Put on the Armor of God

a Lenten Devotion by Beth Evanko

Romans 12:12. Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.

The songbirds, the crocuses, and the buds of the forsythia are welcome signs of Spring after Winter especially an icy windy one. These are signs of hope that after the cold, tiresome days of Winter there will be the warm sunny days of Spring. A gardener understands this sense of hope when he plants bulbs in the Fall. He sows them in the cold ground knowing that he will have to wait until Spring to see them burst out of the sun-warmed soil. He patiently waits through the endless frozen days of Winter confident that when the temperatures rise and the ground warms, the crocuses, daffodils, and tulips will explode in fireworks of color, a spectacular reminder of God’s majesty and creativity.

We as children of God need this patience too as we pray for God’s will to be done during this time of uncertainty in our lives. We plant the bulb of prayer in times of struggles and trials in ground that appears to be frozen. We must be faithful and patient knowing that in God’s time the Spring will come, and the bulb of prayer will burst forth. So, as we wait in our Winter of struggles and trials, we know that we are sustained by God and that Spring will come. In Colossians 1:11, the Apostle Paul writes, “God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient!” Our patience and faith will give us an abundant display of beauty. May these words from Thomas Chisholm strengthen us through those winter days of prayer as we look to Spring and the end of our uncertainty.

Pray on! Pray on! Cease not to pray,
And should the answer tarry, wait;
Thy God will come, will surely come,
And He can never come too late. — Thomas Chisholm

A Lenten Devotion by Dianne Sefter 

Matthew 20:13 

 People brought little children to him, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer.  The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said, “Let the little children alone and do not stop them coming to me; for it is as such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”  Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way. 

In the 30 years that I taught in a Christian preschool, some parents would confide that the most difficult story to tell (or NOT to tell) their children was the story of Christ’s death on the cross.  Easter was “fine and dandy with sugar candy”, its commercialized Easter Bunny, and egg hunts.  Families enjoyed dressing up and going to church on Easter Sunday, and would maybe add Palm Sunday to the list, if they were not frequent churchgoers.  The topic of the cross and the events of Holy Week were put on the back burner, and oftentimes, left to the preschool to teach. 

But what to tell the little ones?  Especially if some parents really didn’t know what they believed, which seemed to be the real crux of the problem if the subject arose.  How do you talk about the events of Holy Week without recognizing the force of evil in the world, and its specific target of God Himself? After a little digging, most of these questions arose from those who didn’t really believe that there was such a thing as sin in the world. Therefore, why the need for a Savior, Christ, to die for it?  In other words,  “Let’s just skip to Easter…” 

As for the little ones, they were fascinated with Children’s Bible stories of the Last Supper, the washing of the disciples’ feet, and the Garden of Gethsemane, all of which we reenacted.  Whenever we talked about Jesus on the cross, we always followed up with the sentence- “BUT, He didn’t stay dead… Three days later, what happened?  HE ROSE AGAIN!”  In this way, the events of Holy Week ended with the victory, anticipation and joy of Easter morning, which we celebrated the whole week afterwards with stories like “The Road to Emmaus” and “Breakfast on the Beach”.  

It is easy to take the road that the disciples took when the children really wanted to know who Jesus was- keep them in the background, don’t let them get close to the Truth, and “this is serious business, we have no time for play….”  But Jesus said, “Let them come to Me- this is what I want my kingdom to be like.  Questions and all…” 

Lenten Devotion by Pastor Dave McElwee 

 When looking to the season of Lent, one can look at Joel 2:12-13, which states: 

 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, 
    “return to me with all your heart, 
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 
     and rend your hearts and not your garments.” 
Return to the Lord your God, 
    for he is gracious and merciful, 
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; 
    and he relents over disaster.” 

 If you look back in previous weeks, this passage is one that comes up continually, for good reason, as this passage relates well to this season. 

 Lent is a season of preparation; one of two such seasons in the Christian year, the other being Advent. This season is one where the faithful are called upon to prepare to meet the Resurrected Lord on Easter. Early in the church’s existence, this was also a time when new members would practice the spiritual disciplines as they prepared to be baptized at dawn on Easter. 

 All too often today we are tempted to use this season as a means of kicking a bad habit. We talk about what we are giving up for Lent, often then indulging on Easter. I am guilty of doing that very thing when I would give up donuts for Lent, only to over indulge on Easter morning. 

 The reason for giving something up is meant to help us grow closer to God. As the prophet Joel noted, the reason for the fasting, weeping, mourning, and the rending of hearts and clothing was to draw closer to God. The giving up of something is meant to free us to draw closer to God. This idea is why some would take on a new spiritual practice instead of giving something up.  

 At this point, we can see that Easter is coming. Now is a time to intentionally draw near to God. Take the time, either through refraining from something or taking something new on and seek God. As the prophet said, return to the Lord your God. For though we do not deserve it, God is reaching out to us and gives us hope through the suffering, death, and ultimate Resurrection of Christ.