Tag: spiritual discipline

The Art of Lent – Day 22, Saturday

And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:21-23 NLT

This passage in Ezra demonstrates once again that God is faithful and that fasting allows us to hone in on listening to him speak. As you read and reflect on this passage, choose one word that comes to mind about fasting. Write that word longways so that each letter is on a new line down the page. Use each of these letters to write an acrostic poem or a list of words that describe God, with the beginning of each line starting with the next letter of the word you wrote down the page.

The Art of Lent – Day 21, Friday

The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life;
a wise person wins friends.

Proverbs 11:30 NLT

Design a seed packet for the seeds of good deeds. You might include a picture of the seed and the grown plant as well as some basic planting instructions. Think about a product description and why someone might want to plant these seeds.

The Art of Lent – Day 20, Thursday

O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

Psalm 61:1-4 NLT

The Psalms are such a great way to learn how to pray honestly. This one begins with and earnest plea for God to listen. Of course we know that God is always listening to our prayers, but sometimes it feels urgent that we get his attention, just like this psalmist. How do you call out to God most often when you feel like you are desperate for him to hear you? Compose a hand lettering design with that phrase. Try mixing fonts and letter sizes – maybe even illuminate your lettering with some drawing or embellishments.

The Art of Lent – Day 18, Tuesday

In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.

1 Timothy 2:8 NLT

Meditate today on what it means to lift up holy hands to God in prayer and praise. If you are uncomfortable doing this in corporate worship, find a song today that expresses a prayer in your heart and sing it with your hands lifted to God. Try writing your own prayer or song and singing or speaking it with your hands raised to him.

The Art of Lent – Day 17, Monday

After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar.” (This was another name for En-gedi. Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. So people came from all the towns of Judah to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.

2 Chronicles 20:1-4 NLT

Jehoshaphat immediately turned to the Lord for guidance and to his people for prayer support through fasting. This account tells us that all the people of Judah came together to seek God’s help. What an amazing picture of unity and humility. When have you felt that sense of unity within the body of Christ? Draw something that symbolized the power of God’s people fasting and praying as one in Jesus.

The Art of Lent – Day 16, Saturday

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:11-15 NLT

It is sacred work to encourage one another. Pray for God to show you opportunities each day to lift someone up. It can be as simple as complimenting their style or thanking them for work they do that often goes unnoticed. List five people that you feel led to build up and write ways you can encourage them. The write down five “easy” compliments you can share with strangers.

The Art of Lent – Day 15, Friday

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:26-28 NLT

I love this promise that the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words when we don’t know what to pray for. Everything about this passage makes my heart sing with indescribable joy! Make up a word to describe some of your indescribable feelings. Write down the word and the definition.

The Art of Lent – Day 14, Thursday

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well” – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
James 2:14-20 NLT

This passage echoes Jesus calling himself the true vine and us his branches (John 15). We demonstrate our faith by bearing fruit. Our faith grafts us into the vine and provides us with roots, and that produces our fruit of good works. Our faith must produce something, but produce is impossible without roots in faith. Draw a fruit- or flower-producing with its roots in the ground. Label the roots with things that enrich your faith, and label your produce with the good works your faith has produced in your life.