We’ve been using columnist John Kass’ Christmas prayer poem “O Holy Night,” (which is a column he writes anew every year) as our prayer guide during Lent. It’s a helpful framework for introspection. He remembers something important for our introspection,
For the Christians slaughtered and taken captive in Nigeria.”
There are places around the world where we are so wrapped up in the minutiae of life that we have no understanding of what goes on in the rest of the world. Whether we prefer to have a blind eye to it or have just been unaccustomed to looking anywhere beyond our own backyard, wake up.
There’s something truly horrific happening to Christians worldwide.
We are wise to pray for them. They are beloved as martyrs for the faith.
When it takes a media scolding by Bill Maher and Nicki Minaj to raise the issue of persecution, kidnapping, and massacre of tens of thousands of Christians to the level of news, it’s a really sad statement on our priorities and for those who are tasked with informing us.
There are people in this world who are dying for the simple reason that they are Christians.
Surely that’s newsworthy.
O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare Your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in Your salvation. Psalm 9:13-14
Lord, Have Mercy!
Prayer Focus: Lord, give us the perseverance and wisdom to keep our eyes on You and our faith strong, even as the culture amplifies persecution of Your saints and hides its evil origins and existence.
===
You can find these “Κύριε, ἐλέησον, ‘Lord, have mercy” devotionals here or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. 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.
Revelation in 40 devotionals for 2022 offered 40 vignettes, scenes, concepts, and thoughts to inspire us to read the Book of Revelation as it is written and to go deeper. They are archived beginning March 2, 2022.
“Created to Display His Image” explored what it truly means to be made in God’s Image and the profound significance of that fact. They are archived beginning February 22, 2023.
“Seeing His Love with New Eyes” was the topic for 2024 and it explored looking at God’s love beyond the superficial and trite notions of love. They are archived beginning February 14, 2024.
“The Way it Had to Be” explored the conversation in Luke 24 by the men on the Road to Emmaus as they walked with Jesus. They discovered their assumption “This is not how it was supposed to be” was precisely what had to happen and had been predicted throughout the Old Testament and fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry. These devotionals are archived beginning March 5, 2025.