2026 Lenten Season - Day 37 - What's at the Center

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
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It should be a warning to us that the religious leaders of Jesus’s day could be so zealous and yet so completely wrong.

It is striking to note that Jesus spent much of the time between his entry into Jerusalem and his betrayal and death confronting the religious leaders of his day. These leaders were trained, committed, active, and religious in every way, but they had distorted the faith that had been passed down to them and were unable to recognize that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, the promised Messiah of their hopes and longings.

Jesus knows he is on the way to his ultimate redemptive destination, Golgotha, and there is little for him to lose. So, with words sharper and more critical than ever before, he picks away at the very heart of the error of the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. In the stinging words of criticism, there is a gracious warning for us.

In the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, we see false religion masquerading as true religion. The humility of true religion has been replaced by religious pride. The grace of true religion has been replaced by legalism. The purity of heart found in true religion has been replaced by hypocrisy. The love of true religion languishes as the victim of all of the above. Jesus will not go to the cross without pointing out that what these religious leaders live and promote is the exact opposite of what he came to teach, to live, and to die for.

It is a loving and always appropriate warning to us that it is possible for you to be fully convinced that you are in the center of what is right and true and honoring to God, when actually you are in the way of it. Hypocrisy still lives. Graceless legalism still lives. Self-righteousness still lives. It is still easier to criticize than to patiently love, and to make demands than to serve. Where do these things still live? It is not enough to say that they still live in our churches. We must also humbly confess that artifacts of all of these things still remain in our hearts. The stinging critique of the religious leaders was not just for them; it has been recorded and preserved for us, so that we would not fall into the same errors.

Here is what is dangerous about false religion: it does a good job of masquerading as the real thing, with its zeal, its commitment to the regular habits of faith (prayer, giving, participation in formal worship, etc.), and its theological knowledge. But there is an even greater danger. False religion does not need a Savior. False religion is rooted in human righteousness. Rather than being broken, needy, poor in spirit, crying out for divine rescue, it comforts itself in evidence of its own righteousness. Think of the parable Jesus told of the prayers of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. The Pharisee essentially told God he didn’t need him, and he gave his good works as evidence of his independent righteousness, while the tax collector, overwhelmed with his sin, cried out for God’s mercy.

True religion accepts the worst news ever, and because it does, it runs to the best news ever. True religion doesn’t begin with a righteous résumé. It begins with the devastating acknowledgment of sin. True religion mourns corruption within, which cannot be defeated without divine intervention. True religion never has human righteousness at the center. No, it has the amazing grace of a self-sacrificing Savior at the center. Its hope is never in what we have done for God, but in what he has so lovingly done and continues to do for us. True religion never produces self-assured religious pride. It never produces independent self-confidence. It never causes you to look down on those less righteous than you. It does not produce soul-crushing legalism. In the soil of true religion, these grow: humility, love, gratitude, grace, peace, and dependency on God.

One of the central ironies of human history is that the religious leaders of Jesus’s day conspired to destroy the one who was their only hope in life and death. The One the Scriptures spoke of again and again (which they knew so well) was now in their presence, and they despised him and what he taught. While they wore their mask of righteousness, they sought to destroy the one who came to be our righteousness, wisdom, and redemption. On his journey to the cross, Jesus stops to expose a form of "godliness” that needs no cross.

Today, it is tempting for all of us to tell ourselves we are okay when we’re not okay. It is tempting for us to work to make ourselves feel good about what God says is not good at all. It is tempting for us to be unlovingly critical of those we perceive to be less righteous than we are. It is tempting to think we are spiritually mature because we are theologically knowledgeable. It is tempting to tolerate in ourselves actions and attitudes that we would condemn in others. It is tempting to see God as a means to an end, rather than the end that all of our hearts really long for. It is tempting to reduce our Christianity down to formal, public religious habits, a faith that lives most vibrantly for two hours on Sunday morning. On the way to the cross, Jesus exposes us to his condemnation of the religion of the Pharisees because there are still seeds of Phariseeism in all our hearts.

