The Cross

'For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool. But for those of us who are already experiencing the reality of being rescued and made right, it is nothing short of God's power.' ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18, The Voice

If we believe that Heaven is merely a default destination for all, then are we not, in essence, making a mockery of Jesus’s death? Are we not, albeit unwittingly, with our ‘all dogs go to Heaven’ mentality, counting Jesus’s death as meaningless, and turning the Cross into nothing more than a Hollywood movie prop, an air-brushed car and truck decal or a common fashion accessory?

Today -- this solemn day we’ve come to know as Good Friday -- take some time to gaze upon the Cross of Christ, and when you do, consider these thoughts:

• How do you view the Cross? What does it mean to you personally?
• Are you thankful for the Cross, or offended by it?
• Are you awestruck by just how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is…for you?
• Are you humbled by the fact that the Son of God gave up the privileges of His Heavenly kingdom and set aside His rights of deity to come here to Earth to dwell among us, to love us, to serve us, and to give His life as a ransom for many?
• Are you deeply moved by the fact that Christ gave up His body to be brutally beaten, broken and pierced…for you? For me?
• Are you astounded by the fact that WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, Jesus Christ died for us to demonstrate and to prove God’s incredible, amazing, unfailing love for us?

How do you view the Cross now? Do you still see it as a blinged-out trinket in your jewelry box; a piece of decor hanging on the wall in your home, office or an emblem stuck to your vehicle; a horrifying, offensive instrument of death to be avoided?

Or do you see it now, transformed by Christ, as a symbol of love, of life, of hope, of victory? Will you turn from it in fear and disgust? Or run towards it..and Him...with joy and abandon?

 \

Because Jesus didn’t remain in the grave, friends. It may be Friday, but Sunday’s coming. And with it, resurrection, salvation and new life!

"Men of Israel, listen to these words:This Jesus the Nazarene was a Man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. Though He was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it." ~ Acts 2:22-24, HCSB

Stepping Into Lent

Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return. Repent, believe, and walk in the way of Christ.

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Today is Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the 40 days in the Christian community known as Lent. 

Many throughout the world will set aside time today to attend church services and have ashes placed upon their foreheads in the sign of the cross by priests, pastors, ministers or religious laypeople; most will fast from all but one meal, and give up something they enjoy or of value for the next 40 days as a sign of self-denial and sacrifice. Fish, veggie dishes, fruit platters and other meatless fare will be the order of the day today and for the next 7 Fridays.

However, some Christian denominations don’t recognize Lent at all, so for them, this won’t be considered a day of any special significance.  

And, interestingly enough, there is no mention of Lent in the Bible. The closest thing to it that I can see, in my opinion anyway, is Jesus’ being led away into the wilderness for 40 days by the Holy Spirit, in preparation for His ministry. He had nothing to eat or drink. It was a time of cleansing, of purifying – physically, as well as spiritually.

Save for the moments Satan appeared before a hungry and humbled Jesus to tempt Him, and when angels came to minister to Jesus after Satan took off in a huff, He seemed to be all alone.

Yet nowhere do I read or get the sense that God abandoned His Son in that wilderness.  Perhaps Jesus was brought to this barren and solitary place, where all distractions were removed from Him, not only to be tested, but also in order for Him to be able to spend uninterrupted time with the Father in conversation and reflection, in preparation for what was to come. The joys and the sorrows.

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Lent to me, then, is to be a season of sincere reflection and preparation for those of us who call Christ our Lord and our Savior. A season where we make it a point to rest and spend time conversing with Jesus, free of distractions.  A season where we walk along life’s path, content to be closely yoked with Him in service as He teaches us His unforced rhythms of grace.  A season of temptation and testing.  

A season where we reflect on and acknowledge our rebellious and sinful nature and desire to repent of it.  A season of longing for our inner transformation, hungering and thirsting to be like this humble and obedient Servant King.  A season of preparing ourselves for whatever plans the Father has for us in the near or distant future. The joys and the sorrows.

Therefore, in my honest and humble opinion, the partaking of Lent should not be entered into lightly and frivolously, but intentionally and seriously. There’s no room for showboating or bandwagon mentality here. It shouldn’t be performance driven nor be done out of guilt, shame or family tradition.

And heaven forbid it should be seen as or turned into a kickstart for a new diet program or part of a health plan designed to get your body swimsuit ready, as I heard being discussed at great length on a local TV news show this morning.

