What is Lent?
Posted On: March 28, 2019
What is Lent?
For some Christians, Lent has always been a part of their spiritual life, but for others it is unfamiliar. Lent is a season leading up to Easter, a time when Christians have historically prepared their hearts for Easter with reflection, repentance, and prayer. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and proceeds for forty days, excluding Sundays, and culminating with Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Since Sundays are weekly celebrations of the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays in Lent are not counted as part of the forty-day season, which focuses on introspection, self examination, and repentance. Many Christians choose to celebrate a fast throughout the season of Lent, but the focus is not on depriving themselves of something as much as it is on devoting themselves to God and his purposes in the world.
Lent is an important season of the church year. The church year is an excellent way to help focus our attention on God with the way we organize our time. Rather than following the solar calendar's more familiar structure, organized by the rhythms of nature, the church calendar is organized around God and his activity in the world. The church calendar follows six seasons of varying length: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. Each of these seasons have different focuses: Advent focuses on the anticipation of God's coming into the world, both in the incarnation and in Christ's return. Christmas focuses on the birth of Christ. Epiphany focuses on the light of God's presence shining in the world. Lent focuses on human sin and God's gracious solution. Easter focuses on resurrection life. Pentecost focuses on the ongoing activity of the Holy Spirit in the world. The annual rhythm of these seasons can have a powerful effect on personal and communal spiritual growth.**
Begin the Lent season today by reflecting on God’s grace in your life and the areas you need His grace to manifest. We would love to hear from you today @ [email protected]
**Devotion taken from www.youversion.com
Embrace The Donkey In Your Life
Posted On: December 18, 2018
Mary and Joseph left Nazareth and began their journey to Bethlehem riding on a donkey. It would take a week or so to reach the launching place of Jesus Christ life and ministry.
I have pondered all day, “what was Mary thinking?” as she rode mile after mile on the hard and rocky terrain… on the smelly, sweaty donkey.
As the donkeys foot would slip or hit a rock Mary would have to reach down and clinch the neck of the donkey….when she was tired she would put her cheek on the head of the smelly, sweaty donkey.
MARY HAD TO EMBRACE THE DONKEY IN HER LIFE TO REACH THE LAUNCHING PLACE OF JESUS LIFE AND MINISTRY!!
So what or who are the donkeys in your life that God is using to walk you into your destiny? An unsaved husband, an unfair boss, unemployment, a child with a life-long disability? Whatever or whoever are the donkey’s in your life, EMBRACE THE DONKEY!!
I am not suggesting you “live with” the situation, not at all! You embrace Your Donkey by faith. You keep walking but you do it by faith and here are some suggestions:
1. Embrace Your Donkey
2. Rid Yourself of Unforgiveness and Doubt
3. Confess God’s Word and Trust in God as Mary did, “According to thy Word” Luke 1:38
4. Keep Walking Towards Your Destiny Until You Reach It!!
THE DONKEY IN YOUR LIFE IS WALKING YOU INTO YOUR DESTINY!! EMBRACE IT!!
Christmas “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”
Posted On: December 13, 2018
Artificial or synthetic trees are quite popular due to convenience, easier maintenance, looking just as appealing on display, and the ability to be reused over the years.
Even though from a window display it may look authentic, an artificial tree will never have that fresh smell of pine or soft bristles. And although, the maintenance of a real tree throughout the holiday season may take more work, in the long run it is worth doing. Consistently adding water to the base of your tree stand ensures the life and freshness of your authentic Christmas tree.
In the same respect, people may be authentic or artificial Christians. Just like your Christmas tree in the window display may seem to look real, people may also appear to be Christians but aren’t always authentic. So tell us how you think someone can prevent from becoming an artificial Christian?
What is Advent?
Posted On: December 05, 2018
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14 NKJV).
The Incarnation of the Eternal Word – Jesus Christ – is the great redemptive miracle of the Christian faith. The union of humanity and divinity in the person of Jesus means that his crucifixion and resurrection have defeated the power of sin and death and brings the promise of eternal life to all who believe. This redemptive event is most often associated with the celebration of Christmas. However, in the last century the celebration of Christmas has lost its Christological focus. So, the challenge before us is to discover, or rediscover, ways by which the church can once again focus its worship on this wonderful event.
