Building One Another  

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

Lent Lifts Up the Lord Who Lifts!

Dear Friend,    

I think of Lent as a hopeful season. While Lent is a time for introspection, a time of confession and of coming to terms with the reality of our broken lives, it really not about us! It’s about knowing, anticipating and discovering the joy of the Lord who lifts us!

While Lent is a reflective time during which we consider our Lord’s sacrifice for us, it is also a time to re-discover the passion, the love, the laughter that our Lord has for us today.

The very word “Lent” is a hopeful word. It means springtime! We may not see spring yet, perhaps there is snow and ice around, perhaps there are terrible things we face in our own lives, experience during a pandemic and observe on the world scene today, but spring is coming.

Just as we know spring is on the way, so we know that when we seek the Lord who loves us, we will find the Lord who lifts us.

Our God promised the Jews in the dark time of exile in Babylon, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you...” Jeremiah 29:13-14a.

So have some hope. In the midst of all that swirls around you and in you, know that the Lord who loves you is with you and will lift you up!

Joy to you - Stan

© Copyright 2022 E. Stanley Ott

Scripture from the ESV

1. What worries and discourages you this day - about yourself and about the world around you?
2. What signs of hope do you see, are you aware of?
3. Why does the Lord who loves you, Jesus Christ, offer hope in the midst of trial and despair?
4. Reflect on some hope-giving passages such as Psalm 46, Psalm 103 and John 16.

Photo by Zachary Olson on Unsplash