Thoughts on observing Lent

 

  ** Welcome to my second controversial post after a period of writer's block. 

 I used to think only Catholics observed Lent, and then somewhere along life's journey I discovered it is not just a Catholic thing. I'll admit right up front that I am a Lent skeptic. I have always looked at it as something unnecessary and shallow. From my experience of being around people who observe it, Lent goes like this: you give up something you really like - such as chocolate or coffee -  for 40 days. You spend those 40 days telling everyone you meet that you are giving up that thing for Lent. You also spend those 40 days counting down the days until you can have chocolate or coffee, and the second Lent is over, you go gorge yourself on that thing you gave up for 40 days. OK, even I'll admit that is an awfully jaded view of Lent, but I am just being honest and authentic about it.....

  What if instead of giving up something for 40 days that we will run back to when Lent is over, we give up something forever? Radical thought. And what if you kept it between God and yourself instead of telling everyone around you what you are giving up?

What if we gave up Starbucks and did something better with all the money we pay for overpriced coffee?

What if we give up watching TV shows like Game of Thrones that we know aren't good for us and which hinder us spiritually?

What if we gave up the bitterness and anger we harbor?

What if we have up  the mask we wear, and be authentic and honest?

What if we spent less time on things that waste our time, such as social media?

What if we spent less time on us, and more on others?

   I am not sure the Bible supports giving up something for 40 days, only to go back to it (other than fasting). It definitely supports giving up some things for good.

  It is very unpopular anymore to suggest that there is anything a Christian should not do, places a Christian should not go, and things a Christian should not say. It is not Biblical at all to teach or believe that Christians have cart blanche when it comes to living. So maybe Lent would be a great time to examine ourselves, and stop doing things that we would be better off not doing as a Christian. That is what would truly please God, not giving up chocolate or coffee for 40 days.

**And I am sure there are people who aren't shallow and brag about it..... my experience has not been with those people though.

The 14th person

  The occasions my entire family gets together are rare. My youngest sister and her family travel. He preaches, they all sing, and they also do vacation Bible schools.... so they are often gone a week or more at a time. My oldest two nieces now have jobs, and the other adults all work. Yesterday was one of those rare times when we were all together. No one had to work or travel. It was my parents, myself, my sister Vicki and her husband and three girls, and my sister Pam and her husband and three boys...all 13 of us....plus one.

  Back in December, my family took an evening and went Christmas caroling to some people. One of those people was a lady who is probably in her late 60's or early 70's named Judy. My sisters and nieces work with this very nice lady who was widowed two years ago. She had no children of her own, and her late husband's children don't come around much, so she is usually alone. She had to work until 2 pm on July 4, and my sister felt like she should ask her to join us at my sister's house. We were gathering at 4:00, so there was plenty of time. Judy arrived a little before food, bringing a large bowl of fruit and several apologies for intruding on our day. We assured her she was not intruding, and welcomed her into our celebration.

 As the kids set off firecrackers and other loud and smoky fireworks, we adults watched my brother-in-law grill food on two grills, and chatted with Judy. When we ate, I urged her into line as she was hanging back, and more than one of us asked her if she wanted anything else and urged her to help herself.

    After we ate, the music began. As my nephews and youngest niece hit the swimming pool, some of us hit the instruments. My brother-in-law Paul was at the electric piano, I was playing the regular piano, and my oldest two nieces were on the flute and violin. Judy commented several times how talented our family was and how wonderful the music was, occasionally asking us if we could play a certain song. My mom and sisters saw her wiping tears away a few times as she enjoyed our music.

  She left to go home around 7, thanking us all again for including her. We thanked her for coming and assured her she was welcome and not an intrusion. I later told my sister it was a good call inviting her. We all knew she would have spent the afternoon and evening alone with no cookout and no company.

  But how many Judys are in our lives? How many people cross our paths who are alone, who spend not just most or all holidays alone; but most every other day of the year alone? And what are we willing to do about it? My family included a lady most of us don't know well in our July 4th celebration. It didn't put us out at all. She was easy to talk to and we had plenty of food..... but how much are we willing to inconvenience ourselves and make room in our busy lives to be there for someone.

