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Well done! We’re around half way through our Lenten journey. In many churches, the purple of Lent was yesterday replaced by a rose or pink colour – the purple of Lent mingled with the white of Easter. It’s a visual reminder of the point and end of Lent: the resurrection of Jesus.
This week, then, our focus turns to renewing our commitment to treading the path of Lent towards Easter. However we feel Lent has gone up until this point, now is a great time to realign ourselves with the journey as Stuart Ford, from Bible Society’s Supporter Relations team, helps us to keep our eyes on the prize.
Read today's devotional. Or click the play button to listen.
Here we are, half-way through our Lenten pilgrimage. The temptation now can be something like the feeling you get on a Sunday afternoon after a big, satisfying meal; tempted to sit down on the settee and rest your eyes for a moment, which turns into an afternoon-long nap. We need a bit of a jolt half-way through Lent to fill up our spiritual tank and keep us going to the end.
This week we’ll take a look at the contours of the hoped-for prize that the gospel promises us, and how that informs our pilgrimage through life here on earth, beginning today with how the gospel should fill us with confidence.
Paul, in his letter to the Romans, penned one of my favourite verses of the Bible. Early on in his letter he says these words: ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ (1.16, ESV).
We can sum up Paul’s argument in reverse: the gospel is powerful and brings salvation, so I’m not ashamed to talk about it openly, which is great because knowing the gospel puts me under an obligation to do just that! We can be proclaimers of the gospel to the world around us, confident in the knowledge that the gospel is powerful, even if we aren’t. Let’s pray we grow in that confidence.
This reflection was written by Stuart Ford, from Bible Society's Supporter Relations team.
If you have two minutes: Listen to the audio reflection and ponder how it might be relevant in your life.
If you have up to ten minutes: Read the Bible passage and listen to the audio reflection; you might want to keep a small journal, or note on your phone, to jot down words and phrases that jump out at you. Finish with a brief prayer to put what you have read and heard into practice.
What if I miss a day(s)?: Don’t worry, life happens! Just pick up the devotional again on the current day, and, if you wish, you can use the space for reflection on Sundays to listen to those reflections you may have missed.
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