Reading: Luke 15:11–24

Devotional:
Lent begins with a God who welcomes transformation. The Father in Jesus’ parable does not merely tolerate repentance, He runs toward it. The prodigal son rehearsed shame, but the Father responded with restoration. Before the son could prove change, the Father declared it.

Transformation begins with returning. It is not self-improvement; it is surrender. The younger son’s turning point was not when he felt regret, it was when he “came to himself.” Repentance is awakening. It is realizing that life apart from the Father distorts identity.

Notice: the Father restores sonship before behavior. Robe. Ring. Sandals. Celebration. Grace doesn’t reward transformation; it initiates it.

This Lent, don’t just modify habits, return to the Father. True transformation begins when you come home.

Reading: Matthew 5:1–12

Devotional:
Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount by redefining blessing. The world calls the strong blessed. Jesus calls the poor in spirit blessed. The world celebrates self-sufficiency. Jesus honors spiritual bankruptcy.

Transformation begins when we admit we cannot save ourselves. “Poor in spirit” means empty-handed before God. It is the death of performance. It is surrendering the illusion that we can manufacture righteousness.

Each beatitude moves us deeper, mourning over sin, hungering for righteousness, choosing mercy, pursuing purity. This is not behavior modification; this is heart renovation.

Lent confronts our pride and exposes our need. The kingdom belongs to those who know they need it.

Transformation starts where pride ends.

Reading: Matthew 4:1–11

Devotional:
Before Jesus preached, healed, or called disciples, He was led into the wilderness. The Spirit did not lead Him to comfort, it led Him to confrontation.

The wilderness reveals what governs you. Hunger exposed appetite. Temptation tested trust. Isolation clarified identity. Yet every response from Jesus began the same way: “It is written.”

Transformation is forged in hidden places. The wilderness strips distraction so the Word can shape you. What the enemy meant for compromise, God used for confirmation.

Lent is your wilderness season. Fasting, prayer, and reflection are not punishment; they are preparation.

What if the discomfort you’re facing is actually forming you?

Reading: Luke 5:1–11

Devotional:
Peter had fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus told him to try again. The command sounded impractical, but obedience unlocked abundance.

Transformation requires trust beyond expertise. Peter was the fisherman. Jesus was the carpenter. Yet surrendering his logic produced a miracle.

Notice what changed: not just his catch, but his calling. “From now on you will catch men.” When Jesus steps into your boat, He doesn’t just improve your results, He transforms your purpose.

Lent invites you to lower your nets again. To obey when it doesn’t make sense. To trust when you’re tired.

The miracle may not just fill your boat, it may redefine your life.

Reading: Mark 2:1–12

Devotional:
When the paralytic was lowered through the roof, everyone expected healing. Jesus offered forgiveness first. Why? Because the deepest transformation is not physical, it is spiritual.

“Son, your sins are forgiven.” Before strength returned to his legs, grace restored his soul.

The religious leaders questioned authority. Jesus demonstrated it. The visible miracle proved the invisible one had already occurred.

Lent reminds us that our greatest need is not relief, it is redemption. Forgiveness does not excuse sin; it removes its power over you.

Transformation begins where grace interrupts guilt.

Reading: Luke 9:23–25

Devotional:
Jesus does not soften discipleship. “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

Transformation is not self-enhancement; it is self-denial. The cross is not symbolic jewelry, it is daily surrender. To deny yourself means surrendering control, comfort, and reputation. It means trusting that losing your life for Christ is actually finding it.

Lent trains us to release what competes with Christ. Every surrendered desire makes room for deeper devotion.

The cross is not the end of life, it is the beginning of transformation.

Reading: Mark 5:25–34

Devotional:
For twelve years, she suffered. Isolated. Unclean. Exhausted. Yet she believed that one touch could change everything.

The crowd pressed around Jesus, but only one touched Him in faith. Proximity is not the same as transformation.

Her faith was desperate, but it was deliberate. She pushed past shame and reached for hope. Jesus stopped, not because of the crowd, but because of her faith.

Lent is an invitation to move from casual following to courageous faith. Don’t just stand near Him, reach for Him.

Transformation happens when faith refuses to stay hidden.

Reading: Matthew 15:1–20

Devotional:
The Pharisees were concerned with unwashed hands. Jesus was concerned with unchanged hearts.

They honored tradition. He exposed motive. “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” External religion can mask internal decay.

