March 10th 2019
Will You Give Up Something Or Be Willing To Help Others In This Season Of Lent?
Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Paul is stating in the form of a question in these verses, a question for himself, and a very important question for us! The question being stated or asked here relates to working on coming to know Jesus Christ, and how is that accomplished? We are now in the Lenten season in which we are expected to work very hard on getting to know Jesus Christ better. Are you planning to fast during this build up season to somehow get to know Jesus Christ? Do you know about Jesus Christ, this is a must before you can begin working on getting to know Jesus Christ! Almost everyone knows about Jesus Christ, but most of them do not have His story correct. Many people who attend a church of their choice on a regular basis do not know the correct story. This lack of knowledge is caused by the fact they have never studied the Bible.
Paul wrote “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” Do we understand the importance of this idea of knowing Christ and identifying with the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead? This belief is central to the Christian faith, as without the ability of Christ’s resurrection, we could not believe that our immortal soul will someday be raised and become alive again. Only followers of Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead and saved for the future reunion with Jesus Christ in heaven. Paul equates this to,” the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” The part about “sharing in his sufferings,” is not too endearing to most of us, but in doing so we will also be, becoming like him in his death. Becoming like Him in His death then allows for us to also be raised from the dead. As Paul puts it, “becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. “
Yes, I know you are wondering why this commentary is more about Easter than it is about Lent, but since I believe the rest of the story, it seemed important to jump to the end so we can be happy during the time of waiting, and to some extent suffering. During Lent we are expected to be somewhat somber, and do things like fasting, and spending more time than usual in prayer! Have you decided to give up something during this Lenten season? Whatever you give up should be something you like to do or like to eat! Of course, you could also take up doing something you do not like, such as exercising as a form of pertinence. If you decide to fast remember what Jesus told His disciples about not publicizing what you are doing. "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men 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)
During this Lenten season the greatest emphasis should be on growing your faith. So, try to do something that may help you to gain a better understanding of the Bible, as it is the Word of God, given to us as a guide for our life here on this earth. We live in a cursed world, which has many distractions supplied by Satan to pull us away for any desire to improve our faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, anything you try to do to prepare for Jesus return to this earth as the King of Kings will be met with ideas of our inability to have time or the resolve to accomplish our desired faith building efforts!
The writer of Hebrews gives us a pep talk of sorts, based on our belief in Jesus returning to take us to where He is. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Hebrews 10:35-39). Remember, if you believe Jesus is who He says He is, you will be saved!
Jesus’ ministry started with a miracle He performed, because His mother asked Him to do it. This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. (John 2:11). Jesus was attending a wedding party, and the host ran out of wine. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." (John 2:7-10). Jesus turned water into aged wine. Top shelf aged wine takes several years of aging to perfect. Note what John wrote about the disciples who witnessed this miraculous event, “his disciples put their faith in him.” We are not fortunate to be able to witness a miracle performed by Jesus to bolster our faith but reading this incident should still help us believe Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Following is a description of the Lenten season pulled from a Methodist Church website. Just thought it may be helpful to know the time frames, and how these are calculated.
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "spring." The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.
Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.
Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter" and the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection.
Note the comment about choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others. Will you give up something or be willing to help others in this season of Lent?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Paul is stating in the form of a question in these verses, a question for himself, and a very important question for us! The question being stated or asked here relates to working on coming to know Jesus Christ, and how is that accomplished? We are now in the Lenten season in which we are expected to work very hard on getting to know Jesus Christ better. Are you planning to fast during this build up season to somehow get to know Jesus Christ? Do you know about Jesus Christ, this is a must before you can begin working on getting to know Jesus Christ! Almost everyone knows about Jesus Christ, but most of them do not have His story correct. Many people who attend a church of their choice on a regular basis do not know the correct story. This lack of knowledge is caused by the fact they have never studied the Bible.
Paul wrote “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” Do we understand the importance of this idea of knowing Christ and identifying with the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead? This belief is central to the Christian faith, as without the ability of Christ’s resurrection, we could not believe that our immortal soul will someday be raised and become alive again. Only followers of Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead and saved for the future reunion with Jesus Christ in heaven. Paul equates this to,” the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” The part about “sharing in his sufferings,” is not too endearing to most of us, but in doing so we will also be, becoming like him in his death. Becoming like Him in His death then allows for us to also be raised from the dead. As Paul puts it, “becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. “
Yes, I know you are wondering why this commentary is more about Easter than it is about Lent, but since I believe the rest of the story, it seemed important to jump to the end so we can be happy during the time of waiting, and to some extent suffering. During Lent we are expected to be somewhat somber, and do things like fasting, and spending more time than usual in prayer! Have you decided to give up something during this Lenten season? Whatever you give up should be something you like to do or like to eat! Of course, you could also take up doing something you do not like, such as exercising as a form of pertinence. If you decide to fast remember what Jesus told His disciples about not publicizing what you are doing. "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men 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)
During this Lenten season the greatest emphasis should be on growing your faith. So, try to do something that may help you to gain a better understanding of the Bible, as it is the Word of God, given to us as a guide for our life here on this earth. We live in a cursed world, which has many distractions supplied by Satan to pull us away for any desire to improve our faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, anything you try to do to prepare for Jesus return to this earth as the King of Kings will be met with ideas of our inability to have time or the resolve to accomplish our desired faith building efforts!
The writer of Hebrews gives us a pep talk of sorts, based on our belief in Jesus returning to take us to where He is. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Hebrews 10:35-39). Remember, if you believe Jesus is who He says He is, you will be saved!
Jesus’ ministry started with a miracle He performed, because His mother asked Him to do it. This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. (John 2:11). Jesus was attending a wedding party, and the host ran out of wine. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." (John 2:7-10). Jesus turned water into aged wine. Top shelf aged wine takes several years of aging to perfect. Note what John wrote about the disciples who witnessed this miraculous event, “his disciples put their faith in him.” We are not fortunate to be able to witness a miracle performed by Jesus to bolster our faith but reading this incident should still help us believe Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Following is a description of the Lenten season pulled from a Methodist Church website. Just thought it may be helpful to know the time frames, and how these are calculated.
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "spring." The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.
Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.
Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter" and the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection.
Note the comment about choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others. Will you give up something or be willing to help others in this season of Lent?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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