Is Lent Biblical

Posted on March 16, 2016March 3, 2022 by Matthew Laker

Is Lent Biblical?

When we ask that question what we are wanting to know is, is Lent a practise that Jesus said we must do?

The bottom line is no. Nowhere in the bible do we find Jesus instructing us to follow Lent.

So, why then would we take part in the practise?

Lent generally is a time for followers of Jesus to reflect, repent, pray, fast and give. These are part of what we may call spiritual disciplines. Commonly Lent is held by those in the Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran-influenced Christian traditions and many of the different Christian traditions observe it in different ways.

Someone who opposes Lent may say “Lent is just a tradition created by man.” That would be a correct statement. However, it is a tradition with the intent to make disciples. The core of it is to point people to Jesus. It is not a salvation issue or maturity meter.

Jesus said, “teach them to obey my commands.”

Yes, Jesus did not say you should practise Lent. However, I have come to see Lent as a system that could help us accomplish the mission of Jesus. Yes in many circles perhaps we have not used it to its full potential. For some, they have not had good experiences with Lent, but when I look at Lent, I see connections to growing our own faith and other’s.

One may ask, “but are not the spiritual disciples we find in Lent part of our regular routine of following Jesus?”

The quick answer is yes. However like Jesus taking a 40 day time of fasting, there is value in a focused set time of seeking Jesus.

My experience has shown me that Lent can be this great set time of discipleship to help people align their life with Jesus. Like when building muscle you need to stress the muscle then release it and let it rest. Lent can serve as a time to focus and to stress the muscle of faith in order to build it. So Lent can be used to build the foundations of good habits/spiritual disciplines that are to be part of one’s life.

Is Lent instructed by Jesus to do? No, it is not.

Is Lent useful in discipleship? I believe it can be.

Do you have to practise Lent? No, you do not.

Can Lent serve as an avenue to build spiritual muscle? Yes.

http://lentapathway.teachable.com/p/beginners-guide-to-lent

4 Challenges to Entering Wholeness

Posted on March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 by Matthew Laker

A.W. Tozer “Faith, as the Bible knows it is confidence in God and His Son Jesus Christ, it is the response of the soul to divine Character as reveled in in scripture;…” (Tozer, A.W. The Best of A. W. Tozer, Book 1. Wingspread; New Edition edition, 2007. Warren W. Wiersbe (Compiler) p. 172)

Combining faith with God’s word leads to wholeness.

Hebrews chapter 4 speaks about the faith vacant response of the ancient Israelites and how we can be like them. The reason they failed to enter the promise land, aka “rest” or “Wholeness”, was because they failed to combine faith with God’s word.

Hebrews 4:2 “For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened.”

In my journey with Jesus, even after a long time in following him, I still struggle at times in combining faith with God’s word even though I understand it in my head.

4 of my personal challenges of combining faith with God’s word

a. Looking at life through the eyes of the situation and not Jesus.

I once heard a story of a professor who gave his students a piece of paper and asked them to write about what they see. On the paper was a small dot and the rest was white space. The student wrote as fast as they could and all wrote about the dot. They focused in on the dot and missed talking about all the white space. Sometimes we get so focused on the problem we fail to see Jesus all around.

b. Forgetting who I am

The apostle Paul often reminds those he is writing to of who they are. He calls them to live out who they are in Christ. If I am having trouble combining faith with God’s word, at times I am forgetting who I am in Christ.

c. Having to control everything.

We live in a day that pushes us to make sure we are controlling every element of our lives. I can even have the arrogance in my life to think that if I dropped something everything is over.

There can be an attitude that comes up in this area of “look at all I did.” Combining faith with God’s word is understanding “I do not have to control everything.” I still need to work, but combining faith with God’s word means some things are in fact in God’s control, not mine.

d. Fear as a driving force

Fear can drive so many of our lives. Fear and shame are a direct result of sin in our life. Now, there is a goodness in fear, but it is only to cause us to ask questions.

Questions like: is there a real danger? Sometimes fear stops me because I am putting my faith in keeping my comfort or security or the illusion of power I may or may not have. For many of us God is calling us to let go of fear and live.

Combining faith with God’s word leads to wholeness.

What about you? What keeps you from combining faith with God’s word?

Hebrews 4:16 “Lets us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”

Bible reading tip #9 – Soap

Posted on March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 by Matthew Laker

Bible reading is a discipine that is hard for many people. One of the reasons to stay with it, is because of its value in helping the reader understand God and his or her self.

Today’s bible reading tip comes from Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion He provides a good acrostic that can help our engagement of the bible.

