How is It With Your Soul?

How is it with your soul?  Christians around the world will be challenged to wrestle with this question during the season of Lent.  Lent, from the Anglo-Saxon word for spring, is the 40-day period (excluding Sundays) preceding Easter Sunday.  It is a time of personal reflection and devotion, in which we examine our relationship with God as we anticipate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  In 2012, Lent will last from February 22 – April 7. 

Lent follows in the Jewish tradition of having a period of preparation before major religious observances.  The 40 day length reflects the biblical examples of forty days of fasting from food that were a common part of close encounters with God in the Bible.  Moses fasted for 40 days on Mount Sinai before receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28).  Elijah fasted for 40 days on the journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8).  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, fasted for 40 days before being tempted by the devil in the wilderness and then starting His public ministry (Matthew 4:2).

Many Christians choose to abstain from certain activities during Lent, specifically something that will be a sacrifice for them.  While not always true biblical fasting from food, it is a reminder of the 40 day fasts of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus who lived on a reduced diet during their period of personal reflection and devotion.  In our abstinence, we are to spend our freed up time with God. When we crave what we gave up, we can remember what Jesus gave up for us.  We also are to examine the barriers that come between us and God and each other, and how we might permanently get rid of them with help from the Holy Spirit.

Part of the Lenten tradition is to be more intentional in spiritual practices such as reading the Bible, praying, doing mission work, et cetera.

How is it with your soul?

Win

 

The New England Patriots and the New York Giants are in the business of winning football games. Success is measured by having more points on the scoreboard at the end of the game than the opposing team. On February 5, the team with the most points will walk away from the Super Bowl as the winner and the best team in professional football.

Light of Christ is in the business of partnering with God to transform lives. Knowing that we are being successful is not always as easy as looking at a football scoreboard. Life transformation is a messy, complex business. Yet, there are still some very clear wins. We experienced one last Sunday when nine-year-old Grayson professed his faith in Christ.

Here is what Grayson’s parents shared with the congregation:

Many of you may have never met our family….but we feel like we have met all of you. It has been 10 years since we started attending Light of Christ and it has been 7 years since we moved away from Charlotte. We came back a few weeks ago to meet with Pastor Kyle about speaking with our son, Grayson, about professing his faith in Jesus. Everything about the church has always been one with a foundation of basic goodness and love. From the smiles and nods we received from complete strangers, to the warm hugs of old friends—this is a church we cannot, nor do we ever want to lose in our future.

Pastor Kyle has been EVERYTHING to our family—he may not even realize this fact. Pastor Kyle baptized Angie and both of our boys. He officiated the wedding ceremony of my Angie’s brother and his wife who is a part of the Lynch and Light of Christ family. More than anything—he along with Lora and this church make you feel good about yourself and what you are trying to accomplish as a family, a husband, a wife—the list can just go on and on.

We started worshiping here when the church was at Jay M. Robinson, then the YMCA. We would have probably parked on the side of 485 if that were the place of worship. When we were pregnant with Grayson, we had a very rocky beginning. For 14 weeks, Angie was on complete bed rest and we had meals delivered from Light of Christ 4 days a week! That is 56 meals that went to the nourishment of our family at a time when we were functioning on a complete tailspin. We had constant hospitalizations and your ministry team was there every step of the way praying by our side.

When Grayson was born he remained in the NICU for 21 days and was just a pitiful site of tubes and incubators. One day a NICU nurse said to me, you have quite the support system. I said, “Our family has been wonderful.” She said, that it is true but she was referring to our church. She said that a member of the church had come every day to just pray by Grayson’s side. On the night of his birth she stated that someone even came in the middle of the night. From that day on, we knew we had chosen the right name for our child. He has been a “son of Grace” from Day One. This is why we could only have this church be a part of such a momentous occasion for us.

Definitely a win!