The season of Lent in Christendom begins on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 and ends on Saturday, April 23, 2011. This 40 day period of fasting and prayer (excluding Sundays) has been recognized by the Christian faith for centuries. Below is a prayer and scripture itinerary for this year. This was compiled by my church and I am sharing it with you all in hopes that it can serve as a guide for all of us during this time.
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email. michaelswortham@gmail.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 marks the beginning of Lent for this year. Lent is a period of preparation and consecration for all of Christendom. During this 40-day period (March 9-April 23: excluding Sundays), we engage in a time of fasting and prayer, of self-denial and sacrifice in hopes of strengthening our relationship with the God of our salvation.
The 40 days are representative of the time period that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying while being tempted by Satan. This time in the wilderness occurred prior to his public ministry. Before engaging in ministry, Jesus went through a period of fasting and prayer. Jesus went through a period in which he went into solitude to be with God and eliminated those things that were hindering him from being closer to God. Jesus throughout his ministry found time to get away from everyone and spend time with God. Before we embark on journeys in life it important that we pull ourselves from the things that distract us from hearing God. In order to gain clarity and insight on our life's journey, it is important that we engage in periods of fasting and prayer.
The period of Lent is not a competition. It's not about "who can out fast who." This period of fasting and prayer is between us and God. We do not have to advertise that we are participating in Lent or that we are fasting. We don't have to share with the world what we are giving up. This is about us and God.
And give up something that is going to actually to be a struggle for you. The point of fasting is removing those things that we feel we can't "live without" and replace those things with the One we can't "live without." Jesus fasted from food and water, two things we need to live, but that was replaced with God. For us is may be fried food, candy, fast food, etc. For some it may be twitter, facebook, television, etc. For others it may be alcohol, sex, clubbing, etc. What we must do is search within ourselves and be honest with ourselves and ask "What is it that is hindering me from getting closer to God? What is it that is preventing from hearing the voice of God"
In the next post, I will provide a weekly scripture and prayer itinerary that my church provided for us. We can use this as a guide to help us during this period.
I will be in much prayer for all us during this period. God Bless.
This is Minister Mike, and I want you to Consider This...
“What love got to do, got to do with it...” -Tina Turner
“How beautiful love can be/On the streets love is hard to see/It’s a place I got to be/LOVING YOU IS LOVING ME...” -Common
“‘Teacher which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. One these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’” -Matthew 22:36-40
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” -John 13:34-35
“This is my commandment, that you love another as I have loved you. No greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. I do not call you servants any longer...but I have called you friends...” -John 15:13,15
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” -1 John 4:7-8
Tina Turner in 1984 asked a question that many people have continued to ask since that day. Tina asked the world “What’s love got to do with it?” She went on to say that love was nothing but “a second hand emotion.” Then she topped off and said “who needs a heart when a heart can be broken.” And I know in some way, shape or fashion people can relate to what Tina Turner was talking about. If we look at her life and the history of abuse she faced, we can see why she questioned love. There have been times in our lives where we probably questioned loved. If we look at society, the lack of love is easy to see. When we look at the news, stories of violent crimes are generally the headlines. The abuse that occurs behind closed doors that we don’t hear about. The way we treat the homeless, poor, and less fortunate. The lack of love is evident in the world. It appears that the world has taken on the “what’s love got to do with it attitude.” But Jesus reminds me that love has EVERYTHING to do with it.
Love is a (and I almost want to say the) foundational principle that Christianity stands upon. Christianity and Love go together like lock and key. As a Christian we are commanded by God to love. Not only this but people will recognize that we belong to God if we love one another. The problem is that we have a hard time loving one another. We have difficulty loving our enemies. We have challenges loving people who have betrayed us. We have problems loving somebody who we cannot profit from in some way, shape, or fashion. Sometimes we even struggle to love people we know we are “supposed” to love. God never said that loving would be easy, but that does not mean that we excused from loving God and God’s people.
Our society encourages us to be self-centered. The world revolves around us and it is a privilege for you to be in MY galaxy. I believe that it is important for people to love themselves but when it gets to a point of narcissism then we have a problem. This self-obsession that has overtaken many in the world has become detrimental to the health of society. I love the line in hook to Common’s song “Love Is.” He says that “loving you is loving me.” Common has summed up what Christ teaches us in the Gospels. By loving my neighbor, I am loving God and myself. By treating God’s people as my neighbor and my friend, I am in turn loving God and myself. By stepping out of my own little world and stepping into the world of my neighbor’s, I am loving God and myself.
So at the end of the day, Love has everything to do with it. It is important that we embrace this principle of love. Love has the capacity to change the world. The love of God has transformative power. Love has the capability of turning the most cold-hearted person and this cold-hearted world around. We must embrace it though. By embracing love, we are embracing God because God is love.
This is Minister Mike and I want you to Consider This...
Below is the weekly itinerary that my church (Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA) is following during this season of Lent. The guide is composed of different scripture passages for each day of Lent that can be used in your time of meditation and devotion. I hope this helps during this time of prayer, fasting, and consecration. And see some Baptist churches do observe Lent lol. I am praying for all of us.
Tomorrow will begin the season of Lent. Lent is a liturgical season that precedes the holiest period on the Christian Calendar, Easter. This 40 day period is a time for the church universal to fast and prayer together in anticipation and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus which is celebrated on Easter.
This 40 day period is also a time for the church universal to commit and dedicate itself to the Lord through the spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayer. Fasting is a spiritual discipline in which we deprive ourselves of desires in efforts to deepen and strengthen our relationship with God. Those desires we deprive ourselves are replaced with prayer, meditation, and scripture in efforts to become closer to God.
This 40 day period of fasting and prayer is representative of the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying prior to his public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). I am convinced that the 40 day period was necessary preparation for Jesus so he would be able to fulfill the task that God placed before him. There are also other references in the gospels in which Jesus went to be alone. It is important that we reserve time in which we spend intimate time with God so we can remain clear on what God's will for us in this world.
I encourage us all to take this time serious. Let us not give up something for 40 days, pat ourselves on the back, and then go back to business as usual. In the words of my big sis (shout out to Allyson Smith) Lent is not about giving up things in efforts to "prove how hardcore you are for God" but with hopes of getting closer to God.
We should come out the season of Lent transformed and renewed. We should better coming out of Lent than we did coming in. I encourage us to allow the transformative work of God to take place in all us during this season of Lent in hopes that we will be more dedicated and committed to the work of God just as Christ was when he descended from that mountain after 40 days of fasting and prayer.
