needed to be done that day. What are the most important ‘rocks’ God wants you to build into your day first?

11 / Fri – It’s the little things  |  Read 1 John 3:18 / Luke 7:36-47 (especially v. 44-46)

History is full of people who did simple things with the right heart and it changed others. Like Brother Lawrence who seemed ill-equipped to do anything but menial tasks at the monastery or Saint Theresa, a terminally ill young nun, who spent her remaining time doing small acts of love, even for those who didn’t deserve them. Think of this unnamed woman who washed Jesus’ feet with tears and anointed him with oil, an act of honor his host had neglected. What small things could you do? Don’t let their seemingly unimportance stop you.

12 / Sat – Asleep on the job?  |  Read Mark 4:35-41

It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t cause it and they couldn’t control it. They were at the mercy of the storm. Where was God? Asleep in the boat. Do you feel like that sometimes? That God is unaware of your desperate situation? (Storms happen even if you are obeying what God said to do.) When all their efforts failed, they finally went to Jesus. He took care of the storm in an instant and then he asked them a very important question. Might he be asking this to you as well?