Tag: Dwell Bible app

Sorrow-a word for Lent

Charles Jennens gave George Handel the lyrics to Messiah, verses primarily from Isaiah, Psalms, Paul’s letters to the early church, and Revelation.

 

“He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.


Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!”

depiction of Christ on the cross
a church in Cuenca, Ecuador, photo by Dr Aletha

“But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.”

Isaiah 53, NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

ornate altar in a church
altar in a Zanzibar church, by Dr Aletha

Jennens and Handel- musical collaborators

“Charles Jennens (1700-1773) was a wealthy English landowner and friend of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). He was a a patron of the arts, skilled in music, literature, and the Bible, so he collaborated with Handel on some of his musical compositions.

Jennens gave Handel the lyrics to Messiah, verses primarily from Isaiah, Psalms, the Apostle Paul’s letters to the early church, and Revelation.

Messiah tells the story of Christ’s coming, His victory over sin and death, His defeat of His enemies, victorious return to earth and establishment of His kingdom, and the believer’s victory over death through His resurrection.”

adapted from Handel’s Messiah at doctrine.org

Listen on Apple Music

Did you know Handel’s father Georg was a physician, a barber-surgeon? Find out here

sharing the HEART of faith, hope, and love

Dr. Aletha

Join me in listening to RETURN a Lent devotional on the Dwell Bible app.(this is an affiliate link that helps this blog share the HEART of health).

Far from being rigid or legalistic, Lent is an invitation into the transformation of God’s renewing presence. It reminds us…that we can always return to the Lord and there find our true home and place of lasting peace.

RETURN, Dwell Bible app

Embracing Lent: A Guide to Spiritual Renewal

During Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter, Christians focus on their relationship with God. Protestants, once skeptical, now embrace Lent. Scott Hubbard advocates embracing it as a path to refocus and encounter Jesus. Lent is seen as an opportunity for spiritual growth and reflection, to gain more than we give up.

updated March 5, 2025

Lent is the season of the Christian church year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. It is preceded by Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras.

During Lent, some people commit to fasting (refraining) from certain foods or drinks or giving up certain pleasurable activities or habits during the 40 days before Easter.

Some people choose to do something, like performing a service to others, doing a meditative or spiritual activity, or some repetitive action to remind them of the season.

In this article, Scott Hubbard explains how Protestants first rejected, but now embrace Lent and offers resources on observing Lent in a new way.

Join the 40-Day Feast

Consider the days ahead as an opportunity — as one more path you might walk to focus your scattered attention, warm your heart’s affections, and meet the risen Jesus afresh.

Scott Hubbard
Hans Urs von Balthasar, (1905-1988), Swiss Roman Catholic theologian and author
to the cross that the christian is challenged to follow his master. quote Hans Urs Von Balthasar
graphic from Lightstock.com, an affiliate link

40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast.

by Alicia Britt Chole

What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What if your generation fasted escapism? What if your community fasted spectatorship? Trigger a spiritual revolution with this daily devotional for Lent.

Decrease life’s unnecessary details and increase your relationship with the Lord so you can live in awe of Christ’s resurrection! 

40 Days of Decrease is a guide for those hungering for a fresh Lenten/Easter experience. Dr. Alicia Britt Chole guides you through a study of Jesus’ uncommon and uncomfortable call to abandon the world’s illusions, embrace His kingdom’s realities, and journey cross-ward and beyond.

I have used this devotional from Alicia Britt Chole. Using this affiliate link to the paperback or Kindle versions helps support this blog, thanks for considering.

a women with hands clasped in prayer with a Bible
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Dr. Aletha
FAITH HOPE LOVE in block letters
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Dress yourselves in burlap and sit among the ashes. Mourn and weep bitterly..

Jeremiah 6:26, NLT

Try Dwell for Lent

Many people find using their phones a convenient way to read and meditate on the Bible. And it’s easy to do so with the Dwell Bible App.

With Dwell you can listen to and read the Bible and special devotional offerings for Advent, Lent, and throughout the year.

Using this affiliate link helps support this blog and my mission to share the heart of health wherever needed all over the world. Please join me.

Beyond Fasting

If we want to make the most of this annual opportunity (Lent), we’ll do more than just give something up.

We’ll silence ourselves before the Sovereign who became a servant. We’ll fasten our eyes upon him as he teaches and heals and smiles and weeps — the only upright man in a world of cracked and curved impostors

Scott Hubbard