Ash Wednesday

Today marks the beginning of Lent. People everywhere are giving things up. There is the traditional fasting, people using Lent to kick off a diet, or giving up Facebook addictions for a period of time. And these can be good things. Like new years resolutions, they can be good catalysts to change. But the question that is important to ask when giving things up is what you will doing instead.

For example, if you are giving up chocolate - do you rely on it when you are stressed? Will you rely on prayer instead? When you give up Facebook, what will you do with the time you normally spend on the computer? Will you waste it by watching more TV or will you spend that time in the Bible?

The goal of Lent is to draw us closer to God. In this first day of the Lenten Bible study I am reading, the author, N.T. Wright, says this, "Whenever God does something new, he involves people - often unlikely people, frequently surprised and alarmed people. He asks them to trust him in a new way, to put aside their natural reactions, to listen humbly for a fresh word and to act on it without knowing exactly how it's going to work out. That's what he's asking all of us to do this Lent." ~ N.T. Wright, Lent for Everyone devotion

This lent it is my prayer to be ready to trust God in whatever new opportunities come my way. I am not giving anything up, rather I am committing to this Lent Bible study, and to reflect on my days and my readings in this blog. I pray that you will also seek to trust God more fully this Lenten season, and see how that trust changes your life. Let us enter this journey together.

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