Dear Northside
This week, LENT started. We are not an orthodox church that follows the church calendar strictly, but we do from time to time when we feel it helps us be the church God wants us to be. We do this when we celebrate Advent – preparing our hearts for the Coming of Jesus, both His first Coming and His second Coming! He came once, just as He promised. He is coming back again! Are you ready?
We now have an opportunity to do the same for Easter. Lent is 40 days of preparation for Easter. As believers, Easter should be an even bigger remembrance and celebration than Christmas. It is because of the death of Jesus that our sins are forgiven, we can exchange our sinfulness for Christ’s righteousness, we can have a relationship with God and look forward with expectancy and hope for eternal life. And because of the resurrection of Jesus, we know that all this is true! So, how can I spend the next 40 days preparing to remember and celebrate all that God has done for me through His Son, Jesus?
Here are 5 Reasons to Give up Something for Lent:
- Discipleship
At its core, discipleship means following and becoming more like Jesus. Early in His ministry, Jesus fasted for 40 days. He also assumed that his followers would fast. Lent is a great opportunity to follow his example of fasting.
- Unity
It’s easy to forget that we’re part of a movement stretching back two millennia, and spanning the far corners of the globe. Observing Lent is a way to broaden our vision and symbolically join hands with the larger Christian family.
- Empathy
It’s also easy for us to forget that, in many parts of the world, following Jesus is a costly decision. Depriving ourselves during Lent helps us to share, in some small way, the sacrifice of being a believer.
- Self-Control
“Everything is permissible for me,” wrote Paul, “but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Lenten fasting is a way of ensuring that we are not mastered by caffeine…or Facebook…or alcohol…or clothes shopping…or _____________.
- Joy
To me, this is the best one. Consider two things Jesus said while fasting: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). And “I have food to eat that you know nothing about. My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work” (John 4:32, 34). In other words, when we choose not to fill ourselves with food, we open ourselves up to the richness of being filled by God. That might sound overly mystical, but fasting gives us a small taste of that joy. And speaking of joy, picture yourself on Easter Sunday: the feast will be all the sweeter when it’s preceded by a fast!
Often our world looks like it did Easter Friday – dark, unjust, evil is winning, crooked, twisted, warped. But always remember – Sunday is coming!
God bless, Pastor Gary