Welcome to Week 1: Are you fixing your gaze on Jesus?
This opening week, we're looking at sight and eyes and how they can help us focus our minds and hearts on Jesus this Lent.
Included is:
👓 a hymn you might want to pop on
👓 a Bible verse
👓 a short thought to help us seek Jesus through our sense of sight
👓 some printable Bible journaling sheets
...all designed to draw us into a closer walk with Jesus this Lent.
(In case the concept of the 5 senses is ringing a bell - yes, it was the theme for the 2022 Creative Christianity Summit! Everything you need through Lent is going to be here on the blog, don’t panic.
However if you paid for the 2022 Creative Christianity Summit, can we encourage you to dip back into it? Even if you don’t have time to listen to all the sessions, it’s worth popping on the worship sessions with Lou & Nathan Fellingham.)
Suggested Hymn: How Great Thou Art
However you usually listen to music (Youtube, Spotify, etc.), can we encourage you to find your favourite rendition of How Great Thou Art and pop it on.
If you were truthful, what are you really looking at?
I was recently having a bit of a rant with God. Once again, He hadn’t answered my prayers as I wanted them answered (we’ll ignore the numerous other ways He has shown His care and compassion - isn’t that how rants are supposed to happen?!). It wasn’t a trifling matter but equally, the world has gone on.
I frequently find myself back in the book of Job when I’m grumpy with God. One, because it reminds me that there are many believers in far more dire situations than me and I need to stop and pray for them. But mostly because I wrestled with the end of Job for years.
Job never gets an answer to his questions. That’s what my wrestling came down to. He has laid out a pretty decent account of a pretty decent life, at least by my calculations, and God doesn’t acknowledge it. Instead, Job is taken on a guided tour of Creation and the universe.
Because at the end of it all, the answer is always: Fix our eyes on Him. There are many things that won’t make sense in life and we’re going to get really shaken about if fairness or kindness or things going well is how we measure God’s love for us. The book of Job ends simply (42:5): My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.
Hebrews 12:1: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Our challenge this week is to fix our eyes on God. To try and take in Who He is and how Great He is.
Activity: Bible Journaling a Hymn | How Great Thou Art
If you click the links below, you’ll find some printable Bible journaling sheets for the hymn How Great Thou Art. Can we encourage you to print one out, grab some pens or paint or washi tape or whatever you fancy, and pop on the hymn? See what comes to mind as you focus on the Greatness of God.
Join us next week as we tackle spiritual ear wax! And if you have the 2022 Creative Christianity Summit, why not spend some time recapping Day 1 this week?