  We are surrounded by hurting and lonely people. What if we Christians reached out more to such people, and if there is no one in our lives we can think of who might fit that.... pray that God would send someone into our lives for us to befriend and be there for in some capacity. Only God knows how many people are out there waiting for someone to show them they care.

Hope from an empty tomb

  Sometimes I think we are too hard on the people in the Bible. I have read and heard some of the stories and wondered "why couldn't they believe?" or "how could they be so blind/stupid?" One such story that has always amazed me is the disciples' reactions to Jesus' arrest, crucifixion, and death. All through the Gospels Jesus keeps dropping hints. He tells them He is going to be killed. He tells them He will rise on the third day, but the whole series of events surprises the daylights out of them.

  I can't imagine how they felt. They would have felt sorrow at the death of their friend and Lord. They would have felt despair, confusion, depression, anger..... and probably even betrayal. They had such high hopes for this Messiah. They all thought He was going to set up His kingdom here, kick some Roman butt, and set Israel free from their oppressors..... and He had let Himself be captured and killed. This Man who had done so many miracles, had simply stepped forward and allowed Himself to be taken by the men who hated Him and wanted Him dead. And even worse, He had stopped them from defending Him and attacking those men.

 And now their friend and Lord lay very dead in a borrowed tomb. The horror of watching Him crucified was bad, but I can't imagine afterwards. I doubt many of them slept much that night, if at all. And then morning came. If they had gotten any sleep, it would have all come rushing back. The arrest, the flogging, the mocking crowd, their cowardice and desertion, the crucifixion, and His last breath. I imagine they felt lower than low.

  I have had some pretty low times in my life. There have been times I wondered what on earth God was trying to prove... or where on earth God even was. I doubted Him, I have been angry at Him. I've cried that it isn't fair. I've looked at my hopes and dreams lying shattered and dead in front of me, and wondered "why me? Does God hate me that much?"

 But I don't think all of my troubles, my doubts and fears, my crushed dreams and hopes could compare to what the disciples were feeling.

 And can I really fault them for their doubts and fears, for ignoring or forgetting what Jesus told them was going to happen? I do the same thing. God has promised He'd take care of me, and I panic at the next crisis and wonder if He'll come through......forgetting He always has. I've sat with the ashes of my dreams and wondered if He could possibly have a plan for my life after all that I'd done and all that had happened, totally forgetting the promises in His Word. I am as guilty of doubting Him, forgetting what He promised, not trusting Him, and whatever else they were guilty of, as they were.

  But Sunday came for them. Jesus wasn't very dead in a hole in the rock anymore..... in fact, He wasn't dead at all. As someone has said, the stone wasn't rolled away so Jesus could get out - He didn't need it moved - it was rolled away to give hope and show Jesus' followers that He had risen as He had promised.

  I have been in the place where hope was made new, rose out of the ashes, felt God's assurance that He has my back and He still has a plan for my life. But it can't compare to the hope that burst forth on that first Easter morning when that group of sad and depressed disciples found out that Jesus was now alive.

  Any Christian can grasp that fact for ourselves, that we serve a risen Savior who took on our sins, died for our sins, and then rose again. We can never experience it like the disciples did, but we can get a glimpse of that every once in a while.. and not just at Easter.

 As we enter this Easter season, I can honestly say I am closer to God than I have ever been. My mask is gone, I know I serve a Savior who loves me far more than I can ever grasp. I am daily amazed at His unending patience, mercy, and grace for me. He has been showing me things, helping me grow, letting me know I need to improve in this area or that, and forgiving me when I fail again at improving in an area...... and He is more real to me than ever. I have finally moved beyond head knowledge and truly gotten it in my heart.

  So I am looking forward to Easter more this year than I usually do. No, I can't have much candy due to this diabetes diagnoses, but that isn't what it is all about. It is about a cross on a hill, a Savior who loved me enough to take my place on that cross, and it is about an empty hole in a rock that tried to hold this Jesus who loves me so much, but failed miserably and was emptied as that same Jesus rose again and walked out of that tomb.

