Good afternoon Church family
We are now officially in the season of Lent, a forty day period in the lead up to Easter. When I was training at Bible College, I was amazed to discover the rich traditions of the church that had been practiced for many centuries. Traditions that seemed no longer popular and yet were set up to guide disciples to be more intentional in their faith journeys. Lent is one such tradition. So with that in mind, in my daily devotions, I want to introduce you to richness of meaningful prayers, scriptures spoken and acts of sacrifice that make up the Lenten tradition.
One you might be familiar with is giving up something in your life for Lent. It could be something physical like chocolate or coffee, perhaps it’s the intent to fight against worry or not take offence, whatever it is, it must really challenge you. It is a spiritual practice in the sacrificial that makes the disciple conscious of the cost of faith. A cost Jesus gladly and willingly paid for us. It leads us to wrestle with the uncomfortable and understand a mere fraction of what Christ must have felt. It’s aim is to make us more sensitive to the work of God in our lives and more grateful for what He has done. So can I encourage you to think about one thing that you could lay down as an act of sacrifice in your love for Christ this Lenten season. Once you know what that is endeavour to do it everyday for the period of Lent, keeping in mind that it’s is helping you to understand what Christ has done on a much greater scale for you on the cross.
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25
Blessings
Laurie
Rimutaka Baptist Church 