Many centuries ago, the church established a sacred calendar to inspire its worship. The sacred calendar focused on God’s saving acts as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. The first sacred season is Advent. Advent is a season of expectation. For centuries the Hebrew prophets declared the coming of the Anointed One. The Hebrew people patiently waited for the “consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Each year as the church celebrates Advent, the people of God experience a season of hopeful expectation. Just as the ancient Hebrews anticipated the advent of the messiah, the church presently anticipates the second advent of Jesus Christ. Advent focuses our worship on the fullness of Christ’s redemption – Incarnation and consummation. Thinking of the sacred calendar as a clock is helpful to understanding Advent. Just as twelve o’clock is the ending and beginning of the day (AM and PM), so too Advent is the ending and beginning of the sacred calendar.
Advent began this year on December 2, 2012 (on the fourth Sunday before Christmas ). The four Sundays of Advent are celebrated by emphasizing biblical themes of expectation and hope. The first Sunday of Advent emphasizes the Second Advent of Christ (Matthew 24:37-44; Mark 13:24-37; Luke 21:25-36). The theme for the second and third Sundays of Advent focuses on the ministry of the John the Baptist: Prepare the Way of the Lord (Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-6) and The Coming One (Matthew 11:2-11; John 1:6-8; 19-28; Luke 3:7-18). The fourth Sunday of Advent focuses on the Virgin birth of Christ (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:39-55).
Because Advent has not been celebrated in most Pentecostal churches, the various Advent themes may seem somewhat alien. But there are many ways that Advent can be observed that will be helpful in Pentecostal congregations. The celebration of Advent is traditionally centered on the Advent wreath. It is comprised of a wreath of evergreens with four candles placed around the circumference and a fifth candle in the center – the Christ candle. The wreath should be placed at the altar, or on the stage. Each Sunday, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, the appropriate candle is lighted with an appropriate song or hymn and reading from the Scripture. This is a good opportunity to involve children, or entire families. The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the growing anticipation of the coming of the Light of the world. The Christ candle should be lighted during a Christmas Eve service, or as the final act of worship on the fourth Sunday of Advent. The lighting of candles for Advent is an ancient Christian tradition. According to legend, during the 4th and 5th centuries, the entire Roman Empire was illuminated by the candles of believers during Advent. The Advent wreath could also be used in Christian homes as a teaching device to instruct our children about the “reason for the season.”
Advent worship could also include dramas and dances that depict the theme of the season. Also, choral songs and sermons should be presented during worship that serves to keep the redemptive theme of Advent prominent in the minds of worshipers. For the past several years, I have designated the midweek services during Advent to teach the biblical and traditional foundations for the Advent/Christmas season. This includes lessons on the infancy narratives of the Gospel, and historical background behind other seasonal images, such as: the Virgin Mary, the three wise men, and the star of Bethlehem. Also, this is an excellent time to teach the story and traditions about Nicholas of Myra, the ancient Bishop who has been transformed into Santa Claus.
It may surprise many Christian parents to discover that most of the contemporary themes of Advent and Christmas celebrations – Santa Claus, gift giving, and Rudolf – are less than 150 years old. The present culture has co-opted, redefined, and even paganized an important holy season of the Christian church. If we are to succeed in preserving the significance of the Advent season, it must begin with intentional observances in church, and at home.-- Author, Daniel Toberlin http://www.danieltomberlin.net/
Spoken Word
Posted On: November 07, 2018
First, I have a confession to make. On the one hand, I know that I am loved by God. I know that He values me, has a plan and purpose for me. On the other hand, I still run into doubts in my heart. Places where I suddenly suspect, no matter how many times I have sung Jesus Loves Me, that I am more of an afterthought to God than precious in His sight. I stumbled into one of those darkened chambers in my heart as I wondered if I was a word from God.
