Lenten Devotional (3) & What the CREC?!
Lent is a concentrated time to boast on the cross (Gal. 6:14) and to reorient our spiritual direction by avoiding the shortcuts to confession.
In that famous Lenten text, the Gospels describe Jesus’ ascent to the mountain to be tempted:
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
Tolkien once said, “Shortcuts make for long delays.” Shortcuts are usually seen as avoiding areas/places we don’t wish to encounter or avoiding the longer route. Perhaps it is easier to choose the easy route: the road that demands less commitment or less repentance.
But Lent provides a long, winding road filled with unseemly terrain that continues for the next thirty-eight days. Nevertheless, we should not understand this journey as torturous. The longer journey is all necessary because our destination is Easter. Thus, in this journey, we will be afforded opportunities to fast on certain occasions; we may serve others more consistently or/and repent with precision rather than generalities.
The purpose of these rituals is not to earn some merit but to learn just how precious are the merits of Jesus. The road to the empty grave is difficult, but it is the only true road to glory. We can’t take shortcuts on this journey. We must walk through the desert places, step on serpents’ heads, and take naps surrounded by wild animals.
On this Lenten Season, we give thanks that our Lord Jesus did not take shortcuts on his journey to Calvary. He did not succumb to the seductions of the devil in the wilderness. He responded to evil with the good word of Moses, and the devil fled.
Lent is a concentrated time to boast on the cross (Gal. 6:14) and to reorient our spiritual direction by avoiding the shortcuts to confession and embracing the road less traveled.
Prayer: O, blessed Lord Jesus, who did fast for 40 days, grant us the vision of our blessed destination as we journey with you this season, and do not cease to give us opportunities to make our calling and election sure through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Notations
My latest interview on the CREC is now live. Thanks to Keith Foskey for the excellent work. Keith had some terrific questions and engaged the topics so well. He has a big platform, and I hope this interview goes far and wide.
I wanted to put all my recent interviews and CREC-related content in one place so you can pass it on to inquirers.
The CREC Pope? with the American Reformer This was a fun interview with Timon Cline and Josh Abbotoy right after I was elected PMOC. These guys are great and doing good work, and they were gracious enough to have me on their show.
The Joy of the CREC with Crosspolitic Toby Sumpter, Choc Knox, and Gabe Rench had me on in 2021 to discuss the culture of the CREC.
CREC Information Lecture with Canadian Leaders This was a meeting with Canadian leaders/laymen interested in beginning CREC works in various parts of Canada.
Passing the Baton with Kuyperian Commentary Rick Davis had me and the former PMOC, Virgil Hurt, discuss the future of the CREC.
The Next 25 Years This is the manuscript of my lecture at CREC Council 2023 in Moscow, ID, where I lay out my vision for the denomination.
Sermon shorts:
Happy Lent!
Uriesou Brito
Hi Pastor Brito,
Thank you so much for these wonderful Lenten devotionals. I wanted to let you know that there's a problem with the above link "The Joy of the CREC on Crosspolitic". It brings you to amazon.com instead. Hopefully you'll be able to correct that. Also, under that same heading, I think you meant to say Gabe Rench (instead of Gabe Wetmore). Thank you once again.
Richest blessings in our Lord to you & Melinda and to all your family!
40 days of "HOLY WEEK" Lent makes the other 325 days UNHOLY. Please READ: https://thedissenter.substack.com/p/why-the-evangelical-rush-to-lent
"The Moral Trap of Lent
The Lenten season creates a dangerous divide between the “sacred” and the “profane.” By designating forty days as “holy,” it inadvertently suggests that the rest of the year is not. This mindset leads directly to the debauchery of Carnival and Mardi Gras."
"If people believe they can “pay off” their spiritual debts through forty days of discipline, they often feel empowered to indulge in every vice right up until the clock strikes midnight on Ash Wednesday. This turns the church into what Jeremiah called a “den of robbers”—a hide-out where people gather to relax after their sins, rather than a place of true reformation. God’s word through Jeremiah is clear: “Truly amend your ways and your deeds”. A temporary ritual is no substitute for a heart that truly walks with the Lord now."