What is Lent Anyway?
This week marks the beginning of a major religious celebration around the world called Lent. In our area it means FRIDAY’S ARE FOR SEAFOOD! What is Lent exactly? In Brief:
For Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and other liturgical protestant denominations (those with a continuous history before AD 1500) Lent is the forty day period from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. It is to be a season of soul-searching and repentance. It can be loosely traced to the early days of the church, but was certainly less formal (most scholars believe the time of fasting was two to three days and not forty) and of course much more spiritual. Lent, as we know it today, originated in the fourth century and has changed in practice throughout the years. In AD 325, the Council of Nicea discussed a forty day season of fasting and preparation for new converts to be baptized. In the seventh century, Gregory the Great moved the beginning of Lent from Sunday to Wednesday, now called Ash Wednesday. He is also credited with beginning the ceremony of marking foreheads with ashes, as a symbol of repentance taken from the Old Testament. The practice of fasting during Lent has become more relaxed over the centuries and in 1966, the Roman Catholic Church restricted fast days to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Having moved to South Louisiana just five years ago, I have observed that Lent is practiced but not understood by many. Even many irreligious people will give up something of value (if you count chocolate, certain adult drinks, coffee, or some other modern convenience that doesn’t really affect a person’s way of life as valuable) and will abstain from meat on Friday. When asked the purpose behind this, the person will say, “I’m not sure,” or take a great guess that would fool everyone if they were playing the board game Balderdash. Herein lies the problem with modern spirituality – it’s long on activity and short on meaning and understanding.
Unmoved: The Life of Joseph (Thru the Bible, part 6)
The deceptive hearts of Jacob’s sons eventually bit their own when in a group-fit of hatred and jealousy, they sold their little brother Joseph to some traveling slave traders. But God brought Joseph through family violence, slavery, false accusation, imprisonment, and possible bitterness of heart and vengeful thinking toward all those he could have easily blamed for his misfortune. He completes his life as one of the most influential leaders in the world at the time, saving many Egyptians and other nations from death by famine and drought.
Lesson: God can bring good out of the dry, painful, unjust episodes of our lives.
I like what Jacob said about his son Joseph before he died, “The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harrassed him severely, yet his bow remained UNMOVED; his arms were MADE AGILE by the hands of the Might One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:23-24). God kept Joseph from falling by the arrows of discouragement, despair, bitterness, dissappointment, etc. And God used him and grew him and blessed him in His time.
Like Father, like sons (Thru the Bible, part 5)
Like Abraham, Isaac had a heart to respond to Yahweh. He obeyed by moving when God said go, worshiped by building altars everywhere he went, believed God’s promise/blessing just like his Father had. Abraham’s obedience impacted his next generation. Abraham’s deceit also was passed along. Just like his Father, Isaac lied about his marital status (Genesis 26:6-11). From this point forward deceit is a common denominator among the sons of Abraham and Isaac. The sons were blessed by God, they worshipped and called on God, AND they continued to live lives of deceit. Isaac’s son Jacob would deceive him by stealing his blessing from the elder son Esau. Jacob would be caught in a web of deceit himself from cousin and Father-in-law Laban (Genesis 28-31) and expect deceit from his brother upon reuniting with him (when you have in your heart ill-will toward others, it may be hard to imagine them not having it toward you). Jacob’s sons deceit culminated in hatred and jealousy toward their own brother, which led them to sell him into slavery and then lie about what happened (Genesis 37).
A couple of lessons: 1) God’s grace can overcome human sinfulness. God remained faithful to Abraham’s boys and blessed them and used them to build a nation.
2) As Father’s, we are laying the moral and spiritual foundation for future generations.
Lord, help me to pass on obedience, a heart of worship, and belief in your promises to my boys.
the Lord Said to Abram, ‘Go…’ So Abram went…” (Thru the Bible, part 4)
The next man with a heart to obey was Abram in Genesis 12. God said GO, so he went. Even when he wasn’t sure where he was going. God said I will bless you, so he believed (Genesis 15:6). God spoke, he worshipped by building an altar (Genesis 12:7; 13:4,18; 22:9). He was a friend of God (James 2:23), walking with God to complete His purposes. God fulfilled His promise to and through Abram (later Abraham) and we are reaping the fruits of that promise (Genesis 12:3 – in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed)
Contrast Abram with the people in Genesis 11. God’s desire for them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). They disregarded God’s desire in order to seek greatness, fame, and meaning on their own. “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower…and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4). God’s desire, “fill the earth.” Their desire, “lest we”…fill the earth. God accomplished his will by other means as He confused their languages (Genesis 11:7-8).
“he did all that God commanded” (Thru the Bible, part 3)
Genesis 6 and 7 tells the story of Noah and the Ark. God “saw that the wickedness of man was great and that every intention of the thought of his heart was only evil continually” (verse 5). So, He decided that it was time to hit restart. The earth would be devastated by a flood, killing every living thing, but humanity would be spared through one man (this sounds like a familiar New Testament story) and his name was Noah.
