Lent: a season of prayer,
a season of repentance,
a season of worship.
Psalm 95:1-2, 6 (NIV)
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song . . .
Come, let us bow down in worship
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Worship, I can do. Kneeling — my aging knees object. It will make kneeling in heaven that much sweeter.
Some days I feel like the world is falling apart. But Lent reminds me that God was, is and will be in control. It’s His world.
Psalm 118:24 (ESV)
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
We can worry, or we can be glad. We have a choice.
I’m looking forward to tonight’s Lenten service.
Psalm 122:1 (NIV)
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Let’s be like the psalmist. Let’s all go to church.
Lent is a good time for an honest conversation with God.
Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
I own up to my sin. God offers me forgiveness.
It’s more than reasonable. It’s gracious and merciful.
It’s Lent. Let’s think on what we should and shouldn’t do.
Let’s NOT be like these folks:
Genesis 11:4 (MEV)
Then they said, “Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top will reach to heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves.”
Those Tower-of-Babel builders made a name for themselves all right — just not the one they had in mind.
Lord God, I don’t want to be like these proud and foolish babblers.
I want to glorify Your name and not my own. 
Revelation 21:5 (NIV)
He who was seated on the throne said,
“I am making everything new!”
God is at work. Making things new is His job.
My problem: I think it’s all about me. I think it’s my job.
I can’t do what You do, Lord God.
It’s all Your plan, all Your power.
I watch in amazement.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come:
The old has gone, the new is here!
The new is here.
My problem: I have to let go of the old.
I’m ready, Lord. Goodbye old, hello new!
Romans 5:4 (GNV)
As Christ was raised up from the dead to the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life.
Walk in newness of life. Step out on a new path.
My problem: I’m used to my old paths. New is unknown, and I like to know where I’m going.
Walk with me, Lord. Show me the way.
Ephesians 4:24 (ISV)
Clothe yourselves with the new nature, which was created according to God’s image in righteousness and true holiness.
Clothed in an outfit created in God’s image.
My problem: This is a new nature for me. I’m used to selecting clothes off the rack in a store. Righteousness and holiness feel foreign.
Clothed in Your image, God . . . it’s hard to imagine.
Make it so.
God says:
Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing!
He offers a new thing, a new life.
My problem: When I try to do a new thing, I get same-old, same-old.
Lord, I want the new thing, the new life.
Let’s do it Your way.
