Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Psalm 139:23-24
DEVOTION FOR TODAY, February 26, 2020
“23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
“What are you giving up for Lent?” To answer that question may mean that we have forgotten what Jesus said about not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing. What a person does to draw closer to God is between that person and God. Lent is not about giving up something, but following Jesus in his sufferings and realizing that what he endured was because of our sin.
A man had broken the law and was sentenced to a short stay in jail. The judge said to him, “While you are there think about what you have done, and the pain that it has caused.” In a sense, Lent is a time set aside to examine our sinfulness, to think about the pain we have caused; especially to our glorious Savior.
“Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.”
I realize that Lent is not a season that the Bible demands that we keep. I am grateful that many Christians find meaning in these forty days. This once a year season draws us back to Calvary, and back into our own hearts for a much needed spiritual examination. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24)
The Lenten path is sorrowful and sacrificial; but worship must be upbeat and attractive some might say. Even upbeat worship will become empty and lose its meaning if we forget what a price Jesus paid to redeem us. “Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget Thine agony; lest I forget Thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.”
“Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem (the cross).” Are we willing daily to bear the cross for Christ, to go with him, with him, all the way?
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
“Link to YouTube Video – At the Cross”
