Fifteenth Day of Lent (Friday, 6 March 2026)

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In the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, there are characters who are sometimes overlooked. Obviously the whole event centers on the interaction between Jesus and the tempter, but when the drama of their clash is concluded, we find in Mark’s and Matthew’s accounts an interesting detail. Matthew records it in verse 11 of chapter 4:

“Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”—Matthew 4:11 (NIV)

A handful of words that can easily be missed—”angels came and attended him”—but when we focus on them, these words provide an image of refreshing and restoration that are worth noting. Having emerged from his wilderness journey, Jesus finds comfort in the presence of angels sent to take care of his needs.

A similar occurrence is found at the other end of the gospel story, as Jesus finds himself praying to God the Father in the hours before his arrest and crucifixion. Luke tells us about it in chapter 22 of his gospel:

“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”—Luke 22:39-43 (NIV)

As he has before, God sends to Jesus a divine messenger to attend to his needs. It is Christ’s darkest hour, one so fraught with despair that Luke (ever the physician) mentions in the next verse how his sweat was “like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Yet even in this darkness, there is comfort to be found in angelic presence.

As we follow Jesus on this road to Jerusalem and beyond, there are moments of temptation, and there are also moments of despair. In those times, we need to remember the promise of Christ that even in our wilderness we are not alone. We, too, have been given a gift of divine presence in the person of the Holy Spirit. This is the fulfillment of the promise Jesus shared with his disciples the night before he was killed:

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”—John 14:15-17 (NIV)

The Holy Spirit is our comfort. As the angels attended to Jesus, the Spirit attends to us. What a glorious and amazing gift! As we journey to the cross, we become more and more aware of our brokenness and our need for Jesus, but we are not left to wander by ourselves in the wilderness of despair. Thank God for the gift we’ve received in the strengthening, comforting presence of the Spirit.

Open our eyes help us see Christ
May we behold His majesty
Open our eyes Spirit we cry
Show us the glory of our King
Help us see Christ

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) The Holy Spirit is referred to as the “Spirit of Christ” (1 Peter 1:11, Galatians 4:6). What does it mean for us as followers of Jesus to know that we have his very life within us? Spend some time meditating on this astounding truth, and offer to God your desire to know Jesus better by yielding more to his Spirit.

2) Here are some phrases from today’s song used to describe the Holy Spirit. Spend some time reflecting on each of them and what each one says to you. What other words or phrases would you add to this list?

- Breath of God
- Witness
- Great Revealer
- Radiant Light
- Voice of Truth
- Guarantee
- Promised Helper
- Strength

3) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
—Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Fourteenth Day of Lent (Thursday, 5 March 2026)

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We offer many prayers during Lent. Prayers of confession, prayers of repentance, prayers of commitment and submission…these 40 days are a time of deep communion with God as we pour out our hearts to him and seek to be more conformed to the image of Jesus. We spend much of this journey to Jerusalem on our knees, crying out to God in faithful trust that he listens…and answers.

It is very unlikely that there is any one prayer God desires to hear from us more than another, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there is one simple prayer that brings a special smile to his face, and it’s this one:

Lord, I want to know you more.

The sad truth is that many of us who claim to be in relationship with Jesus are prone to treat it casually at times, causing it to languish and stagnate. We can take it for granted, and when we do, we lose sight of God’s call further and farther into his love, into a deeper and more intimate fellowship that knows no limit. The Lenten journey provides a counter to our casual leanings: as we meditate on the cost of our reconciliation we are exposed in all the ways we fall short in pursuing our relationship with Jesus with full passion and fervor.

This doesn’t happen to shame us or to tell us we aren’t doing enough. God doesn’t reveal our spiritual stagnation in order to make us feel guilty. He does it to draw us closer to himself, saying, “Gaze upon the cross. That is how precious you are to me. That is how much I desire to be in a relationship with you. I love you with an everlasting love and will go to any length to draw you to myself. The way has been made, the work is already done. Will you, in turn, draw near?”