Transformation is not cosmetic, it is internal. What defiles a person, Jesus says, comes from within: pride, envy, slander, deceit. Sin is not first behavioral; it is directional. The heart drifts before the life does.

Lent confronts the illusion that spiritual activity equals spiritual health. Fasting without surrender is empty. Prayer without repentance is noise.

Ask the Spirit to search beneath the surface.
True transformation begins where pretense ends.

Reading: Luke 17:1–10

Devotional:
The disciples asked for more faith. Jesus told them they only needed faith the size of a mustard seed.

Transformation is not about quantity, it’s about placement. Small faith placed in a great God uproots impossible things. Notice the flow of the passage: forgiveness, faith, obedience. Jesus connects them. Forgiving repeatedly requires faith. Obeying without applause requires humility.

He ends with this: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” Lent strips spiritual pride. It reminds us that obedience is not impressive, it is expected.

Ask God not just for bigger faith, but for obedient faith.
Small surrender. Massive transformation.

Reading: Luke 17:11–19

Devotional:
Ten were healed. One returned.

Gratitude is a mark of transformation. The miracle happened to all ten, but wholeness was spoken over the one who came back. “Your faith has made you well.”

The others received healing. The one received relationship.

Lent slows us down enough to return. To say thank You. To fall at His feet again. Gratitude shifts us from entitlement to awe. Transformation deepens when thanksgiving becomes lifestyle, not reaction.

Reading: Luke 18:9–14

Devotional:
Two men prayed. One compared. One confessed.

The Pharisee listed accomplishments. The tax collector beat his chest and pleaded for mercy. Jesus said only one went home justified.

Transformation requires honesty. God does not respond to performance; He responds to humility.

The danger of spiritual maturity is spiritual superiority. Lent dismantles comparison. It teaches us to pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Humility is not weakness—it is the doorway to grace.

Reading: Mark 10:46–52

Devotional:
Blind Bartimaeus refused to be silenced. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The crowd tried to quiet him. He cried out louder. Desperation overruled dignity. When Jesus stopped, He asked a powerful question: “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man named his need.

Transformation requires clarity. Sometimes we live so long with dysfunction that we stop asking for healing. This Lent, let your cry rise above the noise. Name your need. Call on His mercy.

Persistent faith positions you for transforming grace.

Reading: Matthew 19:16–26

Devotional:
He was moral. Disciplined. Sincere. But he walked away sad.

Jesus exposed what owned him. “Sell what you possess… and follow Me.” The issue was not wealth, it was allegiance. Transformation requires surrendering whatever competes with Christ. We can obey externally and still resist internally.

The disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus answered: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Lent reveals attachments. It asks: What is harder for you to release than it is to follow Jesus?

Freedom begins where idols fall.

Reading: Mark 10:35–45

Devotional:
James and John wanted glory. Jesus offered a cup.

They desired position. He described suffering. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”

Transformation in the kingdom reverses ambition. Greatness is measured by humility. Authority is expressed through service. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom. Lent reorders our desires. It dismantles ego and forms Christlike character.

The path upward in God’s kingdom always leads downward first.

Reading: Matthew 18:21–35

Devotional:
Peter thought he was generous. “Seven times?” Jesus answered, “Seventy-seven.”

The parable that follows is unsettling. A servant forgiven an unpayable debt refuses to forgive a minor one. The issue isn’t math, it’s mercy.

Transformation happens when we realize how much we’ve been forgiven. The king absorbed the loss. Grace always costs someone.

When we withhold forgiveness, we reveal we have not fully grasped the mercy extended to us. Lent confronts bitterness. It exposes the prisons we maintain in our hearts.

Forgiveness is not minimizing wrong; it is reflecting the King.

From ashes of resentment… to the glory of mercy.

Reading: Luke 6:27–36

Devotional:
It is easy to love the lovable. Jesus calls us higher. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”

This is not natural. It is supernatural.

Kingdom transformation reorients instinct. Retaliation feels justified. Mercy feels costly. Yet Jesus roots this command in identity: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

We don’t love enemies to prove strength—we love because we have been loved while we were enemies.

Lent invites us to release revenge. To bless instead of curse. To trust God with justice.

Radical love is evidence of radical transformation.

Reading: Mark 4:21–25

Devotional:
Jesus speaks of light and measure. What you use will be measured back to you.

Transformation is not passive, it responds to revelation. When God gives light and we steward it, more light comes. When we ignore it, even what we think we have fades.