In this season of reflection, sacrifice, and gratitude, I want to give you an assignment. Take time to sit down with your Bible and carefully read Matthew 23. As you read how Jesus confronts the Pharisees, read with an open, humble, and prayerful heart. Allow those words of confrontation to expose and correct you, and as they do, may you grow ever more dependent upon and thankful for your Savior, who was willing to die to rescue you from the one thing you could never escape on your own: you.

GOING DEEPER

Reflection Questions
1. Contrast true religion and false religion. How can you spot them in your church? In yourself?

2. How have you seen or experienced this truth: “It is possible for you to be fully convinced that you are in the center of what is right and true and honoring to God, when actually you are in the way of it”?

3. What practical things can you do to recognize and repent of false religion and embrace truth in your heart?

Read Matthew 23, and ask the Lord to convict you where conviction is needed.

Matthew 23 New Living Translation

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. 9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. 10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

13 “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

15 “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

23 “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

25 “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First, wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

27 “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly, you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. 35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah, son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 38 And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. 39 For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

2026 Lenten Season - Day 36 - Holy Anger Then and Now

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
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Scripture records the anger of Jesus in the temple to point to who he is and to clarify our values.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Matthew 21:12-13

How quickly the emotion of the drama of Jesus’s last journey changes! After the adoring crowds, the story takes a radical turn. This is another one of those messianic vignettes that we think we understand, but need to examine more closely. We see here the holy anger of Jesus more than at almost any other moment in his life. Do you know why he was so angry? Is it only about commerce in the temple?  Why does he call the sellers thieves? What is the zeal that consumed him in this moment? Why did he overturn those tables? What can we learn from our Savior’s holy anger? How can his zeal become our hope? These are the questions begging to be answered as we consider this moment in Jesus’s journey to the cross.

Jesus enters Jerusalem and takes no time to bask in the glory of the adoring crowds along the way. He knows he is on a mission of saving grace, and he knows how far that grace will extend. He knows that what is happening in the temple is not only a violation of his Father’s house, of promises made to  Abraham, but also of what he came to earth to accomplish. Without care for what people will think of him, he is driven by righteous values and holy anger to act on behalf of those unable to act for themselves.

Consider this meditation.

The temple highlighted your holy zeal;
what was there exposed your loving heart.
More than an institution,
more than a historic place,
more than a religious edifice,
more than a place of public worship—
it was your Father’s house.
Anger filled your heart—
holy, righteous, grace-infused wrath.
The place for the Gentiles now a house of commerce.
Sales tables replaced praying places.
Animal sounds replaced sounds of supplication.
This hallowed place, now a den of robbers.
Market thieves had stolen the Gentiles’ only place.
Sellers violated your covenant plan.
Merchants robbed your place of its glory.
This place of divine love, now a place of human greed.
No love for you.
No sympathy for the displaced.
No submission to your will.
No care for your saving plan.
Out of love for your Father, compassion for those excluded,
commitment to promises made to Abraham,
you overturned the plan of those who stained the Father’s house,
declaring the zeal of your heart, your holy mission, your eternal position.
This zeal, then and now, my hope.
Your anger, then and now, my security.
Your promises, then and now, my rest.
Your grace, then and now, my life.
For I know you will remain zealous, act in holy anger, and overturn the final table,
and I will dwell safe in your Father’s house forever.

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. What was Jesus angry about? What were the moneychangers doing wrong?

2. What fills your heart with righteous anger? Where do you see modern-day moneychangers, and what are you called to do about it?

3. It’s easy to put ourselves on Jesus’s side here, but how might you be guilty of some of the same sins as the moneychangers?

Read Mark 11:15–19 and Luke 19:45– 48.

Jesus Clears the Temple

Mark 11:15-19  New Living Translation

15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. 

17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.
19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city.

Luke 19:45-48  New Living Translation
45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. 46 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
47 After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. 48 But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.

