Month: March 2014

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the first official day of Lent. I was raised in a small country church where Lent was never discussed. My Catholic cousins observed Lent, but throughout my childhood, I just though it was a Catholic thing. Not surprisingly, I was wrong.

The observance of Lent is not found in the Bible, but is a church tradition found in most Christian churches. It’s a period of self-examination and repentance that began in 325 AD. It originated with the Council of Nicea and differed in different churches. Gregory the Great, (540-604), moved it to Wednesday, Ash Wednesday.

The ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, represent he Biblical symbols of repentance, (ashes and sackcloth), as well as our own mortality. Genesis 3:19 tells us, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.”

It lasts for 40 days, not counting Sundays, because they are considered feast days and ends with the celebration of Easter. The 40 days come from Matthew 4:1-2, where Jesus was led out to the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.

The English word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “to lengthen.” We are supposed to take the period of Lent and lengthen or grow spiritually.

Last year for Lent, I lead a virtual Bible study for some ladies in my church. There were many of us who were interested in participating in a Bible study, but no one had the time. After some thought and prayer, I pitched the idea of a virtual study of the Book of Acts for Lent. I divided the book into easy to read chunks and we would read it each day, Monday through Friday. I would initially write my thoughts and we would respond to each other.

I created a blog and we gave it a try. It was fabulous. I don’t know when I have learned so much or felt so blessed. It also lead me here to Gracefulgaines.

This year, I feel lead to try it again in this space. I am going to take the 40 days of Lent and do a Bible study on the Gospel of John. There are four Gospels and three are very similar. They are called the Synoptic Gospels. John is a little different from the other three which is why I chose it.

It was written by the apostle John, someone who walked with Jesus. It will take us all the way through Jesus’ ministry to his death and resurrection. I have two translations I usually refer to and they are the NLT (the one my teenager can read), and the NIV, but can easily access any translation you like on the internet.

I have people tell me all of the time that they really would like to read the Bible, but they get so bogged down and can’t figure out the meaning. So, I’m inviting you to join me for Lent in a Bible study. I’m inviting you to share scripture with me as well as your thoughts. I’m inviting you to lengthen spiritually as we observe Lent together.

Our church motto where Lent is concerned is either, “put something down or take something up.” I hope you will take something up. If you choose to read along, I will have the daily reading at the top of my daily posts and a full list under the categories banner on the right side. If you get behind, you can use the weekends to catch up.

I am really excited about this journey and I hope you will join me.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Our sermon on Sunday was about intimacy with God. The point of the sermon was that God desires relationship with us above all else. That makes sense to me because I think deep in our hearts, we desire close relationship with each other. We are after all, made in the image of God. But, do we desire a closer relationship with God? If so, how do we go about achieving it?

He listed four basic activities that are required to grow closer to God.

The first is worship. If our answer is that we attend church service on Sundays, then we are missing many opportunities. Worship can be anywhere or anytime. Taking a walk and being thankful for creation can be worship. Praying can be worship. Creating can be worship. Watching a sunset can be worship. If we save worship for Sundays alone, then we are closing ourselves off to  the vastness of God and are kind of putting Him on a shelf. We should be engaged in worship daily.

The second is Bible study. His suggestion wasn’t trying to memorize verses or read large amounts of text. His suggestion was to read short passages and think about them. Ask ourselves what God might be trying to tell us or what this part of scripture tells us about the nature of God. There are a ton of resources available online for this type of Bible study and contemplation.

The third is prayer. Prayer is our direct link with God. It’s how we communicate with Him and how He communicates with us. The problem is we so often go to God with a long list of needs and desires.We rarely take the time to be still and quiet and listen to the answers and to learn what He wants us to do. Prayer, like any conversation with a close friend, should be a two-way street. We often act as we are leaving a message, not like we are having a conversation.

The fourth is service. When we serve others, we become a tool that God can use to build His kingdom. We are outwardly showing the world through action, the faith that we carry inside. Jesus served others. The term Christian means like-Christ. To be like Jesus, we should serve others in some capacity. We should remember all service counts. There are no little pieces in God’s plan. Every piece counts.

We are about to enter into the season of Lent. I will write more about that in tomorrow’s post. These four activities seem like a fabulous way to participate in Lent and so I thought I would share them. You probably do some really well and struggle with one or two. That’s okay and completely normal.

As we travel towards Easter, maybe we should consider what we do well and what we need to work on. That’s the beauty of being a Christian, Jesus will always help us along the way. How do you do with these four basic activities? What needs a little work? What do you think? Feel free to share.

Have an

awesome day!

Wendy 🙂