Lent: Broken by God

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Lent brings to mind Christ’s sacrifice — His body broken for us.

What do we sacrifice for Him?

 

Psalm 51:17 (NLT)
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. 

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit … That is humbled under a sense of sin; has true repentance for it; is smitten, wounded, and broken with it, by the word of God in the hand of the Spirit, which is a hammer to break the rock in pieces.”
John Gill, 1697-1771
Exposition on the Old Testament

Broken to bits … by the hammer of God’s Word.

Share
Posted in Lent, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Lent: Broken by God

Morning Prayer: Resisting Temptation

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


Good morning, Lord. Why is it that temptation rears its nasty head just when I think, “I’m good”? I know, the enemy wants to get me off track, to put an end to my progress. Forgive me for giving in so easily.


Dear God, give me the wisdom to be prepared for temptation, and grant me the self-discipline to respond by looking to You. Teach me to respond as Jesus did, by standing firmly in the truth of Your Word.

Share
Posted in Morning Prayer | Tagged , | Comments Off on Morning Prayer: Resisting Temptation

Lent: Facing Temptation

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

The 40 days of Lent remind us that Jesus was tempted.

 


“Jesus Christ was just beginning his public ministrations. As one saith, “So long as Jesus Christ had nothing to meddle with but the chips in his father’s carpenter’s shop, the devil never tempted Him, but now that He was beginning to proclaim glad tidings to the poor, the devil attacked Him.” … Satan will find some extraordinary means of tempting him whom God puts upon extraordinary service.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Tempted of the Devil,” 1864

Serve God, proclaim the gospel, and don’t give in to temptation.

Share
Posted in Lent, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Lent: Facing Temptation

Morning Prayer: Better Things

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. Teach me to make room for better things by giving up foolish things. Teach me to let go of gossip and replace it with encouragement, to swap out thoughtless snacking for mindful appreciation for tastes and textures, coveting for contentment, endless scrolling though social media for Bible study, criticism for prayer.

Teach me self-discipline, in Jesus’ name.

Share
Posted in Morning Prayer | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Morning Prayer: Better Things

Lent: to Fast

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Fasting is associated with Lent. We usually think of fasting from food — but there’s more:

 


“Let the hands fast by being pure from plundering and avarice. Let the feet fast by ceasing from running to unlawful spectacles. Let the eyes fast, being taught never to fix themselves rudely on handsome faces, or to busy themselves with strange beauties . . . Let the mouth also fast from disgraceful speech. For what does it profit if we abstain from fish and fowl and yet bite and devour the brothers and sisters.”
St. John Chrysostom (349-407)
from his Homilies on the Statues

Share
Posted in Lent, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Lent: to Fast

Morning Prayer: Change for the Better

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. You know that I want instant change for the better. I know that most good change takes time: giving up a bad habit or starting a new one; fewer hours on the couch and more on the move; fewer sweets in my diet, more fruits and veggies; less complaining, more prayer; less social media, more Bible study.

On my own, I keep falling back into old ways. Work Your goodness into my lifestyle. Change me for the better, day by day, step by step.

Share
Posted in Morning Prayer | Tagged , | Comments Off on Morning Prayer: Change for the Better

Lent: 40 Days

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Lent: 40 days (excluding Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Why 40 days?

Per the Bible,

 

        • 40 days of rain for Noah (Genesis 7)
        • 40 days on Mt. Siani for Moses to meet with God (Exodus 24)
        • 40 days for Goliath to threaten the Israelite army (1 Samuel 17)
        • 40 days for the people of Nineveh to change their ways (Jonah 3)
        • 40 days for Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness (Mark 1)

40 days to wait, 40 days to grow, 40 days to think, 40 days to change, 40 days to victory.

Philippians 2:13 (CEV)
God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.

40 days of God at work.

Share
Posted in Lent | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Lent: 40 Days

Morning Prayer: Wandering Thoughts

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


Good morning, Lord. I come to Your throne in prayer, and my thoughts run the other direction. I start to praise You, and my mind turns to my grocery list. I give thanks, and suddenly I remember an appointment. I should be confessing my sin, but I wonder about tomorrow’s weather.

I bring my prayer list to You, and my mind decides it’s time for a nap. I need help, O Lord, teach me to concentrate. Teach me to pray!

Share
Posted in Morning Prayer | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Morning Prayer: Wandering Thoughts

Lent: Spiritual Discipline

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

We are in the midst of Lent, the time between Ash Wednesday (this year, February 14) and Easter (March 31). It is a season of repentance and redemption, of preparation and prayer:

 

“The battle of prayer is against two things in the earthlies: wandering thoughts and lack of intimacy with God’s character as revealed in His word. Neither can be cured at once, but they can be cured by discipline.” Oswald Chambers (1974-1917)

Lent is a season of spiritual discipline. Let’s start with Bible study and prayer.

 

Share
Posted in Lent, Timeless Wisdom | Comments Off on Lent: Spiritual Discipline

Morning Prayer: Love

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott
“You taught us, Lord, that the greatest love a man can show is to lay down his life for his friends. But your love was greater still, because you laid down your life for your enemies. It was while we were still enemies that you reconciled us to yourself by your death. What other love has ever been, or could ever be, like yours?”  —Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Share
Posted in Lent, Morning Prayer, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Morning Prayer: Love