Here’s Hope: “I was lost, now I’m found by the Father, I’ve been changed from ruin to treasure, I’ve been given a hope and a future, I’ve been blessed beyond all measure. I am counting every blessing, counting every blessing.”
Song: “Counting Every Blessing” by Rend Collective
Bible Reading: Mark 14:1-9 “Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away…” (Please read the whole passage from Mark’s Gospel)
Consider this: The season of Lent began back on Wednesday February 26 of this year. Lent is a 46 day period that we are encouraged to look toward Easter and take consideration of where we are in our relationship to our Savior, Jesus. Baptists in general, really do not observe Lent as other denominations do in our culture. However, I believe we as Christian believers can benefit from preparing our hearts and minds to worship our Savior during these days of preparation for Easter. In learning about Lent, I understand believers are to pray more and also consider sacrificing or giving something up for these 46 days leading up to Easter.
Little did we know as a nation, even as a world, how impactful this coronavirus would be in our lives when you go back 46 days to February 26th. My hope for us as Christian believers is that we have come to appreciate many blessings we too often have taken for granted in our daily lives. How encouraging would it now be to be able to gather together as a church family on Easter morning? We have been awakened to realize how precious relationships are with our friends, co-workers, and our church family when we cannot be together. Hopefully we will learn to give thanks to God daily for how He has blessed our lives. In our scripture passage today, we can observe that for the Jews, the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were just 2 days away. Little did the people of first century Israel know that their (and our) world was about to be radically changed forever with what would happen on that Friday and Sunday. The Messiah of the world, Jesus, would be crucified and then resurrected on that first Easter. Today we are the beneficiaries of that ultimate act of love and sacrifice. Praise be to God for the beginning of the Gospel (Good News), you can become a child of God, by trusting in Him.
Prayer: Lord, we praise you for the gift of your Son, Jesus, the Savior of the world. May we have a new appreciation for being able to worship together as your Church, the people of God. Amen.