  There is no hope equal to the hope that comes from an empty tomb.

God, the ghost writer

The older I get, the faster time seems to fly by. Here we are starting yet another new year. Someone has said that January 1 is the first blank page of a 365 page book, and to write a good one.... though this year there will be 366 blank pages.

  But is it that easy? We are not totally in charge of our own stories. None of us know what tomorrow holds. We have no idea of the challenges we will face, of what life will throw our way.

  This is a time of making resolutions and goals for the coming year. Statistics show that the percentage of people who actually keep their New Year's resolutions all year long is a very small percentage - 8%. I've made them in the past, and I have broken them. Statistics also show that people over the age of 45 don't tend to make New Year's resolutions, and I joined that age group this past year; so I am less inclined to make them even if I normally would.

  I look at this new year, this book of 366 blank pages with mixed emotions:

There is a level of fear and worry of the unknown.

There is the knowledge that there are changes I need to make.

There is hope for things to be better and for me to improve in the areas I need to improve in and change.

There is the realization that even with my best intentions, that there are a lot of things in this coming year that will not be in my control.

  We can take up our pen and try to write what we want, but this isn't like writing a physical book. We don't know what is best to write. Events and people will interfere with what we want to write and affect the outcome of our story. Most likely, when we reach the last page of this 366 page book and put "the end" on that last page, the story will not be everything we wanted it to be. It may not be remotely close to what we want it to be.

  That is why the best thing we can do is to give God this book of blank pages. Some people use what is called a "ghost writer". That is when someone writes a book for another person, and the person who didn't write the book gets his or her name on the cover. Having God as our "ghost writer" is the best thing we can do this year. It is our story, yet giving Him total control over our story is the wisest decision we can make for 2016. And unlike the normal ghost writer, we should give God all of the credit for how our story turns out.

  There are things I want to do, things that I need to do; but if my plans and wishes are not surrendered to God; my story will be a failure. I don't tend to do very well when I take the pen in hand and attempt to write what I want. He always knows best.

  So this year, I am making one resolution. Yes, I hope to lose some weight, to love more, laugh more often, do more for others, get a better and closer job, get my own place again, be an even better uncle and better person. Those are things I hope to do.

  But I resolve to draw closer to God, to aim more to be the man He wants me to be, to live the life He wants me to live..... to let Him write my story and to give him the blank pages of my coming year... of my life....and let Him write what He knows is best. After all, our story is His story.

  There is a hymn that says it best:

I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.

Refrain

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I will hasten, hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.

I am resolved to go to the Savior,
Leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One, He is the just One,
He hath the words of life.

Refrain

I am resolved to follow the Savior,
Faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth,
He is the living Way.

Refrain

I am resolved to enter the kingdom
Leaving the paths of sin;
Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,
Still will I enter in.

Refrain

Day two

It is easy to look at the disciples and other friends of Jesus and wonder at their disbelief. Jesus had told them that He would rise on the third day, yet they reacted like they had no clue. The events of Good Friday devastated them. The One they had placed so much hope in was dead.

  Then day two came. Some things are worse the next day. You have a troubled night of sleep, if you sleep at all. Then morning comes, and it all comes flooding back. It had to be just of a dark day for them as the day before. Jesus didn't come down off of the cross. He had died and was right then in a tomb, lifeless. Their hopes and dreams were crushed.

  There's a song I like to hear this time of year, it goes like this:

Day one they found him guilty and sentenced him to die
When the crowd heard the news they shouted "crucify"
Crowned with thorns they mocked His name and nailed Him to the cross
He hung there till His dying breath
Day one all hope was lost

Day two it's still and quiet,  the crowd had all gone home
His broken body in the tomb sealed with the soldier's stone
Believers who had followed him weep and question why
Seeds of fear and doubt take hold
Day two disciples hide
(Oh they hide)

Day three His body's missing the stone was rolled away
An angel of the Lord appeared when the women came
Trembling out of fear and joy, amazed at what they find
They quickly run to spread the word
Day three He is alive (Jesus is Alive)

Day one the hill ran crimson red with blood to cleans all sin
Day two reminds us keep the faith when the doubts set in
Oh what difference one day makes from death to victory
The cross became an empty grave on day three


   Not much is said about Saturday of Holy Week. It had to be rough. The disciples were in hiding, afraid they'd be next. The Savior they had hoped would deliver them from the Romans was gone, lying dead in a borrowed tomb.

