It’s On My Heart...March 2009

The Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent has been a Catholic tradition which many Protestants have begun to observe. Lent is considered to be the 40 days prior to Easter. If you look at a calendar, you’ll notice more than 40 days. There are 6 Sundays which are not counted because Sunday is a weekly celebration of the first Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead.

During Lent, believers will often fast and pray. Fasting originally meant going without food for a set time, in order to focus more on the Lord. People today will "fast" from their ipods, TV’s, sporting events, movies, alcohol and more. The idea is going without. It means subtracting something from your life, not for the sake of subtracting it, but in order to replace it with something better. Some habits are formed over years and we do not even realize that we do them. The way that we eat or drink. Prayer before a meal. The way that we respond to criticism. The way that we respond to our alarm clock each morning. Attending church every Sunday is a habit, and is a habit encouraged in the Bible because it is a good habit to have.

Imagine the spiritual growth potential in our lives if we were to go without the things that distract us from God and focus on things that draw us closer to Him. Lent helps us to let go of some habits (whether good or not) and helps us replace them with something else. For instance, if our habit is to watch TV each night, perhaps during Lent, we could read a devotional book one hour each night instead of watching TV. Or, if you fast from eating out at restaurants, perhaps you could spend that time in prayer and use the money you save for something that would glorify God. The more we let go of this world and embrace our Lord, the more vibrant our faith will be. The more our hearts belong to God, the more God will choose to work through us.

So, let’s do the math. Although Lent is perceived as a time of fasting (subtraction), it can be a time of adding a new dynamic to our walk with God (addition), and when we walk closer to God, God has a way of using us more for His kingdom (multiplication). Whether you like solving math problems or enjoy the TV show "Numbers" where math geniuses help the FBI solve their cases, this is one math equation that we need in our lives. Subtraction plus addition equals multiplication. Let’s not just imagine this potential, let’s get rid of some things in order to add better things so that God may be glorified in our lives and further His kingdom.

Blessings,

Pastor Pete