Lent is increased light. Through Scripture, prayer, and reflection, God exposes places of growth and compromise.

The question is not whether light is shining. The question is whether we are receiving it.

Glory grows where obedience responds to revelation.

Reading: Mark 3:22–30

Devotional:
Religious leaders accused Jesus of operating by darkness. Jesus answered with clarity: a house divided cannot stand.

Transformation requires internal alignment. You cannot host the Spirit and protect sin. You cannot confess Christ and cling to rebellion.

Jesus warns of hardening hearts beyond repentance. Persistent resistance to the Spirit numbs the conscience. Lent is a season of spiritual alignment. Invite the Spirit to unify what is divided within you.

From scattered loyalties… to singular devotion.

Reading: Luke 10:25–37

Devotional:
A man lay wounded. Religious leaders passed by. An unlikely outsider stopped.

The question was, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus reframed it: “Who proved to be a neighbor?”

Transformation shifts the focus from boundaries to compassion. Mercy interrupts inconvenience. Love crosses cultural lines.

The Samaritan didn’t debate theology, he demonstrated it. Lent pushes us beyond knowledge into action. Who is lying wounded on the road in your world?

Glory is revealed when compassion becomes costly.

Reading: Matthew 18:1–6

Devotional:
The disciples argued about greatness. Jesus placed a child in their midst.

Transformation requires humility. Childlike faith is not childish, it is trusting, dependent, open.

Pride competes, children receive, and pride demands recognition. Children trust provision. Lent dismantles spiritual ambition. It teaches us to kneel lower. The kingdom belongs not to the impressive, but to the humble.

Reading: Luke 10:38–42

Devotional:
Martha was distracted. Mary was attentive. Both were near Jesus, but only one was positioned for transformation. Activity can mask anxiety. Service can hide striving.

Jesus gently redirects: “One thing is necessary.” Presence before performance. Listening before labor. Lent is not about doing more for God, it is about sitting with Him.

From ashes of distraction… to the glory of devotion.

Reading: Luke 14:25–33

Devotional:
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Momentum was building. Popularity was rising. And that’s when Jesus said something that would thin the crowd:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother… yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”

Jesus is not teaching emotional hostility — He is demanding unrivaled allegiance. Compared to devotion to Him, every other loyalty must fall secondary.

He follows with two illustrations: a builder counting the cost and a king assessing the battlefield. Transformation is not impulsive enthusiasm; it is deliberate surrender.

Lent confronts shallow commitment. It asks whether we are following Jesus for inspiration — or for transformation.

You cannot carry the cross casually.

From ashes of divided loyalty… to the glory of wholehearted devotion.

Reading: Luke 13:22–30

Devotional:
Someone asked Jesus, “Will those who are saved be few?”

He did not give statistics. He gave urgency. “Strive to enter through the narrow door.”

Transformation is not inherited through proximity. It is entered through repentance. Many will say, “We ate and drank in Your presence.” Familiarity is not the same as faithfulness.

The narrow door requires humility. It demands surrender. It confronts self-righteousness.

Lent presses us to examine whether we are assuming access to the kingdom — or actively entering it.

The door is narrow, not because grace is scarce, but because pride is wide.

From ashes of assumption… to the glory of authentic faith.

Reading: Luke 16:10–13

Devotional:
“He who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much.”

Transformation is proven in the unseen. Before platforms come stewardship. Before influence comes integrity.

Jesus connects faithfulness with money — not because finances are the goal, but because they reveal the heart. “You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Lent exposes competing masters. What governs your decisions? What drives your security?

Glory is not built on grand gestures but on daily obedience.

If you are waiting for a larger assignment before surrendering fully, you may be missing the point. Transformation happens in the little things.

Reading: Matthew 25:1–13

Devotional:
Ten were waiting. Five were ready.

All had lamps. All expected the bridegroom. Only some carried oil.

The difference was preparation.

Transformation includes watchfulness. Spiritual maturity does not drift into readiness; it prepares intentionally. The delay tested them. The darkness exposed them.

Lent trains us in spiritual oil — prayer, devotion, obedience, surrender.

You cannot borrow intimacy at the last moment. You cannot outsource preparation.

From ashes of spiritual complacency… to the glory of prepared devotion.

Reading: Matthew 25:14–30

Devotional:
A master entrusted resources before leaving. Two servants multiplied what they received. One buried it.

The issue was not capacity — it was trust. The fearful servant saw the master as harsh and hid what he was given.

