Today’s devotional will depend on your lifetime of devotional reading and reflection. We are now into the church season known as Lent. It started with Ash Wednesday and will lead us up to the brink of Holy Week and Easter. (In those first two sentences I used four words or word combinations from “church speak” – Lent, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Easter.) We find that Lent is a 40 day period of penitence and self-examination that leads the followers of Jesus to a deeper appreciation of our Lord’s death and resurrection. To understand Lent requires some insider knowledge.

Now, the test for each of us – What biblical lessons have we learned over the years about the importance of a 40 day period? What do we remember about the number 40 in the Bible? Spend a few moments searching your memory for some answers. Then, think some more. What biblical lessons can you recall that involve the number 12? How about the numbers 10, 7, 3, and 1?

You have the rest of the day to answer. Spend some time thinking about God’s word. And tomorrow, start checking your answers each day as we take a numerical tour of the Bible in Lent.

Prayer

Dear God, bring to my mind some of the truths that have been planted there in Your word. And help me to count the ways that I can follow Jesus more faithfully this Lenten season. Amen.