Beginner’s Guide to Lent: Lent and Self Examination

Posted on April 1, 2015March 20, 2022 by Matthew Laker

Self-examination is part of the three pillars of Lent (fasting, prayer, alms giving).

One could argue that this is a fourth pillar, but I see elements of self-examination as being a part of the other three. Like a physical examination, Lent calls us to a self-examination that reflects upon our need for God, our side mirror mortality, our sin and how the gospel is the only answer.

Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeed of the body, you will live…”

In “Gospel Coach”, Thomas Scott and Tom Wood, write about four source idols in our lives. A source idol drives the surface idols. We do not always deal with these, unless we ask what is driving me to something other than Jesus. What is it I am trying to fill in my life?

Scott and Wood share that the four source idols in our lives are:

a. power

b. approval

c. comfort

e. security

Check the book out here: Gospel Coach: Shepherding Leaders to Glorify God

These four areas will cover most sin in our lives. A life centered on self will put roots into a foundation that leads us away from the wholeness found in Jesus. Even if we are surrendered to Christ, we will still have the battle between flesh (our sinful nature) and living in the Lordship of Jesus.

In self-examination you are going to have to deal with your idols.

What is an idol? Tim Keller shares, “It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give…An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I ‘ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.” (pages xvii and xviii of Counterfeit Gods)

Lent is a season to face our idols and understand that the gospel is our only solution.

How to do self-examination during Lent:

Over the 40 days ask yourself the questions below and reflect upon them. Seek repentance and obedience as you journey over the six weeks. During this time seek to understand who God is, what Jesus has done, who you are in Christ and what you are to do.

A. What consumes your thinking? When you have time to dream and think about nothing else. Where does your mind go? Are you seeking it in order to have power, or approval, or comfort, or security?

B. Money – Track your spending over 40 days. Where is your money going? If an outsider was to look at how you spend, what does it share about your values, and what is important to you?

C. Time – Where are you spending your time? Perhaps there is a need to track it. If Jesus is important in your life, how you use your time will show that?

D. Desires– This is a hard one, because God has given us passions and desires. But, do they consume you? Even good desires can become idols. Are you seeking them because they bring power, approval, comfort or security?

E. What do you not believe about who God is? What do you not believe about who God is in your current circumstances? What is the truth about who God is and who you are? What are God’s promises for your current circumstances?

There are many questions one could ask. For example, marlenagraves.com/ has a great list of questions from the Wesleyan tradition, Just click the link here – http://marlenagraves.com/self-examination-questions-for-lent/

This season is a practiced time to take stock of our lives and our hearts. It is a season about giving up our sin. Use this time to ask yourself some hard questions about your spiritual maturity.

Do you have any other resources that are helpful? What has your experiences been during the season of lent around self-examination.

What is your source idol today?

Beginners Guide to Lent : Lent and Fasting

Posted on March 30, 2015March 20, 2022 by Matthew Laker

“Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it.” -John Wesley

What is fasting? What is its purpose and connection to Lent?

Fasting for the Jesus follower is to be a regular rhythm. Fasting has been part of the life of God’s people throughout biblical history. Sometimes the behaviour was commanded, and sometimes it was voluntary.

Fasting takes on two important roles. One of mourning and one of hope.

Ken Berghuis provides a large list of all the reference to fasting or fasting events throughout scripture.

It is worth a read.

3 Purposes of our Fasting –

1. Worship of God

Throughout scripture fasting has been connected to giving devotion to God. It is a declaration of our dependence upon God. The act of fasting is a reminder that we live in need of God’s word and his Spirit in our life. Fasting accompanied with prayer, and reading of scripture helps centre us on Jesus.

“Our human cravings and desires are like rivers that tend to overflow their banks; fasting helps keep them in their proper channels.” -“Celebration of Discipline” by Richard foster

2. Seek God’s guidance – Throughout scripture fasting is seen as a way to seek direction from God. It becomes an extension of our prayer life.

3. An avenue to prepare to meet with God.

Scott Mcknight shares “Lenten fasting as [is] a response to sins and the prospects of death in our culture, our nation, our church, and our own life, and that we also learn to see fasting as entering into the divine pathos about sin and death.”

