ASHES TO ASHES

This coming Wednesday, Christians all around the world begin a time of serious reflection that focuses on our own mortality and our need to confess and repent of our sins before a holy and righteous God. This time of the Christian year is known as Lent and begins with Ash Wednesday and goes on for 40 days until Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). This does not include the Sundays during the time period.

At our church we will hold an Ash Wedneday service which will include the reading of scripture, the singing of songs, and the imposition of ashes as a reminder of our own human limitations, for the simple reason that we are called to focus on our need for a savior as well as the extent (the cross) Jesus went to offer us salvation. During the next 40 days we will read a daily devotion entitled The Sanctuary for Lent, share together in the community on Wednesdays having a lunch and devotion together at the various churches, will share in a Seder service on Maundy Thusday, and participate in a Good Friday service. All of this is to prepare us for the great celebration of Christ's resurrection, the fact that sin and death has been destroyed.

I want to encourage all of you to slow down and take a good look in the spiritual mirror this Lenten season. What is it that you would like to offer to Christ during these 40 days? Your time? Your diet? Your spiritual disciplines? Your health? Your family? Your priorities? Be honest. In doing so, you can be sure that God will meet you in a new and intimate way during the 40 days. And when Easter morning comes, you will sing Victory in Jesus with a renewed vigor and gusto. In the meantime, remember.....Ashes to ashes............................

"THE MOVIES"

Now I'm not a real movie kind of guy. I have trouble sitting still for 2 hours but on occasion I actually take a little time to kick back with my wife and watch a movie. (Usually rent a dvd. Rarely go to the theatre).

This past weekend I actually watched a movie with ML 2 nights in a row. Friday night we watched a show called Nights at Rathande (sp?). A good one for valentine's weekend. And then we gathered with about 30 folks at church and watched Fireproof. A great show dealing with what it takes to make a marriage work. I mentioned the movie before on an an earlier blog (as did my son Todd, on his blog).

Both of these movies dealt with broken relationships within the context of marriage. The first movie came to the conclusion that it was best to get out, that there was somebody better than the one with whom the vows were exchanged, and that within one weekend a person could get to know another person so well that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Hmmm. Now I liked the move, just didn't agree with its answer to the problem.

Regarding Fireproof, the reality is that marriage is hard work and things don't just fall apart overnight nor do they get fixed overnight. I appreciated the fact that God was a necessary componant to the restoration of the relationship in the movie. And I thought that it was evident that just buying flowers does not a relationship make. One thing I must mention however is that sometimes it doesn't always work out. Sometimes the ending is different than what takes place in the movie. And it's not because God was not desired as a part of the solution. Sadly, that's the cold hard facts of life when one person will do whatever it takes and the other won't. Thankfully God can still work in those situations. I've seen it many times.

Okay, enough rambling. Take some time this week and pay attention to relationships. Watch what's happening. Observe whether God is welcomed or rejected within those relationships. And in the process, acknowledge that life is not a reel deal, it's the "real" deal! Include the Lord - he's got an Oscar in store for you.

THE ASSIGNMENT!

Okay, with the assumption that no one was sleeping at the end of the church service this past Sunday I want to remind you of your assignment for this week. If you recall, I asked you to attempt to complete this sentence next Sunday - "This past week, this is what I believe God was up to". In other words, "I saw God working ...................................".

This is in context of the "Experiencing God" series that I am currently preaching. So, with the 1st of 7 realities focusing on the fact that God is always at work around you, what is it that you see God doing? And once that is determined, how are you going to respond? As I said earlier today, let's compare notes at the end of the week (month, year).

On a different note, I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Wichita getting ready to read some papers for some meetings I have the next couple of days. I hope that I might see God at work in the midst of said meetings. I'd better pay attention, huh?

If you are reading this outside of the Leoti community, what's God up to in your neck of the woods?

What say you??

A "SUPER" SUPER BOWL!

Holmes makes the game winning catch to beat the Cardinals.

Well, the Cardinals couldn't quite pull it off yesterday losing to the Steelers in the last minute. But, wow, what a game, going down to the wire. That's what the Super Bowl is supposed to be - "Super".

I've always been a Warner fan and was hoping he would win it all and then call it a career. What a story that would have been - winning 2 Super Bowls separated by 9 years. But it was not meant to be. As they say (whoever "they" are), it is what it is. Thankfully, Warner understands that.

Because Warner is a Christian and is not afraid to live out his faith, the Christian community jumped on the bandwagon to support him, as if it was ordained by God for the Cardinals to win. After all, wouldn't that just show everyone that God rewards the faithful? But the Cardinals lost, Warner lost, and the probability of him returing to the Super Bowl is minimal. Hmmmmmmm.

The point of all this "pontificating" is that Warner would have loved to win the game but didn't. Is his life over? Was the season a failure? Was he a failure? Should he crawl into a hole? NO! Warner knows there is much more to life than winning football games. And he knows that his character, his demeanor, his integrity, and his faith will be observed in the way he responds to this most recent loss. And if you watched his post-game interview, he was most gracious for the privilege of being able to play with his teammates in one of the better games ever played in a Super Bowl.

Win or lose, Warner understands the bigger picture. He gives glory and honor to the Lord who has given him the opportunity to play a game that most people only dream about. He has carried himself well and if we are paying attention we will realize that he may have lost a football game, but he won in the game of life - real life.