Jesus was very clear about His loathing of acts being done for appearances sake, for the approval and praise of man, or done out of routine obligation or tradition. His strongest warnings were always towards the religious elite (Pharisees and teachers of the Law), whose motives didn’t line up with their actions (check out Matthew 23:13-36 for some examples of this and Jesus' words to these folks).  

A woman with whom I attend a Bible study on the book of Matthew said recently that Jesus was all about "living out the ‘heart of the Law,’ whereas the Pharisees had made it all about living out ‘the letter of the Law'."

Wise and truth-filled words indeed.

Now, PLEASE hear me and believe me when I say that I AM NOT criticizing anyone who has ever made the decision to give up something – coffee, chocolate, junk food, social media, television, meats, dairy products, etc. – during the Lenten season (been there, done that many a time). 

Neither am I pooh-poohing  someone’s involvement  in a Lenten challenge, like reading through the New Testament in 40 days (and believe it or get outta here, I'm actually taking this one on this year).

What I AM saying is we need to be so very mindful of our motives for doing so.  We should always ask ourselves:

"Why am I doing what I'm doing?"

"Who am I seeking to please?"

And if you’re not sure why – ask God:

  

“Is this what You want me to do, Lord?"

"Is this sacrificial offering pleasing to You?  Or are You looking for something else from me?"

"What do YOU want me to do or to refrain from doing?”

Can I tell you how hard I struggled this year to step in and find my place among those taking this always challenging Lenten journey, asking myself AND God these very same questions?

And, not surprisingly, His answers were revealed to me within the pages of Scripture, God's very Word to us:

What can we bring to the Lord?

What kind of offerings should we give him?

Should we bow before God

with offerings of yearling calves?

Should we offer him thousands of rams

and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

                 Should we sacrifice our firstborn children

 to pay for our sins?

No, O people, the Lord has told you

what is good, and this is what

he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God. ~ Micha 6:6-8, NLT

And, when you have some time, check out Isaiah 58 in its entirety, for you may just find the answers to your questions there. 

The grace and peace of God be with you this day and always, my friends. 

Worship Song Sunday -- Draw Me Nearer, by Meredith Andrews

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself." ~ John 12:32, ESV


Last month, I posted about fasting during the season of Lent.  Much of the time, Lenten is viewed as a time to give up, abstain, turn away from something in our lives to which we give too much time, focus and priority.  But it can also be about our doing something different in our lives to bring us closer to the Lord, be it committing  to spending more time in contemplation, prayer, reading His Word, or in service to others. 


In her book, 'Fasting,' by Lynne M. Baab, she shares a story about a young woman who decided that during Lent, she would only listen to Christian music, and made herself a CD of  specific songs that were meaningful to her. 


I really liked that idea and decided to try that for myself. I spent several days carefully choosing songs for my CD and iPod playlist.  


In my search, I came across this song from a CD by Meredith Andrews that I'd downloaded to my laptop several years ago and had long since forgotten.  In fact, I don't ever remember listening to this particular song (I don't know about anyone else, but I'll often just listen to the songs on CDs that are more popular, get more radio play, etc., and kind of bypass the other ones).  


But as I looked over the list of songs on her CD, this title jumped out at me, as it definitely went along with the musical theme I had in mind for my playlist (songs of brokenness, repentance, forgiveness, grace, selfless love, redemption, a deeper relationship with the Lord).  I gave it a listen and was just blown away and so very moved by the singer's tender plea for a greater closeness, a sweeter intimacy with Jesus. 

The Clay, by Ron DiCianni

May this song bring you to a closer, more intimate time of worship with the King of kings and Lord of lords.  

Safely Home, by Ron DiCianni

In Your nearness I take shelter
Where You are is where I'm home,
I have need of only one thing
To be here before Your throne,
To be here before Your throne,
So draw me nearer, Lord
Never let me go, 
Closer to Your heart
Draw me nearer, Lord~ Draw Me Nearer, by Meredith Andrews

To Fast Or Not To Fast

And so the Lord says, 
      “These people say they are Mine. 
   They honor Me with their lips, 
      but their hearts are far from Me. 
   And their worship of Me 
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. ~ Isaiah 29:13, NLT


Yesterday, I posted about the upcoming Lenten season and what I understood -- or more like misunderstood -- it to be.  I had such a warped vision of what God expected of me during this season.  Or perhaps it's better said, what God desired from me.


With regards to fasting,  I’ve come to realize over the years that this is not something to ever be entered into lightly or done mindlessly or out of guilt, fear, ritual or pressure. Lenten fasting -- or any other type of Christian fasting -- should never be viewed by me or by anyone else as just some church denomination’s ancient ritual, nor should we, as I once heard in a sermon, make ourselves into miserable people observing a miserable tradition.  


