Preparing Hearts for Easter Through Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday...the beginning of the Easter or Lenten season. This time will culminate with Good Friday on April 3rd and Easter on April 5th. This is the greatest celebration for Christians yet for many children, mine included, it often revolves around Easter egg hunts and candy with very little reflection on what this most holiest of days really means. 

"Easter egg hunts and chocolate candies inspire great enthusiasm in children! But how can we as Christian parents inspire in our children appreciation for Jesus' death and excitement for His resurrection? 

It is the Christmas dilemma all over again, except that Christmas is easier in some respects. Children readily grasp the idea of a sweet little baby in a manger. Stars, angels and sheep on a hillside form lovely pictures in a child's mind. 

Easter is a bit trickier, however. The cross is not a comfortable image. Suffering and death are subjects that most adults want to avoid, and they certainly don't relish tackling them with their young children," Ann Hibbard from Family Celebrations at Easter. I will be drawing much of the ideas for the following Lenten devotions from her book as well as Ann Voskamp's Trail to the Tree

So how to make Easter meaningful for our children? I believe that if we, as parents, can spend a few minutes every day sharing from the Bible the story of Easter, we can help our children and ourselves understand and embrace the Easter message. Just like we prepare for Christmas with the Advent season, we can prepare for Easter with the Lenten season. 

The Lenten season begins today. I will do my best to post a Lenten devotion for each day of Lent until Easter. I pray these devotions will help you and your children learn more about the meaning of Easter and draw closer to Jesus Christ. 

I will also include any resources that I have found which do a good job of sharing the Easter story with children. If you, as my reader, have any suggestions, please share them and I will post them daily. 

Advent Devotion / Jesse Tree Christmas Eve - Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."  

Luke 2:6-7

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."  Luke 2:10-14

Christmas Eve: Jesus

Bible Reading: Luke 2:1-20

Jesse Tree Symbol: Mary holding Jesus (go to Jesse Tree ornaments 2)

The birth of Jesus...the God of the Universe come down to us, taking off His royalty and putting on human flesh, leaving behind all His glory to be born as the son of poor, humble parents. Heralded by thousands of angels, worshipped by lowly shepherds, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the animals He had so lovingly created.

Can we begin to comprehend what happened that night? The moment that God took His first human breath? The moment that He first saw the world He had created through human eyes. The realization that the capacity to love, which He had placed in each human being, was now being poured out on Him by His earthly mother and father.

What joy God must have felt!

He had felt the sting of rejection and death with that first rebellious bite of fruit in the garden. His heart was heavy when He commanded Adam and Eve to leave the Garden, when He shut up Noah and his family in the ark, when He brought down the fire of judgment on demon-worshipping peoples.

But now, finally, His plan was being set into motion. He was here! Here on earth to show the people He had created, His infinite love. No longer would He rely on prophets to tell them. Instead, He would tell them in person,,,in person. Oh blessed Heavenly Father, what You did for us is too great for words!!!

Yet, You did use words...the words of the angels..thousands and thousands of angels -  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." 

"They sang of Christ, and the salvation which he came into this world to work out. And what they said of this salvation was this: they said, first, that it gave glory to God; secondly, that it gave peace to man; and, thirdly, that it was a token of God's good will towards the human race.

There had been no peace on earth since Adam fell. But, now, when the newborn King made his appearance, the swaddling band with which he was wrapped up was the white flag of peace. That manger was the place where the treaty was signed, whereby warfare should be stopped between man's conscience and himself, man's conscience and his God...Do you not feel my brethren, that the gospel of God is peace to man? Where else can peace be found, but in the message of Jesus?...And what a peace it is, beloved! It is peace like a river, and righteousness like the waves of the sea. It is the peace of God that passeth all understanding, which keeps our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God has good will toward man for He gave His Son. No greater proof of kindness between the Creator and His subjects can possibly be afforded than when the Creator gives His only begotten and well beloved Son to die." Taken from a sermon delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 20, 1857, by the Reverend Charles H, Spurgeon.

May that be our prayer this Christmas, as we gaze upon the baby in the manger...Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. And may this prayer be not only for our family and friends but for all the world.

Lord Jesus, just as You were born into a manager so long ago, may You be born into the hearts of men, women and children throughout the world today!

