Today is the 33rd day of Lent.
 
May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10:32-34.
 

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” 
 

The disciples were astonished, and those who followed Jesus were afraid. The disciples seem confused in this part of the gospels. Jesus keeps telling them what’s going to happen, and that he’s got to go away. Can you imagine what that must have been like? Can you imagine what it would feel like to hear your best friend, your leader, your hope… say these words to you?  
   
As you listen to the scripture again, put yourself in their sandals and try to hear with their ears: They don’t know what you know. They don’t know the Easter story. All they know is that Jesus of Nazareth, who has demonstrated to them a new kind of Kingdom, is telling them he is going to be condemned, mocked, tortured, and killed. Can you imagine their experience of crisis and confusion? 
   
As we head toward Holy Week, it can be easy to skip straight to Easter and the historic Christian celebration of the miraculous resurrection of the Christ. But can you slow down a bit? Can you enter into Holy Week one day at a time? Can you allow yourself to feel the anticipation, the confusion, the crisis, the fear, the despair… that comes between now and Easter Sunday? As we end our time of prayer today, and as we look toward Holy Week, choose several individuals to pray for by name… pray for their faith to be stirred up or maybe enlivened for a first time, pray for their passion for God to grow, and pray for the Spirit of God to draw near to them as Easter approaches.    
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music - Abounding Grace - Vineyard Soul - (YouTube)

Today is the 32nd day of Lent.
 
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the Book of Philippians chapter 1.     


Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, 
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. 
 

A summary for this whole passage could be, “When you love someone with the love of Christ, you pray for them. Love is the motive and the fuel for prayer.” The Apostle Paul is praying for the church in the city of Philippi. He is overflowing with thanksgiving as he prays. Why? He says, “because I have you in my heart.” He says that he “longs for them with the affection of Jesus.”  
 
Can you identify with Paul’s words here? Think for a moment about someone that God has hidden away in your heart. Is there someone in your life that you long for with the affection of Jesus? Call that person to mind.  
 
What is it about that person that God has placed in your heart to pray for that person? As you hear Paul’s words again, try and pray Paul’s prayer over the person that God has hidden away in your heart. 
   
As we close our time today, don’t forget to pray for yourself. Pray that the good work that God began in you would be carried through to completion. Pray that your love may abound more and more and that you may be able to discern God’s best. And pray that you may be kept pure and blameless for the day of Christ.  
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music - Above All Else - Vineyard Soul - (YouTube)

Today is the 31st day of Lent.
 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.     
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from Jeremiah 32:36-4.
 

“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. 
 

Sometimes Old Testament scriptures are confusing. On the one hand, God seems to be like a jealous God, or He seems to speak out of anger. But then suddenly we also see a revelation of his character as a rescuer, as a redeemer, as a protector. How do scriptures like this make you feel when you read them?  
   
God reveals himself through scripture as not just a God who loves, but as a God who IS love. He also is revealed as a God who IS love and who is always in pursuit of those He loves. There is a wonderful poem from the English poet Francis Thomspon called The Hounds of Heaven… Thompson suffered from depression and lived a life of drug addiction and poverty. He writes that he fled from God… and he ends the poem with these words:  “Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, I am He Whom thou seekest!” As you listen again, listen to the voice of God seeking after His people:  
 
Like the poet, many of us at many times run away from God. We’re like the prodigal son… looking for the best the world has to give while running in the wrong direction. Is there anywhere in your life that you’re running from God? Running from a reconciliation? Running from a confession? Running from a calling to vocation? As we end, could you imagine yourself slowing down, getting still, and inviting God to be present to the thing you’re running from?  
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Eternal Light - Heaven & Earth - (YouTube)

Today is the 30th day of Lent.
 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.    
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the Book of Ephesians chapter 2.
   

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 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. 
 

Lent is a season of reflection where we consider things in our lives that pull us away from the love of God. The Apostle Paul specifically mentions our tendency to gratify the cravings of our flesh and follow its desires and thoughts. He says that even though we try to gratify ourselves, we can’t, and they make us spiritually dead. Think for a moment about the cravings that you have in your life. How are you trying to fill those cravings with worldly things?  
 
You have been raised to life with Christ. Christ is now your means of fulfilling your cravings. As you hear the passage again, imagine God filling every desire with his love. Imagine him being the fulfillment of every craving that you have. Imagine yourself coming back to life as he fills you.  
   
