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TriuneUnity
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Psalm 25: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Happy Lent! In the name of Jesus. Amen. Where do you look for certainty in
this world? We like to look everywhere and anywhere, but to the Lord. We look to
ourselves for certainty—how long it was since we did this sin or that. We don’t look
too bad—at least not as bad as those people anyway. You know the ones. You
know what they do.
Given the time and opportunity, we’ll do the very same things that they do.
Terrible sins—sins that the unbelievers wouldn’t even do. Or we join them in the
unbelieving things they do. Can others even tell the difference between what they
do and what we do? We seem to look pretty much the same.
So where are you going to look for comfort? You can’t look at yourself. You
can’t look at others. Where will you look to find peace?
Your Oculi are your eyes. The third week of Lent directs our eyes to the Lord.
Eyes on the Lord Jesus. He alone saves us
You can’t save yourself—not even by your looking to God. He looks at you, He
has mercy on you, He forgives you. He sends His Son into your flesh. He even has
eyes like you—but His are always on the Father.
The Cross—that’s what God sees when He looks at you. He sees the suffering
and death of His Son. The Cross is where your forgiveness was won. The Cross is
where your salvation was achieved. So, how do you put your eyes on Jesus’
Cross?
Look to where Jesus makes His Cross yours! Eyes on the Word, where He
delivers all that Jesus did for you. Eyes on the water, where your sins were washed
away. Eyes on His Supper, where Jesus gives you His body to eat and His blood to
drink for the forgiveness of all your sins.
As you enter the week of Oculi, repent of where your eyes have been. Don’t
look at yourself anymore. Fix your eyes on Jesus and where He delivers to you His
forgiveness. There you will see God’s forgiveness and His happy Lent. In the name
of Jesus. Amen.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Happy Lent! In the name of Jesus. Amen. Where do you look for certainty in
this world? We like to look everywhere and anywhere, but to the Lord. We look to
ourselves for certainty—how long it was since we did this sin or that. We don’t look
too bad—at least not as bad as those people anyway. You know the ones. You
know what they do.
Given the time and opportunity, we’ll do the very same things that they do.
Terrible sins—sins that the unbelievers wouldn’t even do. Or we join them in the
unbelieving things they do. Can others even tell the difference between what they
do and what we do? We seem to look pretty much the same.
So where are you going to look for comfort? You can’t look at yourself. You
can’t look at others. Where will you look to find peace?
Your Oculi are your eyes. The third week of Lent directs our eyes to the Lord.
Eyes on the Lord Jesus. He alone saves us
You can’t save yourself—not even by your looking to God. He looks at you, He
has mercy on you, He forgives you. He sends His Son into your flesh. He even has
eyes like you—but His are always on the Father.
The Cross—that’s what God sees when He looks at you. He sees the suffering
and death of His Son. The Cross is where your forgiveness was won. The Cross is
where your salvation was achieved. So, how do you put your eyes on Jesus’
Cross?
Look to where Jesus makes His Cross yours! Eyes on the Word, where He
delivers all that Jesus did for you. Eyes on the water, where your sins were washed
away. Eyes on His Supper, where Jesus gives you His body to eat and His blood to
drink for the forgiveness of all your sins.
As you enter the week of Oculi, repent of where your eyes have been. Don’t
look at yourself anymore. Fix your eyes on Jesus and where He delivers to you His
forgiveness. There you will see God’s forgiveness and His happy Lent. In the name
of Jesus. Amen.