The above commentary is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss how Christmas is about giving much more than getting. One way that your family can give is through their daily prayers. This might be a good time to pray for a specific country or for a group of people who do not know about Jesus. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. They don't know about a God who loves them, made them unique and celebrates who they are. They need our prayers. 

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Another way to give is by giving a gift to those, throughout the world, who have very little. It might be a chicken, or sheep or a goat...maybe you can help pay for the digging of a well or provide a sewing machine to a widow so she can provide for her family. There are many ways to help this Christmas. Visit  Gospel for Asia and take a look at their Christmas Catalog. 

Advent Devotion / Jesse Tree Day 23 - Humble and Believing Worship

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:10-12

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them...The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  

Luke 2:16-19, 20

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.  Matthew 2:11

Monday: Shepherds and Magi

Bible Reading: Luke 2:8-20; Matt 2:1-12

Jesse Tree Symbol: Star over the manger (go to Jesse Tree ornaments 2)

"The only class of people considered lower than shepherds were thieves. Even Gentiles were afforded more respect...I (the angel Gabriel) found myself baffled by God's logic. Were the plan mine, I would have roused the sleeping world by trumpeting the birth of the Messiah in the Temple and in the royal courts. I would have engaged the important people in welcoming the new King to earth...But not God.

He said, 'I will announce the birth of the Savior only to those who care to know it, only to those looking for a savior. Those who want a king to lead them into battle or a leader to make them rich will not know what to do with My Anointed One. If the rich and the learned and the powerful care to find Him, they will have no trouble. I have made the time and place of His birth known to all mankind for many centuries," taken from A Bethlehem Christmas by Charles R. Swindoll

God is so good and so different from the way we operate. The very first people he told, after the birth of Jesus, were young, poor, looked-down-upon shepherds. Maybe equivalent in our day to telling a bunch of migrant workers or the homeless. "Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these 'nobodies' to expose the hollow pretensions of the 'somebodies,'" 1 Corinthians 1:28 (The Message). But these were people who were searching for Him. People who had much time on their hands to pray, little of earth's worldly possessions to distract them and desire in their hearts to know Him.

For an instant, the veil between Heaven and earth was removed and they got a peek into Heaven to see the glory of the angels as they celebrated the Messiah's birth. What a moment! What a privilege!

"On the eastern side of the Arabian desert...a cloister of Magi preserved the traditions of the Babylonian and Persian astrologers. As they looked into the western sky, high above the horizon, a new light triggered a memory...Daniel's calculations...a king! But not just any king. The King of the Jews. A King who would eventually rule the world...They travelled more than three months to see the new King and when they found Him, they did something extraordinary. They fell down on their faces and worshipped!" taken from A Bethlehem Christmas by Charles R. Swindoll

Foreigners, learned scholars, wise, intelligent men. Eager to find the one, true King. So sure of Daniel's ancient prophecies, confirmed by "a star in the east," that they bow down before a small child and hail Him as the King of Kings. And their gifts...gold to honor a King, frankincense in recognition of Christ's role as our ultimate priest and intercessor before God and myrrh to signify the suffering and death that Christ would undergo for us.

May we, like the shepherds, humble ourselves before God, truly seek Him with ready hearts and may we, like the wise men, believe His Biblical promises and bow down before Him in worship.

What can I give Him,  Poor as I am!

If I were a shepherd I would bring Him a lamb,

If I were a wise man I would do my part,

Yet what I can I give Him, I'll give Him my heart.

from the song In the Bleak Midwinter

The above commentary on Matthew and Luke is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss how Christmas is about giving much more than getting. One way that your family can give is through their daily prayers. This might be a good time to pray for a specific country or for a group of people who do not know about Jesus. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. They don't know about a God who loves them, made them unique and celebrates who they are. They need our prayers. 

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Another way to give is by giving a gift to those, throughout the world, who have very little. It might be a chicken, or sheep or a goat...maybe you can help pay for the digging of a well or provide a sewing machine to a widow so she can provide for her family. There are many ways to help this Christmas. Visit  Gospel for Asia and take a look at their Christmas Catalog. 

Advent Devotion / Jesse Tree Day 22 - Waiting with Hope

But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.

