Twenty-Second Day of Lent (Friday, 28 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

Over the course of our life we Jesus we utter a lot of prayers, and those prayers can take all sorts of forms. Some prayers are a single-word cry, like “Help!” Some prayers are liturgical, handed down through the centuries by faithful saints whose beautiful words still echo the stirrings of our soul. Others are connected to the rising needs of a moment, offered up not with eloquence or form as they are poured out of the emotional pulse of our need.

Then there are those prayers that, on the surface, even seem a little “odd.” If you were to write them out on paper and read them to someone else they may make little to no sense at all, but they make perfect sense to you. That’s the response I first had to the prayer that sits at the heart of today’s song: “I wanna be where my feet are.” Disconnected from the message of the song those words make little sense, but when we stop and consider them in context, and we also consider the invitation within them, they become quite profound.

I once heard someone say that the biggest problem with people in the modern world is that they refuse to live in the moment—they are either reliving or rehashing the past, or they are looking forward to the future with a mixture of hope and fear. When we live like that we often miss the “sacrament of the present moment,” to borrow a phrase from Jean-Pierre de Caussade. And yet it is in the present moment where we are most alive to God.

One of the invitations of Lent is to stop looking back, to stop looking forward, and to sit with the reality of what God is doing in us right here, right now. In the present moment we are most able to understand the living presence of Jesus and the extent of his mercy and compassion towards us. The kind of centering prayer we’re invited to practice with this song is all about embracing today. As the Psalmist says:

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”—Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)

To “be where your feet are” is to be in the moment, in this day the Lord has made. Because what he gives us is now.

Scripture for Meditation:

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
—Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT)

Song: Centering Prayer (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

Do you find it hard to be “in the present moment?” What has the most power to distract you and pull you out of what God would have you know and experience here and now? Offer those things to him in prayer, asking him to center you in today.

Spending too much time thinking about the past might be rooted in nostalgia, but it can also be linked to regret. Spending too much time thinking about the future might be rooted in dissatisfaction with the present, or it might also be a symptom of unhealthy fear. If those thoughts resonate with you, how might they lead you to prayer right now?

Spend some time reflecting on and praying with these words from today’s song: “The ground below me is how you hold me.” What do those words mean to you? How does it impact your understanding of the prayer “I want to be where my feet are?”

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Twenty-First Day of Lent (Thursday, 27 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

The gospels give us a beautiful portrait of worship in the days just before Jesus is arrested. Matthew records it in chapter 26 of his gospel:

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a  woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume,  which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”—Matthew 26:6-13 (NIV)

This “beautiful thing” is an act of sacrificial worship. In her extravagant gift we find an echo of David’s pledge to not offer to God that which costs nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). Jesus not only commends her, but says her example will live on in the gospel story…which, of course, it did!

As we, too, prepare for Jesus’ burial, there is a continual call for us to offer all that we are, all that we have, and all that we hope to be to God. We die to self as an act of sacrifice, and that sacrifice becomes worship, an “aroma pleasing to the LORD” (Lev. 1:9). During this season our gaze is not only inward…it is ultimately outward and upward to the only “worthy King of Kings,” who gave himself as a sacrifice for us.

How can we respond any other way?

Scripture for Meditation:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
—Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Song: Alabaster Heart (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

Have you found this intentional season of reflection sometimes causing your gaze to turn exclusively inward? How might you embrace in a new a deeper way the kind of worship to which Paul exhorts us?

Spend some time pondering David’s words, “I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.” What does sacrificial worship look like to you? Do you embrace it or resist it?

Verse 2 of today’s song includes these words:

There’s a lifetime worth of worship
In the nuance of Your names

Prayerfully spend some time pondering that lyric. What names for God most inspire you to worship?

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Twentieth Day of Lent (Wednesday, 26 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

Today we are at the halfway point of our Lenten journey, which makes today a good day to remember a troubling shift that can happen whenever we are in a season of intentional spiritual pursuit —a shift that changes the nature of what we’re doing and the reason we’re doing it.

