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Written by Alicia Britt Chole, a contemporary author, speaker, and mentor.  Today’s devotion is from her book “40 Days of Decrease.”

Lent is often, and understandably, described with project language. The season has a starting date, an ending date, and clear, quantifiable goals “to accomplish” in between. After Easter, consequently, we evaluate Lent with project language. We “did okay” or “only made it two weeks” or “kept our commitment” or “totally failed.” Whether engaging this experience prior to Easter, or at another time during the year, from day one, I invite you to consider Lent as less of a project and more of a sojourn. A sojourn is a “temporary stay at a place.” And a “stay” is about presence, not productivity. For the next forty days, fast measuring your “success” statistically — that is, resist calculating how often you keep your commitment to do without meat or sugar or your favorite shows. Instead, invest your energy in seeking to remain present to the sacred history of Jesus’ walk to the cross. With each reading, dust off your childhood imagination and “stay” in each story. Observe Jesus’ response to John’s death. Imagine yourself as one of the disciples trying in vain to hush blind Bartimaeus. Throw your only cloak under the colt’s hooves as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Taste the mounting tension as Jesus offends leaders with parables. Hear Jesus predict Peter’s denial. Fast Lent as a project and enter Lent as experience, as a sojourn with your Savior.

 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. [Psalm 51:16–17]

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Written by Allan Anderson of the Village Church

In today’s world, how do today’s Christians prepare for Easter? The answer to this question goes way beyond knowing Crucifixion and Resurrection dominates our thoughts, when remembering this season of the church year. How many individuals fully understand the sacrifice and future promise offered for all, nearly 2000 years ago? Parental education, media, dedication and understanding continue to be a challenge in this modern world! Efforts to change this trend has become even a greater challenge in today’s societal pressures. Holy week, Good Friday and the entire weekend are featured in their entirety in movies like “The Greatest Story ever told” —the power and intensity of the possible outcomes resulting from daily faith, spiritual understanding and commitment to following Jesus’s lead in our lives has lost some of its intensity and this has impacted daily life throughout the U.S. and the world. The issue has not gone unrecognized, but the dilution of our personal commitment coupled with outside distortion continues to offer an exciting chance for rebirth and redirection to both confirm our faith and to continue sharing this amazing piece of history, not only at Easter but throughout the year.

 Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 3:13-14]

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Written by John Baillie (1886-1960), a Scottish theologian and minister.

You have been the refuge of good and wise people in every generation . . . . 
The patriarchs trusted You and were not put to shame:
The prophets sought You and You committed Your word to their lips:
The psalmists rejoiced in You and You were present in their songs:
The apostles waited upon You and they were filled with Your Holy Spirit: 
The martyrs called upon You and You were with them in the midst of the flame:

Forbid it, Holy Lord, that I should fail to profit by these great memories of the ages that are gone by, or to enter into the glorious inheritance which You have prepared for me; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. 

And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. [Acts 3:25]

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Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher known for his writings on Christian spiritual formation. This is an excerpt from his book “Renovation of the Heart.”

We live from our heart. The part of us that drives and organizes our life is not the physical. This remains true even if we deny it. You have a spirit within you and it has been formed. It has taken on a specific character. I have a spirit and it has been formed. This is true of everyone. The human spirit is an inescapable, fundamental aspect of every human being; and it takes on whichever character it has from the experiences and the choices that we have lived through or made in our past. That is what it means for it to be “formed.” Our life and how we find the world now and in the future is, almost totally, a simple result of what we have become in the depths of our being—in our spirit, will, or heart. From there we see our world and interpret reality. From there we make our choices, break forth into action, try to change our world We live from our depths—most of which we do not understand.

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life [Proverbs 4:23]

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Written by Pete Grieg, a contemporary pastor, writer, and founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement. This is an excerpt from his book “How to Hear God.”

Jesus is what God sounds like. He’s literally the “living Word of God.” Hearing his voice is not so much a skill we must master, therefore, as a master we must meet. All the other ways in which God communicates—through the Bible, prophecy, dreams, visions, and so on—come through Jesus and point back to him too…The covert Christ is drawing near…inviting you to embark upon a slow journey of deep discovery that will change your life.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near [Luke 24:15]

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Written by Gretchen Saffles, a contemporary writer. This is an excerpt from her book “Word Before World.”

