I beg your indulgence as I branch the New Covenant idea to venture into political territory today and for the next few installments.  It’s important or I wouldn’t do it.

The decision on Roe v Wade was issued on January 22, 1973.  For any woman born in 1960 or after, it’s been part—even though controversial—of the very fabric of our reproductive lives. 

I am as pro-life as a woman comes and that’s why I’d like to speak to my friends in the pro-life movement and to those in the pro-Roe movement.

If the landmark decision gets overturned as the leaked draft indicates is a possibility, it’s going to change the entire landscape overnight.  I suspect it’s going to be political pandemonium for a while, and I’d like to urge patience and caution upon all who have strong feelings about this.

For those who have never known life before Roe, there will be feelings of deprivation and betrayal of what had been their lifelong ground rules.  Suddenly, there is renewed scary talk of back alleys and coat hangers, things of abortion folklore that will never happen again in a global world, if it ever did on any significant scale.  But protestors and pundits inflaming matters—through social media and a few minutes of going viral—will not help anyone.  May cooler heads prevail.

Constitutionalists, like myself, see turning the decisions local, back to the States, as being more in line with what the Founders designed.  The Tenth Amendment states that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  States Rights – US Constitution – LAWS.com .”

But any decision to return power to the States
is not the same as turning back the clock
and pretending this Roe thing was just an unimportant parenthesis,
kind of like how some people view blipping over genealogies in Scripture. 
It changed our world, and we can acknowledge that.

A New Covenant World speaks grace and truth. It offers the Gospel as healing. It speaks peace into chaos. Please bear with me as I explore why we cannot simply turn back time. In the coming installments, I will point to some of the complex issues forthcoming in the “abortion wars” as legal scholars call our future.

What do you think of when you hear the word “covenant”?  In my biblical worldview, it is a core rock-solid promise with a gentle wrapping of love and boundaries for safety, and security.  It has positive vibes all around it.  It’s unconditional love and always a good thing.

God’s covenants were special because God establishes covenants and God keeps them—both those He promised to the world in general and unconditional to Israel, in specific. 

There is one that came with strings regarding our behavior for a period of time.  The Law of Moses (Mosaic covenant) came with the fact that if you obey, blessings follow.  If you don’t, expect trouble.  God’s boundaries are for safety and security and if you cross that boundary, don’t expect God’s safety and security to follow you when you’ve abandoned Him at the border.  He is faithful to the conditions He set forth.

Exodus 24:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

 3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”

Not depending on them to remember, it was put in writing
and sealed in blood. 
They would be without excuse, having promised to obey…twice.

Exodus 24: 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar.

 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

 8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

People are always less likely to keep their end
even though they twice-promised they would be faithful.  
They abandoned God over and over again.
So God, in His grace, adapted the covenant after Jesus purchased our forgiveness.

Hebrews 8:8 God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah…10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.  I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Old Covenant, New Covenant. 
Both ratified in blood.
Now Jesus paid it all…
and opened for us that new and living way. 

The old way had been in effect since Genesis.  It was a dead way.  Animal sacrifices over and over and over because sin flowed non-stop from a sin nature we inherited from Adam (and Eve), the first sinner(s).

The old way was designed to remind us that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  Bloody death.  Ritual sacrifice and a high priest to do it…imperfectly.

Until there was a new and living way opened by Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

Dispensing with the old way of sacrifice, Jesus was crucified for us. 
And now there is a new and living way.

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

This new and living way comes with a new to-do list.  Not the old way of trying to remember and keep the whole law perfectly and a myriad of sacrifices to make up for failures.  Away with that impossibility!  Now there’s a new way.  A new priest.  And new things to do in response to the new way:

• Have confidence:  22 “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
• Be steadfast in faith:  23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
• Be multipliers: 24 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,”
• Be a community of worshipers: 25 “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,”
• And be encouragers to finish well:  “but encouraging one another– and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The old dead way did not do any of that.  It was individual and it was dead.  It was riddled with doubt since it was all dependent upon man’s imperfect effort.  The new and living way inspires so much more because it is perfect. 

A tell-tale sign of someone who has not put their trust in the new and living way
is how much energy is devoted to earning something that cannot be earned. 

Do you know the freedom of trusting in this new and living way?
If so, what will you do on this new to-do list … today?

Until Resurrection Day, death had the final say. 

I wonder if Satan chortled an evil chortle in Eden as he thought he’d outsmarted God.  Maybe thinking God had made a pivotal error of promising, even threatening mortality if Adam (and Eve) ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, though it was forbidden.  Death, ha, ha!  I imagine our adversary thinking.  There’s no coming back from that!  Image scrimmage. Ha, ha, ha! 

Whatever laughter there may have been came to an abrupt end at Jesus’ Resurrection.

God’s work through Jesus Christ made all things new. 
He is Risen. 
A New Day.  A New Say.

