How will you prepare for Easter?
- Details
- 24 Feb
How will you prepare for Easter? I would like to encourage you to give something up in preparation for Easter. An engagement, like much of the Body of Christ does at this time of the year. Let us join in with them, it is a time called Lent. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting, and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was also a time to prepare new converts for baptism. 
Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or volunteering and giving of themselves for others. “The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan.” (source: umc.org) In a nutshell, we set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ—to consider his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial, and resurrection.
A quick look at scripture encourages us to fast and pray:
Ezra 8:21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
All our concerns about ourselves, our families, and our assets, it is our wisdom and duty, by prayer to commit to God, and to leave the care of them with him.
As Ezra did, I am proclaiming a fast at Willow Hill, for Lent that we may:
- Humble ourselves before our God
- Ask him for a safe journey for us and our children
- With all our possessions.
- Prepare our hearts for Easter
Let’s give this portion of the year to the Lord, trusting Him to redeem, multiply and bless us, our families, and our church.
A Lenten fast doesn’t have to consist of just fasting and abstinence from the things we love, but it can be adding things during this season of lent that will make our lives more meaningful.
What to give up for Lent:
If you want to know what to give up for Lent… start here with these 10 ideas of what to give up for Lent. I have also added in some ideas of what you can ADD or DO for Lent, to better yourself and help others.
- Don’t buy anything that you don’t NEED.
- Throw Away 40 things for 40 days
- Give a meal to a poor person everyday
- Pray for someone everyday (In the shops, at work, the gym or school)
- Work out daily to take care of the body God gave you.
- Give up a meal a day, breakfast, lunch or dinner
- Give up cold drink for Lent.
- Say 3 Nice Things to Your Spouse & Kids Daily
- Don't eat out and no take-aways for 40 days
- Replace 30 minutes of TV time with 30 extra minutes of devotion/prayer time.
Th point is to do something or give up something daily to focus on your relationship with our Father. As for me, for the weeks of Lent leading up to Easter, I will be fasting all Social Media. Will you give up somethings and fast with me in order to humble yourself before God, prepare your heart for Easter and ask him for a safe journey for ourselves and our children, as well as our possessions, that our lives may be redeemed, multiplied and blessed?
Love
Andrew