Our response of “yes” to this invitation is this a prayer God is delighted to answer. As James reminds us:

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
—James 4:8 (NRSV)

And if that’s not where we are right now, that’s okay. In fact, that’s kind of the point. This kind of passionate pursuit isn’t something we can just stir up within ourselves. It only comes as we drop all pretense and simply be honest with God. Maybe in that honesty we add a couple of words to our prayer:

I want to want to know you more.

Again, that’s a prayer God is more than pleased to answer. It’s a handing over of our hardened hearts to the work of the Spirit, and Lent is a powerful season to take that step. The cure for our spiritual stagnation is to stop pretending it isn’t there and hear anew God’s invitation to intimacy.

Will you draw near?

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) Can you remember the first, or a significant, moment when you realized that God desired to be in relationship with you? That he delighted in it? If that is a truth that you’re still seeking to know in your life, ask God to reveal to you in a new way the depths of his love for you.

2) Try using this line from today’s song as a breath prayer: “He tells me I am His own” Breathe in as you silently pray “He tells me,” then breathe out as you silently pray “I am His own.” Repeat this a few times. Let the truth and beauty of these words feed your soul.

3) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”
—Philippians 3:8-9 (NLT)

Thirteenth Day of Lent (Wednesday, 4 March 2026)

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As we make our way to Jerusalem, contemplating the call of Jesus to take up our cross , there is a part of that passage that we sometimes overlook which deserves our full attention:

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’”
—Matthew 16:24-25 (NRSV)

When we study and meditate on this passage, our focus is often on what we are asked to sacrifice, and rightly so. Jesus’ words are about our denial of self and our willingness to lay down our lives for his sake, and that should always be at the forefront of our understanding of these verses.

But note that Jesus also tells us what we gain in doing so. He isn’t describing a one-way transaction—there is an exchange that happens here. We come before him in humility and supplication. We offer up our lives as a living sacrifice to him. We turn away from self and turn towards the cross.

And what we receive in return is nothing less than life itself. The life we were always meant to know.

The demands Jesus places on us are not the empty whims of a deity who enjoys chastising his followers for their mistakes. Instead, they are the loving commands of One who knows what is best for us and who desires us to experience it. Dying to self isn’t punishment—it’s invitation. It’s a purging of all the things in our lives that are not of God, so that we might be open to the life he has for us.

Our Lenten journey is all about that openness. It’s all about a deeper experience of surrender, and in doing so we find a deeper experience of freedom, peace, joy, and love at the foot of the cross.

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) As we journey to Jerusalem, what do you sense Jesus inviting you to lay down at the foot of the cross? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to do so, trusting that every deeper act of sacrifice leads to a deeper experience of God’s grace and power in your life.

2) Spend some time prayerfully considering the chorus of today’s song. Pray through each line, paying attention to the movement of your soul as you do so. What words stand out to you most? Why?

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life

3) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
—Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)

Twelfth Day of Lent (Tuesday, 3 March 2026)

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There’s a story told about a priest in England, many years ago, who felt a call to become a missionary to a dangerous country, a place where declaring (much less preaching) Jesus as Lord would put your life at imminent risk. As he made his way to the coast where he would board his ship, the priest found himself sharing a train compartment with a wealthy businessman, who took an interest in the young man of God’s story. After hearing it all, the businessman looked at him with great concern in his eyes.

“Young man,” he said, “I applaud your enthusiasm, but I must protest. It seems so futile to go to a place where spreading your faith could cost you your life. You’re so young, with so much energy and passion, with so much of your life ahead of you. Surely God could find a place for you to serve where you won’t find yourself threatened with death?”

The young priest thought a moment, then quietly took out the cross he wore around his neck and held it out in front of the businessman and said only one thing.

“He did this for me. Can I do any less for him?”

He did this for me. Can I do any less for him? That profound statement followed by a profound question has such a powerful message for us on this Lenten journey. During these days, we follow Jesus to the cross where he died, and we meditate on his call to die to ourselves so that we may find true life in him. That is the heart of Lent.

