Throughout Lent, we’ve been using John Kass’ column “O Holy Night” as a guide for prayer. It continues,

For all the young who are lonely and feel lost and don’t know why.

There is a younger generation, growing up without the stability of an intact nuclear family, a close network of neighbors, and mentoring relationships of significance who now seek therapy or make-believe friends on Chat GPT as a replacement.  They cannot imagine why they feel the way they do, having grown up in an entirely different era.

How many of us have friends on the Internet whom we’ve never met in person?  Almost all of us have added virtual friendships to augment or substitute for real ones. Never have we been more connected in superficial ways, yet simultaneously we are deeply isolated, depressed, and adrift.  COVID made that abundantly clear.

Alone in a crowd, what an awful thought leaning into meaninglessness! So busy with shallow scrolling of followers and followings that it feels like we are scrambling to fill the void in our lives with anything … so life doesn’t seem so empty. 

We may have thousands of followers online,
but few close face-to-face friends and family with whom we can be real.
In search of meaning.
In search of answers.
In search of relationship!

Lord, Have Mercy! 

Lord, bring Your Church into their lives and circumstances so they’d know they are not alone. They’d know the depth of Your love. And they’d know the joy of true community and family of the spiritual kind.  Lord, Have Mercy!

Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men.  Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders. (Psalm 107:31-32)

Prayer Focus: God would provide companionship and community through His Church.

===

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.

We’ve been using columnist John Kass’ prayer poem “O Holy Night” originally published for Christmas as a prayer guide for introspection at Lent.  About the brotherhood of man, he writes,

…For all those friends who don’t wait for a special night to build a family. They show up unannounced to find you on some random afternoon in July, or a cool morning in November– with a coffee cake from your favorite bakery–dropping by just to make sure that you’re OK. Tonight is for them, and tomorrow, too, because they are family, by the acts of family.

Family and neighbors who were close like family.  Back in gentler times of America, neighborhoods were neighborly…not a place of warring political tribes with virtue-signaling yard signs.  Things like block parties and Americana, Independence Day patriotism, bridge or bunco nights, and parades have waned like the moon.

Comedian Sabastian Maniscalco makes fun of it hilariously but it’s funny because there was a time when families would keep a coffee cake reserved if company popped by to visit.  Oh, don’t anyone touch it until we’re sure no company will come to enjoy it, by which time it bordered on stale for family. At that point, it was no longer suitable for guests, so it was okay for family to eat it. Nothing but the best for our guests!

People in the good ol’ days would look out their windows, hoping for company. But these days, people hide behind the door’s peephole and hope visitors will just go away.  I’m not sure if that was around the inauguration of stranger danger, but we’ve become isolated and unneighborly as a culture. 

We’ve become fearful and lonely when what we really need are friends.
We need community.

Some people still harken back to that former era.  They come armed with cookies or gifts and pop by even if to check in at the door to make sure you’re okay.  Kass lauds such people as family in the larger (and truly sincere) sense…because they care.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:10-11)

Prayer Focus: Help us, Lord, to regard our spiritual family as a gift from You.

===

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.

Music has a way of breaking through where words alone cannot.  It often goes underutilized and underappreciated, especially at Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter for its staying power. There are people whose only exposure to Christianity leaves them without any doctrine apart from the sermon.  Sometimes even sermons are made too “relevant” and leave out the important Scripture and doctrine of why Jesus was born and why He had to die: we’re sinners.

That’s why columnist John Kass, whose poem prayer column forms our Lenten framework for prayer, offers these next few verses:

For all the people in every choir in the world. They’ve been practicing for weeks in cold, empty churches, so tonight is their night too. Their beautiful voices lift us with song, inviting us to humble ourselves as we ask for help in scraping away any bitterness that has grown like hard bark around our hearts.

Bitterness, that hard bark…disillusionment with the world…frustration with the seeming ineffectiveness of what is good to triumph over what is evil…it’s discouraging!  But do you see how Christmas and Easter combined display God’s excellent plan to resolve evil once and for all?

How does music do it when words alone seem to be inadequate? 

Music involves different brain pathways.  It’s why we sing ABCs. It’s why words of songs we didn’t even like from the 1900s pop into our heads. Or songs we may not have heard in years…seemingly randomly triggered for replay in our minds.  Christmas carols and Easter praise are especially like that.  Lord, display Your glory and Your mercy in music! Shout for joy to the LORD!

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn– shout for joy before the LORD, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98:4-9

Prayer Focus: We praise You, Lord, for the gift of music and how it enriches our world and increases our knowledge of You.

===

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.

It’s Day 11 of Lenten “Lord Have Mercy” devotionals, and we’re engaging in introspection using “O Holy Night” by John Kass as our prayer guide. He writes,

For all the grieving parents who were told again and again by politicians in Washington that the border was secure…

For the innocent child victims and young women victims of sex-traffickers who controlled the Southern border for years,

A millstone waits patiently to be placed around the necks of those who hurt the “little ones” and have led them into sin. This is the time of mercy, but Jesus was clear about what he would do to those who hurt his little ones.” (John Kass)

As Christians, our hearts should be particularly burdened for the victimized
who might never have been assaulted or violated in any way
had we been doing what was right all along. But we did not. 

Lord, have mercy!

We accepted politicians lying to us.  We accepted policies that enriched a few at the expense of the most vulnerable.  We mistook complacency for compassion. We handed over our governance to an elite class who told us they knew better in exchange for promises of scraps that never materialized.  Worse, in far too many mainline churches, we selected false teachers to push agendas instead of being faithful shepherds of the flock. Mainline churches who enabled and even linked arms with bureaucrats and traffickers which “lost track” of hundreds of thousands of kids trafficked through our borders.