As you continue through your day, remind yourself that this is a work of grace from beginning to end. You didn’t start it, and you can’t complete it. God rescued you when you were dead, God is bringing you to life, and God will raise you up on the last day. Thank God for his incredible grace in your life.  
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music: Adore Him - Vineyard Worship/Samuel Lane - (YouTube)

Today is the 29th day of Lent.
 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from Psalm 143.

 
Lord, hear my prayer, 
    listen to my cry for mercy; 
in your faithfulness and righteousness 
    come to my relief. 
Do not bring your servant into judgment, 
    for no one living is righteous before you. 
The enemy pursues me, 
    he crushes me to the ground; 
he makes me dwell in the darkness 
    like those long dead. 
So my spirit grows faint within me; 
    my heart within me is dismayed. 
I remember the days of long ago; 
    I meditate on all your works 
    and consider what your hands have done.
I spread out my hands to you; 
    I thirst for you like a parched land. 
  

The Psalmist sounds at his end, doesn’t he? He feels pursued, crushed, like he dwells in darkness. His heart feels faint, and his spirit is dismayed. Have you ever felt so entirely spent? Like you’ve got barely a drop of energy left? Or barely a drop of faith left? Take the next quiet moments to honestly consider this question: what’s the condition of your own soul today? If you were to paint a picture of the state of your soul right now, what would that picture look like?  
   
Maybe you feel full of life, like a small child filled with energy . Maybe you feel fierce and committed, like a strong tree standing against a storm. Or maybe, like the psalmist, you feel like a parched land… Dry. Dusty. Dismayed. Listen to the psalm again and note the actions that he takes alongside giving voice to how he’s feeling.   
   
The Psalmist remembers. Meditates. Considers. He spread out my hands to God. He thirsts for God. The Psalmist brings his whole self to God. Do you know that you can bring your whole self to God? Not only the parts that are happy and healthy? But the parts that are in pain? The parts that feel shadowed? The parts that hurt? Actually, let’s say that another way: did you know that God is already present to your whole self. He is always near to you. In His faithfulness and righteousness, He will come to your relief. As we end our time of prayer today, consider giving your word to taking a few moments during your day around lunch, and again around dinner, where you will take a moment to quiet yourself, take a deep breath, and sit in stillness for a few moments inviting God to make you aware of His presence. 
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music: Catch Your Breath - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)

This is a version of the five-step Daily Examen that St. Ignatius practiced.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.

Today is the 27th day of Lent. 
 
May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the Book Revelation, chapter 11.

    
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: 
“The kingdom of the world has become 
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, 
    and he will reign for ever and ever.” 
And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: 
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, 
    the One who is and who was, 
because you have taken your great power 
    and have begun to reign. 
The nations were angry, 
    and your wrath has come. 
The time has come for judging the dead, 
    and for rewarding your servants the prophets 
and your people who revere your name, 
    both great and small— 
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” 
Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm. 
 

The book of Revelation, with its epic apocalyptic imagery, stirs great emotion. Maybe those emotions are unsettling. Nations raging against God. God rewarding the faithful and judging the dead, destroying those who destroy the earth. Flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, earthquakes. Notice what this imagery stirs up in you.     
 
Maybe we feel fearful of these images because we realize that we are small and out of control. But keep in mind that these images in the book of Revelation were given to bring comfort to those who were small and out of control. It’s a reminder that God will make everything right again when we can’t. This is the moment when his reign and rule are fully established. As you hear the passage again, imagine your voice added to the voices in heaven that proclaim “he will reign forever and ever”!  

When we pray “your kingdom come, your will be done”, this is what we are praying for—that God’s reign and rule would be fully established in the world, and in our lives. As we close our time, think of one area of your life, or a situation in the world where God’s kingdom has not been fully established. Pray “your kingdom come, your will be done” over that situation.  
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music - Let Your Kingdom Come - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)

Today is the 26th day of Lent. 
 
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the Book of Colossians, chapter 1:9-14.

 
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 
 

In this passage, Paul gives us several examples of what it looks like to please God: that we bear good fruit, that we grow in our knowledge of God, that we are strengthened by the Spirit, that we demonstrate endurance and patience, and that we are filled with joyful thanksgiving. Which of these is an area in your spiritual life that feels most vibrant, most alive? Can you see areas of good fruit being born in your day-to-day life? … Is your time of study and growth in knowledge going well? … do you feel strengthened by the Spirit’s presence regularly? … Are you practicing endurance and patience right now? … Is your life marked by joy and thanksgiving? Where are you thriving? 
   
Like anything else, we tend to focus our spiritual attention on things that come naturally to us, and we often need to put extra effort toward other areas. As you listen to the passage read again, identify one marker that feels like an area of weakness, or of gap in your life. 
   
