“We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 75:1
Dear friends,
“Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
The Lenten season has annually been morphed into a bizarre collective of sacrificing life practices, including giving up certain TV shows, hiding the Reeses for a few weeks, and making promises that never get fulfilled.
This first Holy season of 2025 is perfectly timed to pull us out of the swampland that the world has pushed all of us into. You know what I am referring to, the reality that has added physical and emotional stress into most people’s lives, the words and actions that have increased division and led to the loss of friendships and even familial relationships, all due to misplaced alliances and allegiances.
As people who call ourselves Christians, it is frequently difficult to get our days together to accomplish our daily tasks, much less to align with God. But truthfully, when we don’t align with God it is almost impossible to grasp the peace of God that goes beyond human understanding, much less to experience the joy of the Lord. This is because when you disconnect with God and make others your priority, it is clear to everyone, especially to the Lord, that your strength is not from God.
So this Lenten season we all need to take a DEEP BREATH … yes, we need to find STILL WATERS or GREEN MEADOWS for some soul restoration. But are you willing to make this LENTEN SEASON personal for you?
Making it personal begins with shutting down any influencers who you are aligning with, because those TV talking heads, Tik Tok shouters, or YouTube twisted minds are pushing you away from God’s Word … away from Jesus. I know that there are some of our church members and all too many of my friends who can tell me what someone said on FOX or MSNBC but cannot tell me the last time they read even a page from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Is that you? Have you come to value the talking heads more than you connect with God? You will never find the joy of the Lord if you keep that up.
So strategize with me. Pick one hour of your week’s 168 hours that you will absolutely commit to God and yourself. Just pause in a quiet place to either read Scripture, pray, or listen to music of faith. You can have this hour driving by yourself, in a park, on your porch, or just somewhere when you turn the phone off and tell your loved ones LEAVE ME ALONE with GOD! ONE HOUR each week DURING LENT, because you want to make LENT personal this year. My hour will be Thursday mornings from 11am until noon.
Rather than being overly focused on giving up stuff … can you agree to read the Bible each day from Ash Wednesday through Easter? It doesn’t matter how much you read, just that you read God’s Word each day. I have a feeling you can read a page or two of the Bible in less than 15 minutes, so if you are making LENT personal this year, that is not much of a challenge.
Finally, will you commit yourself to coming to church for all of the services of the Lenten season? Ash Wednesday, Sunday services, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter? Now, that means not sleeping in on gray Sunday mornings and actually coming to church ready to worship, perhaps even silently praying to God during the prelude or sometime during the service while looking at our stained glass windows.
If we make Lent personal, I believe we will be better people of faith after Easter. People capable of delivering on God’s instructions to us to love God, love our neighbors, and to care for those who are hurting. Flipping our all-too-human realities where we are overly focused on the human world while neglecting God’s expectations. We can do this together … we can make Lent Personal This Year!
Blessings,
Pastor Dave