In short, what was meant to be “devotion” becomes “work.” What began with an earnest and heartfelt desire to draw closer to God becomes less about communion and more about obligation. When that happens during Lent, the shift can turn us around and push us in the opposite direction from where we started. Instead of heading to the cross, with its powerful reminder of what Christ has done for us, we turn away and start focusing on the things we’re doing for him. We act as though the “success” of our journey depends on our performance, and when that belief takes over we find ourselves drifting off the path. Essentially we begin walking away from from Jerusalem instead of towards it.

This is a very tender place, and in this tender place God invites us to humble our hearts before him. Whenever we begin to think that our spiritual growth is primarily dependent on our own effort, God invites us to stop whatever it is we’re doing and simply gaze upon the cross of Christ. Only in being reminded of Christ’s work can we find what we need to stop focusing on ours.

Today we’re going to do just that, by allowing a well known hymn of the cross serve as our invitation to remember that this journey is not about our work or our worthiness. It is about Christ’s work and his worthiness alone. As you read, be sure not to rush through the lyrics. Allow these words to become your own humble prayer of re-centering.

For today there are two versions of this hymn, one instrumental and one vocal. Each is sung to a different tune. If you choose to listen to the instrumental version, you might wish to use that time to be still, breathe deep, and begin in a spirit of prayer before moving to the vocal version. Regardless of your listening choice, focus on the cross, whether with your eyes or with your heart, and know that the one who traveled to that cross willingly is more than able to turn us around when we’ve strayed from the path.

Scripture for Meditation:

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
—Ephesians 2:4-10 (NIV)

Song: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (lyrics after videos)

Instrumental Version (tune: HAMBURG)

Vocal Version (tune: O WALY WALY)

Lyrics for Reflection

For today, simply sit prayerfully with the words of this hymn. Let them draw you back into the reason you began your Lenten journey some three weeks ago. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help to “re-center” you in the cross as you continue to Jerusalem.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood

See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all

Cecil James Sharp, Isaac Watts, Richard Lloyd
© Words: Public Domain;

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Nineteenth Day of Lent (Tuesday, 25 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

In the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, there are characters who are sometimes overlooked. Obviously the whole event centers on the interaction between Jesus and the tempter, but when the drama of their clash is concluded, we find in Mark’s and Matthew’s accounts an interesting detail. Matthew records it in verse 11 of chapter 4:

“Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”—Matthew 4:11 (NIV)

A handful of words that can easily be missed—”angels came and attended him”—but when we focus on them, these words provide an image of refreshing and restoration that are worth noting. Having emerged from his wilderness journey, Jesus finds comfort in the presence of angels sent to take care of his needs.

A similar occurrence is found at the other end of the gospel story, as Jesus finds himself praying to God the Father in the hours before his arrest and crucifixion. Luke tells us about it in chapter 22 of his gospel:

“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”—Luke 22:39-43 (NIV)

As he has before, God sends to Jesus a divine messenger to attend to his needs. It is Christ’s darkest hour, one so fraught with despair that Luke (ever the physician) mentions in the next verse how his sweat was “like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Yet even in this darkness, there is comfort to be found in angelic presence.

As we follow Jesus on this road to Jerusalem and beyond, there are moments of temptation, and there are also moments of despair. In those times, we need to remember the promise of Christ that even in our wilderness we are not alone. We, too, have been given a gift of divine presence in the person of the Holy Spirit. This is the fulfillment of the promise Jesus shared with his disciples the night before he was killed:

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”—John 14:15-17 (NIV)

The Holy Spirit is our comfort. As the angels attended to Jesus, the Spirit attends to us. What a glorious and amazing gift! As we journey to the cross, we become more and more aware of our brokenness and our need for Jesus, but we are not left to wander by ourselves in the wilderness of despair. Thank God for the gift we’ve received in the strengthening, comforting presence of the Spirit.

Scripture for Meditation:

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
—Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

Song: I Will Say (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

“Comforter…Advocate…Helper…Guide…” What other words come to your mind when you consider the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Is there one that has been particularly meaningful for you?

Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of truth” in John 14:17. In what ways has the Holy Spirit revealed truth to you? In what ways is he still revealing truth to you?

