Lent
20 Scriptures to Pray to Prepare Your Heart for Resurrection Sunday
Amidst the busyness of life and the familiarity for many of us of the Gospel stories about Jesus’ death and resurrection we may find ourselves losing the reverence, awe, surrender, and joyful celebration that these two events hold that are so foundational to our faith. Jesus made prayer a priority in His life, aligning His heart and His will with His Father’s often and is an excellent example for us to follow. He spent a whole evening in anguished, yet surrendered prayer before His crucifixion. Let’s follow His lead and spend some time in prayer and in His Word, preparing our hearts for what God wants to teach us regarding the events of Holy Week that demonstrate His great love for us. Pray that you would be determined to obediently complete the tasks God has given you, as Jesus did. “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
PrayerFour Things About Easter Judas Never Experienced
I've been reading the historical fiction book Iscariot: A Novel of Judas by Tosca Lee . It is interesting to think about what Judas may have been like and his motivations that led to him betraying Jesus. But all I could think about while reading (and maybe it's because I'm reading it during Holy Week, just before Resurrection Sunday) is how Judas missed it. Judas missed all that Jesus came to do. And I pray that I won't miss it this Easter/Lenten season, or ever. And I pray that you won't either. For thirty pieces of silver (approximately $10,000 today— the cost of a slave according to Exodus 21:32) Judas betrayed Jesus. Judas admits his sin and tries to rectify it by returning the money to the high priests, but the priests refuse to accept the money back or to let Jesus go. So what does Judas do? He kills himself (Matthew 27:1-5) and he misses the fact that Jesus would forgive him. On the cross Jesus prays to God to " Forgive these people because they know not what they do " Luke 23:24.
Faith