Instead, we should see Lent as a reordering and a ‘spring cleaning,’ if you will, of our lives. It’s a challenge and an acknowledgment that we are not yet what we are to be; a preparation for our ultimate transformation as followers of Christ, as well as a very personal offering and intimate act of love and worship between ourselves and the Lord.  

God wants my heart!!

I'm learning it's less about tradition and a sense of duty and more about my motive; more about my having a sincere, heart's desire to become more open to God's presence and my ears more attuned to His voice; more about drawing nearer to and becoming more intimate with God as a result of my putting aside those things that I often crave more than Him.  


And just what ARE those things that I crave and desire more than God?

A few years ago, while in one of my ugly self-righteous, Pharisee modes, I found myself looking at giving up things for Lent like chocolate, coffee, junk food, etc., as lame.  Kind of dumb and childish. Like, 'Gee, does God REALLY care whether or not I eat this 3 Musketeers bar? Why deny myself such a little thing?  And hey, isn't self-denial a form of punishment anyway?'  


But I recently came across a quote, again from the Lynne Baab book, 'Fasting,' from a 30 something teacher named Lisa whom Baab interviewed.  She said this:


"Denying myself something that I use for comfort is a great reminder of my desire to keep my relationship with God as my first and foremost priority.  Fasting challenges me to keep a perspective of Who I'm living for at all times of the day."  


Wow.  Speaking strictly for myself, I too often do use chocolate, coffee, junk food for comfort.  When I should be seeking comfort from God.  I'll admit I'm guilty of using Facebook to seek validation and relevance for myself from other people.  When I should be seeking those things  from God.  Because my relationship with Him is to be my foremost priority in life. Because He is my First Love.


So, when I choose to fast or abstain or however you want to refer to it, from something -- be it a particular food or drink or sweets; an activity, routine or a habitual indulgence - I do so NOT to prove to myself and everyone around me that I am strong enough to deny myself and make this 'great' sacrifice; I do so NOT to punish myself for some 'bad behavior' and  certainly not with the mindset that I can force God to give me or do something I want. 


No, when I fast, it should be out of a desire to greatly lower the volume on the constant noise around me and to remove the continuous distractions in my life, enabling me to spend more time talking with AND listening to God throughout my day (and really, that's what prayer is), allowing for that greater, more intimate relationship with Him.  And when I do fast from something, especially if it is from a meal, be it once or twice a week or even one particular meal a day, I need to utilize the time I'd spend eating or doing that activity by spending that time alone with God.  Because if I don't, it's just meaningless.  


So, some of the deeper, pertinent questions I’ve been asking myself lately have been:

* What have I firmly placed in top priority status, thereby knocking Jesus out of first place in my life?
  
*What things (foods, drinks, material possessions, body image,) do I obsess over? What activities (working out, blogging, shopping), what distractions (Facebook, Internet surfing, TV shows) and what desires (need for praise, approval, acknowledgment, love) have I allowed to totally consume me and to stand in the way of my daily communication with Jesus?   


*What idols need to be cast down completely or at least brought way down to the bottom of the totem pole status?

*What sins have I allowed to continually trip me up and entangle me and ruin my relationship with the Lord, breaking His heart and grieving His Spirit? What do I need to repent of?

*How best can I honor Christ with my life during these next 40 days?  What do I need to be doing or refrain from doing? 


Right now, I'm still praying about all of this.  


The Word of God tells me there is so much more to this challenge of Lent in Isaiah 1:11-15; in Isaiah 58:6-14 (and OH what a magnificent portion of Scripture this is!); in Psalm 51:10-12 & 16-17; in Joel 2:13; and finally, in Hebrews 13:15-16. As He always has, God longs for us to be in a loving relationship with Him, to love and be loved by Him.  

While the season of Lent is considered to be a somber, more serious time of preparation than Advent, it can also be a blessed, joyful time of intentionally seeking out Jesus, embarking on a journey to befriend or strengthen our relationship with the living Christ.  May it be so for you, should you choose to partake.


'Fasting has every bit as much to do with the attitude of the heart as it does to what is actually given up in the fast.' ~ from 'Fasting,' by Lynne M. Baab

Ashes to Ashes

This coming Wednesday, February 22, will mark the beginning of the season of Lent.   On this day, Ash Wednesday, many will attend a church service where ashes, which come from burnt palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday, will be distributed.  Making a sign of the cross with the ashes on each person's forehead, the priest, pastor, elder or whomever is permitted in the particular church to do so, will repeat these words:


"Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." 

