Presented with love
from
your friends at NazNet

Daily Devotionals
for
The Season of Lent
A Journey of Sorrow

"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross...."
(Heb. 12:2a,b NIV)

LINKS TO ALL LENTEN DEVOTIONALS ARE AT
THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

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"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV)

The Lenten season is a time to evaluate all that we hold as wise in the light of God's wisdom.  We examine our hearts and contemplate the journey of Jesus Christ towards the cross.  Who can comprehend the absurdity of the manner which God chose to make provision for our salvation?  God placed His Son upon a cross!

This is foolishness!

The Bible tells us that the poor are rich.  The last are first.  The weak are strong.  We live when we die.  We win when we surrender.

This is foolishness!

We have a message.  The things that seem foolish are actually profound paradoxes, containing the truth concerning our relationship with God.

When my children were young, the restrictions that they found most difficult to understand were the ones that protected them from harm.  When they wanted to wander off to explore dangerous places, my hand restricted them.  When they reached for dancing flames, intrigued by the delightful colours and mysterious movement, I pulled them back.  And when they cried with sadness and frustration, I did not give in.  If they could have formed the words, they probably would have said,

"This is foolishness!"

Now that they are older they comprehend that the foolishness lay not in my actions but in their lack of understanding.  They have learned wisdom by experiencing their mother's "foolishness".

Similarly, we learn in an atmosphere of discovery.  For this reason, Jesus taught by asking questions and telling stories that invited reflection.  At times, He seemed to speak in riddles so that even those who were closest to Him needed an explanation.  He invited them to enter a journey of discovery.  This is what spiritual paradox does.  It invites us to learn.  To dig into spiritual realities and thus to discover for ourselves the depths of God's love.  Although the cross seems foolish, it has become the symbol of the greatest act of love in the history of the world.  The paradox is no longer that God chose an obscene instrument of torture to bring about our salvation.  The paradox is that millions have found salvation and glory in it.

In the weeks ahead, we will hear from men and women who have accepted things that may seem foolish to the world.  They have opened their eyes to the deeper spiritual realities that are not understood through our own wisdom.  Through personal reflection and meditation on the Scriptures they will tell what the cross means to them.  They will share their faith in the power of the resurrection.  They will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

You may have come to this page as a Believer or you may be searching for answers to spiritual questions.  We invite you to take the journey through Lent with us.  While none of us has all the answers, we believe that when we accept the absurdity of the cross as truth and accept Jesus Christ as Saviour, we enter into the life for which we were created.

    For the sake of the Christ and the love of his cross
    I have yielded my all and not reckoned it loss;
    There's a place in my heart which the Saviour must fill
    No other can take it, and none ever will.

      Albert Orsborn (1886-1967)

Barbara Moulton

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    Enter with an open heart.  Allow the Lord to speak to you as you read the devotionals presented by NazNetters from around the world.
    Click on a selected date to access a devotional.  A link for the current devotional will be opened each day during Lent.

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