I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church,
to observe a holy Lent:
by self–examination and repentance;
by prayer, fasting, and self–denial;
and by reading and meditating on God's Holy Word.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." This week is the holiest week of our Christian Year. It is the week we remember the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We learn of Christ's passion through the Scriptures. Together we will be reading the Scriptures of this week at our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service. On Easter Sunday we will read the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

One of the disciplines we are encouraged toward during Lent is meditating on God's Holy Word. As your pastor, I have to spend time with the Bible every week as I prepare my sermon for Sunday. Rarely a day goes by that I don't read Scripture for some purpose. However, working with the Scripture is different than reading it for my own personal devotion and encouragement. So, in addition to reading Scripture for sermon preparation, I set aside personal time for reading Scripture. When I neglect to do this my personal connection to God suffers.

This week ~ Holy Week ~ would be a great time to read the Bible. One might begin with John 13 and read through the end of the Book of John. A spiritual discipline of reading the Bible during Lent may, hopefully, turn into a regular practice of spending time with the Bible.

When you meditate on God's word, do you feel a closer connection to God? What is your practice of Bible reading? Do you find reading the Scriptures to be personally encouraging? How so?