Repentance

 

As we march through our Lenten season, exploring words that have a resounding impact on our Lenten focus, we come upon Repentance.  Repentance:  sincere regret or remorse.   Repentance is a word that is used often during Lent as we reflect, in a simple way, over our sinful nature.  There is not a day that goes by when we do not sin.  Large or small, consciously, or unconsciously, we sin.  It is sad to think that we cannot move through one day without having a sinful thought or action.  Yet, we need to glorify and give thanks that we have a Savior who acted on our behalf and listens to our repentance.  Repentance takes actions. 

Repentance takes the action of reflection for us to review our thoughts and activities to see where we went wrong.  A couple of weeks ago, I focused on the importance of reflection, especially during Lent.  Reflection should encompass where we went wrong, reliving the moments of our days, helping us to see our sins for what they are – the darker side of our being.  Reflecting on our sins should occur not only in the moment of the sin, but daily.  Our ability to see where our focus turned away from God and on ourselves helps us to repent and understand the importance of Jesus’ walk to Calvary.

Repentance also takes the action of feeling remorse or regret, leading to humility.  I am certain there have been times when we have boasted about our wrong doings.  Maybe we were proud of how we poorly treated someone.  Perhaps we justified our wrongdoing with a good ‘they deserved it.’  I know there have been times when I have acted in this manner.  I look back upon those times in disgust.  It is not the way God wants me to live my life.  Our goal should always be to come to Jesus with our sins and a heart of humility, filled with remorse for what we have done.  Only then can we understand the true action of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

Repentance also takes the action of change.  We can reflect on our sins.  We can have a heart filled with humility.  God also wants us to ‘turn from our wicked ways.’  That means spending time putting into action ways that we will not act or think in that same sinful manner.  Being perfect in that light will never happen.  Remember, we have a sinful nature.  Yet, turning away from what brought upon our sin and working towards the path God wants us on means we need to change.  This can sometimes be the most challenging part of repentance.  It can also be the most rewarding.  If we can change a part of our sinful nature, as we reflect with our humility heart, we can see the goodness of God as he helps us on that journey.

Our Lord wants us to repent, to reflect, to humble ourselves in front of Him, to ask for forgiveness and to change from our wicked ways. This means we need to act and DO something.  No, we will not be perfect in this mission, but our goal for trying and realizing when we fall short, is where forgiveness and healing begins.

Dearest Jesus, we ask for your help in opening our eyes to where we have gone wrong.  May we repent to you, the true perfect one, and understand that forgiveness can only come through you.  May our life be filled with your goodness and mercy as we strive to be the people you want us to be.  Amen!

Simple Life, Simple Faith

 

Simple – defined as “plain, basic, uncomplicated in form, nature or design”.  How often have we heard grandparents and great-grandparents share, “I wish we could go back to the simple life?”  To be honest, there are days when I say that myself.  Days when life wasn’t as complicated.  With constant technology and constant information streaming, we can find ourselves distracted from a simple life and brought into a life of chaos and frustration.

Our lives can be filled with places to go, people to see, and things to do which have replaced simple with complicated, difficult, confused, and tricky.  We may find ourselves thinking, “How do we navigate our time to ensure all the kids get to their practices/events on time?” or “I know it’s the weekend, but I need to respond to that work email or get that project done!”  In our attempt to ensure we have as much as we can get, the idea of a simple life seems to have evaded us.

During the forty days of Lent, the word ‘simple’ can be a word one reflects upon.  Our verse for today can help us to do that.  One of our goals during Lent is to focus not on ourselves, but on Jesus and the journey He took to the cross on our behalf, His children.  Living a simple life can encourage us to live with what we have, to be content.  It doesn’t mean that we can’t have wants or desires, but we don’t make those things the ‘center of our universe’ and give up a focus on God or family.  This is so much easier said than done.  Yet, especially during Lent, it is our opportunity to slow things down and realize that we can live with what we have instead of over-extending ourselves.

