LLL Lenten Devotional Thread (Ecumenical)

[JVAC]

The Seventh day of Lent​

Genesis 37:25-36​

1 Corinthians 2:14-3:15​

Mark 1:29-45​

Hymn of Response

The Church's One Foundation
LBW #369

The Church's One foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation
By water and the Word.
From heav'n he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
And for her life he died.

Elect from ev'ry nation,
Yet one o'er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation:
One Lord, one faith, one birth.
One holy name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses
With ev'ry grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder
This world sees her oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up: "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

Through toil and tribulation
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consumation
Of peace forever more;
Till with the vision glorious
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
With God, the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.
O blessed heav'nly chorus!
Lord, save us by thy grace,
That we, might saints before us,
May see thee face to face.

 

[theseed]

Psalm 118
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed me about like bees: they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

[JVAC]

The eighth day of Lent​

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night,while men say to me all day long,"Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul:how I used to go with the multitude,leading the procession to the house of God,with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,my Savior and 6 my God.
My soul is downcast within me;therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
8 By day the LORD directs his love,at night his song is with me--a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,"Why have you forgotten me?Why must I go about mourning,oppressed by the enemy?" 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me,saying to me all day long,"Where is your God?"
11 Why are you downcast, O my soul?Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.

 

[Phoebe]

A Kind of Death

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:8

Repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self- conceit and self- will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing a part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death...
Remember, this repentance, this willing submission to humiliation and a kind of death, is not something God demands of you before He will take back and which He could let you off if He chose: it is simply a description of what going back to Him is like. If you ask God to take you back without it, you are really asking Him to let you go back without going back. It cannot happen.

Help me, Lord to embrace the burden of repentance that I might grow closer to you.

 

[JVAC]

The ninth day of Lent​

Deuteronomy 6 ​

6:1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
(from New International Version)

1 John 4:13-21​

13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
(from New International Version)

Matt 22:34-40​

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
(from New International Version)


Response Hymn:

What Wondrous Love Is This
LBW #385

What woundrous love is this,
O my soul, O my soul!
What woundrous love is this,
O my soul!
What woundrous love is this
that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse
for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

When I was sinking down,
sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
sinking down
When I was sinking down
Beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown
for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb
I will sing, I will sing
To God and to the Lamb
I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I Am,
While millions join the theme
I will sing, I will sing
While millions join the theme I will sing

And when from death I'm free
I'll sing on, I'll sing on;
And when from death I'm free
I'll sing on
And when from death I'm free,
I'll sing his love for me,
And through eternity
I'll sing on, I'll sing on;
And through eternity I'll sing on.

 

[Phoebe]

Why Forgive

I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:44-45

Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive, as we had during WWll. And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger. It is not that people think this is too high and difficult a virtue: it is they think it is hateful and contemptable. "That sort of talk makes me sick," they say. And half of you already want to ask me, "I wonder how you'd feel about forgiving the Gestapo if you were a Pole or a Jew?"

So do I. I wonder very much. Just as when Christianity tells me that I must not deny my religion even to save myself from death by torture, I wonder very much what I should do when it came to the point. I am not trying to tell you in this book what I could do- I can do precious little- I am telling you what Christianity is. I did not invent it. And there, right in the middle of it, I find, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms. It is made perfectly clear that if we do not forgive we shall not be forgiven. There are no two ways about it.

Forgiving Father, give me the spirit of forgiveness even when I would rather nurture my wounds than have them healed.

 

[JVAC]

The Tenth Day in Lent​

Psalms 13 ​

13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.
(from New International Version)


Hymn of Response

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
LBW #499

Come, thou Fount of ev'ry blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of endless glory
Fills my heart with joy and love,
Teach me ever to adore thee;
May I still thy goodness prove.

Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by thy good plaeasure,
Safely to arive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed his precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be;
Let that grace now like a fetter
Bind my wand'ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it;
Seal it for thy courts above.

 

[JVAC]

The Eleventh day in Lent​

Jer 15:11-21

1 The LORD said,​

"Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose;surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress.
12 "Can a man break iron--iron from the north--or bronze? 13 Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder, without charge,because of all your sins throughout your country. 14 I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know,for my anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you."
15 You understand, O LORD;remember me and care for me.Avenge me on my persecutors.You are long-suffering--do not take me away;think of how I suffer reproach for your sake. 16 When your words came, I ate them;they were my joy and my heart's delight,for I bear your name,O LORD God Almighty. 17 I never sat in the company of revelers,never made merry with them;I sat alone because your hand was on me and you had filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?Will you be to me like a deceptive brook,like a spring that fails?
19 Therefore this is what the LORD says:
"If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me;if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,you will be my spokesman.Let this people turn to you,but you must not turn to them. 20 I will make you a wall to this people,a fortified wall of bronze;they will fight against you but will not overcome you,for I am with you to rescue and save you," declares the LORD. 21 "I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel."
(from New International Version)

2 Cor 1:8-14
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.
(from New International Version)

Matt 28:16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
(from New International Version)

Hymn of Response

Do Not Despair, O Little Flock
LBW #361

Do not despair, O little flock,
Although the foes' fierce battle shock
Loud on all sides assail you!
Though at your fall they laugh, secure,
Their triumph cannot long endure;
Let not your courage fail you!