Promise for Today - A Donkey’s Tale: The Gospel of Palm Sunday

written by Dr. Michael A. Milton

As we reflect on Palm Sunday, we are reminded of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Scripture that refers to the Lord telling His disciples to get the donkey is found in Matthew 21:1-3:
"As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.'"

Let’s hear about Palm Sunday from one who was there.
All the children waved palms and sang Hosanna. I could never forget! It was the high mark of my life. I know: I have heard the jokes that you've made. It is interesting that you never use the King James version except when you're talking about Baalom’s donkey (Numbers 22:28). Our kind knows all about the jokes. But it was no joke on that Sunday. Now, I can't talk like Balaam’s creature, but I have something more. I have a donkey's tale.

There are several things about that day that stand out to me. Every so often, I feel like I just want to rear back on my hind legs and bray at the beauty of those moments with the One called Immanuel. What do I remember? Well, they were at least three special moments that come to mind, and these memories may have something to say to you.

Firstly, Jesus chose me. I remember that the Galilean chose me to fulfill Scripture. I did not belong to the Galilean, but I belonged to a man from Jerusalem. But on that day, the Galilean sent his disciples and told my master that “the Lord hath need” of me. Do you know what that means? Do you know how it feels to be the bad end of a joke all the time? I don't have to do anything, and yet people immediately see me as stubborn and mean. Not Jesus. He did not choose me out of pity. He did not select me to be his supporter because of any other reason than this: in the secret councils of Almighty God, he set his love on me. If only I could have talked! Do you know how it feels when God chooses you despite your reputation? Yet, Jesus chose me.

Jesus used me. By saying that Jesus "used me," I don't mean that he took advantage of me. To the contrary! He gave me a part in the greatest story ever told. What do you think about that? Do you still want to call me stupid and mean and stubborn? I may be all of those things, but for one brief shining moment, I carried the King of kings and Lord of lords on my back. And I can never get over how God uses a simple little creature like me to bring about so great a salvation.

Others overlooked me. In the midst of all the hosannas and all the waving palms and palm branches thrown at my feet, I knew the cheering was not for me. I knew the palm branches did not form a veritable "red carpet" for the Prince of donkeys. No. I knew they were welcoming Jesus as the promised Messiah. But just as they overlooked me and my important part — the role that changed our species — in that great Palm Sunday story, many overlooked the Scriptures. For that glorious King who rode on my back was not a political figure. He was not riding into Jerusalem to overthrow Rome. He was riding into Jerusalem to go to the cross. And I can never forget that. The Scriptures declare that we creatures know more about God than some of you. Job 12:7-10 says: "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you, or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?"

So many misunderstood. But I knew why he chose me. I knew why he used me on that glorious day. And I could see what many overlooked. The King of kings and the Lord of lords came into Jerusalem as the Prince of peace. He was on his way to die for the sins of the world, to give his life as a substitutionary atonement for sin. He lived the perfect life so that whoever believes in him is covered in the righteousness of Jesus. And what did he get? He got our sins. He took our pain. But he gave us his life.

I'm just one of God's creatures. But on that special day, that Palm Sunday, my life and, indeed, my kind were changed forever.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Though I have made a donkey of myself numerous times in my life, I am now stepping away from the voice of that little creature on Palm Sunday. I want to say to you clearly: this little parable, based on true events is told to you that you may know God has placed his love on you despite your sin, your past, or even what other people might think of you. Secondly, like the little donkey, God has use for you. God calls us to use us for his kingdom's work. And finally, I want you to see that Palm Sunday is not only the beginning of the Holy Week, but if you repent and trust in Jesus Christ as the resurrected Lord of lords and King of kings in your life, it will be Easter morning forevermore.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

So, I encourage you, my human friends, to consider how God may be calling you and using you for his kingdom's work. Despite your past, your sin, or what others may think of you, God has placed his love on you and has a purpose for your life. And as we enter Holy Week, remember that Palm Sunday was just the beginning of the greatest story ever told.

