Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

This poem originally began on an Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent which often focuses on the penitential Psalm 51 and encourages us to look at ourselves honestly then confess what needs confessing, change what needs changing, accept what needs accepting, and receive the joy of God’s forgiving love. 

Begun in Ashes

Create in me a clean heart, O God
and renew a right spirit within
all who come to You
in sorrow for our sins.

Whenever we’re out of line
with Your love, Lord,
we thank You for revealing
the truth and not hiding
our errors behind ashes!

We praise You for making us
spotless
with pure forgiveness
we don’t even deserve,
yet bringing us back
into Your embrace,
so we can face You again
without shame.

No matter where we go
in this life or this Lent
help us to glow, Lord,
as we walk in the Light
of Your Name.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2021

 

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Giving up or adding up: Lent

My first acquaintance with Lent brought the idea of giving up something - usually a pleasure of some kind. My thought, then and now, is that giving up something harmful is a good idea year round, but giving up pleasure for piety’s sake might make us proud or, worse, unappreciative of the good gifts God lavishes upon us!

The whole idea seems somewhat irrelevant to me (maybe irreverent!), assuming I understand the true purpose behind Lent: to draw closer to God and prepare ourselves for the joyful celebration of Easter.

If that’s the case, the question is: Is there an obstacle such as overly busyness I can give up in order to spend more time with God? Or, would I get closer to the Lord by adding a daily devotional reading, a longer or more frequent prayer time, a service to others less fortunate, a regular attendance to worship, a stronger participation in church activities, or _________________ (fill in the blank with whatever God puts on your mind, heart, and spirit)?

Since I grew up being part of Sunday School classes and, later, Bible study groups in almost every church denomination, I’ve had the privilege of studying all sorts of Bible topics, verse, and books of the Bible. These opportunities to plunge deeply into God’s Word help us to broaden our understanding of scripture and the diverse interpretations Christians find.

Studying the Bible only in bits and pieces, however, can prevent us from seeing the enormous view God has of us, the world, and our relationship with the Lord, ourselves, and one another. Therefore, my Lent challenge became the goal of reading the whole Bible, cover to cover, during the 40 days before Easter.

To do this meant putting aside my study Bibles for Lent and finding a contemporary reader’s edition with no commentary or other additions that might (okay, inevitably will!) distract me from the biblical text.

Studying, discussing, and applying the Bible throughout the year is an ongoing blessing, but for Lent, I highly recommend reading the Bible straight through as you would with any beautiful, blessed book. The difference is, the Word of God gives you the Mind of Christ and the sweeping view of God’s compelling purpose and ongoing love.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017

P.S. This year I’ve chosen the CSB Giant Print Reference Bible from Holman to read for Lent. For other options, see my reviews of the many amazing translations available to us on the Bible Reviewer blog. May God bless and guide you in all you’re to do and be in Jesus’ Name.

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Writing devotionals

Devotional writing begins with devoting daily quiet times to praying, Bible reading, and meditating on what God says to us and wants us to say to others. This way of getting closer to God may receive more emphasis during Lent, but for devotional writers, these quiet times become a way of life especially appropriate in a Christian writer’s life.

Not every Christian poet, writer, or Bible lover will be drawn to devotional writing, but if you are, you probably like to read the Bible! You probably remember to pray, and you probably have insights that come to you as you spend time with God.

To get ready to write, keep a notebook handy for those inspired thoughts God puts on your mind. Better yet, get a wide-margin Bible in each of your favorite translations, so you can interact with Holy Scripture and respond by taking note.

In addition to shaping those fresh thoughts into devotionals, you might have poems or articles that, with a little tweaking or revising, would fit this pattern for short devotionals:

Title – For short devotionals that you plan to send to a magazine or other periodical, the title will usually be a short phrase or single key word. For a full-length, one-year devotional book, your title needs to reflect your 365-day theme and purpose such as Devoted to Marriage: Devoted to God. Each day’s devotional would then use the date as the title.

Bible verse – After the title comes a Bible verse from which the entire devotional flows. If you’re writing for Catholic readers, the New American Bible (NAB) makes your safest choice for quotes, but the Revised Standard Version (RSV), New Jerusalem Bible (NJB), and Good News or Today’s English Version (TEV) usually work too. For evangelical Christian readers, the main choices will be the New American Standard Bible (NASB), New International Version (NIV), English Standard Bible (ESB), or King James Version (KJV.) For interdenominational choices, consider the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), New Living Translation (NLT), or new Common English Bible.

If you’re writing a book of devotionals, be aware, too, that each translation comes with its own set of rules for permission. Most of the above translations allow you to use 250 verses without having to get permission from the publisher, but some let you go up to 500 verses or more. To find out, look in the front matter of the edition you choose.

Text – With your chosen Bible verse to guide you, the main body of your devotional might be a poetic flow of insight or a true-to-life episode to illustrate that particular verse. A “take-away” will then show your readers how to apply the verse in their lives, but most importantly: This will show, not tell them!

Prayer – In one or two sentences, a prayer ties together all of the above and helps readers to seek God’s guidance in that area. Also, a full-length book of devotionals needs to have a consistent format, and the closing prayer is no exception. So, decide at the start if you will use first person plural (we/ us/ our) or second person (you/ your.)

First personal singular (I/ my/ me/ mine/) can make a devotional seem all about me-me-me, while second person can sound, well, preachy! First person plural can help to unite you and your readers since we are all in this together. Before you decide on a perspective to use in your devotionals, try them out to see which seems most natural to you. If, however, you know which publisher you hope will accept your manuscript, follow their guidelines.

If you do not know who publishes what, you will find annually updated editorial contacts and guidelines for your devotional articles, books, poems, novels, children’s books, and more in The Christian Writer's Market Guide, a highly recommended book that lists traditional publishers who just might be highly open to your work:



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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. If this article helps you to encourage a Christian writer-friend or someone in your church to write devotionals, just acknowledge this source. For fresh views of Bible topics, see Blogs by Mary.

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Bible Verses and Hebrew Poetry

Christians often refer to portions of the Holy Scriptures as “Bible verses,” suggesting poetry. That’s exactly what you’ll find throughout the creative word of God, especially in the Psalms and poetic prophets such as Isaiah.

Unlike the overly saccharine, sing-song poems often written for Christian readers today, Bible poems are honest, metaphorical, and rhythmic, but not always upbeat.

In poetic books such as Job, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes, biblical poets wrote through their fears, doubts, worries, anger, envy, pride, and other powerful emotions. For example, Psalm 6:1 says:

O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger! Chasten me not in your wrath.

Sometime during Lent, most Christians feel the chill of Psalm 22 as the words are read from the prophetic poem Christ recited from the cross:

“My God! My God!
Why have you forsaken me?”

Keep reading, though, and you’ll see how that Psalm also provided a message of hope for those who heard those words during a terrible time.

Psalm 22 and other poems that “get real with God” provide credibility, too, as readers, then and now, discover and believe the upbeat reassurance of God’s ongoing love in the very next poem, the beloved 23rd Psalm.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler

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