The image of Jesus on a cross is a difficult and disturbing one, but it’s also an important one. We might be tempted during Lent and Holy Week to “fast foward” to Easter Sunday, but we need to first consider and take in what happened on that hill of Calvary. We need to sit with what happened on that cruel instrument of Roman torture and execution. We need to take it in without giving in to our desire to empty the cross of its inhabitant, the one who loved us enough to go through that for us. Paul emphasized the importance of this in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”—1 Corinthians 2:1-2 (NIV)

As we contemplate this amazing demonstration of God’s love during Lent, and as we listen for the ways God is stirring our souls to take up our cross and follow him, what else can we say but, “He did this for me. Can I do any less for him?”

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) Have you ever found a piece of art or depiction of the cross to be particularly striking and inspiring? What about it stirred your soul?

2) Today’s hymn contains such wonderful, powerful poetry. One line that stands out is, “Did e’er such love and sorrow meet?” How do you understand the cross as a place of both love and sorrow? How does that apply not only to the cross Jesus bore, but the cross he asks you to take up daily?

3) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
—Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

Eleventh Day of Lent (Monday, 2 March 2026)

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Repentance sits at the heart of our Lenten journey. It is perhaps the central theme of this season, as we seek to be cleansed and restored in preparation for our commemoration of Christ’s Passion. In countless Ash Wednesday services across the globe last week, the invitation to repent was given as we were reminded that we are “dead to sin and alive in Christ.” (Romans 6:11)

Following his temptation, the ministry of Jesus begins with a call to repent (Mark 1:15). The ministry of the disciples begins in a similar way, for when Peter is asked by the crowd on the day of Pentecost what they must do to be saved, he replies, “Repent and be baptized.” (Acts 2:38) The message of repentance is clearly foundational to the gospel. To follow Jesus fully, we must turn from sin and embrace the life he offers.

But far too often these days the call to repentance is presented as if it were an insistence on moral reform and behavior modification, so it’s no wonder it falls so often on deaf ears. The message so many hear from today’s church is that they are doing wrong things and if they would just stop doing them, then God would love them. What they receive is a message of shame, and what they do is simply walk away.

That is not biblical repentance. Biblical repentance is rooted in the love and mercy of God. It is not founded on our ability to change ourselves, it is founded on the supernatural ability of God to effect change in us by his Spirit. What it asks of us is surrender, not to a wrathful God who will punish us if we don’t, but to a merciful God who stands ready to transform us into the people he desires us to be. As we’re reminded in Lamentations:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.”—Lamentations 3:22-23 (NRSV)

His love never ceases. His mercies never end. These truths frame every step of our Lenten journey.

You give me a heart that’s clean
Your pardon releases me to sing.

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) Does the message of repentance point to the love of God for you? If not, what voices might be keeping you from seeing it in that way? Spend some time in prayer asking God to expand your understanding of repentance to see it as a response to his love and mercy.

2) Today’s song is based on the ancient prayer called the “Kyrie Eleison” The simple repeated phrase, “Lord Have Mercy” is a humble plea for grace, compassion, and forgiveness. Spend some time reflecting on those words and letting them provide space to pour out your heart to Jesus.

3) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
—Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

Second Sunday of Lent (Sunday, 1 March 2026)

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Sundays of Hope and Joy

We live in times of unprecedented anxiety. Anxiety is rooted in fear, but it is more than fear. Anxiety is fear looking forward—it imagines a scenario and lets it play out to its worst possible conclusion, then often causes us to react as if that conclusion has already taken place. Anxiety steals from a potential future and pulls us down in the present. Anxiety looks ahead and is afraid of what it may find.

In a secular definition, hope, like anxiety, also looks to the future. The only difference is that hope is about imagining a positive outcome rather than a negative one. Hope looks ahead and feels good about what it may find. But in both cases, the ultimate resolution is uncertain. In both cases, we are looking to the future and wondering what will take place.

Biblical hope is different. Before it looks ahead, biblical hope first finds its foundation in something that has already taken place—the resurrection of Christ. We don’t rest our hope on some imagined outcome that may or may not be assured, we rest our hope on the sure and certain truth that Jesus Christ, who was crucified, is alive. The tomb is empty, and the powers of sin and death have been defeated. That is where we find our hope!

