During this Lenten season we’ve been leaning in close to listen to Jesus.Experience deeper faith when you realize that Jesus is speaking through His Word. As you prepare for Easter, join us in these holy moments for truths every believer needs to hear.

I’ve been posting daily short devotions on Facebook and Instagram to open our hearts to what the Spirit has to say as we meditate on a daily verse. It is my prayer that this regular practice during Lent becomes a holy habit we continue through out the year.

 

During this Lenten season we have been leaning in close to listen to Jesus. I've been posting daily short devotions on social media to open our hearts to what the Spirit has to say to us each day as we meditate on a specific verse. It is my prayer that this regular practice during Lent becomes a holy habit we continue through out the year. Faith deepens as we recognize that Jesus is speaking through His Word. As you prepare for Easter, join us in these holy moments for truths every believer need to hear.

For this post, I’ve selected four of the most popular posts in my social media series 40 Days of Holy Moments for Lent. You can find a printable version of the text and graphics of the first week of the series in last week’s blog.  Print the devotions to use as your Quiet Time to help you listen to God.

As I looked through the devotions that garnered the most response, I realized these are truths that every believer needs to hear again and again. I selected four that work together well and resonated with readers. There are many truths that deepen our faith, but these four are important to understand at the heart level for sure!

Cultivating a regular practice of meditating on His word is the most effective way to recognize the often subtle ways Jesus gives understanding and revelation. As you read the truths below, try one of the simple ways to meditate from this post or follow the prompt at the end of each reflection.

Read and reflect on the entire post, or focus on one truth a day.

Pay attention to the thoughts that come to  mind about the passage. What words or phrases stand out to you? Is there a fresh thought or an encouraging insight about the truth? You are hearing from Jesus! You will find it helpful to write down what comes to mind as you pray the listening prompt.

Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for the entire series with all the graphics. Spend some holy moments with Jesus as you listen to what He has to say about these beautiful truths that will lift your spirit.

 

1. You Don’t  Have to Bear Your Burdens Alone

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,The God who is our salvation. God is to us a God of deliverances” (Psalm 68:19-20a).


On our worst days, the ones that feel too heavy to carry, hold fast to this truth about God. These are the moments when choosing holy in the hard includes entrusting our burdens to Jesus who daily is with us, bearing our burdens.

Daily.

Every single day.

[tweetthis]There hasn’t been and never will be a day when Jesus is not our burden-carrying Savior.[/tweetthis]

During Lent we set out attention on the burden Jesus has borne for us on the cross. He Himself, with His completely sinless life, carried the weight of our sin, our wrong actions, and offenses against a holy God.

You don't have to bear your burdens alone. On our worst days, the ones that feel too heavy to carry, hold fast to this truth about God. These are the moments when choosing holy in the hard includes entrusting our burdens to Jesus who daily is with us, bearing our burdens. Daily. Every single day. This means that there hasn’t been and will never be a day where Jesus is not our burden-carrying Savior.

Salvation and deliverance come to us through what Jesus suffered on our behalf, the punishment that he endured in our place.

“However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, And our pains that He carried; Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5 NASB).

There is something deeply personal about the phrase “He Himself.”  How easy it is to distance ourselves from the intensity of what Jesus suffered on our behalf. For us. Instead of us.

In the quiet of this holy moment, worship Jesus with a grateful heart.

  • Those sinful words you wish you could take back. . . He’s already paid for them.
  • The diagnosis that breaks your heart. . . He’s already carried the weight of it.
  • The worst thing you’ve ever done. . . He’s already been punished for it.

And He still bears our burdens and still delivers. Every single day.

What is Jesus saying to you as you reflect on these passages?

2. You Are Holy and Whole in Christ

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it” (1 Thess. 5:23-24 MSG).

This side of heaven we yearn for the wholeness of a fully integrated self—body, soul, and spirit.  We interact with our world through our physical body and our five senses. We relate to others and ourselves through our soul, which includes our mind, will, and emotions.

Longing for healing, our lives are fragmented with the pathologies sin. But the good. news is that in Christ we are holy and whole.

Meditate on the truth that in Christ, you are holy and whole. Reflection of 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 encourages Christians to understand the powerful truth of holy identity.