The Holy Spirit is also referred to as the “Spirit of Christ” (1 Peter 1:11, Galatians 4:6). What does it mean for us as followers of Jesus to know that we have his very life within us? Spend some time meditating on this astounding truth, and offer to God your desire to know Jesus better by yielding more to his Spirit.

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Eighteenth Day of Lent (Monday, 24 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

As we often discover on our Lenten journey, if we are ever struggle with pride (and we do), if we ever think too highly of our efforts (and we do), and if we ever fool ourselves into thinking that God’s kingdom depends on the cleverness of us (it can happen), there is a place we can go that provides an immediate corrective:

The cross of Christ.

At the cross we are overwhelmed by the greatest expression of love the world has ever seen…or will ever see. In the light of such amazing love we can see clearly our own inadequacy and need. At the cross we are reminded that our best efforts, our human wisdom, and our natural accomplishments are empty apart from the love and power of God shown in Christ. As we gaze on the cross, the words of Isaiah once again become heart-breakingly clear:

“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”—Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

But the wonder of Lent and the approach of Holy Week is this: the wind of sinfulness does not have the final word. When we put our trust in Christ, crucified and risen, we are not swept away. Instead, we are cleansed and restored, and what was once a shriveled leaf becomes a fruit-bearing branch of the True Vine. At the cross we are invited to lay down our broken lives as an offering and receive the life we were always meant to know.

If that doesn’t humble us, nothing will.

To gaze upon the cross of Christ is humbling, to be sure, but never in a way that shames us. We are humbled because we are brought face-to-face with the depth of God’s love for us. And in response we can do nothing…but offer everything.

All I can offer is praise upon praise
For the grace upon grace I've received

Scripture for Meditation:

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the testimony of God to you with superior speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were made not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
—1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (NRSV)

Song: Humbled Heart (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

What helps you keep the cross before you, either literally or inwardly? What Scripture, practices, or songs have helped you focus on the love of God shown at Calvary? What might you build into your walk with God to make it even more central?

How do you find yourself humbled by the cross of Christ? Are you able to receive that humility without falling into shame? Spend some time in prayer asking God to show you anew the depth of his love and the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice for you in a way that leads to wholeness and healing.

The lyrics of today’s song include these words:

I come again to a table set
Remembering how You bring life from death

How does the “tablet set” impact you during Lent? How does this season impact the way you understand, experience, and receive communion at your church? If you have a service of communion coming up, ask God in prayer to use it to remind you again how he brings life from death.

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Third Sunday of Lent (Sunday, 23 March 2025)

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Sundays of Hope and Joy

One of the most frustrating things to deal with in life is an incomplete story. It’s only human nature to want resolution, to see the tale brought to its conclusion so that the “open loops” in the narrative no longer take up emotional space in our lives.

The folks behind blockbuster movies and television shows understand this need well. A well-placed cliffhanger in a popular franchise ensures that folks will return to see how it plays out. Will the heroes emerge victorious? (most likely yes) Will the villains get their comeuppance? (it’s almost assured) Will the audiences be happy? (some will, some won’t) Will the studios make enough money to keep churning out more for years to come? (you can be sure of that)

This idea of an incomplete story figures into our Lenten journey as we shift from Saturday to Sunday. For six days of the week we are called to focus our attention on the passion of Jesus: his betrayal, arrest, torture, and death. We contemplate the cross and its meaning, along with our call to repentance and a deeper yielding of our lives to Christ. It is a needed time of reflection, but the tension of the unfinished story can rest heavy on our souls.

As we enter the “mini-Easters” of these Sundays during Lent, we are invited to remember the rest of what happened after Jesus died. We turn the page from the cross to the empty tomb and find the much-needed reminder that the story didn’t end on Calvary—it continued (and continues) on in the truth of a risen Savior who conquered the grave as a definitive victory over the one who tempted him in the wilderness. We may hold back a bit on a full-blown celebration of the resurrection until Easter, but we let the reality of it once again refresh our souls with the knowledge that sin and death did not have the last word.

