Lenten Devotions

8/3/2019 Lenten Devotions

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www.anestintherocks.blogspot.com

Dear Reader,

Each year our family celebrates the season of Lent, the 40-day period prior to Easter. We attendspecial church services and each give up something that is meaningful to us the idea being that

when we fast from that food or activity, we will remember to thank God for His provision and to

ask Him to mold us into His image.

Our daughter started joining us in this fast a few years ago by giving up her special dolly for

Lent. (This was completely her own idea.) Now she remembers this season and begins talkingabout it right after Christmas each year.

But this year the annual I-cant-wait-for-Lentdiscussion went a bit differently. When she startedtalking about what she might give up for Jesus, just as He spent time fasting and praying in the

wilderness before beginning His ministry, her little brother piped up. Why do we give up stuff

for Lent? And why dont we do special devotions for Lent like we do for Advent?

We considered these both to be good questions. Although we try to do some sort of familydevotion each evening, during Advent we study scripture with a particular focus, this year using

a Jesse tree. My son loved this series of devotions, and so here is a set that is meant to be family-friendly and similar in style.

Each ornament features a simple symbol inside an egg shape. We chose to print ours in blackand white, color them together, and then glue them onto triangular banners which well hang on

string from the mantel and doorways throughout the Lenten season. You could also simply print,

add string to hang, and use to decorate a branch (which would also be a good symbol of JesusEaster sacrifice for us).

However you choose to use these, I hope that this devotion series blesses your family.

Sincerely,

AmyA Nest in the Rocks


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Day 1

Scripture Luke 2:15 18

Objective Everybody can tell othersabout Jesus.

Lesson In Jesus day shepherds were

the lowliest, most humble people, but

the angels told them about Jesus

birth. They were excited and told

everyone they saw. If God could use

them, He can use us, too!

Prayer Dear God, thank you forsending Jesus to us. Help me to tell

others about Him. In Jesus name,

Amen.

Ornament shepherds crook

Day 2

Scripture Luke 2:25 - 35

Objective God keeps His promises.

Lesson God promised Simeon that

he would not die before meeting the

Messiah. God kept this promise

when Simeon was an old man, he met

baby Jesus in the Temple!

Prayer Dear God, thank you for

keeping Your promise to Simeon. I

know You will keep your promises tome, too. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 3


Objective Jesus was a kid just likeyou.

Lesson Jesus was Gods son, but He

was also a kid with human parents.

He worried them and got lost and

asked questions, too!

Prayer Dear God, Im glad that Jesus

knows what its like to be a kid. In

Jesus name, Amen.

Ornament soccer ball

Day 4


Objective Jesus had parents like you.

Lesson Jesus was Gods son, but He

was also a kid with human parents. It

was important that Jesus obey them,

just as you should your parents! Jesus

had to grow and learn how to be an

adult just like you do.

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for my

parents. Help me to learn to be a wise

adult like Jesus. In Jesus name,

Amen.

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Day 5


Objective Jesus brought God joy.

Lesson God loved Jesus and was happy

just because Jesus was His son. God loves

us so much that we make Him happy,

too!

Prayer Dear God, Thank you for loving

me! Im glad I bring you joy. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 6


Objective We celebrate Lent to prepare

for Easter.

Lesson Jesus went away by Himself to

get ready to teach about God. He didnt

eat for a long time. We can not eat

certain foods or do certain activities to

remind ourselves that God is always there

for us, even when we dont have the

things that we want.

Prayer Dear God, Its hard not to have

___ when I want it, but I want to learn tobe like Jesus. Help me to be strong when

I am tempted. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 7

Scripture Luke 4:2b 4

Objective One reason that we study theBible is to recognize whats true.

Lesson Satan tempted Jesus with

something that sounded very good to

Him, but Jesus could make a better

choice because He knew Gods word.

Reading the Bible helps us make good

choices.

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for the

Bible. Help me to hide Your words in myheart so that I can make good choices,

even when Im tempted. In Jesus name,

Amen.

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Day 8


Objective Worship only God.

Lesson Sometimes the things we see

here on earth will look nicer or seem

better than Gods way, but God always

knows best. Trust Him and worship only

Him.

Prayer Dear God, Sometimes its hard to

keep my eyes on You when the things

around me look so important to otherpeople. Help me to trust You to know

best. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 9


Objective Use Gods Word to help youmake good choices.

Lesson Satan tried to trick Jesus, but

Jesus couldnt be tricked. Praying and

reading the Bible are ways to know Gods

truth. These things will help you know God

and make good choices like Jesus did.

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for showing

me how to make choices. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 10

Scripture Luke 4:13

Objective Satan is always watching.

Lesson There will always be something

out there that looks bigger or better than

what you have, and its tempting to want

it. Remember, though, that God sends

exactly what you need and when

youre tempted to want something else,

talk to him about it!

