Lent - Past & Present

 As a child, I remember that each year I gave up something for Lent. It was normally something like sweets or crisps, you get the idea.

    I can honestly say that I didn't really understand what it was all about. Everyone else at church gave stuff up and my friends at church would ask me what I was giving up and we all gave up the same old stuff every year.

    Our understanding was that as Jesus gave up eating food for 40 days and nights, we had to give up something too to commemorate it. It did mean that when Easter came, eating chocolate eggs was all the more special if you hadn't had any chocolate through Lent!

There are two main problems with the way I did Lent as a child:

1. I didn't understand what and why I was doing what I was doing.

2. The concept of 'Giving Up' something, can be a negative experience and it wasn't intended to be.

Lent is such a positive time, leading up to Easter, and it's vital that we understand what and why we are doing things.

When Jesus fasted from food he became hungry, yes, but he also became stronger by the experience of fasting and prayer for the 40 days and nights. This meant that when Satan arrived to tempt Jesus, he was ready for him. Remember that Jesus although fully God was also fully man and able to be tempted.

When we come to think about our Lent experience, we should look to do something challenging that will leave us stronger at the end.

  Some examine their lives and look for something that they need to change for the good, that will probably be hard to do. At the end they will be better for it and often those around them will be too.

  Maybe you are addicted to something like cigarettes, Lent is an ideal time to deal with this kind of thing. Don't think of it as giving up nicotine for Lent, that's negative. What you are doing is being SET FREE from the addiction.

  There are lots of things that people get addicted to and being set free from them will certainly leave you stronger and will make your Lent experience a positive one.

Don't try to do it alone, confide in someone you trust for accountability and of course pray constantly for help in your endeavours.

May you always know His peace and blessings.

Adrian.

Social Media - Good or Bad?

 Facebook, Twitter and all these other social media platforms are now part of our everyday lives. The new President of the U.S.A. appears to love Twitter as a medium to get his thoughts and opinions out there for us.

Most of us use platforms like Facebook to communicate with friends, see what our friends and family are doing and let people know about our lives and special events etc.

    There are help groups on Facebook for people who suffer from the same illness or have the same interests which are generally a good thing and can be helpful and reassuring to read that someone else is going through the same thing as you and be able to support each other. I have heard about young people who, not feeling able to speak to their parents about bullying, have been able to speak to other young people about what they are going through and get advice - You get the idea, these social media sites can be a great platform for good.

    Sadly, I have noted the opposite applies and over the last few months have been saddened by the number of people, whom I know to have a faith in God, posting or sharing posts that are incompatible with their faith.

    As a Christian I believe that everyone was created equal and God loves us all equally, therefore posts that are anti immigration are not compatible with the Christian faith. One post recently shared said that we should put our elderly before immigrants. One group is not superior to the other, they both need our love, compassion and help equally. It is not the case of putting one group first, then if you have any money, love or compassion left over, consider giving to the other - All human beings were created equally, all life matters.

    There have been many other examples but this week one Christian shared a post that said to 'Ban The Burka'! As a Christian I respect all faiths and their traditions and some Muslim ladies have a modesty tradition of wearing this type of clothing which come from an interpretation of the Quran which is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God.

    The kind of posts, and there have been a number, I have described at best demonstrate poor judgement and a lack of compassion for our fellow man & at their worst are racist. Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Christianity provides NO harbourage for racism.

Social media can be a great thing if used in the right way, it can be a wonderful platform for fun, enjoyment and good. Let us keep it that way and not use it as a platform for cyber bullying, destroying peoples lives and stirring up racism and hatred.

God bless you.

Pastor Adrian.