Opening Prayer: Psalm 101

¹ I will sing of your love and justice;
    to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
² I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
    when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house
    with a blameless heart.

³ I will not look with approval
    on anything that is vile.

I hate what faithless people do;
    I will have no part in it.

⁴ The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
    I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

⁵ Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
    I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    I will not tolerate.

⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
    will minister to me.

⁷ No one who practices deceit
    will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
    will stand in my presence.

⁸ Every morning I will put to silence
    all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
    from the city of the Lord.

God’s Voice:

• Old Testament (covenant): Gen. 50:15-26
• Psalm (song):  119:121-144
• Epistle (letter): 1 Cor. 12:1-11
• Gospel (good news):  Mark 8:11-26

Pursuing Holiness

• Prayer: What is God saying to me today? How will I respond?
• Fasting: What can I deny myself today (food, drink, behaviors) as an act of worship?
• Charity: How can I help someone in need today with my time, money, or goods?

Closing Prayer: Psalm 109

¹ My God, whom I praise,
    do not remain silent,
² for people who are wicked and deceitful
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
³ With words of hatred they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.
⁴ In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.
⁵ They repay me evil for good,
    and hatred for my friendship.

⁶ Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷ When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
    and may his prayers condemn him.
⁸ May his days be few;
    may another take his place of leadership.
⁹ May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.
¹⁰ May his children be wandering beggars;
    may they be driven^[a] from their ruined homes.
¹¹ May a creditor seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
¹² May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity on his fatherless children.
¹³ May his descendants be cut off,
    their names blotted out from the next generation.
¹⁴ May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
¹⁵ May their sins always remain before the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁶ For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy and the brokenhearted.
¹⁷ He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
¹⁸ He wore cursing as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,
    into his bones like oil.
¹⁹ May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.
²⁰ May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
    to those who speak evil of me.

²¹ But you, Sovereign Lord,
    help me for your name’s sake;
    out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
²² For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
²³ I fade away like an evening shadow;
    I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees give way from fasting;
    my body is thin and gaunt.
²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they shake their heads.

²⁶ Help me, Lord my God;
    save me according to your unfailing love.
²⁷ Let them know that it is your hand,
    that you, Lord, have done it.
²⁸ While they curse, may you bless;
    may those who attack me be put to shame,
    but may your servant rejoice.
²⁹ May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
    and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.

³⁰ With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
    in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.
³¹ For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
    to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

How to Use this Devotional

1. Read the “Opening Prayer” from scripture to the Lord as your prayer
2. Choose one or more of the scripture passages under “God’s Voice” for further reading
3. Answer the questions under “Pursuing Holiness”
   1. Your reflection on the scriptures and how you sense the Holy Spirit leading you today
   2. Identify how you will practice self-denial today based on God’s leading
   3. Identify how you want to practice giving today
   4. Let prayer, fasting (self-denial), and giving be your living, spiritual worship
4. Keep notes in a journal or planner to enable your follow-through and create a record
5. Read the “Closing Prayer”

Since the third century, Christians have used Scripture, Prayer, Fasting (Self-denial), and Charity (Almsgiving) as spiritual preparation for Easter.

What is Lent?

Lent  is the season in the Christian calendar that leads up to Easter. Lent is 40 days long because Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days before his public ministry. The Israelites, because of their disobedience and rebellion, were made to wander for 40 years in the wilderness before arriving in the promised land. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai engaged with God in receiving the Ten Commandments. In the Bible, the number 40 is often used to indicate a period of preparation and testing.

In the wilderness, nothing is hidden. We are laid bare to God. We do not have our creature comforts. We are separated from common distractions. We ultimately return to our lives when the time of preparation is complete. We focus our passion on God while He refines us to fulfill His calling.