Prayer Dear God, thank you for keeping

Your promise to Simeon. I know You willkeep your promises to me, too. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 11


Objective Doing the right thing is notalways popular.

Lesson Jesus was the Messiah, the

King the Jews had been waiting for for

hundreds of years but the people in

His own town rejected Him! Doing the

right thing does not always make us

popular with the in-crowd, but it

always makes us popular with God.

Prayer Dear God, Help me to be

strong and do the right thing even

when its not popular. In Jesus name,

Amen.

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Day 12


Objective We can search for Jesus.

Lesson The people were so eager to

hear Jesus teach that they searched

everywhere for Him! We can search

for Him, too in the Bible, in church,

and in the creation that He has made.

Prayer Dear God, Thank you for

sending Jesus to teach us. Help me to

run hard after Him all of my life. In

Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 13


Objective Jesus is not only in church.

Lesson God made the whole world

and so we can learn about Him from all of

Creation. We can talk about Him there,

too on a boat, in the car, on the

playground, or at a picnic. We can talk

about Jesus everywhere!

Prayer Dear God, Thank you for creating

this beautiful world. Im glad that we can

learn about you both inside and outsideof church. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 14


Objective We can trust God even when

we dont understand His directions.

Lesson Simon was tired. He had worked

hard all night and hadnt caught

anything! He didnt want to try something

that seemed as silly as putting his net on

the other side of the boat but Jesus

wanted His trust and obedience. Thats

what He wants from us, too.

Prayer Dear God, Sometimes I dont

understand Your directions, but I knowthat You want what is best for me. Help

me to trust You even then. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 15


Objective God wants to talk to you.

Lesson Jesus was an important man with

many things to do, but He often made

time for prayer with God. Even when

were busy, God still wants to hear from

us. Have you talked to Him today?

Prayer Dear God, Im glad that You

want to hear from me. Today, these

things are important to me __________.Please help me to talk to You often like

Jesus did. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 16


Objective We must be brave to follow

where Jesus leads us.

Lesson The men in our story today were

so determined to get to Jesus that they

didnt let anything stop them even the

roof! They just dug right through it.

Sometimes being close to Jesus looks

different to others but theres no better

place to be.

Prayer Dear God, The men in our story

werent afraid to stand out in order to beclose to Jesus. Help me to be just as

brave and determined as they were. In

Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 17


Objective Answer Gods call.

Lesson Levi left everything to follow

Jesus his job, his things, even his family!

Jesus wants to be first in our lives. When

He calls you, say yes right away!

Prayer Dear God, Making a big change

can be scary, but I know that trusting You

is the right thing to do. Help me to be as

brave as Levi. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 18


Objective Everybody needs Jesus.

Lesson Some people thought that Jesus

should only hang out with the cool and

popular people, but Jesus said that He

came to be friends with everybody. We

can show others His love by being friends

with others, too. Can you think of

someone who needs a friend today?

Prayer Dear God, Im glad that you

want to be friends with me. Help me tobe a good friend to others. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 19


Objective Jesus is more important than

rules.

Lesson Some people think that following

the rules is the way to be good, but Jesus

showed us that loving others even if we

have to break a rule or two is most

important. That doesnt mean that we

can ignore all the rules, but helping others

is important, too. Ask Jesus to help you

know what to do!

Prayer Dear God, I want to help otherpeople like Jesus did. Please help me to

know when its okay to put people before

the rules. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 20


Objective Litmus test for action

Lesson Yesterday we talked about how

Jesus broke rules to help people, and we

see that again today. Jesus said that the

way to know if something was good or

not was to think about the outcome:

would breaking the rule save somebody

or destroy something? That can help us

know what to do.

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for helping

me to know when and how to helpothers. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 21

Scripture Luke 6:12

Objective Jesus prayed before bigdecisions.

Lesson When Jesus had important

decisions to make, He went away where

it was quiet to pray first. He knew that

talking things over with God first would

help Him make the right choice.

Prayer Dear God, Its hard to remember

to talk to you when theres something

important to be decided. Help me to

remember to ask for your wisdom first. In

Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 22


Objective Friends are important.

Lesson We need time with our friends.

Jesus had a busy, important life, but He

made time for His friends, too. He had

twelve special friends and three really

close friends. Choose your friends wisely

and spend time with your friends!

Prayer Dear God, Friends are fun to be

with, but its important to have really

good ones. Help me to choose goodfriends and to be a good friend in return.

In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 23


Objective We need a firm foundation.

Lesson God wants us to know Him, but

He also wants us to obey Him. To have a

good relationship with Him, we must do

both. If we arent used to obeying Him,

we wont be strong enough to trust Him

when life gets hard.

Prayer Dear God, Thank You guiding

me. Help me to know what You want meto do AND to obey You. In Jesus name,

Amen.

