It has been a few days since I wrote you last. Since that time we gloried in the Christmas and Epiphany season with their clear pictures of the person and work of Jesus. The work of Jesus- to establish and spread the Kingdom of God- was the topic of our preaching and investigation in January.

Then World War Freeze came- the meteorological equivalent of an atomic strike against nature- since that time we have not been able to glory in anything save having a hot shower and cable.But; I have not met a person who has not stopped and counted their blessings in the four weeks since the ice storm hit. Now as we are moving on past the storm; we want to thank the Methodist, Baptist and Mennonite tree cutting crews as well as the other relief agencies and organizations who helped seen us through those so dark and cold days.

Now it is time to resume the journey of our faith to the center of God’s purpose for our lives. The journey we take up this Wednesday is the journey toward the cross with Jesus that is Lent. Lent comes from an old Teutonic word which means springtime. As the practice of having forty days of fasting before Easter-which is always in the spring- became more and more common in the forth and fifth centuries, the old folk word for spring became synonymous with the forty days that led to this springtime Holy Day.

Lent is a passionate time in which we get serious about our lives as they are lived before God. God sees everything we do. During Lent we become extra conscious of our deeds and the ramifications our deeds have on our relationship with God. Often times, our Lenten experience is wrapped up in what we are doing wrong as followers of Christ and we then strive through our giving up something-fasting- to be to re-establishing our right standing before God.

But Lent is not so much about fasting as it is about focus. Like our Savoir we are called to see the power and purpose of God in our lives that propels us to make doing God’s will the daily event in our otherwise mundane existence. In Lent we are called to get passionate about the purpose-filled plans God has for our lives (Jer.29:11). Lent demands that we see the need to accomplish God’s will in our lives through the lens Jesus himself uses and is provide for us in the Gospels to observe.

In Luke 9:41, we are told that Jesus “set his face toward Jerusalem.” Jesus was not going to allow anything to deter him from fulfilling his destiny of going to Jerusalem to become the victim of slander, false accusation, and an object lesson from a kangaroo court to the people( Mark 8:31-34). His future was not pleasant but his future was in the hands of his all wise father. Lent then, is moving toward to will of God at any cost, with a view toward to knowing that God knows best as to what we need to do in our quest to serve God. Serving God is the quest of the journey of life. All of us-every last one of us- are created to follow God wherever the Spirit leads. Allow Lent to give you the focus to zoom in on the map for your personal journey with Christ form the cross to the world.

We are including a Lenten devotion link to our page so you can map out your journey. Take the time to follow the devotional guide. Remember God will one day demand that you give an account of your time. Surely we don’t believe God will accept and “Uh” or “Duh” as a honest substitute for an honest accounting. Be blessed this Lenten season with the knowledge of God’s will for your life right now.

In Christ’s Love, Brother Joe