Noah “found favor” with God, was “righteous,” “blameless,” and “walked with God.” Here’s my question: what separated Noah from the rest of the men on the earth? From Heaven’s perspective, God’s grace had intervened in his life. From earth’s perspective, “he did all that God commanded him.” Could it be that Noah was the last man on earth with a heart to DO what God said?
2 Chronicles 16:9 comes to my mind: “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.”
God’s grace and favor had produced in Noah a desire to obey. When God spoke, he didn’t doubt, question, argue, excuse, ignore, or go somewhere to hide. Noah did God’s will.
Father, give me grace that I may walk with You and do what You command.
A Passion for Holiness
“Resolved, Whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavour to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.” (Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, #24, read them all here)
“Did God really say…?” (Thru the Bible, part 2)
Genesis 3:1 and 3:4 records the Grandfather of all lies. “Did God really say…?” and “You will not surely die…” It was the serpents successful attempt to persuade Adam (see 3:6 to view Adam, like most men today, standing “with her” saying nothing) and Eve to doubt God’s Word and then disobey God’s Word. These same words and attitudes flourish today in different flavors and forms. Most common form heard and used by me – “I know God said, BUT…my situation is different…that was years ago…that’s your interpretation…etc., etc.” We are so quick to take the serpents bait in order to feed our own desire. That was the real temptation. Eve doubted God’s word, which led to corrupted desire. “So when the woman saw that the tree was GOOD for food, and that it was A DELIGHT to the eyes, and that the tree was TO BE DESIRED to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…” (Genesis 3:6).
We defeat temptation by believing God’s Word is ALWAYS best and good, no BUTS or doubts about it. We defeat temptation by seeing God as our GOOD and our DELIGHT and TO BE DESIRED above any fruit, or feeling, or purchase, or person, or anything else.
I like Psalm 34:8 – “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Father, open our hearts to see how good you are, to delight in you, and to desire you above all.
Creation Quote
“That God created us from dust is no reason to treat another person like dirt” – Source Unknown
Taken from a devotional I’m using called Daily Walk from Walk Thru the Bible.
And God Said (Thru the Bible, pt. 1)
Once again, started in Genesis 1 Today. Goal – Through the Bible in a year. Hopefully it’s yours too. Here’s a few thoughts from this morning.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was WITHOUT FORM AND VOID AND DARKNESS WAS OVER the face of the deep. And THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING OVER the face of the waters” Genesis 1:1-2.
While describing God initiating the creation of the universe, the writer describes me and countless others before God initiated His work in us through Christ. I was without form and void, I was immersed in darkness, I was without the Spirit of God within. What happened to me was the same thing that happened to the heavens and the earth – “AND GOD SAID…” God spoke the world into existence, completing His work by breathing the breath of life into man. God initiated a creation in me through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s Word awakened my heart and created something good out of what was “without form and void.” 1 Peter 1:23 says that we are “born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” Thank God for His Word!
God is still creating. When we respond to His word we live Genesis 1. Have you had your “beginning with God”?
Father, open our ears to your voice creating Your good in the hearts of men and women.
Resources for Resolution
Here’s a few good resources/ideas for you who are gearing up for New Year’s resolutions or are just hoping to make 2008 a more productive and fruitful year.
1. Each year around this time, I pull out my copy of Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions. Edwards was a pastor and theologian in the 1700’s, but his writings and legacy continue to inspire a lot of people today. The resolutions of Edwards challenge me to think deeper and aim higher. Find them here.
2. A great commitment to make if you’re desiring to grow spiritually or to make a conscientous search for truth is reading through the Bible. The new year is a great time to start and there are a myriad of Bible Reading plans to choose from. Find them online, have them emailed to you daily, there may even be one in the back of your Bible. You can download the one I have used for some time here – NavPress Bible Reading Plans.
3. One thing that we desperately need is deep thinking about where we are, where we’ve come from, and where we are going. It’s easy to get dumbed down by entertainment and materialism. Deep thinking is tiring and risky for the media saturated, depraved mind. A tool to get you started is 10 Questions for the New Year by Donald Whitney. Our church publishes this each year and I have benefited from working through the questions. Find the 10 Questions and other helpful resources here.
4. One of the greatest gifts God has given you is the ability to read. Fast or slow, you can learn from the reading of books. Make a plan to read a few books to help you grow this year. If you pay taxes, you own a vast library which professionals keep updated with the world’s best reading materials (i.e. your public library). Choose some areas that you’d like to grow in and search for books, or ask someone who you admire what books have most inspired them. Harry Truman said, “every leader is a reader.” Make a commitment to read six or twelve or twenty-four books this year. Here is a great article on reading that inspired me.
Happy New Year!