2026 Lenten Season - Day 35 - The Humility in Majesty

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
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The march of Jesus to the cross was a march of humility and triumph.

As we near the final days of the pre-resurrection life of Jesus, let’s think once more about a familiar passage of Scripture. It is popularly known as the “triumphal entry.” But the problem with familiar scenes is two-fold.

1. Because a passage is so familiar, we often think that we know more about it than we actually do.

2. Because a scene is familiar, we don’t give it the kind of attention we did when it was new to us, and this prevents us from learning more.

Let us consider Matthew 21:1–11, which records the final march of Jesus through Bethany and on to Jerusalem, and his death. 

[Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”]

This is perhaps one of the most layered passages in Scripture. So much more is happening than what appears on the surface. There is more going on than Jesus entering the final stage of his work on earth in humility and majesty. There is more going on than a multitude worshiping him as the Messiah King. Let me suggest some words that unpack this moment.

1. Fulfillment. 

In this moment, Jesus is very aware of who he is and what he has been called to do. He knows that he is the direct fulfillment of holy and ancient prophecies. He is acting not with random spontaneity, but with a careful sense of who he is and the detailed specifics of what he has been called to do. He is not caught up in the moment, but rather motivated by an ancient and sovereign plan that he would be in this moment, at this place, doing these specific things. His heart is not moved by popular acclaim but by the will of his Father. What he does and what he directs the disciples to do is done with a spirit of calling,
submission, and active obedience.

2. Humility. 

Jesus, riding on the colt of a donkey, is not playing to the crowd. He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He has come to sit on the throne of David to set up a kingdom that will have no end, yet this moment is not about him. It’s not about how much the crowd loves him. It’s not about how big the crowd is or how exuberant their celebration is. This moment is about one thing: the redemptive mission that was the reason for his birth, his righteous life, everything he taught, every miraculous act, his final trip to Jerusalem, his trial, his suffering, his death, and his resurrection. He did not come to collect followers who would deliver fame and power to him. He came to seek and to save the lost, and to do that, he had to be willing to humble himself, suffer, and die. The greatest man who ever lived was also the humblest man who ever lived.

3. Majesty. 

At the very same time, this moment in the life of Jesus is colored with glory and majesty. This is the King of kings. This is the promised Messiah. This is the Son of David. Here comes a conquering King. From that horrible moment of disobedience in the garden, humanity has cried for the coming of this King. He is coming to defeat what we could not defeat. He is coming to give what we could never earn. He is coming to reign forever and ever and, in his reign, to fix everything that sin has broken. He has not come to defeat physical kings and to set up an earthly kingdom. He will not bring down Rome and sit on Caesar’s throne. He will not deliver less than this, but infinitely more. He is coming to set up a global and eternal kingdom that will result in a new heaven and a new earth, where peace and righteousness will reign forever. In this moment, the King has come to take his rightful throne.

4. Misunderstanding. 

The crowd has no idea who Jesus actually is and what he has really come to do. They cry, “Hosanna” (which means, “Save us”), but the salvation they are looking for is temporal and political. They think the Messiah will set up an earthly kingdom that will break the back of Roman rule. This is why Jesus cannot be distracted by the adulatory desires of the crowd around him. He knows the hearts of people and how fickle they can be. Though on the road to Bethany he was heralded by cries of “Hosanna,” in a few days in Jerusalem, he will be cursed by a crowd of similar people, who will cry, “Crucify him.” The crowd speaks in fulfillment of prophecy, but they speak about things they don’t fully understand. Jesus came not to take momentary power, but to die in order to deliver eternal life. His crown would be made of thorns and his seat would be a cross. Soon the voices of the celebrants will be silenced and he will be reviled. This, too, will fulfill what the prophets had spoken.