So, I began to think about the fact that God formed me in the womb (Isaiah 44:2), and that I was fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). I love the phrase David used, “you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). This was helpful. It reminded me that I did not end up here randomly. I am not an accident. I am part of God’s purpose. However, I still wondered if God formed me as a mere piece to His beautiful puzzle. Don’t get me wrong. Being a piece in God’s puzzle is an incredible honor, more than I deserve. But is that all that I am? Or am I something more? Not just something God will plug into the picture, but someone God speaks about?
This got me thinking about God speaking. We see how He spoke things into existence at creation. Does He still speak things into existence? Or did He only need to get the ball rolling? Did He actually speak me into existence? You into existence? Or does He just like to quietly knit things together?
I started looking for references to God speaking individual people into existence. I was reminded that He “brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). I thought about how we are called “epistles of Christ” (2 Cor 3:3). And of course Jesus Himself is called the Word of God (John 1:1). Thinking about the first chapter of John reminded me of the third chapter of John, where we learn that we are not just born once, but twice (John 3:3). Our second birth is birthed by the Spirit, which blows like the wind (John 3:5-8). So, God breathed me into my new birth, and breathing is a whole lot like speaking. Yet, in all of this I still felt unsettled.
So, I began to wonder, IF God spoke me into existence what word did He use? I began to think about my name. And I remembered that God actually has my name written on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). I also remembered that to the one who overcomes God will give a white stone with a new name written on it that no one understands except the one who receives it (Revelation 2:17). And that the new name that I will receive will not only be written on the white stone, but on me as well (Revelation 3:12).
My faith was growing throughout this process. But I was still unsure about God actually speaking my name, saying it out loud. Then I was reminded that God not only speaks over me, but actually sings over me (Zephaniah 3:17). I began to get a little scared thinking about God actually speaking out loud, calling my name. But then I was reminded of this: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1).
That last verse sort of settled the matter in my mind. I began to wonder what it sounds like to hear God say my name. And just the thought of it sent the love of the Father down to the bottom of that hole in my heart. I accepted that my name is a word, which means that I am a word. I am a word spoken from Heaven, spoken by God. Once I had accepted that I was a word from God, that He had spoken me into existence, that I had left His lips, I was filled with such an awesome sense of the presence of God that I thought I might audibly hear Him speak my name. I did not hear my name, but what I heard in my heart was a promise about what God does with words like me, words like you. And it wrecked me. I was undone. This is what I heard:
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You are a word from God, spoken from heaven. All of your days were written in His book before your body was ever formed (Psalm 139:16). Your name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20). When you left the lips of God your purpose was guaranteed. You will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent you. Receive yourself with thanksgiving today. “For everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it, but receive it with thanks” (1 Timothy 4:4). You are more than body, soul and spirit. You have been named in Heaven. And you are more than a name. You are a word spoken by God.
Adapted form author Jonathan Stone, 3/19/12, at http://bit.ly/NjFFOI
Faith and Health
Posted On: October 24, 2018
If religious faith could be packaged in a pill, the stock price of drug companies would soar. Religion, not merely spirituality, is a profound predictor of health. Spiritual practices can reduce blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, and help stave off some effects of mental illness about as well as many drugs on the market. In fact, the lack of religiosity is about as unhealthy as 40 years of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. If you care about your health, you might want to start going to church and praying regularly.
Consider these five ways that faith is really good for you.
Faith Encourages Healthy Behavior.
“Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t chew, and don’t go with girls who do.” Even the fundamentalist Christian high school I attended considered that line outdated. Nevertheless, the effect of behavioral change due to religion literally reduces your chances of dying. Your faith community may not encourage you to eat organic, non-GMO, plant-based, local and slow foods, but it probably still exercises some healthy influence on the habits you form and the activities you undertake.
I discovered a stark example visiting the work of a Christian microfinance agency in Cambodia. Microfinance aims to help people out of poverty by giving small loans to start small businesses. But the loan client I met, a fisherman, told me that what really helped him was learning discipline through the small group of loan clients he regularly met with. Many of them were Christians, so he became one too. They helped him stop drinking, which ended the damaging home environment for his wife and children. Religion didn’t fix his life and help him out of poverty. But through regular exposure to a group with healthier lifestyles and habits, faith created an environment to make that happen in his own life.
