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Young Disciples Commemorate Lent 2021; Top Bible Verses for Reflection

Young Disciples International urges members and believers to observe the period of Lent together with all the believers around the world for a season of reflection and preparation before the celebration of Easter.

Lent began this year on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021, and will end on Holy Thursday, April 1, 2021. It commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, during which he endured the temptations by Satan.

Some may wonder about the significance of the number 40. It is the number. In the Old Testament, Noah and the passengers in the Ark watched rain fall for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the 10 commandments for 40 days. The Israelites wandered around the desert for 40 years.

These forties were each prelude to the birth for something new. For Noah, it’s the rebirth of a sinful world. For Moses, it was the birth of the people of the covenant. In the case of the wandering Israelites, it was the start of a new, settled existence in the Promised land.

And for Jesus Christ, his forty days in the wilderness signify the imminent birth of new Israel liberated from sin, reconciled to God, and governed by the law of the Spirit rather than the law chiseled in the stone.

During the 40 days of fasting, Jesus, who was fully human and fully God, was triumphant in overcoming the temptations of the devil through prayer, fasting, humble service, and the Word of God. He showed us how to not get pinned by the tactics and tricks of the devil.

Thus, for our 40 days, it is a period that we reflect on the meaning of the Lord’s life on earth and the messages that he taught, a period of self-reflection and self-examination on how our lives are aligned or misaligned to the intent of the law and the self-sacrificing Gospel and make changes to realign our lives according to the truth. 

As human, we have all done things that are wrong, and we have failed to obey God’s laws. Because of this, we have been separated from God our Creator. Separation from God is death; but, by ourselves, we can do nothing to become united with God.

Jesus was not only a man; he was God’s unique Son. Because Jesus never disobeyed God and never sinned, only he can bridge the gap between the sinless God and sinful people.

While Lent should be marked by solemn reflections of oneself that lead to repentance and gratitude, there is the hope of salvation for all who place their faith in Jesus Christ, for he paid the penalties for our sins, reconciling us to God and giving us eternal life in heaven. The path of the cross is the symbol of God’s love to mankind.

This year’s Easter Sunday falls on April 3rd, which is preluded by Palm Sunday and Good Friday. Until then, we encourage all believers to practice prayer, fasting, humble service, and to study the Bread of Life that is found in the Bible. 

As a campus fellowship, Young Disciples International’s mission is to evangelize and disciple undergraduate and graduate-level students at universities around the world. YD’s hope is to see the truth of God’s word proclaimed and taught around the world, and that many would accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and follow in his footsteps to restore God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Here are seven Bible verses about Lent for your reference:

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Joel 2: 12-14 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.”

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!



Psalm 61:2 When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Matthew 6:16-18 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Psalm 33:20-22 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 130:5-6 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear me.

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Hosea 12:6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Galatians 5:5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.

Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Psalm 33:20-22 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 62:5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Psalm 25:4-5 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.

All of these Lent Bible verses are taken from the NIV version of the Bible

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