5. Servanthood. 

As Jesus said of himself, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He knew full well that the only pathway to his final kingship was death, and he was willing. He would not be diverted from the suffering that was his calling. He would do nothing less than give his life so that we would have life. Yes, he is the King, but he rode into Jerusalem to be the Lamb, that is, the final sacrifice for sin, and he did it with joy that was untainted by regret of any kind.

6. Eternity. 

The focus of the crowd is on the present, while the eyes and heart of the one on the colt are focused on eternity. He could have power now. He could call on angelic armies to preserve his life and to crush his enemies. He could exercise his power for his own escape, but he knows the result would be humanity’s eternal doom. With the forces now pressing in on him, he comes with forever in view. He comes to gift the walking dead with life that would never end, and nothing will stop him from completing his mission. This final ride of humility and triumph, on that borrowed colt, was a ride to the city of his death. Every aspect was done with the generations of souls who would put their trust in him in mind. He rode to his death so that we would reign in life with him forever. He did what he did so that, in a world made new again, we would sing Hosanna songs to him forever and ever and ever.

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. At the triumphal entry, humility and majesty met in perfect harmony. What impact does this joining of two seeming opposites have in the life of a believer? Why does it matter to us that King Jesus was both humble and majestic?

2. The crowds cried “save us” but didn’t know what that really meant. In what ways do you try to ask Jesus to save on your terms?

3. The fickleness of the crowds is striking. In what ways do you cry “Hosanna” in one breath and “Crucify him!” in the next?

Reread Matthew 21:1–11, and try to put yourself in the scene—what do you see, smell, hear, and feel?

Matthew 21:1-11 New Living Translation
Jesus’ Triumphant Entry

21:1 As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said, 5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’”
6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in highest heaven!”
10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.
11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

2026 Lenten Season - Day 34 - For Us

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
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Jesus’s life saw no defeat, so we could know victory.

In your weakest, most vulnerable, seemingly helpless, public-shame moment,

hanging on a rough-hewed cross between heaven and hell, nailed, bleeding, thirsty,

life ebbing out of you,

victim,

mocked and scorned,

you were a conquering King— not defeated, the Victor.

Seemingly defeated, you conquered sin, Satan, death.

Put to shame, you were putting to shame all who would shame you. 

Not cowering in fear, you were parading your sovereign glory,

unleashing your transforming grace, expediting your redemptive plan.

The darkest moment ever became the brightest moment ever.

The greatest defeat became the greatest victory.

The moment of death was a triumph of life.

You were where you came to be, doing what you came to do.

You did not surrender for a moment 

so that we could stand firm for a lifetime.

You did not give into defeat so that we would experience victory.

Everything you suffered was for us.

Every battle fought was fought for us.

Every victory won was won for us.

In your moment of apparent defeat you became forever our Victor.

GOING DEEPER

Reflection Questions

1. Taking stock of the past thirty-three days, what is God convicting you of?

2. What changes have you decided to make, and how are those changes going?

3. What fresh perspective have you gained on what the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus mean to you?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:14 –21 NLT, and rejoice in the gospel message.

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

2026 Lenten Season - Day 33 - So Many Questions

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
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The story of Jesus guarantees how your story will end.

How will this story end? This is the question in the mind of every human being.
How will my marriage end?
What will happen to my career?
Will my suffering ever end?
How will my kids turn out?
Will my investments pay off?
How will I get myself out of this mess?
Will I pass this course?
What will I have to deal with in old age?
What will I do after I graduate?
How will my ministry turn out?
Will the Bible turn out to be true?

These kinds of questions somehow, some way, haunt every human being. It doesn’t take many years of life before you conclude that you’re not only not in control of the big things in life, but also that there are very few things you actually control. It doesn’t take long for the delusion of self-sovereignty to shatter. We’re all also confronted with the fact that we live in a broken world that doesn’t function the way the Creator intended. As a child, you aren’t capable of theologically thinking this through, but you know messed-up and hurtful things happen a lot. As an adult, you adjust your expectations because you know the kinds of things that can happen in a fallen world.

