Lent is a period of 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday in the Christian Calendar. Each week a different concept was taught and the following are reflections from those messages through Good Friday.

ASH WEDNESDAY

These 40 days are set aside to remember the life, ministry, miracles, lessons, betrayals, and the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God’s ONE and ONLY Son humbled himself and obeyed his Father God by dying on the cross, taking on the sins of the world because he was the PERFECT Lamb, to set ALL who believe in him as their Lord and Savior completely FREE from death!

Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent. I went to my first Ash Wednesday service this year and am so glad I did!

The message challenged me to REMEMBER that as humans we were formed out of dust and one day we shall become dust once more. The GOOD NEWS is that our souls don’t go into the ground with our bodies if we have REPENTED for our sins, confessing that we have gone against God in our wrongdoings and desire to change our thoughts, actions, and go in the direction God sends us. Once we become a FOLLOWER of Jesus, after accepting him as Lord, we put our trust in his plans and follow in his footsteps of loving others. The HOPE is in the TRUTH of the Gospel which we call the “GOOD NEWS” that God didn’t leave us in our sin but sent his only Son to pay for our salvation through the wages of death on the Cross so that whomever BELIEVES in him shall NOT perish but have ETERNAL life! (John 3:16) We as believers and followers of Christ (Christians), have been given the GIFT of salvation through God’s GRACE alone!
Grace is defined as “unmerited favor.” There are three main forms of grace:
1. Prevenient Grace – goes before us prior to even fully believing making a way for us to be free
2. Justifying Grace – when we accept Jesus as our own as Savior and Lord, God forgives us
3. Sanctifying Grace – continued covering throughout the rest of our days on Earth

Ash Wednesday gave the saying “God makes beauty from ashes” a whole new meaning. Toward the end of the service, each person in attendance goes to the altar and has ashes placed on their forehead in the shape of a cross while the pastor says, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.
Repent and Believe the Gospel.”

Lent is a beautiful reminder and opportunity to “reconnect and recall the call and cost of discipleship.”

Every difficult moment is worth it for the freedom that we have and always will have in Jesus!

STAY CALM

There were multiple times the lesson Jesus taught in Luke 12:22-34, the Scripture from this particular message, appeared and God made himself known to me before I even stepped into church the morning this message was given. All of which were actually before Lent even began. This passage is Jesus speaking about why we should not worry as God’s children. Worry and anxiety have been major battles most of my life. I had so much more to say than would fit nicely in this post itself.
See: Don’t Worry God’s Got You Post to read more about how deeply this message and passage of Scripture impacted me in the best way!

I will share the piece of writing that came out of hearing my worship team leading “Goodness of God” by Bethel Music and Jenn Johnson at the end of the service. It was a powerful time of worship where God reminded me of his faithfulness. Later that night, I was helping lead my small group of middle school girls in Student Ministry when my co-leader, brought out Faith-Based coloring books. I usually didn’t enjoy coloring in them because they are more detailed and harder to see to color in. These had a better selection of beautiful pictures but not TOO much detail to strain my eyes. I picked the page that I will also show below! I was hooked and looked into buying my own and found one titled Peace, Be Still: A Coloring Book for Rediscovering Rest and Serenity that I thought was fitting and purchased right away! I have completed multiple pages since!

Running after me
God chases me
When I have no strength left to run anymore, I stop in my tracks.
I turn around.
There He is, waiting with arms open.
We run toward each other.
I am crying tears of joy and confession.

When I reach Him, I embrace Jesus and He holds me tight.
I begin to sob.
I’m so grateful for a comforter to cling to. 
My sobbing is like a downpour of rain by now. 
I feel weak and fall to my knees.
Jesus doesn’t let go.
He falls to the ground with me still keeping His grip on me. 

He says, “You are forgiven. Worry no more. I will provide. I will make a way. I will work on your behalf until the end of days. You will be with me permanently when it is your time. For now, follow your calling!”

Jesus gently takes my hand and pulls me up. He walks me over to a bench and invites me to sit beside Him. We sit in silence for a brief time. I look up into His eyes full of compassion and love. I am instantly filled with peace.  I feel the weights of worry and other burdens surrendered to Him! I feel so overwhelmed by His love!

STAY COMPASSIONATE

This message was the Sunday before MyNeighbor Mission Weekend with Asbury Students and it flowed PERFECTLY into the theme of the weekend and lessons learned during my time serving with the students. See Compelled By Compassion post to read more.

STAY CONSTRUCTIVE

We are works in progress and that’s okay! As God work in us to become more like his Son, we are able to grow and join together with our brothers and sisters in Christ! We have an instruction manual to help us in every life situation. We just have to open it and wait for God to speak. Read more about this message in Build My Life on God’s Love

STAY CONNECTED

A big misconception about Christianity is that it is all about rules and an all-powerful God that punishes you if you don’t follow those rules. Thankfully, this is nowhere near the truth of the character and heart of God. Many people avoid talk of God and faith because they don’t understand it, but if we as Christians spend more time connecting with these hurting people, we could play a part in drawing them near to God or at least opening their eyes to the TRUTH. This message was about the lost, those who are unbelievers whether by choice of walking away from faith or never even touched what following Jesus is all about. Read more about this message and my takeaways in I Once Was Lost But Now…

STAY CONSISTENT

We must pray and keep praying. Continually seeking God is the best way to grow in our relationship with him. God wants to know what’s on your heart from your perspective. God doesn’t need to hear from us because he knows all, but he WANTS to be in communication with us. He wants us to learn to trust him. Read the post Pray More Worry Less to find out more about what I took away from this message.

