Lent: Look Up to the One
Throughout the Lent season, I will be reading through different devotionals and sharing, here on my blog, some of the highlights from them.
PSALM 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Devotional
As we travel through this Lenten season and are going about our lives it is easy to be weighed down by the burdens that we each face. It is easy to get discouraged and in this Psalm we see that this is where the psalmist is crying from. He is crying “out of the depths” to the Lord that his voice may be heard. But yet at the same time we are also reminded that...
When we come to the end of Lent as we celebrate the resurrection on Easter morning, there is no other that will hear our voice or “redeem Israel from all its iniquities” but the one who went to the cross on our behalf, Jesus Christ. (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary)
When we come to the end of Lent as we celebrate the resurrection on Easter morning, there is no other that will hear our voice or “redeem Israel from all its iniquities” but the one who went to the cross on our behalf, Jesus Christ. (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary)
Prayer
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake, Amen.
— Ambrose of Milan, 4th century bishop
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake, Amen.
— Ambrose of Milan, 4th century bishop
Quote: "One can thus find in Christ strength and comfort against all vice and bad habits. . . . And they are called true Christians who incorporate the life and name of Christ into their own life, as St. Paul says in Gal 5, 24: "And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof." For Christ's Passion must be dealt with not in words and a show, but in our lives and in truth. . . — Martin Luther, "How to Contemplate Christ's Holy Sufferings"
And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” John 1:51
As we look within ourselves this Lent...
As we look within ourselves this Lent...
Linking up at these blog hops:
Beautiful! Digging into God's word is one of the ways I am asking God to work on me this Lenten season. Blessed you joined us at The Weekend Brew.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mary, I have also found myself spending more time this year in preparing my heart for the Easter season before us. May we all dig to have deeper to understanding of the sacrifice Christ made for each of us!
DeleteSo beautiful! Praise God that He brings us through the valley that He has specially designed for us, to strengthen our faith and make us more like Him.
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Laurie
Valleys are difficult, for sure, Laurie. But it seems like those are the times that we cling to God and grow the most, doesn't it? I am also so thankful that He is always with us!!
DeleteLove the photo, love the Words. This is a special time of the year, and I'm glad people are focusing on our Lord more often. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that photo amazing!? It depicts what I only imagine what we, as His children, will witness one day! Blessings to you, this Lenten season, caryjo.
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