| The Promise of Lent Devotional
Though Lent is a time of remembering Christ's sacrifice, it is not a season of sorrow. This 40-day period is for reorienting our hearts toward Jesus as we move through darkness into light. It is a time of anticipation, the buildup before a celebration of history's most momentous event.
This is the purpose of The Promise of Lent Devotional. You'll read about death and new life, temptation and the power to overcome it, and ultimately the transformative power of Jesus. When you gaze at God's true nature—his sacrificial love and Jesus' glorious resurrection—everything changes. The past loses its sting, the tomb's stone rolls away, and your heart will awaken to faith again and again."
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Genesis 3:17-19
| "...For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.' "NLT Genesis 3:19b |
| "Lord, remind me of my frail condition during this season. Remind me even more how You overcame it. May this be a time of deep repentance and even deeper gratitude."~Chris Tiegreen |
| "How often do you think about your mortality? In what ways can those thoughts encourage your faith rather than undermine it?" C. Tiegreen |
In the Church that I was raised in, Lent always seemed like such a sorrowful time, and emotionally drained me ... it was way too heavy as a child, a teen, and even a young adult for me, far too ritualistic as well, rather than from the heart and filled with the hope of the coming Resurrection. It did give me a good foundation for my faith and understanding of Jesus Christ's suffering and death, but somehow I missed "The Promise ... and the Power of Easter" (I now call Resurrection Sunday).
Instead of dreading Lent as I once did, in the new churches I have been a part of for the major portion of my life, I now look forward to these 40 days in a new way that deepens and enriches a healthier balance between the pain & suffering with a celebration & joy of Christ's redemption work on the Cross and His Resurrection Power over sin and death. I am more willing to readily do some of those traditional, foundational disciplines to refresh, restore and renew my Christian journey and gratitude of all the Promises Jesus fulfilled and gave so that I might live freely and fully in the understanding of His sacrifice for any I might endure ... He overcame and gives me the power to do the same from 'the ashes to ashes' ... I've come to see the beauty in the 'ashes' and the remembrance of the body & blood of Jesus, shed for all of us so that we might have eternal life, a light and truth worth seeking and living, being our true self that we were created to be and rejoice, not be shamed into being part of His Story, His Glory, His Resurrection - unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ day after day, because of our belief in the "Promise of Lent..."
Instead of dreading Lent as I once did, in the new churches I have been a part of for the major portion of my life, I now look forward to these 40 days in a new way that deepens and enriches a healthier balance between the pain & suffering with a celebration & joy of Christ's redemption work on the Cross and His Resurrection Power over sin and death. I am more willing to readily do some of those traditional, foundational disciplines to refresh, restore and renew my Christian journey and gratitude of all the Promises Jesus fulfilled and gave so that I might live freely and fully in the understanding of His sacrifice for any I might endure ... He overcame and gives me the power to do the same from 'the ashes to ashes' ... I've come to see the beauty in the 'ashes' and the remembrance of the body & blood of Jesus, shed for all of us so that we might have eternal life, a light and truth worth seeking and living, being our true self that we were created to be and rejoice, not be shamed into being part of His Story, His Glory, His Resurrection - unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ day after day, because of our belief in the "Promise of Lent..."
I probably think more of my mortality now more than ever since I'm aging and feeling it and seeing others around me face issues of their health and mortality but it most certainly encourages my faith, seeking to strengthen my beliefs in Him and His Word through examining myself and looking deeply at His Promises, not just check off reading from His Word but actually searching, hungering and thirsting for more of Jesus in my life and in me. When you have an eternity to look forward to ... there's a new sense of urgency to see others saved and know that Jesus made it possible to live forever with Him and others who accept this and their names are written in the Book of the Lamb just for believing and confessing Jesus' victory over our sin and death, so that we might live more like Him as overcomers, filled with compassion for others and power to do the same by the Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus. Only through Jesus Christ can we come to the Father. All glory, honor and praise only belongs to Almighty God, our Lord forever!
