Following Jesus to the Cross: 40 Days in the Footsteps of Jesus

Dixon General Baptist Church
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Journey through Lent with daily Scripture readings, reflections, and prayers from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Organized around weekly themes including surrender, prayer, love, and service, this devotional guides you step-by-step as you follow Jesus to the cross and empty tomb. Each entry features a Bible passage, meditation, and prayer designed to deepen your faith and prepare your heart for Easter. Perfect for morning or evening reflection. Grace for imperfect journeys welcomed.

  1. Apr 5

    Easter Sunday

    Matthew 28:1-10 (NLT) Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you." The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel's message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there."

    5 min

  2. Apr 4

    Holy Saturday: The Burial of Jesus

    John 19:38-42 (NLT) Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus' body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

    4 min

  3. Apr 3

    Good Friday Evening: It Is Finished

    Matthew 27:45-50 (NLT) At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' which means 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?' Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, 'Wait! Let's see whether Elijah comes to save him!' Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.

    3 min

  4. Apr 3

    Good Friday Morning: Peter's Denial

    Luke 22:54-62 (NLT) So they arrested him and led him to the high priest's home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, 'This man was one of Jesus' followers!' But Peter denied it. 'Woman,' he said, 'I don't even know him!' After a while someone else looked at him and said, 'You must be one of them!' 'No, man, I'm not!' Peter retorted. About an hour later someone else insisted, 'This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.' But Peter said, 'Man, I don't know what you are talking about.' And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord's words flashed through Peter's mind: 'Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.' And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

    4 min

  5. Apr 2

    Thursday: Washing the Disciple's Feet

    John 13:1-15 (NLT) Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him... After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, 'Do you understand what I was doing? You call me "Teacher" and "Lord," and you are right, because that's what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.'

    4 min

  6. Apr 1

    Wednesday: Judas's Betrayal

    Matthew 26:14-16 (NLT) Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, 'How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?' And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

    3 min

  7. Mar 31

    Tuesday: Costly Devotion

    Mark 14:3-9 (NLT) Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head. Some of those at the table were indignant. 'Why waste such expensive perfume?' they asked. 'It could have been sold for a year's wages and the money given to the poor!' So they scolded her harshly. But Jesus replied, 'Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be remembered and discussed.'

    4 min

  8. Mar 30

    Monday: Jesus Clears The Temple

    Mark 11:15-18 (NLT) When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, 'The Scriptures declare, "My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations," but you have turned it into a den of thieves.' When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.

    5 min
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Journey through Lent with daily Scripture readings, reflections, and prayers from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Organized around weekly themes including surrender, prayer, love, and service, this devotional guides you step-by-step as you follow Jesus to the cross and empty tomb. Each entry features a Bible passage, meditation, and prayer designed to deepen your faith and prepare your heart for Easter. Perfect for morning or evening reflection. Grace for imperfect journeys welcomed.

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