I’m excited that you’re joining me this year as we enter a season of preparation for celebrating Resurrection Sunday! This 40 day period preceding Easter has been celebrated in many ways throughout history. It is typically a time of prayer, fasting, bible reading, generosity, self-examination and service. It is my hope that this little note each week will be a part of a joyful journey of ascent towards Resurrection Sunday and that we arrive at our Easter celebrations filled with awe and gratitude for the joys set before us because of the work of Christ!
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Our Need
At Christmas time, we have extra commercial help in getting excited for “the season”. Months before, stores make sure that we are looking forward to buying their wares for our friends and family (and few little treats for ourselves, if we’re honest). Whether our focus is on the true reason for Christmas or not, exactly zero times have we gotten to Christmas Eve and said, “oh, that was today?!”
Easter, on the other hand, sneaks up on us. If you’re like me, you are rolling in hot to service on Resurrection Sunday realizing that you’ve probably spent more time trying to pick a cute spring outfit from your closet than contemplating the importance of what we are celebrating.
So, what’s the big deal about Easter, anyway? Can’t most of the preparation be tackled with a few clicks to buy outfits, adding some candy and plastic eggs to the grocery order, and/or snagging a brunch reservation? Why are we already talking about this in early March?
We are talking about it now because, if you’re like me, you get to that day and feel so frustrated with yourself for not being overwhelmed with awe and joy at the flabbergasting grace of a God. You know that your heart should be bursting with joy over the One who came to the earth, trampled death, hell and the grave and rose again to gain eternal life for us.
So, here’s the plan, this year we are taking some time to prepare our hearts by really taking a good look at our need, the greatness of salvation, the new life God has purchased for us, the joy set before is in eternity, and his worthiness to be praised.
As we begin preparing our hearts for this season, here are a few questions for us to meditate on, take to Him in prayer, and discuss with a small group or accountability partner.
Lord, you know my heart and my thoughts, please search them, you see me when I sleep and when I rise. Lord will show me if there is any offensive way in me that I need to turn from? Will you show me what the first step is in turning away from that sin?
Abba Father, will you begin to remind me this week of how you rescue me? Of the many ways and times in which I did not get the consequences my thoughts, attitudes, and actions deserved?
Hopefully this year these weekly notes and prayers will help us to break up the hard ground in hearts that gets beaten down by everyday life and help us fix our eyes on both our profound need for Savior and his astounding plan to rescue us. See you next week!
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Easter and the season of Lent that precedes it is “40 days set aside for “grace-ing” not groveling—an intentional season of surveying the wonders of the cross, pondering the depth of our need, culminating in the explosive joy of Easter Sunday” .
-Scotty Smith | Lent or No Lent | The Gospel Coalition
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