The Journey

Forgiveness, it's a part of the Journey

I was reading Mark 2 this morning, and the first story is Jesus healing the paralytic who was dropped through the roof by his friends.  It's an amazing story of friendship, community, and Jesus' mission to heal the physical and the spiritual. 

He reached out the cure the man unable to walk on his own, but He didn't stop to focus on the physical part of the healing.  Jesus looked at the teachers of the law and said, "Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?" Mark 2:9.

The beauty of the healing isn't simply that a paralyzed man walked, although that might be enough; but the real power in the statement is when Jesus claims His authority to heal sin.  If we hold to the idea we've all sinned against God (Romans 3:23), and the gift of God is life (Romans 6:23), Jesus came to fulfill the hope of physical healing, and the reality of spiritual healing.

We've all got times we suffer from a place of inadequacy, the guilt of a move we made we weren't proud of, or we did something we know is just wrong.  EVERYONE.  I could create a laundry list of failure on this blog I've experienced in my own life, often created when I know I purposely chose to do something that hurt someone, myself, or even crossed the boundaries God set up for me. 

But remember, the HOPE we celebrate during this sacrificial season of Lent points to the healing power of Jesus. 

He came to forgive.
He came to make all things new.
He gave us a way of living that points to our inner fears and said, "You're ok."
He came to validate us as a creation of the Creator.
He gave us vision that in the middle of our own paralytic nature, He offers healing and freedom for us. 

Today as you spend time focusing on your journey, spend time meditating on the healing power served up from a God who loves you more than anything else in the universe. 

Don't Forget

I saw this hat the other day, and it reminded me of the journey we're on here this lenten season.  So often, we have good intentions that go awry.  Remember that new year's resolution?  How are you doing on that? 

The Season isn't built for us to simply have good intentions.  In order to understand the journey from now until Easter, we have to continually put ourselves in a place of remembrance. 

Remember this is not a season for the light hearted.
Remember, this isn't just a good intention resolution.
Remember, we are taking time to remember who we really are in the world as it relates to a Creator. 

Take some time today to remember. 

Remember how hope is the center of the season.
Remember how rescue is the promise of this faith.
Remember how God came to make all things new. 

As the urge to drink that coke, eat that meat, get on facebook, or whatever you've chosen as your lenten sacrifice rears its ugly head.  It's for a reason.  Keep on Keeping Strong. 

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
(1 Timothy 1:7)

Remember Today!

Giving it Up

What is following Jesus all about?  It's about giving it up, letting it go, giving your own desires up for the good of others.  Paul says, " For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." (Romans 12:3)

We all have this issue, don't we?  We often think we have it together.  We feel like we have rights to do certain things that may or may not contribute to our own hubris.  There's an underlying need to feel as though someone owe's us something, but in reality; we're all just trying to pass through life the best we know how. 

Following Jesus' teachings is to understand the reality of our existence.  We're simply people.  That's all.  Each of us has been given gifts from our creator, and we all need to experience the gifts of everyone.  No one has a gift more valuable than another, as God sees it all contributing to the whole.  (Romans 12, 1 Cor. 12, 1 Cor. 14 etc..) 

This Thursday at lent, lets focus on giving up the 'right to be,' and posturing ourselves as 'grateful we are.'

You can imagine how messed up our worldview must get when we walk through life thinking we have more to offer than we really do.  Today, I'm thankful God has given me life and life more abundantly. 

How do you plan on celebrating Ash Wednesday?

It's all over for Fat Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday is today.  Ash Wednesday is a time to reflect and begin to examine how you will spend the next month or so looking forward to Easter Sunday.  Usually it takes the form of fasting, or denying yourself something in order to work into the rhythm of sacrifice. 

As we take this Lent season seriously, here are a few questions for your lenten journey.

What will you sacrifice in preparation for your celebration? (many people choose something of significance that will be a constant reminder throughout their day.)

As you examine your own life today, what hope are you needing to show itself in your own state?

The scripture says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:10-12)

Join us, as we journey together this season. 

Fat Tuesday...TODAY!!

Today is Fat Tuesday all around the world, and millions are living it up.  Although the original meaning of the day has been lost in the reveille of the the party; the day still holds a special place in the rhythm of the calendar of the faithful. 

The day before Ash Wednesday has traditionally been a time of preparation for confession, a time where the old is finally been pent up for the long journey of Lent.  The Lent season is upon us as those of us who celebrate the tradition prepare for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. We fast from things in our life that take our attention off the hope of life and life more abundantly.  

We believe evey person on the planet is living in the muck and the myer of life, looking for hope.  It's not a condition special to the faithful, everyone on earth has the same longing.  It's a plague of humanity. 

Imagine the world much like a fish living in a bowl of muddy water.  No matter what kind of fish you are, we all have to endure the filthiness of disease, disappointment, and ultimately death.  The only difference between the fish who believe in God and those who choose not to is, the hope of something different.  We have a hope the muddy water will one day be clean. 

It must be. 

We can't simply think the world spins with all its ills, and not hope for something better.  Why would you ever get out of bed if all you had to look forward to was the hope of death?  Each day we are either living or dying, and the bottom line is, if you're search for meaning has led you to a place where the hope of life rules, you're living in the present, and you'll go on living...FOREVER!

Fat Tuesday isn't just a party.  It's a time when believers all over the world are in preparation for a long season of anticipation.  We anticipate hope.  We anticipate life.  We anticipate meaning through the gospel story. 

I'm excited to post my Lent Journey with you this season.  I'd love for you to join me as we await the celebration coming.  We start Ash Wednesday tomorrow and we journey until Sunday April 8th. 

I look forward to hearing your stories as well.  Feel free to post your journey, and we can do this thing together. Share it with your friends, and let's see what happens.  Not all of us will make it to the end, but it will be fun as we lock arms together. 

I wonder...

What would happen if thousands of teens and college students all over the world took the time to prepare, sacrifice, and focus this season?   Would the world notice?