He later shares: “Lent reminds us where we were, who we were, what we were doing and have done, and teaches us to tell the truth about ourselves—that as image-bearers of God we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, in what we have done and in what we have left undone, in not loving God and ourselves and our neighbors as ourselves—and to turn to God for mercy.

We are not fasting to get something from God but to meet with him. Acts 13:2: “while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,…”

Joel 20:26: “So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the Lord.”

Tips for Beginners to fasting during Lent

a. Start slow.

Try fasting one meal time throughout your week. Then use that time to pray and read scripture.

b. Don’t eat extra snacks.

If you are fasting your lunch, do your best to not eat something till your next regular pattern of eating. Yes, you will be hungry.

c. Let the hunger pain remind you of your need for Jesus.

I often will pray, “I need Jesus more than food.” Know that the hunger pain will pass.

“Arm yourself manfully against the wickedness of the devil; control the appetite, and you will more easily control all bodily desires” – Thomas a Kempis

d. Drink water and drink more water.

e. Understand you may get tired.

When fasting, consider cutting back on your daily activity.

Fasting is connected to Lent because of its ability to help with self-examination. It allows us to reflect upon our own sin and need for the gospel. Fasting is not about our health and has everything to do with our journey with Jesus.

Whatever time you choose to fast during Lent, remember that the purpose is to draw closer to Jesus. Let it be a time to wrestle with your idols and take hold of Jesus.

The next post in this series will look at self-examination.

Lent and Alms Giving

Posted on March 14, 2015March 20, 2022 by Matthew Laker

Three pillars are traditionally part of the Lent season. First we have prayers, second we have fasting and third we have almsgiving. That may sound like a strange word, but it simply refers to generosity. As Jesus followers we are saved by radical grace and called to radical generosity.

Often during Lent, the third pillar is left out as focus stays on giving things up. This pillar helps us cultivate generosity after Jesus’ own heart. It is through generosity and loving others we are reminded of our need for Jesus. It is through our generosity and love for others God will use to shape us and others.

Almsgiving during lent helps refocus around the life our baptism declared. It helps us deal with our idols. Almsgiving needs to cost us something, in order to remind us of our need for Jesus, and how much more it cost him. It helps us take steps in cultivating a life of generosity.

Practicing Alms Giving:

1. Are you tithing?

This is a normal discipline of worshiping God. If you are not practicing tithing, perhaps that is what you need to work on during this season. Tithing is giving a percentage of your income to a local body of Christ that you are part of. Yes traditionally it was and is 10% of your income.

Two Calls to actions for Tithing:

a. If you are not tithing, start with a small percentage and slowly raise it.

b. If you do tithe, is God leading you to increase it by 1%?

Here is a good teaching I watched a few weeks before I was even thinking about this post:

http://youtu.be/6TYyD_JVkyY

2. Take some time to re-evaluate how you are being a steward of God’s resources he has given you.

Do you have a budget? How does the gospel influence how we use our money?

3. Deal with the idol of money?

How is money an idol in your life at times? Is there a place for repentance here?

4. Who could you bless in your family, neighbourhood and friends?

Is there someone you could serve? Think person before organization. Traditional alms giving does focus on those who have less, but look around you. Who could you make some meals for to help someone or just bless them “just because”? Is there someone you know who is serving and doing good work that you could bless and recognize the work they are doing?

Almsgiving is about costing you something. So it needs to cost you something.

Why?

To remind us of our need for Jesus and to allow us to see God at work.

During Lent consider giving beyond your already established rhythms.

Do you have any stories about stepping out in faith in this area?

Lent and Prayer : Time to Refresh your Prayer Life

Posted on March 5, 2015March 20, 2022 by Matthew Laker

Prayer is a normal part of the Christian life. If you are following Jesus, hopefully you are already practicing prayer.

The season of Lent provides an opportunity to rededicate time for prayer. Let’s face it, many struggle with the busyness of life, and this means that our spiritual disciplines suffer. We know it is good and we should do it, but we don’t. Let the Lent season be a time to refresh your prayer life.