That’s why these “mini-Easters” of Lent are so important. On Sundays we are reminded that we don’t find our hope in the possibility that something good may yet happen—we find our hope in the fact that the very best thing has already taken place.

With all that is happening in the world today it can seem hard to find steady ground. Fear and instability cause the sands to shift in ways that continually challenge us, but more and more don’t surprise us. How much more, then, do we need a reminder that the foundation of our hope is a solid rock? How much more do we need to cling to our Redeemer, our “refuge in the night?”

Song: O Lord My Rock and My Redeemer (lyrics here)

Questions for Reflection

1) Do you give in easily to the temptation to think that hope is about things that might yet happen? How might you find ways to ground your hope in what has already taken place on your behalf in the cross and the empty tomb?

2) Today’s song talks about:

—weary hearts
—spiritual battle
—sorrow and trials
—sin and shame

How has God ministered hope to you in your own experience of these? Spend some time in praise and thanksgiving for his presence and hope in difficult times.

3) Read and reflect on these verses. Let them lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human, for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.”
—1 Corinthians 15:17-22 (NRSV)

Tenth Day of Lent (Saturday, 28 February 2026)

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Saturday Reflections

On Saturdays during our Lenten Devotional time we sill simply sit with an instrumental version of a well-known hymn or worship song. Our weeks are so full, so busy, so noisy…use these Saturdays to prepare your hearts for gathered worship by reflecting on lyrics and Scripture in a space of stillness and simplicity.

Our instrumental hymn for today is one of the best-known songs in Christian hymnody. It was written in 1834 by Charlotte Elliott, a Victorian poet and hymn writer from Clapham, England. In 1821, when she was just 32 years old, Charlotte was struck with a serious illness that left her weak in both body and spirit. She suffered from its effects for the rest of her life, often leaving her struggling with feelings of loneliness and uselessness.

During her illness a well-known preacher from Switzerland, César Malan, came to visit her. He asked Charlotte if she had peace with God, and in her depressed state she refused to answer him. When given a chance to visit with him again, she apologized and said, “You spoke of coming to Jesus, but how? I am not fit to come.” She told him she needed to “clean up her life” before she could come to God in faith. Malan’s response was simple: “Come just as you are,” and Charlotte did just that.

Even as her faith grew, Charlotte’s struggles with feeling useless would occasionally resurface. In 1834, while her family attended a nearby church bazaar to raise funds for a school, Charlotte found herself confined due to her health. Reflecting on her inability to help such a worthwhile cause, and tempted again to feel of no use, she found herself recalling César Malan’s invitation: “Come just as you are.” Taking pen to paper, she then proceeded to write what would become one of the best-loved hymns of all time.

Often with familiar hymns we can lose sight of their beauty and profundity. May God open our hearts and minds to hear his love and call for us anew in these well-known words.

Scripture for Meditation:

After this Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up, left everything, and followed him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
—Luke 5:27-32 (NRSV)

Song: Just As I Am (lyrics after video)

Lyrics for Reflection

Read through the lyrics of this hymn slowly and prayerfully. Read them more than once, and pay attention to the movement of your soul as you pray. What words or phrases grab your attention? Why? As you finish, sit in prayerful silence before God and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you something of your need and God’s provision that emerges from these words.

Just as I am without one plea
But that Thy Blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee
O Lamb of God I come I come

Just as I am Thou wilt receive
Wilt welcome pardon cleanse relieve
Because Thy Promise I believe
O Lamb of God I come I come

Just as I am though tossed about
With many a conflict many a doubt
Fightings and fears within without
O Lamb of God I come I come

Just as I am Thy Love unknown
Hath broken ev’ry barrier down
Now to be Thine yes Thine alone
O Lamb of God I come I come

Charlotte Elliott, William Batchelder Bradbury
© Words: Public Domain; Music: Public Domain

Ninth Day of Lent (Friday, 27 February 2026)

