After Easter
April 2023
The Challenge I set for the church before Ash Wednesday this
year was to set aside 30 minute of solitude and silence every day, from Ash
Wednesday right up to Easter Sunday. In that silence and solitude, tune out the
noise of the world and tune in to the Holy Spirit. The world is a distracting,
constant cacophony that robs us of serenity and peace. I believe God is
speaking, but we miss what he says because we listen to everything but the
voice of God, and he won’t compete for our attention.
So, I proposed that we all give God all of our time, but
especially 30 minutes of focused attention. To aid in this exercise, I
suggested using a journal to write your thoughts. I also suggested a rotation
of scripture passages: Psalm 5, Psalm 23, Psalm 51, Psalm 71, Psalm 91, Psalm
95, Lamentations 3, and Matthew 6:25-34.
If you followed this
prescription, then for the last 40 days, you’ve given God 30 minutes of your
undivided attention each day, cycling through these readings in the process.
How did it go? I grew closer to God and felt God’s comfort and help when I had
to endure difficult days.
With Easter now past, I
encourage you to make this daily period of silence a top priority, and I offer
a cycle of 31 readings to aid you as you lay your heart out before God. Let
these reading help you see your life in God’s light.
Here’s the list:
Genesis 1:26-31 Exodus 34:6-10 Romans 8:31-38
Daniel 12:1-4 Psalm 84 Joshua 24:14-18
Exodus 3:1-6 Revelation 1:4-8 Acts 2:32-39
Isaiah 12 Leviticus 19:1-4,
9-10 Isaiah 58:6-16
Mark 1:29-39 Daniel 2:17-19 Luke 12:13-21
John 18:33-38 Job 28:20-28 Revelation 19:1-8
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Matthew 5:1-13 1 Samuel 16:6-13
Mark 15:37-39 Revelation 7:9-17 Micah 6:6-8
Luke 10:17-20 Jude 1:20-25 Psalm 25
Proverbs 14:31-32 John 1:1-14 Daniel 3:13-18
Mark 5:21-43
Enjoy your time with the Lord.
