IBS-38 Dwelling on the Word: Made Pratical for Easter

The Big Idea: Diane practices memorizing and reviewing Isaiah 53 every year during Lent which draws her mind to Christ’s work accomplished on the Cross.

Raised in a conservative Christian home attending an evangelical church, Lent was not familiar to me. We celebrated one day. Easter Sunday at my Grandparent’s church in Minot, North Dakota. I loved sitting next to my Grandpa singing enthusiastically together, “Up From the Grave He Arose”.

The Practice of Lent

At 40 I married a widower, an evangelical Air Force chaplain. He found the spiritual disciplines of Advent and Lent useful for a deeper walk with Christ. Leading up to Easter he would either give up something like diet cola or television, or add something like volunteer or read a book on Christ to prepare for Easter. Every Good Friday we practice silence from Friday noon to 3 PM, the time Jesus was on the cross. It has been a profound annual exercise for me.

A couple years ago I decided to memorize Isaiah 53 (in King James, so poetic) during Lent. This Old Testament chapter graphically describes what Christ accomplished on the cross. That year I memorized up to verse 7.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Is. 53:7 KJV

The M&Ms: Memorization and Meditation

Often during Lent I revisit Isaiah 53. Review is important for Bible memorization as our mind easily forgets. I have not yet memorized the entire chapter but I annually meditate on its word pictures whether in traffic, at the grocery store, or at the doctor’s office. I sing hymns reflecting the passage.

“Man of Sorrows”

“O Sacred Head now Wounded”

“What Wondrous Love is This.”

This year I have been reading it and mulling it over in the New Living Translation.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. Is 53:4a

I have recently carried sorrow and heaviness. This passage assures me of His presence, and His profound love for all that I carry.

Memorizing Scripture and meditating on it is a lifetime effort. It carries great benefit for my mind and soul. Try it. It costs nothing and provides great comfort and insight.

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This post is thirty-eight in a series as a Practical Starter Guide for Inductive Bible Study.
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Reflect:

1. The phrase “spiritual discipline” was used. Meditation is sometimes called that. Why might it be called a discipline?

2. If you could memorize a verse or passage for Easter what might it be? How do you think it may be helpful?