How to refresh your prayer life:

a. Set aside time

Just as we would set a time up to meet with a friend, we need to do this with Jesus. It’s like a wife and husband setting a date night. It will not happen unless you set the time. Keep this simple and start small. The beauty of this choice is it may be a practice you keep up after the season ends. Instead of giving up, you take up.

During the Lent season I would encourage the setting aside of a longer time for prayer. For example, some churches will have extra weekly prayer gatherings. For instance, one Church I know has the church open for a prayer vigil, from the Thursday just before Easter to their Good Friday service. . They work to get people to sign up for one hour. Individual and corporate times are equally important.

b. Consider walking and praying

In colder areas this can be a challenge, but it is a practical way to get physically active and spiritual at same time. You can even use the things you see to guide how you pray.

c. Use Examen Prayers

It is a prayer of remembering where God has met us and helped us. It is a prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to understand him and his direction for us.

Over at http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ you will find a resource called Lunch time examen. It is a series of six online guided prayer sessions – Click here to go there.

d. Lectio Divina with the Bible.

This is a series of reflection steps on scripture that you can use to guide your prayer time.

Checkout this blog post for how to do Lectio Divina

e. Journal

This is a great tool. You can write out your own prayers. You can copy scripture into it. You can write down what is happening in your life. It is a place to help untangle the thoughts of one’s mind. It is a place to look back, and see where you are coming from and where God is taking you.

Here are some good thoughts from www.holyexperience.com on Journaling as a Spiritual discipline: An Act of Prayer. Click here

The Lent season can be used as a time to refresh your prayer life. What is one step you will take today to begin the journey?

Why do we give something up at Lent?

Posted on March 4, 2015March 20, 2022 by Matthew Laker

Lent is a time to reorient oneself toward God. It is a time to recall and renew our baptism to Jesus. In Matthew 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert for a time of fasting and temptation. In scripture, the idea of 40 day rhythms are practiced, and this in part has led to our practise of Lent for 40 days.

One of the major practices of Lent is fasting. Often people will seek to give something up over Lent. But, why and what is the purpose?

The idea is to give something up in order to be reminded of your need for Jesus. The absence of something helps you turn away from whatever is distracting you in order to turn to Jesus. In a way, giving something up is a form of fasting.

One practice may be giving up one meal a day. During the time you would normally spend eating, you would then spend in prayer. Another person may give up tv/media, which for many today consumes a major part of one’s life. Then you can take this time to read scripture, and pray. One could even read a book to stimulate spiritual growth.

We give something up in order to cause our hearts to turn to Jesus. Giving something up can reveal the idols we have in our lives. We deprive ourselves of pleasure or indulgence to offer a sacrifice up to God. Let the hunger you feel for what you give up drive you to Jesus. Let the hunger you feel remind you of who you are (Romans 3:10; 5:1; 1 John 3:1).

3 Building blocks for where to start:

a. Take some time to think about what you will give up. Something you enjoy, a bad habit, or turn the media off.

b. Decide how it’s going to work? For example, if it is giving up tv, what will you do with that time? If it is giving up sweets, how will you respond when you crave the sweets?

c. Let someone know so that they can ask how it is going and help you in this journey.

A Warning

Do not give something up for the sake of giving something up. This is about seeking the King. We want to climb the mountain, and spend some time listening to God. You give something up in order to grow closer to Jesus and understand yourself, not because of a pressure from someone or from a group.

Ask yourself this question: Is God leading you to an extended period of time in his presence? Could you use this season to disciple a new believer or help one grow? How could giving something up help in self-examination? Could you use this season to freshen your spiritual disciplines to deepen your heart’s desire for Jesus?

When you give something up, do not announce it. Jesus says in Matthew 6:18, Do not let it be obvious to others that you are fasting, “but only to the Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” This is not about seeking praise from people, but drawing close to God to know him, and to know who you are.

What will you give up for Lent?

Why will you give it up?

What has been your experience in giving something up over the lent season? Did it help? Why or why not?