A dwelling place for God, our spirit is created to live in communion with God. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our spirit receives the life of God. Sin’s penalty has been paid and our sins have been forgiven.

The process of growing into our full identity in Christ is the beautiful work of God making us holy and whole. The word holy includes the ideas of wholeness, health, happiness, wellness, as well as the concept of being sacred and set apart for God.

God is transforming our mind, will, and emotions, the ways that we think and choose, as well as what we believe about God, ourselves, and others.

Over time, God brings healing and wholeness to every area of our lives so that we begin to live like who we are in Christ. Our lives change because we are holy, not to become holy.

The theological word for this process is sanctification, which you will find in some translations of this verse.

You may not feel holy at this moment, but you are completely holy in Christ.

What is spiritually true of you is the truest thing about you! Click To Tweet

On the days when you feel like you’ll never measure up to the person God created you to be, remember He is the one who makes you holy. You can trust Him to keep His word.

Breathe a sigh of relief as you let go of the stress of trying to make yourself holy and whole.

Ask Jesus to bring your spirit, soul, and body into harmony with His sanctifying work in you today. As you reflect on this promise, what stands out to you as a fresh or empowering insight?

3. Holiness is Your New Normal

 

“Be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:23-24 NASB).
The word “righteous” is loaded with complex layers of spiritual confusion. Seriously, we have such an issue with religious words!
The shift from holiness to self-righteousness comes quickly when we define our relationship with God based on our effort. My internal radar of insecurity is always checking…am I OK with God? Am I doing what I should be doing?
For so long I defined my relationship with God based on feelings. The temptation to try be right, do better, draw closer, so that I feel all right with God is subtle.
This kind of thinking views righteousness by behavior, but holiness is a matter of identity.

Our thoughts and feelings can never accurately define or measure our righteousness. Click To Tweet

Our souls are leaking cisterns we continually try to fill up with things that make us feel OK. This is the insecurity of finding our value in our performance rather than our identity.
Now that you are in Christ you are spiritually alive, an extraordinary new person who is right with God. You don’t earn your righteousness with good behavior.

Holiness is your new normal, your new nature, your natural state of being.

Holiness is God’s gift to bring you back where you belong, safe and secure in His family—holy and whole in Christ. Sanctification is the daily process of discovering the reality of our righteousness in Christ.
What is Jesus saying about the rightness of your true self? How does truth change your thinking today?

Believing God will complete his sacred work in our hearts frees us to respond and follow him fully. Here is the truth to listen to today: God is doing a good work in you and he will not stop until you are complete in Christ. On the days you forget, default to opinions, or fall short of his best, you can rest in the belief that he is still doing a good work in you. Short devotions for listening to Jesus.

 

4. God Will Finish What He Started in You

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Confidence is often a bumpy ride on uneven ground.

Paul was confident of God’s maturing work in the Philippines. I struggle with confidence, inspecting, and evaluating myself. Calculating the distance between where I am today and where I think I should be, my assurance wavers.

When the source of my confidence is myself and my performance, it’s easy to trip over the rocks in road.

Paul was completely confident because he understood God’s faithfulness and purpose to make us holy and whole. True confidence comes as we listen and respond to God’s voice in our lives. Trust in God takes the pressure off ourselves to obey, mature, grow, and serve from our limited resources of self.

Believing God will complete his sacred work in our hearts frees us to respond and follow him fully.

Here is the truth to listen to today: God is doing a good work in you and he will not stop until you are complete in Christ. On the days you forget, default to opinions, or fall short of his best, you can rest in the belief that he is still doing a good work in you.

When you struggle with confidence, whose voice do you hear? What is Jesus saying about the good work he is doing in you?

Which of these truths did you most need to hear today? Leave a comment and let me know.
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More Holy Moments to Deepen Your Faith

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Holy in the Moment will help you experience holiness and wholeness in your daily moments. Holy in the Moment includes Ginger’s personal journey in finding help and hope for anxiety, people-pleasing, perfectionism, discouragement, and insecurity as well as biblical insights and simple ideas to enjoy a deeper life with freedom in Christ. Bring the reality of grace, healing, and holiness into your daily experience with intentional choices.

More Posts to Help You Listen to God

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