In our smallness, we wonder if our lives will turn out the way we hoped and dreamed. My answer may surprise you. No, you won’t get much of what you hoped for and probably few of your dreams. But here’s the wonderful, encouraging flip side of my answer. What you will get as God’s child is way better than anything you could’ve hoped for and incomparably better than your brightest dream. Pay careful attention to what I am about to say. God doesn’t guarantee you’ll get your temporary dream; what he guarantees you is forever.

Because we are rational beings, we don’t live life based only on the facts of our experience; we depend on our interpretation of our experience. We never leave our own lives alone. We are always thinking, interpreting, and rethinking. We carry assumptions with us and we draw conclusions, which color future observations. Let me say this another way: we are all storytellers, and our audience is us. We all compose a story of how we think our life should unfold; it’s a story of what we desire and dream. And we all work to make the plot come true that we have written for ourselves. But grace introduces another author.

We are not actually the authors of our own stories; God is. He wrote our story ages before we took our first breath. Every situation, location, and relationship was written into the chapters of his book by his sovereign hand. And by grace, he has embedded our story into the great and grand, origin-to-destiny redemptive story. We are now citizens of his kingdom; we now live in the shadow of his glory, and we are now called to live with his purpose in mind. Because our story has been embedded in his story, there is no doubt about how our story will end.

Yes, we will suffer along the way. Yes, our hearts will go through seasons where they are laden with grief. No, we won’t always be healthy. Yes, we will be weak and we will fail. Yes, loved ones will leave us. Sometimes we will go through seasons of want. We won’t always be respected and appreciated. We won’t always experience true justice. There will be chapters in the story that God has written for us that will be very hard. But we must remember two things. First, he has written himself into the story so that he will always be with us, giving us what we could never give to ourselves. Second, what your Lord has written for you is not less than the plot you have written for yourself; it is infinitely more.

Most of us would be satisfied with temporal human happiness. We’d be satisfied with a good job, a nice house, a reliable car, a good church, a good marriage, successful children, and health and pleasure in our later years. But all of these dreams are not only self-oriented, but they are so dramatically brief when compared to the expansiveness of God’s story. So rather than deliver our small and self-oriented dreams, God did something better: he sent his Son to earth.

Jesus was willing to come, suffer, and die so that we would have a way better story. He suffered so that our suffering would end forever. He lived a selfless life so that we would be freed from our bondage to ourselves, so that for all eternity we would know the liberating joy of living for something and someone bigger than ourselves. Because of his humiliation, we will know the exaltation of living forever in the presence of the King.

Know today that no matter what you are going through, because of the grace of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, your little story has now been absorbed into his great story of victory over all that sin has broken. Because of what Jesus has done, you can rest in knowing the glorious way your story will end. In fact, because of the grace of Jesus, the end of your story is that it has no end!

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. Describe a time when God did something in your life that was not what you wanted or planned, but later you saw that his plan was better.

2. Functionally, who do you believe is the author of your story? You may mentally agree that it is God, but do you live that way? What evidence is there in your life that you submit to God’s pen?

3. What parts of your story are you trying to write yourself? Are you willing to give God control? What are you afraid of?
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Read Romans 8:31–39 as God’s promise to you that even your heartaches are part of his plan.

Romans 8:31-39 New Living Translation

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  

36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2026 Lenten Season - Day 32 - The Exposed Heart

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
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On the journey to the cross, not only is the heart of Jesus exposed, but our hearts are too.

I must admit that I like uncomfortable comedy, like The Office. I like those cringe-worthy moments when you almost have to turn away because you can’t believe what the person is about to say or do next. I think this is honest comedy.

We all experience those tense and awkward moments in our daily lives. We all find ourselves in embarrassing situations where we would love to roll back the cameras and be granted a retake. We have moments when we are incredibly self-centered, miss the point completely, or lack sympathy. We all find ourselves in situations where we are more exposed than we want to be. We are all haunted by the video replays in our minds. And we’ve all been hurt by others who said or did the wrong thing at just the wrong moment.