Day two it's still and quiet,  the crowd had all gone home
His broken body in the tomb sealed with the soldier's stone
Believers who had followed him weep and question why
Seeds of fear and doubt take hold
Day two disciples hide

  We look back and wonder where was their faith? They had walked with Jesus for three years and seen Him perform tons of miracles. If anyone knew His heart and what He was going to do, it should have been them. How could they doubt Him after all they had been through with Him?

"Day two reminds us keep the faith when the doubts set in"

 And yet we do the same thing. Saturday comes for all of us at some point, and more than once for most of us. Life is going great, then BAM! Something happens and we doubt God, Sure, He helped us in the past, but this is now, and we can't see a way through. Some Saturdays last more than a day. They can last weeks, months, a lifetime...... dark, discouraging times and we doubt and fear. 

 I do it. I get discouraged, depressed, down. I pray and pray about something - or somethings - and God doesn't act as fast as I expect, or it seems He doesn't act at all, so I doubt and lose faith. I wonder if He really cares, of He truly loves me. If He did, then why..... If it is really bad, I have questioned if He really exists. If He does, then surely He would have answered that prayer by now, helped in that situation by now...... and the doubts and fears grow. Maybe I am not a Christian after all, maybe this, maybe that..... and all the while, the answer may be on the morrow, or next week. 

 There is a lot to learn about the events of Holy Week, and many lessons we can take away from it. The most important is of course Jesus died for our sins and rose again, but maybe the reason He waited til third day was to remind us that Sunday always comes. No matter how dark our Saturdays may be, there is always hope. God always comes through. It may not be how or when we want and expect Him to, but He always comes through. Saturday doesn't last forever.

The day in between

   

This being Holy Week, my thoughts have naturally been on the cross, resurrection, and other events of Holy Week. And I got to thinking about the one day that had to be the worst for the disciples and other followers of Jesus. Saturday.

   Thursday was good until the evening when they arrested Jesus. And it all went downhill from there. Friday brought the crucifixion. They had been riding a high most of the week, starting with the Triumphant Entry. They must have thought Jesus was finally going to kick the Romans out and deliver the Jews from their reign, but to have it all end with Jesus dying on the cross.

  Then Sunday came and changed everything. By their reactions to Jesus appearing to them, it is obvious they didn't believe He would rise again. I can't imagine the emotions they went through, from total despair on Friday, to triumph and victory on Sunday.

  But what about that day in between? Saturday. I don't imagine they got much sleep the night before, and most likely spent the night in mourning and tears. Saturday had to be rough. Jesus, the man they had put so much hope in, was dead. They had nothing to look forward to.

  Everyone has had a time in their lives when something bad happened. The day was terrible, and then you go to bed and try to sleep, and manage to get some. Then the next day comes, and it all comes rushing back.....

  That is where the disciples were.  Friday was bad. The one that had followed faithfully was dead and buried. In addition to their sorrow, they were most likely all dealing with guilt for running and not sticking by his side. Peter was feeling the agony from denying his Savior three times. This day that is called Holy Saturday wouldn't have seemed very holy to them, but dark. Very dark. Yesterday, hope died with Jesus. Tomorrow, He would rise and turn everything around, but they didn't believe that.

  I've been there. I have been on the mountain top, and everything is going great, and then BAM! Things are dark, temptations heavy, God seems far away. I am in the day in between.

  And unfortunately, the day can be long. It can be weeks, months, even years.

  I am not sure when depression hit, but it was at least 6 years ago. I believe there was more than one factor, or at least more than one thing that made it worse. I was one of those people who used to believe Christians didn't get depressed, and thankfully I changed my mind on that long before it hit me.