There are powerful worship songs available that do a wonderful work of telling the entirety of the gospel story, from Jesus’ birth (and sometimes before) all the way through to Easter (and sometimes beyond). When we soak in the fullness of their storytelling, we are inhabiting the completeness of God’s work and the fullness of his promises. “Hymn of the Saviour” is one of these worship songs, a stirring, poetic retelling of all that has happened for our salvation. Here are some others that have that same “complete story” theme at work in their lyrics, and they are a wonderful complement to each “mini-Easter.” (And if you know of another hymn/worship song that does a good job of telling the whole gospel story, please post it in the comments below—thanks!)

"Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)” by Casting Crowns

“I Cannot Tell” by Emu Music

“What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong

“Magnificent, Marvelous, Matchless Love” by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa

For the song we raise, the works of our hands
Are in service of the King
When a thousand tongues cry, ’Glory to God’
Forever his praise we’ll sing

Scripture for Meditation:

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
—2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)


Song: Hymn of the Saviour (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

As you make your way on this Lenten journey, are you finding ways to make Sundays different? What could you do, even today, to spend some intentional time in “the rest of the story?”

Can you think of hymns or songs that have been particularly meaningful for you in focusing on the resurrection of Jesus? What was particularly striking to you about those songs?

Even as we remember that the story of Jesus didn’t end at the cross, we also do well to remember that it didn’t end at the empty tomb either. In what ways does anticipating the return of Jesus and the culmination of the Kingdom story impact our “mini-Easters?”

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Seventeenth Day of Lent (Saturday, 22 March 2025)

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Saturday Reflections

On Saturdays during our Lenten Devotional time we sill simply sit with an instrumental version of a well-known hymn or worship song. Our weeks are so full, so busy, so noisy…use these Saturdays to prepare your hearts for gathered worship by reflecting on lyrics and Scripture in a space of stillness and simplicity.

Our instrumental hymn for today is one of the best-known songs in Christian hymnody. It was written in 1834 by Charlotte Elliott, a Victorian poet and hymn writer from Clapham, England. In 1821, when she was just 32 years old, Charlotte was struck with a serious illness that left her weak in both body and spirit. She suffered from its effects for the rest of her life, often leaving her struggling with feelings of loneliness and uselessness.

During her illness a well-known preacher from Switzerland, César Malan, came to visit her. He asked Charlotte if she had peace with God, and in her depressed state she refused to answer him. When given a chance to visit with him again, she apologized and said, “You spoke of coming to Jesus, but how? I am not fit to come.” She told him she needed to “clean up her life” before she could come to God in faith. Malan’s response was simple: “Come just as you are,” and Charlotte did just that.

Even as her faith grew, Charlotte’s struggles with feeling useless would occasionally resurface. In 1834, while her family attended a nearby church bazaar to raise funds for a school, Charlotte found herself confined due to her health. Reflecting on her inability to help such a worthwhile cause, and tempted again to feel of no use, she found herself recalling César Malan’s invitation: “Come just as you are.” Taking pen to paper, she then proceeded to write what would become one of the best-loved hymns of all time.

Often with familiar hymns we can lose sight of their beauty and profundity. May God open our hearts and minds to hear his love and call for us anew in these well-known words.


Scripture for Meditation:

After this Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up, left everything, and followed him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
—Luke 5:27-32 (NRSV)

Song: Just As I Am (lyrics after video)

Lyrics for Reflection

Read through the lyrics of this hymn slowly and prayerfully. Read them more than once, and pay attention to the movement of your soul as you pray. What words or phrases grab your attention? Why? As you finish, sit in prayerful silence before God and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you something of your need and God’s provision that emerges from these words.

