Thread: Lent

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  1. #1
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    Lent

    Please read Isaiah 53--the suffering servant chapter.

    I'll share this:

    Somewhere in the Jerusalem, Jesus was in an upper room with His closest friends. It was a
    feast. It was a joyful occasion for all the Jews. Jesus, though, began to be sorrowful and
    troubled.

    Sorrow and trouble can come in any number of ways. It might be bad news from the doctor. It
    might be financial. It could be what the mechanic tells you. It could touch upon your
    relationships. It could be guilt. It could be consequences for doing wrong… or maybe even for
    doing right. It could be death.

    This was the night that Jesus gathered up all our sorrows and troubles, to resolve them all in
    Himself. So we watch and pray at all times, and in this season of Lent. We watch against our sin
    and against temptation. We keep watch in a troubled world. We watch the Lord Jesus on His
    way, and consider all that came upon Him. It came to Him, because He takes our side against
    sin and death, the devil and hell. He begins to tell us His sorrow and trouble with the words:
    Truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.

    Later that night, He came down from the city, and into the valley—where they threw out all the
    idols and the rubble from the altars of all the high places that Israel built in their unfaithfulness.
    Jesus comes to resolve it all in Himself. He walked the way that David, the true King walked
    before, when he fled before a rebellious son, who wanted to rule in his place: like Caiaphas and
    the scribes and chief priests and teachers of the Law… and like us, who want to be lords for
    ourselves. Jesus comes to resolve it all Himself.

    He walked over the brook that ran red with the blood of the temple sacrifices. Those sacrifices
    could never cleanse our conscience from guilt and blame. He will have to resolve it Himself. He
    went out to the Mount of Olives, on the way of the scapegoat. Year after year, the scapegoat
    carried the guilt of all the people into the wilderness, as if to wait for Someone to come and
    resolve it all Himself.

    Jesus goes to the peaceful olive grove, which was known to Him and all His disciples. Even the
    one that betrayed Him. He goes there to watch and pray, and to wait for them to come for Him.
    What an honor, to watch and pray with Him. How necessary, and how blessed, to participate
    with Him in His watchfulness and His prayers. How much richer our celebration of Easter will be,
    when we see the depth of His sorrow and suffering for us, and how it resolves itself in His
    victory over sin and death. So much He offers to us, and gives us with His words: “Stay… and
    keep watch with Me.”
    Last edited by msethsmile; 02-20-2018 at 04:54 PM.

  2. Member
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    #2
    If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
    O LORD, who could stand?
    But with you there is forgiveness;
    therefore you are feared.
    I wait on the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

    Psalm 130--sung by God's people as they ascended to the Temple

  3. Member
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    #3
    Look for the one that betrayed Him...we shouldn't have to look far...grab a mirror. Lent, Altar colors are purple--repentance. (contrition+trust in God's promises)

  4. NOT a Pro Angler sdbrison's Avatar
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    #4
    From dust you were made and to dust you shall return
    "If People Concentrated on the Really Important Things in Life, There'd be a Shortage of Fishing Poles." - Doug Larson
    "Peace is not the absence of turmoil but the presence of God" Jo-Ann Thomack