Have you journeyed with Saint Paul through all the cities.... 12 Cities where St Paul spread the Kingdom of God.

In Season 8 of 2 Minutes with the Lord, we follow St. Paul across 12 cities — discovering the Gospel truths that still speak to us today.

• In Damascus, Paul was blinded to see.
• In Antioch, the Church was first called Christian.
• In Philippi, hymns at midnight broke chains.
• In Thessalonica, faith stood firm under fire.
• In Berea, believers hungered for the Word.
• In Athens, Paul proclaimed the Unknown God.
• In Corinth, grace shone in a messy church.
• In Ephesus, believers went all in for the Gospel.
• In Troas, the fallen were raised to life.
• In Caesarea, Paul was ready to suffer.
• In Malta, shipwreck turned into mission.
• And in Rome, Paul was chained — yet the Gospel was free.

Each city carries a lesson, each story a challenge, each stop a call to mission.

Join me for Season 8 – The Mission Series: Paul in 12 Cities.
Because the Gospel is unstoppable, and the mission continues.

DAY 40 — THE EMPTY TOMBSTONE

A sculptor was commissioned
to carve a tombstone for a wealthy man.

He worked for days on the stone—
but strangely,
he left the center completely empty.

When the client asked,
“Why is there no inscription?”
the sculptor replied,
“Because in God’s story,
no grave deserves the final word.
Your life is not defined by this stone—
it is defined by what comes after it.”

The wealthy man stood silent—
never thinking of death as a passage,
only as an end.

Lent ends at the doorway of Resurrection.
It reminds us that sin does not have the last word—
grace does.
That suffering does not have the last word—
healing does.
That death does not have the last word—
Christ does.

Your failures don’t finish you.
Your pain doesn’t name you.
Your grave moments don’t define you.

Lent prepares your heart
to walk out of tombs
you thought were permanent.

God leaves the stone blank
because He is still writing your story.
And resurrection is the final chapter.

DAY 39 — THE ROPE THAT BURNED

A mountain guide taught his students
how to descend using a controlled rope.

One student clung to the rope so tightly
that his hands began to burn.
He shouted,
“It hurts!”

The guide called back,
“It hurts because you’re gripping too hard!
Loosen your hold—
let the rope support you.”

Terrified, the student loosened his grip slightly—
and immediately felt his body supported
and his descent smooth,
safe,
and controlled.

His pain had come
not from the rope,
but from refusing to trust it.

We cling to many things that burn us:
control,
security,
ego,
anger,
relationships past their season,
fears we can’t release.

God does not tighten the rope—
we do.

Lent is God whispering:
“Loosen your grip.
Let Me support you.”

Letting go feels dangerous,
but holding too tightly
is what causes pain.

True freedom comes
not from gripping your life harder,
but trusting God enough
to release what exhausts you.