Lent

Hebrews 10:19–25 // Holding fast together // Becca Ferguson This passage is just three (long) sentences, but those three sentences are absolutely full of rich and beautiful truths about our God and our faith.  As we read it, we are reminded that because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection - because of His blood -…

John 15:1–11 // Abiding rather than striving // Sola Oshunniyi The Bible often uses things that are visible and familiar to us to describe realities of eternal value. This helps us better understand what the Lord desires for our lives. In this passage, Jesus gives one of His well-known “I AM” statements: “I am the…

Psalm 73:1–17 // When faith feels unrewarded // Rick Duncan Psalm 73 starts with faith and hope. “Truly God is good to His people.” But the author, Asaph, doesn’t stay there for long. The Psalm is a raw reflection on the reality of life.  We know what it’s like when doing the right things don’t…

2 Corinthians 4:6–18 // Power through weakness // Joe Valenti As we’ve walked through the book of Mark, we’ve had the opportunity to watch how Jesus calls His disciples. The invitation is disarmingly simple: “Follow me.” A few chapters later, the invitation sharpens: “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” Yikes. That’s a…

Zechariah 13:7–9 // Refining fire // Jeff Ziolkowski Think about precious metals for a moment. Gold bars are often stamped “99.9% Pure” and labeled 24 karat. That’s the highest quality gold you can get, and it only reaches that level after going through intense refining. Gold doesn’t come out of the ground pure — it’s…

Psalm 66:8–12 // Refined, not rejected // Fred Defendorf A Call to Worship (vv. 8–9) The psalmist begins by inviting everyone to bless God. This call to worship is not made from a place of ease, but from experience. God is praised as the One who keeps His people alive and steady when they are…

James 1:2–8 // Testing that produces maturity // Dale Piscura In our Scripture today, James writes to believers who are experiencing many trials. As an elder brother in Christ, he has learned that God is sovereign over all matters concerning His children and that, in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, all followers of Christ will experience…

Lamentations 3:19–33 // Hope in the middle of weakness // Gina Flower We don’t often hear the word lament in our modern vocabulary. It refers to an expression of painful grief, sorrow, or regret. As we read in the book of Lamentations, there was much loss, death, and destruction to grieve. Jeremiah—the “weeping prophet”—stood amidst…

Hosea 6:1–6 // Faithfulness over ritual // Steve James Right here, in the middle of the book of Hosea, we are given a moment that exposes something deeply human: the difference between saying the right things to God and actually being changed by Him. Hosea was a prophet to Israel in a time of not-so-subtle…

Psalm 84 // Desiring God’s presence // Becca Mueller Psalm 84 is considered a pilgrimage psalm—it’s about a journey. The author expresses the tension of recognizing, “I’m not in God’s presence yet, but I want to be.” There is deep desire and genuine longing to be with God, expressed from the human heart and echoed…

Matthew 4:1–11 // Jesus fasting and trusting the Father // Rick Duncan Day 18: Make Room by Redirecting Desire Lent is an opportunity for us to join Jesus in a kind of wilderness. We can fast from food, from noise, from being hurried. Hopefully, distractions dissipate and what’s driving us will come to the surface. …

Isaiah 55:1–9 // True satisfaction vs. cheap substitutes // Tate Stevens Isaiah 55 begins with an invitation, not a correction. God does not start by telling us what to fix. He begins by naming what is already true: we are hungry, and we are thirsty. Scripture assumes need; it does not shame it. God speaks…