Lent 2012

This year over lent I'm following the BRF devotional lent book once more and this year it has been written by Andrew Watson and follows the Israelites journey through the wilderness.  There are many wonderful insights in it and I would like to share one from todays reading which has been thinking about the name of God...I AM WHO I AM...something which I find particularly powerful.

That story of Yahweh's faithfulness and Israel's failings is our story, too, as we humbly take our place in God's great history of salvation.  Many further chapters of that history have been lived and published:  the stories of Joshua and Samuel, of David and the Prophets, of Jesus' incarnation, life, death and resurrection, of the Spirit who prompts us to cry out 'Abba, Father', and of the Church that bears his name, each chapter better fleshing out the person of the great I AM in the face of human courage or human fallibility.  Yet there is always more to come...
(pg69, Andrew Watson)

What is there still to come in each of our stories...that's the exciting bit, we don't know, but we can be sure that God does and will always remain faithful, guiding us, leading us along our journey.  No doubt there will be surprises along the way andthe destination may not be what we expected but it'll be a fun, interesting and exciting journey none the less.

How's your heart doing today?

The Prodigal Son is one of those well known parables that it can be very easy to read without looking for anything new in it as you think you know the story and its interpretations so well.  But today i've been given a little bit more of an insight into the older brother...the one who was left behind and feels so left out.

The character of the older brother seems to be a direct reply to the Pharisees and scribes, in response to whose criticism Jesus told the three lost-and-found stories.  The older brother is the upstanding but critical Pharisee who not only knew the religious rules but actually kept them all.  in our context, the older brother is the upright, devoutly religious person, the respected yet resentful churchgoer.  He is the ultimate insider someone who controls the committee meetings, holds the keys, keeps the books, reads the lesson, leads the intercessions.  But in the story it turns out that he is not inside at all, but outside, because even though we may live on the property, a cold heart removes us from God's presence into a darkness of our own making.  No matter how perfectly we keep our religion, it's our heart that places us inside or outside God's presence.

Maggi Dawn


This certainly made me think  -  How's your heart doing today??

Physical or Spiritual?

Today is my first full day fast this Lent.  I decided to fast a full day once a week and it's been going ok...so far!  But todays devotional reading was particulary appropriate!


...life is about more than physical appetites and desires...

...One of the purposes of the Lenten fast is to remind us daily that we are physical creatures and live a physical existence.  In a society that is both over indulgent and excessively body conscious, perhaps one of the challenges of Lent is to befriend our own bodies and find a good balance between taking care of ourselves and simply living comfortably in our own skins.  At the same time, Lent reminds us that we are more than mere animals: we have spiritual and moral capabilities.  We are governed not only by our appetites and needs but also by our will and our imagination.

Maggi Dawn

I'm not so sure about that last line about our will and imagination - are we governed by them in a spiritual sense just as our bodies can be governed by physical desires, and is one or the other easier to contain or control...now that's certainly something to think on!

But what do I need to do?

I'm trying to follow a devotional book throughout Lent to Easter Sunday, so any points that I find particularly thought provoking will most likely end up on here and will hopefully get you thinking too.....


Fasting in the Christian tradition is essentially about recognising that there's nothing we can do to improve ourselves...

In the end, Lent is about denying ourselves some of the essentials of everyday life in order to focus on the reality that we depend upon God for life itself...

If our Lenten fast is understood well, it will relieve us of the need to try harder, achieve more, feel more worthy.  It will ground us in the firm and unshakeable knowledge that we are human - we are but dust, and to dust we shall return - but that to be human is enough, under the loving gaze of God...

Maggi Dawn

Lent 2011

My prayer for this Lent...

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits thou hast won for me,
For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me,
O most merciful, redeemer, Friend, and Brother,
May I know thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
And follow thee more nearly,
Day by day.

St Richard of Chichester



Lent begins with a challenge to clear out the mental and spiritual clutter and so discover how to live life to the full...

Maggi Dawn

Further Lenten thoughts...

So I am continuing my thoughts on lent with a little help from a few helpful thoughts and comments from Mr Moo and from Jane via Facebook.

So my thinking at the minute is mainly regarding some kind of self-sacrifice, greater focus and the motivation behind it. Ultimately it is to bring myself before God and bringing a greater glory to Him. When thinking around this for college prayers today I came across the first instance in which Jesus talks about fasting in Matthew 6:16-18....

And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

So it should be done with an element of humility (...does that include broadcasting it on my blog...hmmm!!!?) but also with Joy and the expectation of meeting Jesus.

So what have I decided to do...I'm going to try my best to fast from lunch for the next 40 days, but I will continue to enjoy the fellowship around the meal table when I am with friends (unless they continue to make comments such as...mmmm this curry is amazing!!!) but if I am on my own I will try to make an effort to spend the time I would take to prepare and eat my lunch in prayer and/or bible study.

Well my first day hasn't been too bad and it is nearly teatime!!! But this is a journey that intrigues and excites me just a little bit.

Lent

So what is Lent and why do people give things up that they enjoy for 40 days??

Lent is the 40 day long period leading up to Easter starting on Ash Wednesday. The number 40 has many biblical references - the 40 days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God, the 40 days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb, God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights in the days of Noah. Jesus retreated in to the desert, where he fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the devil, all 3 of which temptations he overcame.

Traditionally the 3 practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during lent are prayer...justice towards God, fasting...justice towards self, and almsgiving...justice towards neighbour.

Today some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God and sometimes give the money saved to charity.

For most modern Protestants the observation of lent is considered to be a choice rather than an obligation deciding to give up a favourite food (chocolate) or drink (alcohol) or activity (video games, facebook) or take on a new or strengthen a current discipline.

My question is what does giving up chocolate or sweets do in the eternal scheme of things? Does it really have any effect? (other than potentially on the waistline!!) Is that what God wants us to do? Does not using our hair straighteners for 40 days help to bring us closer to Him? Or is it all about the attitude in which we approach these acts? Is it about testing our will power and turning to God for the strength to persevere?

So what Im trying to decide is am I going to give something up this year...or am I going to take on or work harder at a discipline?? But what??

Not long left to decide so any thoughts or suggestions would be very welcome!