The season of Lent, for me, is a time to remember God’s amazing grace, mercy and sacrifice for me. I know a lot of people give up things like food, drinks, activities, etc. to create time to pursue more of God. There is nothing wrong with fasting during this season. Those activities are meant to help us return to the Lord in a spirit of repentance.
But consider “the great flip” in this way of thinking. Instead of “doing more for God” try remembering all that God has done for you. Put yourself in a position to recognize all the gifts the Lord continues to give you every day. Consider that even the act of repentance is a gift. Remember, the top priority of the Lenten Season is the cross. Christ crucified for you. Then the joy of forgiveness and Easter morning will be all the more spectacular!
Here are three devotions to share with your children for the season of Lent:
The Deep Magic will be Appeased.
But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
{ Hebrews 9:26 }
Have you read Narnia’s “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe?” There’s a difficult scene where the lion, Aslan, appears to be defeated by the white witch. All because the boy, Edmond, was selfish, stubborn, and made a terrible mistake. The boy should have paid the price for his sin. Instead, Aslan sacrifices himself and saves Edmond. What appears to be a terrible defeat turns out to be a great victory. (Spoiler Alert! Read the book for the full story!)
“Narnia” written by C. S. Lewis, is also a story of the sacrifice of Jesus. We are selfish, stubborn people. We make horrible mistakes. We deserve punishment for our wrongdoings. But God in his great love for you, sent his son Jesus, to pay the price for your sins. It’s a difficult scene to watch Jesus die on the cross. But his great sacrifice is now your greatest victory.
Action Point: Write a letter or say a prayer to Jesus and confess your sins. Say you are sorry to him. Spoiler Alert! He is faithful to forgive your sins because of His sacrifice for you!
Restore me, and I will be restored.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
{ Psalm 51:17}
Have you ever done something so terrible you thought it was unforgivable?
King David did. He had committed a terrible sin. David was crushed for the bad thing he had done. He saw no way to make himself right before God.
When your heart is broken, God will not reject you. You are experiencing a beautiful gift from God. It’s called repentance. To repent is to turn away from the bad and to turn toward the good. In Lamentations 5:21, the people realized only God can turn them back to him.
“Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!”
And when God restores your broken heart, he also restores assurance of His forgiveness.
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9
Action Point: How is God turning you back to him? Repent and read Psalm 51.
How to sit at Jesus’ feet.
Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.
{ Luke 10:17 }
How do you like to worship? Do you like to sing songs? Do you enjoy praying and reading the Bible, Or how about serving as an act of worship?
If your worship is more about what you do, then you might like the Bible story about two sisters who worshiped Jesus. One worshiped by focusing her attention on what she was doing for him. One worshiped by focusing her attention on what Jesus was doing for her.
There is nothing wrong with singing, praying, reading, and serving as acts of worship. Jesus instructs us to do those things, not to earn God’s love, but because we already have it.
The kind of worship Jesus seeks is the acknowledgment of his gifts to you, not our gifts to him. Jesus was so sweet to both sisters when he explained the simple truth that worship is more about receiving from him than doing something for him.
Action Point: Next time you are in church, pretend to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to all the ways you receive God’s gifts as an act of worship.
Jody Token is the creator and coach of The Great Flip, online martial arts for ages six and up. She writes devotions for True Girl, a ministry of Dannah Gresh. The Great Flip is a national program alliance for American Heritage Girls.
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