Lent Words Day 40: Hope

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."

1 Peter 1:3

At the beginning of the week I shared a quote from a book about Lent by Charles Erdman, which I left unfinished, to be continued today. As Paul Harvey used to say, here is the rest of the story:

"On Saturday His body rested in the tomb. With this the last day of Holy Week, Lent, strictly speaking, is ended; but no proper review of the Lenten season would be complete without reaching a climax by including the Sunday which follows and which, as "Easter," celebrates the glorious resurrection of Christ."

Today is the official last day of Lent. The end of a season of repentance and mourning over sin. Tomorrow we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our mourning turns to joy! This great event ushers in our hope. As today's Scripture verse says, God, in His great mercy, has given us new birth into a living hope THROUGH the resurrection of Jesus Christ through the dead. This verse is so theologically rich and meaningful.

• God the Father has given us new birth. He has caused it to happen and gifted us with it. There is nothing we do to make this new birth happen, it is a work of God that we accept by faith. This new birth makes us children of God.
• We receive this new birth as a result of God's great mercy. God is compassionate and rich in mercy. In His mercy He made a way for us to be restored to favor with Him through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ.
• Our new birth is into a living hope. As Christ-followers we have a hope that is not wishful thinking, but rather, a hope that has power. Power that changes lives! That same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us! (Romans 8:11)
• This hope is living because it comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Because He lives, we live! "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:22

And so, as we look forward to celebrating on Resurrection Sunday, we can join Peter in His praise to God the Father for this new birth into a living hope. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"

Today is our last day of the Lent Words Creative Challenge. Thank you all for joining along with me as we read daily Scripture passages and responded to them creatively. I want to once again thank those who wrote guest posts for our journey:

Bernice Hopper @ http://www.newlycreative.com/

Ellen Etzler @ https://www.ellenetzlerart.com/

Valerie Sjodin @ http://valeriesjodin.com/blog/

Kris Camealy @ http://kriscamealy.com/blog/

Christine Hiester @ https://www.instagram.com/barebranchblooming/?hl=en

Christina Hubbard @ http://www.creativeandfree.com/

Thank you all so much! We appreciated your words and your art in the many different ways your creativity was expressed and shared with us!

You can continue following my journey through the year here on my blog and in the Everyday Journals group on Facebook. In April we are exploring Verse Mapping!

Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group

Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I are using one journal to record events, experiences and relationships and  to explore our word’s meaning in visual and fun ways. We are each blogging about our experiences and our art. If you would like to connect with others about creatively organizing your word, your ideas, thoughts, prayers, events, or your projects all in one journal, you are invited to join our Facebook group: Everyday Journals – Living Your Word of the Year.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/203309083575277/

Hashtags on Instagram: #everydayjournals2018, #livingyourword2018

Lent Words Day 39: Crown ~ Guest Christina Hubbard

Today's post for Good Friday is by Christina Hubbard. I met Christina a few years ago while participating in her Advent Book Club, Come, Lord Jesus on her blog. Christina's art form is poetry. She wrote the poem below using today's Scripture passages as inspiration. Today's Scripture readings are: John 19:1-3 and Hebrews 2:9. 

Thank you Christina for contributing to our Lenten Journey!

Good Friday’s Crown: the Day the World Is Saved

By Christina Hubbard

I

Drape me in black cloth

Today as I forego food,

Push away drink.

Lash me, not Him!

Sharp rocks unflesh

Innocence.

I cry out

In hunger and thirst

Because I don’t feel a thing.

He feels it all.

His very nerves fray apart

Before my eyes.

He is my Rock,

Hunched over.

Thorns, a grisly honor-crown

Askew---

My Refuge.

II

I plod over stones,

Repurposed cross splintering

Exposed muscle.

They curse me.

I drain my life

For these whose saliva hits

Open wounds.

Spit speeds blood to clot,

But they know not what they do.

They do what they must.

I drag my death with me

But I cannot abandon this world

Though it abandons me.

I am chosen.

Lamb,

Christós,

King of the Jews.

I do not love this world less.

Even more.

Evermore.

III

Why must redemption come with a slap to the face?

How can suffering heal?

What is good about crucifixion on a Friday?

Nothing seems good about sorrow

When we’re suffocating under it.

Good Friday.

Good death.

Good dying day.

How history pivots

On this slaughter!

A man’s torture

Tearing open heaven

Makes many wonder

How our universe really works---

How can such a horrible finish

Mean grace and honor,

Celebrated world-over

As good? As holy? As joy!

Good Friday is good

Because it is where all hope is lost

Before the God-man comes back to life,

And we are all saved.

God’s good day!

When the King of glory

Ate death whole.

Tell me again.

Again.

And

again.

Amen.