1 Corinthians 15:55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A New Day.  A New Say.  Jesus did it all.

Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority …13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Do you realize how powerful this is?  For thousands of years, mankind had mortality hanging over our heads like an executioner’s hood reminding us that death is imminent. It could happen at any second. All of mankind lived with a constant threat that something could come along–at any moment–and kill us and then, just like that, it’s over.  Forever.

A new day with Resurrection
means that death no longer has the final say in your life and mine! 
We don’t need to fear death at all!  It no longer has a hold on us! 

Jesus has the final say over your life–a glorious game changer with eternal results!
Have you received this free gift of eternal life in Him?
He graciously gives it to all who trust in Him. Just ask Him.

On Easter Sunday, I went to a local beach with my parents for a sunrise service to celebrate God’s making all things new in the resurrection of Christ.  A highlight for me was watching the sun rise in the east as the full moon set over the Gulf of Mexico.  It made me wish I had a better camera than my old phone because God put on a lovely display of celestial glory for all to see in a cloudless sky.  The sermon, however, was less than stellar.

I know I’m pickier than most about the content and delivery of sermons, but more than just the missed opportunity, there was enough doctrinally wrong to confuse people and keep them walking the wrong path. That is what made it a travesty.  It made me think about the essential elements that must be present in a good Easter message.

It’s not just reading the Easter story for the bazillionth time (although frankly, one can’t go wrong with God’s own narrative of the event).  It’s easy to see how pastors can feel like it’s hard to make such a familiar passage fresh and interesting, especially on a high-expectation day for “Christmas and Easter Christians”.  That is perhaps the reason the pastor at my son’s church didn’t read it at all.  He focused on other Scriptures…which ironically made for a better Easter message than the one I heard.

It’s not enough to mention Jesus’ name. 
Or saying He is Risen indeed!
Or that the tomb was empty.

There are probably lots of people whose name is/was Jesus, even in that day as Colossians 4:11 and “Jesus, called Justus” would suggest.  Someday, all of us in Christ will rise and our tombs will be empty. 

He wasn’t just the first to figure it out
like the first figure skater to successfully perform a quadruple or quint axel. 
Without Him, we would never be resurrected to eternal life.

Therefore, here is my list of Essential Elements of an Easter message and you can see how yours stacked up:

Mankind must be presented as both the pinnacle of God’s creation and as sinners.  We are:

• God’s Image bearers. 
• But we have a sin nature due to Adam and Eve’s sin in Eden. 
• God’s Image is present but broken, and we are unable to earn our way or to help ourselves out of this situation. 
• The curse of sin is death. Mortality means all people die until Jesus returns.
• Any hope rests in God defeating death.

Jesus must be presented as the unique Son of God. 

• Fully God, able to change our predicament. 
• Fully man, able to represent us. 
• He must be completely sinless, crucified, fully dead, and buried in a tomb. 
• He must fulfill all Scripture about the Messiah as well as what He predicted 
• He must be in the tomb for 3 days and then rise from the dead. 
• His resurrection must be of His body.
• He must appear to witnesses to prove to man what God later affirms as acceptable sacrifice in the ascension and giving of the Holy Spirit.

Without the essential elements regarding mankind, there is no need for a Messiah.  No need for payment for sin.  No reason it couldn’t be a do-it-yourself project of earning your way to be with God like every other world religion.  We are not rather good people who just need a little Jesus and to show kindness by seeing Jesus in everyone.  We’re (even the best of us) sinners and mortality is our outcome. 

Instead of perfect endless living (eternal life),
pure endless dying is what we’ve earned. 
That’s called “Hell” and Jesus came to save us from that.

I don’t know how your Easter message stacked up this year.  But next year, listen beyond the surface, the jokes, and the attempts to make Easter fresh and interesting.  Listen for what is essential and how God made all things new in Christ.

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He is making all things new. Do you believe it?

It’s Easter Sunday. The tomb is empty. The Lord Jesus is Risen (Luke 24). All things have been made new (Revelation 21:5). The consequence of the fall of man–our mortality–has been paid in full. And there’s new hope for us in Him because of it. The sting of death is gone. The grave has no longer has any kind of victory (1 Corinthians 15:47-58). Satan is angry about it (Revelation 12). The saints have a joyful expectation of eternal life (Titus 3:3-7). Revelation’s woman clothed with the sun and with 12 stars as a crown–the Church–is waiting expectantly for the return of Jesus Christ, the firstborn among many brothers (and sisters). We are the family of God (Revelation 21:7). Eternal life and reigning with Him, serving Him as a kingdom of priests is our future. We do not need to fear anything anymore (1 John 4: 14-21). What can man do to us when this is the future God has promised (Hebrews 13:6)?

“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, [you are here] and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8). Happy Easter! He is Risen!

You may have heard statements like “It’s always darkest before the dawn” or “Calm before the storm.”  Each refers to a time just before the “Soon”.  Silent, dark, stillness.  In the flow of Passion Week, Jesus is in the tomb.  Soon, everything will be made new because He defeated sin and death on the Cross. In the flow of Passion Week, that time is soon. In our day, Jesus’ victory over sin and death is finished.

