A Cause for Pause: Lent 2016

"Lent is the 'spring cleaning advent' 

for the heart that awaits 

the resurrection of its Christ."

-J.Noelle

Certain seasons in life are cause for pause:

For evaluation...

Deep reflection...

Repentance...

Surrender...

Inner renewal...

And restoration.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday, Lent is a special season hallmarked in several faith traditions as a time of letting go; giving up.

During the season of Lent, many put ashes on their heads to:

Remind us of all those around the world who are mourning and suffering...
Remind us that we all have sinned, we all need repentance, and we all must cling to the promises and love of Christ...
Remind us that in the passage of time, we will all someday die...
Remind us of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection...
Remind us that in the midst of this, we are still called, named, claimed, and loved children of God...

But not only is Lent about the giving up and the letting go, but it is also about the pouring in that only God can do if we allow ourselves to pause long enough to let Him.

Lent is the Cross' beckoning toward a transformative journey of being made new.

It is not a religious obligation to be enforced, but rather an invitation to be accepted. 

To go the distance. 

To journey with Jesus.

Today, I want to extend an invitation for you to be transformed by following Jesus these next forty days to the cross of Calvary.

I invite you to embrace the truth that:

Jesus loves you. 

Jesus died for you. 

Jesus wants everlasting and eternal fellowship with you.

I encourage you to:

Lay the sacrifice of your desires at the Lenten altar. 

Repent of the things that have blocked your vision of who God is and who you are in Him.

Allow Him to wash you with the water of His word.

Invite Him to increase your capacity to receive more of Him. 

Begin by praying this Prayer of Forgiveness:
Merciful God,

I confess that I have not loved You with my whole heart.

I have failed to be obedient.

I have not done Your will.

I have broken Your law.

I have rebelled against Your love.

I have not loved my neighbors, and

I have not heard the cry of the needy.

Forgive me, I pray.

Free me for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ my Lord.

Amen.

Learning From the Life of Joseph

I want to share with you today a pearl of wisdom that is to be learned when you have a God-dream.

Recently, I've been thinking about the life of a biblical character named Joseph.

I identify with him all too well, and perhaps some of you do too.

However, one thing that I've learned from his life's story is this:

You can't tell everyone your dreams.

What I mean is, God will show us glimpses of what is to come to pass in our future.

He may even give us a burning desire and passion that will bring Him glory and bless others.

But not everyone will share your passion or understand your desire and that's ok because God gave it to you.

Its ok to share, but its better to be led as to with whom you can.

In the story of Joseph, the plot thickens after he told his brothers about the dream he had.

This dream revealed that his brothers would bow down to him.

Now, Jospeh could not control the fact that he had this dream. It was a dream from God.

But he could control who he decided to share it with.

Beloved, sometimes God gives us visions, insights, goals and dreams that instead of relaying we should just be praying about.

Is sharing wrong? Absolutely not.

Understandably, we want to share the inspiration that God's hopes and dreams ignite within us with our family members, our friends...those that know us and are closest to us.

But who you share your God-dreams with is very important because the environment of your relationships decides what lives or dies.

You see, Joseph's brothers grew jealous of him because of his God-dream.

Their jealously grew so intense that they actually plotted how they could kill him.

Providentially, one of his brothers decided that instead of killing him, they should just throw him into a pit and tell their father that he had been killed by an animal.

God-dreams will breed seeds of jealousy in us and in others if we're not careful to first pray, ponder and wait to be prompted by Him, the Dream-Giver.

Why is that? Because we are born broken and need the love of Jesus to save us and heal us completely so that we are not threatned by God's dream for our sisters and our brothers.

Yet and still, the fact that we are broken allows us to be that much more open and available for God's use of us...for His dream for our lives to come to pass, no matter what the cost.

In Joseph's story, it cost him in being thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his brothers, accused of rape, betrayed and forgotten while in prison and so on.

But God's dream for his life still prevailed. It was still as accurate and relevant for his future as it was the day he dreamt it.

And through paying the price, Joseph learned some valuable lessons.

He learned humility. He learned patience. He learned compassion. He learned timing.

He allowed God to form his character in the pit, so that he could maintain his seat of authority in the palace.

Because in order to experience the rainbow, we will have to live through the rain.

The rain of pain, trials and tribulations cultivates the seed of God's dreams for our lives so that they can bloom and blossom freely and full of beauty.

At times we don't understand it. But we must embrace it.

The truth remains, as it did in the story of Jospeh, that God will work all things together for the good of them that love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Today, I encourage you to learn from the life of Jospeh and understand that you can't tell everyone your dreams.

But even if you make a mistake and do, know that God will take what was meant for evil and work all things together for your good.

So go ahead and wear your coat of many colors, even in the rain...

He knows just how to turn rainstorms into rainbows.