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Day 24

Scripture Matthew 26:6 - 13

Objective Love can be extravagant.

Lesson The woman in our story sacrificed

much to give Jesus such an expensive

present. Others didnt understand it, but

Jesus knew she gave out of love.

Sometimes our gifts might not be the most

practical, but gifts given with a heart of

love are always good gifts.

Prayer Dear God, I want to show love

like the woman did to Jesus. Help me finda way to show love in a big way to

someone today. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 25


Objective Boys and girls can both serveJesus.

Lesson Some people think that only

adults or only men can do big things, but

Jesus can use anybody whos willing.

Women traveled with Him and helped His

ministry, too and that means that we

can help!

Prayer Dear God, Sometimes it doesnt

seem as if I can do anything important,but You can use everybody. Here I am,

God please use me! In Jesus name,

Amen.

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Day 26


Objective God is in charge ofeverything.

Lesson It can be easy to see the good

things in life when were happy, but its

harder when were not. In our story today

we see how God is in charge even of big

storms and Hes in charge when your life

gets stormy, too.

Prayer Dear God, Storms can be scary.

Please help me to remember to trust Youeven when storms come. In Jesus name,

Amen.

Ornament a lightning bolt

Day 27


Objective Jesus can protect us from

Satan.

Lesson Satan is scary, but Jesus is much

stronger than he is. Jesus always wins.

When youre scared or you dont know

whats right, ask Jesus He knows!

Prayer Dear God, Satan is scary, but Im

glad I can be on your side. Please

protect me from him! In Jesus name,

Amen.

Ornament pig

Day 28


Objective Tell others what Jesus has

done for you!

Lesson Jesus needs people to go out

and travel for Him, but sometimes the

most powerful thing you can do is simply

to tell your story. Tell others what Jesus

has done for you its the best Jesus story

you can tell!

Prayer Dear God, Sometimes you ask

big things of me, and sometimes I can

help You best right here at home. Helpme to tell others about what a wonderful

friend You are to me. In Jesus name,

Amen.

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Day 29


Objective Missionaries need our help.

Lesson Telling others about Jesus is a big

job, and while we can do that at home,

Jesus asks some people to do that far

away from home in other countries. We

can help them by sharing our money and

gifts with them that way they can spend

lots of time doing the most important work

of all: telling others how much Jesus loves

them.

Prayer Dear God, Its easy to forget

about people far away, but I want to

help those far away who are working for

you. Help me to share with them. In

Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 30


Objective Jesus wants us to do our part.

Lesson Jesus can do anything, but He

wants to work with you. Jesus can use

even the small things that you do to make

big things happen.

Prayer Dear God, Its hard to think that I

can do anything important, but I know

that You can. Please use even my littlebits for Your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.

Ornament bagged lunch

Day 31


Objective Take up your cross.

Lesson Jesus knew that He was going to

take the punishment for our sin, and even

though it hurt a lot, He loved us enough to

do that. He asks us to show that same

love to those around us, and sometimes it

isnt easy to do but if Jesus can do so

much for us, cant we do the same?

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for lovingme enough to take my punishment. Im

sorry for hurting You. Please help me to

be unselfish and brave and to love others

like You do. In Jesus name, Amen.

Ornament ornate cross

Day 32


Objective Jesus loves a humble heart.

Lesson Everybody wants to be

important, and sometimes we start to

think were better than other people. The

most important thing about us is that

Jesus loves us, though, and when we

remember that, were all big in His eyes!

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for loving

me and making me important. Help meto remember that because You love

others, theyre important, too. Please

help me to show them that. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 33

Scripture Luke 9:51

Objective Be determined to do what isright.

Lesson Jesus knew that His time in

Jerusalem wasnt going to be fun, but He

didnt whine, complain, or go somewhere

else. He was determined to do what God

asked of Him, even though it was hard.

We can be brave and determined like

Jesus when life gets hard.

Prayer Dear God, Sometimes I getscared when I have to do something new

or uncomfortable. Help me to be

determined like Jesus to do the right

thing. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 34

Scripture Luke 9:5758, Hebrews 13-14

Objective Our home is in Heaven withJesus.

Lesson Jesus didnt have a permanent

home on earth and neither do we!

Jesus has made homes for us in Heaven

with Him life on earth is only for a short

while.

Prayer Dear God, Sometimes life here is

uncomfortable and hard. Im glad Youre

preparing a home for me in Heaven withYou. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 35


Objective Dont look back.

Lesson Its easy to think that we can

wait and help Jesus tomorrow, but He is

calling us to do something today. Dont

miss your chance to help Him today!

Prayer Dear God, Sometimes I let other

things get in the way of serving You.

Please help me to remember to answer

and obey right away. In Jesus name,

Amen.

