Lessons for Lent - #1 - RELATIONSHIPS

The Problem
Are you walking with God? wanting to draw closer to God? There are many ways in which the relationships in our lives interfere with our spiritual development.

Have people in your life blocked this passage? How do you find strength to move past them? How do you align yourself with others who will not block you and will encourage you to reach your spiritual goal?

Sometimes married couples get in the way of one another’s relationship with Christ. Parents can get in the way of their children, especially if they are skeptical of the church and religion. Friends who don’t go to church can encourage us to use our time differently, ultimately getting in the way of the most important friendship of all – with Christ. Perhaps colleagues would rather see us work all the time rather than taking time for devotion and worship. The list could go on.

The Solution
Three key relationships, spiritual ones, are necessary for spiritual growth. Everyone needs a) a faith friend, b) a faith coach, or role model, and c) someone to mentor or tutor in the faith. Find these 3 people in you life. Make intentional commitments with them. Be accountable.

Lent

In all religions adherents observe Holy Days and Holy Seasons. It is the practice in this church to “keep” the season of Lent, which begins with Ash Wednesday, continues for 40 days not including Sundays, and ends on Easter. 1) Throughout these days we try harder to read and pray about the teaching and suffering of Jesus. 2) At the same time we try harder to let God’s forgiving, sacrificing love show through us to others. 3) And also we try harder to purify our thoughts and personal behaviors in the eyes of God who knows everything about us. On the Sundays of Lent, in church, Pastor Dale will be offering help through his messages. All are welcome, so maybe come with a friend. Who knows, you, or they, may find blessing here.

Valentine Candies

Oliver R. Chase invented a machine in 1847 to cut heart-shaped lozenges from wafer candy and started a candy factory, the New England Candy Company (NECCO). Daniel Chase, Oliver's brother, began printing sayings on the candy in 1866. Way before that God figured out how to write “I Love You” and “Be Mine” on the human heart. Of the sweetness he offers he says, “Take and eat. Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Putting Christ First

There are a lot of smart people out there. Maybe you are one of them. Smart people know that Putting Christ First is a total game-changer when it comes to how you live your life. And a lot of those smart people like their life as it is. So, they don’t Put Christ First. But they are smart enough to know that if/when they reach the place where they don’t like their life the way it is they can improve their situation by Putting Christ First. Some well known athletes and celebrities have done that – they’ve Put Christ First. You can listen to why they did online at www.iamsecond.com

4 Essentials for Spiritual Growth

Are you a brand new follower of Christ, wondering where to get started on your journey? Are you a long term follower of Christ, finding yourself in a spiritual rut?

Here are 4 essential steps to move you forward toward spiritual growth. Though simple, they are vital to building your relationship with the Lord.


Step 1 – Read your Bible daily. Find a Bible reading plan that’s right for you. A plan will keep you from missing anything God has written in His Word.



Step 2 – Attend church services regularly. The Bible encourages us to meet together regularly with other believers (Hebrews 10:25). This is also fundamental to spiritual growth.



Step 3 – Get involved in a ministry group. Most churches offer small groups and many ministry opportunities. Pray and ask God where you should “plug in.”



Step 4 – Pray daily. Prayer is simply talking to God. You don’t have to use big fancy words.



There are no right and wrong words. Just be yourself.




Thanks to Mary Fairchild

First Things First

Been out of town for a while? What are the “first things” you do when you get home? Who are the “first persons” you just have to connect with?

Are you finding your daily activity restricted – new baby, surgery, planting and harvest, or whatever? What is the “first thing” you plan to do when you get your life back? the “first place” you want to go?

Unexpected expenses? Once you get your budget back in line, what are the “first things” you are likely to splurge on?

These 3 questions help us realize the true priorities of our hearts, who and what we value as significant and special to us. These are the things and these are the people we need to be thanking God for every day, as well as to be praying for.

These 3 questions also help us realize that the concerns of God, our life with God, and our service to God are not among our “first things”. Sorry for the guilt trip, but no apology.

God came among us that first Christmas. We cheat ourselves when we ignore Jesus. God instituted the practices of the spiritual life for our benefit. We cheat ourselves when we do not practice them. Be good to yourself. Put Jesus first. Go to church. Give outrageously. Take holy time with your family. Pray.

Jesus is a friend like no other. But he is also sovereign God. Put him first.

Is There A Parallel Universe?

We spend our whole earthly life on a single planet, in a small galaxy, somewhere in the vastness of the universe. Oh, the genius of it all. You’d think that would be enough for the human mind to ponder. Wrong.

The human mind imagines more. We visualize that which we cannot see or know. And we delight in questioning everything that is. Religious mystics of every age, ancient philosophers, theoretical scientists and endless writers of fiction feed imagination and fuel inquiry.

Thus my opening question, “Is there a parallel universe?”
And (for you SciFi buffs) the further questions, “If there is a parallel universe, what might be the classic character markers defining a hero in that universe?” And, “How would you know who was greatest of all?”

My answer to my opening question, “Is there a parallel universe?” is yes there is and it is now. It is a spiritual universe, concurrent with the created one in which we live. Its values are strange to us and its heroes even stranger.

It is a universe where each person’s character is revealed, not by how they live, but by one thing only, by how they respond to Jesus.

It is a universe where suffering equals victory and where death has no power, where the greatest one is the least among all, and where the triumph of the self is the self’s ultimate defeat.

It is a universe measured by different dimensions, not by time and space, but by sacrifice, love and grace. It is a universe of endless joy and perfect peace, as sung at the manger in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.

Hmmm. Parallel. Spiritual. Universe.
Hmmm. Christmas. Savior. Carols.
Hmmm. Character.
Hmmm. How they respond to Jesus.

May your Christmas be Merry, full of endless joy and perfect peace. God bless you.