{"id":23270,"date":"2020-02-17T12:00:16","date_gmt":"2020-02-17T17:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=23270"},"modified":"2020-04-17T12:44:10","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T16:44:10","slug":"lenten-devotional-for-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=23270","title":{"rendered":"Lenten  Devotional for 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Members from three local churches have come together to produce a Daily Devotional for this year&#8217;s Lenten season. The booklets were published in hardcopy form and distributed within the participating churches, but electronic copies of the devotions are presented here.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you want a printed copy, visit or contact one of the participating churches:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.trinitymullicahill.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trinity United Methodist Church (Mullica Hill)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/zioncommunityumcclarksboro.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zion Community Church (Clarksboro)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=619\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pitman United Methodist Church<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>People from the following churches also contributed articles: <br \/>\n(<em><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #ff6600;\">&#8220;UMC&#8221; stands for United Methodist Church<\/span><\/em>):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.belinumc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Belin Memorial UMC (Murrells Inlet, SC)<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23460 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2020coverJPG-262x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2020coverJPG-262x300.png 262w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2020coverJPG.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 154px) 100vw, 154px\" \/><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blcdelmar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bethlehem Lutheran Church (Delmar, NY)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ccsouthjersey.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Calvary Chapel of South Jersey (West Deptford, NJ)<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.umc.org\/find-a-church\/church\/11482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evangelical UMC (Clarksboro)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/glassboromethodist.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">First United Methodist Church (Glassboro, NJ)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nrumc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Raleigh UMC (North Raleigh, NC)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/providenceopc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Providence Orthodox Presbyterian Church (Mantua NJ)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pitman.umcommunities.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Methodist Communities (Pitman, NJ)<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Daily Devotions for Lent 2020<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The devotional is presented in PDF format (use the free Adobe PDF viewer to read). Instead of presenting the entire booklet in one file (and forcing you to scroll through the whole thing to find the current date&#8217;s article), the booklet is broken up into separate week-by-week files.<\/p>\n<p>To read the article for any given date, scroll down to the desired month, click the weekly tab you want, then click on the button (buttons for February and April are shown without tabs).\u00a0 Except for week 1 (which begins with Ash Wednesday), all the files begin with Sunday and run through Saturday of the indicated week.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy; and may God bless your devotional time!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">February 2020<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The Lenten season (and first devotional) starts out with Ash Wednesday (February 26).\u00a0 This short week is the only one in February.\u00a0 Click this button to view it:\u00a0 \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_00.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 1<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Ash Wed. through Saturday 2\/29\n\t\t<\/div><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">March 2020 (Weeks 2-6)<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Click the tabs on the left to select the week, then click the corresponding button&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class='tabs-left et_sliderfx_fade et_sliderauto_false et_sliderauto_speed_5000 et_slidertype_left_tabs clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et_left_tabs_bg'><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class='et-tabs-control'>\n\t\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tMar. 1 &#8211; Mar. 7\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tMar. 8 &#8211; Mar. 14\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tMar. 15 &#8211; Mar. 21\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tMar. 22 &#8211; Mar. 28\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tMar. 29 &#8211; Apl. 4\n\t\t<\/a><\/li><\/p>\n\t\t<\/ul> <!-- .et-tabs-control --> \n\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content'>\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-main-wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-wrapper'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_01.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 2<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/1 through Saturday 3\/7\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_02.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 3<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/8 through Saturday 3\/14\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_03.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 4<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/15 through Saturday 3\/21\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_04.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 5<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/22 through Saturday 3\/28\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_05.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 6<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/29 through Saturday 4\/4\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!-- .tabs-left -->\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">April 2020<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The season continues until we reach Easter Sunday, on April 12. Below are devotionals for week 7 (Palm Sunday through Saturday 4\/11) and for Easter Sunday)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_06.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 7<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Holy Week (4\/5 through 4\/11)<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Lent20Devotional_07.