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?

What is Lent?

Posted on February 16, 2015March 20, 2022 by Matthew Laker

Back in high school, some Christian friends asked me, “What are you giving up for Lent?” Then the same question was asked by my friends at evangelical bible college ? However, it never carried a lot of weight. I would hear about what they were giving up, but never saw how or understood how it helped in their spiritual formation.

Then I came to be a part of a local body of Jesus followers, who had the tradition of practising Lent. Perhaps the idea of Lent is a new one for you. As I was called on to give leadership, it meant a fast learning curve about Lent.

The church Calendar rotates around two main events: Advent, which is at the start, and then Lent and the high season of the Easter Celebration. For Christians, Easter Sunday evokes awe and wonder. Historically, this comes out of a 40 day time of reflection to get ready for celebration.

Over the years it has changed. For example, the Church Father Irenaeus of Lyons shares how it was only a two or three day observation. There are also some differences on how the 40 days have been calculated over the years. Today, it is practised over 40 days, and historically there was a connection to using it to disciple new believers.

Even though the practise has developed over the years, the purpose has always been the same. Time for self-examination, repentance and denial of self in preparation for Easter.

Dr. Michael Pasquarello sums up the purposes well, that Lent is an invitation to examine our desires and reorient them toward God.

Throughout the years three spiritual disciplines have been at the core, though many incorporate others. The three are prayer, fasting and alms giving.

What has been your experience with the season of Lent?

What helpful resources have you used over the years?

What questions do you have about Lent?

Stay tuned for more in the Series: Beginners Guide to Lent