How you perceive God shapes how you steward what He gives.

Transformation moves us from fear-based preservation to faith-filled multiplication. The kingdom grows where obedience risks something.

Lent invites you to examine what you have buried — gifts, callings, generosity, obedience.

From ashes of fear… to the glory of faithful stewardship.

Reading: Matthew 21:33–46

Devotional:
Jesus tells a parable of tenants who rejected the servants and killed the son. It is confrontation wrapped in story.

The religious leaders realized He was speaking about them.

The vineyard was entrusted. The son was sent. The rejection was deliberate.

Transformation requires receiving the Son. Rejecting Him while claiming ownership of the vineyard is self-deception.

Jesus quotes the psalm: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

What you resist may be what God has established as foundation.

From ashes of rejection… to the glory of surrendering to the Cornerstone.

Reading: Luke 21:34–36

Devotional:
“Watch yourselves… stay awake at all times, praying.”

Jesus warns against hearts weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life. It’s striking that He places anxiety alongside indulgence. Both dull spiritual alertness.

Transformation requires vigilance. Distraction is subtle. Numbness is gradual. Prayer keeps the heart awake. Watchfulness guards affection. As Lent progresses, the call becomes clearer: do not drift into spiritual sleep. The Son of Man is coming.

From ashes of distraction… to the glory of alert expectation.

Reading: Luke 9:51

Devotional:
“When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem.”

This is a turning point. The miracles continue. The teaching continues. But now everything moves in one direction, the Cross.

To “set His face” means resolve. Determination. Unshakable focus. Jesus was not swept toward suffering; He walked toward it.

Transformation requires settled resolve. There comes a moment when following Jesus stops being convenient and becomes costly. You either drift… or you decide.

Lent asks: Have you set your face? Or are you still negotiating obedience?

From ashes of hesitation… to the glory of holy resolve.

Reading: Matthew 20:20–28

Devotional:
A mother asked for glory seats for her sons. Jesus answered with a cup.

“Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”

They wanted position and a seat. He offered participation in suffering. They imagined thrones. He spoke of sacrifice.

Transformation redefines ambition. In the kingdom, greatness is not visibility, but rather it is vulnerability. Leadership is not control and a seat, but it's character and surrender. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom. Lent confronts our quiet desire for recognition. It invites us instead to drink the cup of obedience.

From ashes of self-promotion… to the glory of servanthood.

Reading: Luke 19:1–10

Devotional:
Zacchaeus climbed to see Jesus. But transformation happened when he came down.

Jesus called him by name. Invited Himself over. Extended grace before reform. And in that encounter, generosity erupted. “Half of my goods I give to the poor.”

Notice the order: Presence → Conviction → Change.

Jesus declared, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Not because Zacchaeus performed, but because repentance flowed from relationship. Lent reminds us that transformation is not behavior pressure. It is grace awakening the heart.

From ashes of greed… to the glory of restoration.

Reading: Matthew 26:6–13

Devotional:
In Bethany, a woman broke open costly perfume and poured it on Jesus. The room filled with fragrance, and criticism.

“Why this waste?”

But Jesus called it beautiful.

She anointed Him for burial before anyone else fully understood what was coming. Her worship was prophetic. It was lavish. It was truly uncalculated.

Transformation produces extravagant worship and devotion. When you realize who He is and what He has done for you, restraint feels inappropriate.  Lent invites costly worship, not leftovers, not convenience, but surrender that fills the room.

From ashes of cautious faith… to the glory of wholehearted worship.

Reading: Mark 11:27–33

Devotional:
In the temple courts, leaders confronted Jesus: “By what authority are You doing these things?”

They were not seeking truth. They were protecting control. Transformation hinges on authority. Who defines truth in your life? Who determines right and wrong? Who has ultimate say in your life?

The leaders feared the crowd more than they feared God. And fear of people always distorts spiritual clarity.  Lent confronts hidden resistance. You can admire Jesus publicly and still resist His authority privately.

From ashes of control… to the glory of surrendering to His Lordship.

Reading: Mark 12:28–34

Devotional:
“What commandment is the most important of all?”

Jesus answered without hesitation: Love God. Love your neighbor.

All transformation collapses into love. Not ritual. Not status. Not knowledge alone. Love.

“To love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…” That is totality. That is integration. That is surrender. The scribe responded wisely, and Jesus said, “You are not far from the kingdom.” Lent brings us to this point, to undivided love.

