A Lenten Attitude

Volume 9 Issue 3

Greeting in His Name,

We are still in the season of lent. A time to release and let go; a time to embrace and reflect. At times though it can be hard to embrace and reflect when there is so much going on around us. That's why it's important to intentionally release and let go of some things that we know will effect our time of embracing and reflecting.

Today's blog is entitled A Lenten Attitude. Taken from a sermon I preached this month, after God spoke to my heart and made me aware of how easily we can toss aside what some call the means of grace or any act that will bring us into stronger fellowship with the Lord just because we don't want to sacrifice our time. Hope you find some inspiration, conviction, and queries.

shalom and love, heidi

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STOP (Acts 9:1 - 6)

... As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” During the season of lent we are challenged to forgo and give up some things; to completely and wholly STOP. As a matter of fact a person with a lenten attitude is ready to stop and understands the importance of completely turning ones attention to the master. Paul who was known as Saul during his time of persecuting those of The Way had what I call a lenten moment; a moment when he was stopped by none other than Jesus the Christ. This stop changed his life forever. And for some of us this period of stop will change our lives forever too. For some of us we will be told just as Paul what we must do. It's amazing when I first began to write this issue we were not in the throws of a virus but since we are a lot of us have been made to stop, settle down and quarantine. It is very sad to see people suffer and die but at the same time it has been rather refreshing for life to just slow down. Has God stopped us as he stopped Paul so that he can tell us what we must do? Have we been going about our merry way, doing our own thing and not paying much attention to what God desires? This is not the first time that God has used drastic measures to get mankind's attention. It's hard sometimes to wrap our minds around the wrath of God or the anger of God but these are attributes of our God when we don't walk in obedience. Ask any parent. So we can look at stop in two ways. Stop and smell the flowers; look and listen to whats going on around you and see what God is wanting to do in and through you. As well stop can mean turn from your sin and debauchery and let the light of God expose a new way to you.

SEEK (Acts 9:7 - 16)

Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying... the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Is anybody praying? A lenten attitude knows the importance of seeking God. And prayer is one of those means of seeking God. I've heard a many of people say, "if ever there was a time to pray the time is now." Yes, the time is upon us to labor in prayer. To turn over the plate and forgo some meals to seek God and his answers to our current woes. When our government throws out projected numbers of between 100,000 to 240,000 likely deaths in the US before this is over. With the release of inmates to slow the spread within jails. With schools shutdown and trying to finds ways to keep learning going. With nursing homes and the elderly being at greater risk of infection and death. With not enough ventilators, respirators and medical supplies. With limited day to day supplies. With foolish folk spitting and coughing on stuff as a gag. With businesses closing, job lost, furloughs, and some wondering where will my next pay check come from... we are in praying - seeking times. But even in the midst of all this trouble and suffering God will use some willing vessels to not only pray us through but to also be his hands, feet, face, and heart. There will be some Ananias' who will venture out to some Paul's to make the will of God clear. It takes a lenten attitude to seek Him in times like these.

SURRENDER (Acts 9:17 - 19)

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Fulton J. Sheen of the television show Life Is Worth Living said this. "Unless there is Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday." Paul couldn't see, probably blinded by the light and magnificence of Christ accepted the will of God which meant he died to himself that Christ may live in him. He had his Good Friday-Easter Sunday experience. It's amazing how his blindness led him to his baptism. It dawned on me that often times for us to see clearly the Lord will have to make us blind to the things of this world so that our spiritual vision can be made clear. Paul submitted himself to baptism and fully embraced The Way; this was his act of surrender. From this God was making his way clear. This surrender of which he knew from the onset would cause great suffering would also yield great reward. As we near Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday will you ponder surrendering more of yourself? Will you allow the Lord to renew your vision and blow a fresh wind of service over your life? If you will - that's surrender.

Closing: A Lenten Attitude

For the close of my sermon the Lord gave me this equation. He showed me that I can join my life to Jesus, which is a change in my belief system but if I don't minus out sin then there will be no change in my behavior. Same goes my life plus Jesus will bring revival, and that is good. But if I don't relinquish and remove sin from life then their will be no reformation [improvement] and certainly no repentance. A lenten attitude is one that has decided to follow Jesus and repent. To do as Paul, to turn in a new direction that he may accomplish the will of God and lead many to salvation.

LIFE QUOTE

"Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy [lack of energy and enthusiasm]."

- Pope Francis

Let Us Laugh!

The first Friday of Lent

John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.

Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John; he was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn't take it anymore.

They decided to try and convert John to be a Catholic. They went over and talked to him and were so happy that he decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic. They took him to church, and the priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, "You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic."

The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved.

The next year's Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and just at supper time, when the neighbors were sitting down to their tuna fish dinner, there came the wafting smell of steak cooking on a grill.

The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! What was going on? They called each other up and decided to meet over in John's yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent.

The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, "You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish."

(from https://www.al.com/living/2015/03/liven_up_the_last_days_of_lent.html )

Hope to see you Next Month!

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