Lent - VALLEJO NEW LIFE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE

what is lent?

a season

Forty days of change and new growth between you and the Lord that begins on Ash Wednesday. This is where you spend time to reflect upon your life and come into repentance through the threefold acts of Lent. It is a true time of waiting, preparing, testing and hardship.

life of man

7Then the LordGod formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

- Genesis 2:7

mortality of man

19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return

- Genesis 3:19

reflection of man

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

- Ecclesiastes12: 6 - 7

the #40

The number forty is used in the Bible 146 times and is symbolic to a period of testing, trial or tribulation. Here are just a few where God used this time through his chosen leaders:

Noah: 40 days of rain

Moses: 40 days in Mt. Sinai

Israelites: 40 years in the desert

Elijah: 40 days to Horeb

Jesus: 40 days in the wilderness

ashes

THE PRACTICE OF MOURNING & REPENTANCE

tamar

Amnon loved Tamar and he was her brother. Amnon gave in to his lust and took Tamar's virginity. She was so devastated with anguish that it was enough for her to grieve publicly by wearing ashes on her forehead.

19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly.

- 2 Samuel 13:19

mordecai

In the efforts to wipe out ALL Jews from King Asahasues provinces, Mordecai was filled with so much despair and bitterness that he too went out in public with ashes.

1 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry.

- Esther 4:1

job

God allowed Satan to interfere in Job's life - and in his time of doubt and supplication, he wore ashes crying out to God.

8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.

- Job 2:8

daniel

Given the gift of dreams & interpretation, Daniel was given the opportunity to use his gifts to serve King Belshazzar. In doing so, it left him exhausted and uneasy at times. So much so that in his discouragement to intercede through prayer, he also used ashes to represent his sorrow for Jerusalem.

3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

- Daniel 9:3

the threefold acts

fasting

1“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their
rebellion... ... ...8Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; ... ...
...14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” - Isaiah 58

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,18so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Matthew 6:16 - 18

prayer

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

- Matthew 6:5 - 6

almsgiving

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Matthew 6:2 - 4

Don't make fasting look painful. It's suppose to be a beautiful and joyous thing. Fasting doesn't always mean skipping food or meals. Fasting is staying away from the thing that God wants you to stay away from so that He can REALLY work in you. The Father sees you and what you're doing - so for that, He WILL reward you. Within your fasting, declare and share with others who don't know the Lord.

day 17

Happy 1st day of Spring! Yes, it is raining but the thought of Spring is the sun coming out, flowers starting to bloom, green grass, spring cleaning, baseball season and warmer weather. It may not be today... but it will come. It is just like faith.. when you believe something, you don't really see things happening right away, it may even seem opposite of what you are believing. In due time, we will see the changes.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

- Hebrews 11:1