The word simple can also reflect our faith.  Once again, this can be an area where we over-complicate things.  To be honest, it is the intent behind this blog that I started almost nine years ago.  The goal is to share with others, and remind me along the way, that God doesn’t want us to complicate His love for us or the salvation we have in Him.  He chose us as His children, to love unconditionally.  It is that simple.  Many times, it is difficult for us to comprehend this type of love as we are unable to ‘see’ it here on Earth.  That is the beauty of God! 

Our need for Jesus far outweighs anything else we may need.  Our need for forgiveness, salvation, hope, faith and love is much stronger than the need for a new pair of shoes or the house we can’t afford.  When Jesus becomes our focus, our reflection, our guide and our hope, life is simplified.  It can be hard to believe that.  Yet, there is one way that this becomes very real – when we dive deeper into God’s word.  When our time together with Jesus is found in His words and His actions, we realize that a simple faith and a simple life can be the most rewarding.

As we continue our Lenten journey, may we step back and reflect on a simple life and simple faith.  May we take time away from the chaos and better understand the path Jesus has for us.  May we sit in prayer and reflect on where we can simplify our lives and enjoy the moments of simple faith.

Heavenly Father, our lives can become full of things, full of thoughts, and full of actions.  We often do not take the time to simply be in union with you.  Help us to reflect on moments where we can live a more simplified life and realize that all you ask from us is to have simple faith!  Amen!

Reflection

 

As we enter these forty days of Lent, I contemplated what our focus should be.  How do we navigate these forty days as we walk with Jesus to the events of Easter?  I decided to select a word each week, hoping we will be able to focus our attention during this time of Lent.  The first one will be the word reflection.  The dictionary definition provides us with ‘serious thought or consideration, meditation.’  It is this thought and consideration that we will be focusing on.

Reflection is on many people’s minds, especially as we walked through these past two years.  As many of us were forced home, without much outside interaction, giving us time to review our lives.

·        Were we fulfilled with our careers?

·        Was family time a priority, gathering our loved ones together for simple things like a family dinner?

·        Did we focus on our health?

·        Was ‘keeping up with our neighbors’ more important than ‘keeping our family together”?

As a result, people made changes in their lives.  Some people quit their jobs to pursue their passions.  Others made family a priority and focused on spending time together versus seeing how many activities could be jammed into 24 hours.  Others began bringing exercise and activity into their days, and a heightened sense of less processed foods and more home-grown foods.  Taking time for reflection can help us to see what is happening in our lives instead of continuing habits that may not be good for us.

Spending time in reflection, seeing ourselves and our lives in a mirror, can also give us much as we gain to have a closer relationship to Jesus.  When I reflect upon my life, things I have done and things I have not done, it certainly is not the life I would lift up to Jesus all too quickly.  Seeing myself, looking in the mirror, I see my sins, the actions and the thoughts that are not pleasing to my Lord.  Reflection also lets me see the times when my actions were good in Jesus’ eyes and provided help and assistance to those around me. 

During reflection, we can spend time reviewing our actions, our thoughts, and our feelings.  During this time, we can determine the changes we want to make in our lives to reflect our faith more boldly in Jesus.  What have we done, or thought or said that would be pleasing to God?  What have we done that deserves us offering an apology and repenting our sins?  Charging through our days without moments of reflection and simple faith does not provide us the opportunity to gain a closer relationship with Jesus.  When we reflect, we can see if our hearts are filled with the word of Jesus and our simple faith in the love He gives to us, giving us the ability to love others.  During this Lenten season, find time to build the habit of reflection into your day.  May that reflection lead us closer to Jesus, so on the day we meet Him face to face, our faith will be revealed.

Dearest Jesus, during this Lenten season, may I spend time in reflection.  Help me to see myself in the mirror and hold myself accountable to the person you want me to be.  Help me to make the changes necessary to live in simple faith of your love in my life.  Amen.