It’s not a red or blue issue.  It’s an integrity issue, and we have elected those who govern and judge as if they have none.  People have turned aside to what they want to believe, defending the indefensible, and making things political instead of doing what’s right for the victimized.

Psalm 25: 18 Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. 19 See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! 20 Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. 21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in You.

Lord, Have Mercy!

Prayer Focus: We lift innocent victims up to You and ask that You would be their Refuge and Redeemer. Grant us courage to stand for what is right in Your eyes.

===

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.

“Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do His bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children. Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heaven.” (Psalm 148:7-13)

Breathe. Take in the splendor. Plant it in your heart. Praise Him. Selah.

The actual meaning of the word Selah is unknown. There is speculation by scholars that it was a musical cue in ancient liturgy to encourage a moment to breathe, to pause and reflect on what one just read or sang, and to serve as an invitation to interrupt both the hurry and the stillness with introspection and praise. When we find it in Scripture, it should prompt us to stop the mad rush to simply get through reading, and instead, to meditate on God’s character, His words, or His actions on behalf of His people. The best true response to God is worship.

Selah acts much like “Κύριε, ἐλέησον” in the Greek Orthodox liturgy: Lord, Have Mercy! Lent Devotionals will resume tomorrow after today’s Sabbath rest to reflect, refresh, and worship Him. Selah.

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.

As we continue our prayerful introspection during Lent using columnist John Kass’ prayer poem “O Holy Night,” he writes,

For all those 100,000 or more young Americans who’ve been poisoned by fentanyl brought by the Mexican narco gangs.”

Kass, the son of a Greek immigrant, was born on Chicago’s South Side and raised in the nearby southwest suburb of Oak Lawn. He spent many years as a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.  His heart for the city is evident in all his writings, including those that border on politics.  

As the son of an immigrant himself, he understands that where you come from isn’t political at all.  As a journalist, he understands that it’s an important part of reporting the truth. 

Addiction should never be reduced to merely political. 
Lord, have mercy that we have made it so!

While not all families have had to face the grim reality of fatalities or incarcerations related to drug/alcohol addiction, most families know someone in their circle of acquaintance that struggles with addiction or has overcome it.

Being an addict doesn’t make you a bad person. 
Having an addict in the family should not be a source of shame. 
They are—as we all are—in need of the Lord’s mercy.

“Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you– I, whom you have redeemed. (Psalm 71:20-23)

Prayer Focus: Lord, give us a heart to understand the difficulties of addiction and how we can come alongside them as instruments of Your mercy.

===

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.

“For the moms and dads who keep their family close and safe,” writes John Kass in his column “O Holy Night.” that we’re using as a prayer framework.

It’s Day 8 of our Lenten series “Lord Have Mercy.” Nowhere near enough credit is given to people who try to raise their children right, to those who nurture family ties, to those who love their children and protect them from harm’s way. 

It doesn’t make headlines when they do. It only makes headlines when they don’t.

And there are parents who foster other people’s children when birth families have been unwilling or unable to raise them. It’s a picture of the mercy of God planting us in His family by His grace in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Lord, Have Mercy upon parents who try to continually do the right thing in a society that fails to laud it.  It’s worth lauding because it impacts a generation and teaches the next generation to act in ways pleasing to God.

1 Timothy 5:4 [Children or grandchildren] should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.

Prayer Focus: Lord, Have Mercy on a culture that fails to honor Christian love that binds family together.

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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.

For those who’ve lost their children. For all who’ve lost their moms and dads,” writes John Kass in his column “O Holy Night.”

There’s a grief unique to parents who have lost children.  It’s a deep soul pain at the inverse of the normal life trajectory.  Parents typically outlive their children. Everything about this loss feels upside down.

For those like me who have lost a child, it’s the loss of the physical person (who you may have never seen alive or arguably even harder, those who may have a history of memories that ended too soon).  It’s a deep grief because it’s the loss of who they would have become in life: the high school dances, the graduations, the weddings, all the special events that parents cherish.  And it’s also simple day-to-day events like talking heart-to-heart while folding laundry together or playing piano or cooking together and sharing the life a mother or father normally has with the ones to whom you gave birth. 

You gave them life so they could live it.

Losing a parent is also a pain unique to relationship.  There is only one person who gave birth to you and one who sired you.  When they die, it’s like a physical part of you dies along with them.  God as Father understands. Lord, Have Mercy!

“Sing to God, sing praise to His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds–His name is the LORD– and rejoice before Him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:4-5)

Prayer Focus: We praise You for being our defender.

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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.

Kass’ column “O Holy Night” that we’re using as a prayer framework continues,

And for every couple who can’t have children and adopt a child to save a life.

For all the young women who have given their baby up for adoption, to save the life growing inside her. For all those who’ve donated funds so that the young women could see the ultrasound image of the life inside of them and save that life. For couples who tried and couldn’t have children of their own but kept their faith in God and stayed together.”

The psalmist writes in Psalm 139: “13 For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”

Lord, Have Mercy upon the women who discovered the value of life only after having had an abortion.  Give them hope in their regrets, comfort them that their children are alive in heaven as body innocent, soul perfect babies who never left Your care through a Divine reach-back by which You rescued their little souls in Your mercy.

Help those who gave up their children to be adopted to see this as a picture of how every Christian is adopted into the family of God.  Help those who were adopted into their new family to rest in the glorious understanding of the beauty of adoption…each one of their days ordained to be just so!  We praise You, Lord, that we are adopted into Your family “as [God’s] sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will– to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” (Ephesians 1:5-6)

Prayer Focus: Grant us the knowledge of the joy of adoption, Lord, that we would remember we have been adopted into Your family.

===

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.