Day 1 - Seeking the Lord Together

Well, good morning, and thank you so much for joining us for our Ashes to Easter Lent devotions.

Lent does not officially start until tomorrow.

And so today is a precursor to just kind of explain the journey that we'll be taking over the next forty days.

Mm-hmm.

So if you have a Bible, you can turn to Hebrews chapter four, verse twelve, which says this.

For the word of God is alive and powerful.

It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.

It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

We are so excited to begin another round of devotions.

In the past, these devotions have helped unify our church and encourage deeper intimacy with the Lord.

We are expecting the Lord to do great things as we dig into Scripture together and spend time listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

For this season, we will be studying through the book of Matthew each weekday, looking at a specific psalm on Saturdays, and then taking Sundays off.

Our challenge for you throughout the next 40 days is to be diligent to study the Scriptures, don't just allow someone to feed you the word and potentially miss out on what the Lord might want to say directly to you.

I have been walking with Jesus now for the past two decades, and during that time nothing has been more formative than my time that I spend with the Lord most mornings.

Hebrews 4 12 has proven to be true in my life time and time again.

It says that the word of God is alive and powerful.

No matter how many times I read through the Scriptures, the Spirit always gives me new insights that I have never seen before.

It says that the Word of God cuts between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.

It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

The Lord has not only given me new insight as I read through Scripture, but He has also used these new revelations to convict me of sin, challenge me in areas where I'm weak, and encourage me to trust Him deeper.

My prayer for you this season is that you would experience intimacy with our Savior and that He would use the time we spend in God's Word together to lead you to places that you have never been before.

Tomorrow is the official beginning of Lent.

Depending on your background, Lent may or may not be something that you know much about, especially if you have grown up in the Protestant tradition.

Lent is simply a time to reflect, repent, and prepare our hearts for the celebration of Easter.

During the season, people typically give up something or fast in order for them to have more time to pursue the Lord.

As we begin celebrating Lent tomorrow, we would challenge you to prayerfully consider what you could give up that would free up more time for you to spend with the Lord.

This could include social media, TV, a hobby, or maybe even a luxury of sleeping in.

Whatever you decide to give up, be committed to the process over the next 40 days and let someone know about your plans so that they can help hold you accountable.

And so our action for today is this over the next 40 days, commit to be disciplined, to follow along with the morning devotions and remove something from your life so that you can better focus on the Lord during this season.

You may want to make a practice of writing in a journal to keep track of the insights that the Lord may be speaking to you.

And so, Father, we pray this morning, saying, I thank you for being a God that speaks to your children.

Help me to very clearly hear your voice over the next 40 days, and help me to be obedient to whatever you might call me to do.

We're praying for these next 40 days and all that the Lord is going to do through your life.

And I pray that you would join us tomorrow as we officially kick off these devotions, looking at Matthew chapter one and two as we begin the Linton journey.

We love you guys.

Hopefully, you have a fantastic day, and we'll see you back tomorrow.