This may surprise you, but there is a subtle danger in making it a goal to read the Bible every day. In our humanity, we can easily make consistent Bible study a way to earn God’s love. Instead of reading the Bible out of love and delight, we see this time as something to check off a spiritual to-do list…The goal of reading God’s Word is not to puff up our souls or to place a big checkmark at the end of theyear. It’s not to add to our “Christian resume,” or earn God’s favor. The aim is to know Christ and exalt him in our lives a we come before him hungry for truth and humbled by his grace. The goal is to glorify him through our fervent reading, joy-filled worship, and faithful obedience. And this is something that cannot be measured…So make it your aim to read the Word each day in order to know God and delight in him…Surrender your checklists to God, and seek to know him each time you open the Word.

The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words. [Psalm 119:57]

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Written by Patricia Van Gorder, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Pebbles of Prayer and Ponderings.”

When circumstances press me and suffocate hope and trust, rescue me Lord. Release me from all doubt; increase my faith. Breathe Your Spirit deep into my soul. I long to be still before You, and yet distractions draw me away. My mind dwells on things that don’t matter. I find my heart steeped in sadness for those I know who are suffering. I am anxious trying to meet commitments and deadlines. Be patient with me, Lord. I turn to You, trusting You with loving confidence. And when I do, all that cripples my spirit begins to dissipate. I am victorious over hopelessness and misery. I know you hear me, Lord. You love me and want the best for me. And so I face this day knowing that You are with me. Praise You, Lord!

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. [Colossians 2:12]

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Written by Billy Graham (1918-2018), an American evangelist.

It is significant that our first astronauts, while being trained for their moon flights, were required to give twenty answers to the query, “Who are you?” Take the same test yourself. When you have made your list and run out of things to add, ask yourself if you have truly answered. Do you really know who you are? Scientists agree that our desperate search leads all humans to seek heroes and to imitate others, to “paste bits and pieces of other people on ourselves.” We make love as some actor would. We play golf in the style of Jack Nicklaus. Part of this process is natural, for we learn by imitating others. The tragedy is that the person we assemble is not genuine. “Who am I?” you cry as you roam the world looking for yourself. Consider this: there are three of you. There is the person you think you are. There is the person others think you are. There is the person God knows you are and can be through Christ.

For he knows how we are formed [Psalm 103:14]

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Written by Joyce Meyer, a contemporary author and speaker.

I love that God is ever-present. There is never a time when He is not with us, but we may miss out on the help He is ready to give us by forgetting about Him and trying to do things in our own strength. He wants us to lean and rely on Him. Leaning on God for absolutely everything is not an indication of weakness; it’s actually a sign of wisdom. Jesus says that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). We may do things, but we will struggle and be frustrated because nothing works with ease unless we invite Jesus to be involved in it. What are you trying to do on your own that is frustrating you? Whatever it is, stop. Then tell the Lord you are sorry for leaving Him out of it and ask Him to take the lead in your situation and give you the grace to follow Him. I have tried many things on my own, such as changing myself, changing my husband, and changing my children. I saw their flaws and wanted to correct them, but only God can change a human heart…I have learned to ask God for what I need and lean on Him to bring it to pass. Anytime I forget about this, before long I find myself struggling again trying to do it myself. Let go and let God show His strength through you.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. [Psalm 46:1]

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Written by Chuck Swindoll, a contemporary pastor, author, and educator.

We mark our calendars with deadlines—dates that set limits for the completion of objectives and projects. To ignore those deadlines brings consequences…We set deadlines because they help us accomplish the essentials . . . they discipline our use of time . . . they measure the length of our leash on the clothesline of demands. God, however, brings about birthdays . . . not as deadlines but lifelines. He builds them into our calendar once every year to enable us to make an annual appraisal, not only of our length of life but our depth. Not simply to tell us we’re growing older . . . but to help us determine if we are also growing deeper. These lifelines are not like that insurance policy you invested in last year. There’s no automatic promise of annual renewal. Obviously, if God has given you another year to live for Him, He has some things in mind . . . He has some very special plans to pull off through your life. Surely it includes more than existing 1,440 minutes a day! Don’t expect wisdom to come into your life like great chunks of rock on a conveyor belt. It isn’t like that…Wisdom comes privately from God as a by-product of right decisions, godly reactions, and the application of scriptural principles to daily circumstances. Wisdom comes, for example, not from seeking after a ministry . . . but more from anticipating the fruit of a disciplined life. Not from trying to do great things for God . . . but more from being faithful to the small, obscure tasks few people ever see. Stop and reflect. Are you just growing old . . . or are you also growing up? As you “number your days” do you count just years—the grinding measurement of minutes—or can you find marks of wisdom . . . character traits that were not there when you were younger?

So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. [Psalm 90:12]

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