Lent & Sacrifices

I have been reading a few blogs and I feel I must put something on my own blog about Lent & sacrifices. Many religions observe Lent.....the 40+ days before Easter as a time of cleansing and reflection of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Many people ask me what "religion" I am, I tell them I have relationship.....religion is going through the motions, relationship is going through the emotions and really getting to know Jesus first as Savior, then Lord of one's life, then as Friend, and ultimately Bridegroom. But if I had to put a label on myself, it is Full Gospel. I don't observe the Lent season, but I do daily die out as God's word commands. I fast, pray, & spend time in the Secret Place with my Lord. I love to scripture dive, some call it reading God's word, but it is better then dumpster diving....you always come out of it with a precious nugget or two and smell a whole lot better then dumpster diving!

I have read a few blogs where folks are stating what they are giving up for Lent, and frankly I am saddened. It appears that man has taken God's command to fast, cleanse & purge oneself to a specific time line and have missed the whole point. God required a sacrifice for the people of the world's sin and He provided the perfect Lamb in His Son Jesus. If you ever watched The Passion of Christ, produced by Mel Gibson, then you get a pretty good idea of the depth of sacrifice Jesus made for you and me. The blogs I have read stated people where "going to go to church 1 day a week" as their Lent sacrifice. Granted they may have small children and at best I would call them going to church with small children an inconvenience at best, but not a sacrifice. We are commanded by God to "not forsake the assembly of believers" which means we should NOT forsake going and gathering with other believers. There is such strength and edification in attending church weekly. There is such love of the brethren that cannot be duplicated by any other activity....besides there is strength in numbers. The corporate anointing when believers gather for the right purpose, worshiping God, is so awesome and powerful it can put flight to ten thousand like God's word says.

According to my buddy Webster, to sacrifice is the forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a higher value or claim; the act of offering something in homage to. A sacrifice costs something....not necessarily monetarily, but it costs something. Going to church is an act of obedience, not a sacrifice by definition. In my opinion and by definition a proper sacrifice in this season of Lent would be "fasting" a favorite food or one meal a day.....fasting negative speech & attitudes (this one is a toughie....you would be surprised how much negative stuff we say about ourselves, others and life in general).....fasting a TV program we would hate to miss.....heck just shutting off the old TV and spending more time with God in prayer and scripture diving!

Man has taken the very essence of God's word and twisted it to conform to man's lifestyle and agenda. I think it is time for all "Christians" to get back into God's word, back on their knees and get back to the real meaning of what it means to be a Christian....the very word means little Christ! I think it is time for all of us to get out of our selfish selves and get back to the basics of God's word....get back to the business of the Father. Many so called "Christians" are going to go through the motions of this Lent season....give up something they deem a sacrifice...then when Easter is all over they are going to go back to their old ways and habits....they bring out their Christianity a couple times of the year by attending church around Easter & Christmas and put their Christianity back on the shelf and do their own thing.

The true definition of repentance is to #1 acknowledge the sin, #2 confess the sin and ask God for forgiveness #3 to turn completely the opposite way you were walking and start walking the life of Christ.....not to acknowledge, confess, seek forgiveness and then keep doing the same old thing. We are not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the very word of God! To be conformed is an outward thing....but to be transformed is an inward work of Christ....to become His glorious image...to become His hands and feet to those around us; this in essence is the progression from servant to friend to bride! May you make this Lent season a daily season beloved brother/sister in Christ. May you come to fully understand all that Jesus gave up and sacrificed for you....you are the precious pearl He gave all to have! May you surrender your rights and desires to obtain His character & will. It is a sweet surrender, a perilous journey but an excellent one nonetheless. God Bless!