#lent bible study

[dukejeyaraj]

Lent 2024: seven twitter-size freshly baked devotions for week 1

Duke Jeyaraj We welcome you to join the WhatsApp Distribution list using which Duke sends out these freshly-baked Cross-themed devotions everyday during Lent 2024. Whatsapp him via 918886040605. Duke is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission(G4 Mission). Support for this ministry which is not a church comes from individuals blessed by the spiritual food it has been…

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Ash Wednesday, Isaiah 6, and the blessing in our limitations

Painting by Justin Simmons.

(If you're interested in listening to this post instead of reading it, I also shared this on my podcast, Blessed Are the Binary Breakers.)

I said, “Mourn for me; I’m ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips. Yet I’ve seen the king, the Lord of heavenly forces!” Then one of the winged creatures flew to me, holding a glowing coal that ze had taken from the altar with tongs. Ze touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips. Your guilt has departed, and your sin is removed.” - Isaiah 6:5-7

Did the glowing coal leave a mark? A smear of dark? A bright burn?

Reading this text on Ash Wednesday, I can’t help but connect Isaiah’s coal and our ashy crosses:

He confesses himself unclean — admits his limits, where he and his people have failed.

We profess ourselves dust — acknowledge our limits, the finite time we have here and now, and how often we’ve failed to cherish that time.

In the confession, we open ourselves to blessing. Accepting our limits, we fall into God’s limitless love.

Why these physical, ritual actions — coal to the lips, ashes to the brow — to mark these limits and the blessings they yield?

God knows, respects, loves our existence as embodied spirits, inspirited bodies. She pairs spiritual gifts with tangible signs to help us experience Her truths with our whole selves.

A glowing coal — dead plants packed deep, transformed over eons, unburied at last and set alight — touches truth-telling lips to set them free.

Ashes of palm branches once waved in worship, burned down to begin the cycle anew, mark us as individually finite, but gathered into an infinite love.

Take time to prayerfully consider your own limits. What blessings, what liberation can you imagine flowing from our individual finitude? How can you connect your limited time and gifts to a greater whole, in small ways with great love?

- Shared on Daily Ripple for 14 Feb, 2024

[timmurleyart]

A very tiny church. ⛪️✝️🌷

[walkswithmyfather]

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” —Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Lent Devotional By Gideon Heugh (Tearfund) - Day 2: “Renewing our minds”:

“What is the pattern of this world? It might not be possible to know exactly what Paul meant by this, but looking at the world around us, we can discern some of the ‘isms’ that shape it:

Cynicism. Believing that human nature is fundamentally selfish.

Consumerism. Believing that happiness is found in acquiring more things.

Capitalism. Believing that endless economic growth is possible and should be relentlessly pursued.

Individualism. Believing that we should all be self-reliant – responsible for our own lives alone.

This pattern of the world has led to great injustice, destruction, and sorrow.

Let us renew our minds and believe the truth that all humans are made in God’s image. Let us believe in enough, that less is more, and that simple is beautiful. And let us believe in each otherness, connection, and community.

Prayer: Loving God, form our lives into a more beautiful pattern. Renew our minds, so they are shaped by faith, hope, and love. And help us all to bring heaven here. Amen.”

[vulpine111]

Today's reading for Lent is rich in wisdom and especially relevant to my life. I still have so many resentments to pray about.

[prayerandlipstick]

[sureshe]

Discover Your Faith: Discover St. Paul's Treasure Trove of Christian Books

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[plaintalkchristianministries]

Explaining: Lent, Good Friday, Easter / Passover.

How the Pagan Celebrations of Lent, Good Friday and Easter started in “Christian” Churches:   The Short Direct Answer is the Holy Roman Catholic Church is the Cause of this. Paganism is Deeply Rooted in the “Christian” Celebration of Lent, Good Friday, Easter / Passover. The Truth is Almost Every so-called Christian Church is Pagan in its Origin. Even Many Actual Christian Churches are Full of…

[shamballalin]

Did You Know What Jesus Said Between His Ages 12 to 30? Lent Is The Time To Learn All That Jesus Said

Have you ever made a puzzle with half of the pieces missing? Do you get the complete picture if half the puzzle is made? What if others made up what was in the missing pieces because it was too powerful for you to know, according to them? What if others scared you and your eternal Soul by saying those missing pieces were apocryphal, which only means hidden knowledge, not anti-Jesus, nor…

[happy2bmyownboss]

Passover Resources

I’ve been talking about these Biblical Feasts to anyone who will listen, whether they want to know about them or not because I’m so intrigued that I never knew about these BEFORE!!! I have some resources listed in this blog post Holy Days vs Holidays but I wanted to post some more that were more related to Passover. I’m sure that I will be posting about the other Biblical Feasts as well but…

[naturesnaturalmamma]

His Crucifixion Based On the beginning of "The Case For easter" by Lee Strobel

In the time of lent, my thoughts while reading Lee Strobel's Book.

