A Message from Pastor Jamey
Hey everybody,
I mentioned in the message last week that the season of Lent was starting soon. Well, it began on Wednesday, known as “Ash Wednesday.” I’m actually writing this on Ash Wednesday, and I just overheard a funny conversation among staff members on what they were “giving up” for Lent. Growing up, many of my friends attended churches that observed Lent, which was the only thing I recall ever being talked about concerning Lent. I didn’t understand why they were giving something up; I just remember thinking, I’m glad I don’t have to give anything up.
But Lent is about more than giving up something. Traditionally, there are 3 Lenten activities.
Fasting
Praying
Almsgiving
The real purpose is to draw nearer to God. Each of these activities can be helpful in your pursuit of a closer relationship with God the Father.
Fasting during Lent.
Traditionally, Lent involves fasting, and fasting involves refraining from certain foods. It’s common for people to give up meat or sugar or to fast from certain meals during Lent. Again, the goal isn’t just to give something up, and it’s certainly not about doing something sacrificial that would cause God to love you more. God loves you the same whether you are fasting or not. For me, the disruption of my diet arouses my appetite for God. My routine is shaken, and I use that disruption as prompts to think about the condition of my heart or to pray or meditate on a verse of scripture.
Some people “fast” from other things; a common one I hear about is people “fasting from social media.” Since the word fast is associated with food, I prefer to think of things outside the food category as “abstaining from.” It still carries the idea of refraining from participating in something. I spoke with someone today who is abstaining from social media, and they said that they have already noticed themselves reaching for their phone several times during the day to check their socials out of habit. Which brings me to:
Praying during Lent.
Praying and fasting are linked together. Even Jesus did that in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6). When this staff person reaches for their phone out of habit, it prompts them to pray. Fasting isn’t as much about giving something up as it is about making room to draw nearer to God, and prayer is one of the ways we do that. How great would it be to get to Easter and realize you’ve drawn so much closer to Jesus than ever?
Do you struggle with prayer/praying? On March 3rd, we are starting a new series called “Pray” that I think will help you. Please plan to attend each week of that series that will lead us to Easter.
Almsgiving during Lent.
A friend wrote me a message this week saying that “Alms are traditionally monies not spent on self during Lent and are then given to the church in an act of worship.”’ He told me, “Giving is the heart of Lent, not the giving up.” I didn’t realize that almsgiving was part of the celebration of Lent, but as I looked into it, sure enough, it has been a part of Lent for a long time. It makes sense. If the purpose of Lent is to draw closer to God, Jesus said that:
“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:21
Giving to God moves your heart in His direction. If you want to do a deeper dive into the history of Lent, here is an article that I found interesting
Whether you read the article or not, and whether you started observing Lent on Ash Wednesday or not, I hope you WILL join me in drawing closer to God in this season leading up to Easter. I’m grateful for you, and look forward to gathering with you Sunday to continue our series “The G.O.A.T.”
Blessings,
Pastor Jamey