The cause is God's; obey his call
And to his hand commit your all
And fear no ill impending!
Though not yet seen by human eyes,
His Gideon shall for you arise,
God's word and you defending.

As sure as God's own word is true,
Not Satan, hell, nor all their crew
Can stand against his power.
Scorn and contempt their cup will fill,
For God is with his people still,
Their help and their strong tower.

Then help us Lord! Now hear our prayer.
Defend your people ev'rywhere
For your own name's sake. Amen.
Then with a mighty hymn of praise
Your Church in earth and heav'n raise
Their songs of triumph. Amen.

 

[JVAC]

Thirteenth Day in Lent​

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccatta mundi, miserere nobis!
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccatta mundi, miserere nobis!
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccatta mundi, dona nobis pacem!

SANCTUS, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis

 

[JVAC]

Thirteenth Day in Lent​

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccatta mundi, miserere nobis!
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccatta mundi, miserere nobis!
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccatta mundi, dona nobis pacem!

SANCTUS, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis

​

Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace!

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and Earth are full of your glory. Hosanna (Save now) in the Highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosana (Save now) in the Highest.

 

[JVAC]

Fifteenth Day in Lent


Joel 2:12-24
12'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.'
13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. 14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing- grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. 16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. 17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, 'Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?''
18 Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people.
19 The LORD will reply to them:
'I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.
20'I will drive the northern army far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land, with its front columns going into the eastern sea and those in the rear into the western sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise.' Surely he has done great things. 21 Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things. 22 Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. 23 Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. 24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
(from New International Version)

 

[JVAC]

16th Day in Lent (Is your Lent bringing you Closer to God?)



2 Chron 30:6-9
6 At the king's command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:
"People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were; submit to the LORD. Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him."
(from New International Version)

 

[theologia crucis]

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=870

March 17
Patrick, Missionary to Ireland

Patrick is one of the best-known of the missionary saints. Born to a Christian family in Britain around the year 389, he was captured as a teenager by raiders, taken to Ireland, and forced to serve as a herdsman. After six years he escaped and found his way to a monastery community in France. Ordained a bishop in 432, he made his way back to Ireland, where he spent the rest of his long life spreading the Gospel and organizing Christian communities. He strongly defended the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in a time when it was not popular to do so. His literary legacy includes his autobiography, Confessio, and several prayers and hymns still used in the church today. Patrick died around the year 466.

 

[JVAC]

21st day in Lent


Psalms 51
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God,according to your unfailing love;according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth,sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness;let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,and sinners will turn back to you. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,the God who saves me,and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips,and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart,O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,whole burnt offerings to delight you;then bulls will be offered on your altar.
(from New International Version)

 

[JVAC]

22nd Day in Lent

Psalms 1
1:1Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
(from New International Version)

 

[JVAC]

The 23rd Day in Lent

Psalm 53
The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Will the evildoers never learn--
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on God?
5 There they were, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
you put them to shame, for God despised them.
6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
(from New International Version)

 

[theseed]

​

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. “This cup which is poured out for you is the blood of the new covenant” (Luke 22.19, 20).​

In His last days on earth, Jesus asked us to partake of the cup and of the bread in memory of Him—“the lamb who takes away the sins of the world through whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins from, given by his grace" (John 1.29; Ephesians 1.7)



The Bread of Affliction is a souvenir of how God delivered the Israelites from the bitter bondage of slavery, and the blood, a reminder of how God spared them from death. Likewise, the bread and the blood help us to remember the bitter death that Jesus endured and the bitter bondage of sin (John 6). We remember that we have passed from death unto life (John 5.24). And we realize that God will give us eternal life and pass over us in the Day of Judgment. So the Supper conveys a two fold message of mercy and grace, from death to life.



Even more, the bread symbolizes the church or the body of Christ. Just has the bread been kneaded until it was uniform, so too Christ works in His church to perfect her, to make her one (Ephesians 5.25-27). The Supper, like all meals in that culture, was an opportunity for fellowship, where others ate together, and shared life together. The Supper represents the eternal life that we will share together in the unity of love. The very word communion means to share. I believe in the communion of the saints.



The Supper calls for us to repentance as we become aware of the truth of our condition which brings us to say, "have mercy on me God" (Luke 18.11-14). Not that we condemn ourselves, for there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8.1). But what we have in our heart overflows out of our mouth--"glory power and honor belong to you" (Rev. 19.1-10). BECAUSE OF GOD WHO PUT AN END TO ALL OUR SHAME.

When Satan tempts me to despair,​

and tells me of the guilt within,​

upward I look and see Him there​

Who made an end to all my sin.​

Because the sinless Savior died,​

my sinful soul is counted free;​

For God, the Just, is satisfied​

to look on Him and pardon me.​

to look on Him and pardon me.​

​

Words byCharlie L. Bancroft (1841-1842)​

​

Perfromed by SonicFlood.​