Just as I am without one plea
But that Thy Blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee
O Lamb of God I come I come

Just as I am Thou wilt receive
Wilt welcome pardon cleanse relieve
Because Thy Promise I believe
O Lamb of God I come I come

Just as I am though tossed about
With many a conflict many a doubt
Fightings and fears within without
O Lamb of God I come I come

Just as I am Thy Love unknown
Hath broken ev’ry barrier down
Now to be Thine yes Thine alone
O Lamb of God I come I come

Charlotte Elliott, William Batchelder Bradbury
© Words: Public Domain; Music: Public Domain

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Sixteenth Day of Lent (Friday, 21 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

During Lent we come face-to-face with parts of ourselves we would rather ignore. As difficult as it is, it’s a beautiful work of the Spirit as we allow God to graciously reveal to us where we are still in need of forgiveness and healing, those places we have attempted to hide out of shame and regret. As the saying goes, “God loves us just the way we are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way.” Lent is a time when that truth becomes real in penetrating and transformative ways.

But as the Spirit probes our soul, we often find that it is not just sin that comes to the surface, not just a rebellious streak or a willful spirit. Sometimes, as we are brought to deeper places of honesty within ourselves, we come face-to-face with something we know is there but are maybe even less willing to admit: doubt.

As painful as it is to reckon with our sin, it is at least something we know we all struggle with. Paul knew the struggle and wrote about it. Jesus was fully human and isn’t shocked at all that we deal with it. Sin doesn’t come as a surprise. But doubt is a different animal. In many Christian circles doubt is seen as a unique spiritual weakness and fault, one we are shamed into denying should it ever rear its ugly head. How many of our churches are filled with people secretly struggling with seasons of doubt who are afraid to admit it, who then put on a mask of “everything is great” when around their church friends and family, the very people who should be most open to walking alongside us in those times?

The Bible doesn’t shy away from doubt and struggle. Think of all the people in Scripture who wrestled with their faith, people we tend to look to as heroes like Moses, Gideon, Abraham, and Sarah, to name a few…and yet we don’t condemn them for their uncertainty. King David wrestled with his faith on more than one occasion, and of course we have Thomas, the doubter who was no less beloved, who church tradition tells us spread the faith far and wide in the days of the early church.

Doubt is not defeat. As the 19th century Scottish evangelist Henry Drummond said:

“Doubt is looking for light.”

Doubt is looking for light. It’s acknowledging the places in our lives where the light doesn’t make sense right now, or where the light is simply hard to see. We can be brutally honest with Jesus about our doubt, just as we’re brutally honest about our sin. It is not failure to acknowledge doubt, it is failure to ignore it. We can learn a good lesson from the despairing father who said to Jesus in Mark chapter 9:

“I believe; help my unbelief!”—Mark 9:24 (NRSV)

As we make our way to Jerusalem with Jesus, we may even find ourselves doubting the journey itself. Whatever the doubt we’re struggling with, we begin to find the answers when we choose to acknowledge it and name it before the one who, as he did with Thomas, will meet us there and turn those doubts into places of encounter and worship.

Scripture for Meditation:

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
—1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)

Song: I Believe Help My Unbelief Part 2 (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

“I believe…help my unbelief.” When in your life have you most resonated with those words? If your answer to that question is, “Right now,” are you able to hear Christ’s invitation to name your doubts honestly and without shame? Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum of faith and doubt, spend some time in prayer acknowledging to God where it is most difficult.

Are there people in the biblical narrative who have helped you understand doubt and wrestling with faith? What about their story impacted you?

As we think about Jesus, “the fullness of the Godhead knit with our humanity,” what can in we find in his divine nature that can help us be honest about our doubts and struggles? What can we find in his human nature that can do the same?

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Fifteenth Day of Lent (Thursday, 20 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

We offer many prayers during Lent. Prayers of confession, prayers of repentance, prayers of commitment and submission…these 40 days are a time of deep communion with God as we pour out our hearts to him and seek to be more conformed to the image of Jesus. We spend much of this journey to Jerusalem on our knees, crying out to God in faithful trust that he listens…and answers.

It is very unlikely that there is any one prayer God desires to hear from us more than another, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there is one simple prayer that brings a special smile to his face, and it’s this one:

Lord, I want to know you more.

The sad truth is that many of us who claim to be in relationship with Jesus are prone to treat it casually at times, causing it to languish and stagnate. We can take it for granted, and when we do, we lose sight of God’s call further and farther into his love, into a deeper and more intimate fellowship that knows no limit. The Lenten journey provides a counter to our casual leanings: as we meditate on the cost of our reconciliation we are exposed in all the ways we fall short in pursuing our relationship with Jesus with full passion and fervor.