Faith Reduces Stress.
Stress has a direct negative effect on your immune system, reducing the ability of cells to attack disease inside the body. Studies have shown that religion reduces stress in a number of ways. Prayer, in particular, can reduce high blood pressure that is due to stress. The anxieties and stresses of modern life tend to encourage the body’s fight or flight response. Prayer, worship and other spiritual activities can balance out this stress response by enhancing the body’s relaxation response.
In addition, people who are religious tend to think in ways that are healthy. Faith gives people a sense of meaning and purpose in life, which is linked to better health. The brain controls every aspect of our bodies, so how we think affects how our bodies work. In a similar way, religious people tend to be affected less by depression. Of course, real, faith-filled Christians still suffer from depression and other forms of mental illness. But while faith is certainly no cure for any mental illness, it does seem to offer an additional buffer against its worst effects.
Community Improves Emotional Health
Having friends is good for you. Having religious friends is even better. In fact, one study found that “church membership was the only type of social involvement that predicted greater life satisfaction and happiness,” according to Harold Koenig, the Director of the Center for Spirituality at Duke University. (He writes about all these studies in his book, Medicine, Religion, and Health.)
Another study found the same effects from informal social interactions with church friends—but not other friendships. Another study among older adults in Iowa found that frequent church attenders where 68 percent less likely to die over a 12 year period. The bonds we form as Christ-followers provide us with more than just a social calendar. They are a vital web that sustains our health through rich relationships that improve both psychological and emotional wellbeing.
Helping Others Improves Life Satisfaction
Faith makes you healthier by providing you a community more willing to help you when life is difficult. Christians created the world’s first hospitals, and professional health care has long been essential to missions and ministry to the poor. But if you don't find yourself seated among nurses or doctors in the pew, never fear. Faith's greater health benefit comes to those who help. People who tithe, or give away 10 percent of their income, are on average 10 percentage points more likely to be very happy with their lives, according to sociologist Christian Smith.
One study sought to determine which of two different methods would better help people who suffer from multiple sclerosis, but they found that MS sufferers who were providing help, not just receiving it, were actually the ones to benefit the most. Since religious people are more likely to give money to charity and to volunteer, they are also more likely to experience the health benefits of helping others.
Space for the Miraculous
We need not doubt the fact that God heals, sometimes in miraculous ways. More than three quarters of Americans believe that prayer can heal people from injury or illnesses. In a survey, the same number of doctors said that they believe in miraculous healings. In many cases, the truth of Christianity has been put to the test of its miraculous effects and found to be genuine. This was true in 9th century Egypt when one monk claimed that he knew of no one who had become a Christian “except for proofs which they have witnessed, signs which they have known, and miracles which they have recognized, which compelled them to submit to it and practice it.”
Today the same is true in many places. In China, 80 to 90 percent of converts claim to have converted due to divine healing. In Brazil, more Pentecostal Christians claim to have experienced healing than to have spoken in tongues. Whether through prayer, laying on of hands, or some other miraculous intervention, those who claim faith can find in God health for both body and soul.
Some have suggested that miraculous healings are actually a sign of a "placebo effect" in which Christian belief motivates the body to faster healing—and, it's true, many studies have shown a positive correlation between optimistic outlook and effective recovery. But whether through placebo effect, divine intervention or, perhaps, some combination we do not entirely understand, the truth remains: there are health benefits to believing that God has control over your health.
We need to exercise caution when trumpeting the benefits of faith, as faith was never intended to be a pill and the Bible is not an exercise pamphlet. Faithful, believing Christians get sick and lead lives plagued by disease or physical ailments (many scholars believe the apostle Paul himself spent his life battling some sort of physical handicap). But if we believe that God's authority stretches to the physical as well as the spiritual, then we can accept that He can manifest that authority in our physical health as well as our spiritual health.
Taken From: www.relevantmagazine.com
