Lent daybook, 3 & 4: Law and Gospel
A Lent daybook for these 40 days of prayer. Join me, won't you? (see previous Lent daybook 2017 posts here)
Is this your first time to practice Lent? Here's a simple introduction: How we prepare for Lent.
TODAY'S IMAGE: LAW AND GOSPEL BY SANDRA BOWDEN (SOURCE)
THE RICH SURFACE IS A HEBREW TEXT FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, CREATED BY LAYERING GOLD LEAFING ON THE COLLAGRAPH PRINT, THEN ADDING COLORED IRIDESCENT CRAYPAS TO THE RAISED AREAS. WITH ONE ADDITIONAL HORIZONTAL CUT, THE TABLETS OF THE LAW BECOME FOUR QUADRANTS, SUGGESTING A CROSS
Song for today: How Deep the Father's Love by Kings Kaleidoscope
Listen to all of the Lent Daybook 2017 songs at this playlist on Spotify: Lent 2017
Readings for today: Psalm 95, Deuteronomy 7:12-16, Titus 2:1-15, John 1:35-42
“ Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”
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And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you.”
Readings for Saturday: Psalm 30, Psalm 32, Deuteronomy 7:17-26, Titus 3:1-15, John 1:43-51
Prayer for today:
“Lord our God, strengthen in us all that comes from you and is eternal, all that is good and right and genuine. Let this shape our outward life and help us triumph over need and death. Help us to wait quietly, even when we don’t know the answers to our questions, because we are certain that the outcome will be good and life-giving, to the glory of your Spirit and your name. We entrust ourselves to your hands. Stay with us, that we may receive your calling for our lives. Stay with us, so that in all our work and activity we may be aware of your guiding Spirit at work in our hearts. Amen.”
Spiritual practice for Friday & Saturday:
On Friday, choose one of the following fasts in honor of the crucifixion of our Lord:
No meat
Skip one meal
No caffeine
On Friday or Saturday, use the guide below to examine your heart and look for meaningful ways to put your faith into practice.
Prayer of Examination:
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!(Psalm 139:23-24)
Take a moment to quiet your heart and reflect upon the past week. Look especially for ways to express gratitude and thanksgiving to God for his goodness and love, as well as genuine sorrow over your own sin and brokenness. Close this time of prayer by expressing your hope in the power of the Holy Spirit who is faithful to forgive, cleanse, and transform you into his likeness (2 Cor. 3:18). (source)
(see all Lent daybook posts from 2016 here)