This doesn’t happen to shame us or to tell us we aren’t doing enough. God doesn’t reveal our spiritual stagnation in order to make us feel guilty. He does it to draw us closer to himself, saying, “Gaze upon the cross. That is how precious you are to me. That is how much I desire to be in a relationship with you. I love you with an everlasting love and will go to any length to draw you to myself. The way has been made, the work is already done. Will you, in turn, draw near?”

Our response of “yes” to this invitation is this a prayer God is delighted to answer. As James reminds us:

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”—James 4:8 (NRSV)

And if that’s not where we are right now, that’s okay. In fact, that’s kind of the point. This kind of passionate pursuit isn’t something we can just stir up within ourselves. It only comes as we drop all pretense and simply be honest with God. Maybe in that honesty we add a couple of words to our prayer:

I want to want to know you more.

Again, that’s a prayer God is more than pleased to answer. It’s a handing over of our hardened hearts to the work of the Spirit, and Lent is a powerful season to take that step. The cure for our spiritual stagnation is to stop pretending it isn’t there and hear anew God’s invitation to intimacy.

Will you draw near?

Scripture for Meditation:

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”
—Philippians 3:8-9 (NLT)

Song: Knowing You (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

Can you remember the first, or a significant, moment when you realized that God desired to be in relationship with you? That he delighted in it? If that is a truth that you’re still seeking to know in your life, ask God to reveal to you in a new way the depths of his love for you.

How have you navigated times of spiritual stagnation in your walk with Jesus? When your passion for God seems to be in decline, are there specific prayers or practices you find helpful to keep yourself centered? If not, how might you ask God to be near to you during those times?

Try using this line from today’s song as a breath prayer: “I was made for You, to love and be loved by You.” Breathe in as you silently pray “I was made for You,” then breathe out as you silently pray “To love and be loved by You.” Repeat this a few times. Let the truth and beauty of these words feed your soul.

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Fourteenth Day of Lent (Wednesday, 19 March 2025)

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Words of Reflection

As we make our way to Jerusalem, contemplating the call of Jesus to take up our cross , there is a part of that passage that we sometimes overlook which deserves our full attention:

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’”—Matthew 16:24-25 (NRSV)

When we study and meditate on this passage, our focus is often on what we are asked to sacrifice, and rightly so. Jesus’ words are about our denial of self and our willingness to lay down our lives for his sake, and that should always be at the forefront of our understanding of these verses.

But note that Jesus also tells us what we gain in doing so. He isn’t describing a one-way transaction—there is an exchange that happens here. We come before him in humility and supplication. We offer up our lives as a living sacrifice to him. We turn away from self and turn towards the cross.

And what we receive in return is nothing less than life itself. The life we were always meant to know.

The demands Jesus places on us are not the empty whims of a deity who enjoys chastising his followers for their mistakes. Instead, they are the loving commands of One who knows what is best for us and who desires us to experience it. Dying to self isn’t punishment—it’s invitation. It’s a purging of all the things in our lives that are not of God, so that we might be open to the life he has for us.

Our Lenten journey is all about that openness. It’s all about a deeper experience of surrender, and in doing so we find a deeper experience of freedom, peace, joy, and love at the foot of the cross.

Scripture for Meditation:

“So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.’”
—John 10:7-10 (NRSV)

Song: At the Foot of the Cross (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

How do you understand the relationship between “dying to self” and “having life abundantly?” In what ways has that relationship played out in your own life? How might God be inviting you to go even deeper in that experience?

What do you sense Jesus inviting you to lay down at the foot of the cross? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to do so, trusting that every deeper act of sacrifice leads to a deeper experience of God’s grace and power in your life.

Spend some time prayerfully considering the chorus of today’s song. Pray through each line, paying attention to the movement of your soul as you do so. What words stand out to you most? Why?

Now I can trade these ashes for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of Mercy
I lay ev'ry burden down
At the foot of the cross

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