I am aware, as I write this, that today is Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. Lent is a time when many Christians and churches begin to think about and prepare for Easter. It is a forty-day period of fasting and prayer intended to encourage Christians to think about sin and forgiveness through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While for some it may be a vain attempt to follow a set of rules and regulations to be pious enough to find acceptance with God for many others it can be a genuine time of personal discipline and denial to encourage a greater awareness of God and devotion to Him.

This Lenten season as we head toward Easter we thought it might be a good idea to encourage our church family to be focusing on the Lord Jesus and draw near to Him through fasting and prayer. We have alerted our Lifegroup Shepherds about this and asked them to encourage their groups to consider fasting and praying. Fasting can take many forms such as fasting from; food, sweet things (sugar, cakes, ice-cream, especially chocolate!), meat, alcohol, caffeine, entertainment, television, technology, facebook, shopping, an attitude or bad habit. You name it, there are any number of things that we can deny ourselves as a form of spiritual self-discipline in order to prompt us to pray and read more of the Scriptures.

Currently our E100 is seeing great support in the church and is encouraging many so how about adding fasting and increased prayer to the spiritual discipline of reading the Word of God everyday?

It is significant that Lent is a period of 40 days in preparation for Easter as 40 day and year periods have great significance in Scripture, consider the following; God sent rain upon the earth in the great flood for 40 days and nights (Genesis 7:4), Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 34:28), Elijah spent 40 days and nights walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), the 12 spies spent 40 days exploring the Promised Land (Numbers 13:25), the Hebrew people spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness (Numbers 32:13), they also ate manna for 40 years (Exodus 16:35), Jonah told the people of Nineveh they had 40 days to repent or face God’s judgement (Jonah 3:4), Israel was oppressed by the Philistines for 40 years (Judges 13:1), for 40 days Goliath taunted Israel (1 Samuel 17:16), David reigned over Israel for 40 years (2 Samuel 5:4), Solomon also reigned over Israel for 40 years (1 Kings 11:42), Saul reigned for 40 years  (Acts 13:21), and perhaps most well known is Jesus spending 40 days fasting in the wilderness at the beginning of His earthly ministry (Matt 4:1-2).

What can you pray for during the next 40 days? Your spiritual growth, your attitudes, words, actions, your family, your marriage, your work, your health, your unsaved friends, the church, the pastors and elders, missionaries both local and overseas, marriages, churches in Adelaide and throughout Australia, government, political leaders, our nation. There are many things we can be in prayer for, how about taking the time to write a list and then pray through it? Perhaps Lent and a dedicated time of fasting and prayer could encourage you spiritually to go to a new level of growth and vibrancy in your walk with the Lord. Your life could increasingly become a source of spiritual influence and encouragement to Christians and non-Christians.

Remember God wants to walk with you, He wants you to fellowship and commune with Him through prayer, listening to Him, reading the Scriptures and obeying His will in your life. He wants to bless you that you in turn might be a blessing and an inspiration to others.

In some regards, it seems somewhat strange that we're commanded to love each other.. it doesn't seem like something that should be able to be commanded!  But on many occasions, Jesus tells us (not just encourages us.. but commands us) to love each other!  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-45

In our modern situation, it's easy to see love as something that we show to people whom we also like, and struggle to show to those we don't… but Jesus commands that we love each other - like love is something we can turn on and off like a light switch.

Peter helps us understand how this works… "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9

Peter shows us again that sin levels the playing field!  For those of us who have been forgiven of our sin by the redeeming work of Jesus, we have no right to boast in anything but him!  At the same time there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; so as Matt Chandler says "no one should walk with a swagger in the Kingdom, and no one should walk with a limp"… We have all been forgiven an entirely unpayable debt, and because of this we don't regard ourselves higher than anyone… and also no less than anyone.  Peter addresses this letter to "those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" - 2 Peter 1:1… showing that by faith we have an equal standing even with those who walked with Jesus; what an amazing place to be!

Spurgeon once wrote "I would continually act as if I had just seen Him and had put my fingers into the print of the nails!".. what better way to continually remind ourselves of how much God has done for us, and what consequence of our sin we have been spared at His expense.  In Luke 7 Jesus says "those who are forgiven much, love much".. and we have certainly been forgiven much!

How will all people know that we are His disciples?  How will we be fruitful and effective for the Kingdom?  Love each other.

Blessings,

Don.

One of our church’s Core Values is ‘To enthusiastically investigate God’s Word and boldly teach His truth because God is our authority for life.” And this is what makes the E100 Challenge such a valuable resource to the Church. Whatever we call it; a challenge, a program, a plan or outline, it is a tool to enthuse and encourage us toward making God’s Word all that He designed it to be. His blueprint of relationship with me and how I can live a fruitful and fulfilling life.

It’s interesting to know EBC is not alone in recognizing the need to encourage the reading and spiritual application of God’s Word. Pastor Rick Warren is currently leading all the churches under his influence in “40 Days in the Word”. He makes the observation that over 3 generations the understanding and application of God’s Word has diminished. He reflects, his father’s generation knew the Word really well, His generation knew it somewhat and today’s still less. I see and believe this to be generally correct here in Australia also.

Pastor John Piper recently had a blog discussion “Read your Bible more and more” (Jan 30^th) where he countered criticism with 3 reasons such a call was not legalistic. In it he reproduced a comment from J.C. Ryle - Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced.

Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading. (J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion, 136)

This week in the E100 we have been reading about the Patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We read of men and family leaders learning about what it is to a people of faith. God called a man (Abraham) to be the building block in showcasing faith and obedience. God is constantly looking and desires us to be people of faith.    

A key theme that has registered with me this summer is, Wholeness in life is directly connected to wholeheartedness. Wholeness in life, my marriage, my children, in my ministry and social circle, is directly connected to how I give myself to it. Am I giving myself wholeheartedly to the life God had given me to live? Giving myself to God’s Word thereby submitting to its authority is important for me to have a fruitful and fulfilled life.