\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe empty tomb stands as your guarantee of help today and gives you hope for what is to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the first year I\u2019ve walked through a Lenten devotional leading up to Easter. (I read \u201cJourney to the Cross\u201d by Paul David Tripp.) I plan on doing one every year now (maybe the same one. It was that good.)<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t really know what to expect from the Lent devotional. Would it talk about the characteristics of God and how Easter reflects them? Would it walk through the last days before Jesus\u2019 crucifixion? Yes and yes. But most predominantly, it reflected on the sin inside man that led Jesus to the cross.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Sidebar \u2014 It wasn\u2019t until day 33, when my friend who was also using the devotional texted me, that I realized that Lent is technically 46 days. Typical observation of Lent skips Sundays, making it 40 days. I finished my devotional a week before Easter. So keep that in mind if you ever decide to do a Lenten devotional.)<\/em><\/p>\n It was a bittersweet journey through Lent for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n In bitterness, my sin was made obvious. The sin patterns I regularly dismiss or ignore could be ignored no longer. My sinful attitudes toward circumstances and other people were called out. The places where the actions in my life splintered from the faith I proclaimed were plain as day.<\/p>\n A couple of Tripp\u2019s quotes on the bitter side that have stuck with me are:<\/p>\n But we aren\u2019t left in our sin.<\/p>\n In the sweetness, my Savior reigns supreme. My sin is serious, but God made a way. Jesus left His throne to live a human life and walk to His death on a cross \u2014 and He did so willingly. In His death and resurrection, He defeated sin and death and now covers me in His righteousness.<\/p>\n A couple of Tripp\u2019s quotes on the sweet side that have stuck with me are:<\/p>\n So on this side of Easter, I have one challenge for you: Don\u2019t forget Easter. I\u2019m not just talking about Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection. Don\u2019t forget the sin that put Him on the cross. Because of Easter, we are covered. We are washed white as snow and He will present us \u201cblameless before the presence of His glory with great joy\u201d (Jude 24<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n But sin is still rampant in our lives. We need the grace of Jesus every day. We will sin, but we must not stay in our sin. We should live in obedience to God because of God\u2019s unfaltering, unconditional mercy and love toward us.<\/p>\n \u201cThe death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus\u201d (Romans 6:8-11<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n You can find the original article<\/a> on The Scroll<\/a>. <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\nSin called out<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n
Covered in righteousness<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n
Living in obedience<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n