Lent

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the Good News.

-Mark 1:12-15

Lent. It's the 40 day's Jesus spent in the Wilderness, facing Satan.
And now it's our turn.

Lent isn't about giving up chocolate, or candy because it isn't good for you. It's about giving up what takes your time away from God. Too much to give up right?

This year I'm giving up Facebook.

It's embarrassing the hours I spend on Facebook a day. I wake up and check it, through out the day if I have idle time, or I'm bored I log on, and then before I go to bed to see if I missed anything.

Lent is about sacrificing so that we might become more like Jesus and His sacrifice. It's about spending 40 days with a Savior.
I want to forget about my idiotic dependency on Facebook. Because really, who cares what we're all doing today.

Lent is about giving up the possessions in this world that possess us so we can be possed by God...fully.

My soul longs to be filled with God, and I have too much free time in my day to not spend it all with Him.

I want to empty my soul to have it filled up again.
Jesus carried the weight of all my sins to the Cross. Grace has saved me from what I've done. I haven't deserved any of it, but I need to show some more appreciation.

Christ will be glorified in the next 40 days, not me. He is the one whom I live for.
He is the one I love.
He is the one my soul longs for.
He is my Savior.

Lent isn't supposed to just be easy. It's a 40 day fast from something.
Make this Lent different. Give up something difficult to give up.

Yet now, says the Lord,

Return to me with all your heart,

With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

Rend your hearts and not your clothing.

Return to the Lord, your God,

for He is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,

and relents from punishing.

-Joel 2:12-14