Friday, February 24, 2023

Day 3 of 40 Days Until Easter

For the next 38 days leading to Easter, I will be posting from Lent and Easter devotionals offered online. Tonight's post features excerpts from "Should I Give Up Something for Lent?" written by Denise K. Loock, freelance writer, editor, speaker, and Bible study teacher. She is the founder of digdeeperdevotions.com, a website devoted to helping Christians dig deeper into the Word of God.
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But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
1 Samuel 15:22

For almost 2,000 years, Christians have set aside time for self-examination and repentance during the weeks before Easter. Early church fathers and the Council of Nicea (AD 325) observed days of fasting—from a few days to 40 days—but it was Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604) who established the 40-day season between Ash Wednesday and Easter that many 21st-century Christians observe.

Many Christians view Lent as an opportunity to refocus attention on God’s love for us, so great a love that He sent His son to die for our sins. Neither my family nor the church I attended as a child paid much attention to the Lenten season. Instead, they focused on the joyous celebration of our Risen Savior. [However] giving up something we love—a food or an activity—to remind us of God’s sacrificial love can be beneficial to our spiritual growth, especially if we replace it with a spiritual discipline such as Bible reading, prayer, or fasting. During Lent, we can evaluate our spiritual health—how well the life of the Risen Christ is being manifest in us...

Many Scriptures remind us that physical sacrifices are only valuable if they’re given from a wholly devoted heart. The prophet Samuel told King Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice”  (
1 Samuel 15:22). And David wrote, “You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it.…The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit…a broken and humbled heart” (Psalm 51:16-17 HCSB).

The Old Testament prophets consistently spoke out against sacrifices that were futile attempts to cover sinful actions. Jesus also criticized the religious leaders for offering sacrifices that meant nothing (
Matthew 23:23-25). The same could be said of any spiritual practice we undertake for the wrong reason, whether it be Sunday morning worship, small-group Bible study, volunteer work, or personal devotional time.

...It’s the daily-ness of sacrifice that most interests God and best reflects our commitment to Him—a 365-day devotion to act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly before God 
(Micah 6:8).  When Paul told the Romans to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, I think he had in mind the daily-ness of sacrifice (12:1-2). My commitment to Jesus should involve the following:
  • Daily contemplation of the price Jesus paid for my sins and my inability to meet God’s standard of righteousness
  • Daily commitment to rely more on the Holy Spirit and less on myself
  • Daily reflection on the endless supply of God’s mercy and grace
  • Daily gratitude for the ways He allows me to be His hands and feet in a hurting world
Motivation is everything. David said the one thing he desired was spending time in God’s presence (Psalm 27:4). He also spoke of daily fulfilling his vows to the Lord (Psalm 61:8). Another psalmist wrote that he thirsted for God like a deer thirsts for water (Psalm 42:1-2). Again, there’s the daily-ness factor. After all, how many times a day does a deer seek water?

The core of the Easter message is the new life available to every person because of the redemption Jesus provided through His death and resurrection. If we’ve accepted Jesus as Savior, we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). And, as Paul told the Galatian churches, “The life you see me living is not ‘mine,’ but it is lived by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (2:20 MSG).

If we spend the weeks before Easter cultivating a spiritual practice that makes our new life more evident to others year-round, we honor the Risen Christ who gave us that life, don’t we?

PRAYER: 

Lord, 
        I pray that I wouldn’t make Lent about myself this year, but instead about Your great love for me through Your sacrifice of Jesus. May I focus on Your love above all else - thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life for mine. Amen

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