I love how often scripture speaks of joy! CS Lewis wrote that Joy is the serious business of Heaven. The Apostle Paul, who by all accounts was likely a pretty intense fellow, wrote often of joy. Joy is a fruit of the spirit. It must be cultivated. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the Welsh minister and doctor, wrote,

"in any definition we may give of New Testament  joy, we do not go to a dictionary; we go to the New Testament instead. This is something quite peculiar which cannot be explained; it is a quality which belongs to the Christian life in its essence, so that in our definition of joy we must be very careful that it conforms to what we see in our Lord. The world has never seen anyone who knew  joy as our Lord knew it, and yet He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” So our definition of joy must somehow correspond to that… Joy is something very deep and profound, something that affects the whole and entire personality. In other words it comes to this -There is only one thing that can give true joy and that is contemplation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He satisfies my mind; He satisfies my emotions; He satisfies my every desire. He and His great salvation include the whole personality and nothing less, and in Him I am complete. Joy, in other words, is the response and the reaction of the soul to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Life in Christ Studies in 1 John by Martyn Lloyd-Jones) 
 
We live in an age that is marked for many by anxiety, depression, isolation, and exhaustion. As we end, would you invite God to give you the gift of His joy… Not a joy that pretends, or a joy that ignores, or a joy that denies… but a joy that can be present to you, no matter your circumstances, by the power of God’s spirit?  
    
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music - Cherry Blossoms - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)

Today is the 25th day of Lent. 
 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9.

 
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” they replied. 
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. 
While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 
 

Consider that these two men had likely been blind for many years, perhaps their whole lives. And consider that they were outcasts because of it, marginalized in their society. And consider that maybe they had prayed over and over again that their condition would change, but it hadn’t. What do you think that did to their faith?  
 
Yet Jesus asks them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” What do you think it was about Jesus, about this moment, that allowed them to say, “Yes, Lord”? As you hear the passage again, call to mind one area of your life that you’ve given up praying about. You don’t think change is possible. Imagine that Jesus is addressing you with the question, “Do you believe.”  
   
As you go through your day today, continue to bring to God that thing in your life that you’ve given up on. Ask him to increase your faith, to stir up in you what you don’t have in yourself—faith that he truly is able to do all things.  
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music - Expectation - Vineyard Soul - (YouTube)

Today is the 24th day of Lent.
 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.    
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from Isaiah, chapter 42:14-21.
 

“For a long time I have kept silent, 
    I have been quiet and held myself back. 
But now, like a woman in childbirth, 
    I cry out, I gasp and pant. 
 I will lay waste the mountains and hills 
    and dry up all their vegetation; 
I will turn rivers into islands 
    and dry up the pools. 
 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, 
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; 
I will turn the darkness into light before them 
    and make the rough places smooth. 
These are the things I will do; 
    I will not forsake them. 
 But those who trust in idols, 
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ 
    will be turned back in utter shame. 
 “Hear, you deaf; 
    look, you blind, and see! 
 Who is blind but my servant, 
    and deaf like the messenger I send? 
Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, 
    blind like the servant of the Lord? 
 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; 
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.” 
 It pleased the Lord 
    for the sake of his righteousness 
    to make his law great and glorious. 
 

This is a passage filled with the passion of God: both His judgment and frustration against those who trust in idols… and his presence and provision for those who love Him. We hear a familiar theme in these verses about those to whom God has revealed Himself, but who nonetheless pay Him no attention: “you have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen...” Think back over your life as a follower of Jesus: what are the ‘many things’ that you have seen God do? How has He protected you, or provided for you? … Are those things easy for you to forget? To take for granted?  
 
Have you ever experienced what it’s like when someone doesn’t pay you the proper attention? Maybe you are a parent, or a child, or a teacher, or a friend… and someone you love isn’t listening to your words of compassion, of concern, or of wise counsel. What is it like to love someone deeply… yet to experience them as not paying attention to you? As you listen to this passage again, consider God’s demonstrations of persistence and patience as we, over and over, fail to pay him attention. 
   
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah’s words remind us that God is not only patient with us, and not only persistent with us, but that he is so very kind to us. While we don’t pay attention, while we turn away… He continues in his faithfulness. Could you, today, commit yourself to maintaining focus on your followership of Jesus… to keep ‘paying attention’ to Christ? And as we end our time of prayer today, consider writing this scripture down and working to memorize it this week: I will turn the darkness into light before them, and make the rough places smooth. 
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music - More Than Anything - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)