From ashes of fragmented affection… to the glory of loving God with everything.

Reading: Luke 19:28–44

Devotional:
The crowd shouted, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” Cloaks covered the road and palms waved. Hope was immediately rising.

But this was not the arrival they expected. Jesus did not enter Jerusalem on a war horse but on a borrowed donkey. Not with soldiers, but with disciples. Not to overthrow Rome, but to overthrow sin.

The people praised Him as King, yet many misunderstood the kind of kingdom He was bringing. They wanted political liberation, but He came for spiritual redemption.

But here is the stunning moment: as the city celebrated, Jesus wept.

He saw what they could not. Perhaps He saw rejection, resistance and the cross ahead. Transformation begins when we stop trying to make Jesus into the King we prefer and surrender to the King He truly is.

Where have I shaped Jesus into the kind of King I prefer, rather than surrendering to the King He reveals Himself to be?


From ashes of misplaced expectation… to the glory of a humble King.

 Matthew 26:1–5, 14–16

Devotional:
As Jesus speaks of His coming crucifixion, another conversation unfolds in secret. The chief priests conspire, and Judas negotiates. Thirty pieces of silver exchange hands.

Betrayal rarely begins in a moment. It grows in neglected devotion, offended expectations, disappointed ambition. Somewhere along the journey, Judas allowed disillusionment to replace surrender.  And yet — Jesus is not surprised. He names what is coming and moves toward it willingly.

Transformation does not ignore betrayal. It trusts God through it.

Lent invites us to examine subtle drift. Where has disappointment hardened into distance? Where has familiarity dulled reverence?

If I’m honest, is there any area where I’m slowly negotiating obedience instead of fully surrendering?

From ashes of quiet compromise… to the glory of steadfast faithfulness.

Reading: Luke 22:14–23

Devotional:
At the table, Jesus gives thanks.  He breaks the bread and says “This is My body.”  He lifts the cup and then says “This cup… is the new covenant in My blood.”

Take a moment and think about what Jesus is doing. In the shadow of betrayal, He institutes covenant. In the presence of weakness, He offers grace.  The disciples do not fully understand. They argue about greatness even as He prepares for sacrifice. Yet Jesus still serves them.

The table reveals the heart of God — self-giving love.  Lent slows us here. Before the Cross comes communion. Before the nails comes the invitation: Take. Eat. Remember. Transformation is not earned at this table — it is received.

How can I intentionally practice remembrance this week, not just of what He did, but of what it cost?


From ashes of self-reliance… to the glory of covenant grace.

Reading: Matthew 26:36–46

Devotional:
Gethsemane is heavy.  Jesus falls on His face. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”  This is not theatrical suffering. This is real anguish. The weight of sin. The anticipation of separation and the cup of wrath. The disciples sleep as He prays.

Transformation reaches its deepest point here, when obedience costs everything. When emotion says “escape,” but surrender says “Your will.” Lent finds its climax in this prayer. Not in ashes, not in ritual, but in yielded will.

What is the “cup” in my life right now that I’m asking God to remove, but He may be asking me to trust Him through?


From ashes of resistance… to the glory of complete surrender.

Reading: Luke 23:32–49

Devotional:
Can you imagine the sky darkening at noon? The innocent hangs between criminals while mockery fills the air.

Jesus exclaims “Father, forgive them.”
“Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

Even in agony, His mercy flows. The veil of the temple tears. Access is opened! The centurion confesses, “Certainly this man was innocent.” The Cross is not tragedy alone, it is triumph through suffering. Justice and mercy meet while sin is judged, and Love prevails. Transformation is purchased here. Not by our effort, but by His obedience. Not by our strength, but by His sacrifice.

Do I truly live as though the Cross has settled my guilt, or am I still trying to pay for what Jesus already finished?


The ashes of humanity’s rebellion fall at the foot of the Cross.

And in that darkness… glory is secured.

Reading: Luke 23:50–56

Devotional:
Jesus' body is wrapped, the stone is rolled and the Sabbath begins.

There are no miracles today. No sermons. No crowds. Only silence. The disciples sit in confusion. Hope feels buried. The promises seem distant.

Holy Saturday teaches us that transformation sometimes unfolds in hiddenness. God is working even when heaven feels quiet. The silence is not absence, it is anticipation. Between promise and fulfillment lies waiting. Between death and resurrection lies stillness. Lent ends not with noise, but with complete trust.

From ashes of despair…
to the brink of glory.