LENTEN VESPERS

There was a special service dedicated to prayer, healing, and anointing. We originally went because of my dad needing discernment on what to do about his heart with surgery seeming to be the only option, but I received blessings out of the service as well! Surrendering your brokenness at the feet of Jesus so you may be healed is crucial. Holding in and bottling up pain and guilt is not healthy for the soul. We worship God in all circumstances because he is faithful to heal and provide for our needs! Below are some verses mentioned in the message relating to God’s goodness and faithfulness when we trust in him:
“Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Below is the Scripture that speaks about when Jesus opened the scroll prophesied in Isaiah and read it aloud.

This passage of Scripture shows the intention of God to send his Son long before Jesus came to Earth. Jesus fulfilled everything mentioned in this passage. Jesus gave healing and hope to everyone who encountered him. If people accepted Jesus, he brought them under his teachings so they could be the example of him to others once he returned to the right hand of his Father. Jesus calls us to follow him as well! We have the immense pleasure and privilege to learn from Jesus through Scripture AND through relationship with him and the Father Almighty. Oh, how loved we are and don’t even realize sometimes?

“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ NIV

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven."
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

STAY COMMITTED: PALM SUNDAY

This message series had two different series before it also in the Book of Luke, so Palm Sunday’s message wasn’t the traditional one since the passage from Luke 9:28-44 about Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem was in a message from before Lent began. A glimpse into that particular message would be to remember that Jesus’ presence is with us always so we should be aware of his presence and act like we are filled with the Holy Spirit everywhere we go, because we are! The beauty of being on the other side of Palm Sunday and the week ahead all the way through the Ascension of Jesus and pouring out of the Holy Spirit is that we KNOW the REST of the story that Jesus’ followers did not yet know on the day he requested a colt be brought to him before entering into Jerusalem. His followers did as he asked and the colt obeyed Jesus even though it had never been ridden because even the colt recognized the POWER of Jesus’ presence. We MUST make time to spend in the Lord’s presence so that we may be filled to pour out our praise to God and his love onto others. Life can be difficult, but Jesus promised there would be a cost to following him but the rewards in Heaven would be far beyond worth the suffering here on Earth. To read more about the message taught on Palm Sunday, check out the post entitled, But FIRST…

GOOD FRIDAY

Many times you will hear from those who do not understand the hope that comes after that Friday of Jesus’ Crucifixion,
“What makes Friday ‘good’ if Jesus died? Why do you celebrate his death?”
Those of us who have felt the freedom of what Jesus’ Final Words on the Cross of Calvary, “IT IS FINISHED” mean for our lives and our Salvation know that Friday is GOOD because Sunday is COMING! Jesus died so that the REST of us shall LIVE!
Spoiler alert: Jesus DEFEATS death, sin, and grave. Once Jesus said those words, Satan LOST! Jesus ROSE from the DEAD that Sunday morning!
It is easy to get caught up in Sunday morning, which is not necessarily a BAD thing, but if we don’t reflect on that Friday, we miss the point. Jesus was mocked, beaten, abused, and carried his OWN CROSS up the hill, and was ultimately nailed to the Cross to be SEPARATED from God so that WE may enter into His Presence when it comes time for us to move from this life onto the next. The message at the traditional service on Good Friday is of course surrounded around the Death of Jesus found in Luke.

“As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
———————————————————
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read:
This is the King of the Jews.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.””
–‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭26‬, ‭32‬-‭47‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He paid the ULTIMATE price for all!

Even hanging on that Old Rugged Cross, he asked God to “Forgive them.” He was speaking about those who were persecuting him, but in a way, as his blood was shed, he was asking on our behalf too.

The main point of this message was that we have 2 Choices… either reject Jesus as Lord OR receive the best gift of ALL, Salvation! The choice may seem obvious to those who already believe but we are called to die to ourselves and told that we too will be persecuted for our faith. When those who haven’t said “yes” to Jesus quite yet hear about this without knowing the truth of the rewards, they may take a step back or even run from the idea that choosing Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life with God. It is our responsibility to share the Good News and that SAME Love that Jesus gave to us!
There were 2 thieves, one on each side of Jesus. One chose to mock and reject Jesus while the other saw Jesus for who he truly is and pleaded for mercy.
Jesus promised that the thief who chose to believe would receive the gift of salvation and be with him in Heaven.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Prophet Isaiah tells about Jesus’ coming and of his death. Isaiah writes that Jesus did not protest in taking on so much suffering and pain for OUR sake! Jesus said we would have troubles in life and to be His disciple we must take up our own cross. Jesus also comforts us in telling us that he has OVERCOME the world. The world has no true hold on us!

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
–‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
-John 16:33

That is the BEAUTIFUL Truth of the Gospel! That we are overcomers because of the love of Christ and his victory! He lived in this world among other humans and did not sin, so because of his perfection and sacrifice along with our belief in him we may be saved and live a full life bringing glory to God for all that he is, all that he has done, and all he will do!

The part of the message that hit hard this past Good Friday is that when Jesus said “IT IS FINISHED,” he was also able to be reunited with God the Father, whom he could not be near while he was taking the sin of the world upon him. The Holy Trinity was split during the darkest time in history. But Sunday was coming and Sunday came bringing HOPE and RESTORATION to all of mankind until Jesus returns in ALL of his GLORY!