Between the “already” and the “not yet” you’d better be ready to have your heart exposed again and again, by words you wish you hadn’t said and actions you wish you hadn’t taken. As he journeys toward the cross, the heart of Jesus is exposed too, but it’s not an awkward and embarrassing exposure; it’s a thing of unparalleled beauty. Again and again, between his manger birth and his rough-hewn cross, you see the tenderness, the humility, the sympathy, the patience, the love, the faithfulness, the grace, and the generosity of the heart of Jesus. But as his heart is revealed, ours is too, and the contrast is not only deeply humbling, but it also exposes just how much we need the sacrificial death that this tender one is marching toward. We clearly see the contrast between the human heart and the heart of the Messiah in this dramatic moment recorded for us in Mark 9:2–37:

[And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” ]

I have quoted this lengthy passage because it is the context that sets up the contrast between the heart of Jesus and the hearts of his disciples. Peter, James, and John have just experienced the shocking, heart-rattling glory of the transfiguration of Jesus, with Moses on one side and Elijah on the other. Here is the promised Messiah, displayed in glory, as the complete fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Here is the one who alone is able to satisfy the law’s demands. Here is the one who alone is able to shoulder the hope of every prophet of old. Here is the hope of humanity. He is the hope that all that sin has destroyed would be made right again.

You have to wonder how Peter, James, and John carried this amazing scene in their hearts, a scene that they were commanded not to share with others.

After seeing Jesus in great glory, we next see him with great power as he does what is unthinkable: he raises a boy from the dead. There is no power in the universe greater than resurrection power. There is no feat that you could witness that is greater than taking the hand of a dead person, and by that act, bringing life back into that dead body.

But there is more. The disciples have been confronted with not only the glory of Jesus and the power of Jesus, but also the shocking reality that he was going to die and, after being killed, would rise again. It is all too much. This one of such glory and power would die? He would somehow rise out of death? You would think that the disciples’ hearts would be filled with sadness at his death and that their minds would be filled with endless questions about what they’d seen and heard. You would expect that what they would be thinking about was Jesus. But here’s where the contrast between the heart of Jesus and the hearts of the disciples is so great.

Jesus, full of power and glory, would not exercise this power to save himself, but he would offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of others. He knew his glory and he knew his power but he also knew his calling, and he pursued it with joy. Glorious and powerful, he came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). But what occupies the minds of the disciples? Awe in the face of his power? Grief at the thought of Jesus’s death? Confusion as to his resurrection? No, they were thinking of something very different. As they walked along the road, Jesus noticed a debate among them, so when they got to the destination, he asked them what they were arguing about. Embarrassed, not one of the disciples would answer the question, but Jesus knew. They were arguing about who was the greatest. They were not meditating on the messianic greatness they had just witnessed or ruminating over the news of Jesus’s impending death; they were thinking about themselves.

As the greatest one who ever lived was willingly marching to a criminal’s death, those journeying with him were questing to be great. I wish I could say that I can’t relate, but I can. I sadly share this heart, and so do you. I like to be the center of attention. I like to have the strongest argument. I like to be in control. As long as sin still lives inside me, I will still have moments when I want to be great, and when I do, I demonstrate how much I need the grace of this glorious and powerful one, who did not save himself but willingly died to save people like me from myself. On the road to the cross, not only is the heart of Jesus exposed, but ours is too, and there’s grace for everything that gets exposed.

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. What aspect of the disciples’ reactions resonates with you? Where do you see yourself and your own sin in their behavior?

2. What characteristics of Jesus’s heart revealed in Mark 9 do you think are surprising to the disciples?

3. What would have to change in your attitudes and actions for you to receive the kingdom of God like a child?

Read James 2:1–13. What insight does this passage add to the story in Mark?

James 2:1-13  New Living Translation
A Warning against Prejudice

1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name[c] you bear?
8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11 For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.