Lent

It is that time of year: lent. If you are like me, you have no idea what lent is, or it's significance. Maybe, you have never heard the four letter word before. Maybe, you have seen posts about it on facebook. Maybe, you have heard about it from elsewhere. I am here to basically share my own thoughts on the subject. I am not an expert on lent, but I definitely believe it can be a time of blessings where our relationship with the Lord can be strengthened if our heart and motives are in the right place.

Lent is viewed as a chance to give up certain luxuries and begin to practice some form of self-disciplined. It originally started as a very traditional and religious practice. It is practiced by a variety of Christians. It may mainly be practiced by Catholics. I personally am not a catholic, but I am thankful to be able to enjoy fasting alongside friends. For some, it may be a religious thing. For others like myself, it is the chance to give up something and get closer to the Lord.

There are things that distract each and every one of us, which make our lives a constant battle to maintain self-control in our lives. The practice of lent is a new chance for me to join others and grow in my walk with the Lord and be better disciplined in a particular habit. Like many others, there are numerous things that I could focus my attention on, but I am choosing to stick to one thing that I want to exercise discipline over.

I love what it stands for, as it is a discipline of fasting. It is choosing to give up something, for the One who gave up everything for us. God loves us so much that He sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. He became our Passover. He became our sin offering. He paid our debt for our sin, when we could not. We were once enemies of God, and have now been reconciled to God! We must accept His free gift of salvation. Not one of us is righteous or deserves to be in a right relationship with God, but we are--- We are in a right relationship, because of God's great love for us! Through Christ, we can come to know Him and have eternal life! Not only do we have eternal life, but we get the joy of living with God forever. We get to enjoy the promise that: God will never leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5) We will never be alone or left to our own invisibly! Jesus is our comforter, savior, friend, shepherd, messiah, and our everlasting hope that never leaves us despaired.

The Bible may not talk directly about lent, but it talks greatly about fasting greatly. It is not a religious regulation, but it should be something that gives us great joy as we grow more in our relationship with God during times of fasting and praying. Praying should always accompany fasting, if we want results... if we want this time to grow us and bear us fruit (John 15:16) in our walk with God.

Before we look at examples of what we could give up for lent, it is important to remember what the Bible has to say about fasting:

Mark 2:18-20- Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?” Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (NLT)

The disciples of Jesus had no reason to fast, for Jesus was still with them. As the Church, we are waiting for the second coming of Christ. While we wait, we should fast. Different denominations hold to different values on fasting, but according to Jesus--His disciples will fast. Whatever your views, fasting is about drawing closer to Him as we await His second coming. It is about choosing to draw nearer to Him during these times we find ourselves in.

Matthew 6:16-18- “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NLT)

Remember, it is all about the heart. It is not about others, people pleasing, or even the attention we may receive from others. It is about us and the Lord. We need to envision that it is just us and God, because God weighs the motives of our heart. It is should not be about anyone or anything. It should only be about us wanting to grow closer to the Lord. He will see our motivation and our resulting actions, and give us the reward we deserve.

Mark 9:28-29- And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could not we cast him out?" And He said unto them, "This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting." (NKJV 21st century)

For the disciples, they were questioning why they could not cast out a demon. The reason was for the lack of prayer and fasting. Fasting draws us closer to God. It gives us the opportunity to do things that we may not ordinarily have the ability to do. It gives us a much deeper connection with God.

Isaiah 58:3-8- They say, “We fast to show honor to you. Why don’t you see us? We starve our bodies to show honor to you. Why don’t you notice us?” But God says, “You do things to please yourselves on those special days of fasting. And you punish your servants, not your own bodies. You are hungry, but not for food. You are hungry for arguing and fighting, not for bread. You are hungry to hit people with your evil hands. This is not the way to fast if you want your prayers to be heard in heaven! Do you think I want to see people punish their bodies on those days of fasting? Do you think I want people to look sad and bow their heads like dead plants? Do you think I want people to wear mourning clothes and sit in ashes to show their sadness? That is what you do on your days of fasting. Do you think that is what the LORD wants?

This is the kind of fasting we do not want to do. It is dishonoring to our Lord where our actions do not match the place in our heart. Instead of observing lent because it may be expected or because others are doing it, we need to check our heart and see where our motives are. God is after our heart, not just our actions. If we fast, but our heart is not in it... what is the point?

Continuing on in verse 6-8.. “I will tell you the kind of day I want—a day to set people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off others. I want a day when you set troubled people free and you take the burdens from their shoulders. I want you to share your food with the hungry. I want you to find the poor who don’t have homes and bring them into your own homes. When you see people who have no clothes, give them your clothes! Don’t hide from your relatives when they need help.” If you do these things, your light will begin to shine like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your “Goodness” will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the LORD will come following behind you. (Isaiah 58~NIV)

What kind of actions can we do that honors both where our hearts are at, and honors God? What kind of practice can we choose to do for the next 40 days that honors God? Maybe, it is not giving something up.. Maybe, it means giving something. It can be choosing to pray for someone daily, choosing to call and check on a friend each day of the week, dedicating ourselves to reading God's Word and let Him transform our lives during this time.

There are many other examples, but here are just a few ways to let our lives be impacted as we expectantly prepare for the celebration of Easter.

Some things we can give up: 

A specific meal (time used to pray and read His Word)

Certain foods

Soda

Texting

Using cell phone for purposes that are not a necessity

Games

Television

Movies

Music

Secular reading

Some things we could add into our lives:

Devoted time to spend in His Word

Time of prayer and listening to His voice

Make it a practice to help others (Volunteer at a shelter or food bank)

Praying for others daily

Instead of indulging in some of our regular habits and behaviors, we can choose to make a deliberate effort to be in God's Word more. If we are seeking to rid ourselves of a bad habit or behavior, we need to replace the bad habit with good habits. We need our time in God's Word. It does not matter who you are or what time of year it is. We each need to be spending time in God's Word. None of us spend enough time in God's Word. It is through this time in His presence through praying, listening, and reading His Word that God can speak volumes into our lives. In addition to being in the Word, each of us as God's children need to learn to serve others. Jesus said that the greatest in the Kingdom is the one who is a servant. (Mark 9:35) We need to spur one another toward love and good works! (Hebrews 10:24) Who can we help? How can we become more others-centered (Philippians 2: 4) this season? 

Pray and see where the Lord leads you this season!