Lent: what's the big deal?

The big deal is preparation. Followers of the Lord Jesus Christ prepare their souls, through prayer, repentance, works indicating repentance, giving and self-denial for the celebration of Holy Week, the week marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ God's Son.

Lent is about moving from death to life. Ash Wednesday reminds us the Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. But man rebells against God. Responding to mans defiance the Lord states, "By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Left in this state man is without hope. But the Lord God plants a seed of salvation. A way of deliverance from death. That deliverance is through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him.

Holy week recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During Lent, many commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence. But is this really fasting or repentance? Maybe, but I hope to move beyond the superficial towards the transcendent.

The challenge of Lent is to seek, ask and knock. The challenge is to pray, repent and give.

I challenge you to participate in something different this year. Prepare your soul to celebrate Jesus Christ.

My sister is a Benedictine Nun so I have chosen to spend time in a book called "Pilgrim Road: A Benedictine Journey through Lent".

If you want something simple visit www.youversion.com and explore their reading plans at www.youversion.com/reading-plans/category/topical/lent_and_easter

What ever plans you have or are to make spend your time wisely. Jesus tells you to, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Enjoy the journey.

Sin Tachometer

A friend of my recently discovered a false belief (almost subliminal) that there's an internal "sin tachometer" in each of us and as long as we keep it below the red line, we are basically OK with God and others. He's not sure where he got this idea, but he says IT'S TOTALLY BOGUS! He's learning that God is far less concerned with the RPMs on our "sin tachometer" and way more focused on bringing 100% of what ever sin we have into the light in order that He might deal with it and become more intimate with us.

This got me thinking. What happens when we step into the light?

A guy named John once said, "if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

What amazes me is how walking in the light effects our relationships. Walking in the light brings us closer to one-another. Our longing for deeper relationships will be fulfilled not when we have behave correctly but when we allow the radiance of the light to shine in our lives.

When we step into the light we find God waiting with His arms open wide to embrace our fractured souls. The sin barrier keeping us from Him being dismantled by the blood of His son Jesus.

Transitioning from sin management to openly walking in the light is difficult. The difficulty is believing we will find forgiveness, mercy and grace in the light. We believe we will find judgement, condemnation and shame. We believe this because our focus is on ourselves and not His Son. It's the lie that keeps us from the one who deeply loves us.

If I only clean up my act I will have a better chance with God. When I finally get past that issue that keeps tripping me up then God will accept me. When my baggage from my past no longer haunts me then I can really have good relationships. Oh how these lies have weighed down so many of us.

May we cast off the weighted chain of darkness and allow His light to shine into the deepest corners of our broken souls. The lure of the darkness seems to be safe. A guy named Adam said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

In my sin I get scared so I hide myself believing the darkness will hide me. I try to sow things back together as best I can. But fear is always moving me deeper into the darkness.

There was this guy named David who said, "Even the darkness is not dark to You God, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You." So he, "acknowledged his sin to God, And his iniquity he did not hide; he confessed his transgressions to the LORD”; And God forgave the guilt of his sin."

May we come to our senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will and step into the light by grace through faith and agree with God's assessment of us. A fractured and broken person who needs the cleansing and forgiveness found only in the light.