Soon this will be our reality. Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  3 No longer will there be any curse.

Darkness and the curse will pass soon. 
We’re in the silence and darkness before the Soon.

Revelation 22:4 The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.  6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”  7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

People may scream that it seems evil is taking over!  Do not fear.
It’s the Silence before the Soon as we live out the parable of the wheat and the tares.  Matthew 13:22-42.

Revelation 22:10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”  12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.

Soon.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”  17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.  “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. ”  (Revelation 22:20)

Concluding Thought: Are you ready?

===

This concludes the series Revelation in 40 vignettes. Thank you for joining me for this challenging series. I wish you all a very happy Easter because our Lord is Risen, and He makes all things new. God bless you all.

A three-dimensional physical world and a life experience marked by time—that’s our frame of reference.  From the time we’re born until the time we die, it’s with us … marked by movements of the sun and moon and stars, as well as by the movement of our earth.  Physical objects and marked time condition us to view things in a very concrete and linear way. 

Today, as we come to the final vignettes in our Lenten series “Revelation in 40”
and the big picture of the book of Revelation,
I’d ask you to consider that Jesus’ reality from heaven
was not marked by those things.
His perspective, therefore, is different.
Eternal.  Multidimensional.  Spiritual.

So, it’s hard for us to understand when Jesus says things like “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) or at the Last Supper before His Crucifixion “19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:19-21). 

Jesus’ experiences, reality, and understanding
transcend ours which are limited, physical, and finite. 
Hold that thought while we look at today’s vignette.

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  

This will be the last “coming down” out of heaven.  From this point on, God dwells with His people.  There is a curious and mysterious new heaven and new earth…that are no longer separated by time and space.  Kind of like one of those Impossible Puzzles, MC Escher drawings, or a Möbius strip.

Revelation 21: 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

It’s hard to contemplate a reality we just don’t know, but this is all part of letting Revelation speak to us in its own words and not try to force understanding upon it from a finite physical world.

Thoughts for today: 

Read Revelation 21:8, (See also Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Lk. 13:28, and 2 Peter 2:17 about hell, the second death being simultaneously an eternity of utter darkness and a blazing furnace or fiery lake.) How can literal flames of fire not give off literal light, so it is simultaneously utter darkness?

Read Revelation 21:9-21.  What does the splendor of the New Jerusalem tell you?

Read Revelation 21:22-27.  In verses 23 and 25 it states, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp … On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.”  I chuckle sometimes thinking that’s why God neither slumbers nor sleeps.  But the truth is, His reality is not our finite one.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Today’s passage separates the Christian-Happy-Wishers from the realists.  The Christian Happy Wisher group wants to see all the good little Christians beamed up to heaven before things get really bad.  They want judgment to happen only to those nasty evildoers at the Great White Throne and the good little Christians sit by with hands folded like preschoolers waiting for recess.  Sigh…

Sorry, that’s not how it works. 

I don’t care how many prominent theologians try to insist that they know for certain that all Christians will be raptured out of trouble’s way and that all self-professed, good believers will be the peanut gallery and watch from the stands, the destruction of the wicked like we’re at the Roman Colosseum and “My, my, my how the tables have turned!  Now it’s their chance to be torn to pieces.”   Argh! 

I don’t know that any good little Christians will be cheering
for anyone else’s eternal punishment. 
I certainly won’t be.  That person bore God’s Image, too. 
It’s a measure of love … for God.

You have no idea how angry that Happy Wisher group makes me for what it does to those who are still outside of the family of faith as we press into the Last Days.  The genuine damage it does to the Gospel!  Do they not comprehend how it makes God look?  Selective in His punishment?  Arbitrary in His judgments?  Choosing for His followers those who are superficial self-proclaimed do-gooders as sycophants? 

All this as if the Christian do-gooder … isn’t really … you know … a sinner?  

Is gratitude for your personal forgiveness in Christ
more important than seeing and loving God’s Image
in the equally sinful person who is condemned?

” Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)

True some are judged for reward: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” (Matthew 16:27 NIV)

Will God only repay a few people?  No! 

“God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”   To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.  But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.  There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:6-11 NIV)

Even in Revelation, Jesus is clear: “Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” (Revelation 2:23 NIV)

With that tirade as a preface, today’s passage Revelation 20:11-15

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Thoughts for today:

“The lake of fire is the second death.”  Glad John cleared that up.

This is what I ponder in quiet moments:
I don’t know how it will all be when the books are opened. 
I doubt it will be like a giant graduation ceremony or the Oscars
where names are called and recognized individually in front of an applauding crowd.  
I suppose I want to know so I don’t keep looking around heaven
for someone I loved who is not there.
I know I don’t want to see those who I tried (and failed) to reach for Christ
as they get punished with eternal wrath
for the very same works for which I’ve been forgiven. 
I think I would feel a mixture of tremendous gratitude,
but also overwhelming, horrific sadness and deep pain
that I had so little impact on this world.

Lord God, comfort us regarding Your wisdom in how You will do all of this.
And with tears and prayers, press on, Christian.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.