Here is a summary:

S- Scripture

This is typically done with small portions of scripture. Read the passage you are reading that day. What verse (s) stand out to you? Write those down.

O- Observation

Write down what the verse is saying to you. There is no rule here on how many sentences, but try to be clear. You could add observations on the passage, but if something stands out, focus on that verse or verses.

A – Application

Ask yourself to make an application to your life. Wayne Cordeiro asks, “How will you be different today because of what you have just read?” I would add what does this tell you about yourself and who God is?

P- Prayer

Write down something you are asking God to help you with.

There are many systems on engaging the bible. Perhaps this one can help you reengage for a season in a fresh way. Finding a system will increase your engagement of the bible. Remember little steps over time will take you a long way.

What is Ash Wednesday?

Posted on February 10, 2016January 3, 2020 by Matthew Laker

What is Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent. Lent is the season before Holy Week (Easter) used to examine our desires and realign ourselves with God. Many churches will host an Ash Wednesday service on Ash Wednesday.

The first time I experienced an Ash Wednesday service I was on staff at a church that practised it. As far as I remember I never took part in any such service growing up. This was a new experience for me and was a little strange and different. One of the strange elements was the putting on of ashes.

The big symbol of Ash Wednesday is the “Ash”.

At some point in the service people come forward and the leader with ash on their finger makes a cross on the forehead of the individual. As the ash is placed on the forehead the leader says, “Remember that you are ashes, and unto ashes shall you return.”

The ash is a visible reminder of our own mortality and need for repentance. It is a reminder of our sin and the need for a saviour. The making of the cross on the forehead is a reminder that death is not the end. In that moment, we are reminded of the sacrifice and mercy and love that God has given. It is a call to transformation over the Lent season moving away from death in our life to life in Christ.

The Ash Wednesday services are a great way to:

1. Connect with our rich heritage.

2. Contemplate our own sin.

3. Contemplate your own death.

4. Connect and draw close to Jesus through the experience of communion, putting on of ashes, prayers, music and community.

Ash Wednesday can be a great tool in enriching our spiritual journey and in the discipling of others in the way of Jesus.

If the lent season is not part of your journey consider embracing it this year as a way to further deepen your walk with Jesus.

Looking for a resource on beginning with lent? Check out these posts here.

4 Reasons Why Evernote can help your Bible Study

Posted on January 15, 2016January 10, 2016 by Matthew Laker

Ever sat and listened to a speaker and taken notes, only to misplace them?

bible5 Have you ever been part of a smaller group, or master group, where you are reading/studying something together and are looking for a place to keep your notes? Have you ever been doing your own bible study and have notes all over the place?

I used to have so many little pieces of paper shoved in my bible from insights I picked up from various locations. Then they would fall out and everything would be completely disorganized. I have found that Evernote can help with all this.

[sh_quote]Evernote is a great tool to help with your Bible Study.[/sh_quote]

In 2013, I decided to do a personal trail run with a software called Evernote . Evernote is a free note-taking software and for most people all you will need is the free version. They do offer an upgrade that is not too much, which I upgraded to about a year after my trail run, but it is not necessary for everyone. Evernote works on multiple devices and you can sync your notes across each device.

There are many uses for Evernote, one great perk being note-taking for bible studies, or notes when listening to a sermon.

Here are four ways Evernote can help you take your bible study to the next level.

1. One place

You can keep all of those thoughts and notes together. For a long time I had so many little notes jammed in my bible that they would fall out and I would lose them. Evernote lets me keep my notes in one place.

2. Organized

You can create several different notebooks in what they call “stacks”. This lets you have notebooks inside notebooks. The advantage of this is you could have a stack notebook called “sermons”. Then in there, you could have a notebook called “2016 sermons”. Then inside of that notebook, you create notes. Then on Sunday, or whenever you are listening to a sermon, you open this up and create a note in the notebook for that day. You tag and give it a title and it is there for you. You could even create a notebook stack called “bible study” and in there have notebooks for each book of the bible or even themes.

3. Recall

Let’s say you are talking with someone or studying and want to recall some information. You can search for words and find your notes. Evernote has a tagging feature that makes searching even easier. I strongly suggest using descriptive tags that will easily narrow down what you are looking for. Another help for the recall is good notebook organizing.

4. Mobile

This has become one of the greatest reasons why I love this program — I can use it on my phone wherever I am. Then when I am home, I can sync it on my wi-fi. I can then bring it up on my laptop and use my notes however I want.

Evernote can be a great tool to help take your bible studying to the next level. If you do not have Evernote, it is free and you can follow this link to sign up and download.