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When we enter the season of Lent, with so much of our focus on repentance as we meditate on the cross, it is important that we do not let our image of God go askew. This 40-day journey is not meant to inspire fear of judgment or cause us to withdraw from an image of God as an angry and vengeful deity, one who is eager to catch us in our sin and make us feel despised. That is not what Lent is about. Lent is always about God’s love, mercy, and grace shown supremely in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Yet there are many who struggle with that false image of God, and not just during Lent. Sometimes when we are face-to-face with the sin in our lives, immersed in the shame of feeling that we have disappointed or even angered God, it can cause us to withdraw. Like a child who is afraid of being punished, we lie about what we’ve done—to others, to ourselves, and we even may think we’ve gotten away with lying about it to God. And as that shame festers in our souls it becomes toxic, which can then further distort our image of God. It whispers horrible lies to us, saying, “You can’t go to God with this. You’ve disappointed him too many times. He has given up on you.” As our image of God becomes distorted, we can grow even more afraid of coming to him openly and honestly. It is a vicious downward spiral, feeding on itself in a frenzy of self-hatred and fear.

In Paul’s letter to Titus there is a wonderful passage that can help ground us if we’re falling into that cycle, where he writes:

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
—Titus 3:4-7 (NIV)

When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us…

The salvation of God is rooted in kindness and love, because God is love. Even as he hung on the cross, Jesus asked God to forgive those who had tortured him and put him there. If there was ever a picture of the “tender mercy” of God, you’ll find it there.

As you travel to Jerusalem with Jesus, be sure to follow his heart as well as his footsteps, for his heart is filled with love for you. As one anonymous 19th century preacher put it, he is “the fountain of all gentleness, all kindness, and all good.”

All gentleness…all kindness…all good…this is the one who invites you to walk with him.

For the Lord is good and faithful
He will keep us day and night
We can always run to Jesus
Jesus, strong and kind

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) Have you ever had to wrestle with a distorted image of God? What was at the root of that distortion? Spend some time in prayer asking God to clear away any image you have that is not true to who he is.

2) Did you notice the interesting reversal that takes place in the final verse of this song? For three verses we are told that if we are thirsty, weak, or fearful, we should come to Jesus. Then in the final verse we’re reminded that when we are lost, He comes to us: “He showed me on the cross He will come to me.” Spend some time reflecting on these two invitations, to come and to receive, and let them stir you to prayer.

3) Read and reflect on these verses. Let them lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
—Ephesians 2:4-7 (NIV)

Eighth Day of Lent (Thursday, 26 February 2026)

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There is a verse of Scripture that we sometimes miss when we’re reading through the life of Jesus, found in chapter 9 of Luke’s gospel. It’s an understandable oversight, since it’s followed almost immediately by one of the more striking interactions between Jesus, James, and John in verses 54-55. In light of what happens with them it’s easy to lose sight of what Luke just told us in verse 51:

“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
—Luke 9:51 (NRSV)

It is perhaps the most significant turning point (literally) in Jesus’ three years as an itinerant rabbi. After months of teaching and ministry in Galilee he turns south and “sets his face” towards the city of Jerusalem. It’s an image, not just of intention, but of resoluteness, like that of a prophet given an urgent message to deliver to the people (Ezek. 21:2).

Jesus knows what awaits him in Jerusalem. Earlier in Luke 9 he warned his disciples exactly what would happen when they get there. He will suffer. He will be rejected. He will be killed. Yes, he even lets them in on the greatest secret of all, the truth that he will be raised. The greatest glory will be revealed, but not before the greatest suffering. Jesus is well aware of this. He knows the terrible things that lie ahead, and yet he goes. He sets his face to go to Jerusalem. He has heard God’s call, and he answers with a single word.

“Yes.”