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Easter<\/span>\u00a0<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a>\u00a0 Easter Sunday, April 12<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Symbols of Lent<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">During Lent, we use symbols that relate to the themes of the season: the themes of repentance, renewal, hope, and joy.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class='tabs-left et_sliderfx_fade et_sliderauto_false et_sliderauto_speed_22222 et_slidertype_left_tabs clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et_left_tabs_bg'><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class='et-tabs-control'>\n\t\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tColors\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tA Bare Branch\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tButterfly\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tSalt\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tWater\n\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul> <!-- .et-tabs-control --> \n\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content'>\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-main-wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-wrapper'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tColors are symbolic. Violet signifies suffering and sorrow; white is for purity and glory; green means growth and hope of eternal life.\u00a0 Pink or rose represents joy.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-6100\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Rainbow-cloud-346706__180-300x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"398\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Rainbow-cloud-346706__180-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Rainbow-cloud-346706__180.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tA bare branch symbolizes Jesus\u2019 death on a wooden cross. It also reminds us that out of seeming lifelessness comes new life, both in nature and in the resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14553 \" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/UMM17-SnowRoad-_IMG_4134-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tThe butterfly symbolizes new life and is commonly used to help children begin to understand the meaning of Easter. Out of a dead-looking cocoon emerges creation, free and exuberant.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8708 \" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Butterfly-_Facebook_300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Butterfly-_Facebook_300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Butterfly-_Facebook_300x300-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Butterfly-_Facebook_300x300-178x178.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Butterfly-_Facebook_300x300-184x184.jpg 184w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tSalt is necessary to sustain life and is a symbol of wholeness. We use salt as a preservative to keep food wholesome. We also use it to enhance the flavor.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-23472\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/salt-51973__400x300-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"268\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/salt-51973__400x300-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/salt-51973__400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tWater has always been a symbol of cleansing and life-giving in the Church and is commonly associated with baptism. In Scripture, Jesus speaks of Himself as the \u201clife-giving water\u201d (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=john+4%3A1-14&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John\u00a04:14<\/a><\/span>), the One who quenches our spiritual thirst.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-4436\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/waves-circles-285359__180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"299\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/waves-circles-285359__180.jpg 270w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/waves-circles-285359__180-140x94.jpg 140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!-- .tabs-left -->\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Devotion&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As we pass through this season of Lent and Easter, remember the words of Paul (in his letter to the Philippians)&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable \u2014 if anything is excellent or praiseworthy \u2014 think about such things. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me \u2014 put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The devotional presented in this post shares how God has touched each of the writers in a special way. As we read through these articles, &#8220;think on these praiseworthy things&#8221; and allow God to draw you closer to Him during this special season.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-bio'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Are you in the habit of reading your Bible? Daily opening yourself up to God&#8217;s word could make this Lenten season a life changer. For info on our &#8220;Chapter-a-Day&#8221; Bible Reading Plans, click this button:<\/span><\/p>\n<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=17037' class='icon-button rss-icon' target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2020 Bible Reading Plans<\/span><span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Share Your Stories&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve found these devotionals to be useful, tweet the link or share this article with your Facebook Friends. Use the below buttons to share on any social media.<\/p>\n<p>As you read these devotionals, you are opening yourself up to hearing from the Holy Spirit. If something in an article hits you, please share it and let us know how God has spoken to you. Post a comment in the form at the end of this article (your email address won&#8217;t be published).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; color: #993366;\">+\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For other daily devotionals , visit our Devotionals Page: <br \/>\n<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=2573' class='big-button bigteal'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daily Devotionals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To see our schedule of events that will be held during this Lenten Season, click this button:<br \/>\n<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=23530' class='big-button bigpurple'>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Schedule\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several local churches have pooled together to create a booklet of daily devotions for the 2020 Lenten season.  All of the articles were written specifically for this booklet.  Open this post to view the articles and to take part in the day by day readings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14],"tags":[96,94],"class_list":["post-23270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-godprints","category-worship","tag-devotion","tag-easterweek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23270"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23671,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23270\/revisions\/23671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}