And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:13-17

4th Sunday in Advent: Gabriel

Bible Reading: Luke 1:5-25

Jesse Tree Symbol - angel (go to Jesse Tree ornaments)

400 years of silence...that is the length of time between the last words of Malachi and the words of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah. 400 years without any revelation from God. Had discouragement set in? Had hope grown cold? How long, oh Lord, before you come to us as our Messiah, as our rescuer, as our redeemer? The Jewish people still longed for a Messiah but many had lost hope and no longer really looked for Him.

Is this why Zechariah did not believe the angel Gabriel when he was told? Had he lost hope and was just going through the motions? Or, had the bitterness and sadness from years of hoping and praying for a child, with no answer, left him unwilling to believe that now, in his old age, God would finally grant him a son?

His unbelief is reminiscent of Sarah when she was told that she would become pregnant in her old age and have a son. Yet God's answer is the same: "Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."  Genesis 18:14

400 years of silence...yet, what were the last words of Malachi before this blanket of silence fell upon Israel? "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

And now what were the exact words of the angel Gabriel concerning this miracle baby? And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 

Luke 1:15-17

The time of waiting was finally over! The stage was being set for the arrival of the King of Kings! And His arrival would be heralded by His cousin...a miracle baby...a baby who would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would be reminiscent of the great prophet Elijah.

400 years of waiting...actually, for us, it is over 1,900 years of waiting...waiting for His return, waiting for the completion of all that Jesus has promised us. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

May we wait with hope, pray with hope, long for Jesus with hope. "For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay." Hebrews 10:37

The above commentary on Luke is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss how Christmas is about giving much more than getting. One way that your family can give is through their daily prayers. This might be a good time to pray for a specific country or for a group of people who do not know about Jesus. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. They don't know about a God who loves them, made them unique and celebrates who they are. They need our prayers. 

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Another way to give is by giving a gift to those, throughout the world, who have very little. It might be a chicken, or sheep or a goat...maybe you can help pay for the digging of a well or provide a sewing machine to a widow so she can provide for her family. There are many ways to help this Christmas. Visit  Gospel for Asia and take a look at their Christmas Catalog. 

Advent Devotion / Jesse Tree Day 21 - No More Accusations

Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. 

The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."

When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: 

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. 

And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." 

So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.  Esther 4:10-17

Saturday: Esther

Bible Reading: Esther 4:10-17

Jesse Tree Symbol: golden scepter (have your children draw a scepter on a circular piece of paper)

Esther, beautiful Jewish queen of King Xerxes...a man who had the ultimate power of life or death over everyone. Mordecai, uncle to Esther, devout Jew who will not back down to anyone. Haman, descendent of Agag and sworn enemy of the Jews.

Haman goes before King Xerxes and accuses the Jews: "There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king's laws; it is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them," Esther 3:8-9. King Xerxes agrees to this mass slaughter which, unknowingly, will include his own wife Queen Esther.

Mordecai finds out and begs Queen Esther to go before the king and ask for mercy and a stop to the killing. The fate of the entire Jewish population in this kingdom rests on Esther.

There is an accuser today as well...but he doesn't just accuse the Jewish people like Haman did...he accuses the entire human race. His name is Satan and he wants nothing better than to destroy all the human beings who are so precious and dear to the Lord God.

But in the fullness of time, our King of Kings comes to Bethlehem and makes the whole universe his court. He hears the words of the accuser, but unlike King Xerxes, our King does not agree with the accuser. For the accuser's words hold no power anymore. They were broken at Calvary. They were silenced by the absolute sacrifice of the King Himself. "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.'"  Revelation 12:10

So, we do not have to cower on our knees before the King of Kings, wondering if He will reach out His golden scepter of mercy and spare our lives. Instead, we can "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

For it is not a golden scepter that is held out to us in the throne room of the universe, but the hands of Jesus Christ which took the iron nails to save us.

The above commentary on Esther is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss how Christmas is about giving much more than getting. One way that your family can give is through their daily prayers. This might be a good time to pray for a specific country or for a group of people who do not know about Jesus. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. We need to step out in obedience and pray for them as God asks us to. 

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Another way to give is by giving a gift to those, throughout the world, who have very little. It might be a chicken, or sheep or a goat...maybe you can help pay for the digging of a well or provide a sewing machine to a widow so she can provide for her family. There are many ways to help this Christmas. Visit  Gospel for Asia and take a look at their Christmas Catalog.