During Lent we, too, “set our face to go to Jerusalem.” We walk with Jesus to the cross, to reflect not only on his death, but also our own. Because on this journey we are reminded of the words Jesus spoke immediately after telling his disciples what awaited them in the city:

“Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”—Luke 9:23-24 (NRSV)

Lent is where we embrace the call of Jesus to die to ourselves. In acknowledging our sin we are acknowledging all the things that lay claim to us, the idols we cling to in our desire for self-sufficiency. When we follow Jesus to the cross and lay our lives at his feet, those idols lose their grip on our souls. In their place we take up the very sacrificial death of Jesus, not just once, but every single day. It’s not easy. The cost is great because our wounds are so deep, but in his wounds we find both healing and a call to go even deeper still. And like Jesus, we answer the call with a single word.

“Yes.”

In the passion of Your sacrifice
I saw the prophecy fulfilled
Healer of the world, the wounded cry
I heard You say come follow me
So I will, yes I will

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) What does it mean for you to know that Jesus invites you to walk this path to Jerusalem with him? Imagine it’s a literal journey and ponder what you’d like to talk with him about as you make your way to Jerusalem together. What questions would you ask him? What would you hope to hear from him?

2) In the words of the song, the cross is both “terrible” and “glorious.” How does that tension resonate with you? Do you gravitate towards one or the other? Is there one that you resist? Is there perhaps an invitation to see the cross in a new way during these 40 days?

3) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
—Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

Seventh Day of Lent (Wednesday, 25 February 2026)

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During Lent we come face-to-face with parts of ourselves we would rather ignore. As difficult as it is, it’s a beautiful work of the Spirit as we allow God to graciously reveal to us where we are still in need of forgiveness and healing, those places we have attempted to hide out of shame and regret. As the saying goes, “God loves us just the way we are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way.” Lent is a time when that truth becomes real in penetrating and transformative ways.

But as the Spirit probes our soul, we often find that it is not just sin that comes to the surface, not just a rebellious streak or a willful spirit. Sometimes, as we are brought to deeper places of honesty within ourselves, we come face-to-face with something we know is there but are maybe even less willing to admit: doubt.

As painful as it is to reckon with our sin, it is at least something we know we all struggle with. Paul knew the struggle and wrote about it. Jesus was fully human and isn’t shocked at all that we deal with it. Sin doesn’t come as a surprise. But doubt is a different animal. In many Christian circles doubt is seen as a unique spiritual weakness and fault, one we are shamed into denying should it ever rear its ugly head. How many of our churches are filled with people secretly struggling with seasons of doubt who are afraid to admit it, who then put on a mask of “everything is great” when around their church friends and family, the very people who should be most open to walking alongside us in those times?

When Christians talk about doubt in the Bible, they tend to focus on the parts that paint it as something to be denied and discouraged. They quote James 1:6, or they point to the person whose doubt was memorably recorded in Scripture, and our subsequent reading about it in a negative light ended up changing the way we remember him forever—Thomas. Never mind that Thomas wasn’t the only disciple to question the resurrection of Jesus—the others also didn’t believe until he appeared to them. In fact Thomas should probably be commended for being brave enough to name his doubts and confront them head on.

There are others in the Bible who doubted as well, people we tend to look to as heroes of the faith. Moses, Gideon, Abraham, and Sarah, to name a few…and yet we don’t condemn them for their uncertainty. It is not failure to acknowledge doubt, it is failure to ignore it. We can learn a good lesson from the despairing father who said to Jesus in Mark chapter 9:

“I believe; help my unbelief!”
—Mark 9:24 (NRSV)

As we make our way to Jerusalem with Jesus, we may even find ourselves doubting the journey itself. Whatever the doubt we’re struggling with, we begin to find the answers when we choose to acknowledge it and name it before the one who, as he did with Thomas, will meet us there and turn those doubts into places of encounter and worship.

When I'm far you still hold me close
All the things I don't understand
All the questions inside my head
I bring it all to you once again

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Questions for Reflection

1) “I believe…help my unbelief.” When in your life have you most resonated with those words? If your answer to that question is, “Right now,” are you able to hear Christ’s invitation to name your doubts honestly and without shame? Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum of faith and doubt, spend some time in prayer acknowledging to God where it is most difficult.

2) Spend some time contemplating this quote from Tim Keller:

“A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.”

3) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:

“When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.”
—Psalm 94:19 (NLT)