The meaning behind the distribution of ashes and those words is to remind us of our own mortality and our own sinfulness, while calling us to repentance.  Many people will leave the ashes on their foreheads for the entire day as a symbol of humility.  

Lent is also a season that centers around fasting, generally from a particular food, drink or even an activity, for the forty days before Easter.  Growing up in my former faith denomination, when Lent came around, we were required to fast from something.  So for me at that time, this was merely a ritual I took part in because I HAD to, it was just what you did (or else).  But author Lynn Baab, author of 'Fasting,' speaks of fasting like this:


"We remove something habitual so we can experience something new.  We long for the fullness of God's presence, so we remove something from our life for a season in order to get a glimpse of God, through prayer, in a new way."


At that time, I had no true understanding or view of Lent as being a way for me to draw closer to the heart of God, or as a way of something new about Him being revealed to me. Again, it was simply a tradition to be followed. 

For instance, with regards to Lenten fasting, I’d give up chocolate candy (my personal childhood favorite, which continues to be a guilty pleasure of mine) for those forty days, whine about it the whole time and then on Easter Sunday, I’d gorge myself on chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs until I made myself sick. The condition of my heart, however, remained unchanged: cold, hard, shallow, dark, sinful.  Jesus just wasn’t the priority in my life that He should have been -- and longed to be.  He became merely a blip on my Sunday morning church's or Wednesday afternoon catechism class's radar screen. The beautifully, sorrowful figure of a Man that actor Jeffrey Hunter portrayed in "King of Kings."

Meanwhile, in my warped view, God was that heavenly Father figure Who was always trying to catch me in some act of disobedience and of Whom I was completely terrified, while the Holy Spirit remained this mysterious, ghostly figure to me. Casper sanctified. 

So I did my Lenten duty like the good girl that I was and checked the box "Done" forty days later. My parents were pleased. The teachers from my catechism classes were pleased. But....was the Lord pleased? I’m thinking not so much.

Yes, over the years, Lenten fasting sadly turned out being a torturous duty and drudgery for me; certainly not something I looked forward to and delighted in doing.  Also, for me, there was an underlying theme of fear running through it, especially if one had the misfortune of forgetting oneself and accidentally popped a forbidden food or drink into one's mouth in the midst of the Lenten season.

True confession time here, dear readers.  Once, during Lent, when I was twelve years old, I went to lunch with my older cousin, Charlene.  She ordered a few slices of pizza for herself, while I, not in the mood for pizza,  decided to order an Italian hot dog (and for those of you not from NJ and unfamiliar with this delicacy, it is a hot dog on an Italian roll, smothered with peppers, onions and potatoes). 

It wasn't until after I'd inhaled every last tasty morsel and we were both standing in the parking lot, ready to leave, that the harsh and frightening realization set in:

I had just eaten meat on a Friday during Lent!  

And -- not just ANY  Friday.

But Good Friday!!!!!! 

Needless to say, I became hysterical.  I waited for the skies above to immediately cloud over, for thunder to roar loudly and for God Himself to appear to personally hurl down a hand picked lightening bolt straight at my sinful, preteen head.  Or for the ground to dramatically split open around me, swallow me up and send me hurtling down the fast lane on the Highway to Hell, where I was surely headed after this major Lenten gaffe. 

I tearfully begged my cousin NOT to tell my parents what I had done, how low I had fallen, as I imagined them possibly disowning me or my getting to be the first in my family to be excommunicated from our church.  I feared I'd done what a friend of mine's family (who was rumored to have Mafia ties) used to laughingly warn him not to do: 'Don't disgrace the family.'

I can laugh about this whole scenario now, but really, it's kind of pathetic, because truly, this is NOT how our Father, Who loves us so much, wants us to perceive Him and react towards Him (like some angry, Holy Cop wielding His Divine taser gun), and it's most certainly NOT the way He wants us to view the season of Lent and our place within it.

So, now that I'm older and (hopefully) wiser, what does the season of Lent mean for me? What do I need to take away from or to add to my life, allowing me to focus more intently and joyfully and seriously on my Jesus? How can I prepare myself to hear His voice more clearly, to better understand and to accept anew His messages to me of His unconditional, unfailing love, His amazing grace, His perfect peace, His new-every-day mercies, His complete forgiveness?

Tomorrow, I look forward to being able to share some thoughts and insights with you all about this.  I hope you'll stop by.