Ornament person waving

Day 36


Objective Remember your manners.

Lesson Jesus helped 10 men in our story,

but only one cared enough to say, thank

you. Being polite makes the people

around us feel good and it pleases God

to know that we recognize the blessings

He gives us. Telling God thank You for

the blessings that He gives makes us

realize just how very much He loves us,

too!

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for lovingme. You have blessed me in many ways;

thank You especially for these:

___________. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 37


Objective Give generously.

Lesson If youre reading this, youre

probably someone with more than

enough food and clothing, but not

everyone has those things. Jesus asks us

to help those people by sharing with

them. What do you have that others

might need today?

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for all of

your blessings today. You have given me

much more than I need. Please help me

to share today. In Jesus name, Amen.

Ornament moneybag

Day 38


Objective We celebrate communion to

remember Jesus and His love for us.

Lesson Jesus gave His entire life for us

but in the business of school and

playtime, its easy to forget. We can

have special foods and celebrations to

help us remember how very much Jesus

loves us.

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for dying

on the cross for me. Among other times,

Ill remember You each time wecelebrate communion with bread and

juice. In Jesus name, Amen.

Ornament bread and goblet

Day 39


Objective Pray about hard things.

Lesson Jesus knew that He would die for

us and that it would be hard and hurt a

lot. He spent time praying so that He

could be strong and brave. God will help

us to be brave when were faced with

hard things, too.

Prayer Dear God, Im glad that Youre

with me when hard times come. Pleasehelp me to be brave and strong like Jesus.


Ornament person kneeling in prayer

Day 40


Objective Weigh the cost.

Lesson Jesus lost a friend because He

was doing the right thing and many

other people were angry with Him. We

might lose friends or have hard things

happen because we love Jesus, but if we

truly want to follow Him, then we need to

follow Him even when its hard.

Prayer Dear God, It hurts to lose a friend,

but You know how that feels. Help me tobe strong and follow You even when its

hard. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 41


Objective Keep watch!

Lesson Jesus died for us, rose again, and

then went to Heaven but Hes coming

back! Jesus wants us to remember that

Hes coming and be watching for Him.

Dont be caught by surprise!

Prayer Dear Jesus, I cant wait for You to

come back! Im watching for You! In

Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 42


Objective Jesus loves you.

Lesson Jesus friend and many others

betrayed Him in the Garden. It must have

been scary lots of soldiers, angry men,

swords flashing, Jesus friends trying to

protect Him. Jesus knew that He could

have asked for angel help, but He didnt

because He loves you and wanted to

save you.

Prayer Dear Jesus, Thank You for dyingfor me. Im glad you saved me. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 43


Objective Stand up for Jesus

Lesson Peter was sure that he would

never pretend not to know Jesus, but

when it got scary to be Jesus friend, Peter

lied about knowing Him three times,

even! Sometimes telling Gods truth can

seem scary but when we remember

that Hes always with us, we can do

anything!

Prayer Dear God, Peter was a good

friend to Jesus most of the time, but hegot scared here. Help me to be brave

and tell the truth about Jesus all the time

even when Im scared. In Jesus name,

Amen.

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Day 44


Objective Always tell the truth.

Lesson Some people dont recognize

the truth. Sometimes they have a hard

time thinking about ideas other than their

own. Its frustrating when people dont

believe us. Jesus asks only that we tell the

truth just like He did in todays story.

Prayer Dear God, Thank You for Jesus

good example. Im glad that my only job

is to tell the truth. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 45


Objective Do the right thing.

Lesson Pilate was a scared man he

was starting to get in trouble at work. He

didnt want to anger the Jews and lose

his job, so instead of sticking up for Jesus,

he listened to the crowd and had Him

crucified. Pilate decided that his job was

more important than doing the right thing.

What would you do?

Prayer Dear God, Pilate listened to the

wrong people and didnt let Jesus go.Please help me to listen to Your voice. In

Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 46

Scripture Luke 23:33 34, 44 - 47

Objective Jesus died for us.

Lesson Jesus is the King of this world, and

all of creation knew it the very earth

reacted when Jesus died! Because Jesus

died for us, we dont have to follow

certain rules or do special things to get to

Heaven and be with Him. Jesus paid for

us with His blood and will make a place

for you there if you ask Him to.

Prayer Dear God, It must have been

scary to see the whole earth react whenJesus died! Thank You, Jesus, for dying for

me. Im glad you rose again. In Jesus

name, Amen.

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Day 47


Objective Jesus rose!

Lesson When Jesus told His friends about

His coming death, they didnt understand

and who would expect a dead man to

come back to life? Yet thats just what

Jesus did and we can be happy that

Hes alive and coming back for us!

Prayer Dear Jesus, Yay! Youre alive

again! Help me to remember this joy

even when Easter is over because theGood News is that youre alive every day.


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