Lent

Day 29: March 22nd
Our Journey
As we are journeying to Easter, we should pause for a moment and see those that have traveled before us. There are many people of God who have traveled. There are many different travels recorded in the Bible. But almost all of those journeys start with God saying for them to “go.” Take Abraham for example, God told him to “go from your country and I will show you where to go.” And that is just what he did, he left his home and went to where God told him to go. Moses was told to go speak to Pharaoh and God told Moses to say “let my people go.” That is what they did starting a long journey in the dessert and finally to the promise land. Jesus said to the disciples to come with me and then He said to them and to us to “go out and make disciples.”
Read: Luke 2:41-51
John 24:13-35
Acts 9:1-9
Acts 27:1-44









Day 30: March 23rd
Offering
An offering is giving something back to God for all of the things that He has done for us. It is giving back some of what He has given us.
As we are rounding some of the last corners of our journey we are going to focus on what was happening during that time. Offerings looked a lot different for people back in Jesus’ day. They would sacrifice (kill for God) animals for their sins. If you go back into the Old Testament God laid out strict guidelines for the people of God. They were to do certain ceremonies and they were to perform special rituals in order to get their sins forgiven.
It was around the time when Jesus was being crucified that people were coming to the city for one of these ceremonies. If you want to read more about that ceremony and the offerings read the Book of Leviticus.
A few years ago Ray Boltz wrote a song about this called “Watch the Lamb”

Walking on the road to Jerusalem,
The time had come to sacrifice again,
My two small sons, They walk beside me on the road,
The reason that they came
was to watch the lamb. Daddy, daddy, What will see there, There's so much that we don't understand,
So I told them of Moses and father Abraham,
Then I said dear children watch the lamb,
There will be so many in Jerusalem today,
We must be sure the lamb doesn't run away,
And I told them of Moses and father Abraham,
Then I said dear children watch the lamb.
When we reached the city, I knew something must be wrong, There were no joyful worshipers,
No joyful worship songs, I stood there with my children in the midst of angry men,
Then I heard the crowd cry out
Crucify Him.
We tried to leave the city but we could not get away,
Forced to play in this drama a part I did not wish to play, Why upon this day were men condemned to die, Why were we standing here, Where soon they would pass by. I looked and said, even now they come, The first one cried for mercy,
The people gave him none, The second one was violent, He was arrogant and loud, I still here his angry voice screaming at the crowd,
Then someone said there's Jesus, I scarce believed my eyes, A man so badly beaten, He barely looked alive, Blood poured from His body,
From the forms upon His brow, Running down the cross, Falling to the ground. I watched Him as He struggled, I watched Him as He fell, The cross came down upon His back, The crowd began to yell,
In that moment I felt such agony, In that moment I felt such loss, Till a Roman soldier grabbed my arm
and screamed, you, carry His cross. At first I tried to resist him, Then his hand reached for his cross,
So I knelt and took the cross from the Lord, I placed it on my shoulder, And started down the street, The blood that he'd been shedding was running down my cheek. They led us to Golgotha, They drove nails
deep in His feet and hands, Yet upon the cross I heard Him pray Father, forgive them. Oh, never have I seen such love in any other eyes, Into thy hands I commit my spirit He prayed and the He died, I stood for what seemed like years, I'd lost all sense of time
until I felt to tiny hands holding tight to mine, The children stood there weeping, I heard the oldest say,
Father please forgive us, the lamb ran away. Daddy, daddy, What have we seen here, There's so much
that we don't understand, So I took them in my arms,
And we turned and faced the cross, Then I said dear children watch the lamb.