I awake this morning, once again, to snow falling from the sky.  It has been an unusual wet, cold winter for us, or maybe not.  Maybe it has been more of a normal season and the previous dryer, warmer ones were the seasons in conflict.  Regardless, I know the world I live in is a confliction to the One who suffered and died for it.

At the Ash Wednesday service I made a promise to God to step out of my comfort zone.  In doing so I hope to defeat some of my fears and in the process to find gifts I have yet to discover.  I believe God makes opportunities for us to use those gifts He has given, but for abundant reasons we take a pass.  My promise was made Wednesday, on Thursday I got my first opportunity.  The church was in need of someone to do the children’s time Sunday morning.  I didn’t give myself time to think about it, I merely reacted with a yes expecting the dread to come after I was already committed.  But this time, the dread never came, as would be the customary.  I felt a calming peace, a joy of having this opportunity.  I knew God had responded to me with a blessing that was much greater than my fear.

Henri Nouwen once described Lent as the season during which winter and spring struggle with each other for dominance.  In my experience, spring eventually wins the struggle and the beauty created by it is magnificent! The new cycle of life begins once again bringing a feeling of warmth and hope comes alive!

I believe this ‘stepping out of my comfort zone’ will defeat much in me that has kept me from becoming the sanctified child my Lord expects.

Lord thank you for opportunities that bring me ever closer to you.

Tracie

Lent Readings and Musings 1st Friday
Some people say “I don’t believe in God.” Ok, it’s not an original thought any more than the belief in God. Nor is it a particularly brave statement of belief when made in our post modern times. It is often more of a platitude without any substance other than I have no faith. It reminds me of some of the Christian sound bites I hear that ring hollow because they should be used as part of a deeper explanation of faith and not a standalone proclamation.
Too many Christians know too little about what they believe, and should spend more time in prayer, thought, and study than in talking about what they cannot defend before others or even themselves. If American Christianity is shrinking then it is collapsing upon itself due to a weak foundation and crumbling pillars of thoughtful understanding. We must pray before we think, think before we act, and act before we speak. Let us always pray before we study the word of the God we proclaim that we can hear the revelation ringing in our spirit and not just read words and shape them to our own desires. Then we are ready to speak in love for that is the language of the Lord.
In the end the question about God or the divine story is not even about us. So I ask those who state with pride they don’t believe in any God; shouldn’t they ask if God believes in them? It is a simple question with a simple answer but at least it requires a moment’s thought some self reflection which may point to where the death of god first occurred for them. I often wonder what occurrence or desire has blocked the divine life from their mind. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle So quit defending your disbelief and consider the new life you could gain if your wrong.
What if God did not believe in me? I look around the world and shudder.
Pastor Rick Davis

Robert Frost: A Cabin in the Clearing
“…Smoke They ‘ve been here long enough
To push the woods back from around the house
And part them in the middle with a path.

Mist And still I doubt if they know where they are
And I begin to fear they never will.
All they maintain the path for is the comfort
Of visiting with the equally bewildered.
Nearer in plight their neighbors are than distance.”

Salvation and modern humanity play a fruitless game of cat and mouse. A question comes to mind. Do we even know that we are a lost people wandering the desert of abundance and immediate gratification? Pleasure seeking and ourselves have become our idols, our gods. “The modern world teaches us to narrate our lives without reference to God. It’s all our decision, our actions, and our desires. So the first thing we must say is that salvation is primarily about God… A favorite means to coping with the absence of a savior is to deny we need saving.”P6 Who Will Be Saved by William H. Willimon

If salvation is primarily about God, If salvation comes only from God, then God must be the gravitational pull, our sun, the center of life from which we revolve. This is in complete opposition to what our self-absorbed society teaches us. As we consume all we can we are truly consuming each other and ourselves.

Pastor Rick

As I begin my journey through the Lenten season, I awake this morning knowing immediately what it is I must do. Prayer, oh yes but I wanted something to set my mind in focus. When normally I would reach for my Bible, today, I was looking for a different guide. I stooped to look under the bed where I knew I would find one of Rick’s many devotional books. One in particular caught my eye and it just happens to be exactly what I was looking for (unbeknown to me at that moment). It is titled, ‘Eternal Seasons; A Spiritual Journey through the Church’s Year’ by Henri J.M. Nouwen. I offer this prayer as it is tugging at me hard.

Dear Lord Jesus,
Today the Lenten season begins. It is a time to be with you in a special way, a time to pray, to fast, and thus to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha, and to the final victory over death.

I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, human respect, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life.

I know that Lent is going to be a very hard time for me. The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. There are no times or places without choices. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you.

Please Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place. Give me the strength and the courage to live this season faithfully, so that, when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life which you have prepared for me.

I offer this in your name, Amen.

This Lenten season, you are invited to go on A Journey to Hope as we travel with Jesus to the cross, discovering along the way that Hope can be found even as we encounter some of life’s most difficult circumstances. By addressing real life circumstances along the way (i.e., relationships, self-esteem, work, temptation, money problems, suffering and death), those on the journey learn how faith in Christ is relevant to everyday life and how having a faith community can make all the difference.

Ash Wednesday (February 17)  begins with Mark 8:31-37 with Jesus’ turn to Jerusalem.

A Journey to Hope is a unique approach to these weeks before Holy Week that begins with Jesus announcing he will enter Jerusalem and gives us time to linger over some of the experiences that Christ has on the path to the cross.

Join us this Lenten Season for a Journey to Hope!

Ash Wednesday is approaching quickly, then we will be in the season of Lent.  Have you put much thought into this time of reflection?  Have you done any soul searching?  What about living the next 40 days in self-less love?  Do you know who Christ is?  Do you know why you are a Christian and what it means to live a Christian life?  These are a few of the questions we ought to be reflecting on.  Truth be told, it is what we should be doing on a regular basis, but do we?  Lent is a purposeful time for that and we begin its season on February 25 with the Ash Wednesday Service.

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