ListenDaily - 26 February 2009; Pausing to reflect...
May we take a one day pause from our discussion on tongues?
I am ever mindful (and if I forget, I am ever reminded!) that there is a wide variety of folks that read this, from many denominational, non-denominational, and never-denominational backgrounds. And so, when talking about traditions, it is a guarantee that my experiences will be quite different than many or most of you. That being said, yesterday was Ash Wednesday and ushered in the season of Lent. For many people, this is a regular part of their lives, for others, not a part at all.
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Revelation 21:1-5 (find these or any other passages at www.Biblegateway.org)
I praise God and await that day! Lent has been, traditionally, a time of reflection, and I think that is good. It is good to, on occasion, remember what part we have played in putting Jesus on the cross. And it is good to remember that we know about the cross, but we also know about the empty tomb! Christ died because of my sin, and I should remember that, but I do not have to dwell in the guilt because He arose, victorious over death!
Ash Wednesday: I went home last night, and did what I had earlier asked the congregation to do. I went to the sink to wash my face, I looked in the mirror at the ashes, shaped into a cross on my forehead...I looked up at the cross...then I washed it off. The stain of the ash cross was gone, as the stain of sin on my life is gone because of the cross.
Lent: Consider giving something up for Lent, but replace it with Jesus. Give up a favorite food, and when your stomach growls for it, thank God for all you really do have. Give up lunch, spend lunchtime in prayer. Give up buying lunch, give the money to feed someone. Give up one TV show and read the Bible. Or do something else. I think you will find that in 'giving up', you will receive so much!
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Questions:
1. What is your tradition concerning Ash Wednesday/Lent?
2. Will you consider giving something up and getting more Jesus?
3. If so, what will you do, and may I share it?
AN INVITATION!
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INTERESTING THOUGHT:
"Prayer is reaching out after the unseen;
fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal.
Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution
that we are ready to sacrifice anything,
even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God."
Andrew Murray
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