Lent
Lent is all about spending quiet time with our Creator! A devotional time. A reflecting time.
It is about focusing on Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross!
Thus, lent is a 40-day season of reflection, repentance, and preparation for Easter
Why did Christ come down to Earth?
Jesus came down to this earth to do His Father’s will. The Father’s will was for Jesus to die for our sins which He fulfilled .
Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38)
Sin had put a barrier between God and humanity. And God, out of His great love for us, wanted to remove this obstacle that separated us from Him.
So He sent His son Jesus to become the ultimate sacrifice for our sins! By dying on the cross, Jesus paid the full price for all of humanity’s sins and removed the barrier of sin that once separated us from God.
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus made us righteous before God, granting us access to a restored relationship with Him.
The Importance of Scripture In Our Lives
The scripture teaches us how to..
- Live wisely
- Make good decisions
- Worship the Lord.
It provides us with solutions for every situation in life and it is also God’s guide for our salvation and eternal life.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9
12 Lenten bible verses to inspire you on your Journey to the Cross
As we prepare our minds and hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ life, death and body resurrection, the word of God , brings our souls closer to Jesus.
It leads us to a new life which is more Christlike.
1. Self- Examination
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ”
~2 Corinthians 13:5
We all need to examine and search our souls, to keep us honest with ourselves and with God. Very often we live with a false sense of self-righteousness. We like to believe that we are better, smarter, and more ethical than we really are! The scripture tells us to confess our sins to God, which requires self-examination.
2. Repentence
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ~ Acts 2:38
True repentance is to understand that we have done something wrong. Next, we need to …
. Acknowledge the Sin
. Have heartfelt sorrow
. Regret committing the wrong
. Feel remorse for causing pain and problems to others.
. Determine never to repeat the act regardless of the temptations or situation.
3. Forgiveness, Kindness, and Compassion
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
~ Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Show kindness and compassion to fellow human beings. Respect one another feelings. Be sensitive, sympathetic and comforting to their situations. Forgive those who have hurt you just as Christ forgives you. You have a greater reward in heaven.
4. Obedience & Humility
” Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” ~ Matthew 7:24
Obedience is doing what God likes and not what we like. It is an act of heeding and accepting the instructions from God on any issue. Obedience also requires Humility and Love for God. Reading God’s word and spending time with Jesus helps us to grow in obedience and humility. The Holy Spirit will help us to be obedient to God.
5. Charity and Sharing
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hebrews 13:16
God wants us to share the extra blessings that we have received like food, clothing, money, and likewise, with our less fortunate fellow human beings who are in dire need. God is pleased when we use our ability and opportunity to help others.
6. Fasting.
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
During Lent, we generally give up certain foods or the things we have made ‘idols’ of, in our lives like TV, social media, phone, or even excess shopping. By doing so, we feel that we are in solidarity with Jesus and His struggles during His 40 days in the desert. Furthermore, without distractions, there is more time to spend in God’s word. But then, Christ tells us not to give unnecessary publicity to these self-denials. The main point is to concentrate on building a close relationship with God.
7. Jesus replaced us on the cross
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Corinthian 5:21 (KJV)
God made Jesus, who had never sinned during His life on earth , to become our sin. Jesus took our place and died on the cross. By dying on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sin. He freed us from our guilt and removed the obstacle SIN between us and God. He made us righteous in Christ.
8. Follow Jesus
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mathew 16:24-26
Jesus wants us to follow in His ways and emulate His teachings so that we are moulded into good human beings. The death on the cross was painful and humiliating, and Jesus says that even if obedience to God, is painful and humiliating, we should be willing to endure it for Christ. Nothing in this life is worth keeping if it means losing eternal life. The call is tough, but the eternal reward is worth the temporary pain. Taking up our cross to follow Christ means complete COMMITMENT!
9. Christ our perfect example
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
~Ephesians 5:1-2
Our Lord Jesus is the only right One that can be imitated in all things. We should look to Jesus by following His example of obeying the will of the Father and serving others. We also ought to impersonate His example of humility and selflessness. If we do this, others then can follow our example because we are following after Christ. By putting God in the forefront with the help of the Holy Spirit, we honour the Lord in all that we do.
10. Total Faith and Trust in Jesus
Then Jesus told Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
~ John 20:29
It can be intimidating to trust in someone whom we have never seen. But then, we are to live by faith, not by sight or sense or situations. We are to live by trusting God’s Word and believing His promises. We are called to have Faith, Trust, and Belief without seeing His resurrected body. Jesus promises special blessings for those who have not seen the risen, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus but have believed on Him.
11. Reorient our Choices
“At the same time, we must humbly admit our inability to change ourselves and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit within to transform us into the image of Christ ” ~ Romans 8:29
The season of Lent is all about reorienting ourselves. We need to put our priorities in order. This world is our temporary home. Instead of storing up earthly treasures, we need to focus on God and seek His everlasting kingdom. To reorient the choices we make, we should live as Jesus taught us to live. But then, we can remould ourselves only with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
12. Christ’s finished work on the cross
“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30, NKJV).
What God set out to do for mankind, He accomplished! These last words Jesus spoke before dying on the cross is an announcement to the world. It is a declaration that we have been delivered of our sins. Now, we are free from the burden of guilt or shame of the past! We are living with all of the blessings and none of the curses. By His finished work on the cross, we are rescued from eternal damnation and rewarded with eternal life.
May this Lenten season be an occasion to renew ,reorient,recreate and remould our relationship with Jesus with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The foundation of Christianity is Forgiveness. Forgive others as Christ forgives you. Want to know more?
Do you want to know God’s Will in your life? Click here to know more…
Lenten season is a journey that moves us towards the cross! Read more….
Were these verses helpful to you? Please do tell us…