Welcome to this year’s Lent Calendar! This year I want to make this a more reflective journey as we prepare our hearts for the solemnity of Good Friday which gives way to joyous celebration on Easter Sunday.
To achieve this, I have chosen the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel chapters 5-7 as the basis for our meditations. It has been on my heart for some months, and with all that has unfolded in our world recently, I believe it is timely for us as followers of Christ to be reminded of our Lord’s teaching on what it means to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Through the events of Easter – by His death for sin and resurrection from the dead – our Lord Jesus has made it possible for all those who repent from their sin and place their trust in Him to enter into God’s Kingdom.
You will be provided with a daily passage to read and reflect upon, and I will be asking you the same question every day: “What is God saying to you personally through this passage?”
I will also be encouraging you to write this down, so make sure you have a journal handy to record the insights you receive from the Lord. You may even want to record your thoughts in the form of a prayer back to God. It can be very encouraging to revisit these at a later date and remind yourself of how God has been at work in your life!
Along the way I will intersperse the readings with a helpful quote or prayer that is related to the Sermon on the Mount, to both encourage and challenge you.
We will begin the Sermon on the Mount tomorrow, but to prepare your heart for Lent, ask God to speak to you through the following passage:
“The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:7-14)
Write down what God is saying to you as you prepare for Lent.