This is Holy Week, a week in which followers of Jesus have reflected prayerfully on the fact that Jesus entered Jerusalem in ways fully consistent with the person he is, i.e., that he was and is the Messiah and the Son of God. (See Mark 1:1.) We have been going through the Gospel of Mark for many months here at LAC. This week, I encourage you to read Mark 11:1–15:47 and daily consider what Jesus did as he kept his promise to die as a ransom for us (10:45). Here is a reading guide to help you:

We will be fixing our eyes on the one who is high and holy as well as meek and lowly. As we do, remember the anonymous poem prayed by a brother in Christ many years ago:

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the Valley of Vision
Where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
Hemmed in by mountains of sin, I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox...
That the way down is the way up,
That to be low is to be high,
That the broken heart is the healed heart,
That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
That the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
That to have nothing is to possess all,
That to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
That to give is to receive,
That the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime, stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
And the deeper the wells, the brighter thy stars shine.

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.

Taken from the book The Valley of Vision (A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions) edited by Arthur Bennett

To His Glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor