Looking

Unto the

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2000 NazNet Lenten Devotional Series



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Lent: Time of Reflection, Discipline, and Growth
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"Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 NRSV



"By the sweat of your brow, you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:19 NRSV



Tomorrow and tomorrow
and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace
from day to day.
To the last syllable of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays have lighted
fools the way to dusty death.
Out, out brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow,
a poor player that struts
and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard
no more. It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing.

These words fall down through time to us from William Shakespeare's MacBeth.




The futility of life. The problem of mortality. The reality of a cold and ugly word--death. It is ironic that Shakespeare's words live on, yet his body is nothing but dust. True to God's word Adam's body became dust. True to God's word Eve's body became dust. One day our inescapable fate will be the same. Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust. We find various persons questioning the inevitable end of life throughout the Bible. One of the most popular of these inquiries is found in Ecclesiastes 3:19-22. "For the fate of humans and fate of animals is the same, as one dies, so dies another. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the spirit goes upward and the spirit goes downward to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that. All should enjoy their work for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will be after them?" We find the same in the New Testament, "What is life? It is but a vapor." Our human hearts cry out to know! What happens when we die? Aren't we worth more than dust? Aren't we worth more than ashes? Are we nothing more than "walking shadows?"

The links to the devotionals will be added daily. Lenten Devotional for: Day 1, March 8 Day 2, March 9 Day 3, March 10 Day 4, March 11 1st Sunday, March 12 Day 5, March 13 Day 6, March 14 Day 7, March 15 Day 8, March 16 Day 9, March 17 Day 10, March 18 2nd Sunday, March 19 Day 11, March 20 Day 12, March 21 Day 13, March 22 Day 14, March 23 Day 15, March 24 Day 16, March 25 3rd Sunday, March 26 Day 17, March 27 Day 18, March 28 Day 19, March 29 Day 20, March 30 Day 21, March 31 Day 22, April 1 4th Sunday, April 2 Day 23, April 3 Day 24, April 4 Day 25, April 5 Day 26, April 6 Day 27, April 7 Day 28, April 8 5th Sunday, April 9 Day 29, April 10 Day 30, April 11 Day 31, April 12 Day 32, April 13 Day 33, April 14 Day 34, April 15 Palm Sun., April 16 Day 35, April 17 Day 36, April 18 Day 37, April 19 Day 38, April 20 Day 39, April 21 Day 40, April 22 Easter Sun. , April 23 Mon., April 24 Tues., April 25 Wed., April 26 Thurs., April 27 Fri., April 28 Sat., April 29 Sun., April 30 Thank you to all the authors who have made this service of NazNet a reality. naznet special projects moments with God



My grandfather died when I was fourteen. I remember asking where my uncle went after the funeral. They told me he went to "pick up the ashes."

That was the answer? Ashes? Is this all that's left of my strong, brave, darling Grandpa? Nothing but a box of ashes!



Our culture lives in a state of denial about aging and death. Face lifts, cosmetics, hair dye....being young seems to be the only answer to life's problems. As the commercial reminds us, "Be young, have fun, drink Pepsi."

We know that staying young is not the answer. Recently the Naznet community joined together in mourning the death of Linda Bratcher. She was young. Our hearts break with the loss.



Jesus, the very son of God come to earth, died young. At the age of thirty-three, he allowed himself to be arrested, mocked, scorned, crowned with thorns, and nailed to a cross. He knew in a few hours his body would be dust.



Dust? Ashes?
Ashes to Ashes?
Dust to Dust?
Nails into Wood.
Splinters into flesh.
Spear into side.
Father forgive those
you created out of dust.
No hate.
Only love.
Agony.
Father, Father
My God, My God!
Why have you forsaken me?
Am I Dust? Am I Ashes?
And Death came to
the Son of God.
Ashes to Ashes.
Dust to Dust.
As Adam died, so did Jesus.
As Eve and Abraham
As Isaac and Jacob
As Moses and Miriam
As Elijah and Esther
As David and Solomon
As Isaiah and Jeremiah..
As John the Baptist.
As one died,
So did they all.



Luke chapter twenty-three ends with the burial of Jesus. He goes under the earth as every human being has before him.

But Luke chapter twenty-four changes the human story forever. The chapter begins with these words...."But on the first day of the week, at dawn they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body!" Amen and Amen.



No ashes! No dust! Death, where is thy victory? Grave where is thy sting? Jesus broke the cycle! His body did not disintegrate into dust! He did not become ashes. For God raised him from the dead.

We see what happens, but what must happen before the glorious resurrection? Ashes and Dust. He must die before he can be raised.

by Kelly Diehl Yates



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