Next Level Lent: A Lenten Devotional to Take Lent and Life to the Next Level

By Rev Robert Payne Jr

A daily devotional for use primarily during the 47 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday to encourage growth in life that lasts beyond Easter. Each day contains a scripture focus, a commentary, a prayer and a practical challenge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329538894

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Next Level Lent: A Lenten Devotional to Take Lent and Life to the Next Level

Next Level Lent

Taking Lent and Life to the Next Level

Copyright © 2015 by Robert Payne, Jr.

All rights reserved.  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing:  2015

ISBN  978-1-329-53889-4

Day 1:  Here we go again…or maybe not

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3-11

I never celebrated Lent growing up.  As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I had really heard of Lent until I got to college.  From my experiences with my friends on the campus of the University of South Alabama, I learned that Lent was a time for you to give up something you really like and spend 40 days planning a big celebration where you make up for those 40 days you missed.  For example, those that drank gave up drinking and then spent 40 days planning the biggest drinking party the campus had ever seen.  None of it made sense to me.  And to find out this was some sort of religious celebration really blew my mind.  Since that time I have read about the true meaning of Lent but it still never had any real impact on me.  Sure, I gave up soda one time and Words with Friends® another time but that was more to prove that I could rather than to draw closer to God.  Because of all that, I came to the conclusion in 2014 something needed to change. 

If you have dirty water in a glass, there are two ways to get that water out.  You can (1) simply pour the dirty water out leaving you with an empty glass or (2) you can pour in clean water until all the clean water displaces the dirty water leaving you with a glass filled with clean water.  The first method is what Lent has traditionally been for most of us.  We attempt to take something away and end up empty after 40 days.  On day 41 we start filling up that emptiness with the same kinds of things we poured out during Lent.  The second method, when applied to Lent, is what I call Next Level Lent because instead of spending 40 days trying to pour something out, I propose we spend the season adding things in to eventually force those other things out and leave us full. 

I see this principle illustrated for us in 2 Peter 1:5-7 where the Apostle challenges his readers to …make every effort to add make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  If we expand our reading to include verses 3-4 and 8-11, we will see some amazing results that come into our lives because of these additions.

I’ve heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Well, many of us have done Lent the same way over and over again and we’re still broke, busted and disgusted.  Let’s do something different.  Instead of subtracting, let’s follow Peter’s advice and add.  Over the days between today and Resurrection Sunday, I will provide for you a daily devotional breakdown of Peter’s words to help us move Lent to the next level.  And once we move Lent to the next level, we won’t be able to help getting life to the next level as well.  Are you ready to move on up?

Prayer

Lord, I want more.  As this Lenten season begins, give me a hunger and thirst to have more of You because more of You is all that matters.  I confess now that I’ve stayed at this level too long and I’m ready to move to the next level.  Guide me through this season to move to that level with you.  Amen.

Challenge

If you accept the challenge to move to the next level, tell somebody who will hold you accountable and will walk with you from today until Resurrection Sunday.

Day 2:  Are we there yet?

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3-11

As far as I’m concerned, the most important part of any trip is knowing where you are going.  The destination determines what you need to pack.  It makes no sense to pack the suitcase full of coats and boots for a trip to Hawaii.  And for many of us, we’ve packed a lot of things into our religious suitcases but we have no idea where we are going.  Before we talk about each of the things Peter told us to pack, we need to look at where God is trying to get us to.  Maybe if we truly understand where we are going, we’ll be more excited to begin the journey.

Disney World is often called the happiest place on earth.  One of the reasons I think that’s true is that the theme parks that make up Disney World are more than just one place.  Disney World’s theme parks are four in one.  Inside Disney World you have Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Each has its own glory that makes the whole even that much more special. Similarly, the destination God has in store for us if we take Lent to the next level is four places in one.

The first ending point is Participation in the Divine.  Verse 4 tell us that, through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, that that through them you may participate in the divine nature.  Bottom line, moving Lent to the next level will help us to be more like God. 

In verse 8 Peter says, For if you possess these things in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In other words, taking Lent to the next level will lead us to the second ending point which is Prevention of Unfruitfulness.  Like trees planted in a garden, Christians are called to bear fruit (John 15:16, Romans 7:4) and as any farmer knows, there are certain things you have to do to get plants to bear fruit. 

When my youngest daughter was learning to walk, she was very clumsy.  While it might sound mean, we spent a lot of time giggling at her falling over nothing.  While that’s funny in the physical, it’s not nearly as funny in the spiritual.  Going to the next level with Lent leads to our third ending point which is Protection from Stumbling.  Peter says, Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.  For if you do these things you will never stumble (verse 10). 

The final destination God has for us is our final destination in life.  Verse 11 says, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which provides us Preparation for Eternity.  I once heard a preacher say, Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people.  Well, the best way for us to prepare for eternity is to take Lent to the next level.

Now that we know where we are going, don’t you think you should start packing?

Prayer

Father, I’m ready to go where you want me to go.  I have tried several times and I have failed so now I’m trusting you to take me to the end you have planned for me.  Please give me the strength to take this trip.  Amen.

Challenge

Start a journal to track your thoughts, prayers and observations during this journey.

Day 3:  Next Level Lent Opens Participation in the Divine

Scripture:  2 Peter 1:3-4

In some of ways, I was a tough act to follow for my younger brother.  I never got into trouble, graduated high school with honors and earned a full scholarship to the college of my choice.  However, I give my parents credit for never saying to my brother, Why can’t you be like him?  They understood he was his own man and because of this freedom, he has become a man I’m proud to call brother.  While my parents never challenged my brother to be like me, our heavenly Father is constantly calling each of us to be more like Him and our older brother, Jesus.  I consider this an invitation to participate in the divine nature or, in other words, become more like God.  This isn’t some human desire to run the universe but an offer from God to share in all He is.  In our scripture for the day, Peter mentions God has given us everything we need to live a godly life and offered us great and precious promises so we can participate in the divine nature.  God wants us to be like Him and because He promised, we are able to mimic the amazing character of the Almighty.  It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and since we were created to glorify God, we should live