"THE PROMISE of LENT"

Come along*with me  on a 40 Day Journey Toward the Power of Easter

with Chris Tiegreen's devotional "The Promise of Lent"
starting today on Ash Wednesday for the next 40 days minus Sundays celebrated as  Resurrection "breaks"  in this 40 day period
Here's the book description from Tyndale:

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."

Genesis 3:17-19
"Creatures of Dust" Day 1

"...For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.' "NLT Genesis 3:19b

{*Devotional}

"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

* of course, to actually come along with me, you'd need your own copy of the devotional in order to read the major part of what Chris Tiegreen so passionately shares day after day. I will only be giving glimpses into "The Promise of Lent..."
REFLECTION

"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..." 

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!

Looking forward  to  The Promise of Lent

Added Note: as Ash Wednesday was just about here, I had to return to truthfully report that I may not be doing this devotional, because I found out that I had done it here before and also because I have a couple of YouVersion Lenten plans that I'll be doing "Journeying with Jesus"is one, but mostly I wanted to share that there is another journey that I have found because of my personal situation that I decided may be the best for me at this time (totally unrelated to Lent, but not to the Cross and Jesus). It's one of many books that I have not yet gotten around to reading and believe that I should read and do (for many reasons) however it's not a 40 day plan - it's a 60 day journey "Grace for the Unexpected Journey" by Deborah Barr. Quite possibly I will still try to read again "The Promise of Lent" by Chris Tiegreen to keep me on the Lenten journey as well yet somehow I sense God prompting me to seek His aMazing Grace as I draw closer to Jesus this Lent, facing many unexpected days or turns in my life ... as I look at God's PROMISES and my promise to Him.
Another great book for Lent by Dr. Brian Simmons (author of TPT) is "Grace and Hope", which I shared back in 2016, Feb.26 but it's one of the drafted blog posts, no longer available here. 
I have also started a 30 day Prayer Challenge by Debbie McDaniel at iBelieve (dot) com "Fighting Fear and Anxiety with the Promises of God" and completed the 5 day sample at You Version, which I personally found to be relevant, helpful and much better than the pdf but both work well together. There's also a 40 day Easter Devotional that you could sign up for at iBelieve, if you don't already have one.  I guess we are never short of opportunities to journey and experience more of Jesus through Lent. FaithGateway (Study Gateway) will be featuring Max Lucado's newest book "Jesus...The God Who Knows Your Name" for their next OBS (Online Bible Study) starting March 2nd - April 12th, 2020. You can't go wrong with a study by Max Lucado, his books, studies and video teachings are always the best, in my opinion. And focusing on "JESUS..." has to be the BEST way to experience The Promise of Lent - the Resurrection!