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ARTICLE FOR THE SEASON
WHAT IS LENT?
 Character
requires discipline even as we depend on the power of the
Holy Spirit. There are seasons in the Christian Calendar
when we give ourselves to growing in Christlikeness both
in depending on God and mastering ourselves as we
concentrate on all that Jesus went through to purchase our
salvation on the cross. Hence it is a marked by
repentance, self discipline and self-giving as we meditate
on the cross and the finished work of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Lent (from Old English “Lencten” meaning Spring)
refers to the fast of 40 days before Easter. The first
mention of such a period occurs in the Canons of Nicea (AD
325 Canon 5). The custom may have originated in the
prescribed fast of candidates for baptism and the number
forty suggested by the 40 days’ fast of Moses (Deut 9:9),
Elijah (1 Kg 9:8) and especially our Lord himself (Mt 4:2,
Mk 1:12-13; Lk 4:1-13). The Western Church normally left
out the Sundays and the practice commencing from Ash
Wednesday is first attested to in the 7th Century Gelasian
Sacramentary. The period of Lent ends with Holy Week (Good
Friday). Apart from fasting, this time of penance is
observed by abstaining from festivities, by almsgiving,
and by giving more to religious exercises. The practice of
omitting the Gloria and floral arrangements; and the
reciting of the 10 Commandments are part of the tradition
to emphasise God’s hatred of sin which culminated in the
Lamb of God being the vicarious sacrifice for our
transgression. Violet/Purple,
the Liturgical colour signifies penitence and mourning.
THE SEASON OF LENT
is the 40 day period leading up to Easter. It begins on
Ash Wednesday (17 Feb 2010) and recalls these events:
- The 40 days and nights
when the rains fell during the time of Noah
- The 40 years of the
Israelites’ wanderings in the desert, and most of all
- The 40 days when Jesus
was in the wilderness.
As such Lent is a time of
preparation:
- For God’s covenant with
Noah
- For entry into the
Promised Land
- For our fulfilling
Jesus’ ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit (Mt
24:14)
OUR LENTEN OPPORTUNITY
In Mark 2:18-22 we see critics of Jesus who observed that
His disciples didn’t go without food and drink from 6am to
6pm. The Pharisees were proud that they fasted (but often
for the wrong reasons). What Lenten discipline will you be
practising these 40 days in Lent beginning this Wednesday,
17.2.10 as we focus on Jesus’ fasting and being tempted in
the wilderness (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13; Lk 4:1-3)? Which of the following do you think is the best reason for praying, worshipping, fasting or doing good works and attending
Ash Wednesday Service, 6pm this Wed, 17 Feb 2010 (Mt
6:1, 16-18)? So that:
- Other people will think
you are good?
- God will realise that
you are a little better than most people?
- God may enjoy you and
the time you spent with Him, and, that others may know
Christ through your prayers and witness?
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7 Simple Steps
The following are seven
simple steps to help you fast and pray this Lent.
- 1. We should fast
SENSIBLY. Don’t feel that you must fast many days to be
effective. Many biblical fasts were “until evening” (Judg
20:16, 2 Sam 3:35, Acts 10:30).
- 2. We should fast
SECRETLY. Jesus cautioned His disciples never to boast
about our times of fasting but rather to keep our times
of fasting as a personal commitment (Mt 6:16-18).
- 3. We should fast
SENSITIVELY. When Israel fasted before a crucial battle,
the Bible says they “inquired to the Lord”. (Judg
20:26-28). When we fast, we should make special time to
hear God speak.
- 4. We should fast
SYSTEMATICALLY. When Jesus taught His disciples about
fasting, he began with the words “when you fast” (Mt
6:16). He was suggesting that believers should have
their regular times of fasting, whether one day or a
portion of a day each week.
- 5. We should fast
SACRIFICIALLY. If we normally do not eat breakfast, it
is not really a sacrifice to miss breakfast. A true fast
must be a sacrifice.
- 6. We should fast
SPECIFICALLY. In Isa 58:6, God said to Israel, “is not
this the fast that I have chosen?” We must ask God to
direct us in the focus of our fasting.
- 7. We should fast
SUPERNATURALLY. The very nature of fasting requires
dependence on God’s supernatural power to see us
through. The Bible says that when the early church
fasted before sending out workers, “the Holy Spirit
came” (Acts 13:2-3). We need God’s Spirit as we fast.
From the book “Love On Its
Knees” by Dick Eastman.
“Yet
even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your
heart, with FASTING, with weeping, and with mourning; and
rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the
LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents
over disaster.
Joel 2:12-13 |
