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This is a guest post from a friend of mine, Dr. Kevin Hester. Dr. Hester teaches Bible and Theology at a Christian college.
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In preparation for the celebration of Easter, many Christian will hold a unique service. On a day known as Ash Wednesday they begin a forty day period of abstinence and contrition. In the Ash Wednesday service, the pastor marks the forehead of each individual with the sign of the cross. The ashes are taken from the burned palms used in last year’s Palm Sunday celebration. While he is marking their forehead the pastor says to each individual, “Turn away from your sin and turn to Christ.”
Baptists have not traditionally held such services. That does not mean however that we cannot learn from the message that is found in the day and in the season of Lent. Baptists have always emphasized the importance of contrition and holiness. In our understanding of salvation a man or woman must turn from his or her sin and turn to Christ in confession.
Lent is a period of confession. The message of Ash Wednesday and the period of Lent reminds us that we are called every day to remember our sins and to confess them before our Savior. You will recall that in the Old Testament ashes would be placed on someone’s head in times of grief. The meaning of the ashes in the Ash Wednesday service is the same. The Christian is called to remember her sin, be sorrowful for them and to repent.
Lent is a period of remembrance. Some Christians use this time of abstinence to remind them of the sacrifice that Christ made in becoming human. He gave up so much to come to save humanity, not the least of which was his life. As a Christian during Lent does without certain things he is reminded of all that Christ did without for our benefit.
Lent is a period of preparation. Lent looks forward to the blessings of Christ’s death manifested in the Resurrection. As Christ was raised on the third day, so also the Christian is raised again in the new life. One prepares for the celebration of His resurrection by remembering her sin, repenting of her sin and focusing her thoughts on the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
As we prepare for the blessings of Easter Sunday in remembrance of Christ’s resurrection let us prepare by confessing our sins and meditating in thanksgiving on all that Christ gave up for us. Easter is a wonderful time of celebration but it would never have been possible had Christ never been incarnated and had he never died. As we focus upon his sacrifice during these days leading up to the Easter celebration we must remember that the reason he came was to die for our sins. Let us confess these sins before him and commit ourselves to lives of holiness. Then, and only then, will the true meaning of Easter become real. Christ’s resurrection assures us that his sacrifice for our sins has been accepted by the Father and we can stand forgiven of our sins as we come to Him in confession. Think about your sins in the days leading up to Easter. Turn away from your sins and turn to Christ, and when you do you will find the crucified Lord raised in all His glory for your redemption.
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Jobs For Life
In October of 2010 I had the privilege of attending the Christian Community
Development Association conference in Indianopolis, IN. One of the workshops I attended at the conference was hosted by a ministry called Jobs for Life. During that workshop the leader said something that made a lot of sense to me. He talked about what he called, “flip the list.” He mentioned that the top three things churches do to help those in need is food, shelter, and clothes – all worthy causes. However, less than 1% of all churches do anything at all to help with job training and placement. Then he asked, “What would happen if we fliped the list?” In other words, what would happen if churches stressed job training and job placement? The answer is simple: food, shelter, and clothing would be taken care of. In addition, people would be given dignity. Here is a video that illustrates this point. Read the rest of this page »
Some People Don’t Get it
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A Quote to Consider
Last night I started reading a book called, Barefoot Church by Brandon Hatmaker. I only read the introduction and first chapter. There were two quotes in chapter 1 that I liked and that I thought about last night and again this morning. That quote is below. Let me know what you think:
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“While we’ve been charged to ‘equip the saints’ for works of service, the brutal truth is most of us have reduced our expectations of ‘serving’ to a once-a-month tour of duty as an usher or greeter. We’ve settled for serving ourselves and serving as an event rather than serving those in need and living a new way o life that Jesus has called us to…Here’s something to consider: we may say we’re a church on mission, yet we have so many on-campus programs that our people never have time to live on mission in their neighborhoods. We may say we’re more than just a Sunday service, but 90 percent of our resources and efforts are either committed to the Sunday morning experience or events designed to draw people to our building. We may think we serve, but if we took an honest look, we’d find only a small percentage of our people actually serving outside the church.”
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I would love to hear your thoughts.
(Endnote: I am reading the book on my android tablet and so I am not exactly sure how to footnote the quote. I can tell you that it comes from chapter 1 and is at location 88 and 230.
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The Good News & Shalom
A few years back, as I was studying and teaching through the Gospel of Mark, I learned that the Greek word for “salvation” (sozo) more literally meant “to be made whole.” That realization was a “light bulb” moment for me; forever changing my view of salvation.
Here is what I mean:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God created everything perfect, whole, complete; including man, whom He “created in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).
At creation everything was perfect, whole and complete.
But then sin entered the world (Genesis 3). Read the rest of this page »