  If you have never dealt with it, you cannot understand it. Prayer doesn't help, trying to cheer up doesn't help. Things you love to do, hold no appeal. God seems so far away, and your prayers seem to hit the ceiling and fall back to the floor to shatter around you. It is rough, and it is dark.  I wondered if "Sunday" would ever come, but it did. I may always deal with depression on some level, but it doesn't control me anymore, and I have come a long way with it.

  I remember a time about 10-11 years ago that happened, ironically, on a Friday. A friend and co-worker took a knife, stuck it deep in my back, and laughed as she shattered my world. I didn't think Sunday would ever come, and I spent many sleepless nights struggling to recover from betrayal, loss, and a broken heart.

  But good came out of it, though I would never go through that again for the world. The "day in between" was so hard and dark. But that day ended.

  It is so easy to lose our focus in the rough times, in those days in between the bad days and good days. It can seem like what we are going through will never end, but it does. It is rarely in our time, but God's, and some things may last a lifetime, only to have Heaven be the ultimate Sunday.

  When Jesus appeared to the disciples, they forgot about the day before when they had hidden in fear, and had felt so hopeless. They had hope like never before, and it totally changed them. These same disciples who ran and cowered in fear, all fearlessly preached the risen Christ, and with the exception of John, died for Jesus. I doubt that Saturday in between tragedy and triumph came to mind very often, for everything was changed and made it all worth it.

  Today is Good Friday, the day Jesus died for my sins and everyone else who ever lived, or ever will live. Tomorrow is the day in between Good Friday and the Resurrection of that same Jesus. For us, it isn't a dark time, for we know what happened. Jesus arose and completed our salvation. It was the best day that ever happened.

  And likewise... whatever we are going through right now will end. You may have been on the mountain, and now you're in a valley that seems so dark, deep, and unending. But just like the ultimate day in between, "this too shall come to pass" and you'll be back on the mountain again. Whether it be one literal day, or months or years, it will come to pass. And even if it doesn't seem worth it here, when we get to Heaven, it will definitely be worth it all.

  Happy Easter.

Celebrate death!

   Four more days to Halloween. Wow. Can't wait! Truthfully, I can. Halloween is almost like any other day to me. I say "almost" because you have to watch for idiots throwing pumpkins or pulling some other juvenile and dangerous stunt. I don't do Halloween. I leave my porch light off, and don't decorate for it.

   When I was a kid, my parents let us kids dress up and go door to door in our small neighborhood, and then they'd take us by car to some of our relatives, and that was fun. Times have changed though and it isn't safe to let your kids go door to door. Besides, I think Halloween teaches kids wrong. It teaches them to be little beggars and that you can get something for nothing. (Sounds like Obama's followers..... Halloween must have been a Democrat idea!)

    I am not going to go out and try to do away with Halloween. What people want to do with it is their business, but I don't get the appeal. There is so much about Halloween that is associated with death, the devil, witches, ghosts.... none of the things Christians should have anything to do with anyway, but when did we start glorifying death and these creatures that are associated with evil. Take the house pictured below:

 

    What is so great about having fake tombstones in your yard?! There isn't a person on this earth that hasn't been touched by death. Death isn't funny or fun. It hurts those left behind, so why would anyone want symbols of death in their yards? When I see a house heavily decorated with that kind of stuff like the one above, I just shake my head. I've seen coffins, fake bodies... you name it. I'm serious - why celebrate death? Why put out symbols of death and evil? And you know what I've noticed..... in a lot of cases, the people who decorate heavily for Halloween don't do much, if anything, for Christmas. And no, I'm not saying you have to decorate for Christmas, but still.... its kind of weird to make so much over Halloween, a holiday associated with death and evil, and not do much for Christmas, a holiday all about life and God sending His Son into the world...... we Christians have the best holidays.

 

    I'm not going to knock people who decorate some for Halloween and send their kids out trick or treating, but I do have serious reservations about getting too much into the holiday. Death and evil aren't funny, nor are they anything to be trifled with. I believe if we could get a glimpse into the demonic world and the occult world..... if we could see what witches, goblins, ghosts, and devils really are and what they are all about - I believe we'd burn our Halloween decorations that portray them.

 

   Don't celebrate death this October 31. Celebrate life!