Galatians 3:13, Romans 3:25, and 1 John 4:10
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"...God put forward [Christ] as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.... In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Galatians 3:13, Romans 3:25, and 1 John 4:10
As I continue my preparation to lead worship at the Gardens and The Lodge on Sunday 30MAR (pausing on my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume), this morning I reflect on two posts on DesiringGod.com. The first entitled Join the 40 Day Feast, How to Prepare Ahead for Easter, which explores how believers can truly claim the Lent tradition. The second is a post on Advent entitled Christmas Is Too Big for One Day, Why We Celebrate Advent. This second post explores, as the title suggests, why we celebrate Advent. It shares that "the entire storyline of the Bible builds to the climax of the Messiah’s birth in that stable over two thousand years ago...Christmas rightly marks the occasion of the long-awaited birth of the Messiah, but there is so much more to Jesus than the day he was born. This is where Advent comes in. While various ecclesiastical traditions have developed distinctive ways of anticipating Jesus’s birth, the underlying premise of the many Advent traditions is sound: Jesus’s birth did not come in a vacuum. His coming was the culmination of centuries, even millennia, of mounting expectation of the coming Messiah and Savior of humankind. This is no ordinary child. And this is no ordinary birth. This is the coming of God himself in human flesh. This is the most important arrival in the history of the world. This marks the earthly beginnings of the gospel of God’s in-person rescue of his people from sin, suffering, destruction, and death. And this is far too glorious to contain to only one day’s celebration." I agree with the sentiments of this post and based on my reflections thus far (see initial reflection yesterday) on Easter, a similar argument can be made regarding Easter and I would also agree with the sentiments of the post referenced yesterday how Holy Week is "the important week in the history of the world." As such, I believe it is appropriate to celebrate Lent as a practice for Holy Week and Easter, which leads me to the second post Join the 40 Day Feast.... Here, you can find a link to a 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, which I started reading today. My hope with this devotional is that I can of course primarily prepare my heart for Holy Week and Easter, but also prepare for worship at the The Gardens and The Lodge on 30MAR.
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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who sent His Son to die on the cross...for me and my sin. Thank You Father God and Thank You Jesus for willingly laying down Your life for me. An incredible and unimaginable gift that I will never truly comprehend until I meet Jesus face to face. I am of course not deserving of such a gift as my sin is great and it continues...daily. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
