Lent Devotions 2021

Read: Mark 15:45-47 Reflect: A time of waiting is mostly, in my experience, a very difficult time indeed. The Saturday between the heartbreak of Good Friday and the joyous victory of Easter Sunday can seem like a difficult time because we know what’s coming, but we’re not there yet. It’s a quiet time. Like tombs usually are. It can feel like nothing is happening; no movement. It can feel like time is standing still. Rest assured that God is still in control, even in the times of waiting; the times when it feels like we’re in limbo. Maybe today will be a good day to be intentionally quiet and just listen, watch and wait for the coming victory. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you that your burial was also not the final chapter in the story of redemption. Thank you that we can look forward to the promise of a victorious resurrection and that you are with me in the quietness of waiting. Amen. Remind: ”It is in the course of our feeble and very imperfect waiting that God Himself, by His hidden p...

Read: Mark 15:37-39 Reflect: The curtain in the temple was there to hide the most holy place in the Jewish temple. The high priest would go behind the curtain once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people for the year. With Christ’s death the curtain is torn and the holiest of holies is exposed, open for all to see and experience. The heart of God is exposed to all. Through Christ’s sacrifice the loving heart of God is revealed to the world, and the world is welcomed in to experience it for themselves. Nothing and no one else would have been able to make this happen. Only Jesus. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you for your willingness to reveal God’s love through your sacrifice on the cross. Thank you for inviting me into a relationship with you not dependent on anyone but me. I come to you now and bow in your presence, for you are here with me. Amen. Remind: ”God waits for you to communicate with Him. You have instant, direct access to God. God loves mankind so much, and in a ve...

Read: Mark 15:33-34 Reflect: At this dark moment in history - when Jesus is about to die and is forsaken by His Father - it is hard to remember that Jesus is the Light of the world which darkness has not overcome (John 1:5). At this very moment in time it seems like this is the end. The end of hope. The end of joy. The end of peace. It must have been terrifying. We, in hindsight, know that the darkness only hid the victory, not extinguish it. This was not the end. May we, whatever darkness we are facing today, remember and remind ourselves that this too is not the end. The Light will shine in the darkness again, and it will not be overcome. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you that the darkness is not the despairing end of our story, but the prelude to your victory. Please help me hold on to you, especially when it is darkest around me. Please fill me with your love, peace, joy and hope that I may shine your light to those around me. Amen. Remind: “All the darkness in the world cannot exting...

Read: Mark 15:22-24 Reflect: Golgotha - the place of the skull - would have been a place deeply linked to death. We don’t know whether it got the name from its appearance or whether it was a place where people were regularly executed. We do know, though, that it is a place that carries great sadness, grief, loss, shame and death.  Jesus does not shy away from this place. He does not choose to run and hide, to send for angels or to be sacrificed in a place more fitting for a king. No. His act of sacrifice happens in a place of death and sorrow. This act reminds us that Jesus finds us in our most sorry state, wherever that may be. Jesus does not shy away from our guilt, our pain, our suffering, our shame and our grief. He comes and finds us there and, ultimately, redeems it to the glory of His name. As with His birth, when He chose to enter our world in the filth of a lowly stable (where He was also offered myrrh), He chooses an impure and sorrowful place to save the world. Respond: ...

Read: Mark 15:16-20 Reflect: Two of the scariest verses in the Bible, for me, are verses 17 and 18 in today’s passage: ‘They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”’ It’s scary because of the accuracy of the soldiers’ words with their hearts in completely the wrong place. They clothed Jesus in a purple robe (a sign of royalty, which He is) but they did it mockingly. They crowned Him as Lord, but with a crown of thorns. They hailed Him as King, but sarcastically. In one sense they said the right words and did the right things, but not because they believed them to be true or significant. We face falling in the same trap. We may say the right things - “Hail Jesus the King!” - , crown Him as Lord - but not of my heart -  or bring expensive sacrifices and still miss the mark. May we recognise Jesus as the true King of all, and may we respond accordingly. Respond: Lord Jesus, thank ...

Read: Mark 15:6-11 Reflect: The story of Barabbas and Jesus is a really clear and visual reminder of what exactly Jesus did for every one of us. Barabbas was guilty of his crimes: insurrection and murder. His execution was justified according to Roman law. But Jesus is taken to the cross in his place. Even though Jesus was innocent, He took on the suffering and shame of the cross in Barabbas’s place. And in ours. Isaiah prophesied that this would happen: ‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ (Isaiah 53:5-6 - NIV). Respond: Lord Jesus, thank you for your great sacrifice. Thank you that you took on the punishment for my sins. Thank you for paying the price that I may be blameless and pure before the Father. Please help me remember your sac...