Fifth Sunday in Lent

As we enter the last weeks of Lent we should look back and remember why we started this Lenten journey.

We started a 40 day fast because Jesus fasted. One of the goals of the Christian life is to be imitators of Christ, and we have a yearly fast as one way to help us accomplish this goal.

We started the fast because at various times throughout Scripture God calls his people to fast and pray. God called his people to step out of the normal routine of life for the purpose of removing sin from their lives and to draw them closer to Him.

This is the most important reason we fast, to allow God a chance to shake up our lives, to draw out of us the “sin that so easily ensnares” and to lead us into a fuller richer life with Him.

As we come close to the end of our Lenten journey and prepare for coming celebration of Easter, remember why you began the fast and be sure to finish it with the same purpose as you started.

Fourth Sunday in Lent

What a difference a week makes. Last week we were struggling with maintaining our fast and not wavering. This week it seems that the struggle is not so much maintaining our fast, but remembering that it is only temporary.

It has been long enough that now what was once a struggle may be becoming part of everyday life. Something that is not out of the ordinary. Which is more dangerous than struggling with keeping our fast.

Struggling to keep our fast means that we still feel like we are giving something up for God, that we are working to maintain the commitment we made. Now, if it becomes something not out of the ordinary, we may forget why we are fasting, why what we are doing is important.

As we continue on our Lenten journey, remember that you are fasting for a purpose. Do not let your fast become so commonplace that it loses its meaning.

Third Sunday in Lent

As we begin the third week of Lent, it might be tempting to let your fast slip.

Nothing permanent--just indulge this once. Break the fast because it is getting hard.

You may be saying to yourself: God will understand. After all, He created me. He knows I am not perfect. But, He also knows that you made the commitment to a Lenten fast.

Remember Jesus’s fasting and testing in the wilderness. He was in the scorching desert without food or water. He was tested to break His fast by none other than Satan. Imagine the pressure that Satan would put on the Son of God to sin, then compare that to the pressure you are feeling to break your fast.

Take strength and courage from the fact that Jesus did not break under the kind of pressure that we cannot imagine. Take comfort in the fact that He, according to the Book of Hebrews, is in heaven right now, interceding for you as one who has suffered and endured.

Second Sunday in Lent

This year as we continue our Lenten fast it is beneficial that we remember Jesus’s teaching on fasting. Matthew’s gospel tells us:

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Fasting is a private act between you and God, to be seen only by God. Remember that you are fasting not to earn the respect and favor of the other Christians around you. You are fasting to draw closer to God. It is a private act to show God how important He is to you, and as Jesus told us, God will see your devotion and reward you for it.