Christina Hubbard is a poet who writes memoir. As an internationally published writer, speaker, and retreat leader, she inspires creatives to courage and compassion. She lives on the suburban prairie of Kansas with her husband and two creative kids. Find her at ChristinaHubbard.com.

Lent Words Day 35: Hosanna and Holy Week

Charles Erdman, in his book, Remember Jesus Christ, the start of Holy Week on Palm Sunday,

"...which calls to mind our Lord's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, and it continues by celebrating the events of the days of His life which followed. On Monday He drove from the temple the godless traffickers. On Tuesday He defeated and disgraced His enemies who attempted to ensnare Him with crafty questions. Wednesday He spent in seclusion at Bethany. On Thursday the Master established His memorial Supper and bade farewell to His disciples. Friday was the dread day of crucifixion. On Saturday His body rested in the tomb...."

To be continued on Resurrection Sunday....


Today's Lent Word is Hosanna.

"This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.  They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” 

Matthew 21:4-11

 

 

Lent Words Day 34:Grace

" But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Ephesians 2:4-9 ESV

Two small words in this passage hold significant impact for us and hold the very grace of God: 

BUT GOD

There are over 40 times in the whole Bible where these words are used together. Here are just a few:

"But God remembered Noah..." Genesis 8:1

"But God will be with you..." Genesis 48:21

"But God meant it for good..." Genesis 50:20

"But God did not give David into his hands..." 1 Samuel 23:14

"But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave..." Psalm 49:15

"But God raised him from the dead..." Acts 13:30

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us..." Romans 5:8

These words lead us to God's intervening grace throughout the Scriptures. 

“May I put it quite simply? If you understand those two words—‘but God’—they will save your soul. If you recall them daily and live by them, they will transform your life completely.” – James Montgomery Boice

The beginning of Ephesians chapter 2 reminds us of our state without God - "You were dead in your transgressions and sin".  Then, verse 4 opens up to remind us of the words that are at the very heart of the Gospel - But God.

Let me paraphrase the beginning of  today's passage: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love for us, made us alive with Christ - it is by His grace we have been saved. " The Greek word order shows us that we are saved first, because of God's mercy, and second because of His great love for us. God is rich in mercy because of His great love. His mercy and His love lead Him to act in grace. In His grace He saved us, He made us alive with Christ, He raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms. This is the Resurrection Life! It is the life we live in spiritual union with Christ!

God made us alive with Christ, raised us with Him, and seated us in the heavenly realms with Him in order to show the riches of His grace seen in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. And thus,  it is by grace He has saved us; not by ourselves or by any works we could do. Our salvation is a gift of God. A gift that we receive by faith in Christ.

I just love this passage in Ephesians 2, as well as our other reading today in Romans 3:21-24. A reminder of God's mercy and love for us expressed in His grace to us through Jesus Christ is a great way to begin Holy Week. 

Lent Words Day 30: Reflection ~ Guest Christine Heister

Today our guest is Christine Hiester. I have followed Christine on her blog and through Instagram for a number of years. I finally got to meet Christine in person last year at a retreat where she led us in prayer art journaling. Christine  is a talented musician, an art journaler and a spiritual director in training. I think I am also drawn to Christine because we are both INFJ's! You can follower Christine's art on Instagram @barebranchblooming and her spiritual direction @shapingtheriver.

Thank you Christine for contributing to our Lenten Journey!

I prepare for Prayer Circle and write, “Prompts for Reflection”. I breathe deeply and search internally for what I think God wants me to ask the members of our Circle. What would He ask me this moment? What is it that I hear deep inside, in that Spirit-space that resonates with His voice? The space that resonates when I am still enough to listen, that is.

Reflection: noun, meaning “an image seen in a mirror or shiny surface.”

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I Am.

Be still and know.

Be still.

I know this: I can’t be that mirror when I am not still. And my internal world, like a mountain lake, or a forest stream, needs a hushed sense of reverence to be clear and still enough to offer the God of Love a true canvas on which to create. I know this, and yet I am still learning. I am ever a beginner. In the spiritual life we never arrive.

Oddly enough, the very thing that gives me this sense of hushed stillness, the practice that shows me more of God than any other, that allows me to be the mirror, is also a meaning of the word reflection.

Reflection: noun, meaning “serious thought or consideration; contemplation.”

Contemplation. A posture of quiet before God. I practice this posture of prayer in many ways, not least of which is the act of creating with color and clippings, glue and glitter. Art has always been an open and still place of the Spirit for me. A Spacious Place. Our life in Christ is a wide-open meadow of possibilities.

“He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because He delighted in me.” Psalm 18:19

So I plan the Prayer Circle this Lent, a weekly space of contemplative prayer, to remind myself. To let God lead me, and in that gently leading, guide others who have the same desire for stillness.

How do you practice stillness? I’d love to hear.