Journey to the Cross: Devotions for Lent

by Will Walker, Kendal Haug

As Christians, we know that Easter is perhaps the most important day of the year. But when we wake up on Easter Sunday, we often struggle to grasp the significance of the day and find ourselves on the outside of the celebration looking in. Journey to the Cross moves us closer to the heart of Easter through forty days of Bible readings, prayers of confession and thanksgiving, and daily devotional readings. This forty-day devotional takes a deeper look into six central themes of the Christian repentance, humility, suffering, lament, sacrifice, and death. Journey to the Cross moves beyond “doing penance” and helps Christians focus on Christ’s sacrifice for us—the real meaning of Easter and the reason we celebrate. Journey to the Cross serves as a combined liturgical guide and devotional—presenting a call to worship, confessional, gospel reading, and daily devotional with application. This compact devotional guide meets the needs of Christians who want to prepare their hearts for Easter but don’t know how, and it answers the growing desire of many to be connected to the broader history of the church. At its heart, Lent is all about Jesus—his suffering and sacrifice, all powered by his love for his people. Taking the time to meditate on the cross will give readers the opportunity to re-center their hearts, reframe their lives, and rekindle their love for Christ this Easter.

Genres: Devotional, Christian, Theology, Christian Living

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Emily Herron]

I could not recommend a Lent devotional more. Piercingly convicting and soaked in scripture. Loved it. Will be going through every lent.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2015 Review
This is really an amazing Lenten devotional that I will be using again and again for years to come. Challenging, convicting and thought-provoking, this takes you along the Lenten road and helps you focus on the real reason Christians celebrate Easter. I loved every challenging step of this devotional.

[I do not have the Kindle version of this; I have the paperback version [which has 176 pages]. Which Goodreads for some obscene reason will not let me load into their database. So even though I am using the Kindle version to keep track it is not that I am actually using to do this devotional].

[Daniel Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve gone through this Lenten devotion every year for the last 5 years, and it’s always been a life-giving exercise. To be sure, sometimes things begin to feel repetitive but there’s also always something new that I can learn and focus on.

I love this devotional because it cuts through much of the rituals and traditions of Lent while retaining its best devotional practices. Each week focuses on a different theme: repentance, humility, suffering, lament, sacrifice, and death. Not easy topics, but important ones to think about (and even more so during these weird and challenging times).

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good devotional

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this devotional. It was very insightful and dug deep into issues related to Lent. I had hoped to used it as a family devotional for the weeks leading up to Easter but it was definitely designed for personal reflection. Be sure to have a notebook handy to answer the questions and then reflect and determine how to change for the better.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to every church family by the elders for study during Lent. I learned so much more about Lent and why and how we can we observe it. I absolutely loved the daily reading format mimicking a traditional worship service (call to worship, confession, gospel of Mark reading, prayer of Thanksgiving, daily devotion, reflection questions and closing prayer). Each week studied the Lenten themes of repentance, humility, suffering, lament, sacrifice and death and included many passages from The Worship Sourcebook, The Book or Common Prayer, and The Valley of Vision. Definitely want to use this again next year!

[Wes F · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well done Lenten Season devotional book; really was challenged, encouraged, and brought into meaningful reflection on the meaning of the cross & Jesus' sacrifice. I enjoyed the prayers of confession, as well as the scripture selections from the Psalms and the Gospel of Mark. There was a good bit to read each day--but it was usually quite meaty and worth it.

[TWAndini__ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a good guide for the season of Lent. One of the reflection that I read for the day 9th. Sometimes we try to justify our sins while we are aware of it. We pretend things are better than they really are, cleaning the outside of the cup while filthy on the inside.

One of the contemplation "With man it is impossible but not with God" hits me.

[Deanna Montee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus

Very inspiring story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. I absolutely loved this book. Had a great daily story and Scripture, along with prayers. Wonderfully put together. Thank you for this. I enjoyed every minute of it. This is my first year of celebrating Lent. I will be doing this every year from now on.

[Lynne Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many Lenten devotionals on the market. This one had an excellent balance of scripture, prayer and teaching. I felt it was just the right amount for each day. It is rich and Bible based.

[Fran Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly appreciated this Lenten devotion! Will definitely be reading through it again next year!

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good devotional with some great thoughts for Lent and reorienting your mind and soul around the sacrifice that Christ made for us. Will definitely use this again next year.

[De'Ette Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lent devotional was just outstanding. I'm so glad my daughter got it for us this year. We wil definitely use it year after year! A new tradition has been born in our home.

[Bradley Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Use this guide again this year for Lenten season. It has always proved helpful, reflective and a good corrective for guiding my heart and thoughts during this time of fasting.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good devotional for lent time.

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful guide to observing Lent.

[Laurie Hetherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent devotion for Lent. If you want to learn/remember why Easter is the crux of our Christian walk, this book will help you.

[Sunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is AMAZING!!! I went ahead and finished it today, but am going back to re-read on Good Friday through Easter Sunday.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful journey through Lent and to the cross.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good devotional for the season of Lent. This small book desires us to use Lent as an intentional opportunity to prepare for Easter.

[Alicia Egger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely devotional that walks one through the 40 days of lent prior to Easter. Many eye-opening entries and exceptional wisdom. Adding it to my reread pile!

[Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reformed, with a very strong emphasis on Lent, while making clear that God's faithfulness, not ours, is the focus.

[Lacie Ernst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Local Church Lent Devotional 2025
Will be using for years to come.

[Marie Celano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journeys to the Cross

This is my fourth year reading through this devotional during lent. Each year God speaks to my heart through it in different ways. It causes me to pause and reflect on who he is and what he is done. It reminds me that he is with me, he understands my struggles and that ultimately there is hope beyond my circumstances.

[Stephen Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally found a Lent devotional that I will look forward to using every year. This book is rich with theological depth, saturated in scripture, yet easy to follow and engage with. Each day is short enough that it doesn’t feel overwhelming but long enough to stir significant spiritual engagement. The reflection questions were often very deep and could take some time to process through well. Most importantly, it is truly Gospel-centered and never feels legalistic which is so easy to fall into with something like lent. I highly recommend!

[Kristin Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving this Lent devotional that our church suggested this year!

I downloaded it for free here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/t...

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first time I have read a devotional for Lent. It was amazing. The Scripture, prayers, selected readings and the devotions were just what I needed to prepare me for Easter.

[Marie Celano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I plan to read it again ... reading it again this year for the third time!

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, Reformed devotional for Lent.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Lent devotional.