As a child that attended church regularly because my mom made me, I never paid much attention to Jesus’s crucifixion. I had no idea what the last supper represented or let alone that it was the night before the most significant event in history. Recently, my friend asked me to be apart of a bible study group and I’ve gotten a head start on the reading. As an adult, I’ve definitely been able to…

[dukejeyaraj]

Twitter-size lent devotions with duke jeyaraj: week two (2024 season)

Duke Jeyaraj send freshly-gleaned Lent season devotions via Whatsapp from 918886040605. Here are the seven devotions for week 2 of Lent 2024: Duke Jeyaraj is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission (G4 Mission). This ministry is reader-supported. Use this QR code to support this ministry over and above what you rightly do for your local church and other ministries you…

[lent2023]

Matthew 18:1-7

I've decided that I get 3 skips for Lent. I used one yesterday (Romans 1:8-17). And, yes, I know it is 4:19am on Sunday, but I've not gone to sleep yet, so it still counts as Saturday.

So these verses kick off with people asking Jesus about rankings in heaven. "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" the disciples asked.

As if rank matters in heaven. As if anyone is greater or lesser there in the afterlife.

And Jesus serves an immediate smackdown, too. He calls forth a child and says, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."

Now, as my trusty study bible (The Harper Collins Study Bible; NRSV) points out children (and women) were considered of a lower status in society at this point. (I would argue that children are still considered lower status). So Jesus is, once again, upending expectations and reversing traditional hierarchies. "Humble" here meaning low-rank.

The study bible also says that "become like children" means to be "without concern for social status."

So, basically, Jesus is saying, you want status in heaven? Well, step one? Stop caring about status. Besides, whatever you're thinking status-wise is wrong. Lower yourselves; stop pursuing rank.

I like these verses because Jesus is consistent in this message. Status, riches, power--all of that is meaningless. Pursuing it is a distraction at best.

The reading ends, then, with a couple verses about stumbling blocks.

And these are fantastic verses. Basically, Jesus says that people aren't perfect. We're going to make mistakes.

"Occasions for stumbling are bound to come" (NSRV)

"Stumbling blocks are inevitable" (the Inclusive Bible)

We are going to screw up! And that's okay!

What isn't okay is being the asshole who makes other people trip up. Woe to them.

And I like this especially if we think about it in terms of sin. We are all going to make mistakes. We will all sin. It is going to happen. Don't beat yourself up over it.

I just love that line--"stumbling blocks are inevitable"--because if something is inevitable then berating yourself over it is a bit much. You screwed up. It was bound to happen.

But, pushing other people to sin is not okay. And I want to broaden that a bit--what matters is how we affect others. The impact of our actions on others is what matters, not that we made a mistake.

I am reminded again that faith is a community. Bringing or causing harm to others is anathema to Christianity as I understand it. And that isn't harm to just those within some in-group either. Jesus doesn't say to only avoid putting stumbling blocks in front of believers.

And, pulling all of the verses of this reading together, my takeaway is this:

We are equals within a community and we should support each other and avoid harming one another or ourselves. Mistakes are inevitable, but they are not an excuse for leaving; we fix what went wrong, make our apologies and amends, and move on. No one is outside the community unless they make themselves be so (e.g., such as by fixating on status and cleaving to those of high status).

My God is a god of love, acceptance, equity, and community.

[imstilllearningtoloveme]

A little snap shot of someone the quotes from my Youth Ministry Retreat

[campbellzc]

Lent Study Verse: Day 1

Psalm 51 is a psalm of repentance and confession, written by King David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba. In verse 10, David pleads with God to create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him. This verse is a powerful reminder that we all fall short and need God’s help to overcome sin and live a righteous life.During Lent, this verse can…

[vulpine111]

Prayer to Grow in Love