Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem and everyone who heard about his coming laid palm branches down and shouted ‘Hosanna in the highest!”
What did they mean when they were shouting those words? When I was growing up I thought Hosanna was a praise word – I understood they were praising Jesus. When I became a student of the Word as an adult I learned…..
Some people think that Lenten traditions of discipline and the Christian life of repentance is all drudgery. Some think it’s about self-debasing or self-loathing and that we walk around with heavy sacks laden with remorse and sin on our backs. But that isn’t what lent and repentance is about. No, the season of Lent and the action of repentance is about lightening our loads. The season is more…..
Over the years through the season of Lent and in my participation and leadership in Alpha, Daughters of the King, in my friendships and in my volunteer and work time spent in healthcare settings I’ve spent time listening to people talk about their struggles with sin. I never pretended that I didn’t have struggles of…..
In Paul’s 2nd Letter to Timothy he writes that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness (3:16). I found myself reflecting on this verse last night and early this morning. It seems to me that the Lenten season of Repentance is a tradition that is useful for training for righteousness. Some of things we choose to change about our behaviors and activities in our Lenten Season may…..
What do you think about when you hear the words: “Quality of Life”
Do you think about how much fun there is to be had and how much wealth there is to accumulate?
Do you think about health care issues?
Do you think about what kind of clothes a person wears?
What kind of car they drive?
…..
I had lunch with my sister today and couldn’t believe what the Lord did for me. While we were sitting there I had a flashback of something I’ve been dreaming about lately, something I usually try to push out of the way. Today, as it came I blurted out what happened. It seemed to me that I had practically screamed it – but apparently it was just a whisper because my sister said, what? And I looked at her and…..
I was giving a presentation from my book to a group of women and I asked them if they had ever been called a temptress. Eyes opened wide and I said – not a temptress in a sensual or sexual sense – most women have been called that – I’m talking about being called a temptress because you presented temptations to other people the way the devil presented them to Jesus when they were in the wilderness together.
Those encounters…..
What if you took 40 days to fast from self-loathing? It would be a wonderful form of self-discipline and act of repentance during the Lenten Season.
So many of us are in the habit of saying some very “not nice” things about ourselves and other people and even the Lord. Negative self-talk is a vicious circle that can destroy a person, a family, an organization, the world. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I include the world in the list…..
Today, I’ve been thinking about the Lenten Season and the Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry.
Several of my recent posts have the word Repentance in the title. Jesus began his ministry saying: Repent and believe in the good news! Sometimes when you listen to the news, read newspapers and listen to people talk about what is going in the world and in their lives at home, work and in the community you might wonder where the good news is that you…..
I remember being a very young child when one of my grandparents died – I looked at him in the coffin and asked the adult who was with me (rather loudly) “Why is everyone crying? He’s only sleeping, he’ll wake up, Jesus said so.” I was quickly whisked away to another room.
This morning in our small group discussion I shared briefly some of my thoughts about Jesus asking his disciples to stay awake when they were in the garden…..