Day 3 - What Will You Add?
James 4:7-10 (NIV)
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
John 14:26-27(NIV)
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Lent is known as a time to give up something. Often, we are quick to lament what we have to sacrifice!
But what if we changed our perspective?
What if we chose to see what we are gaining instead of focusing on what we are giving up?
Time with God is an incredible gift in our lives. Friendship, wisdom, silence, stillness and peace are just a few of the many benefits of knowing God! God promises to meet us when we draw near to Him. The Holy Spirit promises to comfort us, to be our advocate and our guide.
Life is better with more of God in it!
So the question really is, what are you going to add in during this Lent season?
Day 2 - A Time and a Place
Mark 1:35 (NIV)
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Acts 4:13 (NIV)
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
We all need to find a time and place to meet with God. Scripture tells us that Jesus regularly got up early to spend time with His Father. How much more do we need to do the same!
But make no mistake, we must prepare for this – go to bed earlier, be organised, and make time with Jesus a priority. It takes a sacrifice of our comforts, and it may even seem daunting to make these changes in our lives... But imagine how different they could look if we spent quality time with Jesus before our days began.
People who spend time with Jesus look different, act different, and sound different. They are stronger, more at peace, patient, and faith-filled.
Imagine if people spoke about us like they did the disciples in Acts 4:13, that they say about us confidently that “they have been with Jesus.” What a wonderful goal to go after.
Where and when are you going to meet with God? What do you need to do to make this happen?
Day 1 - An Introduction to Lent
Psalm 105:1 - 105:6 (NIV)
1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.5 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
Lent is the period of time leading up to Easter in the Christian calendar, where we make space to focus on who God is and what He has done for us. Life is often busy, and without being intentional to make this space, it rarely happens.
This Easter, let’s decide to create extra time for God. The significance of Easter is not something we want to rush past each year. It is a key part of our faith and worth the preparation of our hearts.
The gift we can bring to God is our time, heart and focus. What do you need to do to create space for God this Lent?
Should you also fast?
One of the core practices observed for Lent is fasting. There are many ways that fasting serves to strengthen our faith by removing distractions and creating space to focus on growing deeper to God.
Fasting has many expressions, like choosing to forego non-vital components of life, such as social media, TV, alcohol or sugar, or dietary fasting, such as a Daniel fast or choosing to give up a meal each day. No matter what you choose to fast, it should require a meaningful sacrifice to grow your Faith.
So, let's begin...
