5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They have dug a pit before me; Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.
I hope that can be each of our declarations - that we have a steadfast heart. In an age in which confusion reigns, we can exhibit the hope that is ours in Christ. And, we can "fine tune" our devotion to Him, perhaps identifying areas that we need to work on, trusting that the internal work of the Spirit will occur. When we are weak, we can release and depend on His strength - when we are anxious or in turmoil, He brings perfect peace. His grace is sufficient and His resources are powerful.
God is calling us to a committed walk with Him - the Bible calls us to be steadfast, consistent in our
devotion to Christ. Consistency does not mean complacency, and there will be times when the Spirit will direct us to place special emphasis on areas that need to be shored up in our lives. Colossians 1 says:
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Around the South, you hear quite a bit about Mardi Gras these days. Mobile, Alabama was the site of the first Mardi Gras parade, and New Orleans has also become quite a Mardi Gras destination. The practice is intended to be a time of revelry, a significant party time before things get serious, spiritually speaking, on Ash Wednesday, which is the official beginning of Lent, when some Christian believers will don ashes on the forehead to signify submission to God. It's a bit of a juxtaposition, isn't it? Party till you drop, then go without as some part of a spiritual ritual.
That, of course, isn't the way the ebb and flow of the Christian life is supposed to be. We are called to submit to the Lord and allow Him to control our lives - daily, and not try to live so close to the edge that we accommodate sinfulness, knowing that we can be forgiven or thinking that total surrender isn't what salvation is made of. It's errant thinking - and dangerous spiritually.
But, ritual and sacrament can help draw us closer to the Lord and help to reinforce our spiritual growth. Take, for instance, the practice of Advent, a way to restore a Christ-centered focus to the Christmas season that many believers practice. To me, Lent offers a similar opportunity. It consists of the time period of 40 days before Easter Sunday, excluding Sundays. According to a new LifeWay Research survey, reported on in a Christianity Today story, about one in four Americans and around three out of ten evangelicals observe it by choosing to "give up" some area of their lives. Just over six of ten Catholics observe it.
I think such acts of surrender can be rewarding spiritual practice, and I appreciate what U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black said yesterday about fasting a meal a day for six months leading up to the election.
So, what do people typically give up for Lent? The LifeWay survey found that among Americans who observe Lent, fasting from a favorite food or beverage and going to church are the two most common ways - each with 57% of those surveyed. 39% responded with "Pray more," and 38% said they would give to others. Cutting down on habitual sin is also a relatively common practice, with 35% saying that is part of their Lent observance. 23% said they fasted from a favorite activity.
Lent begins next Wednesday, March 1st. And, I want to offer some thoughts relative to the Lenten season. First of all, Christ calls us to give all; all the time. While celebrating Lent or Advent, or other spiritual rituals can help reinforce our relationship with Him, we also recognize that our greatest experience of His life comes as we lay our own lives down.
But, we can be careful to identify areas in our own lives where we need work. Yes, I know this can be overwhelming at times, when we consider our own inadequacies and sinfulness, but we can ask the Spirit to show us what He wants to do, and allow Him to guide us through special emphasis on certain components of spiritual growth.
And, I do believe that He is calling us to a consistent walk. Not an up-and-down Christianity, where we engage in seasons of willful sin, followed by times of repentance and sorrow. We will have times of weakness, but in those times, we can draw more wholeheartedly on His strength.
+++++
God is calling us to a committed walk with Him - the Bible calls us to be steadfast, consistent in our
devotion to Christ. Consistency does not mean complacency, and there will be times when the Spirit will direct us to place special emphasis on areas that need to be shored up in our lives. Colossians 1 says:
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Around the South, you hear quite a bit about Mardi Gras these days. Mobile, Alabama was the site of the first Mardi Gras parade, and New Orleans has also become quite a Mardi Gras destination. The practice is intended to be a time of revelry, a significant party time before things get serious, spiritually speaking, on Ash Wednesday, which is the official beginning of Lent, when some Christian believers will don ashes on the forehead to signify submission to God. It's a bit of a juxtaposition, isn't it? Party till you drop, then go without as some part of a spiritual ritual.
That, of course, isn't the way the ebb and flow of the Christian life is supposed to be. We are called to submit to the Lord and allow Him to control our lives - daily, and not try to live so close to the edge that we accommodate sinfulness, knowing that we can be forgiven or thinking that total surrender isn't what salvation is made of. It's errant thinking - and dangerous spiritually.
But, ritual and sacrament can help draw us closer to the Lord and help to reinforce our spiritual growth. Take, for instance, the practice of Advent, a way to restore a Christ-centered focus to the Christmas season that many believers practice. To me, Lent offers a similar opportunity. It consists of the time period of 40 days before Easter Sunday, excluding Sundays. According to a new LifeWay Research survey, reported on in a Christianity Today story, about one in four Americans and around three out of ten evangelicals observe it by choosing to "give up" some area of their lives. Just over six of ten Catholics observe it.
I think such acts of surrender can be rewarding spiritual practice, and I appreciate what U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black said yesterday about fasting a meal a day for six months leading up to the election.
So, what do people typically give up for Lent? The LifeWay survey found that among Americans who observe Lent, fasting from a favorite food or beverage and going to church are the two most common ways - each with 57% of those surveyed. 39% responded with "Pray more," and 38% said they would give to others. Cutting down on habitual sin is also a relatively common practice, with 35% saying that is part of their Lent observance. 23% said they fasted from a favorite activity.
Lent begins next Wednesday, March 1st. And, I want to offer some thoughts relative to the Lenten season. First of all, Christ calls us to give all; all the time. While celebrating Lent or Advent, or other spiritual rituals can help reinforce our relationship with Him, we also recognize that our greatest experience of His life comes as we lay our own lives down.
But, we can be careful to identify areas in our own lives where we need work. Yes, I know this can be overwhelming at times, when we consider our own inadequacies and sinfulness, but we can ask the Spirit to show us what He wants to do, and allow Him to guide us through special emphasis on certain components of spiritual growth.
And, I do believe that He is calling us to a consistent walk. Not an up-and-down Christianity, where we engage in seasons of willful sin, followed by times of repentance and sorrow. We will have times of weakness, but in those times, we can draw more wholeheartedly on His strength.
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